SUPER SUNNY SUNDAY

Hello everyone

It's the beginning of a gorgeous day as I am writing this - very appropriate for Mothering Sunday really.  The daffodils in the gardens look so lovely - I wonder if any colour other than bright, sunny yellow could represent spring better?  My Forsythia is flowering and a few flowers are showing on my Kerria.  What a beautiful time of year this is.

I hope you enjoyed Eva Godden's guest blog post on Friday?  Eva is an old friend - in the sense of having known her for a long time that is.  We taught on the same course many years ago and are both lucky to now be doing work we really enjoy.  We meet up every so often with other shared 'old friends' and we are also frequent Tweeters and Re-Tweeters.  Many thanks Eva - I am already looking forward to your future guest posts.

The Friday guest blog spot is going well - fully booked up to and including 13 April and one booking for May.  Lots of lovely posts on the way - some craft-related and some not.  If you are interested in writing about a topic that is close to your crafting heart, or on something not craft-related, please do get in touch: christmaspiecrafts@virginmedia.com.

Our massive clear out continues.  My biggest problem is that although I know I should dispose of so much, especially as I haven't used it or needed it for years, I am a hoarder and getting rid of things is so very hard.  Any tips anyone?  I have been more ruthless this time around - mainly as I think we are running out of space!  Went to the RSPCA at Chobham this week with a big bag of goodies, books, some old towels and some cat food - how I didn't come away with a few more cats I will never know.

A bit of plugging here: the RSPCA Chobham have a Car Boot Sale on Sunday, 15 April.  If you are local, how about either taking part or going along to buy lots of goodies and have a look at the gorgeous animals there in need of homes?

Had lunch with friends on Friday and one told me about an event at the end of March that she is involved with - it is very local to me and I will definitely be there.  Once I have full details I will add them to my blog.  Who knows, by then my website may be up and running too.  My background is IT (and accountancy) and Richard is always saying that he will take me to A & E to have my computer surgically removed from me, yet I seem to find it very hard to get my website set up.  Lots has been done on it, but not enough for me to feel happy releasing it on to an unsuspecting public.  It is almost as though I feel that spending time working on my website takes away from the time I should spend making cards, etc.  Odd?  Yes, I know - must be the time of year!

Handmade Monday is with us again (tomorrow, I know, but I am keen) and I used to hate Mondays because it meant the beginning of the working week.  It still does in a way, but working for me, not for someone else, so that 'oh dear where has the weekend gone', no longer exists.  Yippee.  While you are checking out the other great blogs participating in Handmade Monday, don't forget to look at Wendy's new 'baby: Handmade Harbour - full of great tips and information for makers.  Well done Wendy - look forward to reading your regular HH blog.

Hannah Blavins (a recent Friday guest poster of mine) opened a topic on the Popular Crafts Forum on Friday asking what everyone had in their 'Craft Bucket' - by this she means what are we  planning to do or what would we like to do that's crafty.  A long list has been drawn up by Phoebe Moore and this thread made me think about what other crafts I wanted to do.

I would love to have a go at glass fusion - the work I saw at the event in Godalming by Fran McCaskill was beautiful.  However, the financial outlay would prevent me taking that up seriously.  When I finished work (well working for someone else that is) I had planned to enrol on a Calligraphy course (did a taster day last summer and loved it), but didn't pursue it - planned to do lots of courses, and got no further than looking.  It seems that the majority of craft work involves a lot of expense, so if I took up something new in a business-sense I would have to be 100% sure of its success and I think that is not really possible in the current climate.  But that doesn't stop me doing something new for fun, so I have enrolled on a pottery course.  I did pottery at school and loved it and have looked frequently at courses that are available locally, and done absolutely nothing about joining one.  My course begins in April and I am really looking forward to throwing some clay around again.

I have had two card orders this week but as I know both of the people who will eventually receive the cards are readers of my blog, I can't post the pics here yet.  My make for Handmade Monday comes from a card kit I bought recently.  The pack contained four pre-decorated cards, with bits to be removed and embellishments to add.  I made up three of the cards, but changed each one to something slightly different: for one I hung the salutation in the 'knocked-out' hole, for another I added the salutation to a ribbon and fixed that to the card and for the third I used the circle that was from the knock out of another card to add something different to the inside of the card.  I hope you like them.

Off now to enjoy some more of the sunshine, dig some weeds up, prune some more shrubs and generally soak up the warmth.  Hope you all have a good week - don't forget to email me if you would like to take part in the Friday Guest Blog spot.  I will be back on Wednesday with my regular mid-week post.

Jill

TODAY'S GUEST BLOGGER IS......

Hannah Blavins from Spans Studio

When Jill asked me to write a guest post I decided to talk about what handmade means to me.

But I’m not going to talk about the meaning of the word or what I think a handmade product is.

To me handmade is more than that.  It’s a process.  Making something by hand takes time and energy.  You go through many emotions, trials and errors and triumphs.

When you buy something that’s handmade you are buying someone’s journey, a part of them.  It’s a brave thing to do to give something of yourself to the world to be judged, rightly or wrongly, by others.  It’s what all creative souls that make handmade items for gifts and to sell do.

To me handmade is about healing.  About finding something that defines who I am and allowing myself to do what I love and be happy.  I know a lot of people deny that part of themselves and it’s very freeing to accept that part of yourself and make something for whatever reason.  Everything I make is a part of my healing journey.  Depending on the medium depends on what it does for me.  Sometimes it calms me, sometimes distracts, sometimes it brings me into the moment.  Sometimes it stirs emotions and I find that by working through it I heal. That is part of my process.

Hand making things makes me feel worthy and whole, whether it is seen as a quality item is irrelevant as by the time it is done I’ve gotten all I needed out of it.  I have been through the process and come out the other side and I am usually looking to the next project.

Learning a skill to make something takes time and lots of practise, this is something that never ends.  There is always something new to learn and add to the process of creating.

I hope you understand what I mean when I talk about handmade. I think its easy to just think of the end product as that is the tangible thing but the process behind it, what the person has gone through for it to get there is what makes it unique and the reason why I not only make handmade things but I buy handmade products too.

I have many gifts that have been made for me by family and friends and each one means a lot to me as the process was taken with me in mind.  They have given that part of themselves to me and I feel very blessed to be the person that receives it.

So next time you see a handmade item and like it, ask yourself, what did the person that made it have in mind? What journey did they and the item go through to get there? Hopefully you will see what I mean when I say that handmade is more that just a product.

http://www.spansstudio.co.uk

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