Lucky Cranes

I'm enjoying an origami revival at the moment, when I was younger I was really keen on paper folding and origami, and I had a great book that had pre-printed fold lines which made it much easier!

However, now that I'm older and a little braver I thought I would to challenge myself a bit and try to do more complicated shapes, but one that I had wanted to do for a while was the Crane, because they are so delicate and I can think of so many creative applications in which they could be used, but also because they are supposed to be lucky, as the legend below describes (although I really cant see myself doing 1000)....

"An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true."

found via Wikipedia : HERE

Darn good....

Last night I darned my first ever sock, it is not a tidy job, in fact it is a bit of a monster, but the socks are the first pair I ever knitted and are full of mistakes too!

Despite this fact they hold a fair amount of sentimental value and I wore them around the house and in bed for a few years before they developed holes in their soles!

Bizarrely I found the process of darning the holes very therapeutic and can once again wear my monstrous socks with pride :-)

I found the tutorial on how to do THIS via the Craft:zine website, it is a collaboration with the Martha Stewart Living editors and has lots of good tips for fixing and embellishing.

Engrish tea.....

Hmm, what do you suppose these mean....?

One of the Japanese girls at work brought them in, the green one says 'Herb tea for a hanggard face' (haggard maybe?!) and the purple one says 'Herb tea for a loose idea' (lets hope its only the ideas that are loose...).

Block printing....

I can feel a new hobby / obsession coming on.....

Found via : http://www.flickr.com/people/klara/

Need an extra pair of hands? All you need is Liv...

My lovely friend Liv has just launched her brilliant new website called :

All you need is Liv

The idea behind her new venture is to offer an extra pair of hands, as a business and lifestyle support service.


"For all those times you wish you has a PA to tie up all the loose ends....All you need is Liv."

For your home....

Personalised handmade cards / invitations

Handwritten cards / invitations

Children's party organisation

Handmade children's party decorations and party bags

Unique gift wrapping

Gift selection and purchase

Bespoke handmade cushions

Bespoke handmade personalised cotton bunting

Travel arrangements

Sourcing babysitters, stylists, dog walkers, plumbers, etc

Dinner party arrangements including centre pieces and menu planning

One of Liv's beautiful original christmas cards

For your business....


Media buying

Database management

Mail merges

Diary management

Email correspondence

Online research

Travel arrangements

Writing up minutes

Proof reading

Data collection

Receipt management

Raising invoices

Creating presentations

Client press coverage collation

Social media maintenance



Now isn't that a fabulous idea?! I know I could always do with an extra pair of hands, and now I know exactly who to call!

One of Liv's lovely handmade cushions

Making Whoopie!

It was my lovely friend Anwen's birthday this week and so my friend Katey and I made her some cakes to celebrate!

I made some Whoopie Pies for the first time using THIS recipe from Bakerella's website, and a cream cheese frosting made with Philadelphia, icing sugar and butter, they didn't quite turn out as expected, so they really ought to be called Whoops Pies but never mind, it was only my first attempt.... I need to perfect the art of the smooth finish rather than the volcanic eruption!

Katey made some delicious Raspberry cupcakes with butter icing and raspberries to top them off, but by far my favourite part is that they have jam and raspberries on the inside - heavenly indeed.

Something useful...

In an ever growing concern over the amount of mess in my bedroom (never helped by the mountain of clothes taking over my life) I at least want to be able to have something pretty and functional on my bed beside the other mountain of cushions and teddy bears (totally appropriate for a nearly-32yr-old of course)....

So this morning, as I absent mindedly threw my PJ's under my pillow I thought that it was high time I made myself a Pyjama case, something that can both act as a pillow/cushion but be useful at the same time!

Lo and behold, I am looking through my bloglinks this afternoon and I found this little beauty from the ever brilliant Prudent Baby......

Picture via http://Prudentbaby.com

Click HERE to go straight to the tutorial, thank you Prudent baby!

Otherwise, I think this free pattern for a Cat cushion from Amy Butler (find via her website HERE) would be another good starting point?!

Picture via http://amybutler.com