28 Drawings later (week one)

Hello........ Over the past week I've undertaken the challenge of producing a drawing each day of February.  I thought it would be a good way to kick start doing some art.

I'm not that greatest at drawing, but it's something I enjoy doing. I have lots of supplies but somehow I never quite get around to getting started, so I thought this would be perfect.

The Group is running over on Facebook it's called 28 Drawings Later February Drawing Challenge it's a open group and anyone can join in. There are some amazing artist taking part.

So here's what I've come up with in the first seven days.

Day 1: I started off with this little landscape in coloured pencil.

Day 2: Is a colour pencil and ink drawing, as I'm drawing from bed the colour pencil option, seems the easiest, as my energy levels are so restricted my drawing are done quite quickly.

Day 3: I found my pastels and pastel paper in the Summerhouse and had a play, it's the first time I've tried pastels since school.

Day 4: It been a cold old week here at the Summerhouse with snow on and off and I'm longing for Springtime. Here's my Blossom tree, with felts pens and added glitter glue, sadly the camera couldn't pick up the glitter, but it's there.

Day 5: I couldn't resisting trying to capture the Paper whites, in water colour pencils and ink.

Day 6: (this one's is a bit of a cheat) I just wasn't well enough to manage anything today so this is a picture I drew last January.

Day 7: Back to the pastels again for this drawing of our local Pier at sunrise.  This one took me a while, doing a little bit then resting, I can't wait for this relapse to start to ease.

So that's week one, I best get my thinking cap on to come up with some ideas for the rest of the month.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

Paper Flowers

Hello.......... Todays post is going to be all about paper flowers I do love them and have quite a stash of the little beauties.  

Here at the Summerhouse there seems to have been so many Birthdays in January, so I decided to make Paper Flower cards for two of my crafty friends who happen to share the same birthday.

First up I had a 50th Birthday card to make and decided I would make a celebration wreath of lovely paper flowers. So I  started off by sticking a cardboard wreath onto my card blank.

Then it was time for the fun bit layering up my flowers and adding buttons and beads, whats not to love.

Then using glue dots I stuck them onto the cardboard wreath,  so simple but effective.

Then added a cute little ribbon

The tricky part was making the teeny tiny '50' to sit in the wreath which I cut by hand with decoupage scissor, before covering in a layer of glitter glue.

 Ta-dah

For the next card I made a couple of two layer flowers  and also a four layer flower then added crystals

Ta-Dah

I've not really done any card making in a while and really enjoyed playing around with paper flowers, buttons, beads and glitter, a nice change from all the crochet.

Never fear though I'm still in blanket making mode too.

Happy Crafting

Clare x

Patchwork January

Hello.... Today I'd thought I'd share some patchworks of January.

A month of new beginnings for a new year and also resolutions I've started to tackle the WIP pile. I'm also working on regaining my energy levels too, trying to shake off this relapse.

Out in the garden there are signs of Spring, yes we have shoots and also a very hardy Geranium, with  Rose buds and the Jasmines in bud too, but I pretty sure the frost will put pay to that.  We've had a few flakes of snow over the past week but nothing has laid. Yet !!!

As for the Christmas bulbs I planted 'here well the Paper Whites have shot off like a rocket and are stunning.  I only planted them on the 10th January

So beautiful.

Well that's about all for January I wonder what February has to offer.

Linking up with mosaic-monday and KCCO
and Roses of Inspiration 

Happy Crafting

Clare x

Grow your Blog..........

Hello and Welcome to the Summerhouse by the Sea.

This is the first time I've taken part in the 'Grown your blog 'party held by  2 Bags Full and to be totally honest with you I only remembered in the nick of time that it's running today, oops never mind.

 

So my names Clare and I've been blogging for a couple of years now at the Summerhouse by the Sea here in the UK.  Above is a picture of my lovely Old  I mean vintage Summerhouse which is home to my crafting and is affectionately know around these parts as the shed.

Where I love to create all sorts of things from crochet to arts and crafts, there is always something going on here and a ever growing pile of WIP's

Since I've been blogging and crocheting I've been making seasonal wreaths and last year saw me complete the set with my Summer and Autumn Wreaths and I was lucky enough to have a picture of my Summertime wreath published in Crafts Beautiful magazine, (such a wonderful surprise)

I'm in blanket making mode at the moment, working on a couple of Attic 24 Cosy Blankets and also a granny blanket. I'm a bit of a one for starting new projects.

As well as working on getting things finished for a local craft exhibition due to start at the end of February with themes of The Owl and the Pussycat, Fantasia, Egypt and Masks (still in the planning stage eek).

So what else goes on here at the Summerhouse, well a lots of resting too as I suffer with quite severe ME/Lyme disease and spend most of my time stuck in bed, but a positive of this is it's led me to discover my creative side, as regular readers will know I had a bit of a tough time with my health over the last twelve months and my blog and all the other lovely like minded people you meet in blogland have helped cheer me on through the tough times so I very grateful for that.

 One last thing you all should know about the Summerhouse is that it stands in a garden full of beautiful flowers and I quite often like to share mosaic's of what's going on out in the garden.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have enjoyed you're visit. I've recently set up a Facebook page for the blog which you can find 'here'  feel free to have a look around the blog archive too.

You can also follow me on Bloglovin or Google if you'd like to

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

 

January Days

Hello............ These January days do seem short, in fact I seem to be sleeping them away.  I'm still trying to recover from the exhaustion's of Christmas which is not to kind to us ME/Lyme suffers.

We have had lots of January days that look like this, Grey but they still hold beauty in there own way.  While a lot of the UK has been enjoying snow here at the Summerhouse we have been under a freezing cold blanket of grey.

 I've been trying to make the most of it though,  amidst all of the resting there have been snippets of magazines

and new art supplies.

I've been taking part in a online Creative Mindfulness art course,

although I'm am running somewhat behind, just need to find some energy.

Of course there has been crochet too, I've been making lots of little things easy to pick up and put down in my ten minute activity slots.

I've made another of Jacquie's cute little owls, to fit the Craft Club theme of 'The Owl and the Pussycat'

With the help of my ever present crafting assistant Merlin, hard to believe he's fifteen, he's always into mischief and the craft supplies, which is not so fun when he's trying to get into the paints !!!

As for my Cosy 'Seaside Pebble' blanket it's not been forgotten, it's just on hold for a while.  What with a secret project and trying to get ready for the local craft exhibition, I just don't have any spare crafting time at the moment, not to mention the no energy thing.

I know some of you were following along with the colours scheme so rest assured it will be back.

Just before I go I thought I'd share with you the signs from the Summerhouse garden that Spring is on it's way, it maybe cold and grey out there but look, Spring is trying it's best.

even more so in the house just look at the Paper whites I planted a couple of weeks back, I can't wait for them to flower.

Happy Crafting

Clare xx

Rosie Glow Magnets

Hello.......... Today saw the first snow flakes of winter fall here at the Summerhouse, not enough to lay but with the promise of more to come I'm ever hopeful. I do love a bit of snow, the perfect weather for hunkering down for a spot of crochet.

Today I thought I'd share these cute little rose magnets with you.

To make them I used the Attic 24 May Roses pattern, which gives lovely little compact roses, just perfect for magnet making.

then all I did was glue the magnets onto the backs and

Ta-Dah

They were finished.

I made my roses in Stylecraft Special DK,  (Pomegranate Fondant and Clematis)  and they were part of a Christmas gift for a friend. I'm a little bit in love with these Cath Kidston inspired colours and think I might have to make a set for the Summerhouse too.

Joining in with the Yarn along, here's book number two of my'40s reads for 40,' it's Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist, I've only just started to read it so I'll keep you posted. As for my first read 'Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald, well it didn't go so well, I had to abandon reading it because I just couldn't tolerate the racism, not really sure why a book of that nature would be listed as a classic. Hopefully it's day has long since passed.

Happy Crafting 

Clare xx