Settled in Sweden

After a long wait and lots of organisation, I'm finally situated in my new abode in Sweden with my hubbie Peter.

It's been a long time coming and a bit of a bumpy road from time to time to get here, but huge thanks to mum & dad for helping out, hiring the monster of a van, driving across the UK, Denmark and Sweden with me, my cats and all our things. I couldn't have done it without you. x

LookWhatIveMade.com

LookWhatIveMade.com is a brand new crafting community website, sure to get your sewing machines buzzing! Created especially for knitters, sewers and crafters of all kinds, LookWhatIveMade.com is the perfect opportunity for you to show off your latest creations, share your ideas with other like-minded people and be inspired by the work of others.

To celebrate the launch of this new community site, you can enter a competition for your chance to win £250 worth of sewing and other craft goodies, plus there's a whole load of runners-up prizes as well!

To enter, go to www.lookwhativemade.com, create a profile and upload at least one project to the website.

Find even more info on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lookwhativemade

One Stamp 24-hour challenge

Following a hugely successful challenge last year, Lynnda Worsnop of Oak House Studio will again be running her One Stamp 24-hour project this weekend, 13th & 14th April.

Lynnda will be running the project over two 12-hour slots at the weekend from her Bishop Burton studio, working with a single selected stamp to create projects on card, wood, metal, fabric, glass and more to demonstrate a whole range of techniques, the versatility of her stamp and multiple effects you can create using a single design.

The Studio at Calf House Studios will be open from 10am-4pm for visits, so you're welcome to head over and see what Lynnda's getting up to!

Hemline releases

Hemline have released some new sewing essentials in the form if the Pro Cut embroidery scissors and premium sewing needles.

These gorgeous hand-crafted scissors feature as new additions to the ever-expanding range of scissors from Hemline. Made from high-quality steel with thicker blades than standard and a comfortable grip, the super-fine tips make them perfect for needlework.

The news scissors are available in a selection of decorative designs and colourways for £11.50.
There's also a new selection of gold eye hand sewing needles, which have been created to offer flawless piercing of fabrics and ensure fabric threads aren't snagged or damaged whilst sewing. Flip-top packs give you both instant organisation and handy storage and there are 12 needle varieties available.

For stockists details email crafts@stockistenquiries.co.uk or call 01453 883581.

The Cake & Bake Show

Looking forward to a bit of a family outing today with mum and Emma to The Cake & Bake Show in Manchester. I'm planning to get back in to baking when I move to Sweden next month, as I've not baked for years and will definitely have more time.

I'm going to take my camera and do a bit of celeb spotting as well as shopping I think!

I'm not expecting a great deal of free samples, but definitely a lighter purse!!

http://thecakeandbakeshow.co.uk/manchester/

Issue 74 readers' gallery call

Morning all! Just putting out a call for layouts to feature in our Scrapbook Magazine issue 74 readers' gallery.

I'm looking for holiday layouts for this one - summer holidays to be precise, so email me over your beach, tropical, overseas and other sunny holiday pages!

Send your layouts to me at lindsey.hopkins@practicalpublishing.co.uk.

Life's a picnic!

Spring is just around the corner (hopefully!) and with the start of the exciting new Great British Sewing Bee there'll be plenty of opportunities to get creative with sewing projects for picnics, parties and more.

Making bright spring and summer accessories to complement your outdoor feasts can be made even easier with Gutermann's Sew All threads for hand and machine sewing, so get creative, get crafting and get outdoors!

A large selection of Gutermann threads is available nationwide from craft and hobby shops. For stockist information email gutermann@stockistenquiries.co.uk or call 01453 883581.

Wedded bliss

Morning all,

Just getting back into the swing of things here after marrying my partner Peter last Thursday! We had an absolutely fabulous day and have both agreed that we'd do everything exactly the same if we had to do things over again.

The venue was superb, the service sensational, the food amazing, our violinist fantastic and everyone had a wonderful time. I really can't fault a thing, so very pleased I spent so long organising the finer details as well as the main ones.

We were married at The Plough Inn, Eaton and the staff there did a fantastic job of making the day run so smoothly. Big thanks especially to Annette who coordinated everything for us.

Our violinist, Mark Ostyn, did a great job of playing for us and our guests before, during and after the ceremony while we were eating. As well as playing the classics, he charmed us with Abba, Loreen, Take That and other pop songs, which was a great hit with the guests.

Finally, here's a piccie of me and dad so you can see the dress in full.

Fiskars additions

I'm loving the new-look handles of these Fiskars kitchen scissors - much more feminine takes on their already popular line of orange-handled scissors!

You can now choose from Coconut, Water, Eggplant and Juicy colours and these are available from www.pandoraupholstery.co.uk.

Felted cuties

Take a look at these gorgeous little felted characters from Dimensions that you can now buy in kits! These characters require just basic needle felting techniques and come with easy-to-follow instructions so they're simple to create.

The kits include 100% wool felt, a felting needle and mat, plus some kits also come with an embroidery needle and floss so you can add extra finishing touches.

The animals available currently include small character kits for a bird, hedgehog, penguin & snowman, medium kits with an owl, monkey, bunny & cat, or large characters for creating a monster, dog, pony & bear.

For stockists details email crafts@stockistenquiries.com or call 01453 883581.