Wednesday 11 August 2010

It's been a while!

Gosh I haven't written on here for nearly a month now. So much has happened since then. Firstly Klara's Crafts had a really good month last month, the best since I have opened. We had our first Summer Fete down at the barn which went really well, a few showers on the day but it worked out well for me as is brought the customers into the shop. I have had a few customer orders over the last couple of weeks which has kept me busy from Fimo Owls to childrens parties. Also been making more Fimo worms for band memebers. I don't think people realise that they can take about 2 hours to make and a few cursed words!! From a hound point of view the happy hounds haven't been up to much. We had a lovely run on the beach the other night. Milo was really good and didn't run off. As long as he has his toy and someone to throw it for him he is happy. Mimi is too busy wanting to chase the seaguls. With all this rain we have been having we haven't been out for a long walk in a while, will have to sort out another Delamere Forest walk. Greyhound Rescue West of England have their Summer Fair and Dog show in Frodsham on the 21st August. I may put the hounds into some of the classes but I don't know if they will be happy about that. On a side note I have a new boyfriend who is lovely. He loves the hounds, of course or wise he would have no chance and makes me really happy.

Saturday 10 July 2010

Worms!

No I don't have a worm problem! I made my first Fimo worm about 10 years ago for a bit of fun and even made small ones to sit on top of a computer screen. Looking through my Fimo (modeling clay you bake in the oven) I thought about my worms and that I should make more. They were a bit bigger than the first creation but I kept their faces the same. I started to wondered if I could add things to them. I friend of mine plays the guitar and I want to try and make a guitar playing worm. Not as easy as it sounds. The use of cocktail sticks helped. After 2 hours the master piece was finished and my friend was pleased with the result. Not sure how I ended up making the worm work like him though!!! I hope you like it.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Delamere Forest

The Happy Hounds and I went to Delamere Forest on Sunday for a lovely walk. Mimi couldn't wait to jump out the car. The weather was lovely that time of the morning as it hadn't got too hot for the dogs. Even walking in the shade of the trees can get abit warm for them. We were stopped by a lovely gentleman who had two whippets with him. We did the usual chatting about sight hounds and what happens to them. I was explain about Mr Milo having his shy days when the man said 'Your from GRWE and I am sure I have met your dogs before.' It is strange how people know your dogs but not you. I doubt the hounds have been out and about with out me so it must have been at an event somewhere. Small world! We carried on with our walk but Mr Milo was starting to feel tired and was dragging his paws along. Mimi was pleased to see and horse which past us and looked disappointed when I wouldn't let her play with it. Maybe next time Mimi. Once back to the car, fed and watered we head off home not before stopping off at Lady Hayes to buy some material to make cushions, spent more than I should have done but what the heck you can't take it with you!

Thursday 1 July 2010

My new creation

My Mum has called these 'Silent Wind chimes' but I am going to go with Mobiles. They are made by sewing to pieces of shaped felt together by hand and then sewing another coloured piece of felt in the middle. The ribbon is attached at the bottom between the two felt pieces. They are great for putting out in the garden or even in a children's bedroom. They are lovely to watch waving in the breeze. I have already put them on folksy.com and they have had a few looks at. I have plans for more involving farm animals so watch this space as they say...

Monday 21 June 2010

A very greyhound weekend

What a weekend the hounds and I had.
On Saturday we were in Formby Village doing a street collection. We were the only ones that turned up so stayed for 4 hours before calling it a day. My friend Rob came along with lunch and took some lovely photos of the hounds. We raised £58 which is not bad. The hounds had a great time but Mimi started to get tired towards the end. It is so hard being a diva. Milo was a bit shy at first but once he realised people were there to give him cuddles he was happy.
One man walked past and heard Milo doing his silly whinnying and came back to put a pound in the tin. I don't know if it was out of sympathy or to shut Milo up.
Sunday was the Great British Greyhound Walk. I was a bit worried about this event and was not really sure how many people were going to turn up. I had a panic attack the night before when it was pointed out to me that I had put the wrong postcode on the posters!! It was Rob to the rescue again and offered to stay at the wrong postcode address and tell people the correct location of the event, thanks Rob.
As soon as I got to the beach there were greyhounds already there waiting. Over the next hour or so 61, yes 61 greyhounds and their owners arrived. What a sight! We did a little walk along the beach but as the weather was really hot we didn't go too far. Some of the hounds were allowed a run and got covered in mud. I am glad Milo and Mimi stayed on their leads as I would hate to have put them back in the car covered in mud.
We had a raffle which raised £76, this money will go towards helping other greyhounds find their forever homes.
A lot of people were asking when the next walk will be, looking at Milo and Mimi I think they will want to wait a few more weeks before we have a weekend like that again.

Monday 14 June 2010

Veggies

My mum is a keen gardener and has her own allotment growing a lot of our vegetables for the year.
I had made some of these veggie tags a few years ago and never did anything with them. With Father's Day coming up I thought they would make a great present.
Some were easier to make than others. I used Fimo and moulds to create these and I must say so myself they look good. I coated them with varnish to make them a bit more water proof and hard wearing.
I am going to put them on my folksy shop and sell them in my own shop. They will make a great presents for any gardener. I am really pleased with them but I maybe biased as I am a vegetarian!!!

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Cutie Clothes Cushion

I had had this idea for a while but was not sure if it would work or not.
I have brought a child's small t-shirt from the charity shop and turned it into a cushion!
The t-shirt was girly and pattern which was great to give the cushion some colour. I sewed up the bottom on the t-shirt and sewed up the inner part of the arms and stuffed it with filler. I wasn't sure whether to fill the arms also or leave them as they were. To stop all the stuffing coming out I stitched up the collar and buttoned shoulder.
The arms didn't look right without the stuffing so they too were stuffed.
I think this will be a great idea for someone with small children. We all know that children outgrow their clothes before they have had their full wear and with some children's clothes costing a lot it seems a shame to have to give them away or store them in a box.
Why not turn that cute top or dress into a cushion which they can treasure forever?
Please get in touch if you would like your children's clothes to be turned into cushions.

The finished Gift Bag

Here it is!!!
I made the bag for the customer order. It only took a day but I really enjoyed making it.
The bag is made from start to finish using a large piece of cream card. I used a friends machine to cut the letters out, the only trouble was the cutter couldn't make it through the red card so I had to go around each letter and cut them out. The bag does sit flat so he could pack it in his suitcase! I hope she likes it and they have a lovely wedding.

Friday 4 June 2010

Gift Bag

I have been asked to make a personalised gift bag for a bride with her 'new' name on it. The groom hasn't given me much time (this Tuesday) but I do love a challenge. The bag will have her married name on and the date of their lovely day. I hope I don't disappoint on this. At least I have a colours to work with so there is a start. I think it is going to be a bit of a busy weekend. I will put pictures on when i have finished the masterpiece! On Sunday I am hoping to go to a 'Green' Fayre in Liverpool (this all depends on the above post) This is my kind of thing and I am really looking forward to it. I will keep you all posted on Monday of Crafty Klara and her happy hounds busy weekend!! Hope you all enjoy yours whatever it is you maybe doing ;)

Thursday 27 May 2010

Peace Snoods

I have been knitting away even with this hot weather. I love knitting these snoods for the greyhounds. We sell them for the charity to help raise funds while our greyhounds look tres chic. With me being a bit of a 'hippy' I thought it would be good to past this on to the greyhounds. The colours are in the chakra theme and with my greyhounds being black the colours really stand out.
Normally Mimi likes wearing the snoods but I thought I would try in on Milo. He is not a big fan on the 'dressing up' unless it is a coat to keep warm. He really liked the snood but wouldn't stand still when I wanted to take his photo. Mimi felt she was missing out and tried to get in on the photos, she is such a diva.
I am really enjoying knitting these snoods. Hopefully we will have a good stock pile for the cold weather. It does seem strange knitting snoods in this warm weather but I think I have lots of time before the cold weather comes back.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Alan Dart Knitting Patterns

Just had a lovely customer in the shop looking for things with a farmyard theme. She has her own rare breed chickens and is doing a show in Wales and she wanted some items to go on her table. I showed her my knitted chicks I make for the charity which are stuffed with 'bath bombs'. She bought all 7 of them and told me about this lovely website by a designer called Alan Dart.
I have had a look at his website and the designs are fab! Whether you are a dog lover or into fairy magic there is a little something for everyone. You buy the patterns on line in a PDF using Paypal and there are reasonably priced. You can use some of the patterns to knit for charity sales. I just love them all and don't know where to start. My knitting skills are not that good so I think I will start with something that looks 'easy'.

Tuesday 25 May 2010

What a weekend!

What a busy weekend me and the happy hounds had.
The shop was busy on Saturday with lots of people coming and going. I did sit outside for a bit but got sunburnt!
Sunday we were off to Warrington to a charity event at a school fair. It was only 25 mins away, so I loaded up the car with GRWE stuff and my hounds and off we went. Matt who was organising the event had given me the postcode for the school which I looked up on multi map. It was a bit quite when I got to the school so I phoned Matt who informed me that I was at the wrong school! Milo and Mimi were not happy and let me know this. To make a long story short Matt had to come and rescue me as my A-Z didn't have the road the new school was on. Our 25 min journey turn into 90 mins.
Once we were there and all the 'hello's' had been said (people and dogs) we sat down for a lovely day. It was abit too hot for the dogs at times but they found the shade, this involved Mimi trying to get under the table, good thinking!!
I had two very tired hounds that evening but a good day was had by all.
I am spending today knitting snoods for the dogs but don't worry they are for the Winter not this time of year. I am a slow knitter.

Wednesday 19 May 2010

My First Blog

Welcome to my blog. I thought I would share with you some of the things I get up to in my shop in Little Crosby, Liverpool and also the work I do for a charity called Greyhound Rescue West of England.