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.

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.

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!

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...

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.

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!!!

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.