Advent Swaps and a Crochet Virgin

Another chilly morning in Oxford today
I can't believe it's Christmas in 6 days! Manic!
I've been meaning to update my blog with my recent advent swaps from my lovely twitter friend Judith
Here are the gifts from last week...

   

Aren't they all fabulous?
I also received 2 Cath Kidston booklets for Day 11 and 19 but i've lost the little tags.
I hope Judith likes her swap items, i've tried my best getting things that she said she likes and enjoys so hopefully i've done my bit :)

With Christmas round the corner, i thought i'd have a go at making some orange and cranberry decorations to hang on each of our doors.
I must say when they were cooking away they smelt delicious! I put them on the radiator for an extra day to make sure they were dry and attatched the cinnamon sticks i brought from a lovely little french market.

I am a Crochet virgin.
I've always wanted to learn and lots of people say it's easier than knitting (which i am a VERY basic knitter) So with my new crochet kit i got from my swap, and a massive book on crochet and knitting for my birthday, i got started. I found it hard learning from the book so turned to good old YouTube for help.
I found a great link to a lady in Australia that teaches how to make little crochet flowers..
For my first ever attempt, i am very pleased with it.
Not bad for my first go eh?

What do you think?

I think i'll turn it into a little brooch for my coat.
I can't believe how easy i found it, i think i'll definatley be sticking to crochet from now on!
Another little project i'm working on is a quilt for my sons 2nd birthday.
He is obsessed with 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' book, so i ordered some lovely fabric online and cut them up into patchwork squares. But i won't show you a picture just yet ;)

Anyway. Hope your all having a lovely christmas break, and all ready for the big day!
Love to you all, Jodi xx

Advent Swap Day 3 -8

Evening!
I know i said in my last post that i would blog every other day during the advent swap, but i have a stall at a school christmas fete tomorrow evening so i've been preparing for that.
But here are my lovely swap goodies from the lovely Judith...

How beautiful are they all!?
The sweets are half gone, there were more Reindeers but they've already been strung up ;) The bookmark is in my current read, the soap smells divine, decoration is on the tree!
I hope Judith likes the gifts i have sent/made for her. I will put a bunch of pictures together of Judiths gifts, i forgot to take pictures before i wrapped and sent them! Whoops!

Anyway i better get going, want to get some last minute stitching done before my stall tomorrow!
Hope your all having a lovely week!
Love to you all, Jodi xx

I'ma bad blogger :(

I have been a very bad blogger... My last post was nearly a month ago :(
BUT! I have been incredibly busy and i had a very bad virus that has been sucking the life out of me. Now i'm feeling much better and can start blogging again.
The reason i've been so busy as i have taken part in Hookin With Lala's Christmas Advent Swap. I was a little late putting my name down, but my lovely twitter friend Judith wanted to take part too so we paired up.
I received a lovely box of goodies, and here are my 2 first swap items...

The earrings are beautiful, and i plan to make lots of christmassy cakes, So the cupcake cases will come in very handy!
Really been looking forward to this swap, and i look forward to each days little suprises. Judith doesn't have a Blog and i forgot to take pictures of what i sent to her. So i will get some pictures and post them on the next blog post.

I can't believe its Christmas in 23 days!!
AHHHHHHHH! SO EXCTING :D

Finlay is extremely looking forward to it, we put all our decs and tree up on Tuesday and he loved it! I think it will be nicer for him this year as he understands it a bit more, last year he was just interested in the wrapping paper and boxes.

Anyway, i won't be blogging everyday. But i will put a picture from each day on every other post.
Hope your all having a lovely week, and have a great weekend!

Love to you all, Jodi xx

My Cupcake Swap & Homemade Pizza!

Today i received my Cupcake Swap parcel from
The Krafty Cupcake

I was so utterly suprised about the quantity of goodies i got, and i will admit, like my last swap i entered. I did get a little emotional. Some people are so incredibly kind, and i really hope that Sue enjoys mine.

All my wonderful goodies, Thank you so much Sue :)

Strawberry Scented Cupcake Cushion

Aren't they beautiful? I got 10 of these gorgeous Rose cupcake toppers

I hope you have all had a fabulous Swap, looking forward to seeing all your parcels filled with goodies!

Keep your eyes peeled for a future 100 Follower Giveaway

:)

On another note...

Me and Finlay went for a long walk this morning. We went down the river, to the park, post office (to send m swap parcel) and to Sainsburys to grab some 'pizza supplies'

We made Mini Naan Pizzas, with cheese, tomato, ham and peppers.

I cut up all the ingredients so Finlay could put what he liked on his naan, this didn't work...

He just ate all the ham and cheese!

So Mummy helped him (a teeny tiny bit)

Here is Finlay's homemade pizza!!

Doesn't it look delicious!?

Finlay enjoying his yummy pizza :)

I bought Annabel Karmel's new book 'Top 100 Meals in Minutes'
It is FANTASTIC!
Finlay is much more adventurous with his food now, so really looking forward to creating new recipes.

Hope you've had a lovely day, it's been very sunny here :)
Love to you all, Jodi xx

Bank holiday monday

Just thought i'd share with you a new creation.
My cousin Emma is going away to University in September, so i'm making her a box of 'homely' goodies as a suprise leaving present.
I wasn't really sure what to make, but i know she's taking lots of photos of family with her so decided a photo frame was a good idea...

What do you think?

I've put together some bunting aswel, but not sure what else to do...
Do you have any ideas?

On another note!
How is everyones cupcake swap going? Have you all got in touch with your partners? I'm sending my parcel on wednesday, just need to get a few more bits then i'm done :)

I've just started making some christmas bits now, which will be going into my Folksy shop very soon.

It's only a small post today i'm afraid, been very busy cleaning as my family are coming over for a visit tomorrow, so i'm trying to tidy away all my crafty bits!
Hope you all had a lovely bank holiday weekend xx

Swap Partners!

Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone that has entered the Cupcake Swap!
Partners are listed below...

Peonies&Pennies & Scratchy Cat
Pink Poppy & Sew Ray Me
Giddy Stuff & Bea
Paulas Carfty Boutique & Polka Dot Classic
Lissy Lou & Pretty Little Jewels
Beki Marie & Gem
Pickle Lily & Kandi Pandi
Crafts @ Home & Mad About Bags
Oh Sew Beautiful & The Krafty Cupcake
The Patchwork Heart & The Snail Garden
Kelly & Caroline
Keshling & Shabby Chic Sarah

Please contact your swap partner and discus timescale, likes and dislikes.
You can send absolutely anything to do with cupcakes...
Fabric
Candles
Gifts
Books
Cards
Cookware Etc.
As a special extra, please try and make a Handmade Gift too :)

I hope you are all happy with your partners, if you don't receive any contact in the next few days. Message me and i will try and get hold of them.
I cannot be held responsible for any loss/damages of packages, but i will try my very best to resolve any problems that might occur.

I hope you all have a fabulous swap!

Just a quick one...

I've been neglecting my Blog recently...

(Not on purpose!)

My first Craft Stall is on the 25th August, so i'm really trying to get my stock up, especially with Christmas around the corner!

I've been incredibly busy sorting out prices, fabrics, invoices and all the other bits that comes with having your own business :)

Just thought i'd share something i made today...

A trio of hanging hearts, they were going to be filled with Lavender. But if i'm completely honest i couldn't be bothered and just wanted to put my feet up and relax, so used cotton filling instead.

I've had lots of interest on my FB page OhSewBeautiful
I have managed to sell lots of Candles, Cards and Heart Plaques.
Really happy with the way things are going for me at the moment. I never had the confidence to do anything like this a year ago!
Extremely excited to see what the future brings :)

DON'T FORGET TO JOIN MY CUPCAKE SWAP!!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!
Love to you all, Jodi xx

Fancy a Swap?

I'm organizing a Cupcake themed Swap!
Everyone loves Cupcakes, so why not make a normal Swap...
A bit more fun!?
You can include anything that is Cupcake related
Fabric, Soap, Candles, Jewellery, Books etc.
If you can make a Handmade gift aswel that will make the swap extra special :)
The Closing date will be Saturday 20th August, I will announce the Swap partners at 12:00pm

If you would like to join in the Swap, you must be a follower and leave a comment on this post.
Please feel free to also add the Button to your Blog Page :)

My Fabric Swap

Today i received my parcel for KandiPandi's Fabric Swap.
I was partnered with the lovely Clobell
This is what i got :)

Fabric bundle

Knitting Needle bag full of goodies

Beautiful Polka Dot Mug

Plum Candle, it smells delicious!

Handmade Crochet Bunting by Chloe

Finlay got a present too :)

I'm so pleased with my Swap, I hope Chloe enjoys her parcel too!
Thank you KandiPandi for organizing such a great Swap and pairing me up with such a lovely lady.
Hope everyone else had a great Swap :)
Love to you all,
Jodi xx