WOYWW 620 - Paper almost too gorgeous to use

Morning from sunny Pembrokeshire.  We are having a long spell of dry weather, which is pleasing hubby as he is working on a field reseeding it for a different crop.  He is hoping for rain from Friday lunchtime, when he will have finished the field and then needs it to grow well.  

I had grand plans to get this blog post published earlier this morning, but then sat down to watch some tv and attempt to start a latch hook rug kit I bought last month.  I used to do a lot of latch hooking back in the 90s, but it must be my 'more mature' mind and I just couldn't figure out how to do the 'hooking'.  I have watched a couple of YouTube videos now, and will attempt again later.  I know it is simple, but I just couldn't coordinate my hands/hook/yarn.  Anyone else do latch hook?

My crafty work table on this fine Wednesday shows a paper pack I ordered from the tv craft channel which used to be called Hochanda a while ago.  It finally arrived yesterday and is as gorgeous as shown on the tv.  I am determined to get using it straightaway, well within a few days when I have finished some blogging/Etsy stuff/Pinterest etc.

You can also see my bullet journal and the various pens etc that I was using at the weekend to do this week's pages.  Cheap pens from Amazon and Arteza, which do a good job for the price.

I recovered from my first Covid vaccine within a couple of days.  Horrible at the time, but worth it.  Everything is starting to open up again in Wales.  I went to my friend's craft shop in Milford Haven last week (go and see Cheryl @ InHouse Crafts if you are ever over in Pembrokeshire - she has a treasure trove of a shop with a big variety of stash).  I have booked for my first craft workshop on 21st May - making mobiles/wall hangings from air dry clay.  Very exciting to be out and about again.  

We have decided to treat me to my own electric car.  We bought our Jaguar I Pace in August and it is fantastic (would never go back to petrol/diesel again).  However, it is a big car and I worry about parking in tight spots.  Used to have a Smart many years ago and always wanted another one.  They do an electric version now, and I plan to go and test drive in Swansea soon.  We have solar panels/battery storage, plus charger for the car, on one of the farmyard sheds closest to the house.  With some changes in routine with dishwasher/washing machine etc, we are mainly using free electricity from the sun now.  Most of our car journeys are from this free electricity too, so we are saving a huge amount of money each year.

Hope everyone is well.  I was very sad to hear about the passing of Victoria Thatcher last week from Covid.  She was an incredible digital designer, famous for her printable planner kits, and was always so lovely when ever I contacted her over the years.  RIP Victoria xx

If anyone would like to join in with WOYWW (What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday) this week, click HERE.

Ali x

WOYWW 619 - Can you tell what it is yet?

Morning - from a sunny Pembrokeshire.  I was going to show you all sorts of things in my craft room, but I continue to be affected by the past week (more about that below) and just have no ‘get up and go’.  Instead I share a photo of my latest diamond painting project, which I started with enthusiasm last week and haven’t touched since!  It is a Disney Rapunzel design for my eldest granddaughter, who will have a new bedroom to decorate when our house purchase finally completes.

Really pretty colours - and I promise to get more done today!

After struggling with a flare of Fibromyalgia and Psoriasis symptoms last week, including a couple of days of severe dizziness (where I was struggling to move around the house), we then went out on Saturday for hubby to have his first COVID vaccine.  My appointment was for this Thursday, but I asked him to check whether they could fit me in too.  They did, and I was so impressed with the organisation and how lovely all the staff and volunteers are (been far too long being isolated on the farm).  My arm was painful almost immediately, but I had expected that (I have reacted negatively to the flu jab in the past).  However, within a few hours I was in a lot of pain all over, headache, flu symptoms and nausea.  This only got worse into Sunday, and I only started to improve on Monday morning.  Thankfully back to my normal yesterday, except no enthusiasm for anything and very poor concentration.  I have been taking it easy.  

I am in a COVID symptoms study, and they had asked me to do another test.  We posted that yesterday afternoon, and got a negative result early this morning,  Very impressed with the speed.  It shows how Fibromyalgia symptoms can be confused with so many different illnesses and conditions.

Therefore, my week has been a lot of watching tv, pottering about the house doing only the bare minimum and shopping online for various birthdays this month.

At least the sun is shining most days!  Hope everyone is well and happy.

Ali x 

Ps.  For anyone interested in learning more about the Colop EMark I featured in my blog post last week, there is a show starting on Create & Craft right now (9.45 am, Wednesday)

WOYWW 618 - Owl ATC & Colop E-Mark

It is still just about morning here, and I was determined to get a blog post typed today.  Was shocked to see how many weeks I have missed with this global hop around crafty workspaces (click HERE to join in).  I have been super-busy earning money with Matched Betting, and the Cheltenham Festival is named 'Cheltmas' in that community, so I joined in just to see how much money I could make over the 4 days.  I have decided not to continue with horseracing betting, so glad that I did try it out this year - and I made over £300 (my usual monthly target).  Flare ups of my chronic pain and preparing for the first family visit since Christmas 2019 last week also kept me away from blogging.

I have been crafting quite a bit, and deliveries of crafty stash have arrived (I treated myself as a reward for all the time I have spent with Matched Betting). 

You can see the latest delivery from Create & Craft (please remember to go through TopCashback to get the 5% cash) on my crafty table.  It is a Colop E-Mark, which does multi-colour stamping - on all sorts of materials.  I also bought a selection of the accessories including ribbon and labels.  I have been watching the tv shows for a few years and always wanted one of these latest models (I had one of the original ones many years ago, which you had to put cartridges in to get the designs.  This one links via wifi to an app and you can can do any words/images.)   Already made a birthday card for a friend - with personalised ribbon on it, plus toppers/insert.  There is a lot to learn to take advantage of everything it can do.  Anyone else got one?

I am also in the process of getting an owl ATC made for a trade.  I actually got my dies and Sizzix machine out for this.  It just needs sticking together and then I can get it in the post this afternoon.

All busy here - with solar panels being fitted to the roof of the shed that is closest to the house.  This is a garage now (new electric door fitted), with charger for our electric car - and it will also be a workshop for bikes etc.

I will get around blogs later and catch up with what everyone is doing.

Ali x

ps  I am doing a Tarot course this month and will need some 'guinea pigs' to practice on (haven't done any readings for a couple of years, so decided a refresher course would be useful).  If anyone would like a reading, email me at aliwade1971@gmail.com.

WOYWW 614 - adding to my Crafters Companion 'A Year of Craft'

Morning, everyone - from a windy and wet Pembrokeshire.  Hope everyone is happy and that March is being kind to you so far.

I have some new additions to my craft room in the past week.   There has been some crafty projects finished (Thank You cards and ATCs).  Check out my Instagram for photos of those (@aliwadedesigns).  I also show my progress in my latest Diamond Painting project over there.

I bought a bag of random wood shapes from Etsy to do some different pyrography projects.  I also saw one of the latest Facebook Lives by Craft Buddy with their latest stamp sets for  crystal art (aka diamond painting), and couldn't resist the set with the daffodils (my favourite flowers).  I bought the main set of drawers for the Crafters Companion 'A Year of Craft' at the beginning of the year, and they promised further additions.  I happened to turn on Create & Craft last week, and there it was - another layer, and perfect to create my Mothers Day and Easter cards.

Lets get straight to the photos.

I am going to create the teapot-shaped card for my Mum today - and will do a separate blog post.

Edited to add - here is the finished card.

Definitely going to be keeping indoors for today and tomorrow, until this storm has passed.

Ali x

Making Money Online : earn money for crafty stash!

This blog post contains affiliate links.

Hi, everyone.  For years I have not been able to work outside the home/our farm and property businesses.  Fibromyalgia and Psoriasis make my daily life very unpredictable, and I would not be able to commit to regular hours of a job.

However, I want to earn some money - preferably passive (ie not making items and having to package them up/arrange couriers etc).  I have my Etsy shop, where I sell various digital items, and had been earning money through TopCashback for years - but then I saw Matched Betting mentioned by a blogger on Instagram.  I was curious.  She was earning upto £800 per month and had no previous betting knowledge, just like myself.

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I am a 50 year old Farmer's Wife from very rural Pembrokeshire.  If I can do this, then you can too.  I have introduced a few friends to these ways of making money online, and they are all addicted too - and making more money than me!

I also earn money through cashback sites.  I have used TopCashback for many years and use it for everything.  Always check it first before spending anything online.  You can even get cash for getting insurance quotes.  It literally is free money and I am always surprised that everyone isn't using it.  Create & Craft are on there!

Another very popular cashback site is Quidco.

Last month I found 20Cogs, which is a site where you earn cash for signing up to various websites or doing free trials (especially Amazon Prime video channels).  It takes a bit more time and effort.  I recommend setting up a folder within your emails and moving everything relating to 20Cogs into there.  It makes it easier to keep track of everything.  However, I have earned over £100 from there so far, so definitely worth doing.

Ali x

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WOYWW 612 - something strange is happening on my crafty table!

Good morning to you all from a misty and damp Pembrokeshire.  More high winds and rain forecast for later, but then the return of high pressure and some settled weather for the weekend.

However, I am not here to give you a weather forecast, but to share my crafty workspace - along with many other crafters from around the world.  Join in HERE.

I have actually been crafting!  New stash from my recent 50th birthday and a realisation that I can't spend all my time earning money has made me put aside time most days for some creativity.  (Apologies in advance to Julia - there will be more photos than normal, as I catch up from my recent absence.)

Firstly, needle felting.  I have done a fair bit of stabbing wool with needles in the past, and then saw the first 'Craft For Cats' mentioned on Facebook.  This Saturday we will have a 'Felt-a-Long' creating cats - and half of the money goes to The Cats Protection.  This is the kit from the fabulous The Makerss - enough to create 2 cats.  I am going to do Milky (our white cat) and then attempt a tabby (in memory of Tiger, one of the farm cats).  If anyone wants to join in, then be quick, as I know that they will post a kit out today.  The workshop will be recorded anyway.

This is my crafty table this morning.  My pyrography kit is open (left the tool to cool down yesterday), which was a birthday present from my elder sister.  There is a pack of carbon paper, which I ordered from Amazon so I can transfer printed designs onto wood.  I have created one thank you card so far - from my stash of diamond painting greeting cards.  Also my small collection of card sentiments created with the WeRMemoryKeepers spray pen set, that I treated myself to when I saw it demonstrated on Create & Craft recently.

The first card I have created using a combination of the spray pen and my very first attempt at pyrography, which I am very proud of !  My stepson and his girlfriend got engaged at the weekend.  I cut up a piece of double-sided card from my scrapbooking stash, which you will understand was quite difficult.  This is the sort of card that sits in a drawer and gets stroked occasionally!  The wood texture is very realistic.  

The above photos show the spray pen set (which came with extra pens and stencils) and some of my first playing session.  It is as fun as I thought it would be and will be much used.

I have plenty of crafting planned for the coming week - a Disney diamond painting ATC, more pyrography, scrapbooking and the needle felting.  Follow me on Instagram (@aliwadedesigns) for almost daily updates.

Ali x

WOYWW 609 - diamond painting on a smaller scale

Happy WOYWW.  What is On Your Workdesk Wednesday is our weekly tour around crafty workspaces, wherever they are.  Join in HERE.

It is early morning (woken by a random allergic reaction, which makes me sneeze), so I am showing the crafting I did on the sofa last night.  I needed to send a card and found this beautiful butterfly design in my pile of diamond painting cards.  It was really quick to finish and looks great.  

I do have some scrapbooking planned for this week (waiting for a kit to arrive, which has stash and instructions for at least 6 layouts) and also that notebook holder to finish (was ill this weekend, so no crafting happened).  Otherwise I continue with my larger diamond painting canvas.

Hope that everyone is well.

RIP Captain Sir Tom.

Ali x