Guess What?

 I won first prize.

Everyone was totally taken with the tree, fascinated at what it was and the detail of it. So many people thought, from a distance, that it looked like velvet and then when they got up close, and realised it was actually tea bags, they were amazed. They didn't even realise, to begin with, who had created it as it sat on my colleagues' desk not mine. Then I got heaps of questions about its creation, the time involved, how I dyed the tea bags etc

So many positive comments and the judges thought so too.

Bring it on 2026. Last year we got 2nd place in the competition and this year 1st place. Got a reputation to maintain here, what will the competition be next year?

It is Finished

 The tree is now finished and just needs to be moved to the office

I am so pleased with the tea pot I found to place on the top. I have the lights pouring out of the spout

Crafting for Work

 Yes, you read that title correctly, I am crafting something for work.

For a competition within our office. Last year there was a Christmas theme decoration of your desk area. We built a Gingerbread house! The post about it can be found here.

This year, it was a Christmas Tree competition. I immediately knew what I wanted to do and so in consultation with my desk/pod mates, I told what I wanted to do, and they were happy to let me run with it.

Quite a few years ago, a friend of mine had created a tree for a display that was quirky, creative, Christmas themed and latched into New Zealand style.

In other words, a New Zealand Tea Tree.

A Christmas tree that represented the native Tea Tree that we have in NZ (Leptospermum, commonly known as Manuka or New Zealand Tea Tree, is a versatile native shrub prized for its vibrant flowers, aromatic foliage, and ecological benefits)

A Tree that represents all of this, made entirely from tea bags, yes, tea bags.

I set about dying over 200 brand new tea bags, four different colours and then laced them onto a wire mesh frame.

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Drying in the sunshine

Almost there, just need to add the top and the lights

Flowers for a Friend

A friend just had some surgery, and I wanted to let her know I was thinking about her, flowers are my way of doing that, and even flowers that will not wilt and die.

I have so much paper to use, but still struggle to decide what colour to create. Although this time, I asked the recipient what her favourite colour was the week before, which gave me at least some form of guidance.

I need to teach myself to make some different shaped flowers so that I can do a bouquet of different flowers and not ones that are all the same shape.

They were greatly received and I love that they will last longer than a fresh bouquet.

Paper Flower Craft

 I don't get to do this very often, not sure if it is because work is just so busy that by the time I get home, I am too tired, or whether I just haven't had the inclination to want to do this craft.

Since moving back to the family home, life has been difficult. With taking 3 months stress leave last year and then a trip away, a family holiday and the chaos when I did go back to work, because we were still very much short staffed and there was so much to achieve, that I just never got my head engaged to get my craft room (aka oldest son's bedroom after he moved out in May 2024) sorted.

It is slowly now coming together, even though I did get the shelves in situ a few months ago. I still have a lot of work to do to finish unpacking boxes of items and also, I keep changing my mind about where things will live, you know, the usual thing, that you put something somewhere and then a few weeks/months later, you change your mind and rearrange everything!

Sadly, last week my youngest son's girlfriend lost her grandfather suddenly and I wanted to make something for her. So, I looked through the craft items I have got out and put on the shelves and decided to make her a small bunch of flowers. I knew she would appreciate the thought.

They turned out really well and I was really happy with the little bouquet when it was finished. She loved them too and thought it was a lovely gesture.

Craft Room

 I have always wanted a craft space to call my own.

My mother has an amazing space for all her material and threads for her embroidery, and yes, there is a very large red sticker on the door informing all that enter that anything in there is mine (one day) Although I will be happy to share some of it with my sister-in-law. My mother knows this, and we laugh about how she can't get rid of anything as I may want it after she is not here any longer. By the way, she is likely to be here for at least the next 5-10 years, so it is not as morose as it sounds!

Ok, one advantage she has is that she lives alone and therefore had every right to transform her spare room into a craft area, no one else was using it!

Me, well obviously for the past 20 years I have been a mother to 2 adorable boys, and while I would never change any of that, I was a very hands-on mother and could never find the time to hide away to do any craft without them coming to find me! I just knew I had to bide my time until they didn't want me as much to be a part of their day.

I did then move out of the house and whilst I did get back into crafting whilst I was away, moving back meant everything got packed up again and it has taken me a long time to actually unpack the boxes.

Since moving back, my eldest son has now moved out. What if he comes back, I hear you say? Yes, he could but seeing as he has moved 600 km away (not that that makes any difference to him wanting to come back) he has also just got engaged to his girlfriend and so I sadly, don't see him wanting to move back home any time soon. But if he did, the room would be his again in a heartbeat.

Until that time ever comes around, then I have moved the furniture around and have started to create a craft storage area. It took time and planning, two things I like. I searched websites for units to use and shelving that may be suitable and finally came up with flat pack kitchen units that were sturdy and cheap from the local hardware store. I measured and planned to gain the best storage space that suited what I needed. I have a combination of several products from 2 stores, and I have plenty of space to put baskets full of items and also some flat shelving for papers etc.

It is not finished, as now I have the fun task of unpacking my boxes and working where each craft item goes as I do several different crafts from paper to knitting, to sewing to anything I want to give a go. Well, apart from painting and drawing, can't do any of that to save my life!

This was the start and then I finally got the last of the units in place. I brought some beautifully stained pine to create a work surface on the top and it is now all secured in place so nothing will move. It is not secured to the wall, as most pieces are away from the wall, but the units are sitting flat on the floor so not going anywhere.

Whilst I may not have a lot of space in this room to create lots of craft and I may still have to move downstairs to a bigger table to complete some things, at least it is stored in the open and I can find what I am looking for, or at least I will be able to when I am finished.