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.

Interflora

 As I spent half my life in the UK prior to moving to NZ then I still have many connections and family back home. I completed all of my schooling in England, and my nurse training. I was 27 when I moved to NZ.

So, when I heard that a very dear friend had lost their mother then I needed to pay my respects. Now for obvious reasons, attending the funeral was not going to be a happening thing, so the next best was to let them know they were being thought of.

With online shopping a way that has made the world so small nowadays then sending flowers was never going to be an issue. Although I am always wary of what I am going to pay for and what actually arrives?

This time, I was happy with what arrived, and the flowers received were appreciated for the gesture that they were intended.

Jigsaw 12 - Sunny Villa

 When one thinks of a summer holiday then this is what I think of, plenty of sunshine and a quiet area to swim in the pool whenever you want during the day.

New Zealand has some amazing summers, but it doesn't hold the temperature from the day into the night when outside. I remember summers in America, and it was just as hot at 10pm as it was at 10am, and you could swim most of the evening and not get cold. Here you definitely need a sweater and jeans by 8pm if sitting outside as it gets a lot cooler.

Jigsaw 11 - Paint Craft

 The final one in the series of four from the Artistic Flair series that I completed the other 3 of last year in April and October.

I am glad that I had taken time out and done other styles in between as this would have been boring immediately after the others due to the design of the cat, the shelves and the general theme. But glad I was able to complete the series as it was still one that I really liked all the pictures in the series, despite the slightly boring repetitive nature of them.

Jigsaw 10 - Sewing Love

 I knew as soon as I bought this one that it would be one that purely got completed with the picture in my hand constantly!

Every piece was more or less the same and the picture/words on the end of each spool is repeated at some stage, so it took concentration to ensure you were putting them in the correct area.

Once I had pieces laid on the board things suddenly came together, and I was able to finish without the picture but that was only because I had got use to the spools and what they said so I knew where everything went!

Jigsaw 9 - Christmas Village

 Yes, I know 4 months late for Christmas, it is not that holiday time yet, but I had several from a sale that I attended and I suddenly needed something different to do, so went for a couple of Christmas ones. This is the first a few holiday themed ones that I have in my pile of to be completed.

It is also one of my first official eeBoo ones and I love the colour and size of the square. It is very shiny and vibrant.

Jigsaw 8 - Pottery Class

 Lots of different colours involved but also some vast areas of the same colour that made it a challenge to complete easily. The white shelf was annoying lol and definitely made me have to use the picture a lot.