Busy Doing Nothing Much

This week is our half-term break.  And – sorry to those of you slaving away at work this week – I’m having a great time, busily doing nothing much!

My parents flew over from the UK last Thursday, with my long-awaited latest issues of ‘Making’ and ‘Mollie Makes’.  So, I’ve been trying to steal a few quiet moments to have a little read (or at least a quick look at all the lovely photos).  Of course, I’ve spotted MORE projects to add to my ‘to do’ list, and more things I “NEED” – that will be added to the bottom of my (very long) letter to Santa!  I told you in my last post - these magazines are NOT purse-friendly!

As I’ve got my mom here with me for the week, we’ve (of course) managed to fit in a few shopping trips!  Well, it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it???  We were meandering around a department store (‘Karstadt’) the other day, and I just happened to stumble upon their haberdashery department – SURPRISE!!!  I got some bargain yarn, for €1.50 for 50g.  I bought 6 different colours, as there were so many gorgeous colours to choose from – and it was sooooo lovely and soft!  Here are 4 of the colours – you can see the other 2 later on in the post. 

Today, I sneakily bought my first few Christmas decorations of 2011 (I’m sure there will be plenty more to come over the next few weeks).  I got them from a beautiful shop called ‘Home and Garden’.

I also bought these toadstools from the same shop.  Aren’t they cute?!?

Oh, and one more purchase I wanted to share with you – these cute and colourful mugs (from ‘Buttlers’):

While I have my mom here to supervise/sort out my mess-ups, I thought I’d start knitting a hat I’ve had my eyes on for some time.  I’m using two colours of the soft, soft yarn I bought from Karstadt – a really bright red and a greyish-taupe colour.  I’m going as quickly as I can with it, as I want my mom to show me how to sew up the seams before she goes home.  Don't laugh at me, all you pro-knitters!  Here's the hat so far:

I know this is really silly, but I think that one of the reasons I’m enjoying this project so much is the fact that the yarn colours match so well with the colours on my needles!  AND they also look pretty with my bright blue stitch counter. 

AND, the WHOLE THING looks great with my knitting bag!!!  Haha!!!  ;-)

What else have I been up to this week???  Hmmm.....  We've been eating out a fair bit, we've been to the zoo, we've been to an ice-hockey match (Duesseldorf won - yippeeeee), and we've been to visit my sister in Cologne.  We've also been working on our Halloween costumes.....  But that's a whole different blog post.....  

See you all soon.....

Carly

x

Mollie Makes Magazine Review

I’ve posted a few times about my ongoing love affair with ‘Making’ magazine.  But I haven’t yet mentioned my fling with ‘Mollie Makes’.  I have a huge quandary here because, you see, I can’t decide which one I love the most!!!

In trying to review ‘Mollie Makes’ here, I’ll have to make a few comparisons and weigh up the merits of each.  Maybe that’ll help me to decide between them – and then I can perhaps save myself some money.  This two-timing is an expensive business, you see!

Well, Mollie Makes is REALLY GORGEOUS!!!  

The photography and colours are delicious and (I know this may sound a little weird, but...) I LOVE the feel of the paper it’s printed on!  The whole thing looks - and feels - VERY different from ‘Making’.  In my head, I explain the main difference like this.....  The look of ‘Making’ (being more organized, structured, fresh and colour-coded) is more closely matched to my ACTUAL personal style (of craft, dress, home decor, and personality).  Whereas, the look of ‘Mollie Makes’ (being more boho, cluttered, cute and quirky) reflects what I’d LIKE to be more like..... If that makes any sense!?!?  Basically, what I mean is, the styles of the two magazines are very different, but I love the aesthetic of both!

The ‘Mollie Makes’ tagline is ‘Living & Loving Handmade’, and I reckon that reflects really well what the magazine’s all about.  There’s definitely a focus on crafty lifestyles and living.  It’s chock-a-block full of photos of random inspirational ideas, beautiful handmade things to buy, and other people’s amazing homes and studios.  There's not as much ‘reading’ as there might be, but I guess this is made up for by the sheer volume and lusciousness of the photos!

Also, there aren’t as many projects in this magazine as there in ‘Making’.  BUT the projects they DO include are super-cute, and most of them look reasonably quick and simple.  I haven’t tried any out yet (although there are quite a few on my ever-expanding ‘to do’ list).  But I’ll be sure to let you know how I get on when I do!

If the shortage of projects in ‘Mollie Makes’ is seen as a negative, it should win back a fair few brownie points for its free gifts!  Each issue comes with a kit and instructions for making a sweet little something-or-other.  All the kits I’ve collected so far look pretty easy to make, although I haven’t made any of them YET (more things on my ‘to do’ list).  Again, I’ll let you know.....  One issue came with a kit to make three really cute felt rings.  I’ve cut out the felt already – now I just need to sew the pieces together.  If only there were more hours in the day!!! 

Well, as you’ve probably guessed, writing this post has NOT helped me to decide between ‘Making’ and ‘Mollie Makes’!  Both are special to me in their own ways, and I can’t bring myself to part with either at the moment!  So, sorry purse!!!

If you’ve read either (or both) or these magazines, I love to hear from you!  What do YOU think???

By the way, my parents are coming over for a visit in a few days – and they’re bringing me the two latest issues of BOTH mags!  Woohoo!!!

Until next time.....

Carly

x

This week, I've been mostly.....

As lots of my recent blogs have been about what I got up to on my jollies, I thought I should up-date you on what I’ve been doing now I’m back in the real world.....

Well, since we got back from the UK, I’ve been mostly working on things for my online shop.  I know it’s been a long time coming (with holidays and work and other projects getting in the way), but I’m ALMOST ready to open the doors!  I could have opened my little store earlier, but I wanted to have enough things in it to make browsing worthwhile, and to show some of the different things I like to make.  I’ve never tried selling Crafted by Carly thingies online before, so I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing.  But it’s also really exciting!

My latest makes for the shop have been these gadget pouches (which are perfectly iphone-sized):

I’ve also been making tags for all of the things I’ve made for the shop so far.  It was so much fun – seriously!  Making my tags involves so many of my favourite things: buttons, pretty papers, matching up colours, cutting and sticking.....  They looked so happy and colourful sitting on my desk – I just HAD to arrange them in different patterns and take some photos:

I've been having fun between my merry making sessions, too!  While we were at my parents in the summer, I ordered six back-issues of ‘Making’ magazine.  Naughty, I know!!!  I opened the package when we got home, and I have been enjoying a good read and visual feast every evening since then:

Six ‘Making’ mags in one go!  Can you imagine what my ‘Projects to Try One Day’ list is looking like now?!?

I’ll keep you up-to-date with shop news - the ‘grand opening’ shouldn’t be too far away.....

And I’ll be sure to share any ‘Making’ projects I get around to trying!

Carly

x  

A New Crafty Hobby

I’ve just discovered a BRILLIANT new crafty magazine, called ‘Making’!  My parents brought me issue 8 (‘The Paper Issue’) when they visited us in Düsseldorf a few weeks ago.  And I LOVE it!!!  Thanks Mom and Dad!!!  It’s packed full of exciting projects, interesting articles, and..... well, just GORGEOUS things in general!  It has a really clean, modern look, and covers loads of different crafts.  The magazine is divided into 6 sections:  making for living; making for the outdoors; making for the kitchen; making for the bathroom; making for the wardrobe; and making techniques.  Each section is colour-coded, and I think this enhances the clarity of the magazine’s layout, makes it more user-friendly, and – most importantly - looks pretty!

The MOST exciting thing about it, though, is that it introduced me to a new craft – paper cutting.  It’s great!  I already had a cutting mat and HEAPS of paper at home.  So, all I needed to buy was a cheap scalpel.  Then I could get started straight away!  I used the templates from the magazine to make these super-cute pictures:

The instructions were simple to follow, and it was surprisingly easy to get pleasing results from my first attempt. 

So, a new hobby that’s inexpensive, fairly simple for a beginner to get in to, and heaps of fun!  You should try it!!! 

I feel a trip to IKEA coming on – I need some frames so I can put the pictures up on the wall in my little crafty corner!  I love their colourfulness, sweetness and fairytale-ness!!!  They will DEFINATELY make me smile as I work! 

Next, I’d like to have a go at the design on the front cover of the magazine:

But..... something tells me that it’s going to be a tad more of a challenge than the others!  I’ll let you know how I get on.....

So, if you enjoy crafts – of any kind – I’d really recommend you check out ‘Making’.  Issue 9 is on sale now.  I think you should be able to get it from most big newsagents and supermarkets in the UK.  You can also order copies online (www.makingmagazine.com).

I’m totally hooked, and have just ordered 5 back issues!!!