Super Swaps ....

I've taken part in two bloggy swaps this year so far.
I want to share with you the gorgeous gifts I've been lucky enough to receive
& the lovely people who sent the to me !
So here we go !

First up was the Sweet Pouch Swap organised by the lovely Ros at Sew Delicious.
You might remember my offering here !

My swapper was the Sweetest!
Her name is Jacqueline and she hangs out over at 'From Out Of The Chaos'
and she sent me a fab package full of goodies & a beautiful purple quilted pouch !
I just LOVE her colour combinations & fabric choices !

Yes! I'd obviously scoffed all the yummy sweets by the time I took the photo ! (I had some help !)
Besides the sweets, a key fob, a funky pen & note-lets part of her gift to me was some lovely scraps from her stash.

My daughter Lorna put one to good use in an invitation illustration for a 'Mother & Daughter Afternoon Tea' event, fundraising money for Marymount hospice, Cork.
This is what she did with it !

Next up was the Covert Robin organised by the talented Rachael over at Imagine Gnats
I was lucky enough to receive another great parcel from the very artistic Tabitha over at Klucking Bear 
(check out her illustrations ! They are AMAZING !)

I was blown away by this stunning piece she made just for me !

She looked at my pinterest page & saw I had pinned some bunting & she bunting-ed up an 'S' for Siubhan !

In the pack too was also a great magazine called Apronology full of ideas for fab aprons!
One in particular really caught my eye. I'm going to have to make this 'junkin' apron' for Lorna for when she starts her career as an Artist !

All of the above will soon be finding a home in my NEW workroom!!
My husband & son are currently 'doing - up' the spare room (insulating the roof at the minute) .
I'm looking forward to moving into a new brighter, bigger space soon.
Have a sneak peek at the work in progress .....

Hope you have a lovely weekend !
Thanks for visiting & do come back soon !

Love Siubhán x x x

I've been Bad .......

Since stepping into 2013 I've been many things ..

Some good....

I've been newly self-employed = SUPER exciting new job,so many things to learn and lots & lots to do!

Some bad....

I've been a bad mom = mediating squabbles through gritted teeth, throwing my eyes up to heaven at the 'Im bored!' mantra when I should be enthusing them to get up & go ! ...I feel I haven't had enough time to do fun things with my kids, does it ever get easier (I guess I know that answer to that one!)

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I've been a (sort-of) bad wife = making time for each other is never easy and now that I'm working from home there's a whole new balance to find, I don't think I'm doing a very good job at it :(

I've been a bad friend = Many of my good friends have troubles and need my help or at least my ear why cant I find time to give THEM more time?

I've been a bad maker = I've flitted from one project to the next, every project I take up makes me think of all the others I have 'in train'. I feel like I've achieved nothing and that (horror of horrors)  making is becoming a chore.

I've been a BAD Blogger :( = Ive stopped posting - I've stopped even planning to post

I've been so busy over these past months .....
and I'm feeling overwhelmed.
It would be easy to blame it all on my new circumstances at work
but I love this job and in order to make my life worth living then I need to stop, reassess and start to pay more attention around here!

I've been beating myself up in so many areas and its doing my spirit no good.

on Thursday last I had a meeting in Ballymaloe in East Cork about their fabbie Litfest Event and when the meeting was over I did what I NEVER do - I took 20 minutes out,

and went for a walk on Ballycotton beach.....

alone ....

& I came to some decisions ..

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After a bit of soul searching I came to the decision that my main problem was not all the work I have on 

but me ! ME! I'm the problem!

I'm such a perfectionist and if I'm going to stay sane then I'm going to have to stop beating myself up -

Maybe I'm not the best mom, wife, friend or maker, 

but I'm doing the best that I can do AT THIS TIME !

I haven't posted on the blog for so long is that I want everything to be perfect...

perfect photos, perfect craft,  perfect spelling ! 

I'm officially giving myself a break !

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So to that end I hope to be posting more often from now on 

and I'm looking forward to getting back in touch with my bloggy friends! 

I've missed you guys!!!

Lots of love
Siubhan x x x

Aprons for Amity

Tweeting away the other day I spotted a notice for 'Amity's Spring Fling & Pre-loved Night'.
Whoop Whoop ! Just the thing to get me making some lovely crafty spring - things!

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For those of you who aren't from Cork, 'Amity' is a most beautiful and fabulous clothes shop located on French Church Street, Cork. It's filled with funky and creative pieces & the most beautiful (& wearable) bridesmaids dresses ever!

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Amity will be offering 15% off everything (except their bridesmaids dresses) and upstairs will be filled with individual rails of pre loved clothing, accessories and crafts.
There's bound to be heaps of bargains and lots of eye candy for any browsing fashonistas !

I CANT WAIT !!!

I've been looking at my stock and  thought I'd make some fun vintage style aprons for the night (perfect last minute Mothers day gifts!)

Sweet yet sexy - I think these aprons will look great in Amity !

'Who's that good lookin' chic doing the cookin' ? '

Don't want to go the whole hog - this half aprons pretty cute too ! 

All of the aprons will retail at 25 Euros ( a bargain considering how much love is stitched into these cuties!)

I'm planning to bring along some of my CraftLee Bags too ...

And a collection of felt & fabric flower brooches ...

It's going to be a night time shopping extravaganza  and Im sure my main problem will be not spending anything I make in-store!


I have some plans to make some new stuff especially for  'Amity's Spring Fling & Pre-loved Night'. so I'd better stop writing & get making !!

Thank you for visiting & do come back again soon !

Love Siubhan x x x

I got a new job !

Grrr!!! I can't find the camera...
And even if I could every crafty project I own is unfinished ...
There is no light today so my iPhone pictures look like they were taken in a dungeon ..

I'll just have to share with you by BIG news of the month !
I got a new job !

My new job is a lovely crafty one, I am the (ahem! Drum roll please!) NEW Cork Craft & Design Coordinator. Basically I will be coordinating the activities of Cork Craft & Design; an umbrella group for Craft-makers & Designers in Cork County and City, Ireland. Whoop Whoop !

Its early days yet and I'm just finding my feet getting to meet all the people involved but my main focus will be Craft Month (August) 2013. There are over 140 truly exceptional crafts people members of Cork Craft and Design and I hope that I can help support them in bringing their work to the public.

Hopefully over the next few weeks I'll figure out how to manage my time better and still have some crafty projects of my own to share with you as well as sharing some of the beautiful work of our members.

My first job is re-jigging the website so I'm not going to post a link until its done but if your on Facebook or Twitter please do click on the links & follow Cork Craft & Design from there !

Thanks for visiting & do come back soon!

Lots of love,
Siubhan x 

Tango Lessons (for life)

Thursdays are now Tango Nights in the CraftLee House.
I've always wanted to do a dance class
and finally (after 18 years of hinting, nudging and downright nagging) the beloved
has agreed to accompany me to Argentine Tango Classes!

Yup !

You heard it first here folks
and any day now we'll be hitting a dance floor nearby & looking something like this .....

Or a slightly less youthful version of this.....

Or perhaps a more inflexible version of this ....

Needless to say we are miles away from recreating any of the above moves at the minute but we sure are having lots of fun! Like any new skill there's a lot to learn. The Argentine Tango is proving a great challenge to us both but its great to do something as a couple that takes you out of your comfort zone.

There are some very specific rules that we are getting to grips with
and as the weeks go by I've been thinking that many of them can be translated into 'Rules for Life' too ...

Tango Lesson 1. - 
Never correct your partner whilst on the dance floor
This rule make a refreshing change for the beloved who has had me squaking in his ear over the past two decades on a diverse range of subjects including such gems as the correct way to fold a shirt 
or how long to cook that particular type of pasta... 

Now I MUST (on the dance floor at least) keep my mouth shut ! 
Its been a revelation! 
Instead of 'helping' I can see now that sometimes 
people don't always need or want your 'valuable' opinions or 'advice' 
Life Lesson 1.- Often, in life, the right thing to do is to shut your mouth and 'keep dancing'.

Tango Lesson 2. - 
Do not continuously apologize to your partner if you make mistakes.
I love this one !! I was almost hoarse after my first class from saying
 'Sorry!' 'My fault! Sorry!' 'Ooops! Sorry!', 'Sorry again!' to all my poor partners.
Interrupting the flow of the dance and getting myself worked up into a tizzy! 
What was I doing ?! 
I'm a beginner - we pretty much all are beginners sometimes. 
Who ever learned a skill WITHOUT making mistakes?
Your never going to perfect on the first night and why apologise for that?

'Sorry!' is a habit I'm trying to break in class.
I think that it would also be good to not feel responsible or apologetic for other things in life that are outside of my control or current skill set too!
Life Lesson - Give yourself a break, we all make mistakes and we all have a lot to learn.

Tango Lesson 3. - 
Never be afraid to pause a few beats on any step, listen and learn to play with the music.
The reason I started Tango is obviously that I want to race around the floor looking mean and moody, swishing my skirts, a blood red rose at my breast, regarding all onlookers with cold disdain, effortlessly expressing my passions through fancy footwork and my enviable (almost telepathic) connection with my partner.....
1...2...3...your back in the room!

At present, I'm a bit more ele(phant) than elegant, but I know with practice, I'll get better. 
Now when I feel like the end of the song is never going to come so I can stop making a fool of myself 
its good to know that we are 'allowed' to 'pause and listen'.
Life Lesson - You have permission to pause and listen in life too !

If you live in Cork and would love to Tango - check out the poster below!

Thank you for visiting & come back soon,   

Love Siubhan x x x