Birthdays and hangovers.......

Soooo, here in the UK this last weekend was Mothering Sunday,  held on the 4th Sunday of Lent.  I was doubly lucky this weekend as the day before Mothering Sunday, Saturday was my birthday and my daughter brought me a fabulous birthday gift. 

 

I am a real child at heart and as I can't cook or bake, honestly my cake baking is banned in the house and hubby usually threatens to leave home if I offer to cook, my cakes could double up as house bricks and most certainly break your jaw should you attempt to eat one, so my daughter takes this occasion to either make me a cake or buy me one from the childrens party cake section in our local supermarket.  I love both.  This year she didn't have time to make me one, so on her way home from college collected this fantastic hedgehog cake called Hugo

 

Isn't he just fabulous?

 

Hugo was lovely with flake chocolate spikes and fudge feet, the eyes I have no idea as my son had those, but he did say they were delicious.

 

After the cake, the hubby and I opened a bottle of wine, one turned into two bottles and two bottles turned into three!  We were legless, which is a rare thing for him as he rarely drinks, but we did have a giggle.  I wasn't giggling so much the next day with a monster sized hangover, I most certainly was not 21 again!  but I did get the opportunity to sit quietly, VERY quietly, and finish my beaded dog.

 

 

 

I am still very much a new seed beader, but enjoying the learning.  I have combined my lampwork beads, a dog head and four glass paws and really just made it up as I went along, I am rather impressed with him.

 

Tomorrow I am off down to Middlesex to visit a lovely friend and melt some of her glass, of which she has loads and loads of new and exciting glass.  Hopefully the snow will hold off and tomorrow will be sunshine and blue skies.

 

 

Laney x



Almost back to normal.....

My daughter, sweet 16 and going to Prom. 

It has to have been months since I had the time to post a blog or catch my breath.  There have been weddings, a funeral, my son leaving home, 4/5 bead fairs in various parts of the country all involving a long drive, local flooding, the weather is so rubbish and wet, and getting ready for this Prom.  The Prom is the end of school for my daughter, her GCSE's now over and Sixth Form College round the corner in September.  I don't quite understand the whole 'Prom' idea, when I was a kid *yawn* it was a school disco in the school gym hall, all that sweaty sock and teenage hormone pong, now its more glamorous, an evening dress, lots of sparkle, make up, fake tans and over the top transport...there were five.... FIVE.... helicopters taking some kids to the school fields on Friday night, rather extreme and considering the weather was more akin to a monsoon and the girls were 'slopping' their way from the helicopters, across the sodden fields and into the school hall, so their entry was a bit of a damp squib with no one watching anyway.  There were vintage cars, Post Office van with ribbons, several large cars with ribbons which did make me think of weddings not proms.  There were 'waiters' with no shirts on carrying one girl, just the collar and cuffs, bare chests and muscles...rather fun but a touch young for 16..or is that just me being old fashioned and ancient in my ways?

Still, my daughter looked beautiful.  I talked her out of the fake tan, she is naturally pale and beautiful, and as there has been no sun here in the UK anyway.......

I made the jewellery with my own fair hands.  The glass is fused and then beaded around, using a simple but effective spiral rope design in silver and blue teeny tiny beads...it took forever!  There are earrings, simple and elegant in the same colours and a bracelet of fused glass cabs.  The ring was from my stash of costume jewellery that I have collected since a teen myself.  I rarely wear more than my wedding rings - I have a gold and silver one both from the same hubby!! - lampwork dog earrings and my chook pendant, so my collection of over the top sparkly costume jewellery is lots of fun to dig through and giggle at what was obviously a riotious teenage youth!  So the ring, a massive faux diamond set in silver was the perfect match to my daughters dress.  What you can't see are the beautiful nude lacey effect 4.5inch heels, shame as they are stunning and elegant.  My daughter is a petite girl coming in just under 5ft and she does love her heels, rather her than me, these days my feet are not comfy unless in broken down crocs that have seen better days but are superby comfortable for these tired old paws.

So.  There we are.  One proud mummy, one beautiful daughter.  The end of school.  The end of my manic couple of months.  It has been busy, and fun, but exhausting so this week has been catching up on jobs around the house, dusting, grass cutting - inbetween the rain - and totally ignoring the weeds that are as tall as the bushes in places, this weather has been warm and wet making everything grow...everything except the summer veg which I haven't even bothered to plant out...this summer is shaping up to be the wettest on record.

A couple more pics of my daughter and her jewellery, and today I am in the shed!!  Making some more beads and bowls.  Next big fair is Stourbridge and the International Festival of Glass, Bank Holiday weekend in August.