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I try my hand at shrink plastic jewellry!

I love shrink plastic but it doesn't seem to love me. Still, i decided this week to try to make some jewellry. I used some Gorjuss stamps that i have to make a necklace and earrings. First lesson learned, leave the ink to dry for a couple of days before you try to do anything else with it. It smudged a little, but when shrunk it still kinda looks ok. I coloured them with promarkers, and spunched a star hole in the relevant places (i have a star and a christmas tree hole punch so i had to use the star). Then i shrunk them, and made them into jewellry unsing jump rings and jewellry findings i have in my stash.

You'll notice that the name is above the girl not below. I punched the holes in the wrong place! Whoops!


I also made a little charm for my friend April's birthday. It didn't come out exactly the way i wanted it but i think it's ok. It's a play on words - April showers


I have made one birthday card this week, for a little girl who is my honorary little sister. I used the free daisy embossing folder and stamp from the latest issue of Cardmaking and Papercraft, embossing a piece of green cardstock and a piece of white card, which i coloured with promarkers. I then stamped and promarkered the bear, and added a brad from Dovecote garden party and a daisy from Wild Orchid Crafts.


It doesn't really feel like i have done much this week, especially looking at the pictures above, but on my days off i have been mostly working on my current stitches. Here is the progress on each one.



Yes those are christmas cupcakes. Seems strange stitching them as we are going into Easter, but this is a relatively easy stitch that i can work on when i have a short shift instead of a long day. I prefer to work on the photo stitch when i have a full day off, as it takes more concentration.

I have also been working on writing, and have finally broken the 75,000 word barrier. I can actually see the end in sight now. I tend to work in a slightly strange way, setting a target of 500 words at a time, whenever i have a day off. It seems to work for me. Whether it will be good enough for publishing, time will tell but i have enjoyed writing it, and, once i finish, i will be going back to my other one.

I also had a nice surprise when i came home from work on Monday, i won Cardmaking and Papercraft's Friday Facebook Challenge! So that's more prizes that have headed my way


I'm really loving the Chickadee paper stack!

Now onto more serious things. I have had a bad week. Nothing has happened, but that's the thing with depression; nothing needs to for you to have a bad week. I have been doing the no-zero days, but still feel like i've failed somehow. I know that i am intelligent and articulate, but also neurotic and obsessive. For too long my positive attributes have been overwhelmed by my negative ones. The fact is that there is more than a modicum of truth in the saying that to be happy in life you must first be happy with yourself, but, for someone with as low self-esteem and self worth as i have, it is a very difficult thing to aspire to. When you are depressed, even something as simple as getting dressed in the morning seems a monumental effort, and i will be the first to admit that on some days i have failed at this first hurdle. I go to work because i have to. I have not yet arrived at the point where i cannot face it; but i am close.

Depression, coupled with the concert last month, has made me overspend too, so i am setting myself a self-imposed spending ban. I'm not going to count it by the number of days, as most people seem to do, but through episodes of Numb3rs. I bought the entire box set the other day, so that's plenty of episodes to get through before i can spend again! There are some exceptions to the rule

1. There is a craft magazine that i want to get next week as the freebie is Indigo Blu stamps, and i have been coveting it for a while now
2. I am allowing myself one takeaway per month
3. The same goes for the cinema - the new X Men is out next month and the trailer looks good
4. Any toiletries (essentials only) that i need to replace, although i think i have enough for a while
5. I am allowing myself one treat on my week off. I haven't decided what it will be yet, but i'm thinking more along the lines of buying a steak from Asda rather than anything hugely expensive

Anyway, wish me luck!

Spending ban episode count :- 3/118





Comments

  1. Anonymous20 April 2014 at 16:13

    Hello Ems. LOVE this latest post. Again, you write in such a way that I honestly really feel like I'm there with you - so much so that I'm actually going to join you on your brilliant idea of the self-imposed spending ban. I can't do the episodes of Numb3rs as I don't watch it but I'm going to find some similar type of thing so that I am with you on your journey. I too have spent a little too freely over the past three weeks and I'm now going to have to tighten the belt in order to make up for being so naughty. So ... self imposed spending ban here I (and Emma) come!

    One thing though ... I ADORE IndigoBlu stamps - which magazine is the freebie on? I could use that as my treat to myself next week.
    Sending hugs and lots of squishy stuff! ~ me. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ems8421 April 2014 at 00:43

      Welcome to the challenge! We may be able to help each other :) I only watch an episode (or more) after i have done what i planned for the day, so it's not going to be a case of me watching a season whenever i have a day off!
      The magazine is Simply Cards and Papercraft, they are absolutely gorgeous stamps that i think both of us will definitely use so i'm thinking of it as an investment ;)

      Delete
  2. Anonymous27 April 2014 at 08:33

    Thanks Ems! I shall go and see if I can find any still in stock at the big Tesco's near me. After that ... I'll scoot around various places where I know they normally hold a good stock of crafty magazines. Sending love ... Cobs. x

    ReplyDelete

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