Ladies and gentlemen, I am back. I know, I abandoned you all for quite some time. 8 months to be precise. I swear I had a good reason though, I was starting a new life! Yep, that's right. Since my last post, I've left my old job and started a new one, moved to a different county, got my own apartment (not bought, obviously), learned to drive, become an aunt... Oh, and I'm now a complete and utter train nerd... Kinda.
I feel terrible, because I've made a lot of stuff in the past 12 months (the last pictures you saw were things I made last March), so right now I'm going to attempt to show you guys as much as possible while being relatively quiet. Crazy, I know, seeing as I've never once in my life known when to shut up. See? Growth! I'm a new woman!
Captioning all of these is going to take ages...
So, a local music and art festival, KFest, was created, and they had a Mad Hatters table quiz to raise funds. So I obviously bought supplies...
... And made a pirate hat!
Nifty, huh? So yeah, this was April.
I did fun stuff with my nails.. This was really cool actually! Took a while though...
I did the Ring of Kerry for the first time. Myself and my mother picked the perfect day for a drive and a picnic. Completely stunning.
I painted our garden bench (which has since been laid to rest). It's not quite crafting, but my paint work got this bad boy through its final summer! RIP benchy.
So, this sad looking pot used to sit outside our front door, and once again, I was tasked with some painting..
So I went mad and threw polka dots everywhere! A dotty pot is a happy pot!
In April I also scheduled a visit over to Dorking, Surrey to visit my dear badass friend, Jess! And she needed supplies. FYI, a Tayto multipack of 12 will fit happily into Ryanair sized carry-on luggage.
Box Hill in all its splendour.
I didn't realise that I needed a favourite patisserie. Clearly though, I do. And I found it!
Jess is going to KICK MY ASS for including this picture, but there's valid reasons behind its presence! So, this is May. Jess was home for a visit, but before she left, she wanted me to do a few hair wraps for her... Can you see them peeking out of that incredible mane of hair she's rocking? Also, her t-shirt features a T-Rex on a skateboard. That's reason enough. Sorry all the same JALB, I'll make it up to you!
For my friend Sarah's 21st, I wanted to make some decorations for her party. I got an idea from Pinterest and ran with it...
... And I ended up with these sparkly streamers! Believe it or not, every single once of those discs was drawn with my trusty compass and cut out by hand. Only the best for my favourite really strange friend who hangs out in my house more than I ever expect her to. Seriously, she shows up all the time... It's weird... She should take a hint...
The decorations in all their glorious gold glory. Alliteration is always awesome. Dying to make some of these for myself, still haven't got around to it though.
I like sending cards to people for no reason, and I had glittery card lying around after making the decorations, and coloured paper lying around after making the hat...
... So I wove those bad boys together...
... And made a card for Anneka! Ovaries Before Brovaries! One of the very important lessons I've learned from Leslie Knope.
I had some nice cream card hanging around too, so I made some more cards. I really love these. I literally googled "Boat" and sketched this from the search results. I must make more of these!
This isn't craft. But I wanted to include some background on my year. Last year I read so many books. That was one of the fantastic things about living close to work and having so much free time. I devoured books, and this was one of my favourites. A collection of short stories called Rust and Bone. I can't recommend it highly enough.
I also saw Beyoncé last May. I'm not even going to pretend for a second that she didn't blow my mind.
In June, I made a necklace. Here's a close-up! A woman I used to work with gave me a section of this really delicate gold chain that had broken, and I added some beads. I get loads of wear out of it!
Standing on a train platform, waiting for my train to Dublin for my job interview. Stressssssss... I told barely anyone at the time, but it all worked out okay!
KFest finally happened in June. Empty shop units and unused buildings were revived and used for art exhibitions throughout the festival. This is the kitchen at the back of a really well known sweet shop in Killorglin. Kitty Sheehan was an institution of a woman! Walking through this place brought back such fond memories.
Woo KFest!
I loved my orange volunteers t-shirt so damn much.
I got to sit in and look after one exhibition for a while one afternoon while the artist took a break. The town was absolutely buzzing, lots of families went out and took a look at something they might ignore otherwise. The festival was a HUGE success in my humble opinion, very excited that it's happening again this year!
In July, I painted my nails again. And they were awesome.
Dad bought a bottle of Cava to celebrate that I got an engineering job... FINALLY!
My old office tried to leave their mark on me. They were successful, until my next shower at least.
The Irish heatwave really hit in July, so I fit in a decent bit of beach time. I captured Jess shortly before sunset one day...
... And I spotted a seahorse at sunset another day! Gettit? A seahorse! I crack myself up.
Because I was leaving my job, I obviously had to bake an enormous amount of banana bread for the office. I should have included a penny for scale. This was a large lunch box.
I made this bracelet. I've just realised while looking down at my wrist as I type that I haven't taken this bracelet off since this photo was taken. She's a sturdy wan lads!
This a hairband I made for the wonderful mermaiden of my heart that is Anneka. She wears it both as a hairband and a necklace. I smile every single time I see it on her.
This was my first trip to my new town. I didn't even know where the place was before I was told I was going to be moving there. It poured that day, so you can only imagine what an emotional rollercoaster that train journey was!
To congratulate me on my new job in August, the suspiciously talented Anneka made me some incredible bunting for my new home. Love is...
My view on my walk to work. The Shannon is breathtaking some days. Others it just looks grim. Not this day though!
Electric Picnic happened. Again. It was incredible. Again. I think this picture sums it up nicely. Oh, and also, Wu Tang Clan ain't nothin' to f*$k with. Just remember that.
Myself and the Jessmeister could hardly go to EP and not make more jewellery. Check out our badass matching silver rings, hand made with sunshine and a blowtorch.
After August, my creative tendencies took a back seat. They were taken over by the complete and utter exhaustion that accompanied moving and starting a new job. Not a whole lot happened in September that I can remember, but I did surprise Anneka with an impromptu visit to Dublin.
She was seriously, crazy surprised approximately 45 seconds before this photo was taken. It would have been taken sooner, but the photographer (who shall remain nameless) kept taking selfies.
I was just thinking to myself "Hmmm Val, what happened in October again?" This is why the world needs pictures. Because I could have spent ages thinking, but when it comes to remembering stuff, my brain is weird. I think the guys I work with still experience genuine shock and surprise when I can't remember a conversation we've had or a decision we've made the previous day. I've gone off point. In October, I finally got to see The Airborne Toxic Event. Live. In person. And, to top it off, I MET MIKEL JOLLETT. Being the absolute hero that he is, he came out after the show and spent AGES meeting fans, taking pictures, having the chats, and generally being an all around incredible person.
I was ever so slightly devastated that I didn't have the flash on. But I don't care. It's us. And I've got big happy person chubby cheeks going on. Because I was crazy excited. I was literally struggling to string sentences together.
I also ran into my long lost friend, Rich T, and of course even though Jess wasn't there in person, we tried to make her feel included in our reunion.
Oh my goodness, I've just remembered what else I did in October. I made a necklace. My most labour intensive attempt to date. And I think it worked out really well! Take a look...
It all began with a sketch on a piece of felt. I started stitching beads to the outline I'd drawn...
I changed my mind about the yellow in the middle...
I won't even pretend this didn't take ages, because it did. Stitching a bunch of beads to a piece of felt is one thing, but trying to sew beads in straight lines and not getting the thread knotted and threading the beads one by one... Well, it took fecking ages.
It was so satisfying to fill in the background. The end was in sight!
After I finished this, my sister commented on the fact that she thinks the pattern looks like a cat face. I absolutely hadn't noticed until she said it. Let the crazy cat lady comments begin!
I stitched some red velvet ribbon in to tie it, and I glued some black felt to the back to cover up all the messy stitching lines.
Tah dahhhhhhh!
In October I also crocheted a scarf for my dearest mother, she got this bad boy for Christmas. Softest wool ever! Ahhhhhhh delish!
In November I discovered that one of the most beautiful book shops in the world is right here in Athlone. Bliss.
This is difficult to explain. I made this as a jokey response to a bet. The bet hasn't been completed yet, so that's all I'm going to say on the matter.
Inspired by my friend Odharnait, I decided to give candle-making a go!
It's sparkly and smells like lavender. That's about as awesome as candles come, because, let's face it, they're only candles.
My bet fulfilling crocheting planted an idea in my head... That golden sunflower that is Anneka has a special man in her life. His name is Super Ted. Super Ted needed some new threads, and I was only more than happy to make him something as a surprise! Still very proud that I guessed his measurements... Mostly...
A coffee morning at work called for some baking. Mince meat + puff pastry = AWESOME. Did you guys know that?
I rolled the whole thing up like a swiss roll, cut it into slices...
... And hey presto! Danishes! Nom...
Not long after, Super Ted received some post...
Don't they look so cosy?! PROUD of this one.
I did practically no crafting in December. I was beyond stressed out about my upcoming driving test, which, once again, I told no one about. I'm a very good secret keeper when I want to be! The only thing I did manage that month was a garland for my front door... A paper one... Odharnait sent me an awesome pin, and while the image I drew inspiration from was way cooler, I just sort of did my own thing and this happened...
I did my best to make the foliage festive with the use of a red biro, some glue, and lots of glitter. I was really happy with it, until some mean boys ripped it after a Christmas party. That's a story for another day. Or never. The garland went straight into surgery, and with the careful application of masking tape, it survived Christmas. Phew, right? I bet you guys were really worried there for a second.
I'm not going to lie, I've been sitting here a while, and I've managed to make it through 9 months of crafting and life in general. Do you guys mind if I take a wee breather and tell you all about this year another day? Why am I even asking, YOU CAN'T ANSWER ME! And I've sort of made my mind up. The kettle and my box of earl grey tea bags are calling to me. I'll finish up this post by showing you my first Christmas tree in my first home away from home. A lady from work gave me the tree. They don't come any better than this!
Uh huh. A pink tree.
Happy Friday lads and ladies.
