17 June 2014

32 before 32

Hello Lovelies!


So last week I shared my 31 before 31 list wherein I managed to do 12 out of 31 things! I asked you lovely lot to suggest some things to add to my 32 before 32 list, and I've carried over a few from the 31 before 31 list as well, plus a few random new ones too!!

1. Make a dress for Zoe
2. Bake one of my Gran's recipes
3. Make a video of my Gran telling me how to bake one of her lovely cakes
4. Climb Snowdon
5. Climb Ben Nevis
6. Climb Hellvelyn
7. Climb Blencathra
8. Finish crocheting the rainbow granny square blanket
9. Finish of the crochet bunting for Zoe's room
10. Finish the crochet socks I started in May
11. Walk around Buttermere
12. Go to Woolfest
13. Go to Yarndale
14. Visit Glasgow
15. Visit Bruges
16. Visit Wales
17. Start making a patchwork quilt
18. Start a crochet ripple blanket
19. Find a nice pattern and crochet a shawl with lovely wool
20. Make 20 sales, either on Etsy, Folksy or in real life
21. Update the branding for The Dusty Attic
22. Meet some new fellow bloggers in real life
23. Interact more on-line (commenting and twitter are the main 2)
24. Take more film photos on all my film cameras (and get them developed)
25. Cook a Tagine. From scratch.
26. Make a wedding photo album/photo book
27. Put other photos in photo albums
28. Re-decorate the kitchen
29. Re-decorate our bedroom
30. Expand my shop's product range
31. Go on a craft course
32. Do a life drawing class


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12 June 2014

31 before 31 - How did I do?

Hello Lovelies!

Remember I (belatedly) posted my list of 31 things that I wanted to do before I turned 31 (if not you can go and have a read here). Well I sort of forgot about them a bit, so I didn't do all that many of them. But I did do some of them!


1. Make a dress for Zoe - Nope, I have patterns and some fabric I could probably use, and a sewing machine and overlocker, but not the time!!
2. Make a dress for me - Nope - see above!!
3. Bake one of my Gran's recipes - chocolate cake or cherry cake - Nope, I think my Aunty has copied them down for me, but I need to get them off her.
4. Make a video of my Gran telling me how to make her cakes - Nope, I saw her this last weekend but it was way too noisy to try to make a recording!
5. Climb Scafell Pike - Yes, I did it!! The day before my birthday, you can read about it in this post.
6. Climb Snowdon - Nope
7. Climb Ben Nevis - Nope
8. Climb Hellvelyn - Nope
9. Finish crocheting the rainbow granny square blanket - Nope, still not finished, I need to order some more wool as I have almost ran out, hopefully I can still get it and the colours won't be too different.
10. Visit York again - Yes, I went in November 2013 with Martin, Zoe, Gene and Diane. I don't think I wrote a blog post about it though. Hmm.
11. Walk around Buttermere - Nope
12. Take more photos on film - Yes, some in Whitby, York and Keswick, and round Carlisle too. And I got the film developed! I'll scan them in and do a little post about it soon!
13. Use my film cameras more - Yes, I've just realised that this is almost the same as number 12, but I have been using my Pentax, my Lomo and an old 35mm camera that belonged to my great-uncle too.
14. Get some digital photos printed - Yep! I've been using an app on my phone where you get 40 free prints a month, you just have to pay postage - pretty awesome!!
15. Visit Glasgow - Nope
16. Go to a craft fair - I think I went to a couple, but I didn't go to one as a seller, which I do want to do this year.
17. Make some crochet or felt bunting for Zoe's room - I've made the triangles but need to crochet it all together, so I'm calling this one not done, I'll put it on 32 in 32.
18. Make a patchwork quilt (or at least start to make it) - Nope, I have some fabric though :)
19. Go to a networking event - Yes, I've been to quite a few, and also arranged one for work!
20. Make 20 sales in my Etsy shop - Nope, only made 8 sales. Sigh. Must Try Harder!!
21. Visit Bruges - Nope - and no I don't have a passport this one is even trickier!
22. Go to my godmother's house for coffee - Even better than going for a coffee, I went to spend her birthday with her and went out for a meal and stayed over! Woop! I mentioned it in this post.
23. Have something published in a magazine - Yes, I was in our local Carlisle Living magazine, for an event I organised at work, along with Jo from The Perfect Hiding Place
24. Learn how to use LinkedIn effectively - Yes! Thank you work!
25. Go bowling - Nope
26. Go to Wasdale for a picnic with Martin and Zoe - Sort of. We went to Wasdale and had food in the car, so it was sort of a picnic. Blogged about in this post.
27. Find all of my baby photos at my Dad's house - Nope, they are still missing - booo!!
28. Crochet a bunny or bear for Zoe - Yes! I made her a little crochet bunny, no blog post about that yet!
29. Re-decorate our bedroom. Because it is U.G.L.Y! - Nope, I've started in the kitchen though!
30. Expand my shop's product range - Not yet, but I have started planning some new products, just need to make them and photograph them and add them to the shop...
31. Learn how to wet felt - Nope - I actually know how to wet felt, I did it at Uni, but I want to go and do a little course to refresh my memory!

So I have done 12 out of 31 things - pretty rubbish!!

I'm working on my 32 before 32 post at the moment, I'm aiming to post it next week, and I want you all to suggest things for me to put on it in the comments! Go!!

THANKS photo thanks-signature_zps76499913.jpg

9 June 2014

A Sticky9 Review and a Giveaway for you!

Hello Lovelies!

A while ago I won a giveaway over on the lovely Leona's blog to win a set of Sticky9 Instagram magnets. I'd seen Sticky9 (which used to be called Stickygram) all over blog land, but hadn't really thought about using them (even though we collect fridge magnets!!). I'd had a few Instagram photos printed from various other places, and had always been a bit under-awed at the quality.




But not with Sticky9! I tell you, I was a bit dubious about the quality, I wasn't sure if they would print true to colour, and I've also found some prints tend to come out a bit 'flat' looking.

These magnets are fantastic though! The print quality is top-notch, with a lovely smooooth matte finish (I much prefer a matte finish, don't you?). The colours really popped and were really true to the image - they didn't look flat or dull at all.


The process is super simple too - just link Sticky9 to your Instagram account and upload the photos you want - bingo! Super simple, just like me haha!!

They don't just do the magnets in the photo - they have different sizes, and you can select to have 9 different prints, or one big 'jigsaw' print if you want. And they also do phone cases and iPad cases too! You can view their full range of products on their website at sticky9.com

The magnets I won cost £9.99 (bargain!!) and they do free shipping too which totally sweetens the deal!

Now for the good bit!

Sticky9 have said that they would love to give one of my lovely readers the chance to win a pack of 9 Instagram magnets, and it is super easy to enter! All you need to do is go and visit their website (sticky9.com) and then let me know in the comments what snaps you would get printed.

Will you go for a load of pictures of your loved ones (including the cat), or maybe you'd like to get 9 of your fave #wiwt snaps printed so you can recreate that awesome outfit when you are half asleep of a morning!

The giveaway is open until midnight on Monday 30 June, it's one entry per person and it's open internationally! Remember to leave me a way to contact you if you win!

Good luck!

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6 June 2014

All the lovely things

Hello Lovelies!

Just a quick one today to show you some of the lovely things I have found in my internet-ting this week!


These pretty photos of Katie from Skunkboy Blog are whimsical and fairy-tale like - won't someone come and take photos of me like this, pretty please?!


Gah! Such pretty colours from the ever-so-lovely Color 'n' Cream (who I featured in my last Blogger of Note post) - she's making them into garlands, brooches, hair clips - eee! I can see them adorning pretty crochet or felt bunting - sweet!


I read this lovely interview with Sallytangle over on Jo's blog Adventures and Tea Parties (link) I love to get a 'behind the scenes' peek at my fave bloggers, and sally is one of my all-time best bloggers ever!



Look at this amazing idea from Heart Handmade - cross stitch canvas art!! (link) I'm totally going to give this a go - I have the cross stitch pattern already! Bonus!!

What have you found this week on t'interwebs? Link me up in the comments!!

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3 June 2014

Afternoon Tea at Sharrow Bay

Hello Lovelies!

For our birthday this year, my mum took my sister and I for a surprise afternoon tea at Sharrow Bay on the shores of Ullswater. When I was little I used to hate having to share my birthday with my little sister, but now I love it, as it means that we get to do things like this!

My Mum had told us to keep Saturday afternoon free (and to arrange childcare!!) as we were going somewhere - a surprise!! All we were told was not to have a big lunch, and to wear a posh frock. We had an inkling it would be afternoon tea, but we didn't know where until we pulled up in the car outside the hotel.

 View over Ullswater towards Hallin Fell and Helvellyn (and some other fells that Martin would be able to identify but I cannot!!) 

  What a view! It was such a lovely sunny day as well! 

We were taken through to the dining room where we were shown to a table in a corner next to a huge window with a view over the lake towards Hallin Fell. They took our order for tea and then brought out the food - oh man, what a spread!! We had various sandwiches (with the crusts cut off, of course), two different types of scone, tea cakes (oh. my. god. these were the best tea cakes I have ever eaten in my life) and lots and lots of cake!

Posh sandwiches and pretty china

Here's Alice trying tea for the first time in her life - and she loved it! Yes, a tea convert!!!


We didn't manage to eat everything (there was so much!!), but we got a doggy box to take home the leftovers - lucky us!

Everything was delicious, the staff we friendly and attentive, and the setting was awesome. After eating, we went for a little stroll down to the lake where I had a little paddle, and we took some photos. Then a pootle back to Carlisle where we most certainly did not need to have any dinner!


If you are ever in the lake district and fancy afternoon tea - get yourself to Sharrow Bay!

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p.s. This is in no way a sponsored post - my mum took us, and paid for it - I had such a lovely time I wanted to tell you all about it :)
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