mysundaysnapshot

My Sunday Snapshot – Owl Card

January 19, 2020 by Anne Sweet 3 Comments

It was my friend’s birthday and I’d not managed to get out and buy her a card. Just before Christmas I’d been given a set to make two Christmas cards as a gift with my Chrochet magazine subscription. I’d really enjoyed making them and as I had some blank cards I thought I’d have a go at making an owl birthday card.

I looked at patterns for motifs and decided on this owl pattern. It was fairly simple and I thought it would make a nice card.

I could have easily sent out my husband to buy a card but I thought it would be much nicer to make a card myself. Then all I had to do was pop on a stamp and my husband could post it for me.

Card making

I have a lot of supplies for card making as I believed it was something that I would enjoy doing. In fact, I didn’t enjoy it much at all. The few cards I did make created a lot of mess to clean up and I was never really happy with the results. I guess I just didn’t have the creativity to make them.

Crochet is something I can do though, and even though it’s not perfect, I don’t feel the urge for perfection as I do with other crafts.

I may even have a go at making some more cards using crochet motifs, I think they make for unusual and creative cards.

They don’t make so much mess either like I did when cutting out lots of pieces of paper and embellishments. And they really don’t take to long to make as well. With a little more practice I think I could get quite good at this. Do you like my owl birthay card, do you think using crochet makes for an unusual card?

My previous sunday snapshot – mandala

My Sunday Snapshot – Mandala

January 12, 2020 by Anne Sweet 7 Comments

Just before Christmas we went to the local village for the Christmas lights turn on. One of the things I noticed before it got too dark were these gorgeous crocheted mandala hanging from a tree. I thought they looked so lovely hanging in the twilight.

I’m currently working on a big crochet project which I will share with you later, but I’m certainly going to consider making my own mandala like this in the future. Maybe one of the smaller ones.

Mandala

There are many meanings and traditions surrounding mandalas. They are traditionally circle shaped with intricate patterns inside.

They are often associated with meditation or the performance of sacred rites. Mandalas can be fashioned in cloth, stone, paper, bronze or thread. There are few rules in designing a mandala, but the circle is most important.

There are many benefits from creating mandalas;

(taken from 100mandalas.com)

Relaxes the body and mind
Cultivates the feeling of happiness, inner peace, and general well-being
Eases stress, anxiety, worry, overwhelm, fear, and depression
Activates creativity and improves focus
Enhances self-esteem and self-acceptance
Fosters a sense of connectedness with one’s self and others
Improves sleep
It’s fun!

I’m looking forward to creating my own mandala. I have coloured them in colouring books before and felt it really satisfying. Now, I really want to have a go with some crochet. I can’t wait to get some hoops and get started.

Have you ever made a mandala, or do you remember seeing one that felt special to you?

My Sunday Snapshot – Wheelchair

January 5, 2020 by Anne Sweet 5 Comments

My new wheelchair

last year my power chair broke but I managed to get it fixed. I was going to get myself a new one but we ended up having a lovely holiday in Cornwall instead. The wheelchair was still working so no worries.

Then just before Christmas I went out to do a little shopping with my husband and eldest daughter and it just wouldn’t work. My husband spent about 20 minutes in Hobby Craft on the floor trying to fix it. We got it working eventually but it was a bit unreliable after that. It would cut out while out and about which is never good.

So, My eldest son decided he would help me buy a new wheelchair just after Christmas. I’ve done a lot of wheelchair research and it’s so hard to get something that really fits your individual needs. Then I came across this site which sells these fold up wheelchairs a lot cheaper than I’ve seen anywhere else. So I took the plunge and bought one.

I’m loving it so far I’m just keeping my fingers tightly crossed that it delivers.

So, it might not be the most exciting photo this week, but it’s a very exciting new purchase for me.

A post with my old wheelchair.

My Sunday Photo – Dragon

August 11, 2019 by Anne Sweet 8 Comments

Komodo Dragon

All Credit goes to Boo for this photo of a Komodo Dragon. She took it through glass on my mobile phone. She took quite a few photos of this beast but I love this one because he has his tongue out!

The Komodo dragon was an impressive beast, he was so huge. We saw him at the Birmingham Conservation Centre and at first he was inside, but them he decided to come outside and great us. I’m just thankful there was a huge glass frame between us. He was a fair bit scarier than the bearded dragon we’d held the day before.

Largest Rodent!

a patagonian mara looking straight at the camera while lying on a dry dirt ground

The Patagonian Mara had us confused last time we visited The Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Centre. We couldn’t make out whether it was a huge rabbit, a kind of deer or even a type of wallaby. It happens to be one of the world’s largest rodents!

Can You See Me?

Finally, I’ve chosen this photo of a cute white faced monkey, hiding in the grass.

We had a fabulous day at the Wildlife conservation centre. We’ve been there many times before but it never gets tiring looking at the animals. They have a lovely cafe and great kids play area too. If you want a picnic there are plenty of benches. We arrived early, as soon as it opened and got home around 3pm. The weather had been fine but it changed about 4pm and we had heavy rain. Lucky we chose to leave when we did.

linking up to Rachel Swirl for My Sunday Snapshot

My Sunday Photo 26th May 2019

May 26, 2019 by Anne Sweet 26 Comments

The Retreat in the Hills

A view of the welsh hills — *Elan Valley*

Last weekend I was at the Flea Retreat in Wales and it was simply wonderful. We were right in the middle of the Welsh Hills.

We took the scenic route home through the Elan Valley and there was nothing but countryside and hills for a few hours. Some parts were a little high for my liking, but you couldn’t help admire the views.

We stayed at the lovely Tynrhyd Retreat which was in a simply stunning setting. This is the view from my window last Saturday morning. It was a bit cloudy first thing but it did brighten up as the day wore on.

Aberystwyth

The kids and Graham also had a lovely weekend in Aberystwyth nearby. Here is a photo of them enjoying the castle ruins on a hill that overlooked the sea.

It was good fun all around for all of us. I got to mix with my blogger friends and learn new things and the kids got the chance to see the sea and have some fun with their Dad.

The weather treated us kindly being warm but cloudy and only the occasional shower.