It's been a while ... But I'm back!

Hello Bloggers .... I'm baaaaaack!

Well, what can I say? I have seriously neglected my blog over the last 18 months or so with hardly a crafty project in site!  In my defence, I did rather have my hands full with a project of a different kind, having returned to the workplace to fulfil a full time Project Management contract.  Add in the usual juggling of home & family commitments in between  ... supervising homework, music practice etc., whipping up imaginative culinary delights* for dinner (*ahem .. read bag of pasta and a pot of ready made sauce); shoving washing in machine;  hunting down one lost football sock and missing tracksuit bottoms (which you know will both appear the minute you have purchased replacements!) plus a 2.5 hr round trip to visit elderly parent at the weekends ... I'm sure you get the picture (and I am sure I am not alone!).

Still, I am pleased to report that having fulfilled contract obligations I am now happily back in the full time 'home management' business (phew!) and now that harmony and tranquility is restored to the Crafty Cow household (well, ok, that might be stretching it a bit...) I have been able to claim back some 'me' time and spend a few happy hours indulging in the things I love ... reading, baking and even creating a crafty project or two.  I have even made a start on a few... *WARNING! 'C' word coming up ...Christmas ... yes, Christmas ... projects (sorry).  But more about those in future blog posts.

The first thing I wanted to have a go at, having a bit more time on my hands now, was one of the pop up/box cards that I seemed to be seeing everywhere.  Now, I am by no means an expert crafter and largely just make for my own enjoyment (apart from the odd card request from friends), but I love to learn something new and these days you can teach yourself how to do pretty much anything between Pinterest and You Tube!  After a few clicks, I found this excellent tutorial from Clare Charvill at MyCreativeSpirit.blogspot.co.uk  Link here and used inspiration from Tina at Sparklygirl-Tina.blogspot.co.uk as I wanted to use the lovely Kitsch papers from Craftwork Cards Link here. Thanks Ladies!

I was really pleased with how it turned out - not bad for a first attempt!

The possibilities for these are endless and I will definitely be making a few more as have loads of ideas already ... maybe a cupcake themed one for a friend who loves to bake ... Musical instruments for another friend who plays in an orchestra, ... etc. etc. ... you get the picture.  Why don't you have a go?  All it takes is a bit of patience and some paper/card.  Go on ... you might surprise yourself!

So, if you're still there, thanks for sticking with me and look forward to sharing a cuppa and a chat in what I hope to be more regular posts (or maybe that should be 'ramblings'!) going forward.

TTFN!

Bev x