Thursday 10 May 2012

spreading the love!

Wow I am feeling the blog love today, 63 followers!!! You're all totally scrummy for spending a bit of your precious time reading my musings and leaving lovely comments.  And I've been discovering some wonderful stuff as a result of popping over to your blogs to say hello - sorry if i haven't done that on your blog (if you have one), I've been having a busy week in the real world as well as the virtual one. 

I'm getting ready for a long weekend away visiting family - I'm taking the boys on a 3 hour train journey on my own tomorrow, and as R is quite prone to tantrums at the mo I feel like I need to do a lot of preparation!  But now that the toys, books and snacks are packed, I have a moment to share these 2 wonderful blogs, which have really inspired me this week....

Aren't these softies fabulous?




I love them, they're so quirky...but the best thing about them is, you can't buy them.  These are just a few examples of toys made by crafters all over the world - they call themselves The Toy Society, and they perform Random Acts of Craft - making toys and  leaving them in random places to be found by whoever comes along...



The blog for this amazing, generous, love-spreading project is here, please go and check it out, if only for the fuzzy feeling it will give you!  I am struggling to find time for sewing at the moment, but this has definitely made it onto my 'want to do' list.  It's just a lovely thing to do!

The other blog that has really touched my heart I discovered earlier today; my lovely friend Lou over at littlegreenshed has a new stockist (very exciting!) - the lovely looking shop/craft space Tenderfoot in Bristol (my gorgeous home town).  This is turning into a long story, but I think it's nice for you to explore all the links in the chain for yourself if you want to!

While checking out the tenderfoot blog, I read about the beautiful blog Lazy Crafternoons,  where Bristol boy Chris is co-ordinating an amazing 52 weeks, 52 crafts project.  Basically Chris and other guest makers are exploring a different craft every week of 2012, sharing tutorials and inspiration, and the results of their hard work and creativity are auctioned online in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

He has made some amazing things already, including this beautiful patchwork picnic bag ...


and these lovely seed paper gift tags...


What can I say?  Gorgeous things, and the fact that all the proceeds of Chris's hard work is going to charity is humbling and truly inspiring.  Please go and have a look, and spread the word about this wonderful project!

Well I've got a bit of a crazy day tomorrow, and then I'll be relaxing with lovely family for the weekend and I'll be back with you next week.  Don't forget about my  Vintage Fabric Rainbow Giveaway, you've still got plenty of time to enter before the Monday evening closing date.  And my first blog-related job when I get home will be putting all your names in a very pretty tin and choosing the winner!!  Very excited about that, I hope you are too.  

Welcome again if you're a new friend, I hope you have a lovely weekend,

Rachel x

8 comments:

  1. Hope you have a great weekend away and that the train journey passes without a tantrum!

    The Random acts of Craft is such a sweet idea! Love it :-)

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    1. Hi Col,have grabbed a moment on my brother's laptop to reply, thanks the train journey seemed long but was pretty stress free, thanks to new toys and books and a very big bag of snacks! I do love handmade cuddly toys, and the idea of people making them and leaving them for strangers to find and love, all over the world, really warms my heart! Glad you like it too. x

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  2. Hey Rachel, hope you are having as sunny a weekend as we are!
    Nice to know that your follower list is growing well.
    I hope you don't mind, but I nominated you for a Liebster Award!
    To accept the award :
    1. Acknowledge the person that gave the award and link back to their blog.
    2. Copy and paste the award to your own site.
    3. Share 5 of your choice blogs to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.
    best wishes
    modflowers x

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    1. Ah thanks lovely, I don't mind at all, I'm really chuffed! When I get back home I'll do all of the above, Yay! xx

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  3. You left such a nice comment on my blog, and then I pop over here only to see that you've mentioned me as well! Thanks for mentioning the project, I'm now a follower and will look forward to seeing what's coming next!

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    1. Hi Chris, thanks for popping over and following, and well done for your wonderful project, it's so inspiring. Looking forward to seeing what you do next too! x

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  4. Love the blog, have only just started to find the time to look at peoples blogs and usually via my partner at Tenderfoot Lori but love the idea of the random acts of craft and it will be something I would love to do in and around bristol.

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    1. Hi, thanks for popping in, I agree I think Bristol is totally ready for some interesting handmade creatures to pop up and spread some love! :)

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