Colouring - Tropical World - Millie Marotta

I did this page for a colour challenge on a group on Facebook. The challenge was to use greens and a maximum of two more colours.

I'm pleased with how it turned out even if looks like nothing particularly impressive here. Being a double page spread, it makes quite the impact in real life.

It was an enjoyable colouring - the shapes being large and open and the limited palette is always fun (to me)

I enjoy colouring the art work by Millie, the lines are clean, I like all the line work inside the shapes with the option to colour each small area or simply colour over top of the lines, treating it like a large shape.

Millie Marotta - Tropical World

Puzzles - Coral Sea

Cobble Hill...you did it again! Thank you so very much for sending me this gorgeous jigsaw. I enjoyed every minute of putting Coral Sea, a 2000 piece stunner, together. I found it for me just the right balance of being challenged yet always succeeding when I sit down to puzzle. I do this only for relaxing not to be frustrated.

Making a start on my large made-by-hubby puzzle board. It was only just large enough for this 2000 piecer. I usually do 1000 piecers just because they are a more convenient size for me to work with. However, now that I know it fits the 2000 piecers...there is another Cobble Hill on my wish list. (Four Seasons)...just sayin'...

Finding the edge pieces, or at least most of them, took a while and I will probably store them separately for next time.

Making progress...and look! I found Nemo!

Looking good, even if the sunlight is making a glare on the left. Sunlight is much sought after in my neck of the woods this time of year, so no complaints from me!

All done and just look at these details!

What a joy to discover this little seahorse at the bottom of the image...put a smile on my face.

There is a seam, if you go looking for it, where the 2 sides of the puzzle join. Quoting from the Cobble Hill website : 'Please note that 2000 piece puzzles are two identical cuts of 1000 piece puzzles, but flipped in reverse. While normally, no two pieces are alike in our puzzles, the 2000 piece puzzles are an exception at this time.'

Scarcely noticeable in the final piece though.

And yes, a bit of puzzle dust. It does not bother me, but if it is something you dislike, giving the pieces a good sifting in a sieve or colander, will take care of that. I think it's a bit like builder's dust. It's brand new, so of course there will be dust!

Over all, I am a big Cobble Hill fan. I have a good collection of their puzzles, but this puzzle was not provided for review purposes, this is an honest opinion and I gladly give them an 'Excellent' rating!

I like the thickness of the pieces and how well they fit together and I like the neutral grey colour of the cardboard. The matt linen finish with a slight texture feels luxurious and the colours are vibrant. I like that there is a poster included, showing the bit of the image hidden behind the logo on the top of the nice strong, good quality box.

The partial image on the side of the box helps me find the puzzle I'm looking for easily, when these are stacked on a shelf.

A couple more Cobble Hill puzzles on this blog:

Sunflowers and Goldfinches
Mountain Cascade

Jigsaws- Oldies and Goodies!

I took a trip down memory lane when I recently dug out these old jigsaws to do them again. I'm not sure how old they are. To me they have just always been around and my older sisters could not help me with dates, but we are looking at late 50's or early 60's for sure.

They are both around 500 pieces. I had to leave the boxes behind when I brought them home as my poor suitcase just could fit one more bulky thing, but I am so glad I did bring them 'home' to be with me!

The village scene is missing 2 pieces...

Both marked which is interesting, probably my Mom did that. At least one knows not to go on looking for that piece!

Just look at all the detail in this charming scene.

This snowy image had me dreaming for weeks of snow. I was convinced there is nothing prettier in the world than snow and could not wait to experience it. Turned out it took a couple of decades before I eventually did, but to this day I love snow!

This one is only missing one piece. I still remember how impossibly difficult I used to find this puzzle!

Charming little detail...

Some pieces individually, are impossible to guess what they may be a part of!

Most enjoyable puzzling...to be repeated at least annually!

Snail Mail - Tiddly Inks

Such a cute image that says it all!

The sentiment is by Art Impressions

I based the colours I used on the designer paper I chose for my card. I thought it goes well with her safari style hat. I used coloured pencils and just a little ink around the edges of the die cut piece.

And just a simple kraft envelope is all she needs to be on her way!

I'm entering it for the Tiddly Inks Tiddly-Tac-Toe Challenge which is a fun spin on a challenge.

I covered the Tiddly Inks square as well as the embossing, die cut, designer paper and distressing squares.  Come on over and play along with us!



Finally  here is another card I made with this image back in 2017

Jigsaw Puzzles - Birds, birds, birds

I can never get enough of birds! And when I saw this puzzle up for a trade, I had to give it a try! It was an easy and enjoyable 550 piece build.

I started with the birds, naturally!

Look at all the interesting colours left in the box. The pieces vary but it is not a true random cut.

And finally a couple details. I so love all the details!

Making this one may become one of those yearly summer routines!

And here is the box with all the details in case you would like to hunt one down for yourself! The quality is not very good, the card is thin and several pieces had started to lift so I kept glue at hand to stick bits back, ready for next time!

Happy puzzling!

Crocheting - 'Woven' Blanket

It has been many years since I first used this pattern so it was really nice to give it another go this year!

The first step is to crochet a grid. I chose to do it in the 3 colour striped pattern of the original design. The pattern dates from the late 70's if I remember correctly, or maybe 1980, as that was about the time I made one in very similar colours to the pattern picture from the magazine.

The first grid layer, ready to add the second one in 2019 colours... LOL

One does exactly the same 1ks, dc in dc (or 1ks treble into treble) repeat, only this time the dc (trble) is woven around the dc (trble) in the previous layer. The result is a woven look and a blanket that is double thick, soft and squishy!

I love how it turned out. I used Bernat Premium and a 4mm hook. The yarn is very nice and soft and the colours beautiful,  but some of the yarn was very lumpy with uneven patches. Did not inspire confidence in me to make something I expect to last a long time, or put a ton of effort into. Fine for my blanket though!

Common Blackbird - Colouring

This one was a quick and fun colouring page. It is the Common Blackbird. Such a pretty bird with the bright beak, eye rings and legs that contrast so well with it's pitch black feathers. I added lighter areas of black to help define the bird better.

 It is from Millie Marotta's 'Beautiful Birds and Treetop Treasures'