Kiwillow Reads and Crafts

  Goodbye and good riddance to 2020 and Happy New Year 2021 It is 2021 and it is the perfect time to look at my aspirations for the coming year. Health and Self Care In 2020, I managed to loose a little weight.  I hope to continue on the path by continuing to look at my diet and eating  and also to do some more exercise.  I know I will never be the gym type, but I like walking and I want to up the walking I do this year.  Plus its good to get out in nature. I want to look after my skin more.  I suffer from acne and bad skin so I want to address this in 2021.  I want to get into the habit of a simple skin routine.  Cleanse, tone  moisturise  and spf factor, plus weekly face masks.  I also want to moisturise my body more as I have found the older I get the more my skin dries out now. I want to sleep better.  I am generally a good sleeper, but I do find I now need more sleep that is restful.  I want to try going to bed earlie...

What a year 2020 has been.   Coronavirus has virtually dominated the whole world and the way we live our lives have altered for all.  We haven't been able to do all the things we would normally enjoy do,  due  to the national and local tiered restrictions imposed on us.  We haven't been able to visit friends and family, enjoys holidays and breaks away, do so called normal things like shopping and visits to cafes and restaurants and for some people haven't even been able to work.  To say the very least, this year has been tough for all. On a personal level, I've been lucky in the fact that I only experienced a very tiny period off on furlough and I am currently still working.  My husband also has been able to work throughout the pandemic, although he has been working from home. I haven't felt much like shopping so have only been shopping in the supermarkets if I can't get an online delivery.  Anything else I am afraid have come from Amazon....

 Wishing you a special November, full of Pumpkin Spiced Lattes, hot ciders and everything Autumnal Love Lesley xx

  Happy Halloween  Love Lesley 

 Hi All I've been absence from this blog for a while as unfortunately my beloved hubby has been diagnosed with cancer.  We have caught it early and the prognosis is very good and positive.  It has been a strange year all round and the last couple of months have been more stressful and worrying to say the least. Things are now on the up and thus I feel it is time I get back into updating this little blog of mine, and this little catch up is to say I am coming back.  I am planning more regular content, showcasing my crafty endeavours, what I'm reading and life in general I am also pondering a better and more productive blog schedule for 2021. Watch this space. With love and wishing you a good week Lesley xx

Happy Birthday to my gorgeous husband and cat Daddy to Kiwi, Willow, Eric, Disney and Pluto the fish Love you to the moon and back always Love Lesley xxxx

To my beautiful sister in law Ate Rhea on your birthday. Wishing you joy and happiness Love you loads. Lesley

This is Disney, our newest member of the family.  He is nearly 12 weeks old, a bundle of fun and mischief. I didn't think I wanted another cat until he happened to need a new loving home.  How could I resist him?

So, I have finally finished The Amber Spyglass and the last of the Dark Materials trilogy. I have loved discovering these books as an adult rather than as a child.  I honestly do not think I would have enjoyed these as a child or even understood them.  But as an adult I have been immersed in the worlds that Philip Pullman has created. It took me much longer to read The Amber Spyglass than the other two in the series and it was my least favourite of the three but overall I think the trilogy was fantastic.  I cannot wait for the second part of the series to come on the BBC in the Autumn. Now to read the Book of Commonwealth.  I read the Belle du Savauge last year even before I read the Dark Material books and I can't wait to discover Lyra now that she is older. Have you read these books?  Are you looking forward to the new series? In terms of reading in September, I'm going to take it easy and not set a TBR and see what takes my fancy.  I've ma...

Autumn is my season and for me it begins in September which is also my Birthday month. I can't believe it is September already. Wishing you a happy September Love Lesley xx 

Today's card uses the Zany Zebras stamp set by Stampin Up, Midnight Blue,  Magenta Madness and Whisper White card stock and the 2020-2022 In Colour Gems.  The twine is old Stampin Up from a few years ago. This card was made for my colleagues 40th Birthday.  He thought it was lovely. I really like this stamp set and will definitely use it for further projects. Happy Crafting Love Lesley xx 

To my beautiful friend Ellie. Wishing you a Happy Birthday Love you to bits you crazy lady Lesley xx 

Today's card uses the Stampin Up Flowers for Every Season Memories and More Card Pack, and matching envelopes.  I added a couple of gems from the 2020-2022 In Colour Enamel Dots. I love that this range is so versatile and the colours are beautiful. This card is for a colleague at work.  I hope she likes it. Happy crafting Love Lesley xx 

Any one who knows me knows I adore Nigel Slater.  He is pure comfort and joy.  I absolutely love his writing and I was surprised that I wasn't aware of this little gem of a book before.  (It was published in 2007). As stated from the book, Eating for England is Nigel Slater's personal portrait of the British and their food.  A celebration of the glories, humour, eccentricities and embarrassments that make up that extraordinary thing that is the British table. This a collection of mini essays celebrating such delights as Faggots and Gravy, Murray Mints, Oxo Cubes, Fruit and Nut, Frys Five Centres, Boiled Brussels Sprouts , Quality Street, Colmans Mustard and Sarsons Vinegar to name but a few. This book is nostalgic, funny, and is a delight to read.  As usual when I read anything by Nigel, I hear his voice in my head, as if he is personally reading it to me. I loved this and gave it 5 stars. Happy reading Love Lesley xx  

This page was inspired by Ruth Trice of Artfulstamper on You Tube.  She is a fellow Stampin Up Demonstrator and she creates the most beautiful pieces of art using Stampin Up stamps. The stamps I used  are from a very old stamp set from Prima Marketing and I used Magenta Madness, Dafodil Delight and Pool Party Stampin Up inks. This page shows my two girl cats, Kiwi and Willow.  My cats are my babies and I have been blessed to be a cat Mummy the last twelves years with these two beauties. Wishing you well today and always love Lesley xxx 

 Happy 7th Wedding anniversary to my wonderful brother Richard and sister in law Rhea. I still remember your wonderful wedding in the beautiful Phillipines as if it was yesterday. I love you both very much. Love Lesley xx

So  readers, I am still in a reading funk. I only managed to read One book in July and that was Big Stone Gap as my previous blog post. Although this was a re read, I had forgotten quite abit of it.  I loved re-discovering the characters and the settings.  It is a lovely book and I can't wait to continue the rest of the Big Stone Gap series in the coming months. My goal for August is to finish the other books I have been attempting  over the last couple of months. I am probably three quarters through Clap when I Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, about half way through The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman and probably about 20% of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Everisto. My goal is to complete these three books in August I want to start a fresh in September and be ready to read more books going into the Autumn season. September is my birthday month and I see that as a new year for me, where I can re commit myself to reading abit more and reset my goals and asp...

Today's make uses strips of the Stampin Up 2020-2022 In Colour DSP.  I cut out the flowers using the Dies for the Special Someone stamp set and used the In Colour gems to accent the flowers.  I used the papers in Bumblebee, Just Jade, Misty Moonlight and Magenta Madness on the Cinnamon Cider card base.  I stamped the envelope using a stamp from the Special Someone stamp set, as well as the sentiment on both the inside and outside of card. I am loving the Stampin Up In Colours this year.  My favourite is Bumblebee followed by Just Jade. Wishing you a great Sunday Love Lesley xx 

  One of the benefits of joining Stampin Up as a demonstrator is you become a member of a community of other demonstrators.  I am part of the Stampin Senoritas and last night was our Team meeting via Zoom.   The above photos are the makes we did.  I used stamps from the Banner Year stamp set in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalogue.  I stamped them using Cinnamon Cider, Bumblebee and Crumb Cake inks .  Card stock was crumb cake and Whisper White. I really enjoyed the evening and I am pleased with how the card and wallet turned out. I can't wait for the next meeting. Love Lesley xx

  The above and below photos is of a Mini album I recently made using a very Old K and Company mini album kit I found when tidying my craft room. I just added a few photos of Mr A. Nice and simple.