This is why I am the Q.C Shmoogle Bean!

Want to see the kind of crafty things I've made in the past pre-blog?? All the things you are about to see are why I started this blog in the first place... Because even though I no longer sell my crafts, even though I don't have my shop and probably won't again for a long while until I can afford it again...Instead I am going to create a FREE tutorial for every single one of the things you see in this post! That is my mission, that is my dream and that is what this is all about! And you know the best part? That you are here with me on my journey, whilst I sort out my life, my feelings, my career, my family, and everything else inbetween along the way :o) All these pretties are things that I have made pre-Pinterest, pre-blog, most without a pattern and most before I had my sewing machine... looking back I am SO proud of myself for getting as far as I did.

Are you ready? :o)

*Every single one of these photos are my property. Every item shown is a creation of mine, PLEASE do not take these photos and use them elsewhere/claim them as your own. Help me keep my tutorials free and respect the work of others*

And that's just some it it!!!

Crafting is my life!! Any particular thing there you'd like to see made into a tutorial first? :o)

BEHOLD! my craftroom! you can actually SEE it!

Ok so it's currently 12.30am at morning...hubby is engrossed in a new book (who knew World of Warcraft had a fiction novel?? Apparantly they do..and it's not bad) two hours ago I decided I couldn't sleep so I donned some gloves and armed myself with bleach and totally just cleaned the bathroom to within an inch of it's life (providing it had one of course) AND cleaned/tidied and reorganised my craft room! YAY! There IS a floor in there!

see? FLOOR! and FEET!  

and look, there's actually room on top of my dresser now!! Ignore the bottles of lotions and potions, I have terrible skin and feet and both require a lot of TLC in the form of creams and stuff. In those drawers are my misc. crafting supplies such as twine, hair clips, spare bits and bobs, glitter collections etc. My scrapbook papers and embellishments, and one of those drawers is jam packed with ribbons, trimmings and lace! Pure heaven really!

Behold! My desk! And believe it or not this is clean! My crafty room isn't very big so to save on space I put a bookcase on top of the desk to give myself some shelves. On top is my chocolate mould collection, then it works down progressively from hot glue sticks to staples, to blank cards to jewellery making stuff, crochet doodads, and a Cosplay in progress. Plus my wig that lives on my lava lamp. Oh! And don't be afraid, that thing on my chair is just Larry, my posable felt furry plush spider I bought back from my honeymoon :o)

I even sorted through all my makeup and made it all neat and prettiful. And hey there's a reflection of me in the mirror in my moo cow jammies!

And you can just imagine how clean and shiny my bathroom is... I don't think you need photos of that haha! It also smells strongly of Exit Mould, Bleach and Ajax Bathroom but it is literally sparkling! Much like an unrealistic pussy Vampire named Edward.

So now I'm thinking I should haul my butt into bed! We have guests over tomorrow night and I intend on cooking up a storm! Polla alla cacciatora, crusty breads, tart au citron and other little goodies! And fear not for my healthy eating and weight loss plan, it's not in any danger. I just NEED to have a cooking bonanza! Being in the kitchen makes me a happy shmoogle bean! My hubby knows this, so he bought me the Season 3 Masterchef Australia cookbook and 4 mini individual tart tins for my cookware collection SQUEEE!! One VERY happy shmoogle bean!!!


There's that productive insomnia at work again! :p


Night night! (or goodmorning...or whatever!)

My Crafting Quirks

Hi all!

Let's get into the post of the morning though! :) I thought I would share with you some of my crafty quirks... how many do you recognise in yourself?

My crafting room is, despite many many attempts NEVER tidy and neat or organised but I still know where everything is...down the sewing needle I used last week to the one coloured button I know is perfect for a project!

I take great pride in my crafting and sacrifice my finger tips quite frequently to wiping off still hot glue from a project rather than letting it dry and it be visible on my hard work!

I have four LARGE plastic tubs (and growing) of fabrics and scraps that I have collected from friends and family and I have no idea what to do with it half of the time... as a dedicated hand-sew-er the idea of making a tote bag, or sewing a plush toy is a bit more of a daunting task. I have great determination when I get started on something, the trouble is taking that step! Anything can be done by hand that is done by machine, it just takes time :)

The next one can be summarised in a simple quote:

The only place where housework comes before needlework is in the dictionary. ~Mary Kurtz

ohh yes, we are all victims of it!

I dont actually own a sewing machine... but I have always had a 'thing' for hand sewing and embroidery... it relaxes me and i find it very therapeutic actually

Stitch your stress away. ~Author Unknown

I am completely addicted to craft stores... so to prevent mass purchasing and budget breaking, I'm simply not allowed in one without my husband as an escort! I put that rule in place rather than him... yes really!! Im crazy, I know... why would I do that right? Unless you are a true crafter, you wouldn't understand... the urge to buy one or a million of EVERYTHING is sometimes too strong to resist and you either dont go into the shop or you take someone with you like my hubby whom I love dearly, but as he tells me often, crafting is not his thing so he wants to spend as little time in those places as possible... It's a half-measure attempt of purchase-restraint but it works!!

As a crafter, I have another weakness...

I believe humans get a lot done, not because we're smart, but because we have thumbs so we can make coffee. ~Flash Rosenberg

You do tend to develop a tiny caffeine dependency as a craft-ist (its a mix between a crafter and an artist... does it work? haha!)


You also develop this tendency to not leave your crafting room for long periods of time so I sometimes think I should have some coffee then I get distracted and keep at the project at hand.... hours and hours can fly by this way don't you agree? I might just add here that I don't have any children so not really any other distracting factors in my life... my craft room is my sanctuary, my haven, my love nest of all things awesome!

Do any of these ring any bells?? I bet they do! :p

-Tashy Xx