“Cow’s Bell”

….what I actually meant was BELLE’S COWL! (a little spoonerism humour to get your attention heehee)

So I wasn’t completely useless with a hook & yarn over the festive season – although by most of the standards out there, I should be burned at the stake!!!  I wanted to make a Christmas pressie for a VERY SPECIAL young little lady called Isabel who lives in the UK and I went on a little search and found this AWESOME little video by B.Hooked (absolutely LOVE this stitch) ….

And made this…

And this too…I also wanted to add a hair band so I used the same stitch and used a hair tie as a joiner! Love that trick!!!

added a little flower and clasp… and voila!

That’s all for now….hope you are all getting ready for the FEB MADE IT CHALLENGE!!!!

Love Maryanne xxx

That awkward moment when…

…you are happily congratulating yourself on another successful  Made It challenge completed…

Then.

You receive this.

AWKWARD!

*groan*

Let me explain.  Every month, the winner of the Made It challenge gets randomly chosen by InLinkz, the programme that hosts our collection. And every month, once voting is over,  I get an email notifying me of the winner, as does the actual winner. Except last month, there was nothing. So, after a little hmmmm’ing, a little head scratching and a bit of searching I hit the reset button, thinking I’d probably forgot to tick some box….and VOILA, we had a winner.

Except that there WAS a winner –  AKA Jill from Nice Piece of Work –  and they WERE notified !!

So Jill, please accept my most humble apologies! You’re always a winner in your hearts – I hope that a duplicate prize will help make up for it! ENJOY xxx

***PLEASE PLEASE NOTE, THIS BY NO MEANS TAKES ANYTHING AWAY FROM SANDRA, OUR CHRISTMAS MADE IT WINNER!***

 

The Christmas Made It – WINNER!

A ginormous thank you once again to everyone for taking part in the Made It, for your comments of encouragement, your ooooh’s & aaaah’s, your LIKES and of course for  V♥TING! Another fabulously fun month, jam packed with incredible creations and oozing with talent

So who is the lucky winner you ask?

Congratulations Sandra! Thank you for joining in – your amazing talents have certainly dropped a few jaws around here, I can tell ya! Your lovely prize of 12 x Vinnis Colours Serina 100% Bamboo will be posted to you soon soon. Can’t wait to see what you do with it!

Oh, and as this month’s winner, you also get this badge to display on your blog (if you wish, of course)

Congrats again!

♥

The Voter’s Choice Award

I must say, the competition is always tough and it’s never easy deciding how to spread your votes and this month was no different. It was really neck-on-neck there until the very end but the Voter’s Choice Award goes to these two cutie pies!

Nicholas and Jessica by Live Love Lake

Congrats to Sandy from Live Love Lake and thank you for entering your two delicious Christmas bunnies, they certainly added their wonderful charm to the challenge

Here is your badge to wear on your blog ♥

Thanks again everyone, that was so much fun. I think I’ll give you all the rest of the month off so you can stock up for the February Made It challenge, who knows…maybe I too will actually get it together to enter a few things! #newyearsresolutions hahah!

See you soon

Love Maryanne

The Christmas Made It – Yep, VOTING is finally OPEN!

And just like that VOTING is open!

But, before you rush off and cast your 10 votes (I know, I know, ten is not nearly enough, but there’s always tomorrow…) here are our final three entries

(*techno alert* for some reason, the captions on the pics just won’t appear! Must have bumped a setting or something..sorry!)

 Our last month’s winner, Laura from Cute As A Button steals our hearts once more with her gorgeous garland of crocheted Christmas Stars, a gift for a friend. I love the colour choices and they look smashing in their new home.  Personally I think they should stay just where they are for the whole year!

♥

YAAAAY, a massive welcome to Pikaknits  who has was “zapped by the Christmas spirit” and entered these “last-minute” knitted decorations. Aren’t they stunning! Well, if this was  last minute, I can just imagine what a planned project would be! Looking forward to seeing loads more entries

♥

Welcome back to Carole from A Slight Obsession With Books! WOW, I’m truly blown away by the craftsmanship that has gone into her amazing Rail Fence Cushion – mind boggling for someone like me who doesn’t sew. The overall effect if so beautiful and the stitching is perfect. Well I certainly hope Carole’s hubby gets is way with the duvet and matching pillow covers!

♥

Thank you to each of you that has entered, once again we have an amazing collection, overflowing with crazy talent and creativity – LOVE IT!

Please hop over now and cast your votes for your favourites by clicking on the PINK LINK below. Remember, you have 10 votes and you can vote each day until midnight on the 7th Jan. The lucky winner of the Vinnis Colours Serina pack will be announced shortly afterwards

GOOD LUCK!

****    The CHRISTMAS Made It Challenge ****

~The Prize~

The Christmas Made It – Exciting new entries

Happy Monday everyone!

Here is SA it’s a public holiday today, and a day after the burial of our beloved Tata, may he finally rest in peace. I’m grabbing a few moments of peace in my home while Dan and the kids take care of (finally) putting up the Christmas tree.

(*** EDIT…ahem, as you can see it’s now Wednesday …. BUT  at least the tree is up wahoooooo ***)

My African Tree! Would love to say I made it but I did not….nevertheless, this one is perfect for us and only took a few moments to decorate! I love it (and that cute little boy next to it ♥)

So while they are hard at work, here a few more Christmas Made It entries

Mopsy by NanaCathyDotCom

Welcome back to Nana Cathy! Meet Mopsy, the latest, cutest, most adorable  little creature to come out of Nana Cathy‘s hands – isn’t she sweet. Those floppy ears are no doubt going to be used as handles by a sleepy Miss F when she drags her Mopsy off to  beddy byes! All little granddaughters need a BBF like this one.

♥

Christmas Mug Rug by Measured & Slow

I’m loving all the stunning fabrics that I’ve been seeing lately and this stunning Christmas Mug Rug (love that!) by Alyssa of Measure & Slow is the cherry on top. So beautifully & intricately sewn with little stars, it make the perfect gift and swap item in this case. I love that Alyssa’s posts are always full of good advice and tips – she makes it look so easy for us sewing-challenged ones!!!

♥

The lovely Pigtails is back to woo us with more of her creative genius!

Christmas Tree Decor by Pigtails

Unique, stunningly pretty and ohhh so inspirational….WOW, these Christmas tree decorations are utterly sublime. One day when I grow up I’m going to learn how to write – wait, scrap that – read patterns like these fabulous ones so kindly offered (this post is a must-read of note, esp The Teens creations, she is amazing)

♥

“Mielie” Scarf by Pigtails

Again, please have a squizz at the full post so you can read all about the inspiration behind this amazing scarf! “Mielie” is a South African term for corn-on-the-cob and also the name of a FAB local label who make the most incredible handbags (these are sooooo on my wishlist!). This scarf is a perfect match, so simple but incredibly effective!

♥

Rainbow Rachel Doll by Beatrice Ryan Designs

I love this cute, cheeky design by Elena of Beatrice Ryan Designs who once again has shared a wonderful pattern with us *thank you*. Hello pretty  Rainbow Rachel Doll!!  Bright colours + Curly Hair + a BIG Personality = Total Happiness! (not to mention a perfect stash buster by the way!)

♥

Hope you’ve enjoyed browsing! Will be back soon with more xxx

Love Maryanne 

TO ADD YOURS, CLICK ON THE PINK LINK BELOW

****    The CHRISTMAS Made It Challenge ****

~The Prize~

The Christmas Made It – I love lucie! (and the prize, of course)

Hello lovelies, hope your pre-festive season is relaxed, breezy and all under control. HAHAHAHAHAHAH pfffffft…I know. As if!

Some one who does seem to have everything well under wraps (‘xcuse the pun) is Lucie, from  Love, Lucie

Christmas Stockings by Love, Lucie

*falling in love* Simply stunning! These adorable Christmas stockings bring back memories that I don’t think are even mine. Maybe I’ve watched too many idyllic Christmas movies, who knows, but these beauts make me feel super nostalgic. The elf toes, the tiny bells, the red & white pin stripe, the NAMES….absolutely fantastic!

♥

 

Linen & Button Hanging Heart by Love, Lucie

Another gorgeous make by Lucie is this linen hanging heart, completely with a shower of beautiful buttons and trimmed with pretty hessian – a gift for a friend! You HAVE to read the full post,  if you haven’t already, for a very entertaining tale of a night out – sounded like a lot of fun! I do have a question though…what on earth is an “orangery”?!!!

♥

De-Icer Sock by Love, Lucie

A very far-from-daft idea indeed!!! So what is it you ask? This pretty stripy sock is *an ingenious* solution to that annoying clunking sound that something metal make while rolling around at the back of the car! It’s a DE-ICER holder of course!!!! Click in the link for more pics.

Well done Lucie

♥♥♥

~ THE PRIZE ~

And because December is the 12th month, so how about 12 luscious balls of lovely Vinnis Colours Serina in 100% Bamboo in an array of awesome colours….. hmmmm?

I’ll be back with more in a bit – in the meantime, to enter the challenge click on the PINK LINK to add yours!

****    The CHRISTMAS Made It Challenge ****