What I like to read

I have quite a varied taste when it comes to books. When it comes to fiction I'll read pretty much anything except sci-fi or mills and boon style romances. It really depends on my mood. Some days I fancy some light reading and go for a chick-lit book with a bit of humour and romance, my favourite authors in this genre are Sophie Kinsella and Veronica Henry. Other days I like something a bit meatier and go for historical fiction or crime thrillers and my favourite authors for those are Andrew Pepper and P.D. James.

I also read young adult fiction, particularly fantasy-style novels and have been devouring vampire novels recently (see what I did there lol). I especially like Maria V. Snyder and Rachel Caine's books.

When I'm not reading fiction I like to read true-crime books, these can range from Jack the Ripper to modern forensic techniques. My interest in these also inspired me to start studying criminology at college.

If you're interested in seeing more about my reading habits feel free to check out my LibraryThing page.

Review: Craftseller issue 26

Craftseller issue 26 and free gift

I really love Craftseller magazine. It's different to other craft magazines because the projects inside are designed for you to make and sell. The magazine also gives loads of advice on opening and running a craft business either online or offline. This issue contains lots of fab craft ideas including: Russian dolls, crochet puppies, tea cup pincushion and some yummy baking recipes. There are also some interesting articles including upcoming trends, interviews with craft business owners and information about crafty courses. The free gift with this issue was some ribbon which could be used to make tags for your handmade items. Also each issue contains some free scrapbook papers and ideas on how to use them.

I would highly recommend Craftseller magazine, even if you don't have your own craft business yet. It is very inspiring and will give you some great ideas.

Folksy Shop

I finally took the plunge and set up a Folksy shop. You can find it at http://folksy.com/shops/ElsieLayton, I haven't got much listed at the moment but will hopefully be adding more over the next week or so.

Review: Mollie Makes issue 29

 

This month's Mollie Makes magazine is very summery and contains some great looking projects and features. The free gift is a kit to make a fabric sardines keyring, this looks like a quick and easy project which I'm looking forward to making. The cover project is crochet ice creams and felt ice lollies which I think would make great decorations for a summer party. There are also instructions on how to make the ice creams into a baby mobile. 

Other projects in the magazine include a denim quilt made from old jeans, a topsy turvy doll, a crochet rug, a shopping bag and a felt camera-shaped bag. The projects all have easy-to-follow instructions including step-by-step pictures. 

This issue also contains an interview with Jenny Hart (of Sublime Stitching), a travel article about Copenhagen and a tour of Katherina Wörmann's very colourful apartment.

I really enjoy Mollie Makes magazine because it's so much more than just a craft magazine. If you haven't picked up this magazine before, I highly recommend it. Also, every issue comes with a free gift!

Home Sweet Home Cross Stitch

This kit is designed by Joan Elliott and came free with World of Cross Stitching issue 188.

I really enjoyed stitching this design. It came together very quickly and looks really sweet. There were supposed to be some french knots in the design, but I left them out because I don't like them. 

Welcome

This is my blog about life, hobbies, animals and anything else I fancy posting about. I will be posting photos of some of my craft projects from the past couple of years and also sharing some tips about crafting and housekeeping.
I hope you will enjoy my blog.