Invisible Images!

Whilst scrolling through my past posts I discovered some of my photos are missing :(

One of the reasons I started blogging was to keep a record of things I made and photos I liked.

Lots of pictures I have uploaded are mega (byte wise)....but some that have become invisible were much smaller...bit of a random deletion process going on!

I have also found that I am unable to view some mosaics on other blogs...I think its just me as other people have commented on the beautiful pictures that are not appearing on my screen.

The up side is that I have discovered Picasa...and all my pics are still stored there regardless of their visibility on the blog, alongside others that I uploaded more than once or were the wrong way up....

So I am laboriously scaling each large picture down in byte size using Picasa and re-uploading some that are missing.

Apologies if you come to a large gap in text or a caption without its image..hopefully I'll get round to restoring them all in the end...I'm also hoping that if I have edited a post it doesn't appear on everyone's dashboard again?!

All this talk of pictures has prompted me to show you some blackbirds that appeared in the garden a few weeks ago....

One has flown far North whilst another made his way South!!

 I'm really excited to have joined a Snail Mail Holiday Swap hosted by Tracey and Emma..I'm looking forward to making and exchanging goodies, and getting to know my swapping partner....I'll be posting about it another time... but there's still time to get involved if you'd like.

In the meantime any pictorial advice gratefully accepted!!

OOh - How exciting!!!

I think  this title could be used lots of  times over the next few posts!

I returned from holiday to two fantastic pieces of Bloggy news, two collaborative projects have borne fruit and there are lots of  lovely holiday pictures to share.....

so this is the first of a series of  posts I hope you find as exciting as I do!

Where so I start? 

Becky at The Fluff Pot recently held a very generous giveaway to celebrate reaching 50 followers, (since then she has amassed another 24!) Becky began blogging just before I did, she was the first to leave a comment on my blog and has left regular positive and friendly messages since!  Her blog is full of colour, inspiring images and tips. She has turned her hands to lots of crafty creations and its a joy to read all about them, and her beautiful garden.

Imagine my surprise and delight to find out that I had won her fantabulously fluffy feast of goodies.

One day last week, around lunchtime a parcel arrived ....Random Wooliness Junior and his one of his friends were spending the last day of holiday freedom at ours and were immediately mesmerised by the box of treasures.

I managed to get them to wait whilst I photographed the perfectly presented purple packages....

and the sparkly colourful gift boxes...

Just then the sun came out and we took the everything out in the garden to open..

like Christmas in the sun!

It was fantastic to see the lads choosing which shaped package to open next and hearing their descriptions of the contents,  they were so enthusiastic about the colours, textures and shapes. 

One spent time stroking the bright wool tops (each coloured ball was given a name!) the other was very appreciative of the jewellery wrap, its colours and the beautiful button which was examined carefully. The acorns proved to be a real winner - they loved the concept and I loved all the colour combinations and shiny patches.We all marvelled at the amazing autumn leaf vessel with the coppery  wire veins.

The heart pin cushion was given a good squidge by us all and we chose our favourite coloured pins and cotton...the boys were amazed at the hearts that came from the butterfly wings and suggested uses for the colourful card decorations.

We chirped noisily about the bird brooch and watched the necklace shine and twinkle in in the sun. The rose is so delicate..both in colour and texture.

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Becky not only for sharing her talented work (its great being able to view  and feel some of her bloggy items up close!) but for enabling me to hear those two chaps being so enthusiastic about such creative items!

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the announcement too.

Becky has a Folksy shop, her handcrafted items are really well made and feel fabulously fluffy!!

I think the acorns and autumn leaf will be beautifying our lounge soon,
although it feels autumnal today I'm still clinging to summer....