I am 2

it's true, doesn't time just fly - 2 whole years of my virtual life, here in blogland.
This is the first time in my life that I have actually kept any sort of diary for such a long period of time. There is much about the goings on in my life which I don't write in my blog - I think it's important to keep a little bit of yourself just for yourself. That said, there is much more I wish I had documented here - it's great to look back and see forgotten pictures, or favourite recipes, or lost memories, or to read how I may have been feeling at a particular point in my life.
Note to self: write more, and take the camera out with you more often.

May I take this opportunity to pause for a small moment and thank everyone who takes the time to pop by and leave me a comment. I've met some lovely, friendly, kind, generous, funny and inspirational people since starting my blog and long may I hope that continues.
It's been some time since I gave something back, so it seems a good time to do so. If you'd like to own a couple of my new cards (similar to those in the mosaic below) then please just leave me a comment below. I will draw the lucky recipient at random on Wednesday 13th May (probably some time in the evening)

getting my hands dirty

After a weekend spent getting my hands dirty (it took ages to get the dirt out of my nails), Monday was spent in the happy, compost free surroundings of my work room making mess of an altogether papery kind. The fruits of these labours - some more cards. I'll make a few more this week and then get them into my shops. Some are missing a theme though - should they be birthday, thanks, general greetings? What say you?

Dig in

Before going off to the garden centre today, i thought I'd at least do a bit of research on sowing and growing, and found this excellent BBC website called 'dig in'. Well, it is quite basic, but it suits me just fine - and I think the animations are fab.
I also think Sara Cox is very funny, and she makes me feel like less of a fogie for having my little greenhouse (which was erected yesterday by Mr Monda) and growing some veggies, fruits and herbs.

green fingers?

I am a very amateur gardener - fumbling my way through my garden experiences with no real idea if I do the right things. I prune stuff with gusto, pull off dead leaves, and dead head flowers, but I'm not really green fingered. I'm hoping this will magically change though when I erect my latest purchase this coming weekend:I'm not ready for a grown up's greenhouse yet, so I thought this was a good starting point. I'm scarily excited about growing some veg and herbs in here. I got it from here if you are interested.
I'm mostly wanting to grow tomatoes - a few different varieties, as they are just my favourite thing to eat. Is this normal behaviour for a 33 year old person I wonder?

a little bird told me

I was looking through my paper stash, and couldn't find what I was looking for. The only answer was to dig into my fabric stash and head to the photocopier. Photocopied fabric is in many respects better for my project work as it is thinner than scrapbook papers (and therefore easier to draw on), cheaper, and allows a much wider variety of choice - from my rather plentiful fabric stash!

These cards were fun, and quite quick to make too. I'm off to experiment and make some more for my shops.

weekend shenannigans

Friday Night: Whirlwind supermarket sweep for weekly food shop, followed by Mojito's on the sofa and My Girl on TV.Saturday: super speedy housework effort, slap on, into London to see Grease at the Theatre. accidentally purchased new bag and a pair of shoes.
Sunday: reading emails, catching up, eating ice cream in the sunny back garden, making cards, salmon and soup noodles with edamame, apple and rhubarb crumble, cutting up some wool jumpersPhew. A good weekend.

The bird is the word

Do you watch family guy? If you don't then you are missing a real treat. Once you get over the odd concept of a talking dog who everyone in the family can understand, a talking baby who only the dog can understand, and a father who is massively inappropriate at every given opportunity then it is actually very funny. This week there was an episode which made me and Mr Monda laugh so much that we just haven't been able to get the song or the dance out of our heads - and here, just for you (and also me, because I love it) a small snap shot of the episode courtesy of YouTube:


I think you'll agree, that the bird is indeed the word. Also on a bird related theme - this rather nice fabric was purchased on a recent trip to Ikea. This (cotton) was just £1.99 per metre - a bargain!

2002 miles away (apparently)

By way of a small explanation of my absence these last few weeks, I have been approximately 2002 miles away, in Cyprus to be little more exact. Cyprus was not my first choice as a holiday destination, but our primary reason for going was a wedding out there, so we combined it with a holiday. I took surprisingly few pictures whilst I was away, which is not very like me. I did lots of things which were not like me actually - lots of sleeping, walking, sitting and reading, chilling out and drinking cocktails (ok, this last one is very like me).
I'm quite a home bird really, and as nice as it was to do all these things, I am also very happy to be home - I missed my baby cats, my own bed, and the familiar surroundings of my little home. Although it was nice to have a complete break from everything, I missed technology (my computer and my blog, my sewing machine, my camera) and I'll be glad to get back to it all. I'm going to dive back into google reader in a moment and read the remaining 537 posts on my list.
A small flavour of my holiday:
This was called 'between the sheets'a little run down villa - I really like the wooden shutters metal patterned grille on a glass doorpart of a print from the wall of an ancient Greek bath house

Cath Kidston Discount

I just received this by email as I subscribe to the Cath Kidston newsletter. This is a one day (Wednesday 8th April) 15% discount. Now go forth and shop! (click on pic for full size image and discount code)

so busy

I'm so busy at the moment - this blog post is effectively a displacement activity from other things I need to do.
I've been working on a design brief this weekend and have actually got quite a lot done, but need to carry on for a few hours yet today as I have a deadline this week. I also need to eat at some point (although can't think where I might get time for this).
A couple of things have come from the Monda camp this week - a card for a friends daughter, which I decided to make with a stitched paper patchwork - I really enjoy stitching with paper. It's something that you can't overwork though - it has a tendency to fall apart if you doAlso, I've been working up those green and pink fabrics from my last postI'm using this in my latest design work, which I must get back to now...

finding inspiration in pink and green

Off the top of my head, I wouldn't have picked green and pink together - its only when you start looking around for inspiration that you realise they work very well together indeed. I must walk around with my eyes closed sometimes.
When seeking inspiration for my projects, I usually find an object, picture, photo, snippit of fabric, piece of clothing etc, and go from there. Then I raid my fabric stash and grab all the colours I am looking for, selecting and rejecting as I go along. This usually means I have lots of little piles of fabric on my desk ready for the project to begin. This is my latest fabric stash, inspired by the heart in the top pic

the cow that laid an egg

I honestly think that I am still a child. I just reside in a grown up person.
There are many reasons I still feel like a child, but evidence of this is one of my latest purchases, of this children's book called 'the cow that laid an egg'. An excellent story, but my main reason for purchasing was because I love the illustrations. Russell Ayto illustrated this book, here are some of my fave pics:

feeling sleepy

Maybe I just haven't been able to catch up from the weekend, but I've been ever so sleepy this week. I've woken up every day feeling tired, and thinking that I just cannot wait to get back into my bed at the end of the day. To be fair, I do think this quite a lot. I love sleeping, being in bed, being cosy, pyjamas, pillow spray... what a bummer that the clocks go forward in the UK this weekend - this means one less hour of sleeping.
I woke up this morning with dry patches under my eyes, which meant my eyes just puffed up and I looked like a dragon. I have no idea how this happened, but it really made me feel quite down today, and as a result I had one of those days where I just retreated into myself, and wasn't particularly sociable. Isn't it weird that something so insignificant (in the grand scheme of things) can make you feel so crubbish.

Not much creative output has come from the sleepy monda household this week, just a little run of birthday cards - print and paper:

mojito mojito

This weekend was spent catching up with some old friends who I just don't see often enough. Many many laughs were had, cocktails were consumed, food was eaten, rock band was played, and not enough sleep was had - so all in all, a great weekend (although at the tender age of 33, I would have liked a bit more sleep!).
Anyone who knows me, will know that I don't actually drink very often - I'm a bit weird with drinks actually - I rarely have a hot drink, I drink lots of water, juice and squash, and when it comes to alcohol, there is not really that much that I like to drink. Mojito's on the other hand are a different matter entirely - oh yes, they are my drink of choice. This weekend I discovered a new mojito recipe which may just be the nicest drink I have ever had, so I had to find out how to recreate this drink - The Cucumber Mojito. Of course I've googled the recipe, and there seems to be a few variations out there.

Cucumber Mojito
In a high ball glass muddle together:
half a lime, cut into about 6 wedges
a teaspoon of caster sugar (or a shot of sugar syrup)
a couple of springs of fresh mint
a handful of crushed ice
then add a shot of white rum, and a shot of cucumber vodka and mix together
fill the remainder of the glass with crushed ice, and top up with soda water
dress with a sprig of mint, and a straw.

I've also found a recipe for making cucumber vodka - which I will definitely try.
and whilst googling, I found an excellent cocktail website, with lots of nice recipes including a passion fruit mojito if cucumber isn't your thing, and a recipe for making cucumber mojito's for a crowd. Give it a go - It's especially nice on a warm sunny day.

mothers day

Mothers day in the UK is this Sunday. This evening, a little late in the day I admit, I made a card for my mum. I've included all of my favourite things - using fabric scraps, stitching onto card, printed letters and paper. I hope she will like it - and that it gets there on time. I really enjoy making these little one off pieces. My mum keeps all the cards I've made for her - even the really embarrassing old ones which I don't like.

Thanks for all the comments on what to add to my cushions - it was a unanimous no no, as far as buttons are concerned - too much fear of button - face interface - I can totally see what you ladies mean, but it seems some appliqué would be acceptable so I'll get onto that soon.

I've just seen this ad on the TV, and had to share. It just makes me smile every time I see it. Genuis.