cherrypinks

I'm 36 and I live with my lovely partner of 11 years and our 4 rescue cats in Westcliff on sea which is a coastal town in Essex, UK. I grew up here but moved to London when I was 19 to work until 4 years ago when I felt compelled to move back to the area again because I missed the sea :)

I worked for 15 years as a social worker but I have always been mad keen on crafts and so 2 years ago I made the brave / crazy ? decision to leave my job and start my own business. I can honestly say it was the best decision of my life and now I run a full time ebay shop selling personalised candles for special occasions like weddings and christenings and I get to play a very small role in making someone's day extra special :)

Outside of work I am an obsessive crafter ( busman's holiday?) and thankfully I have the most understanding partner who tolerates our dining room carpet being constantly covered with bits of thread, sequins, stray needles and glue that refuses to comes off !! I love making things for people and I'm so please to find this website because I've run out of friends and family to give things to so this is perfect :))

I also love trying to make tasty low fat versions of my fav foods, chilling out watching TV, walking along the sea front, using my digital camera, laughing with my family, camping and spending time with totally adorable 2 and half year old Godson ( and his little brother ) who are a constant source of pleasure ....

I love love love Country Music but I am a bit of a lone voice in UK as its not popular here at all. I have to listen to internet radio stations to get my fix and I dream of a day when CMT is on my TV but a fear a long long wait :(

A couple of years ago I went to Nashville on holiday and saw Martina McBride in concert which was really special and I would love to see Sugarland live so I'll have to start saving again ....

Other than country I have a fondness for cheesy school disco pop stuff ( being a child of the 70's & 80's), I love musicals ( hairspray and wicked are my favs) and very occasionally I get a yearning for some "grown up" stuff like coldplay, snowpatrol and keane ... but love mix Cd's of any genre cos you never know when you're going to hear a fab song :)

I don't find I get a huge amount of time for reading but on those rare occasions when I have nothing to do or places to be I enjoy Kathy Reichs, Harlen Coben and Kate Atkinson in particular.

I also have an unhealthy amount of craft books and my current favs are those by Amy Butler, Betz White and Alicia Paulson - just looking at their beautiful homes is inspirational, and I'm just getting into Japanese craft books which are just too cute. My fav mag is Sew Hip, which is a long overdue blessing for the UK craft magazine shelves !! and I LOVE LOVE LOVE international magazines , (especially craft or country music related but also food, country living, lifestyle etc) and love collecting them when I'm away on holiday.

I have to admit I'm not a huge movie buff and not a regular cinema goer, but I did see "The boat that rocked" last week and really enjoyed it ( the 60's music soundtrack was fab).

Other than that I love vintage children's classics like Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins and anything light and fluffy that doesn't require too much of my attention to follow - think Reece Witherspoon / Drew Barrymore and you'll get the idea.

I was persuaded to watch Mystic River on DVD recently and it took me two days to recover ... ( superb acting but it just left me too depressed !)

I'm a bit of a reality TV fan I'm afraid, Strictly Come Dancing, The Apprentice, X Factor, I'm a Celebrity, Dancing on Ice etc and the US equivalents (when I remember what channel they are on !) and I also like chilling out to repeats of : (in no particular order ) Top Gear, QI, Mock the Week, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Will & Grace, King of Queens, The Office, Gavin & Stacey and Friends.

Oh where do I start on this one .... there probably isn't a craft in the known world that hasn't been my fav at some point or another, I've had love affairs with card making, scrapbooking, salt dough, glass painting, fimo, silk painting, embroidery, knitting ... to name a few and I have the crammed storage boxes and depleted bank balance to prove it !

Fond as I am of all my past obsessions my current fav has to be sewing but in particular anything to do with fabric & felt. I have been busy felting old neglected sweaters all winter and now I am slowing matching up my beautiful pile of soft 100% wool felt with gorgeous fabrics & trimmings and turning them into brooches, pin cushions, bags and jewellery and loving every minute of it :)

I'm also trying my hand at mixed media creations / distressed art work at the moment ( I'm a real novice but loving learning about it and I'm fascinated with the tim holtz range ) and I'm having a stab at upcycling my old clothes for the summer and I have a pair of green cargo trousers that are slowly transforming into a lovely skirt that's in progress at the moment ...

cherries ( in any way, shape or form eg sticker, fabric, paper, food, smell, candy, drink etc my absolute fav thing ... ),

Chapsticks / lip balms,

cupcakes,

the colours pink, green and brown,

The Wizard of OZ,

vintage fabrics,

cake making stuff ( sprinkles, topers, cases etc)

K&Co,

unusual buttons,

fat quarters,

things that smell of berries,

funky / cute hair clips,

Mix CD's of any genre - love to hear new things,

felt, felt and more felt,

Christmas,

tiny earings,

children's picture books (especially my first 100 word type books in languages other than English),

country living magazines,

Martha Stewart Crafts,

Seaside resorts,

Wicked The Musical ( my dream is to have a dog named Elphaba )

maps,

funfair's,

velvet ribbons,

scrabble tiles,

shabby chic,

little writing pads,

pompoms,

mini boxes of cereal ( I have the breakfast mentality of a small child with a sweet tooth!)

angels,

plastic gumball charms,

Alice in Wonderland,

cats and cat toys,

anything with the name Vincent on ( my Godson's name)

rubber stamps,

Afghan dogs,

blank inchies and atc's,

ice cream,

Japanese fabrics,

magazine clippings,

polka dots,

Noah's arks,

anything that glitters and sparkles

pink pens,

journals,

embroidery thread ( particularly the mixed colour skeins )

gingham,

stickles,

ceramic and glass beads,

jewellery finding,

cornbread mix in a box ! ( I love this and can't buy at all in UK)

lemons,

pretty scrapbooking paper and embellishments,

baskin robbins sugarfree candy (almost enough to warrant the airfare to come and collect it !!) actually any candy that has reduced sugar/fat etc because then I don't feel so bad when I eat it all in one go !

......and anything thats been handmade from the heart ....

..... please nothing religious at all or anything too gloomy - I'm a sunny bunny at heart, so no horror etc and I'm not into vampires, Gothic, supernatural or sci-fi stuff - I seem to have missed the boat on this one in pop culture, oh and sadly no chocolate or cookies etc - not that I don't love it , I do too much I'm afraid so I'm on weightwatchers plan at the moment and my will power is weak at the best of times, treats in the post I wouldn't be able to resist !! anything sugarfree, lite, low fat etc greatfully received though ....

but other than that I'm easily pleased.