Bridal Bouquet Workshop

I made the decision not to complete this term of college.  There are a few reasons why, one of them being the cost, another being that it was funeral work and I didn't feel that I would get much use out of it.

I have really missed going to college of a Thursday evening and spending a few hours with the girls that I have met there.

Last night was a little different though as there was a one off workshop covering bridal bouquets. 

I am a little disappointed, it isn't what I thought we would be making.  It also probably didn't help that it's not at all what I would choose, I'm more of a traditional girl myself.  But it was an evening with the girls and we did learn some new techniques, plus it was a chance for me to practise some of the techniques we used last term, seeing as I'm taking a few weeks out (I will be going back to complete the last term after Easter)  So no more college flowers from me now until after Easter, I can't wait :)  I've really missed it.

Love Gem x x x x

An Evening With The Stars.

Things have been a little quiet around here recently.  I do have a good reason for it though, I have been a little preoccupied and I will be able to reveal more very soon I promise.  Hopefully once all is revealed I will be back to blogging a lot more regularly.  But until then I thought I would finally get round to blogging about something that has been sitting in my drafts for almost 2 weeks :s

Last weekend A couple of weekends ago, myself and James headed over to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory.  One of the presents I bought James for Christmas was An Evening with the Stars, an event held regularly at the observatory.  Of course I couldn't of just bought a ticket for him so I got one for myself too :)

That green beam you can see there is the meridian line.

The weather had been looking pretty good all day so we were hoping for a clear night with plenty of stars.  Unfortunately that wasn't quite how it turned out and by the time we got there it was overcast and drizzly.

Still the view across London was as ever a good one.  I just love this view.

The event still went ahead although we didn't get to use the huge telescope there (it has a 28inch lens) and instead learnt about the history of it (not quite the same but interesting none the least)  There was also a show in the planetarium there which was amazing, I love those kind of things, now that was just like laying out under the stars, beautiful.

Just so you can appreciate the size of this thing, check out this next photo with the guy standing next to it.

It literally is huge.

So although we had planned an evening with the stars, we ended up with an evening with telescopes.  The planetarium there was amazing though, without a doubt the highlight of the evening.

So all that there is to do now is book up to go again and hope for a clear night :)

Love Gem x x x x

What's New For 2013

I get the feeling 2013 is going to be a good year.  I don't normally get that feeling, but this year I know is going to be different.  I can't really say much more at the moment but as soon as I can, I will, I promise.

So what else is new?  Well I've joined Twitter.  Actually I joined months ago but wasn't using it.  I haven't used it that much but I have started.  I don't know how I feel about it at the moment.  I'll be honest it's no Instagram, now that is something I am still in love with.  I'm addicted.  But anyway back to Twitter, if you want to follow me you can do so @GemStarCreation.

I'm hoping 2013 will be the year that I finally pull my finger out and start selling some of my crafts.  I have already taken my first order for an advent calendar, very excited about that.  I've been working on lots of little cross stitch projects and hope to turn some of these into cards and I have lots of other ideas floating about in my mind of various other craft projects I'd like to give a try.

I'm also going to try and hand-make a lot more of my gifts this year.  It is something I have said about doing for a while now but have never really mastered.  Well I'm off to a good start.  The photos on this post are what I gave to a friend earlier this week for her birthday.  I was so pleased to see how happy she was when opening them, she loved her gifts and I loved making them and giving them to her.  I know I always love receiving hand made gifts and it surprised me how much I enjoyed giving handmade gifts too :)  Something I hope to continue throughout 2013.

I hope you have all had a good start to 2013 and here's hoping the rest of the year is a good one.

Love Gem x x x x 

My Christmas & New Year's Eve

It seems like ages ago now, well Christmas was 2 weeks ago, my god how time flies.  Christmas was a quiet ordeal for me this year.  The day itself spent with family and loved ones.  I was pretty spoilt, and got some lovely presents.

This was one of my Secret Santa gifts from Gemma at Musings of a Gem, I love it, and the fact that it is home-made is even better.

 And from a good friend of mine I got these cute tea cup and saucers and this adorable sign which will be hung up next year for sure.

These were just a few of the gifts I received, along with some money and vouchers.  I wasn't lying when I said I was spoilt.

The time between Christmas and New Year was spent relaxing and generally doing nothing.  If I'm honest it was lovely, although it went way too quickly.  I was lucky enough not to have to go into work in-between, it was so nice having all that time to myself.

The bridge was up, not very often you get to see that.

We see in the New Year in London on the Embankment.

We walked along the river from Tower Bridge to find our spot for the evening.  It was a lovely walk, a lot of the bridges were illuminated by coloured lights, and I'm always up for seeing the sites of London.

It was ridiculously busy which we expected, I doubt we would attempt it again in a hurry.

Although the fireworks were amazing so it was well worth it, even if at times they were clouded by smoke.

The atmosphere was incredible.  It's something we have said about doing many times before so I'm glad we went and can now say we have experienced it.  

So here we are, another year.  Bring it on 2013.

Hope you all have a very happy new year.

Love Gem x x x x