And the winner is...

Technical issues, weather, demanding actors, missing assistant...
Ah... the spanners in the works of my draw director debut.

Still, in the face of adversity, the show did go on... Successfully I might add, for we have a very clear winner whose name did not end up in Jacks belly.


If you look closely (zoom in) you can just about make out the name in Jack's mouth :)

The winner is... the lovely Lizzet!!

"What a lovely giveaway... specially because it made me remember of lots of great moments from my childhood and realise that I am a lucky person even if I don't win a hoop.

I remember once I was playing with one of my sisters that I was a hairdresser and she was my client and to get that super shinny effect that you see in the TV ads I generously poured baby oil all over her hair! I certainly achieved that shinny look but her hair was rather flat and lacking body :S My mother must have had spent a good half an hour washing the oil out and maybe even used half a bottle of shampoo... needless to say my career as a hairdresser was over ;)"

Congratulations Lizzet, and a big thank you for making me chuckle with your lovely tale of mischief! (I am sure the result was lovely and shiny... teehee :)
I am so pleased my little giveaway brought back happy memories.

Thank you very, very much to everyone of you who entered, I wish I could make each one of you a winner... Your stories brought many smiles to my face as I read and re-read them.

Keep that little spark of armless mischief going, I swear it makes your life the better for it.

Annabelle x

Spruced up

I seem to be constantly behind lately, so flipping annoying! I'm sure you know the feeling... Sod it, I say, time to make something for myself.

Months ago, I had a cushions clear out, thinking I'd make some new ones. After putting together a little yummy colour palette, I finally made a couple. About time too! (I had more than a couple in mind, but yeah... you've got it... :).



I got distracted by some lovely new vintage fabric I found recently. I was very good and only sneaked in a little yellow, well, and a little green... Frankly, I'm amazed the colour palette didn't go out of the window completely.

How I LOVE colour... (almost) all colours. If someone asked me which is my favourite, I would really struggle to answer. (But then I struggle to answer these kind of questions in general - must be the gemini in me.)



My lil' branch of glee got a wee makeover too. Normally once Christmas is over, I'm quite happy to put the decorations away - love that feeling of new found space again, but this year I kept the branch of glee minus any obvious Christmasy bits, until now.



A little 'springy-fied' tree of happy with crocheted 'moss' :)



I'm loving reading all your answers to my giveaway!! Thank you so much for sharing your tales of playful mischief!

There is still time to enter if you haven't yet, especially as *someone* has been skiving his draw rehearsals... Caught in the act. Might have to resort to plan B. :)



Annabelle x

The 'nearly' giveaway

I'm just a little bit excited to announce my first ever giveaway... the 'nearly' giveaway!

Named so not because you nearly get a little bit of goodness from my shop (here's a hoop, go make your own ;) et bien non... for it refers to my 'nearlies'.

•• nearly 200 lovely blog followers
•• nearly 500 just as lovely twitter followers
•• nearly 100 sales in my Etsy shop
•• nearly 2500 Etsy shop hearts
•• and nearly 300 facebook 'likers' (actually just gone over 300 but let's not spoil my perfect title)

And that, my friends, gives me the perfect excuse for a 'nearly' giveaway. My way of thanking you for visiting my little shop and for your lovely comments & support.

The prize...

A hoop of your choice from my shop.

The rules...

#1 Please leave a comment here on my blog, but not just any comment - 'gah!' just wouldn't do it :)
In the spirit of 'one should not take oneself too seriously' and 'find your inner child', please share a little tale of mischief performed by you or yours.
You might, for example :) have taken all the labels off cans of food at your friend's house, the type of friend who would take all the slats out of your bed, or stick post-its on *everything* in sight.

#2 Make sure you leave me a way of contacting you (preferably email).

#3 Anyone, anywhere, can take part.

#4 Spread the word if you feel like it.

#5 I will close the giveaway on Thursday 24th Feb (12:00 GMT), and announce the winner the following day, on Fri 25th Feb.

#6 My train set, my rules (that doesn't really mean anything, just like the way it sounds).

The results...

The winner will be picked at random by Jack-the-dog, who will have a practice run (or two) beforehand to ensure a perfectly smooth 'live' draw - I have slight concerns over him eating the name of the winner, but fear not, small glitches such as these will be ironed out BD (before draw - techy talk here, we are taking this very seriously indeed).

~ Giveaway is now closed ~

Annabelle x

Blog love...

A huuuuuge thank you to the lovely Amanda at Itchin' Stitchin' who nominated me for the Liebster blog award. Thank you very much my dear!
(Hope no-one will mind my little logo redesign.)

The award is for crafty-blogs which have less than 300 readers. The idea is to encourage more visitors and discover bloggers & crafters. You know, spread the gospel! Something I am more than happy to do.
Amanda, and Viv (who passed the award onto her), added a little twist by picking crafters with an online shop. Really like that, two of my choices also run their own business. Here goes...

And the nominees are...

Drum roll...

In no particular order...

... (stringing it TV/Film award stylee. Okey doke, that'll do.)

1. The lovely Heather aka Bee Vintage Redux - who has a fab Etsy shop full of up-cycled goodness.

2. Raphaelle over at au coeur d'artycho - and no, it's not because she's French! But you'll know that when you pop over there. Also go and check out her Etsy shop.

3. Jo over at about Mo and me - Just because she's lovely, has some brilliant ideas, a lovely home, and I miss her ramblings.

You still here? Go go go...!

Thanks again Amanda, you're a star!

x

In my haste...

In my haste..., originally uploaded by Three Red Apples.

to make my man a valentine card last night, in complete covert operation, I surely picked the wrong colours... nothing a few vintage bobins can't fix :)

I'm usually the one who forgets to get my love a card, so sweet the roles are reversed this year *smile*

I hope you share a little love today and all year round.

Annabelle x

Colour palette - doing it for me...

Image credits: 1. Lindsay Jewell, 2. wood & wool stool, 3. {brooke} april two eighty, 4. DanielleT

I'm back from Scotland!
Loved it... even with the gale force wind, rain and snow lashing on us.
It's a wonderful place.
First Scottish winter climbing trip but definitely not the last, we're hooked.

I'm loving these colours right now. I've decided it's about time I made those cushions I promised myself...
There will be photos, sure to be sure. (uh... wrong place... never mind, the Irish accent's just as nice :)

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

Annabelle x