I've always considered myself to be 'crafty' - but not particularly artistic. As a youngster I used to make dolls clothes out of scraps of material. In my teens I made jewellery which I would sell at parties. I started paper crafting about four years ago. From humble beginnings of a small box, my 'stash' quickly grew to take over the dinner table and eventually we moved house, so I now have the spare room.
Which brings me onto my other full time commitment - the house. Yes, it was a good price, but I had not anticipated the time it takes to do anything. Everything needs to be taken back and started afresh.
One bonus which we were not aware of when we viewed the house was its close proximity to the river and two huge lakes. It's great when the weather is fine but it can a worry when we have lots of rain, and river bank defence is breached. We do get more than our fair share of wildlife - toads, bats, and even the odd pair of ducks who pass by occasionally.
The garden was overgrown when we moved in, and I set out to design a garden which encouraged wildlife. My big success last year was finding a local hedgehog - not in the garden, but in the outhouse attached to the kitchen!
This year, we have cracked it, as it appears that a hedgehog (might be the original one, it might not) appears to have moved in and regularly joins the cats for dinner.
