Tickled Pink's News

Has it really been that long since I wrote a new post? It's true about time flying when you're having fun, and things here have been very hectic indeed.

First of all there was the Pink family holiday to Florida, courtesy of Mr Pink's airmiles! I can't begin to tell you how much we all enjoyed ourselves and what a fantastic time we had! My favourite part has to be the fact that we could use the Virgin Atlantic lounge at Gatwick as Mr Pink holds a gold card with them. It was so lovely to sit in there away from the hustle and bustle of the airport, relaxing with a glass of Bucks Fizz and partaking in a complimentary manicure at the spa!  I think this photo just about sums up the whole holiday. I know I have used it before in a Silent Sunday post, but I make no apologies for using it again.

 

Since we got back, after all the washing and ironing and unpacking that a holiday entails, the garden has been at the forefront of things.  Although the rain has been miserable for most of us, my vegetables have thoroughly enjoyed it and we have had bumper crops of peas and particularly broad beans (over 14lbs)!

 

They have been blanched and frozen, turned into soup and eaten with parsley sauce! Any recipes for broad beans would be much appreciated!



This year is also the first time that I have used the family jam pan which I inherited from my Mum. The pressure was on as Dad was here when I started to turn all the lovely strawberries, raspberries and redcurrants that we picked at our local PYO.  Fortunately it all worked (apart from boiling over the sugar and strawberries and making a sticky burnt mess on my cooker top) and we have a larder full of lovely jams and jellies just waiting to be eaten.

It's onto cherries now, and I have a rather splendid recipe for sweet pickled cherries that I am going to try, along with a roasted sweet beetroot and horseradish relish to use up our bountiful crop of beetroot.

Tickled Pink Crafts also has a very interesting handmade card project on the go.  I can't tell you much about it at the moment, but suffice to say that Miss Tickled doesn't have enough room to make it, so it's over to me and my rusty card making skills!  Watch this space..............!

Finally let me tell you how proud I am of Miss Tickled and her continued efforts in giving up the evil weed.  She is doing so well and, in spite of feeling horrible, has managed to stay away from cigarettes completely.  Well done Miss Tickled, keep up the good work!

Guest post

I was thrilled the other week to be asked to write a guest blog post for Singles Warehouse, promoting our handmade cards.

Click on this link, Singles Warehouse, to read their blog and visit their website.

You can also follow them on Twitter - @Singles_whouse. Please help me to try and persuade them that coffee drinking builders are as good as tea drinking ones (oh, and by the way @Singles_whouse, our electrician is a coffee drinker too!)!!

Happy Birthday

This post could actually be called Happy Anniversary or Congratulations or Hello or I Love You, or anything else that you might want to say with a card.

According to Wikipedia the tradition of sending cards can be traced back to the ancient Chinese and Egyptians, and the custom truly came to the fore in Victorian times.  Nowadays it seems that you can buy a card for any occasion and those clever marketeers even invent special days to try and encourage the consumer to buy them.

Here at Tickled Pink Crafts, Miss Tickled handmakes beautiful cards, which are fun, funky, classic, elegant, subtle and, more importantly, unique.  There is no danger of you sending the same card as someone else, and you can be sure that it will stand out from the crowd on the recipient's mantelpiece.

I suppose the most traditional way of making cards is by using rubber stamps and then either embossing them or simply colouring the image.  Miss Tickled has developed this into a fine art, using professional artists pens, pencils and inks, combined with clever distressing techniques to create gorgeous images which she then mounts on the cards.

She also uses her own diecuts from paper, foam and fabric, and turns them into funky yet classic designs.

She is incredibly skilled in using different types of plastic, resin and enamel to create tiny pieces of art which she then incorporates into a card which will surely be admired for a long time after the event it celebrates has passed.

And finally we come to her magnificent shutter cards!  These are truly unique and can be commissioned in colours and styles to suit whatever special occasion you are celebrating.  You won't find cards like these in the shops!

I am in awe of her creativity and I am sure that she won't mind me mentioning that she has been commissioned to make a series of cards to be sold in a London museum!

At the moment we have a special offer of 10 cards for £10 + £2 p&p, so pop along to our website or have a look on Facebook and make your choice.  And don't forget, if you don't see what you want please get in touch.

Thank you for dropping by.  We hope to see you again soon.

Dog Show

A couple of weeks ago Miss Tickled informed me that she would be having a stall at the Cabbages and Frocks market in Marylebone for three weeks, and the final week would have the theme of a dog show.  This set me thinking.  I thought about jute bags with a dog theme, but I don't have any dog fabric and they take a long time to make as there is an awful lot of handstitching involved (they will be coming soon though, never fear - now that all the Bank Holidays are over I have more time).  So I plumped for needle-felted brooches.

I know that I am biased but I think they are fab and Mr Pink agrees! The large black ones in particular look exactly like one of our dogs.  They will be available at the Cabbages and Frocks market in Marylebone this Saturday (7th May) and then via our website - fingers crossed they sell well.

This morning I have ordered some dog themed fabric and some new felting needles so that I can start on the jute bags - watch this space.

Kreativ Blog Award

I have been nominated for a Kreativ Blog award by Lesley Ann at Knitting Not Necessary. This is not quite as glamorous as it sounds, but is still a thrill.  I simply have to link back to Lesley Ann's blog and write 10 interesting facts about myself.  This has proved to be something of a challenge, but here goes!

• When I was 11 I represented my school at swimming and came fourth in the whole of Leeds for the backstroke and sixth in front crawl.
• I was only ever allowed a goldfish as a pet when I was a child.  I am making up for it now, and have three dogs, eight chickens, a parrot, four goldfish and a husband!

• I have never broken any bones, or had mumps or chickenpox - I dread Little Pink catching those in case she passes them on to me.
• I can speak fluent German and passable French.  When I was living in Austria I tried to learn Russian which was tricky as all the lessons were in German so I was translating things three times over!
• I share my birthday with Terry Savalas (Kojak), and it is also the day on which the President of the United States is inaugurated.
• I think I got my crafty gene from my Mum (and also my paternal Grandma).  Mum used to tat and passed the skill on to me.  I am thinking of trying to incorporate it into Tickled Pink Crafts somehow.
• I now live in my forever house in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours for half a mile on either side (even though I am a city girl born and bred). Those of you who saw my Gallery post this week will have already seen the view - but if you haven't here it is: The Gallery - Green
• My favourite group of all time is The Smiths.  I love the poetry in their songs (Morrissey is a lyrical genius) and the way they spoke to me during all my years of teenage angst.
• I have met some of my best and dearest friends over the internet.  This doesn't make me a saddo, because they are real people and I have actually met most of them (I've even been on holiday with some of them too - and had an amazing time in spite of the dodgy "4 star" accommodation). 
• I have double-jointed thumbs!

And so that's me in 10 amazing (or incredibly dull) facts!  I'm now going to pass this on to Planet Penny, Shellybobbins and Dottie Designs