About Blackbutterfly Cards



I started making cards for pleasure in 2007, and quickly found my home was becoming swamped by cards everywhere. I decided to put some of them up for sale on a webpage in an effort to recoup some of the costs of my hobby. I called the webpage Blackbutterfly Handcrafted Cards, and it can be found at http://www.blackbutterfly2007.co.uk/

I try to take my cards to a couple of table sales or craft fairs a year, but make my cards mainly for friends and family. I would love the website sales to take off, as I nowhere near cover the costs involved in this all absorbing hobby, but for me the main thing is the pleasure I have in making my cards.
Recently I have decided to expand my blog to cover my other interests too. It's a sort of substitute for going to work and chatting to people, as due to ill health I was unable to work, and since the beginning of 2014 I am officially a pensioner.
Although I'll still show my cards, I'll also be covering my other interests and how I attempt to make ends meet day by day.

In fact anything that crosses my mind will be on here, so be prepared for waffle and a wasted five minutes as you read.
Make coffee and settle in, why don't you?




Sunday, October 26, 2014

It Was Lovely.............Really!

I went through my fridge the other day, just before T****'s delivered, and sorted out my veg tray. Its something I haven't done for a while, but usually results in my shouting "It's soup day!" 
 Everything that looks a bit sorry for itself, and worn out, gets boiled up for soup. Throwing away perfectly good veggies that are just a bit 'bendy' is not an option. Everything I could find went in, some potatoes that had hidden away, and gone soft and a bit green on the edges, half a swede that I saved for a casserole we never had, a leftover parsnip, quite a few carrots that looked too sad to even be dog treats ( he likes his carrots crunchy, fussy animal), some celery sticks (judiciously trimmed of some brown marks), lots of little onions, too small for cutting up and too big for pickling so had just sat waiting patiently, plus a couple that had started sprouting. No leeks left this time - but I did add approx 100g of tinned chopped tomatoes left over from another recipe. A little salt and pepper, and a couple of chicken stock cubes into the pan of cold water, and then brought to the boil and simmered for about 90 minutes. Checking the seasoning, I added another chicken stock cube, a good pinch (shake) of Cumin and a good shake of Worchestershire sauce. Then I left it to go cold. Once cold it all went through the blender until smooth, as my lot won't eat soup "with lumps".
 Three portions were eaten with some bread, and another 5 portions were frozen in takeaway plastic dishes for another time. It was delicious, although we all admitted the cumin was very warming but nice for the cold days.  I take that to mean it was just this side of too much spice, but it certainly filled us up. Unfortunately my camera was out of battery, so there are no pictures of this culinary marvel. Perhaps next time I defrost some, I'll remember to take a picture.



Friday, October 24, 2014

A Determined Effort to Return to My Blog

I know, I know, I bet you thought this blog had been permanently abandoned didn't you?  I'm sorry, but depression takes no prisoners when it comes to making everything just TOO much effort. I'm still a bit up and down, but I'll try to be a bit more consistent with my blogging from here on in. I can only apologise.......and I do,...sincerely!

Just lately I've tried to settle down to do a few more cards, I miss making them, and  I have managed a few. I was ashamed to find I still have rubber stamps that have never seen an ink pad, and I fully expected my promarkers to have dried up on me, but apparently they've quietly and uncomplainingly waited for me to show an interest again.  My website is still 'down for maintenance', and I'm not planning to attempt to update that until I am confident that I can manage to maintain my blog regularly again. I'm wary of crashing out. 
Just a couple of cards made recently


I HAVE opened an Etsy shop here, and as I make cards I will upload them one at a time.  With Christmas just around the corner now I've managed to start my front garden by digging out the silly patch of grass and planting wallflowers under planted with tulips. I'm hoping it will look very pretty next year.
Wallflowers for Spring

I have great plans for the back garden, I have a couple of raised beds set out, and I'm hoping I can put a polytunnel across the bottom of the garden and some fruit cordons down the left hand fence. I raised quite a few crops this summer and would like to continue, and then I've been offered a half plot on an allotment site, in the last 2 weeks, which I've accepted. Hopefully I can get that pretty much cleared by December.  So I have plenty of things to engage my interest and I'm feeling as though my energy levels are ok to take things on now.  
My inherited Fig Tree

View down my Lottie, but only to the wood fence!

Not so long ago, the thought of all this work alone would have defeated me, but I feel so ready to start now. I just feel I have to remember not to go too mad, and just pace myself.

Wish me luck, and I'll try and keep my camera battery charged up so there's plenty of photos to show.
Bye for now...