Monday 20 May 2013

My First Blog Hop

Hello there and welcome to my new look blog.  Do come in and make yourself comfortable and have a look around.

As I was following the recent Push Up Bra approach to Blogging series by the very lovely Julie Kirk I realised that one of the many reasons why I wasnt blogging enough was that I hated the look of my blog.  The blue background and old fashioned header were looking very tired and I was utterly bored with it.  Then my fabulous friend the very talented Dee, who you will.meet as you hop along, said she could give me a much needed makeover, well the blog that is, not me, not that I couldnt do with a makeover you understand, but from her position by the sea in Donegal it might have been too big an ask for that!

I felt that my lovely new blog look needed a bit of a party to celebrate and so the idea of my very own blog hop was born.

There are ten blogs altogther in the hop, everyone involved is a friend of mine in one way or another either through real life or the cyber world.  There are some fab projects along the way and a couple of prizes to boot

I will be offering up a wee prize for one lucky person who comments on all the posts and you may just find a couple more prizes lurking along the way.

Heres my wee project



I saw that my friend Angela of Angel Crafts had these lovely Tando mini house printer trays in stock and instantly I thought beach hut.   I spent a very happy and messy day at the crop yesterday getting to grips with the painting and making a start on this and carried on to the finish on Saturday night

Firstly I cut out a piece of paper to cover the back and sloshed on some paint which I dried and then did some stencilling and stamping to build up the background.

I painted the frame in white and once dry painted over in turquoise,  I sanded it back to give a weathered look and dry brushed a wee bit more white paint on top in areas.

I have been saving up some seaside bits and bobs for a while so raided them to add to some of the sections.  How cute is the seagull pin which I pushed into the cork from a mini glass vial (Ive been saving him for a while from a Quirky Kit)

I scattered some of my tiny bits of sea glass in another section covered with a piece of netting from a bag of limes donated by Donna, I filled a glass vial with sand - all collected from the beach at Beadnell.

I have a glass vase half filled with sand and topped up with my sea glass from the beaches in Northumberland and thats where the blog name came from
I finished it off with a couple of seaside  charms and two teeny pieces of driftwood.



The bunting is made from washi tape and I borrowed this idea from a gorgeous piece on Efemeras blog



I don't quite think it's finished yet as I see little gaps I could potentially fill with more seaside treasuresand I may well tinker on with it for a wee while to come

Hop on over now to Julies fab blog Notes on Paper to see her fabulous art journal page

Winners of the prizes will be announced on Friday 24 May so don't forget to come back and check then,.  Please note though that to be in with a chance of winning any of the prizes along the hop you do need to comment on all of the blog posts.

Edited to add that when you get to Jens blog the correct link to get to Suzies blog is Suzies.blog

35 comments :

  1. New blog is fab - I want one! And the beach hut look as fab as it did in real life!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is s adorable! Love the way this project turned out! Hugs Frea

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just finished hopping and boy, did I get some inspiration. What an original idea to organize your own blog hop. Suzi didn't seem to have her post up yet. I'll try and come back tomorrow. Right now it's nearly 2 o'clock in the morning here, so time for bed ;-)
    Hugs Frea

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love everything and I want a makeover, too now!,
    Your beach hut is fab what a great display you've created, it's your blog in a box!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your makeover is superb, it really look fab, congratulations :)

    Love the printers tray, what a good idea and it is so pretty. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oooo love the new look blog - especially the wood background :) Gorgeous printers tray - I have one to alter too so thank you for lots of inspiration - I love your beach hut theme with the bunting and all the little goodies in the windows :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your new look is gorgeous! "Health to wear" as we say round here :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi... Followed the link from UKS.. Love your little beach house, a fab way to show off precious treasures...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Is it a coincidence that your project matches your new blog look? Very coordinated! I love little boxes of treasures and sea glass too [I can't help but bring it all home with me!]

    Thanks for asking me to join your hop and for al your kind words about my series ... right I'll go hop on to see everyone else now ... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your blog looks fantastic! Gorgeous project too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! Your mnakeover is fab-u-lous! And thank you for the inspiration from your amazing printers' tray - just love it! Happy hopping!
    Sue x

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Suzy loving the new look blog and the your project is just wow love the colours

    ReplyDelete
  14. How fun is your project. I love the beach and this is full of beach memorabilia to enjoy.
    Lovely tray.
    Hugs Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love your beach hut, we collect random treasures on our travels and adventures at various beaches around the uk. It would be a perfect place to keep all our special treasures!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happy new blog, looks fab and that beach hut is adorable. I've signed up to follow and now I'm off to hop.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Suzy, your new style blog looks great and I love the new stuff you're doing. Fab! Might just go for a hop now.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wonderful project Suzy, the wee seagull is adorable sitting there. The blog looks fabulous (if I say so myself ;) )

    ReplyDelete
  19. The new look blog is perfect and your beach hut is gorgeous

    ReplyDelete
  20. love the new look! Beach hut is fab... I am going to edit my post properly - was extremely tired! sorry jenxxx

    ReplyDelete
  21. Loving the new look blog Suzy & I love your little beach hut especially the way you've used the little seagull pin.
    C xx

    ReplyDelete
  22. Gorgeous - I love these Trays too - did one last week:)

    ReplyDelete
  23. It's you .... Really perfect. Loving the new blog look

    ReplyDelete
  24. A fabulous project - I love anything with a seaside theme!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. The blog is looking fab and I love your beach hut frame love the seagull. I have a tando frame to play with was going to do sewing themed but.... X

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great new look and a fab blog hop too..... love the beach hut frame, a project that has just landed in my to do list lol.....

    ReplyDelete
  27. My blog could do with a make-over .. and your looks so good, it has made me want a new one too!!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Me again ... just finished the hop, think I have commented on them all. .. super ideas, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Gorgeous little frame, I love how you have done the bunting and the little seagull is so cute x Off to look at the other blogs on the hop x

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh this is just gorgeous Suzy. I love it :o)
    Best wishes.....Di from Tando Creative xx

    ReplyDelete
  31. Loving the new blog and the little beach hut is just fab, love all the little bits to it

    ReplyDelete
  32. Love the new look to your blog:)

    The beach hut is fab.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thats really lovely, especially the seagull. Definately need to try doing one of these printer trays.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hey Suzi.... Love your blog and I love this piece! How fantastic is it! You are so clever! I need to try this! I will definitely be stalking.. I mean following you! :-) Just off to put the kettle on, then will follow the hop..... anyone fancy a cuppa? xxx

    ReplyDelete
  35. This is just gorgeous Suzy - I am pinning this. What a beautiful way to showcase beach treasures. Certainly better than my having them in a wicker basket!

    ReplyDelete