I have been married for 21 years, and we have 4 children - 2 girls and 2 boys. My husband is my soulmate and I can't imagine being with anyone else, ever! Despite the various challenges that all families have to face, and some that I would never wish on my worst enemy (not that I have any of those, so far as I'm aware!) I love my life and can truly say that I am both happy and contented.
As well as the human members of the family, there is a shih-tzu - Muppet, whose name tells you everything you need to know!; a siamese cat called David, who is extremely affectionate and possibly the most undignified cat you could ever wish to meet; a stressy guinea-pig named George, who thinks that any food that comes into the house must be for him, so shouts until you give him something to eat. Literally, he would eat 24/7 if we provided the food for him to do so. There is also a rat called Mary and a snake called Mungo. And no, snake and rat will never meet!
We're fortunate enough to live in a very beautiful part of Wales, which as yet, hasn't been discovered by the tourist trade. We live literally minutes from several beautiful beaches, and from the windows of our house we have some fabulous views. We live in a very small village with only a post office and 2 pubs - generally the only noise we get is from the tractors trundling up and down the lane outside our house! Our house is right at the top of a very large hill, and was built at the beginning of the last century. Then, one of the local industries was cockling - collecting and selling cockles - so the house has a stone built stable at the bottom of the garden where the donkeys would have been kept, there was also a pig sty. The house itself has been extended several times so is a bit of a warren with lots of rooms - very easy to hide in!! When we moved into the house, it was in a very poor state - no kitchen to speak of, the bathroom was a wreck, all the downstairs floors were blue concrete, the windows leaked etc. etc. etc. But, it had fabulous views and a rayburn! We've been in the house for just over 3 years, and have been gradually getting the house together. We've put in a new kitchen, new windows and doors, a decent bathroom with a floor which is actually safe to walk on. I have a feeling that this is going to be a never-ending project, but I love the house and can't see us ever moving from here.
I love to make cards and jewellery, and have recently been introduced to altered art. I love making and trading ATC's (Artists Trading Cards) - what a fabulous way to build a collection of art work from a variety of fabulous artists!! I also love altered books, and am currently involved in an altered book round robin. There are 12 of us taking part, and each one of us has chosen a theme, and done at least one double page spread in it, each book will then be passed on to the next person in the circle, so that, in the end, we will have 12 books in which everyone has completed a spread, and we all end up with our own books back - surely something to treasure!
I belong to several online craft groups, which is great for support, friendship and constructive criticism! We tend to do a fair amount of swaps, and each month make cards which are sold to raise money for our chosen charity.
I am trying at the moment to get a home-based craft business off the ground, but I'm definitely spending more than I'm earning at the moment! I sell my cards, jewellery and some altered art pieces in my ebay store: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/kazzacards. I'm also looking into the possibility of selling by party plan and through local outlets. When I went to have my hair cut on Friday, I got chatting to my hairdresser - a very astute business woman, who has built a thriving hair and beauty business - and she suggested I take my jewellery in for her to have a look, so we'll see if that comes to anything...
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