Friday 16 August 2013

This week.......

.......consisted of 

Sitting in front of the wood burner in the garden watching a meteor shower with my hubby & my middle daughter (the other two couldn't last till midnight & went to bed). We saw quite a few meteors, was an amazing thing to witness.


Had a picnic at the zoo.


Saw a baby giraffe 


& the elephants which are my favourites!


Found a monkey sitting behind me in the car!!


Went to an indoor 'beach' & turned my youngest into a mermaid.


Went shopping & went home with a fox & a cat!!


Then woke up this morning realising that I've completely overdone it & my body was hurting all over, so some relaxing time in bed was called for. ( stupid hypermobile body!! )

& that was my week.

How was yours?

Xxx








Tuesday 13 August 2013

Don't ya just love it....

When the picture in your head of an idea, actually turns out looking the same! Love this feeling, although it doesn't happen a lot.

I needed a new pincushion, but just couldn't find the right one, so why not make one? I've made a couple of large round crocheted cushions & the idea struck me that I could make a pincushion in the same style.

I decided to challenge myself & try & make it without using a pattern, ( I know it's just a pincushion so not exactly a major challenge but I wanted to see of I could remember the 'rules' of making a crocheted circle). I'm thrilled that this is my first attempt. 


I wanted it to have a flower effect, so used a cream scalloped border. It looked nice, but not enough. So I decided to slip stitch around the edging of the scallops in pink, which again looked nice, but not enough. Then the lightbulb pinged on! How about a large stitch in between the scallops to break up the cream? & this time, it not only looked nice but was more than enough!!

Ta dah!! My new pincushion.


& it works perfectly!! & looks pretty, which is a major bonus, especially as its going to be 'on show' on my desk.



Love, love, love it!!

But now I want to make more in different colours..................

Xxx



Sunday 11 August 2013

Sundays

Gotta admit that I love Sundays. Especially Sundays when we don't have major plans. 

I think my perfect Sunday would consist of the kids sleeping till past 8am, having breakfast made for me, served in bed!! Then maybe a walk in the woods for an hour or two. A Sunday roast dinner is a must, beef or chicken, Yorkshire puds, stuffing, roast potatoes, veggies & lots of gravy, then a lie down on the sofa afterwards to watch a film or something funny whilst crocheting. A nice long soak in a hot bubble bath then an early night, especially if there is clean fresh bedding on the bed. Absolutely perfect.

Today wasn't perfect but it was a good day.

No lie in, hungry kids woke me up. Made everyone breakfast, but went & got back into bed to eat mine. Tried to have some time browsing various blogs & Pinterest but the iPad was soon hijacked to look up the Loch Ness Monster, & then to watch the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons on YouTube! So instead I got up & cleaned the kitchen & put some washing on. 

Didn't manage a walk in the woods, but instead we pottered about in the garden, picking the first blackberries & a few apples out of a neighbours tree (with permission!). There was only a few ripened berries but give it a few weeks & the bushes will be laden *note to self:look up blackberry recipes*

After a while the kids got bored so went inside to watch a film. I started dinner & thought I'd paint for a while. I studied art in college but haven't painted for years. It's definitely a skill you can forget, so it can be frustrating to not be able to get what's in your head down on paper.


Flowers are definitely a favourite to paint!! 

Didn't quite manage a full roast dinner, but chicken, roast potatoes, veg & gravy seemed to satisfy everyone. I made a apple & blackberry crumble using this mornings pickings. 

Whilst it cooked, I spent some time playing with a new type of project.

Hexies. 


Teeny tiny hexies in fact, made from a scrap bag of Liberty fabric that I brought from a craft fair. Hadn't tried English Paper Piecing before & I was surprised at how easy it was! I had originally planned to make a quilt, but I don't think I will have the patience or the motivation so this seems destined to become a cushion.


Oh & the crumble was delicious by the way, with lots of custard!! Still feel stuffed nearly 4 hours later!!

Didn't manage my nice hot soak in a bubble bath, but a shower will do. Nor did I manage the fresh sheets, but I guess that could cheer my Monday up instead right?

So, how was your Sunday?

Xxx


Thursday 8 August 2013

Trying something new

It was my eldest daughters birthday last week & I always try to make my girls birthday cakes from scratch. After browsing Pinterest, I decided to make a square cake & decorate it as a paddock, with a horse cake topper. My daughter is horse obsessed!! Clay seemed the best option for the topper, then she could keep it as a keepsake after.

So I brought a few packs of Fimo, & hid myself away to make the topper! 

Did I mention that I've never made a 3d topper before? (I have previously made a flat clay Monster High topper for my middle daughters birthday, so this was a brand new thing to learn!)

I had a few ideas in mind from Pinterest but couldn't find the right sort of tutorial so had to figure out the shapes from looking at various photos & just trying it out.

It took less than an hour (me being me, left it to 2 days before her birthday to make it) & I have to admit I was really happy with how it came out. It was a nerve racking 30 mins to see if it survived the baking!!

It survived!!!!




Of course she needed a pink bow!!

I kept her pretty simple, as I didn't want to try & put lots of details then mess the whole thing up! 

The cake wasn't perfect, fondant is not my friend, but my daughter loved it & that's the important thing.


I should at least get 100% for effort right? Lets not mark the technique lol.


Happy birthday to my gorgeous girl!!

Xxx






Tuesday 6 August 2013

It's that time again.....

To sort the kids craft cupboard.

You know it's bad when the door bursts open on its own!


See what I mean?

Urrrgghh!!!!!

My kids are hoarders, every bit of packaging, old scraps of paper, used stickers etc, nothing is ever thrown. So every so often meanie Mum has to be ruthless & purge the lot.


Aaaaaaah, much better!!


Is there anything better than new pens & freshly sharpened pencils? 


& a big thanks to Pinterest for keeping the youngest two entertained so I could purge in peace. Who knew a house drawn on the inside of a cereal box could produce such happiness. It's the little things in life that really produce happiness.

Thanks for reading.

Xxx




Monday 5 August 2013

Monday again?


This weekend seemed to fly by! Saturday saw me actually dress up for once ( I have an unhealthy obsession with my pyjamas!! ) We had been invited to a wedding reception in a pretty swanky hotel. I am quite socially awkward, so got myself pretty stressed out about it but after some wonderful advice from all of my lovely IG friends, I dolled myself up & braved it!! I have to admit I had a really good time, the bride was Indian & the groom was Spanish to it was very happy, colourful welcoming party! I went, I spoke to people & I even danced (well I was dragged onto the dance floor lol)


Sunday was a much quieter day. My legs & feet were very sore ( I have hypermobile joints) so a day of rest was in order. I decided to get comfy on the sofa & do some cross stitch, I had received a beautiful little kit in this months Mollie Makes magazine. So stitching, a Friends marathon on tv & lots of tea were pretty much all I achieved yesterday.


But it's a very pretty achievement wouldn't you say? 

All that I need to do is add some ribbon & it's ready to hang.

And that was my weekend.

How was yours?

Xxx