I have been enjoying all the heart themed crafts over the last few weeks. There’s just something about the bright colours at this generally gloomy time of year. Our house is filled with hand made cards, decorations and a few sweet treats too. My children are a lovely age for this little celebration and they’ve really enjoyed making cards for everyone. With two young children much of my crafting is now aimed at them. They love to craft more than anything and our house is filled with their work. I figure I have plenty of time to craft when they…
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Today I’m sharing a DIY Valentine’s gift tutorial as part of the TSB Valentine’s Campaign. They offer joint accounts amongst other things, so why not make a sweet gift for your other half? These stitched hearts are perfect for hiding a note or Valentine treats. Here’s what I did. Materials needed for brown paper stitched hearts: brown paper, I used paper sandwich bags scissors heart shaped cookie cutter pink tic tac sweets or similar washi tape pinking shears letter stamps How to make brown paper stitched hearts: Take a large cookie cutter and draw around it on the brown paper…
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My list of things making me happy is quite shallow this week – – Last week I went to the Hobbycraft press show (on my own!). It’s not often that the children are both looked after and I’m invited to something I want to go to but it all worked out for once. I picked up some lovely samples from their new Easter range so I’m sure there will be a little giveaway of those soon. – On the way home from the Hobbycraft show I just about managed to squeeze in a visit to my favourite Cath Kidston store…
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I mentioned the other day how I really want to try some dress making. I have started with some simple steps in customising clothing – baby steps first! What would an English Paper Piecing obsessed mother make for her daughter? Yes, EPP hearts for Valentine’s Day. Simple Liberty heart-shaped patch I found a super sweet tutorial from Wild Olive for simple heart-themed English paper piecing. Baste two jewel shapes, then stitch them together to form a heart. You can then adorn anything you like from hand towels to clothing. I found some gorgeous Liberty scraps in my stash just waiting…
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Have you watched The Book of Life yet? In the Mexican town of San Angel, Manolo, Maria and Joaquin have been friends ever since childhood. Although their lives have taken different paths, one thing remains the same – Manolo and Joaquin both want to marry Maria. Little does the trio know that battling husband-and-wife deities have made a high-stakes wager on the love triangle’s outcome. To celebrate the release of The Book of Life on Blu-ray and DVD on February 16th, I wanted to share a competition to win one of three fantastic family entertainment bundles. Each bundle includes: Blu-ray…
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I’m so happy The Great British Sewing Bee is back on. I really enjoyed the first episode last night and I’m awe of the contestants sewing skills. Some dress making skills are definitely on my wish list this year! I love to sew so was really excited to hear about the new Mollie Makes bookazine – The Big Comic Relief Crafternoon. This is a collaboration with Comic Relief (obvs!) and the bookazine features over 50 marvellous makes for Red Nose Day (13th March 2015). I rushed out to buy a copy last week (Sainsbury’s Pinner if anyone is local to…
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This week has been quite busy so I’ve been making super quick meals. One of our friends makes the most delicious Spanish tortillas which inspired me to make a feta, courgette and chorizo version. With a little preparation they are quite simple to make but quick and filling when you don’t want to spend ages in the kitchen. Ingredients for feta, courgette and chorizo tortilla: 5 large British Lion eggs Olive oil 3 large potatoes – peeled and thinly sliced 1 onion – peeled and chopped Chorizo (I used some leftover chorizo sausages) Feta 1 Courgette – sliced and cubed…
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Little Sis was offered a new-to-her type of puzzle to review – the Sofia the First 12-piece Cube Puzzle, featuring six designs of Sofia with animals, fairies and friends. It’s simple and colourful and comes stored in a plastic carry case, making it perfect for travel. The cubes are also easily washable. Have you ever watched an episode of Sofia the First (a computer animated television series on Disney Junior)? It follows the adventures of Sofia, an 8-year old young girl who becomes a princess overnight after her mother marries the king. Sofia tries her best to adapt to her…
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I was so very lucky to win a copy of The Artful Year :: Celebrating the Seasons & Holidays with Crafts & Recipes by Jean Van’t Hul recently. I’ve read her blog for ages and was so excited to hear about her book. It is loosely based on her Artful Year seasonal crafts eBooks but expanded with some new activities and a fifth section on arts and crafts for the whole year, or those that can be adapted to the season or holiday at hand. There are 175 crafts and activities with clear, step-by-step directions. There’s also a long appendix of…
