Yesterday I went shopping and I’m not afraid to admit I was also looking for Christmas wrapping paper! The mere thought of having to buy, wrap and deliver all those Christmas presents worries me every year and with the seasonal arrival of Second Baby I am on a mission to be ready earlier than ever. I also have a couple of birthday presents to arrange so it feels very good to be able to say I have a lot of my presents sorted. I love handmade so I’ve really enjoyed making a lot of presents and I’ll be showing off…
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On Saturday we were invited as VIP’s to Bob’s Big Build, a special event for little builders at Fixham, otherwise known as the O2. Our VIP tickets included transport to the O2 on the Thames Clipper which we were really excited about as we had never taken a trip on the Thames before. Bob’s Big Build The Thames Clipper is a great way to travel and as we boarded, Edward was given a goody bag stuffed with Bob goodies. We breakfasted on some yummy croissants and fruit and before we knew it we had arrived at the O2 where we…
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There’s something to be said for a wet summer! My Day Zero list has taken a beating and I’ve managed quite a few of my tasks. In case you’ve forgotten on the 19 September 2010 I started a Day Zero list: a place to record your goals, discover new challenges, and gain motivation to achieve them. I have a list of 100 things I want to do over 1001 days. The list is due to be competed by 16 June 2013. 18. Bake a Union Jack cake I had so much fun with this task. It took a while but was…
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My most recent thrifted find was this lovely little vintage suitcase. I can’t imagine why anyone would make, let along buy, such a small suitcase. Perhaps it’s just me who can’t leave home without the kitchen sink! Anyway, it’s made of cardboard and lined with paper and I thought it would be a perfect backdrop for my photographs which I’m really trying to improve this year. It needed a bit of cheering up though so I purchased some Orla Kiely wrapping paper, featuring my favourite colourful stem print. The paper is reversible – small stem print on one side and…
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A couple of weeks ago Edward got his first pillow (which he is slowly getting used to!) and as the weather has been so cool we also thought it was time to introduce a duvet too. His nursery has a Cath Kidston vibe so I thought I would make a patchwork duvet cover using some of my favourite blue fabrics, mainly Cath Kidston, Amy Butler, Michael Miller and Orla Kiely. I wanted to make it something that Edward will be able to use for a long time so picked fabrics that he will like, including plenty of cowboy and Indian…
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As thoughts are turning to the end of summer and the inevitability of back to nursery or school I’m excited to team up with Clarks to bring you a great competition. Clarks understand how important it is to find the perfect pair of school shoes for your kids and this year they’re continuing to ensure you get the best value for money, most durability and latest styles all in one place. Every pair of shoes in the 2011 Back to School range goes through up to 50 punishing wear and tear tests before production so you know they’re fully schoolproof.…
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Buying shoes scares me. I’ve never enjoyed shoe shopping and I’m terrified of buying shoes for Edward in case I damage his feet. Fortunately Clarks asked me if we would like to experience their shoe fitting service and we were very happy to oblige. After the rain cleared yesterday we made our way to our local Clarks in Muswell Hill where we were met by a very friendly fitter. Edward was very shy but was given a copy of the Clarks magazine which he looked through whilst I chatted to the shoe fitter about Edward’s feet. He measured Edward’s feet…
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When Edward saw a large cardboard box in the living room one morning he clearly thought it was Christmas. He was very excited and tried to rip the box open and was a bit put out when I said we had to wait for daddy to come downstairs. (Note to self – make sure any Christmas presents are already assembled before he gets to them!) When daddy was finally ready we opened the box which contained a beautiful wooden baby walker, the tray containing different shapes and sizes of wooden blocks. The walker was really simple to put together and…
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I’ve had a long standing relationship with patchwork. I made my first patchwork quilt when I was 16 using the traditional method known as English paper piecing. There’s something really satisfying about cutting out paper templates, choosing fabrics and watching it all come together. I’ve started lots of patchwork projects since then but I haven’t finished many! These medium sized hexagons look great when sewn together. I love making these smaller hexagons but they are so time consuming! They look good made into pincushions too. I was thinking of sewing my patchwork pieces into some kind of crawling blanket for…