I love washi tape. If you haven’t heard of it before it’s a style of paper that was first made in Japan. Now it’s used to describe pretty sticky tape. It has a multitude of uses from wrapping gifts, sealing envelopes and sticking up my favourite recipes on my kitchen cupboards! Until recently I’ve been using some really pretty washi tape which I picked up at Cath Kidston. However it was ridiculously expensive so I made my own. You will need: double-sided sticky tape, scissors, fabric, an old cotton reel. Simply roll the tape along your fabric and cut…
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I know how much my son loves getting messy so thought we would break out the paints for St Patrick (in honour of our Irish heritage). We cut an ordinary green pepper in half and dipped it in some green paint. Sounds simple but somehow we ended up breaking the plate – oops! Then the toddler was let loose, creating pretty shamrocks over sheet of paper. Four-leafed clover anyone? Our version of the shamrock, symbol of Ireland and associated with St Patrick.
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With our beautiful Irish surname we just had to start thinking about some St Patrick’s Day crafts! First up was some baking and what could be nicer than some rainbow cookies to remind us about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Rainbow sweets, otherwise known as m&ms, were bashed over the head with a rolling pin and added to a basic cookie mixture. Already looking pretty – rainbow cookie mixture. Makes pretty cookie dough too! Not bad looking cookies either. Big Brother tried to sneak one off the wire rack whilst they were cooling so they…
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Mary Rebecca hosted a really cool Valentine’s Day Swap 2012 which I signed up for as I love all things red and heart shaped. My partner Jennifer has a really cool tumblr blog at Vintage Enydot. She sent me an amazing box of goodies including yummy limited edition love hearts and some fab cupcake cases, which I can’t wait to use. We’re off to visit family this week and I’m looking forward to stocking up at my favourite cake shop so I can whip up something special. I loved putting together a parcel for her. Aside from some chocolate and…
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Before children Valentine’s Day was spent in bed or on a romantic break in a European city. Now the day starts early and ends early with no hope of a romantic meal for two. This year we decided on cards only, no gifts. We decorated with an origami heart garland. The children gave daddy a homemade Valentine card which I blogged about earlier. I also made a card from an old book. I cut out a heart shape and sewed it onto a plain card with red thread. Finally we iced some gingerbread hearts which we had bought from Morrisons…
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Today wasn’t just Mother’s Day but also Big Brother’s 2nd birthday. We had piles of presents (far too many!), a birthday outing to the RAF Museum at Hendon, our handmade birthday card was read out on cBeebies and we made and ate a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake. Happy Birthday to my darling son! I can’t believe you’re 2 years old today. It feels like you’ve always been in our life, like I’ve always been your mum. You make my heart feel like it will burst from my chest. You make me cry with tears of frustration and happiness.…
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I love making personalised cards. We made our own wedding stationery, Christmas cards and announcement cards when both children were born. This year we wanted to make a ‘thank you for our Christmas card’ featuring both their hand prints so got out the paints… We knew Big Brother had a limited attention span so got everything ready to make it as simple as possible. We bought ready made blank cards, envelopes and pots of paint. We put a dollop of paint on an old plate and used a sponge to paint on his hand, then put his hand firmly on…
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Signing up for festive swaps seemed like a good idea in the months before Christmas and my favourite was the Advent swap, organised by Hookin’ with Laalaa. The idea was simple – to buy, make, gift or thrift 24 small gifts for your partner to open each day of the advent. These could be very inexpensive, or even free (think skincare samples or teabags!). The parcel was also to include a larger gift for your partner to open on Christmas Day. The swap was fun to collect for and I ended up with lots of little gifts which I put…
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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. This has been a rubbish month for me personally. I think I underestimated how much time I would have with a toddler and new baby to look after so I haven’t managed to complete a single action on my Day Zero list. Aside from changing lots of nappies and…