• handmade felt owl brooch
    Autumn - homestyle - subscription box

    Autumn Craftpod review

    October 21, 2017 - By 

    I really enjoyed the Summer Craftpod subscription box. I loved the contents so found it easy to set aside time to make the craft projects. It’s the only subscription box I’m paying for at the moment and I really love it. I loved the sound of the Autumn Craftpod box so bought it as soon as I could. It’s slim enough to fit through the letterbox which is a big bonus for me. Inside were some lovely goodies: a toadstool embroidery hoop and notebook by Maggie Magoo Designs, two little felt owls, a postcard by Amy Rose of The Floral…

  • Baking Speculaas Spice Biscuits for Autumn
    baking - gingerbread - homestyle

    Baking Speculaas Spice Biscuits for Autumn

    October 18, 2017 - By 

    The weather has turned over the last few days so I spent today in the kitchen baking. I love baking, especially in Autumn. It instantly warmed the house and filled it with the most delicious smells. I’m a huge fan of gingerbread and spiced biscuits so today made some delicious Speculaas Spice Biscuits. I used a delicious speculaas spice mix and speculaas mould from The Speculaas Spice Company. Speculass spice was used in The Netherlands in the 18th century due to trade with the East. Many Dutch families and independent bakers used their own blend of secret speculaas spice mixes…

  • Halloween essentials for a kids party from poundworld
    homestyle

    5 Halloween party essentials

    October 17, 2017 - By 

    At the grand old ages of 5 and 7 my kids absolutely love Halloween. When I was out shopping last week I popped into my local poundworld to pick up some Halloween decorations. We love to go all out for Halloween, decorating the house, dressing up, and even having a Halloween dinner on the day itself! I love to shop around and found some brilliant decorations and Halloween supplies in poundworld. I’ve shared some of my favourite products over on Twitter already. They were good quality and excellent value so I just had to share our 5 Halloween party essentials.…

  • win a goody bag
    competition - days out - homestyle - London

    The Knitting & Stitching Show London 2017 {goody bag giveaway}

    October 17, 2017 - By 

    On Sunday I enjoyed my annual day out at The Knitting & Stitching Show London. I try and go every year. Not only do I love fabric shopping but I also find Ally Pally a beautiful venue – and just down the road from where I used to live – happy memories. This year I went with a school mum friend and it was a totally different experience but still a lot of fun. If you’ve never been before then The Knitting & Stitching Show London took place between 11th-15th October at Alexandra Palace. If you love crafting then it’s a…

  • Tatty Devine acrylic sewing machine necklace
    homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness {5 happy things}

    October 16, 2017 - By 

    Week 159 of my weekly Monday happy things post, about the things which have me happy. Last week was really busy, and the week-end was too. I’m hoping for some quieter time to get ready for half term. Only 2 parent evenings, after school clubs and homework to get through first! Monday mindfulness {5 happy things} I think that Facebook has a lot to blame for my purchasing recently. Someone mentioned that Orla Kiely had designed two exclusive bags for The Royal British Legion. I found them on the Poppy Shop and just had to buy them. Jute bags are…

  • D.I.Y. Dollshouse by Alexia Henrion
    book review - Craft book review - homestyle - What I'm reading

    D.I.Y. Dollshouse by Alexia Henrion

    October 14, 2017 - By 

    I love receiving happy mail and was delighted to receive a small parcel containing a copy of D.I.Y. Dollshouse. I wasn’t sure if it was for me or my children but we’ve all been enjoying reading it. D.I.Y. Dollshouse: Build and Decorate a Toy House Using Everyday Materials is a lavishly illustrated guide for budding architects, builders, and designers, showing them how to build and furnish their own eco-friendly dollhouse using only items found around the house or available for free. Author Alexia Henrion has created a fun-filled book that is all about recycling, re-using and re-purposing. She provides simple…

  • Halloween Monster Bagels
    baking - Halloween crafts - homestyle

    Halloween Monster Bagels

    October 14, 2017 - By 

    I love Halloween. Have I said that enough lately? I love coming up with Halloween crafts and I’m not sure what’s more fun – Halloween crafting or seeing my kids faces when they discover what I’ve been up to! Every day at pick up they ask me for a snack. It’s now fully ingrained in my head that I have some yummy healthy snacks for them. Today, however, I didn’t pack treats. Instead I spent the afternoon making them some very spooky Halloween treats – monster bagels for when they got home. As a busy mum I love to share…

  • homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday happy things {Week 157}

    October 2, 2017 - By 

    Where did the weekend go? It’s seems I write my favourite things post a lot, or perhaps it’s just the only chance I get to sit down and reflect on the previous 7 days. Now we’re officially in October I feel like we can start celebrating Halloween. My kids are really excited to start crafting and decorating. Monday happy things {Week 157} It’s been a busy week for me and a lot of it has revolved around eating. So much so that I’ve fallen off the Slimming World wagon completely! There have been delicious lunches out to celebrate our ninth…

  • Johanna Basford's 'Ivy and the Inky Butterfly'
    homestyle

    Johanna Basford’s ‘Ivy and the Inky Butterfly’

    September 30, 2017 - By 

    You all know that I can’t resist an adult colouring book. I’ve featured quite a few here on my blog and although I’ve had to cull a few due to running out of space, I’ve kept quite a few of my favourites. With two small kids we are never short of colouring books, pens and pencils. We often share our colouring books as 3 people working on a page is a lot quicker than one. I recently received a copy of Johanna Basford‘s ‘Ivy and the Inky Butterfly’. This is one book I don’t think I’ll be sharing. Johanna Basford is an ink…