• baking - gingerbread house

    Monday happy things

    We had a lovely half term but I was glad that my children went back to school and nursery today. We had a really busy week including visits from grand parents, a trip to the theatre and our cookery lesson with Ora. Since the clocks have gone back I’m making sure our house is very hygge. I love this concept and it is one that I fully intend to embrace this winter. I picked up a cute gingerbread house tea light holder from Asda at the weekend which is providing a lovely seasonal feel to our mantelpiece. Last week I attempted Salted…

  • Halloween crafts - sewing

    How to make fabric pumpkins

    We’ve carved our pumpkins but they’re already beginning to look a little rough around the edges. This year my 5 year old made a little instruction booklet for my husband, each page has a different step in how to carve a pumpkin, which we both thought was very sweet. My 5 year old insisted on carving a Creeper face into his pumpkin as he’s a huge Minecraft fan. I wanted to make something a little simpler and which lasts a lot longer so I made some sweet fabric pumpkins. They are really simple to make and you can make a…

  • days out - gingerbread - sewing

    Monday happy things

    How can I not start off my weekly Monday Happy Things post with Parents evening? Now both my children attend the local school I had the pleasure of two parents evenings. It’s always lovely to hear other people saying nice things about your children and they both got glowing school reports. At 3 and 5 they are both young but it’s still great to hear they try their best and enjoy learning new things. They both got new books as a reward ( Little Sis received a set of The Dinosaur Who Pooped books and Big Brother received The BFG…

  • days out - Local Review - London - sewing

    A day at the Ally Pally Knitting and Stitching Show

    Regular readers know every year I take myself off to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Ally Pally. Despite living in London I never feel that I have a good sewing shop near me so I love looking round all the different exhibitor stalls. Ally Pally is one of my favourite buildings in London and it makes a great venue for the Knitting and Stitching Show. There are lot of large halls- one for the exhibitor stalls, an area for workshops, galleries showcasing some amazing work as well as tea rooms. I’ve been every year for the last couple of…

  • Christmas - gingerbread house - sewing

    Monthly makes – September

    July and August were pretty busy months with my children on their break from nursery and school so I didn’t have much free time to make many things. They are both happily back at school now though and I have had some grown up crafting time. My Monthly makes for September First up is this cool felt gingerbread house from a pattern in this years’ Mollie Makes Christmas. I was a little disappointed with the magazine as it contained a lot less patterns than last year and many of the projects were taken from the free cover gifts or previous…

  • baking - gardening - sewing

    Monday happy things

    I don’t normally publish so many posts in one day but I have to mark the passing of another 7 days with my weekly Monday happy things post. My daughter started her new pre-school and is really enjoying herself. This is her first full week and I’m hoping she won’t be too tired to enjoy it. I was amazed how tired and grumpy she was after her first 4 afternoons! My mum has been staying with us and we’ve been crafting together which is one of my favourite things to do. As much as I love to sew on my…

  • book review - sewing - What I'm reading

    What I’m reading: Wild Things by Kirsty Hartley

    I’m bracing myself for my children going back to school next week. I know it won’t be long before the letters home start being placed in school bags and I will be expected to provide money, cakes and dressing up clothes for both of them. Last year I had fun making a cute little ladybird costume for my son, which then got upcycled into a superhero cape for my daughter. I was pretty proud of myself for that one! I received a beautiful new craft book to review which has given me tons of inspiration to prepare myself. Wild Things…

  • book review - sewing - What I'm reading

    What I’m reading: Belle and Boo S is for Sewing

    I recently finished my Union Jack flag quilt so was looking for a smaller project to make. Fortunately I found lots of inspiration in Belle and Boo S is for Sewing: over 25 playtime projects to make for creative children. This unique craft book of Belle & Boo themed playtime projects contains ideas and instructions for over 25 makes designed to engage a child’s imagination. Each sewing project will transport your child to another world where they can make-believe about being a pirate, a ballerina or even a tiny woodland creature. All projects come with step by step guides and…

  • sewing

    Monday happy things

    I’m a little late with my weekly Monday happy things post as we’ve spent the last 24 hours at a very special overnight stay at Whipsnade Zoo to celebrate Frubes’ partnership with the Minions movie. We had an amazing adventure, sleeping in our own private lodge next to the white rhinos. I’ll be writing a post on our experience later this week. I took my new Hammamas towel with me which doubled as a lightweight scarf when the temperature dipped in the evening. Hammamas have a beautiful range of turkish cotton towels, perfect for taking on holiday as a beach…