Gardening with Giraffe's

Still here awaiting baby's arrival.

I'm not in any rush...but it would be nice to know when they plan to make their arrival.

I've been super uncomfortable the past couple of days, and yesterday I was up at 2am and failed to get back to sleep.  So yesterday was spent on the sofa, being lazy (I've been told I'm allowed to be a bit lazy!), watching the House box set (which I am thoroughly enjoying!), and doing a little bit of crochet on one of my new projects. 

Here is a sneaky glimpse of my new project...

I am hoping it will be ready for autumn/winter...but no doubt as I've started a project I would like to finish, family life is likely to get in the way.  I fear I may have forgotten about the demands of looking after a baby...and I have a toddler to contend with too now!

We have had at least 2 weekends in a row of being at home, which has meant we have been able to get on with some much needed chores.  The garden being the most important in order to get it wrapped up ready for autumn/winter.  We have done a lot of pruning/weeding in the front and back garden.  There's still plenty of jobs to do, but at least we are looking tidier for a while.

My little man has been very helpful...

These little critters have been not so helpful...(can you spot him?!)!

 A rather large black legged one scuttled across our new rug under the sofa the other day before the husband could jump to his feet and dispose of it...he is lurking sure to come out again soon!

We have bought a new rug...something to warm up the lounge, and to offer us a comfier space to play with our little man and our new arrival. It has made the lounge look much bigger and is so comfy/warm and our little man is enjoying rolling around on it already...a big hit!

So on to some crafting.  

 

I mentioned in my last post that I had done some more crafting for a baby girl expected to arrive in December.  The couple had recently been on holiday and had fed some giraffes...so I thought I would embark on a giraffe taggie for their baby.  There are lots of patterns etc available if you google giraffe taggie...I decided to go off pattern and just wing it.

 

I picked my fabric, and then drew my giraffe template...

I then cut out 2x giraffe pieces (material doubled over so they would match!), and put right sides together...

 I chose my ribbon taggies...my ribbon selection is quite limited, and this pink/yellow ribbon fitted best.  I would have done different colours if I had some good coordinating ribbon.

So the tag ribbons were pinned in place, and then I stitched around the giraffe, making sure not to stitch the tags down when sewing down the opposite side of the neck!

I left a small hole for turning, and then turned inside out and stuffed.

I have sewn closed things before, but I thought I would try and learn how to do it professionally to get the "seamless" look.  I found this tutorial for invisible closing seam...I am informed this may be a ladder stitch?!?  I tried...and it worked! 

Look at this.

Very professional even if I do say so myself! I am pleased with it as my first proper attempt.

So here is finished giraffe taggie...

I am pleased with it and it has been well received.

I am going to try and buy some nice boy fabric to make some stuff for my men...they are overdue a make!

Speak to you soon.

Love from me and my little man x

Baby Lola!

An excuse to make some girly things at last!

My friend whom I had made skinny bear for has had a baby girl!  Lola Olive!  Brilliant news to receive on a morning, and pleased to hear mum and baby are both doing so well.  I can't wait to meet her, but until my growing bump decides to arrive, I cannot make plans to visit and cuddle her as they are about 2hrs away.

So time to set about crafting for a baby girl!  I wanted something that I could personalise for her and as I was trawling through my fabric stash, I found some lovely colours that were begging to be used.

I did consider leaving the green out, but I thought it was a nice bright addition. 

 They are quite bright, busy florals, and I wasn't sure how to personalise them...fabric or felt applique?! And what colour for the letters to stand out enough?!  I personally prefer using felt for appliques as it tends to look tidier and amongst the materials I had I picked  a light pink felt which seemed to look okay against all of the fabrics and thought I could do a contrasting running stitch to bring out the letters.  A cream bias binding was chosen for the top.

Firstly to cut out all the flags or "bunts".  I thought 6 would be big enough....4 for her name and one either side.  This way it could hang above her cot for example without being too long, and also I wanted her name central without having a "swag" separating the letters in her name.  Once all cut, to start the personalisation...

Not looking too shabby!

Now to pin and stitch....

The stage I then love... to turn them all inside out and iron them to get them looking smart ready for the binding to be sewn on.

 Completed!

Now the bit I'm not so good at...photographing the finished work!  

I hung it in the conservatory so we could get an idea of it hanging up and the length, but it turned out such a dull picture...probably as it looks so bright and sunny outside!

 So the only other option was to lay on the cream rug and take a photo from above...

Well that's the best of a bad bunch...

I couldn't hang around taking photo's all day...this bunting had to be sent to mum and baby!  (well...and the dad...but dad's don't really appreciate pretty flags...do they?!)

I have heard that it has been well received so I am happy it is another project completed.

I have been making more girly makes for another friend expecting a baby girl in December...I'll write about that one soon.

I am over 39 weeks pregnant now, hospital bag is packed and I am enjoying the calm before the storm before my baby decides to make his arrival.

Bye for now.

Love from me and my little man x

Pig

Things have been cosy here. 

I’ve loved curling up in my new fluffy slippers…

Drinking gallons of tea from my lovely new mugs (Christmas present from my husband!), that have sat on my beautiful new coasters (present from Santa)…

…and enjoying some crochet.

Last year I was ever so lucky to have had something made especially for me, by one of my friends’ mums!  I think it the most fabulous way to carry my wool for my current projects.  Portable and pretty!

It’s been tasked with keeping all the pieces together in a safe place for my latest project…

So what has been my latest project I hear you ask?  Well I set off to make an amigurimi (that word always looks more akin to something from a sushi menu for sure!) toy for my little man, and then through conversation at work and an upcoming birthday for my friends’ girl, I thought I could make it for her instead…and so my poor little man has missed out again!  I really need to set down and make something solely for him.

We always are talking about which character is the most favoured at anyone time.  My little man’s been going through phases of Noddy, Peppa Pig, Postman Pat and the Snowman.  I get quite excited at the thought of the acceptance of a new character as it introduces a bit of variety for me after having to sit watching about 100 Noddy episodes!  My friends girl currently also likes Peppa Pig, and I understand that was to be the basis of her birthday cake.  So…I set about making a Pig! A George Pig…as apparently she likes him best.

I got lost in the pattern found here.  Quite a nice easy to follow pattern.  I enjoy the quick progress projects, however after I did two attempts of both arms and legs I did start losing the will to carry on…but then after a break, and another cup of tea, the pattern somehow made sense to me again.  Here he is in all his George Pig glory!…

I particularly love his little curly tail…

So, another successful project! Woo hoo!

It’s started raining again here.  As I look out of my living room window I am impressed with how my amaryllis is growing…  I love the pot it’s in.  Colours our lounge are to be based on when we get around to starting the decorating!

Cheerio for now.

Love from me and my little man x

Forgotten makes…

So I forgot to post about two other presents I had made (again sorry about the photo’s, in the rush up to Christmas they have been rushed and often in a dark room.  I need to get some photo tips on how to make my makes look good!)…here goes…

1) A reading pillow for my nephew.  I did a patchwork pocket so that he could keep books, teddies and any other goodies in for when he’s cwtched up reading…

I quilted the pocket to give it some rigidity.

And an Envelope backing to make sure it can be bunged in the washer…I’m sure there will be some chocolate smuggled into the pocket at some stage!

I am really pleased with this, and have some of my own cushion plans for my little mans reading corner in his room.

2) Bunting for my niece’s birthday present…  I am disappointed that I forgot to get a finished picture of this.  It had a red binding, and I thought it was very cute and colourful…perfect for a girls bedroom.

I finally think that is the end of my makes for 2013!  Now I need to get going again.  My craft room needs a little (a-hem…a lot…) clearing/cleaning.  It’s currently bestowing a furniture makeover which is a third complete and that’s giving me a mental mind block about getting in the room and sorting stuff out!

I have re-instated our kitchen blackboard as a “Jobs To Do” List to give us that visual prompt that there are always odd jobs that need to be done, and also to give us that feeling of satisfaction when we’ve completed something.  A lot of them, so far, have been man jobs (fixing switches, re-newing bath seals etc.) which have been swiftly ticked off the list and a few I have been able to act as a wingman wielding my tube of “No Nails”! Ha ha!

2014 is going to be a year of doing I feel.

Love from me and my little man x

Happy New Year–2014!

Happy New Year everyone!

Did you all have a good Christmas break?  Ours was hectic and fun!

We travelled up to Northampton for a wedding the weekend before which definitely put us in the festive mood.  It was such a beautiful venue filled with twinkling lights you couldn’t help but feel romantically Christmassy.  This is the venue…

…just fantastic.

Then Christmas and my little man’s 2nd birthday (where on earth has the time gone?!) spent in my family home in Wales. Loads of food/drink, bundles of presents, board games and telly…a lovely time to get together.

Here are some Christmas presents that were hand made by me this year… they were all received well, and it gave me a sense of achievement to watch people unwrap their homemade goodies.

- a memo board for my mum

- a desk buddy for my sisters crafting room so that she can put her scissors etc. in.  He turned out okay but I would make some changes in future designs.

- Peg bag for my sister in law (sorry for the poor photo’s)

- Tree decorations for my friend and my cousin’s boys

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a lovely time spent with family, but also a nice return to normality for us coming home after over a week away.  The familiarity of your own bed and sofa is second to none, and living out of a suitcase really is tedious!

I’ve taken down the Christmas decorations, something I always am keen to do, and the house has a new sense of space.  Already we are embracing some new adventures for the year ahead. I feel full of inspiration at the moment. Small DIY projects have already been ticked off the list, and some bigger projects on the horizon.

So I wonder what 2014 will hold in store for us?! Do you have any resolutions?  Mine are:

1) As an extension of last years resolution, is to reduce the amount of time spent travelling, and invest my time into enjoying my family.  Funny sort of resolution really, as you think that would come naturally, but I often feel the pressure to be so many places for so many people, that sometimes time spent simply with my family can become neglected.

2) Exercise more.  I’ve already signed up to a “Return to Netball” programme, and hopefully I’ll get my running shoes back on when the weather warms a little.

3) Consider selling some small crafty bits.

4) Continue being a wicked mum/wife! (Ha ha…okay, no one’s given me that title…but I’ll take it!)

Right time to get my crafting house in order!

Love from me and my little man x

Aberystwyth (my home town)…just a week before the devastation of the recent storms… x

Festive Fun!

I have found a moment to sit down and put my feet up.  The Christmas tree is twinkling, winter sunshine is streaming through the window and I have a cup of tea by my side.  The house smells divine as I found a last miniature candle in my cupboard which I’d been saving and forgotten about.  It’s my absolute favourite Yankee Candle “Christmas Cookie”.  My large ones burnt down so soon I’m going to have to fork out for  a new replacement one.

So we’ve been doing all sorts of Christmas crafting the last few weeks.  The house has looked like a bomb has gone off, a glitter bomb to be precise!  We are finding shiny sparkly bits on most surfaces, in most of our food, and it has spread into almost every room! 

There are a few crafting bits that are for other people, so we won’t mention those here yet.  We can mention a few though…

Salt Dough – We tried to make salt dough when I was with my sister last year but they didn’t work.  I think we blamed her oven at the time, but the microwave recipe was a disaster too.  I think this put me off having another go, but as an impromptu activity with my boy, I thought I’d try again.  I used this recipe this time (1 cup of flour, 1 cup of salt, 1/2 cup of water – baked at 100^oC for 2 hours or so).  My little man loved emptying the cups into the bowl, and armed with wooden spoons we mixed and mixed until we could get our hands in to squidge it altogether.  A fantastic sensory experience for little ones – although he pulled the funniest face when he tried to eat some! 

We had a little problem with the dough…when rolled out and cut when I attempted to lift onto the tray they all broke, so we had to do them thicker.  Maybe next time I’ll cut them out onto greaseproof so that they are easier to remove.  We cut out a lot of shapes…

They had to have quite a while in the oven to dry out as they were so thick.  I think thinner ones would look nicer.

Another day we spent painting some of them.  Someone likes to mix the colours to make a browney/green gloop…I won’t tell you who that is!

I then decorated a few further…

They really need to be varnished to seal them properly…but I think I will scrap these ones and make some new ones next year.  I started to lose patience with them as I wasn’t really in the mood for painting them.  I have hung a few in the tree…

Snowman – I felt we needed a few more home made items to brighten up our Christmas displays.  So we made our Snowman!  There was a lot of glueing and fluffing…but slowly our Snowman came to life!  I love this one…it was fun to make.

Craft Room – I forgot to blog about my lovely home made birthday present made by my friend.  She has made me a lovely sign for my craft room.  She felted it by hand and I think it it is one of the best presents I’ve had!

How cool is that eh!!!?!!!

I’ve got a little sneak peek for you too… This fellow has been used in something I am soon to reveal!

Hope you are all getting festive!!!!

Love from me and my little man x