PINCUSHION SWAP

I have taken part in the pincushion swap organised by Beki of The ramblings of an everyday mummy, I was partnered with Vicki of

Vintage Vicki....

My parcel from Vicki arrived on Saturday morning, with lots of little tissue wrapped parcels inside and a great retro looking Blackpool postcard which is very apt as we are just down the road from Blackpool...

And inside the parcels, lots of fabulous goodies...

A gorgeous little house pincushion, wouldn't it be great to have a whole little street of these !

As well as the pincushion, there was some lovely fabric, a Sew Hip magazine, ribbon and beautiful buttons that I must ask Vicki where she got them from, particularly the spotty ones from...

So, Thank you Vicki for such a thoughtfully well put together parcel...

and thank you to Beki for organising the swap :)

CRAFTY SUNDAY #16

Sunday again ! I just don't know where the weeks are going at the moment, although we have been in a bit of a birthday whirl here..

Clemmie had her 3rd birthday a fortnight ago when we had a house full of family, then last weekend her and Hebe had a joint birthday party for their friends, and today is Hebe's 5th birthday...

My crafty Sunday is a bit of a cheat this week, as I did not actually make it..  It is two gifts that the girls received from my friend Kate (Mum to Elliani and Keisha)...

 Kate made them the most gorgeous heart shaped name plaque for Clemmie..

And the equally beautiful name hanging for Hebe, which looks stunning hanging on the end of her bed..



I was just saying at the beginning of the month about homemade presents and how I make and give a lot, but receive so few back, so the fact that Kate had taken the time to make these for the girls makes them extra special...

Thank you Kate x

Happy 5th Birthday Hebe xx

LAURA'S QUILT..

I have just finished this quilt this week, it was a commission from the daughter of Hebe's nursery teacher Mrs Hopper..

Mrs Hoppers daughter Laura is at uni in Aberdeen and wanted a quilt to cover the sofa in her student house ...

Laura wanted the quilt to be in oranges and reds, and she chose these gorgeous fabrics...

I really hope that you like it Laura....

CRAFTY SUNDAY # 15

This will be a short Crafty Sunday this week, not because I have not done much crafting, because I have been very busy and will be getting more so as there is a very exciting project in the pipeline, but I will save that for another day..

This week I have made lots of pump bags (you have seen plenty of those before I know), but have also made a few of these aprons..

I really like these aprons, both my 'little' girls have aprons of this style which they obviously use when baking, but I also pop them in my bag if we are going out to eat, great for protecting there clothes when they are to 'big' for a bib...

So that's it for today, we have a house full arriving shortly to help us celebrate Clemmie's 3rd birthday, so all that remains is to wish our #4 a very Happy Birthday...

BACK TO AND STARTING SCHOOL.....

Freya and Finn both started back at school today, Freya into her final year at Primary (Year six) and Finn into Year Five.  They both seem to have enjoyed their first day back and Finn really likes his new teacher (Freya has the same one that she had last year, who she also likes)...

It was only when I looked at this photo that I realised just how alike they are, it is no wonder that they are often mistaken for twins ! There is actually 15 months between them..

It was Hebe's first afternoon at school today, she will do afternoons this week, mornings next week and will then be in full time...

Its strange listening to other parents talking about what they will do without their babies and how they are going to cope..I seem to look at it in a different way, I think its great that the children are all growing up into such great individuals and think that independence is a good thing... Maybe I am the strange one !...

Crafty Sunday # 14

It seem ages since I did a crafty Sunday post, I have certainly missed a few of late..

This week I have some bags to show you..

I am a big fan of the messenger bag, which is ideal for me as it leaves me 'hands free' to manage children and pushchairs etc..

I have made numerous messenger bags, such as these..

    But I was really after making one with a flap, which I felt would be a bit more secure for when I had my purse and phone in my bag..

I came across this great tutorial by Larissa at Mmmcrafts she is the same talented lady that had the tutorial for the Molly Monkey doll that I made as presents this week...

So here is the first one I made which was for Freya, I really like this Michael Miller 'Peace' collection fabric, and Freya was made up with it, I also made her a zippered pouch to keep her DS in and a little diddly drawstring bag to pop the games in to...

She loved the fabric so much I even made her a new pump bag for PE from the left over fabric..

This fabric came from Celtic fushion fabrics  I made all of the above from a £5.90 mini cloth stack. bargain !

After using Freya's as a test I made this one for myself....

It is perfect and even has pockets inside for my phone a purse...

HOMEMADE PRESENTS...

What is your opinion about home made presents ?

I have made home made presents for almost everyone I have needed to give a present to in the last 18 months. both young and old...

But I do wonder if people actually like receiving something handmade, or whether they secretly think me a little tight !

I get next to no homemade presents, apart from when I take part in swaps, (maybe that's why I enjoy taking part in them), I would love to receive more handmade gifts as I think there is something special about being given something that someone has taken the time and effort to make themselves... but maybe that is just me ?..

I have quite a lot of birthdays in September, the first ones are for two of Hebe's nursery friends, one has just turned 4 and the other is almost 5, just about a year apart but they will actually both start school with Hebe next week..

I found the tutorial for this gorgeous Molly Monkey at mmmcrafts where you can download the pdf pattern, she actually has little shoes and a beret to go with her which I have not made yet..

So I have made this Molly Monkey and intend to make a second one today..

I hope the two little girls will like their Molly Monkey's when they get them, all packed up in a nice cotton bag with their name on..from the reaction I have had from my own girls, I think they might just, and I also think I might have to get on with making a couple more ! (Hebe and Clemmie turn 3 and 5 years in a few weeks)...