Our little lady.....

is growing up very fast and is now 3 years old! Needless to say she was very excited this year especially with her Minnie Mouse cake (courtesy of our very own cake maker, my amazing sister Chloe).....

lots of cakes which she had lots of fun helping to make and eat......

plus lots of running around and party games with family and friends... (though a little advice to mums: pass the parcel was like herding cats with the little ones but a chocolate treasure hunt went down a storm!) 

 

 
Here she was on her first birthday....

 and Bethany looking like a smaller version of her big sister!

Gotta love....

personalisation! Here are some cushions I made for my eldest ones room, well more for keeping me comfy when we're playing in her room and reading books before she goes to bed!!

So the E is for Eloise and she has a little fascination with birds which inspired the design which of course had to be a mummy bird and a baby bird. It was lovely to get her involved as she chose the buttons for the birds and even helped me to sew it on the sewing machine.

Child friendly days out....

If you have young children I think it's quite hard to think of somewhere interesting to go to, the local park just doesn't seem to cut it any more. A few years ago I heard of Barnyards Farm in Essex, as it holds Thomas Heatherwick's "sitooterie", I have been a secret follower of Thomas Heatherwick's since I had the pleasure of seeing his amazing Christmas cards first hand (which are a sight to behold and will make a lot of creative people, like me, very jealous!!)

Anyway back to Barnyards Farm, it's a little hidden gem (and I usually hate that term) but really it is. Not many people know about it which is a shame but also mean you get to enjoy the gardens, sculptures, artworks and tranquil landscape in your space and at your own leisure. The children loved it, the adults loved it, it added a little bit of culture and to top the day off they have their very own miniature railway, a perfect way to end a perfect day.

 The view from the station at the end of the mini railway. I think this shows the Essex countryside in all its idyllic glory.

 

Mini railway in all its splendour. They have great sculptures along the route to keep all occupied and amused!

 Thomas Heatherwicks "sitooterie" which I had been longing to see. It really lives up to the pictures by its tranquility and serenity, even with our little brood!

If you ever get the chance to go I would definitely recommend it and all the proceeds go towards charity.

Tutu's are a girls best friend.....

but maybe not for my little one! 

After staying up very late one night to make a tutu for my friends little girl. I also made one for Eloise, thinking this would be a lovely surprise for her in the morning when she woke up. Needless to say that was not the reaction and I think I have worn it more times than she has pretending to be ballerinas in her bedroom!

Thankfully my friends little girl loved hers so all was not lost. For any budding ballerina's out there these are really easy to make and look amazing. You literally tie strips of netting along with desired ribbons around a ribbon waist band and voila.....

Simple and effective my favourite kind of creating.

Gotta love.....

pininterest! It's a little obsession of mine since breastfeeding, it was a god send keeping me awake in the early hours. I just love seeing what other people create and then getting ideas and inspiration.

So we were having an issue with Eloise's books in her bedroom when I stumbled on this great idea on pininterest using Ikea spice racks.....

Take one chest of drawers + Ikea spice racks+ gloss paint + new handles + paint old handles...... voila!

 

Works perfectly and Eloise can grab books whenever she likes, although she still makes us get them for her : )

At last.....

I have finally finished my DTLLS course which I have been doing over the past 2 years and I am very glad to say I am now a fully qualified teacher! It's been hard work, having a baby in the middle definitely did not help, but I am finally finished and free to pass on my creative knowledge to all and sundry!

So this also means the end of the academic year where I have loved doing some Family Learning workshops in new schools. Which means I got to meet new and very creative families. We decorated plant pots and planted sunflower seeds, I did mine below with Eloise which she loved and as you can tell I added a few finishing touches without her!

I also did lots of jewellery making workshops and made a variety of bracelets. These were some of my samples, with some really basic designs. Eloise absolutely loved playing with the beads and then all the bracelets, needless to say I lost a lot of samples but it sure does make little girls (and boys) very happy!!

 

Baby bag....

It's only 2 years in the making, after my bad attempt at making a baby bag from cheap oil cloth, but here it is my handmade baby bag. I'm very proud of it and can't believe how professional it looks. That sounds like I'm really boasting but I owe it to Lisa Lam and the Bag Making Bible, which my mum bought me for a Christmas present last year. It is so easy to follow and she gives you great tips to make it look really professional. Also I have to give a lot of credit to my mum who helped me with the free machine embroidery on the front and endless questions (baby brain second time around has hit hard).

Here it is next to the little poppet who fills it with all her extensive equipment.....

Needless to say after a few weeks in use it is now well loved and decorated with a little baby sick and mud from the park!