A bit of upcycling.

Last week my Christmas present arrived.  Himself told me as soon as it arrived and gave me the option of having it there and then if I wanted to instead of waiting for Christmas. (Fueled by his own complete inability to have any presents in the house until the actual day (birthday or Christmas, he isn't fussy) and he wanted to get his paws on his own Christmas present...) But no, I held out...I did very well, because it was sitting in its box for several days before I took it out to admire it, and then a couple more days before I actually did something with it. That is a record for me.



Of course I am quite rubbish at sewing, as regular readers will know. My New Year's Resolution is to use it for more than hems and mending split crotches in jeans. And phone socks. I'm quite fond of making phone socks, there must be half a dozen floating around the house. But I owe it to my lovely husband to use this magnificent beast for more than that.

So the other morning, armed with my new sewing machine, a bag of material for recycling and my daughter's LeapPad I knocked up a little cover. ('knocked up' makes it sound like I did it in the Corrie ad break on my way to make a brew, not in the hour and a half.it actually took...) I made it from a piece of my old and very favourite pj bottoms. I sadly cannot wear them anymore as the split down the bum,  although it has been fixed, really doesn't want to stay fixed. So into the recycle bag they sadly went. And now they live on. Hurrah!

Don't look too closely at the stitching because it's really not good! In my defence it is quite difficult to sew when you have to sew standing up (I had to put it on my kitchen work top to use it as the cable isn't long enough! Really must find a better solution than that!) and it gets a bit harder when you have a 3yr old pulling at your pant leg too! I made the button hole out of a ribbon for two reasons. First of all it is big enough for Caoimhe to manage to fasten and open herself. And secondly...I don't know how to do buttonholes....yet. But I will learn (It's been 20 odd yrs since Needlecraft at school so give me a break!)  I tried to make it quite roomy so she can fit a couple of games in it as well. When I handed it over to her she gave me a really big smile, so I think that's a hit.

A bit later than usual this week, but it is *still* Monday so don't forget to take a look at what people have been up to via Wendy's blog for Handmade Monday
Have a good week everyone.
Til next time!

ATC challenge - lace.

This is my entry for the ATC Challenge Blog this week. They wanted something to do with lace, so I found a piece of lace in my stash and took it from there.

Not really sure what's going on with me : pink, lace and flowers aren't really an accurate reflection of my personality! I will blame it on the hormones!

I'm also linking up with Handmade by Me Thursday Blog Hop today. some nice links to crafty blogs over there, and especially good if you're after some unique Christmas gifts!

Til next time!

Birthday Party!

No-one told me that children's birthday parties were such hard work, and so stressful!
Caoimhe had her third birthday party on Saturday and of course I've been fretting about it for weeks. In the end it seemed to go well enough, and she certainly seemed to enjoy herself!

Thank you to all of our family and friends who came from near and far to help us celebrate, it was really appreciated and lovely to see so many loved ones under the same roof!¬ Caoimhe loved seeing everyone and of course loves all her presents!

I promised a picture of the cake. I finished it at about 9.45 on Friday night. It wasn't easy making and decorating it away from Caoimhe's prying eyes, so it had to be done at night after she went to bed.

It was made with a chocolate layer and a layer of vanilla with chocolate drops, sandwiched together with vanilla buttercream. I'd love to tell you how it tasted but I didn't get any!

Short and sweet this week, as my attention is being sought elsewhere. Small children make an awful lot of noise when they want you!

Don't forget to visit Wendy over on her blog for Handmade Monday and I'll see you next time.

Til then!

Happy Birthday Miss Flop!

Today my big girl is 3 years old.
I can't believe it. Not quite sure where the time has gone. It only seems like yesterday when I found out about her, and when I met her for the first time. The last few years have been quite surreal to say the least. From completely giving up on the idea of being a mummy, here I am today with two scrumptious daughters.

Caoimhe is such a lovely little (big!) girl, she's sweet natured, very loving and also quite cheeky! It's fair to say that everyone she knows loves her to pieces.

I am very proud to be her mummy.

I love you to the Sun and back, my Flip Flop!

A bit of a begging blog!

Here we are again, another week closer to Christmas! I hope you are getting yourselves organised for the Big Day?
Another week means another Handmade Monday over on Wendy's blog, and of course I am linking up with other lovely crafty bloggers again. Don't forget to have a wander over there, there are some really nice blogs showcased there, and you never know, you might find some great ideas for Christmas gifts for your loved ones.

Before I get on to this week's craftiness, I want to make a little request. As many of you know, I have polycystic ovary syndrome and I belong to a fantastic support network and charity, called Verity. I have blogged about PCOS before here so I shan't bore you with the details again. However those of you who are my Facebook friends will know that last week was PCOS Awareness week. In celebration of that, and to do my own little bit for awareness I wanted to dedicate a bit of my blog this week to Verity. I've told you about Verity before. They do a fantastic job of bringing information to the public domain, and offering advice and support to ladies with the condition. They are also involved in research into the disease.Unfortunately despite affecting millions of women it is not a well known condition, and receives little financial support. and there is a real threat that the website and forum will not be able to continue without donations. We are all too well aware of other charities out there and I'm sure that the majority of you will donate to one or more of these charities. All I'm asking is that you take a few minutes to read the Verity website and consider just for 1 month making a donation to Verity instead of your usual charity. They desperately need to raise £5000 by the end of the year. You can find the Verity blog here so you can see how they are getting on. Thank you.

On to crafty things and I was asked last week to make some Christmas cards for my mum and step dad to give to the sponsors of the brass band they are involved with. It was my first 'commission' and I was very excited! I was asked to make 11 cards, and the only remit was that I had to include a musical theme somewhere. It didn't take me long to find some vintage music on Ebay, and as soon as I had decided on that as my backing paper, the rest slotted together. I added some Christmas trees die cut from mulberry paper and some 'Merry Christmas' ribbon for the greeting. They were pleased with the end product, so job done I think! Can't exactly give up the day job, but it was very satisfying to make them.

This week I will be spending my time and creative energy making a cake for the Flop's third birthday. I can't believe she is 3 this week, I have no idea where that time has gone! All being well I should have a photo of a successful birthday cake to show you. If it doesn't work as planned, I know there's a Hungry Caterpillar cake in the supermarket she quite liked the look of...

Til next time!

Like mother, like daughter!

I love this picture. This is my mum baking raisin biscuits with the Flop last week. It reminds me so much of my Saturday afternoons with my grandma (my mum's mum actually) We would be pretty much doing the same thing - I would be standing on a stool, and she would be baking with me. Not biscuits though, my gran was the Queen of Cakes. I loved baking with my grandma, and it makes me really happy to see history repeating itself, with my daughter baking with her grandma.

I hope everyone had a good time with the fireworks over the weekend. We certainly did. We spent a lovely afternoon and evening with the family.The food consisted of home made french onion soup made by my sister in law Catherine (It truly is the best onion soup I have ever had, I love it!) lots of little cakes made by the children (Well, children is a loose description, since 2 of those children are 18 now!) and my contribution was an oven baked rice pudding, which certainly went down well. So well, in fact, that I didn't get any despite making double quantities!

I really don't think there are any better rice puddings out there than a home made, oven baked one. It beats those tinned ones hands down. My own version is not as soupy as most, in fact it is more like a slice of pudding than a spoonful! But that's the way I like it, and that's the way it is enjoyed in my family. Blame my mother!

So my contribution to Handmade Monday this week is a simple recipe for the best rice pudding you will ever taste.
You need a large ovenproof dish with a lid, a casserole dish is perfect, lightly grease the sides of the dish with butter (and none of this margarine rubbish, this is not a pud for the faint hearted, or those on diets!). Put the oven on at about 160 C.
In the dish put about 2oz of pudding rice - that's the small round rice, 1oz of sugar, 1 pint of full fat milk, and ground nutmeg. Give it a stir, put the lid on, put it in the oven and leave it alone for about 2 hours. You can leave it longer, just make sure it doesn't dry out or become too thick. if it does, add more milk
If, like me, you don't want a soupy pudding, add a little more rice (I add about a handful extra.) You can also add single cream, replacing some of the milk to make up to a pint. I usually finish it off with a bit more cream or milk just stirred in right at the end. Try it, I guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Don't forget to see what everyone else has been up to over on Wendy's blog!

Til next time!

First ATC challenge

I've made advantage of a long nap from the Bud this morning to make an ATC. I have entered it into the ATC Challenge Blog challenge which was for a vintage themed Anything Goes ATC.
I used a drying up bronze ink pad to wipe over the card first (knew there was a reason I kept it!) and then used some paper from my stash of distressed/old tatty style cardstock, and some old lace at the bottom. I stamped the quote on some cream textured paper. I have no idea where I got the stamp from, I've had it for years!The flower was cut using a die from my next catalogue, it was a photo of a vintage print style tea dress. I put mod podge over the top to stop the glare of the shiny paper. I finally added an old button from my button stash.

I've never entered a challenge before, and I will enjoy looking at the winning entries to see what they did! It was fun to challenge myself based on a given theme. 

Bit addictive this ATC malarkey!