Come on England!

This may be a rather hurried post this week, as I am waiting for the England v Italy game to kick off. Are you enjoying the Euros? Must say I have been quite unimpressed so far overall, but there's time. I am not a betting girl, but my money would certainly not be on an  England win, as ashamed as I am to admit that. But I will still be cheering them on! (See, I am patriotic!)
If my arm was bent up my back and I had to say who I thought I would win, I think I would have to say Germany. It's a long time since 'The War' so I'm sure I won't get strung up for that!

Talking of Germany, it leads me nicely on to tell you about my week. Of course this wouldn't be my blog without a little mention of Herman, who is, you may remember, a German friendship cake. Well I have not baked any Herman so far this week, as he is not ready to cook with yet. However my interweb meanderings after inspiration about what to do with him led me to find a website and forum devoted to him. If any of you are interested in learning more about him or finding new recipes, or tips or advice, or other people's experiences, then you can find it here at the Herman website. And if you have a good look around the site you might find an article written by me! You might even recognise the photo!

I haven't had a lot of time this week to do much making. Although I did receive through the post a copy of Craft Artist Platinum edition and of course I have been having a little play. I'm enjoying the whole digital art 'thing' even though I prefer to get my hands dirty with paper crafting, and glue and glitter! But even so I thought it might be a nice way of making the thank you notes to send out to all our family and friends who came to the Christening last weekend. It took me quite a while to do, though I am sure with practice I will get the hang of it all. I didn't get the final effect I had wanted but was relatively pleased with what I did achieve, really.

There are some really nice digikits over on Daisy Trail so have a look!

As usual I'll be linking up with Wendy for Handmade Monday, over on Handmade Harbour, which, for those of you who perhaps don't know, is a link party for craft bloggers. There are some fab blogs linked there by some very creative, talented and inspirational crafters, so take a look! I will be doing as soon as the match is over!

All together now...Come on England!

Til next time! 

A very special Sunday!

Welcome to Monday once again! Can't believe how quickly these Mondays come around!
Once again I'll be linking up with Wendy and all the other crafters over on Handmade Harbour for Handmade Monday. Lots of fab and very inspiring blogs over there, so don't forget to wander over there!

As the title suggests, it was a very Special Sunday yesterday. Not only was it Father's Day, but it was also my littlest's baptism. So it was a very busy and very tiring day!

I don't need to tell you that The Father's Day cards this year were handmade, do I? I did try something different, however, and made them using a digital scrapbooking programme. Now I can't say that digital scrapping is, or ever will be, my 'thing', but I'm always looking for new things to try out, and since the programme was FREE with a magazine, I thought it would do no harm to try!
I used the materials and embellishments on the programme, along with photos , and put them together to make the two cards.

This is one of the cards, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. Further experimentation is needed tho!

I do like the flexibility of using a digi kit. but it is quite 'flat' and one dimensional. It definitely would benefit from using other media too. I'm sure the uses are endless though, with just a bit of imagination. I already have a few ideas about how I will use the kits I have agreed so far!

So yesterday my daughter was baptised. it was a lovely day and I was so proud of my girls, who were both impeccably behaved, and also very grateful for all the lovely gifts and cards she received. it was so lovely to have so many close friends and family to share Teaghan's special day with.
Of course regular readers will remember that I had started to knit her dress. Unfortunately it never got finished, I was rushing it really, as I knew I only had a few weeks to make it. and I had to rip it back several times and after a few weeks I decided to just bite the bullet and buy her dress.

But I was very pleased with her dress in the end, and I know I'm very biased, but I thought she looked beautiful in it.
She did wear handmade shoes though!

These gorgeous shoes were made when Teaghan was newborn, by the lovely Caroline of Carolee Crafts.

I will make a christening dress at some point. I have the patterns and the yarn ready to go! So watch this space!

Short and sweet this week! I hope you have a lovely week ahead, and of course enjoy reading the fab blogs linked up for Handmade Monday.

Til next time!

Handmade Reward Tokens

This year seems to be flying past way too quickly. I can't believe we are into June already! Although you wouldn't know it from the weather we are having!

As usual I'll be linking up with Handmade Harbour this week for Handmade Monday. It's a lovely community of craft bloggers so have a bimble over (after you've done here of course!) Many thanks to Wendy for hosting it again.

For those of you who are regular readers, you will know of my love for all things Herman (and if you don't know what Herman is then take a look here!) We've been eating Herman cake and Herman pancakes for several months now. I have attempted to make sourdough bread in the past, too, with mixed fortunes. I was having a wander around the web looking for Herman inspiration, when I came across a recipe for Herman bread. I had a spare starter available and thought it would be worth a try.And it really was! Very tasty bread I have to say, and much nicer than the sourdough bread I have made before. It was a little bit sweeter than normal bread (that'll be the sugar in the starter obviously!) but not overly so, and it still ate well with savoury fillings. Not tried it toasted yet, though I suspect it will toast well too.

I have been making with The Flop this week, too. We have a reward system where she collects lolly sticks over the week in exchange for a treat at the weekend. She collects the sticks by basically being good, doing as she's told, eating her meals, helping out...you get the picture. And if she is naughty, then she has one (or more) taken off her. I can't remember where I came across the idea, but it really works for us in a way that the Naughty Step never did. And I like the idea of her being rewarded positively when she's good. it gives her an incentive as well because she wants that treat at the weekend!
Well, we decided to freshen it up a little bit and this week I gave her the chance to help me make some tokens to replace the lolly sticks.

We started off by choosing what she wanted her tokens to look like. She decided on some digital button embellishment images I have (from Daisy Trail ) then I gathered together backing papers, leftover cardboard from a box (so a bit of recycling there!), some scissors and glue

Then it was simply a case of cutting out and sticking. We glued the cut out 'button onto the cardboard first, then cut that out and added the backing paper on the reverse.

We had to find containers to keep them in, and I happened to have two sweet 'cupcake' tins, one to keep the tokens in and one for Caoimhe to collect them in.

She seems quite excited about earning her tokens, even more so than when she collected lolly sticks - maybe because she helped me to make them? Hopefully that excitement will continue!

That's it for this week. Don't forget to see what everyone else has been up to this week. Looking forward to a little wander through the blogs myself!

Til next time!







Congrats to Her Maj!

60 years, blimey! Not sure I could manage that long in the same job! I hope you've all enjoyed the celebrations, whatever they were. It has been lovely to see all the bunting and flags around. I remember all the celebrations from the last Jubilee, which has made me feel very old!

The Flop enjoyed her Jubilee party at nursery on Friday. She had to wear red, white and blue (obviously!) and wore a lovely blue and white striped sundress (with a very well known piggy on the front!) and a red cardie. It was quite easy as you can imagine to find something for her in Jubilee colours! I wanted to do something handmade though, especially as I haven't made anything for a couple of weeks, so I made a little crocheted headband for her. I was most impressed that not only did she wear it all day, she also managed to bring it home from nursery (and still on her head!) The inspiration for it came from the over sized flower button I came across at the local haberdashery. I had intended to make a crocheted red, white and blue flower and attach it to a plain plastic headband (do they still call them Alice bands??) but when I saw the button I changed my mind, and I am glad I did now as I was quite pleased with the end result.

I've also made some ATC's for the trail over on UK Scrappers.

I used some lovely paper I managed to 'obtain' from my mum, and the buttons are from my button box...also obtained at some point from my mum too!

I'm linking up with some other craft bloggers for the weekly Handmade Monday, which is hosted by Wendy over on Handmade Harbour. There are lots of great blogs to read there, so what are you waiting for! I'll be having a read as soon as I've replenished my brew!

Til next time!

I Love Tea!

As you will be aware if you know me at all!
I will happily drink any kind of tea, with milk or without. Black, green, white, herbal... there's very few I have tried that I didn't like. I don't have a favourite, although my preferred tipple is probably Earl Grey or Lady Grey with a bit of lemon.
But you can't beat Tetley!

So you can imagine how happy I was to come hone yesterday afternoon, from traipsing round the shops with a hot and grumpy baby, to be greeted by a Big White Box. Inside that Big White Box was a selection of fine teas from Chash who are a Fine Tea Company. I had entered a giveaway on Isle of Tea and I was one of the ten lucky winners! It was a generous prize, too! Four varieties of the teas they offer on their website.

I couldn't wait to get the kids in bed so I could sit down and enjoy a cup. Unfortunately that turned into quite a challenge. The phrase Sod's Law springs to mind.  But eventually I managed it, and enjoyed a cup of their Fountain of Youth blend which was lovely!

Just waiting for the opportunity to try the rest now!

Til next time!

The old ones are the best.

There's a lot of snot around at the moment. The only one not stricken (yet) is Teaghan, but I'm sure that will come. We're all dosed up to the eyeballs with paracetamol and brufen, not a great state of affairs at all! And not one I particularly like, either. I might work with medicines but that doesn't mean I think they are always the best.

This morning I've introduced the Flop to lemon, honey and hot water in a bid to see off the awful hacking cough she has. It's not especially going down well (even though she pronounced it nice) but I'm sure with a little persuasion we will get there!* She is a great fan of 'honey medicine' already, a teaspoon of lovely sticky honey already.makes even the worst ills more bearable.

*for persuasion read chocolate buttons

For a refreshing vitamin c boosting, cold and cough busting drink without the drugs simply take a few squeezes of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey and add hot water, note it should be hot and not boiling as the hotter the water the quicker it destroys the vitamin c.

That's the only thing I have to share this week (though if you'd come by later I would have told you about the loaf, the cheese bread, the Sourdough pancakes, the chocolate Herman cake and the chicken veg pasties that we spent the day making!)

I'm linking up with Wendy again for Handmade Monday, which has a new home now over on  Handmade Harbour so have a visit and see what everyone's been doing!

I'm off to spend the day catching up with my children and making and baking (as you already know!)

Til next time!

The Last Handmade Monday Before the Dreaded W Word.....

The last 10 months have gone too quickly and I am now back in the realm of Working Mums. My first shift back is on Thursday. Quite rude, really. But bills have to be paid unfortunately. I have really enjoyed being at home with my girls and being able to make and bake, but now I am going to have to get back into the habit of juggling making and baking with working.

So this post is a bit later than normal this week, as I am trying to cram lots of things into my last few days at home. Of course I am linking up with Wendy for Handmade Monday, which is a lovely community of crafty bloggers... have a bimble over later and see what they've all been up to.

This week I've continued in my pledge to make something new from one of my recipe books every week, and I successfully made soda bread. Successfully ate the lot, too... it's a great shame that Himself doesn't like soda bread. I guess it had to be eaten, though, to avoid waste. The girls did seem to enjoy it too. I can't believe I have avoided making it all these years, as it is easily the quickest and simplest bread I've made. No kneading, no proving either! Only thing is, it really has to be eaten within two days otherwise it's dry and pretty inedible really.
(no picture, btw... it was tasty without a doubt.... but not the prettiest loaf I've ever made... imagine the craggy rocks in Cumbria and you have some idea!)

I've been making too. A little ATC for the ATC Trail over on UK Scrappers

I used cosmic shimmer on the background again, but overdid it.(deliberately I have to add!) and the silver swirls are the offcuts from some ...well swirly cut outs that I got with a craft magazine ages ago.

And I had a great find in the charity shop, The Wooden Canal Boat Society last week too.



A bargain £2.50 for a lovely fabric covered box. I'm a sucker for nice boxes and thought this might be nice to store my ATCs in. Until I opened it.....

Handmade paper and envelopes... well that was that, I had to have it!

That's it for this week. Hoping to have something to show you next week, but what remains to be seen!
Til next time!