Mother's Day Doings....# stuff's they likes..x

I think, a little bit of what you fancy is just the thing on Mother's Day. So with that in mind, off I trotted shopping for nice motherly things.......

First stop was of the internet kind. A fav fabby bargain place.... THE BOOK PEOPLE who I use  alot, ALOT people! I use them for children's party bag fillers too, the deals on the kiddies collection books are great, but if you have small-un's, you'll already know this.

I just couldn't resist HOPE AND GREENWOOD 's book for my Mum, oooh and black forest fudge? Will be jotting that recipe down quick sticks.....But such a nice book, yummy looking recipes, which are not unattainable, quite simple but tasty looking, beautiful vintage illustrations too......

I feel like, there's no need to spend a fortune, but to buy things or make things that will be appreciated, and used......( my reasoning for herbal teas, and chocolate bars )

The girls also made a Dead Sea Bath Detox this weekend.....mixing many salts and green clay.....I for one am looking forward to mine....hoping it comes with a large glass of wine too??????

I think I'm quite safe in showing all these things to you, I did tell my Mum not to look on the blog this week, though is that too tempting?!  

So while the bumblebee's came home exhausted and with  tempers fraying after swimming with Q yesterday....I thought...." hooo hummmm little ladies, shall we make some cards for the Grannies?" So we did, and it was fun. Weaving, just using bits of garden magazines for the florals, and polka dot wrapping, and perhaps some left over beano.......I say " more weaving, kiddies should be doing more weaving, experimenting with different papers and colours, MORE WEAVING" .........we liked the weaving.

Now off I go to look after big bumblebee, off school again with coughs and a wheezin. She's ok really, just needs me to keep an eye on her chest and breathing say I....we might go and visit the Library now.......cos we are both book worms.

Over and out lovelies.

xx

Mother's Day Doings......# Heartfelt Brooches x

Following on from the last post of  MOTHER'S DAY DOINGS......

If you have a spare half hour, dig out your fabric stash, and have a go at one of these brooches. I can't claim to have discovered these myself, oh no, a lovely pal did show me how to make these, one fabby giggly night at a craft evening ( she does those, once a month )....and have been meaning to make one for  the Mummy and Mummy in law ever since.

YOU WILL NEED:

Approx 13" x 1.5" ( for the small brooch ) of fabric

Approx 19" x 3" ( for the large brooch ) of fabric

Cotton.

Scissors.

Other small scraps of fabric/felt.

Vintage buttons.

Brooch backs.

# brooch backs found at craft or haberdashery shops in packs.....ever so useful to have some about the house.

Ready? let's go......

Find a suitable fabric for your brooch. If you are making it for someone else, bear in mind your choice/taste may be different to theirs. I also used some ticking - a sample I was thinking of using for curtains. If you have a favourite top that is ripped or ruined you could easily use that.

Measure, and cut your fabric length....then if you fancy a bit of fringing , I find now is the easyiest time to do that. Simply pull the threads, one by one, away from the edge which will eventually be the outside of the brooch. Keep going until you find a thickness you like.....( tis very much down to you, how thick or fine you fancy it )

See? Still with me? Ok.......next you will need to sew a simple running stitch along the other edge of the fabric ( this is about to be the middle of your brooch ) all the way to the end......then pull tight to gather the fabric in a ruffled fashion. Secure with a few knots and you should now have, what looks like the beginnings of your brooch.

Now it's time to cut some small circles ( I used cotton spool ends! )...and find a favourite button too.....then sew these together and add to the brooch with a few stitches.

   

 

Next is the back.....another small circle will hide all the stitches and messy middle...and is also the place to sew on your brooch back.

 Are you finished?!!!!! Me too............ aren't they the sweetest? Again I think children could do these, and you could always layer up the fabric too.

These will be going into the Mother's Day Hamper ...along with the bath soaks, and a few more makes and gifts in the next few days.

B.T.W how delicious is that feedsack material??????? I might keep that one actually......is that naughty?! 

Happy Brooch making xxxx

Mother's Day Doings.......# Bath Soaks x

I thought, with Mother's day looming upon us, I might share a few D.I.Y crafts, makes, ideas for those lovely ladies in our lives. To say thank you, I love you, you are special, wonderful, and perfect.

My thoughts are this. Lovely thoughtful inexpensive gifts.

So this is my first make.

A pamper/relax/mummy moment.

ROSEMARY AND CHAMOMILE BATH SOAK.

You will need:

One large sprig of fresh Rosemary.

One handful of dried Chamomile.

One cup of porridge oats.

A large square of muslin.

Length of string.

Tag.

Ribbon.

Scissors.

# Dried chamomile flowers can be found in your nearest health shop, or online. ( or perhaps you are super fab and have some dried flowers you can use from your own garden...lavender would also do. )

# Cheap muslin can be found at most fabric shops.

Righty ho lovelies, this is soooo quick and easy...blink and it's done.

 Mix your oats and chamomile together and add to the middle of your fabric square.

Pop on top your rosemary sprig.

Gather the corners of your fabric together, to make a little bag, and tie with your string. ( I have left a loop on my string so that my Mummy can dangle her bath soak from the taps......)

Write a little tag, declaring your bath soak, and easy instructions.....

DONE!

Wouldn't you just love one of these, made with love?!

Super easy for children o do too.....perfect presents also for Granny.

And already smells amazing...might just make one up for me......

So over the next week or so, I'll be bringing you more ideas........look out.

xxx

Wardrobe fa laaa laaaaaaaaaa.....x

  

This morning, as the sun shone in the bright blue sky, I had a thought. And it was this...." Nattie, why not take some pwetty pictures of the finished wardrobe in the bumblebee's bedroom for all the bloggy world to see? Tis a perfect morning for it, light and shadows shall dance together...it will be fun"....

Oh what a shame, when I realized the camera thought it would be the perfect day for it to play silly games. Humpffffff......I reached for my phone....and this is what we made together.....

A few wardrobe tra la laaaa I'm finished pictures, though blurry ( don't tell the wardrobe, she'll get upset, let's say she looks mysterious and magical ok? ).....

Can you even believe those cheeky bumblebee's have caused a clothing chaos already inside????? Do they not know how many ironing hours ( ok more like minutes, ok a quick swipe over with the iron, that's it ) have gone into those clothes? Flung inside, how ruuuuude......back to miss wardrobe...

I am pleased she's done, she wasn't the easiest piece of furniture to paint.....always moaning, complaining, wouldn't  sit still.......

Though, she sits, quite happily now, nestled in with little bumblebees desk, by the fairy picture, and sometimes, if I listen ...very quietly, if I really concentrate, I can hear her singing.......ever so faintly.

Happy wardrobe. Happy Bumblebee's. Happy me........happy, happy, happy.

xxxx

P.S.....A few things that make me not so happy. Just for a bit of balance.

1. The cut out carpet round the wardrobe...WHY do people do this? It's just wrong, wrong, wrong.

2. Cats that make nests on the children's beds, hair, sticky leaves and stuffs eurgh.

3. My stinking camera not working.

4. Little bumblebee's desk needs replacing....old vintage school one needs to be found, but not at a ridiculous price..hang your head in shame Mr's wot over price on their stalls.

5.  I have a head cold, sore teeth, and throat. And am quite grumpy. very grumpy.

6. There's no chocolate in the house.

xxx

The bumblebee's and book day y'all ......x

Compared to my last few posts, this one, today, is a more personal one. Hope ya don't mind?

Today at the bumblebee' school, they are celebrating world book day. If you're unfamiliar with this, schools let the children dress up as favourite book characters, and are usually given a £1.00 book voucher. 

This year the theme was " monsters".....we oooohed and aaaahed, and the bumblebee's came up with........ahem....dementors from Harry Potter. I am totally aware that there are a lot of children that don't watch the Harry Potter films, they are deemed too scary. That's fine. Some of the films are 12's after all.

However, in this house I let them watch it. They watch Doctor who too. Each to their own. Everyone's different. yep, I am aware also that I have a 5yr old.....It's not like I'm letting them watch a gory horror film, lets keep a bit of perspective!

Anyway, back to it, I did say "no" to little bumblebee being a dementor at school....double standards? ......I  just didn't want her scaring some of the younger children in her class, that's all!

So big bumblebee WAS a dementor, and little bumblebee decided on being a wild thing, from where the wild things are.

All in all, I had happy bumblebee's this morning.

Though my big girl has itchy eyes and couldn't stop sneezing......"why are you sneezing so much this morning?" I asked her "I'm not sure " she said........oh that will be the daffodils I plucked from the garden yesterday......

Remember nattie to remove them later................don't forget will you?

So we make do and mend here. The fleece jumpsuit little bumblebee has on, was once a fleece dress for a Jemima puddle Duck costume I made a few years before. I cut legs, and a slit at the back, added a button and elastic for her. Added a tail and used a little princess felt crown she had in her dressing up box. Done.

Big Bumblebee's costume, I did have to buy the fabric for, but I know they will play H.Potter's with it .....so easy ...a rectangle of fabric, scissors, sewing machine, face paints....dark clothes underneath. Done.

xxxx

Beano chair completion....x

Howdy guys.

Wanna see my beano chair? All finished?

Using three beano mags....cutting out the comic pictures........( it's actually amazing how many non dennis the mence/minnie/banana man stories they have in these...of course they were no good at all! we wanted retro vintage beano baby )...

Unfortunately my naughty tinker of a camera picked out the wrinkled bits...these re there, but not as noticeable in REALIFE!  Honestly!!!!! ( I did struggle with the wrinkles, though came away thinking, hummmm not looking to old today after all.....no botox today )

Using pod modge as a sealer is super fast and easy......and far less smelly than using varnish. I just hope the little birthday boy whom this is all for likes it.  That's always a worry isn't it, if you've made something for someone? You have no shop or company to blame when things go wrong, or fall apart.....though I think all the mod podge will keep this together for a few years yet....fingers crossed.

And can I just put it out there, that ordinarily I am NOT a fan of decoupage....at all. It usually makes me shudder. That's only my opinion, but it's just...eeeek dare I say a bit errrrrrmmmmmmmm.... chintzy, cheese-ball, retirement project type thing?...... 

But using an old colourfest cheeky, favourite, it works........for me.

 I'm thinking I rather like the banana man pictures bestest of all.....the shocking yellow, and funky words... Ker blam babeeeeeeeeee ........though it took a good week on and off to finish..... and coming from a girly girl, I really rather like it......is that my inner tom boy? Though I'm sure I have some old girl annuals lying about somewhere, that would make a fabby chair or stool......One day eh?

I quite like the thought too, of  a mans work desk being covered in beano pictures...........yes I like that thought.

Fancy having a go????? Go on....do it xxx

Two things continued.......x

Ever had a project or three, that seem to take a lot longer to complete? I seem to be floating between to such rascals this week. I really did underestimate firstly how much bloomin paint a 1930's wardrobe would need. It's sucking the life out of my poor Annie Sloan white......what to do?????

That nasty veneer just won't allow me to cover it up. I'm furious with it. Furious I tell you.

Also I am deeply upset with the red and pink inside, so much so, I can't bring myself to show you. I thought it would be a good idea to varnish the inside, as the bumblebee's clothes and shoes will be in there. And knowing my little bumblebee's they'll be in there hiding and making potions with glitter. We are yet to move away from wipe-able surfaces!

But it just looks wrong. And it has stunk the whole house out ( bumblebee's in our bed last night...one ratty mummy ) and, AND, the girls have friends over to play after school...waaaaaaaaaahhh.

From one meltdown to another, actually I quite like this project. I just thought I would get it done in a few evenings. Noooooooooo Nattie, silly girl. That would just be utterly ridiculous.

Remember the last post with a beano hint? Well STILL unfinished, but I wanted to show you a bit of it.......my beano chair.......

Q wants it for himself. Big bumblebee wants it too. As does little bumblebee. I say NO this is for a friends boy, his birthday present infact.......this too, will be varnished once finished. We will all be fashioning clothes pegs on the end of our noses for the next week or so .....ok?