A slap up meal at Inn on the Wye

Last night we went out!

Without the small boy in tow!!

It doesn't happen often so please will forgive the excessive use of exclamation marks...

A few weeks back I won a competition on Facebook  - a three course meal for four, plus a bottle of champers at a lovely local pub/restaurant called The Inn on the Wye.

Situated on the banks of the River Wye with the fabulous ruins of Goodrich Castle just across the river this popular gastro pub has recently changed hands and had a bit of a spruce up.  I had been here before but it was quite a few years ago and far too much Stella was consumed on that occasion for me to remember too much about it!!  These days it's a well proportioned country style pub, with lots of comfy sofas, a big fireplace and various rustic dining tables about the place. They have a small number of rooms too if you want to use the Inn as a base to explore the local area. They also do wedding packages.

Stupidly I didn't have my blogging hat on last night so no photographs of food to share. You'll just have to take my word for it that it looked gorgeous and tasted even better.

I had a warm goats cheese salad with balsamic dressing for starters and haddock and beautiful crunchy steak chips with tartare sauce and mushy peas for main. Delicious!! (chippy fare this was not... oh how I wish you could see it!)  

The portions were well on the generous side - so much so that none of us had any room for dessert. But that wasn't a problem - our waitress just took our order and wrapped it to take away!

The service was brilliant and the atmosphere was relaxed making the evening thoroughly enjoyable.

If you are ever in the area I heartily recommend the Inn on the Wye!

 We brought our champers home too.

Now just need something really big to celebrate!

Please note :: This is not a sponsored review post - I won the competition run on their Facebook page and was under no obligation to write about it. I just felt I had to share coz it was just soooooo good!

Personalised softies - elephants, dragons, giraffes and...?

I don't usually switch the laptop on BEFORE the school run. I spend most of the morning running around making sure Roo gets breakfasted, cleaned and dressed. Then there's the usual 'trying to find the other shoe' aggro. Not to mention forcing the Other Half out of bed which is a mission all by itself...

But this morning I had a nagging feeling that I needed to switch on... (being woken up at 6am by a playful kitten, shortly followed by a playful small boy resulting in us all being ready to go with an hour to spare probably swayed me too!)

I signed into facebook because I had posted a picture of my latest softie commission last night and was hoping the customer had seen it and commented. She had, as it happened but I was also overwhelmed to see that the photo had been shared and liked by lots of others too - in fact, Facebook stats informed me that a total of 1,375 people had seen it!!

This may not be a lot in the grand scheme of things but for my Forest Flower page it's nothing short of amazing!  Not only had lots of people seen 'Amelia' but my inbox was full of queries and even a couple of orders.

So what's all the fuss about?

'Amelia' is the latest personalised softie I have made.

Wanna see some more?   Meet Poppy...

...and Emily...

I haven't just done elephants either.   Here is Idris the Welsh dragon...

Idris didn't get the full on photo shoot treatment and this is the only pic I have of him - he's not quite finished here, haven't stitched his features yet!

And how about Willow - a fabulously girly dragon with wonderful Jane Means ribbon spikes...

And last, but by no means least - the softie that started it all...

Loki was commissioned by a friend for a lucky little boy whose mummy had a mild giraffe obsession (and who also happens to be Willow's big brother!).  I was so pleased with the way the black fur fabric tail and 'horns' turned out!

The personalised heart patch and the wooden button joints became the special features of these softies which make perfect new baby gifts (although I should point out that babies and young children should not be allowed to play unsupervised with toys like this as the button joints may be a choking hazard...)  Every one of these softies is made to order - I select some fabrics from my stash, based on colour options requested and let the customer choose which ones they would like their final softie to be made with. This means every single one is completely unique!

All my commissions so far have been from friends or friends of friends via Facebook but today, thanks to that photo shared by British Crafters, I have orders from customers further afield!

Maybe now is the time to expand my softie range... What animals would  you like to see turned into cute softies?


Personalised softies are made to order - if you are interested in having one made please don't hesitate to contact me either by email at   forestflower (@) hotmail (dot) com  or head over to my Facebook page or Twitter account and message me!

**HANDMADE CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY** And the winner is...

Firstly can I say I am overwhelmed by the response to my giveaway! Thank you so much to everyone who has taken part and a big "HELLO!!" to all new followers of the blog, Forest Flower facebook page and Twitter.

So now for the result you have all been waiting for........ Drum roll please......

Gosh this is nearly as exciting as X-factor!!!

And the winner is....

Kerry LouLou Milne

(better known to many of us on Twitter and Folksy as LouLou'sLuxeries)

Kerry chose the Vintage Patchwork design as her favourite and her bespoke set of Scented Tree Ornaments will be winging their way to her shortly. :)

Congratulations Kerry and thanks again everyone else for taking part.

**Handmade Christmas Giveaway**

Well, approximately 24 hours ago I had 196 'likers' of my Forest Flower Facebook page so I suggested that if I could get 4 more I would do a little giveaway...

I have been truly overwhelmed by the response - I seem to have attracted over 100 more likers overnight!! In fact the current number is now 330, well over the 200 I was aiming for!

So as a big thank you to all you gorgeous peeps I am giving you the chance to win some of my handmade lovelies for your very own Handmade Christmas - in fact I am giving you several chances!! (more about that later...)

Here is what is up for grabs

First up we have a pair of felt birds in traditional festive red and green. Made from quality wool mix felt and stuffed with soft high grade polyester toy stuffing and a generous scoop of 'Christmas Spice' scented aroma beads for a warm, welcoming festive fragrance wherever you hang them. The cute gingham wings are blanket stitched in place by hand and decorated with matching buttons. Each bird has a little metal hoop so you can hang them from decorative tree ornament hooks or tie pretty ribbon through them - however you choose.

As if that wasn't enough I am also offering a custom made complete set of my 'Christmas Spice' scented plush tree decorations. The set of four - a heart, bird,stocking and star- will be handmade to your specifications from a choice of fabrics. You can have ribbon hanging loops as shown in the pictures or you could opt for simple metal hoops as seen on the felt birds above and hang them from decorative tree ornament hangers. Each decoration measures approx. 10cm and includes a generous helping of the wonderfully festive 'Christmas Spice' scented aroma beads.  For more information and pictures please visit my Folksy shop

So how can you win these gorgeous handmade lovelies?

I am offering each of you not one but FOUR chances to win this great prize

First you need to pick which one (or more!) of these fabrics you'd like your decorations made with.

(1) Modern 'Dark Green with Gold Swirls'

 (2) 'Vintage Patchwork'

(3) Pretty 'Holly and Berries'

(4) Fun and Contemporary 'Modern Patchwork'

(5) Country Chic Red and/or Green Gingham or

(6) Pure and Simple 'White on White Stars'

Next leave a comment below stating your choice (that's one chance to win)

You could also become a blog follower (that's two chances...)

You can also 'like' my facebook page if you haven't already and leave a comment on the discussion board post *Handmade Christmas Giveaway* (that's three chances...)

and finally if you are on Twitter you can follow me here and tweet the message 'I have entered Forest Flower's #handmadechristmas giveaway. Have you? http://anthea-talesfrommountpleasant.blogspot.com '  just so I know and that's your fourth entry.

So there you have it. Simples :)

You have until midnight on October 31st to enter and the winner will be announced on November 1st at around 8pm (ish)

GOOD LUCK!!

Christmas is coming!! (no, really...)

 I know many people like to avoid even a sniff of the 'C' word before the second week of December, but these are probably the same people who moan and whinge about the 'commercialisation of a holy day' and the 'heaving crowds of desperate last minute shoppers' (of which they are a part!) They are also probably the same people who would sulk a bit if you 'forgot' their pressie!!

But putting the 'holy day' issue to one side for the moment I really think that anyone who leaves it all to the very last minute is really missing the point. It's not about buying as many gifts for as many people as you can think of in the shortest time possible or maxing out your credit card to keep everyone happy. It's about taking time to find something special for the people who mean the most to you.

As a crafter I have been thinking about Christmas all year, looking for ideas for presents, both to make myself and by other artists and crafters I have discovered on sites such as Folksy .

As a crafter who makes things to sell I have been fully immersed in Christmas since about the middle of August!!

This is my first Christmas as a seller on Folksy so I really don't know what to expect but I have been beavering away to produce, amongst other things, a line of gorgeous plush hanging decorations in a range of christmassy fabrics and ribbons all beautifully finished by hand and filled with the fabulously festive 'Christmas Spice' scented stuffing. They are very versatile and could be used as tree decorations or hung on door handles or in bundles around the hallway to welcome your guests. They would also make lovely additions to your Christmas present wrapping and are an extra present in themselves! Some are available in larger quantities (maximum of 5 listed but can make more to order). Some have been made from my stash and are limited. I am booked in for several Christmas craft fairs over the next two months and expect (hope) to sell the bulk of these to customers who can pick them up, appreciate the workmanship and most of all the divine fragrance but I would love to see some go further afield :)

There are three designs available from my Folksy shop right now but I will be adding more soon.

Here is a little glimpse of more of my handmade Christmas goodies...

 

In keeping with the whole spirit of giving I am currently planning my first blog/ facebook / twitter giveaway so if you like what you see above keep your eyes peeled for posts on how you can get your hands on some of my handmade lovelies for free!!