Taking a Little Time...

It has been good to take some time out this week. Time away from the computer and social networks. Time to enjoy the little things, reflect, heal and BE.

We have spent most of the time enjoying the sunshine, (well you gotta make the most of it, it may not last!), tidying up the garden and playing in the garden. We had family round for a BBQ. We did some baking. We painted pictures. We even painted a wall with water - the cheapest, funnest (yes that IS a word. Honest) easiest way to keep a four year old occupied for more than 30secs on a hot sunny day! I made a few pretties for my SIL's birthday and we went for a walk in the woods. We watched the sun go down and the moon rise. We fed fish, climbed gates and lay back on the grass, watching the clouds. . .

It's been a week for counting blessings.

I have many, for which I am very grateful.

Normal bloggy service shall resume shortly . . .    xx

#SilentSunday 29/07/12

Sad...

Eight weeks ago I was excited that the Little Man would soon be starting school and that I would be gaining some me-time on a regular basis once again. I was looking forward to being able to put a much more concerted effort into building Forest Flower Designs into a business I could be proud of and, dare I say it, earn a living from (or at the very least contribute something more to the family coffers) We were leaving babyhood behind and watching our Little Man growing up.

We had thought about having another little one but there are so many things that my sensible head said were obstacles - our finances are precarious, to say the least; our two-bed shoe box house is barely big enough for the three of us, let alone another one, and there is no way we could get another mortgage to move; I ain't getting any younger (although you have all done your best to reassure me that having a baby in your late 30's is no big deal) plus I am still about 3 stone over weight from the last pregnancy...

Some 'oh so scary but actually quite exciting' news...

I have said this before (and I will probably say it again) life has a way of throwing some very unexpected curve balls at times. Just when you think you have got it all worked out, things are coming together, there is light at the end of the long, dark tunnel and you can finally rest on your laurels (and other such cliches) the Universe has a little chuckle before throwing you in the deep end . . .

*stop beating around the bush and get to the point*

All the fun of the Fayre...

We were umming and ahhing about going to the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival this year.
The weather has left much of the site waterlogged - including the main 'battle field' - reducing on site parking and turning the thoroughfare into a veritable mud bath. We weren't too bothered about seeing the battle itself, we've seen it before, we know what happens (Wiki 'Battle of Tewkesbury' if you want to know), and although I love the medieval market, I have no money to spend this year anyway...

Then this morning it was dry, there was even a hint of blue sky. Little Man had been up since stupid o'clock and the Other Half had MotoGP to watch. So we left daddy on the sofa and went anyway.

Exciting news...

I have some exciting news to share - I have been selected - along with a dozen or so other fabulous bloggers worldwide - to be a Jane Means Ribbon Stylist Blogger!!! 

For those of you unaware of Jane Means, she is an internationally renowned gift wrapping expert and ribbon designer - what this woman doesn't know about ribbon, quite frankly ain't worth knowing.

I am over the moon to be joining her Ribbon Stylist Blogger team and literally jumped for joy when my lovely postie delivered my big box of ribbons this morning!


Just look!  Dotty, spotty, stripey, gingham, stitched and vintage denim ribbons galore! A selection of wired organza ribbons in just the most beautiful colours. There are even some brand new designs I am not allowed to show you yet as they haven't been officially released.




 I truly am in ribbon heaven! I am bursting with ideas - lovely things to make, tutorials to share and some ribbon styling ideas around the home to plan.




But first things first, it's my sister-in-laws birthday in a couple of weeks. Her presents are gonna have the best wrapping treatment ever!

*apologies for the not amazing pictures - Little Man was running around today with loaded paintbrushes - I just couldn't risk getting them out of the plastic wrappers!

It's the Little Things #2

This week's Little Thing is actually quite a big thing.  Little Man attended his nursery 'Graduation Prom' on Friday night. It's not nearly as grand as it sounds - it actually consisted of a local village hall full of pre-schoolers (and their siblings), lots of crisps, cakes, sausage rolls, squash, balloons and a predominately CBeebies soundtrack. Little Man went all shy and decided he would prefer to spend most of the time with mummy and daddy as sadly his best friends from nursery weren't there, although his face lit up everytime balloons headed in his general direction.

The staff at the nursery had created little leaving packs for all the 'graduates' - a bag containing the childs progress report, some art work, a drinks bottle, a disk with photographs they had taken of him throughout his time there (we had to sign a consent form that none of this picture would be shared on Social Network sites due to their privacy policy, which is a shame coz there are some crackers!!) a ticket to the local cinema (timely - he has been nagging to go and see Ice Age 4 for weeks) and an achievement certificate.

Little Man's certificate said he was the class genius. "Quick to learn and retain information. Can intelligently talk about things he is interested in"


I cannot tell you how much this made me smile :-) not to mention the picture I took of him with his playleader, beaming from ear to ear proudly showing off his certificate (no, I'm not allowed to share that one either...)

Obviously this marks the end of an era. My Little Man is growing up. In ten weeks time he will no longer be a pre-schooler but enter the realms of formal education (all be it at Reception level which, if the school's 'Reception Entries Parents Evening' the other week was anything to go by, seems to be a whole lot more fun than staying at home!)

It hardly seems like yesterday that we first said hello!

1 day old and FULL of attitude!

What little things made you smile this week?

Fancy some meats?

A couple of weeks ago I got an email with 'Fancy some meats?' in the subject line. I confess I nearly hit delete. But my curiosity got the better of me and boy am I glad it did...

One Stop Pamper Shop - scented candles

Maryann at One Stop Pamper Shop was one of the first 'crafters' I met online back in 2010 when I first dipped my toes tentatively into the world of online craft sales and one of my first Twitter friends.

Before long she tempted me to try her lovely scented candles and bath products - to be fair I don't need much arm twisting when it comes to little treats like this. My ultimate indulgence is an hour locked away in the bathroom, bath filled with scented bubbles, candles flickering (even when it's not actually dark outside) and a good book/magazine to read. It's the only real 'me time' I get - enveloped in beautiful smells, warm water and gentle light...

Beach Bag Tutorial

Fancy making a lovely, lightweight, roomy bag just perfect for day trips to the beach or just for stuffing into your handbag for emergency shopping? Here is the perfect bag, and even better, it is so easy to make!

Creative Budget June project

This month I teamed up once again with Abakhan to see what crafty goodness I could come up with using a budget of only £15.

I had a very definite idea of what I wanted to do this month - it's summer right? And what do we do in summer? We go to the beach!  (well, we would, if it would just stop raining long enough) I wanted to make a nice lightweight beach bag and a snuggly blanket to sit on, or when the sea air gets a bit nippy, wrap up in. I wanted the blanket to be able to cope with a bit of seaspray/damp sand/grass and be washable, and I wanted it to fold up nice and neat and stow away in the bag with other things.

#SilentSunday 01/07/12