Rainbow Raindrops and Smiley Clouds!

If every cloud looked as cute as this one I'm sure we wouldn't be quite so sad to see them scurrying across the sky. I always imagine the world looks brighter after a spring shower but imagine a downpour of colourful raindrops making rainbow puddles and painting the world in bright hues!

Magazine Cover Kits - making them your own!

I have made no secret of my love for Mollie Makes on this blog.  One of the things I love best - apart from the cute styling, the amazing makes, the fab interviews etc etc - are the free cover kits that come with my magazine every month.

20% off at My Favourite Magazines!

Who doesn't like curling up with a good magazine and a cup of tea?
Magazine subscriptions are a great way to keep up with your favourite magazines, often receiving them before they are available in the shops. They also make fantastic presents!

My Favourite Magazines - who sell subscriptions to Mollie Makes and The Simple Things along with many other titles and one-off bookazines - have a very special offer over this weekend - if you spend over £50 on any of their products you can have an extra 20% off your order. Just enter the voucher code EXTRA20 at the checkout.

Offer valid between 31st October and 4th November 2013

What are you waiting for?

*I am part of the myfavouritemagazines.co.uk affiliate scheme - that means I earn a small commission for every sale made through this blog.  Thanks for your support x

Time to focus...

You may have noticed I have been a little quiet over the past couple of weeks.

This is mainly because I have been pretty busy trying to get my dress finished for the 60's dance and getting a couple of large Sweet Kitty orders started but also, after my post last week about what makes a good blog, because I have been having a long hard think about what I actually blog FOR and where I see myself and this blog heading over the next year...

Truth is I need to be making some money ( which reminds me - see that Mollie Makes banner at the top? If you click on that and subscribe to Mollie or any of the other magazines available I get a small commission. It all helps.) Trouble is I don't drive and live out in the styx so the only real job opportunities that are open to me are stacking shelves in the local supermarket or care work, neither of which really appeal...   I already have a part time job book keeping for my other half's motorbike shop and I do a day's cleaning every couple of weeks. I recently took in some ironing for a friend who is just too busy (and hates it anyway) and will be doing that regularly too but what I REALLY want to do is earn a living - or at least a regular income - from Forest Flower Designs.   I love designing and making my products. I get a warm glow every time someone else likes them enough to part with their cash and take them home. I really want my little Forest Flower to grow and grow and grow...

With that in mind I have set up a new blog - dedicated not just to Forest Flower Designs but to handmade business in general. I know I could have just posted more FFD posts on this blog but I really felt it deserved a home, and a URL, of it's own.

So now it does - www.forestflowerdesigns.co.uk 


I will still be blogging here (albeit not quite as regularly as before). It's taken me best part of 4 years to build this blog up to the place it is now  and I am not about to abandon it just yet! I still have plenty of makes, tutorials, recipes, days out and reviews to share with you but from now on I will be focusing my energy on growing my business and getting my own little brand of handcrafted cuteness into as many homes as possible.

I would love it if you would join me - my google friends box is looking a little empty right now although I'm sure it will fill up in time - I can't wait to share my new designs and inspirations with you not to mention all those other fabulous crafty businesses out there! 

Thanks for your support, dear readers, over the past 4 years and here's to many more blogging years to come!

xx

#WIPsLinky No 2 - Sharing our Work-in-Progress

First of all I would like to say THANK YOU to those of you who joined the linky last month, and those who tweeted and shared. I realise these things take time to grow - it's a work-in-progress in it's own right! Your support is much appreciated.


Now Summer is nearing it's end (boo!) my crafting mind is turning to the Forest Flower Designs Christmas range. The first batch of festive fabric (from the fab Fabric Rehab) arrived a couple of weeks back and the first 'Merry Christmas' embroidered hearts stuffed with gorgeous Christmas spice scented aroma beads have gone into production and should be heading into my Folksy store soon.



This doesn't leave much time for other projects but I am pleased to report that I have nearly used up all the green 'Galaxy' yarn and have a small pile of granny squares ready to create something with. I now have four balls of white chunky yarn to use too (courtesy, once again of my lovely MIL's wool stash!) but I am still not sure what this finished project is going to be... Any ideas readers?

granny squares galore!

 The cable throw is also coming along quite nicely. I completed three panels - including the first of four Celtic Knot panels - whilst on holiday.
However I have already nearly finished the first ball of yarn and the blanket still has a long way to go so I now I am starting to worry that I won't have enough to finish it!






 So - are there any NEW projects for September?

Well I had a lovely surprise this Bank Holiday Weekend when my subscription copy of Mollie Makes arrived a full week before it is available in the shops. I always find Mollie Makes so inspirational, and this month's issue is no exception. In fact I think I actually DO want to make everything in it! I may even put the granny squares to one side for a while to have a go at the fab crocheted High-tops... and I'm not just talking about one pair - these will make perfect Xmas pressies!

What projects do you have planned for the next few weeks? Are you starting to think about winter woollies or Christmas pressie makes yet?
If you blog and would like to join in, please add your post to the linky widget below.  Alternatively share your #WIPsLinky pictures with me on Twitter or Facebook or you can email them to me at forestflower@hotmail.com.  I will add them to the #WIPsLinky Pinterest board and maybe feature some on next month's post too!

Happy Crafting! 

The Simple Things

I have made no secret of how much I love the magazine Mollie Makes - I have mentioned it enough times here on the blog! - so I was really excited to read this week that the team have produced another gorgeous publication due for release in September, just in time for some cosy autumnal reading.

The Simple Things is born of the same ethos as Mollie Makes but looks to cover a much broader base. This is life as I want to live it. This is about a making a home that nurtures and inspires, sharing it with friends and family, growing your own vegetables (I can't wait to read more about Ned and his allotment!), creating beautiful objects to love and cherish. Taking pleasure in the simple things.

Or, as the introduction so beautifully puts it "it's about shopping for a coffee table only to find you are happy with a tea chest"

There will be recipes, craft projects, beautiful interiors to emulate, inspiring stories to uplift. And, like it's sister mag, refreshingly free of the pages and pages of ads and gossip that fill the glossies. 

I can't wait to curl up under a hand knitted blanket, with a mug of tea and a homemade muffin and read the full first issue!

 Click here for a sneaky peak and a special early subscription offer of 3 issues for £5. (I have already set up mine!)

You can also keep up to date with news and extras on their blog. And you can follow them on facebook , Twitter and Pinterest too!

Busy...

Presents. I love presents. I love wrapping presents. I love giving presents. And I would be a liar if I said I didn't like receiving presents too!

My parents don't celebrate Christmas or Birthdays (religious reasons) so they kind of compensate by making a big fuss of their wedding anniversary and turning into a celebratory family day when we all get together, have a nice meal and exchange gifts - and why not? After all the day they got married was the day they began their own family and 41 (41!!!) years later, with five children and three grandchildren, they have something worth celebrating, don't you think?

Knit along with Deramores and Rowan

Have I mentioned before how much I love Mollie Makes magazine? Well they have a fab blog too and the other day they pulled my attention to a great idea from the award winning website deramores.com. They have joined forces with Rowan Yarns and, utilising the modern wonder that it social networking, have organised a 'Knit along' by giving away a free knitting pattern for a cosy snood (just perfect for the cold snap we are weathering at the moment!) and encouraging their facebook 'likers' and Twitter followers to join in and post about their progress!

Well, as part of my New Year's Promise (as opposed to 'Resolution', but more about that another time) to myself I felt I just had to take part...

I confess I cheated slightly and used yarn from my stash - a double knit baby yarn (Sirdar Snuggly) that I bought ages ago with the intention of making my baby something cosy- rather than purchase the Rowan Alpaca Cotton yarn the pattern specifies*. Obviously it's finer than the aran weight yarn but I figure it will be all the lighter and 'lacier' for it.

Wanna see the project so far?

I love the simplicity of the pattern and the short rows mean it is easy to pick up and put down without risking losing your way or dropping stitches. I'm not the worlds fastest knitter - my mum could probably whip this up over a couple of evenings - but it's growing quick enough for me not to lose interest and pack it away with all the other 'unfinished' projects...

If you want to have a go too, head over to Deramores for the free pattern. They also have 10% off the gorgeous Rowan Alpaca Cotton yarn until 9th Feb as a further incentive if you want to do it properly.

You can post your work in progress pictures on the Deramores facebook page or tweet them using the tag #KAL and mentioning @Deramores and @RowanYarns so they can see what you've created too!

If you blog your knit along project then be sure to let me know and leave a link with your comment.

Good luck! x


*If money was no object I would have gone for the gorgeous muted Lichen (green) or Raindrop (grey-blue). Or maybe made one in each colour...

Crochet... I'm hooked!

I know, I know - I am probably one of the last to jump on this particular bandwagon but a week or so ago I picked up a crochet hook and learned how to crochet. It's something I have been meaning to do for a while. I mean I have been knitting for years (well decades actually...) and I have had a go at pretty much everything - cabling, fancy stitches, colour, patterns, jumpers, jackets, socks, baby clothes...quite a lot of baby clothes come to think of it, more socks, bags etc etc. But for some reason the lure of the crochet hook has never attracted me that much.

Until now.

I blame this...

This - if you haven't seen it before - is a brand new magazine dedicated to handmade living. It's chocca full of wonderful ideas, inspiration, interviews, makes and general handmade loveliness. It is right up my alley and so refreshingly gorgeous it surely must be almost illegal.... (I am assured it isn't)

So, yes, I am absolutely in love with Mollie Makes. I dream that one day me or one of my makes might feature within it's beautiful matt paper covers. In the meantime I lust after dinky felties and crocheted flowers, scrummy interiors and to-die-for studio spaces (imagine a space totally dedicated to crafting...no toys, no teetering piles of bike magazines, no spending half an hour tidying up before I can get anything out and then having to put it all away again so the Little Man can do Play Doh... oh, a girl can dream),

You see it was the flowers that did it.My Other Half suffers really badly from hay fever so real flowers in the house are pretty much a no-no (I do manage to slip some in when he's not paying attention on very rare occasions...) I'm really not a fan of chintzy, floral fabrics, preferring more stylised designs. But when I saw that gorgeous cover and knew that I could have a house full of flowers I loved without making his nose twitch!

So I had to learn how to crochet!  With the help of this tutorial I got the basics together fairly quickly (although I feed the yarn like I knit, with my right hand not my left. I'm sure I will work it out eventually!) and this was my first flower attempt...

Not bad but far from perfect. So I kept at it. Last night I felt confident enough to try an ACTUAL PROJECT. Coincidentally (not that I believe in coincidence mind you!) one of my fave reads the Angel Eden blog posted a tutorial a few days ago that was absolutely perfect - a Crochet Jar Cover - I could make something pretty with my new found skill and find another use for an old jam jar!

Wanna see? Of course you do...

Now it's pretty safe to say I am hooked - I love it! The simplicity. The speed at which projects grow. Most of all I love the way crochet lends itself to itty bitty projects so much more than knitting! It is much easier to pick up and put down when the Little Man demands attention and SOOOO much easier to pick up the single stitch if the hook falls out. If you have ever tried picking up an entire row of knitting when the needle gets pulled out you'll know what I mean...

So thank you Mollie Makes for inspiring me where all others have failed, and Abi at Angel Eden for the great tutorial :)

What am I reading in June?

Well it would seem there is a bit of a travel theme going on this month - this is possibly due to my 'itchy-feet' syndrome kicking in, but as money and time constraints mean the furthest I shall be travelling this summer is to a caravan park in Yorkshire with my parents and the Little Man, I shall have to content myself with reading about other people's adventures instead.
My local library had similar ideas and thoughtfully provided me with a huge display of travel books to chose from when we popped in the other day!

So first up is 'Red Tape and White Knuckles' by Lois Pryce
This caught my attention mainly because it involves a motorcycle and, what with the Other Half being a biker and running a Motorcycle shop, you know, sometimes I have to 'show willing'. But this is not just any old 'biker' chronicle - this is a female biker travelling alone through some of the harshest and most dangerous regions of the continent. And she has a sparkly lid (biker term for crash helmet...). Really looking forward to this one.

Changing the back drop and mode of transport completely we have 'Adrift in Caledonia' by Nick Thorpe. Following one man's trek around the Scottish canals, lochs and coastal waters, hitching a ride on various vessels to complete his journey. Apparently this was a Radio 4 'Book of the Week' so I have high hopes for it. The opening pages introduce us to an eccentric boat man wearing a kilt and a floral waistcoat. I think I am going to enjoy it!

Third on the list is 'Tasting Tuscany' by Beth Elon, which not only takes the reader off the beaten track in one of the most beautiful regions of Italy but provide lots of lovely, authentic Tuscan recipes to try at home (although I suspect the 'Hare in sweet and sour sauce' may go untried...)
Perfect for a sunny afternoon read (or a 'cosy up in the conservatory dreaming of sunny afternoons' read if flaming June continues as it's begun)







Last and by no means least I have the latest issue of that fabulous homage to all things crafty, vintage and make-do-and-mend - 'Mollie Makes' to enjoy! I have already lined up a few projects to take on holiday with me to do. Well we are going in a caravan. In Yorkshire. In June. Rain seems fairly safe bet...

Click on the badge below to find out what everyone else is reading this month...