Wednesday 15 April 2009

Easter fun

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter we've been very busy here the best part of Good Friday and bank holiday Monday were spent working on the garden digging up the old path and building a vegetable plot poor Steven has not stopped! Every spare bit of time we have is spent trying to finish what we have started at least we'll be able to enjoy our efforts this summer. We did take a break on Easter Sunday and had a nice day spent with family.

These baskets are what I did with the children from playgroup this one is Emilys they made the baskets and then decorated a cupcake to take home.

Heres Emilys Easter bonnet she really did do most of it herself apart from the daffs I just stuck on lots of doubled up sellotape and let her with help from Elliot stick on what they wanted from the bag of Easter bits.
As you can see she really enjoyed wearing it.
These are Emilys latest colouring in by numbers pictures she's got through a whole book of pictures in one week I just had to put them on here I'm really impressed with how shes coming on. I'll have to look out for another book for her.


Easter Sunday after dinner we had a egg hunt around the house, lots excitement and chocolate was eaten.

I got some more egg decorations this year so I'm quite pleased with how my Easter tree looks.
This cute little bunny was 99p from the charity shop.

Can't believe that the end of term break is nearly over it seems to have flown by so going to make the most of the last few days we have . Hope you enjoy whats left of it if your children are off.








Wednesday 1 April 2009

Lucky me!

It was a beautiful sunny day in Derbyshire yesterday and my day just got better when the postman knocked at my door with my heart swap goodies from Molly Cupcakes who also organised the heart swap. Just look at all this Miss Cupcakes has spoilt me rotten with not 6 but 13 beautifully wrapped parcels well I could barely contain my excitement!!!!

There was lots of oohing and awing going on believe me whilst opening this lot! Here's what I got a handmade pincushion you can't see in the photo it has the teenyest tiniest cutest buttons pinned loose on that you ever did see! I love the heart tumbler can't wait to start using that! A vintage cotton reel with heart ribbon and card with a lovely message inside from Catherine.
Look at this lot, by this time I was really excited everything is just so pretty can't wait to start putting things here and there around the house..... Above is a handmade picture with painted frame. A Mollycupcakes wooden spoon which I LOVE! It had the recipe for the heart dessert wrapped around it and a lovely heart card which I will be keeping for one self far too nice to giveaway me thinks!

And there's more!!!!! I was dancing a little jig at this point! A painted polka dot heart photo frame, a painted peg for notes will be very handy that! Heart stickers and heart cinnamon flavoured biscuits baked by Catherine decorated with hundred and thousands which taste yummy!

No that's not it! Look at these all handmade, a hanging heart, a heart brooch and two wooden heart gift tags is there no end to this girls talents?!!

Everything is sooooooo gorgeous it's like you know me just the sort of thing I love THANK YOU SO MUCH Catherine I really appreciate all the love and effort you put into making my swap and everything will be treasured and much loved. I really hope you liked mine!

And also thank you for organising this heart swap I think you've done a superb job of it all and I've really enjoyed taking part this being the first swap I've done! Looking forward to seeing everyone elses swaps!








Friday 27 March 2009

7 things I love and an award

I 've been given this award from 4 different blogs this week:-

Catherine at Molly Cupcakes



Gem at Deravelled


Thank you ladies it's nice to know that you enjoy my blog and think I deserve an award there are so many fabulous blogs out there and sometimes I think I am a bit critical of mine. I'd love to have more time to blog much more regularly but being given a award now and again reminds me that I'm doing ok and it's alright to blog only when I have time and have something to say. I blog for me and hopefully it will be something that my children will enjoy reading when their older and it's a huge bonus and compliment that anyone else enjoys it.


The rules of the award are to link the people who gave you the award and then you have to name 7 things you love then pass the award on to 7 other blogs that you love to read.


So here are 7 things that I love in no particular order!



1. My beautiful children Emily and Elliott



2.My Home




3. My husband Steven

4. Spring


5. My Mum and Dad


6. Staying in beautiful cottages

7. Greengate

And the list could go on and on forever there are countless things that I love in my life!

Now for 7 blogs that I love to read there are also countless blogs out there that I love to read I could go on and on with that one too so if your not in my list it doesn't mean I don't love your blog!


In no particular order!



Lou at Ludabelle






Have a great Sunday everyone!














Wednesday 25 March 2009

My new little job, Mothers Day and a Heart Swap.

Been feeling so busy lately as if life is running ahead of me do you ever feel like that? Looking forward to the Easter break so that we can slow down a bit, no playgroups, no nursery just me and my two at home doing as we please sigh bliss.

As if I wasn't busy enough at the moment I've gone and volunteered my self to organise the craft activity each week, at the playgroup I take Elliot to on a Tuesday.

Here are my first two efforts Mothers Day cards - Elliot made the one above and Spring bunting below.

This involved cutting 120 diamond shapes and punching out I don't know how many various coloured flower shapes. All this organising is very time consuming and takes place on a Monday night down my little house. I am quite enjoying my new responsibility though after all the effort it's so nice to see the looks on their proud little faces when they toddle back to their mums with their latest creation. Also Emilys loving the fact that I have suddenly got all this craft stuff around the house and ready to make projects on command after shes finished pre - school.

I had a lovely day on Mothers Day it was spent with Stevens mum and my very pregnant sister law who laid on some lovely food for us all. I didn't see my mum as she is away on a cruise hopefully having a wonderful time we all miss you and I want to thank you on here for everything you do for us all love you mum!

Look at my gorgeous Mother's day card below it is actually the card I had last year from Emily. Elliot sent me the same card in a different design last year too. Theyve been sat in a drawer all year I think their so beautiful that I wanted to do something special with them so I've decided that instead of buying me a card each year they can give me these same two cards every year so that I can treasure their handwriting as it changes each year and enjoy their little messages. Who knows maybe they will be sending me the same card in 20 years time!


I also got the present I wanted this Emma Bridgewater heart mug. I did give a little bit of assistence there in the choosing of my gift !

Yesterday I posted off this parcel to MollyCupcakes for the heart swap organised by MollyCupcakes! I've really enjoyed putting this parcel together it's the first swap I've done I just love anything with hearts on so this was a good one for me to do.

Hope she likes the contents and hope the postman doesn't take to long delivering it.

Thanks for all your nice comments on our new path we did get it finished. Tommorrow we are hoping for sunshine so that we can make a start on the back of the garden and the water feature oo exciting stuff eh theres no pics as theres nothing very exciting to show but when weve done some more I will put some pics on.

























Thursday 19 March 2009

I'm late I'm late for a very important date!

I can't believe it I've missed my blogs 1st birthday by nearly 3 weeks what a plonker I kind of knew it was coming up but hadn't checked the date my first post was on the 6th of March last year and had my mothers day cards on it so I was thinking it was near Mothers Day this year oh dear how wrong was I. Anyway enough of that embarrassing talk of how unorganised I truly am.

I was hoping you would join me in my own mini celebration of my blogerversary with me I put together the above mosaic especially for the occasion, some Miss Sew n Sew pics of the last year and I will be hosting a blogerversary give away when I get my act together at a very fashionable month late on the 6ths April!! I am organised with that and have started putting some lovely goodies for this just a few more makes to add so please don't miss out come back for my giveaway I do so love to read your comments and your blogs and this will be my way of saying thank you to each and every one of you who have stopped by and visited my blog. Lots more about my blogging love on the 6th!


I have a new thing in my house for spring bulbs look aren't they wonderful I have 3 hyacinths on the go at the moment there so reasonably priced and they last a lot longer than cut flowers and just smell so gorgeous. My local garden centre were selling these off at just a pound each because they were very dry but after a soaking in a bucket of water they have been fine and are giving me so much enjoyment I just love catching glimpses of fresh flowers around the house. Oh dear I must clean my kitchen window!

I've had my man at home this week and look what we've been up too! A new path is being laid down to my little house and shed. The old bricks were left from an outbuilding taken down by the previous owner so we've made use of them to edge the path.


The weathers been great this week and given us the chance to get on with it yes I've been digging and getting my hands dirty too! All day in the garden has been back braking work but I know it will be worth it and I'm really liking the results of the different materials bricks,gravel and wood.

This is our first proper garden our first house didn't really have much garden so were excited

about changing ours and making it our own. As you can see we have lot's more to do, the path will continue to our shed and then if all goes to plan we want to put a seat around tree and the messy soil area will will be filled with different shades of gravels may be a water feature and grasses and ferns planted amongst the gravel I have it all planned out in my head!

In front of my little house were going to have decking for a seating area and then also we want to make a vegetable garden out of some timber we have left over from the path so not much to do then hey!

The house is looking a tip with mummy and daddy both working our asses off in the garden Emily and Elliott have been entertaining them selves which has meant all though my attempts to tell them to take their wellies off when they go inside lot's of messy little footprints on Mummy carpet arrrgh!!

Today's game has been who can collect the most worms in their bowls, then counting their worms then running to their chalk board to draw number of worms on it!

Will be back next week with our progress thank you for all your comments about my little house I'd love top have you all round, one at a time of course for some crafting, coffee and cake! I really enjoyed reading them your all so lovely!

Hope all you mums out there have a great Mothers Day this weekend!



Sunday 8 March 2009

My little house!

Yesterday I had a good tidy up of my little house down the garden and took some pics so finally I can share my finished studio with you all I'm sorry it's taken me forever to put these on here I hadn't forgotten but it has taken a lot more time than I expected transferring all my stuff from the house and finding homes for it all in here as it is quite small but perfectly formed and it is rarely this tidy being away from the house only I see the mess! If you follow my blog you will know that we purchased my summerhouse in bits at the end of August last year, you can read about it here and here to see the before pics. An enormous thank you goes out to my husband Steven, my dad and my mum for the team effort in getting it finished and making my dream of my own space a reality.So this is my desk the table was £20 off good old ebay and was a nasty orangey pine colour so we sanded it down and painted the legs there was a window on this wall which I decided to block up as I wanted the shelves above my desk which works really well for storage and some favorite bit's and pieces on there - my faithful Roberts radio and favorite Greengate tins.

Steven spent hours cladding the whole of the inside in tongue and groove which I love, he insulated the walls behind the tongue and groove which works a treat I have a electric heater and it gets lovely and cosy it was really important to me that I could use it all year round with it being small it heats up really well. The bunting I made myself a few years back.
I wanted a comfy chair in there I picked this tub chair up from a junk shop for £10 and I made the slip cover for it out of Greengate fabric.

The floor lamp base was from freecycle which I've painted blue and the wonky shade was 50p from a car boot! I have my home magazines on the rack on the door.
Steven has fitted me spotlights in the ceiling and I have a handy shelf which runs across the roof space up there I have my baskets of fabric scraps.

You might of noticed that not a lot of sewing has been going on around here that's down to two reasons 1. lack of time 2. I have been without a working sewing machine for 6 months or so which has been very frustrating. The one you see on the table has just been repaired but my gorgeous vintage blue singer one ( brought for looks alone!) is beyond repair so instead of looking pretty on my desk it is going to the tip boo hoo!
I have just started sewing again and have two projects on the go at the moment some cushions for my mum and something I can't say what for the heart swap over at Mollycupcakes and lots more planned after that.

I love gift wrapping and like to keep a good selection of gift wrap in my bucket!
So that's it hope you enjoyed my tour of my little studio and that it was worth waiting for.

You might of noticed I have a new look to my blog I haven't posted on here for quite some time as I have a new hobby playing around with photo shop! I'm really pleased with how it looks I've used my favourite combination of Greengate inspired colours red, green, white and blue hope you like it!
















Wednesday 18 February 2009

Lovely Pretty Things

A pink parcel landed on my doormat last week. What's this I thought it can only be something from one of you wonderful ladies in blog land. As it happened it was addressed to Emily, straight away I realised what it must be. I impatiently wait for 2 hrs and stop myself from having a peek inside and save it for Emily to open after pre school. She is just as excited as me to open her parcel and she ripped open the pink bag and tissue paper to find this............



a gorgeous mini quilt that I won in Sara's giveaway! I love Sara's work she makes all sorts of lovely things which you can find here at her blog All About Eden just look at the beautiful detail on her name and the pretty fabrics! Thank you Sara Emily love's it and so do I it has been all over the place in Emily's bedroom looking for the right spot to display it and we've settled for the wall above her bed.

These are my beautiful roses that Steven surprised my with on Valentines day I really wasn't expecting anything so they meant even more.


On Monday our back garden was awash with sunshine it felt wonderful it was warm enough for the kid's to play outside in the garden with no coat's and me and Steven sat and had our lunch outside, it felt good, really good, it gave us a taste of what's to come roll on Spring can't wait Just look at our first snowdrops so dainty and pretty. Keep catching a glimpse of them just outside the window don't you just love snowdrops?!


I've finally got my copy of this months Country Living I always see it first on blogs at those of who subscribe and think 'ooh that front cover does look good' and then I have to impatiently wait for my copy to appear on the shop shelf I really should get it on subscription as I have it every month anyway. I'm lovin this months copy mostly because of the article about having a home studio if you follow my blog you'll know that I've just completed mine down the garden and love the glimpse into Caroline Zoobs work space article.

Sorry the above photo is blurred the pink mug warmer is from another very talented lady at Pink- Petal-Designs I think she still sells them in her shop if you fancy one. I love mine it's only takes about 20 seconds to get from the house back door down to my garden studio but when it's freezing outside having my hands wrapped around my mug warmer with a mug of hot chocolate makes it much less of a bind!

The chocolate chip cookies I made this are from a recipe at the ever fabulous blog Attic 24 thanks you Lucy you said my family would thank you wholeheartedly for them and we do they are delicious and were very popular in our household made mine with some white chocolate chunks I had in. Tempted? Their seriously good! You can find the recipe here.

It is coming up to my blog being 1 yrs old in March so do pop back as I will be putting some goodies together and having a giveaway.