Thursday 18 December 2014

Nova Hreod Dickensian Evening 2014

"Christmas was close at hand, in all his bluff and hearty honesty; it was the season of hospitality, merriment, and open-heartedness; the old year was preparing, like an ancient philosopher, to call his friends around him, and amidst the sound of feasting and revelry to pass gently and calmly away."  
The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens


This was my first Dickensian Evening and what a fabulous setting in the amazing centre dome of Nova Hreoad School.  While I was setting up my stall, Mr A, Miss M and Miss E had a guided tour by our friend Scott and they all came back buzzy with tales of what they had seen.


The view from my stall.  We were kind of outside, yet inside!



Music and carols were performed, chestnuts were roasted and eaten and Christmas gifts were bought.




It was a cold night but my chilly penguin friends didn't even ruffle a feather!

Thank you for having me x

Croft School Christmas Fair

Well Croft is a lovely new school, smallish but growing and boy do they know how to put on a Christmas Fair!  The hall is a gorgeous, light and airy venue.



It was such a fabulous event with so many different independent stalls, Father Christmas, lucky dips, Christmas themed quizzes, Chrsitmas skittles, an amazing Children's Craft Zone and such an array of delicious foods; cakes, hot dogs, soup and onion bhajis, chickpea curry....yes I did sample most of them...it would have been rude not to and quite frankly I didn't have the willpower to resist...very yummy!


I was ably assisted for the day by Miss M and what's more, we won a prize on the raffle...yay!



Thank you for inviting me, I had a ball x

Lethbridge School Christmas Bazaar 2014


I had a lovely time at the school Christmas Bazaar on Saturday although I was feeling very under the weather :-(
Thank you to everyone who popped by.


I had an extremely Christmassy spot nestled under the tree.


The Sale Box was as popular as ever with the bargain hunters and there was a really great mix of goodies in there.


Cheery Cup Coasters in grey, blue and yellow 100% British Wool Felt.


 And in tribute to all the things I and Mr M love about the Tour de France....some special Tour de France Jersey coasters.



Pure Denim Corsages above and Bright Denim Corsages below...plus some cheeky Christmas robins hopped by to say "hello".



Pick a Penguin, Pick a Pocket, Pop your Penguin in a Pocket!



It's a Penguin Pile Up!!



A stack of pockets waiting for their penguin residents.


Popping with colour, the Pom Pom Flowers looked colourful, soft and woolly.



A vase of roses in pinks, yellows and denim.  Just as nature intended, each one is different.  

Monday 1 December 2014

Pocket a Penguin

Pick a Penguin...Pick a Pocket...
Pop your Penguin in the Pocket...ta da!


Whenever we go out, I generally grab a few things for the girls, especially if we're going to a restaurant or similar....a book and pen and notepad for Miss M and a book and a little cuddly for Miss E which is how the idea of Pocket a Penguin came about.

I had the idea of creating something that would jump into your pocket and tag along for the adventure when ever you went out.  BUT...there was a flaw in my plan...not many of my daughters clothes have pockets...


...so I started to gather pockets to create portable little homes or sleeping bags for these penguins.  I've used birds many a time before, long legged birds on cushions, Christmas robins, bird mobiles but never penguins...


Peepo Penguin!


So which one is your Penguin of preference?  I just can't make up my mind!


I'm sure these little ones do the can can when I'm not looking and I bet the grey with white spots one is the leader!




Bright Pom Pom Flowers

I love having flowers in the house and especially if they are ones I've picked from our garden which is fine and dandy through out the spring and summer months but it gets a bit more tricky at this time of the year doesn't it?  Unless you are one of those fabulously dedicated and committed gardeners who manage to keep their garden in bloom all year round.  Hats off to you!

Sadly I'm not and therefore have creates these little beauties...pom pom flowers!


They never need their water changing, never need deadheading and never die!  In fact they are the most perfectly well behaved flowers.

You may remember that last year I dabbled in subtle colour pom pom flowers.  Well there is nothing subtle about these brightly coloured pom pom flowers.  The twigs are recycled from cutting back the trees and bushes in our garden and then I've added felt leaves.


One can be attached to a bottle of wine with a lovely ribbon to add a pretty touch to a gift, grab a handful and make a bright woolly bouquet or line up a series of vases, jars and bottles along your mantle piece and pop a pom pom flower in each.  

Bright sun shine flowers in winter.  Job done!

Wednesday 26 November 2014

A Cup of Tea coaster for your cup of tea!


What's you favourite cuppa?  Earl Grey, Peppermint and Liquorish, so strong you can stand your spoon up in it builders tea.......

Whichever it is, it would look so pretty perched on top of one of my Cup of Tea Coasters don't you think?

 


Now which one is your favourite?  I just can't decide so would have two of each!  
I drink a lot of tea and like to look after my cup.


I have made these from 100% wool felt.  As always, I have cut each one by hand using a template I created.





Monday 24 November 2014

Pure Denim Corsages


No fancy colours, just pure denim in all its glory.  These corsage brooches are for those of us who aren't afraid to do the double denim look!

They look brilliant on tweed jackets, wool fabric coats and snuggly knitted jumpers.  They are your friendly perfect winter accessory.

Just like the Bright Denim Corsages these Pure Denim Corsages are made from recycled denim.  I have been badgering everyone I know to pass me their cast offs over the last few months.  Each flower is unique due to the different shades of blue in the denims and how much wear and tear the denim has had in its jeans life.  I cut and sew these corsages completely by hand giving them a lovely homespun quirky feel.  



I have been wearing one on my navy tweed jacket for about a year and it just gets better with age as it frays and takes on more character.




Fairground Attraction

Last weekend we had our annual visit to Loughborough Fair....actually I should say we went to Loughborough as my Mum and Dad live near by and it was my Mum's birthday...but strictly speaking it was her birthday the weekend before but it's the fair which determines which weekend we actually make trip!

I have been going to Loughborough Fair for as long as I can remember.  It's traditionally seen as the ending of the travelling season and several travelling show people groups come together in the town centre as their last gathering of the year.  It's huge but has a really chilled out and relaxed feel to it.  In fact this was actually the 793rd Loughborough fair as it had its first official charter granted in 1221 by King Henry III.


I have to confess to being too busy eating candyfloss and planning the next rides to actually take any photos but Mr M took a couple of snaps which I've hi-jacked.  They're a bit blurry but it was so busy and crowded plus Mr M has one hand in a cast after an accident a few weeks ago so I'm not complaining and I'm going to roll with the them.


What I love about this fair is that there are lots of rides which we know will always be there and will always be in the same place but also each year there is some new spectacular ride such as this crazy, ridiculously high Star Flyer which according to the Charnwood News is "a 120ft-high ride which is thought to be the tallest of its kind in Europe".  In the misty November evening we thought it looked like an alien spaceship hovering over the town.

The rides go so close to some of the shop buildings, it must be such a massive jigsaw fitting it all in.  I remember as a child being completely disorientated by the fair, turning a town I knew very well into a place I didn't recognise at all.  Mum and Dad would say "look there's Boots" or "we're just opposite Clarks now" but it made no difference, I still didn't have a clue which I think added to the magic...for four days the place I knew had gone and this magical fairground had been dropped in its place.




This was Miss E's choice of transport and Miss M was pretty squashed trying to curl her long legs up into the car but you can just about see how happy it made Miss E by the smile on her face.

Miss M was chauffeur driven around the next ride by footwomen Miss E. 


I remember as a child, my sis and I being given £1 each for the fair which would get us 5 rides.  I know!  We would walk the length of the fair planning which 5 rides we'd choose....such decisions.  Mum and Dad would thrown in candy floss as an extra and it's a family tradition that Mum always buys brandy snaps.



This is Miss E flying high in her Princess aeroplane.  She loved being in charge of the going up and down button in her cockpit.  

At this point I was riding the ferris wheel with Miss M and Grandad and holding on very tightly...I think Miss M had bruises on her leg from my fingers gripping her so tightly.  I was ok with the coming down half of the circle but not so keen on the going up!


We always save the best for last....the big steam driven carousel with the wonderful elegant horses.   Mr M had a little chat with the steam engine man in between the rides.   


When I was a child, this ride didn't count as one of our 5 rides, oh no, this one was special and was a whole family ride and always saved until the end. 


Miss E and I shared a very pretty horse called Lauren.  Just look at the speed we're going, with a very blurry Grandma on the inside and Miss M in the mix as well.  A couple of years ago Miss E insisted on riding on one of the hen type things but the horses are definitely better!  Confession time...I like to pretend I'm Mary Poppins when I'm on this ride!  I really do!  Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!  

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