Awards, Surprises in the post & Easter washout!

Hi Everyone, Hope you all had a great Easter break. Ours was a bit disappointing to be honest, Tim's Dad and Step mum arrived on Good Friday, but his Dad was ill throughout the visit and never really came out of the bedroom - that, coupled with the extreme temperatures, snow and hail meant we didn't really get to go out anywhere - Sunday morning saw Tim and I wrap up and head off to the first car boot sale of the season, only to find it had been cancelled which surprised me as the sun briefly shone on Sunday morning! - Anyway, enough of that, and on to more exciting things. Firstly, I received a lovely parcel in the post on Saturday from Sophie I was the lucky recipient of her giveaway, and thought I had just won an egg cosy, but Sophie had also sent this lovely bunny and a handmade card too - so thank you Sophie, it was a lovely surprise and made my day! 

Secondly, I was also lucky enough to receive 2 awards in one week - The 'You make my Day' award from twiggypeasticks and the 'One in a million friend award' from Claire So thank you to both of you - as you know I have only been blogging for a short while so it really makes my day to know that people out there are interested in my life!

Here also is a sneaky peek of Georgia's room - just look at those gorgeous deep skirting boards which Tim has made from 3 different pieces of architrave so that they match the original ones in the rest of the house. We are hopefully off to choose a carpet this week and once that's laid, all the furniture can be moved back in and the fun details added.

Here also, is a picture of some pretty green shelves I picked up on Ebay, they are in my hallway and just waiting to be filled with lots of pretty things - You can't see from this picture, but I also have a raincoat in exactly the same colour green which is hanging down the hallway and which I don't want to take down to wear, because it looks so good hanging there! 

Anyway, I think that's about it for now - my 8 year old has been sick all day which has prevented us from a trip to the dentist (mmm I know what you're thinking, but he wasn't faking it!) but make sure you keep checking my posts, as today I have been the lucky winner of some pay it forward blog candy which I have to pass on to three other people, details to follow ......... Natalie x

Half Hour Crafting

Well, its been quite a busy weekend - Hubby has been flat out working on Georgia's room ready for the Decorator who arrived this morning, so in between working and looking after the children, there was only time for some short bursts of crafting. The pair of lovebirds on the left is a gift I have made for a friend who has just had a baby (well, I say friend - we have never actually met, she is someone I have become friendly with over on MSE - if nothing else, she will appreciate that you can't get more moneysaving than a handmade gift!) - I have added a little pair of socks to the parcel though, as I just couldn't resist. The picture on the right is a new pincushion I have made - The one I currently use I made at the age of 17, it was a tapestry pincushion which I got so into, that I actually bunked a day off my job as an office junior so that I could stay at home and finish it - how shameful is that?! Anyway I decided that after 17 years of use I deserved a new one! - I have made this from a pair of nappy pants that no longer fit Georgia, the cotton was so pretty that I thought "why not use it" - I have noticed that since I began reading other people's blogs, I look at things in a whole different light, and  whether I can reuse them or turn them into something new - must have something to do with the fact that my fabric stash is no where near as impressive as some others I have seen! Just to update you on the decorating - we now have some pink on the walls and its looking lovely - I can't wait to get in there and add all the girly touches but I will have to be patient as we haven't even picked a carpet yet, and I know we will have to wait about a fortnight for that. - Natalie x

Baking with the boys and parcels in the post!

Well, Thursday night saw me baking with my 2 boys aged 8 and nearly 10 - I reckon it must be a couple of years since we baked together, I guess I thought they might have outgrown it, but when I suggested it, they both jumped at the chance. We decided to bake rock cakes from Jane Brockets lovely book 'the Gentle Art of Domesticity' - except I had no nutmeg, so I used cinnamon instead, and I ran out of plain flour so I did half and half with self raising, and I had no raisins/sultanas, so I chucked in mixed dried fruit, and I left out the lemon zest (um..... so not Jane's recipe at all then really!) but they were really nice, especially eaten still warm and Callum took one to school today in his pack up - so it must have got the thumbs up.  

Secondly, I have a big thank you to say to Vanessa at Just Originals when Tim phoned me at work to say a pink bag had come through the post from Retford, I could hardly wait to get home! - When I opened the package, I could smell Lavender, and thought 'well it must be because she works with it all the time' - but no, Vanessa had popped one of her lovely lavendar sachets in with the pinnies as well as a lovely button heart - so thank you Vanessa, it was a lovely surprise, and the pinnies are great - here is Georgia modelling hers, and finding it very funny! - For those who missed my previous post, the pinny was part of a swap we did for one of my bunnies. Which leads me on to my second piece of news - I put one of the bunnies I made in my shop window, and sold it today for £15! - I'm now thinking that I may make some more and start selling on Etsy or Ebay but I haven't decided yet. Hope you all have a good weekend - Natalie x 

Sunday in Scarborough

Well, it seems like I have been away from the computer for days, although in reality it has only been 24 hours. the reason - well, number one is the ironing - I have just finished a 3 foot pile of ironing (no, really)! - I love ironing so much that I try to do it at least once a month, it is my second favourite activity to banging my head against a brick wall. Reason 2 is that Hubby's Dad and stepmum visited us on Saturday, although it was only a one night visit, we had a lovely day today, we went into Scarborough. It was lovely and bright, but still very cold and breezy - We walked all the way around the harbour and then went for fish and chips, finished off with a 99 on the beach. Can you believe there were actually people in the sea? - I can only assume they don't get to the coast much, as I was wrapped up in my winter coat and scarf and was still freezing! Here is a little piccie of my darling enjoying her icecream

My Shop & Decorating progress!

Well, as promised here are some photos of my shop - I changed the window today and I'm really pleased with it - I think it looks really pretty and springy (and can you spot the bunny in there?!)

The fabric in the window is a lovely print called 'Tea Rose' I think it is very Cath Kidstony but half the price - it is 100% cotton and a really good quality and is just £12.99 a metre, so if anyone would like some, just e mail me and I'm happy to charge you for whatever quantity you require.

Picture 2 is another bunny I have made - this is on its way to Debbie at 'Country Heart & Home' - I hope she is pleased with it . Finally, you can see some progress has been made with Georgia's room - it is now fully plastered and we are just waiting for it to dry out - the decorator arrives a week on Monday, which gives Hubby a week to get the new window in and some skirting boards on - slavedriver - moi?!

Well, this was the site that met me when I came home from work today! - Hubby had decided to take all the plaster off one of the walls in the room we are decorating for Georgia and as a result, the whole house looks like the aftermath of 9/11. There is a thick coating of dust and soot (from the chimney we've opened up) on everything! On the plus side, the ceiling and one of the walls you can't see have been skimmed and by tomorrow all the plastering should be done - looks like Hubby is in for a late night as he wanted to insulate the wall before he puts new plasterboards on - I get impatient with this bit and just want to get on with the nice stuff, such as this lovely pom pom trim that arrived today and is to go on the bottom of the roman blind I'm making for her room. It's been a quiet day today, I've popped bunny in the post to Vanessa at 'Just Originals' - I do hope she likes it! - I've also half made some bunting to go in my shop window, which I'll change this weekend, I'm going for a floral, fresh, springy theme this time - I love window dressing, and its nice to hear all the lovely comments about my window as people walk past. 

Natalie x

Swaps Anyone?

Hi there, seeing as it is nearly Easter, I thought I would share with you this cute cotton bunny I have made, I really enjoyed making her, although my Hubby says it looks nothing like a rabbit - I think she is rather cute. - So, would anyone like to do a swap with me, it can be for anything, either something handmade or not, It will give me an excuse to make another one for myself! I have also made these little geese from the book 'Crafting Easter Gifts' I also have the 'Christmas gifts' book and almost can't wait for christmas to come around so I can make the cute little gingerbread men garland - Natalie x 

Finding Myself.....

Over the past few weeks while reading all your lovely blogs, a dawning realisation has slowly come over me. I have looked around my home and realised that I am not being true to myself. I have tried to create a home in which all the family (until recently I was outnumbered male:female by 3:1) feel at home - but what I have ended up with is a home that doesn't really reflect any of us. My lightbulb moment, I suppose you could call it, came when even my husband said that our house lacked 'touches' and that none of it looked 'finished off'. I think in the past, I have been swayed by 'showhome' type rooms in glossy house magazines, but I have neglected to think about what I really like, and what reflects me. So I passed my hubby a copy of Rachel Ashwells 'Shabby Chic' and waited for the inevitable 'you're not doing that to our house' - 10 minutes later when he emerged from the toilet with the book under his arm, you could have knocked me over with a feather when he said that 'it wasn't what he was expecting' and then told me to 'set my stall out, and decide how I want our home to look'. So I now feel like I have been set free, and I'm off now to dig out some gorgeous mother of pearl teacups that were given to me by my Gran, so I can put them on display and appreciate them every day. Sorry for the long post, but I hope you will keep popping by my blog to see how I'm doing and catch up with my progress as I transform our house into a home x