Sad News

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Jan 272012
 

Sadly my baby sister, Hayley, passed away last week (18th Jan). Today is her birthday and she would have been 27.

She was born with congenital heart defects and had her first operation at only 7 months old. She was a fighter, perfectionist, friend and sister. She had a dry sense of humour and quite often she was a pain in the ar*e. But we love her very much. She tried to teach me to crochet and gave me up as a lost cause. We were only joking a few days before that she’s managed a whole week without collapsing or having to go to hospital. So sudden and so sad.

I miss you so very much Pob. xxx

 Posted by Claire at 4:57 pm

Bunting!

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Jan 132012
 

With the Christmas decorations coming down at the start of the month (I remembered to take them ALL down this year!) our living/dining room was looking a little dull. Up went a strip of rainbow bunting!

It makes the room look much more cheerful and if anyone asks, there is a birthday in the family most months! ;)

You can get your own bright and cheery rainbow bunting from my shop! As a special offer there is £5 OFF all bunting this weekend only! I also have a SALE SECTION where all cute and quirky felt brooches are only £1.50! Bargain! I’m attempting to make room for all the new ideas that are whizzing around in my head and making there way out into sketches! :)

 Posted by Claire at 5:00 pm  Tagged with: ,

Nerd Thursday: A Technicians Day

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Jan 122012
 

Those that have been reading my blog for a while now will possibly remember that I used to have a little feature called NERD THURSDAY where I’d post something a little nerdy (usually science based) to please my inner nerd. This year I’ve decided it’s making a comeback! So……here it is!  When I’m not off on maternity leave(!), I’m a secondary school science technician and this is my day.

First cuppa.

My ‘brain’. I’d forget so much without it(!)

A couple of physics practicals (can you guess what they are?!)

tidying the ‘wiring a plug’ practical ready for the year 7s to trash use ;)

Quick break/email check and my pint mug of tea!

Breakfast.

Chopping onions to make plant cell slides.

Technically not science work….!

Sea-monkey watching.

Technician (ME!) in her natural environment.

End of day doodles.

There were many more practicals that I forgot to photograph, walks over to the physics factory, emergency photocopying, lunch(!), much wheeling of trolleys, playing with mirrors and in and out of cupboards. I do hope you enjoyed this little insight into my work day.

 

 Posted by Claire at 6:00 am  Tagged with: , , ,

2011 The Best Bits!

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Dec 312011
 

The start of the year didn’t see a lot of crafting, but I did manage to make Hattie’s duvet cover (which she still LOVES!)

FEBRUARY saw the (slightly) early arrival of baby Charlotte!

In MARCH, even with a newborn, I managed to make a little progress with Hattie’s quilt, work on my buggy bag design and make marmalade!

 APRIL I managed a few things from my list! I made Hattie a couple of summery skirts (which I will definitely be doing again in 2012!), made patriotic bunting for our street party, finished the cloud quit which Hattie claimed and had lots of fun (and challenges) being mum to our gorgeous girls!

In MAY I managed to be very busy! I signed up for my first craft fair – the Alternative Baby Fair, Made a few simple summer skirts for the shop, made myself a nice new phone case…

made what felt like a million bibs, button hair clips, version 3 of the buggy bag and some fantastic rainbow bunting!

JUNE is my birthday month. I made another mountain of bibs, a batch of patchwork phone cases and took my poor over-worked sewing machine for a much needed service!

JULY is start of birthday season for Hattie’s friends so was parties most weekend, including 2 of her own! Party decorations were on the cards! I spent HOURS cutting felt circles to make 2 10m garlands for the garden!

 

AUGUST was mainly the month of baby fair prep and decorating our bedroom, I also made my fantastic mei tai. I still wouldn’t be without it!

SEPTEMBER was filled with more decorating, the Alternative baby fair,

and making a start on this years Christmas ornaments.

OCTOBER saw another craft fair,

and two cute halloween outfits!

 

 NOVEMBER was mainly about the start of Christmas toddler crafts. Hattie just loves making things which, as you can imagine, I’m incredibly pleased about!!!! :)

DECEMBER seemed to sneak up on me and I didn’t get as many handmade presents finished as I would of liked. I managed to finish a patchwork phone case for the MIL and our stockings. I still owe a few gifts to people. So if you are reading this, and you know who you are(!), they’ll be finished VERY soon!

 So there we are, that was 2011. Who knows what 2012 will bring but may it be everything that you wish for and more! Happy new year my dear, dear readers! xxx

 Posted by Claire at 10:56 pm

Christmas Greetings and a little ‘ME’ Sewing :)

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Dec 292011
 

Hello everyone! I do hope you have been enjoying the festivities?! We’ve been having a lovely time.

Charlotte at our final (ever!) Baby Sensory class.

Our little baby-friendly tree.

WOW! A satsuma!

Humpty Dumpty!

Do I look like a princess?

This year we got a good book haul!

A little christmas sewing!

Our new stockings!!!!

The quilt of AWESOME!

Hope you all have a wonderful week. I’ll see you in 2012!

 

 Posted by Claire at 12:27 pm

Toddler Crafts #3: Father Christmas Faces

 Toddler Crafts  1 Response »
Dec 062011
 

To make Father Christmas faces you will need:

A paper plate, glue, googly eyes, red pom poms, red card, cotton wool and a red pen.

Draw a smile, stick on eyes, nose and cotton wool beard.

Cut a triangle from the red card and stick on some cotton wool.

Stick on the hat and there you have it. A Father Christmas face and one very happy toddler!

After father Christmas faces we moved on the sequined snowflakes to hang in the windows!

 

 Posted by Claire at 4:03 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Cupcakes for Clara!

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Dec 012011
 

I’ve been doing a little etsy shopping lately, it *IS* almost Christmas after all! I’m going to showcase a few of the items I have bought and their designers. To start with we have the lovely Laura Clempson of Cupcakes for Clara! I first discovered Laura’s work when I bought the book Making Stuff for Kids and I’ve been an avid follower of Laura’s blog ever since! She is a very talented designer-maker and I LOVE her cute creations!

So who is Clara?! Clara is a grumpy, bossy red-head with a twin sister called Macy. She likes pink, dressing-up and cupcakes! I think she’s adorable! AND one of my bestest friends always calls me Clara, and yes I can be grumpy AND very bossy! ;)

So what did I buy from the Cupcakes for Clara shop???

Here’s my little parcel all wrapped up ever so sweetly in Clara’s signature orange!

Isn’t everything just FANTASTIC!??? I bought a couple of Clara Christmas dress up dolls and some christmas gift labels. The extra outfit card was a little extra gift and up until Christmas if you spend over £10 in Laura’s shop your get the set of 3 Clara note cards free! How wonderful is that???

Not only can you buy all of these lovely items but Laura also sells a selection of make-your-own kits with everything you need to make your own Robin Fattie, cupcake keyring and christmas pudding flattie (as well as a few others!).

Photographs used with permission from Laura Clempson. Why not visit her Blog and shop and say hello!

 

 Posted by Claire at 1:53 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Toddler crafts #2: Snowman faces

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Nov 252011
 

These are easy, fun and don’t make very much mess!

You will need: White paper plates, googley eyes, pom poms, scrap of orange felt, PVA glue and a brush.

Cut out triangles for the snowman noses (an adult should do this).

Glue eyes, nose and pom poms onto the paper plate.

TA-DAAAA. Snowman face!

Repeat as necessary! We made 6 (Hats made 5 and I made 1!) of these and they will be hung up proudly in the hall next week and given to grandparents too! The only problem we had making the snowmen was when we ran out of pom poms and couldn’t make any more. We had toddler tears :(

 Posted by Claire at 9:08 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Felt Holly Brooch Tutorial

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Nov 212011
 

Hello there! I’ve been meaning to post more tutorials on here and thought with the festive season approaching it was time to share my felt holly brooch. This is a hand sewn version and it’s simple and very easy for beginners! Continue reading »

 Posted by Claire at 3:20 pm  Tagged with: , , , ,

Toddler crafts #1: Christmas cards!

 Toddler Crafts, Uncategorized  2 Responses »
Nov 172011
 

Today we have been making Christmas cards! Some people think I’m brave for getting out the glue, glitter and sequins, but we have an excellent hoover and all crafting is as controlled as it possibly can be with a 2 year old! I love it and Hattie loves it too! I try and do at least one craft activity with her every week – usually painting. Here is what we made today.

Mummy drawn christmas trees ready for the glue.

Hattie enjoying choosing and sticking sequins onto the cards.

Covered  in glitter!

The big ‘reveal’.

TA-DAAAAA. One finished christmas tree card!

Next week – snowman faces!

 Posted by Claire at 8:11 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,
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