Reggio inspired tag toy

I made a Reggio inspired tag toy, check it out on my other blog Imperfectly Natural Mama.

Hungry Caterpillar Bunting

We are going through an unusually cold spell here in the UK, we are all wrapped up inside fondly remembering the weather this time last year which was warm, sunny and spring-like!  Shortly after Orren was born I enjoyed a picnic in the park and a BBQ in the garden, so you will understand that we are all feeling a little down and out at the moment and desperately wishing spring to come.  Last week I planted some beetroot and spring onions in seed trays, but I just don't see them making an appearance unless the weather improves. 
I am trying to pass the time by seeing friends and family.  Last week I visited my best friend who had a baby four weeks ago, he is totally gorgeous and tiny, holding a tiny baby just reminded me how much Orren has grown, he seems giant compared to my friend's baby!  Did it make me broody?  Well maybe a little, I did start thinking crazy things like "I am sure it's easier with two", and "Orren could entertain the baby". 
I made a couple of presents for him including a couple of my neckerchief bibs and some personalised bunting.  I used Hungry Caterpillar fabric from Hobbycraft and come matching plain, coloured cotton.  It has 12 flags in total with four in the Hungry Caterpillar fabric, four yellow, two green and two red.

I hope my friend likes it, and her little boy when he is old enough to know. I thought the colours were quite jolly and would fit in with a few different colour schemes. 

Last weekend we visited my mum and dad in Wales, normally we enjoy a walk on the beach, but not this time, at 1 degree you'll forgive us for staying indoors and then heading to the carvery for a filling lunch. I also visited a friend from my University days who has a 6 month old whom I hadn't seen yet; it is so nice all my friends are having babies, feels like we are all moving into the next phase of life.  Are you in the UK? How are you coping with the unseasonably cold weather?

First Birthday Thank You Cards

Orren received lots of lovely presents for his first birthday, including lots of really beautiful, authentic wooden toys and books.  I much prefer wooden toys to plastic because there is more potential to fix them if they are broken and if they are beyond repair there is the option for burning them which at the very least takes them back to something natural, I also prefer the feel and look of wooden toys and because wood is a natural material there are less chemicals released from it over time.  Plastic toys on the other hand are difficult to mend if they break because the plastic is often quite brittle and can't be manipulated in the same way wood can, and once they have outlived their usefulness the only place for them is landfill where they will stay looking pretty much the same for many many years, releasing chemicals into the environment (no one really knows how long plastics will survive because no one has lived long enough to see it bio-degrade.) Plastic teethers have regulations about what sort of plastics can be used in them ensuring that the chemicals in the plastic aren't easily released into the babies bodies, but other toys do not have such stringent health and safety regulations, even though children are highly likely to chew them anyway. I am also keen to avoid toys that contains batteries, not least because they are annoying but also because batteries contain many toxic chemicals that contaminate the earth and water and they cost money to replace which we can ill afford.

All this makes me even more thankful that our families and friends paid attention to our wishes and bought us almost all wood and battery free toys for Orren.  (We did receive some plastic toys which we are very grateful and thankful for because they are bright and fun and Orren likes them, but we prefer wood when given a choice.) So I therefore wanted to make sure the thank you cards I sent were extra special so made them myself rather than buying them (also better for the environment and my purse because I already had all the materials).  

I used some scrapbooking paper that my mum got me for Christmas called Kitschy Kitchen by Melissa Frances combines with white card stock.  The thank you stamp was one I bought for our wedding thank you cards, so it was nice to use it again.  I mixed and matched the different papers using one piece to cover the whole of the front of the card then a small strip mounted on white running the full width near the bottom of the card.  I then situated a white rectangle of card stamped with "thank you" slightly off centre on the contrasting strip.  I love the patterns of this paper and I am sure I will use it again in future, it's cute, and kitsch without being garish.  What do you think of them? Do you prefer wood toys to plastic?



 

Rose wreath in the shop

Hey everyone, how are you enjoying the weather?  I love snow for like a day and then I am all "ok, had enough of this now,"  (I know so fickle!)  
I decided to list my rose wreath in my Etsy Shop.  I made it for Christmas initially but I think it would work well for lots of other celebrations throughout the year, particularly Valentine's Day which is fast approaching.
I enjoyed making the wreath so much that I am pretty sure I will want to make another one next year.  I don't have room to store a wreath from every Christmas so thought selling it would be a perfect solution to the problem of little storage and and insatiable urge to create!

It's for sale at £23.63 (US $35.00) plus postage and could be hanging prettily from your own door or wall in 3 working days!

Hope you are all well, life is pretty slow with me, Orren is doing well and not far off 1 year old!  Can't believe where the year has gone.  He is crawling now and trying so hard to stand.  He is filling my life with so much joy and contentment he is just such a delight, I really can't imagine not having him around.  Of course there are downs as well as ups, life can be hard work at times and I get sick of the mundanity and repetition sometimes but the goods far outweigh the bads.
Any other crafting mums out there?  How do you manage to find time for creating?  I was thinking of changing the name of this blog to "things I made while the baby was sleeping".
Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and if you are in the UK then hope you are enjoying the snow.
Hels
x

Christmas wreath

I forgot to share with you some photos of the Christmas wreath I made, it was one of my advent calender activities.
It was so easy to make, I simply wrapped a polystyrene ring in thick hemp twine and some red ribbon, then glued on some white and red felt roses that I made by cutting a circle of the felt into a spiral and winding it up keeping one side flat.

Bo and Ted

I can't remember how Julia and I became friends but somewhere between years 9 and 10 of High school we did.  Maybe it was because we both liked Phil Allan or was it because we sat next to each other in English? I can't remember but something clicked.  We had some very fun times together Julia and I, the first time I vomited from alcohol was in her house one half term...good times, we went camping on the Duke of Edinburgh Award together and hung out in the music room at break time (yes I was a band geek at school).  Anyway at some point after year 13 Julia and I lost contact and through the power of Facebook just over a year ago we got back in touch and met up for a coffee.  Who would have thought that so many years had passed?  The chat came easily.   Thank you Facebook, finally after years of making me feel like everyone else was having more fun, you brought something good into my life. 
So what is the point of me telling you all this? well, turns out my friend Julia is pretty crafty of the knitting and sewing variety, she has a shop on ebay called Bo and Ted selling some really lovely knitted pram blankets and some other gorgeous items (which seems to be selling pretty quickly might I add, two items already sold since I last looked.) and I thought I would share them with you, take a look:

 

 

 

 

I am sure she would love it if you took a look, amazingly she is offering free postage!!

My advent calander

I know it is too late to share this calender as a tutorial or anything, but I thought I would share it anyway just to show I do follow things through!

  

 

  

 

In each of the envelopes is an activity to do on that day.  I can't say I have stuck to it rigidly because I didn't want to stress myself out with it at probably the most stressful time of the year.  

These are the activities from the list:

1^st – Saturday - Photograph Orren in his Christmas outfit

2^nd – Sunday – Make Christmas gift wish list

3^{rd –} Monday – Design and make lino cut for Christmas cards

4^{th –} Tuesday – Print Christmas cards

5^th – Wednesday – Write Christmas cards

6^th – Thursday – Post Christmas cards

7^th – Friday – Drink spiced cider

8^th –Saturday – Bring in the Christmas tree and decorate it

9^{th –} Sunday – Do a Christmas puzzle

10^{th –} Monday – Get Christmas books out of the library for Orren

11^th – Tuesday – Make a gingerbread house

12^th – Wednesday – Buy a Christmas scrap book 

13^th – Thursday – Make a Christmas wreath

14^th – Friday – Watch “it’s a Wonderful Life”

15^th – Saturday – Buy new pyjamas for Christmas morning

16^th – Sunday – Make  a Christmas tree ornament

17^th – Monday – Make mince pies

18^th – Tuesday – Wrap Christmas presents

19^th – Wednesday - Make hot chocolate with a candy cane stirrer

20^th – Thursday – Make Christmas place mats

21^st – Friday – Make Christmas stockings

22^nd – Saturday – Have a candle lit meal

23^rd – Sunday – Drink mulled wine

24^th – Monday – Go to crib service at Church, read the night before Christmas

Shopping list:

I made the calender by making my own envelopes from Christmas scrap booking paper the used a typewriter to type the activities on corresponding paper.  I mounted the envelopes on a piece of mount board which I covered with brown wrapping paper glues down with a pritt stick, I glues a little peg to the mount board with attached each envelope to the board with this.  I made a little number on each envelope by gluing brown wrapping paper to thin card the drawing round the lid of the pritt stick and cutting it out. I then drew on the number and glued them to the envelope. 

 As for me, I am happily getting ready for Christmas and enjoying my lovely little boy who is getting bigger everyday, I can hardly keep up.  He crawls now and can pull himself up to standing, he is charming.

Hope you are all good and enjoying the festive season.

 

made a button bouquet!

After being sooo inspired by THIS button bouquet I saw at a wedding and seeing all THESE beautiful bouquets made by the same lovely lady I decided to have a go at making my own button bouquet.  My mum had a stash of buttons that she was keen to be used up and I had a pile of wire left over from the table settings at my wedding, so I though why not give it a go (according to Google analytics they are a rising trend!!).  I looked up a tutorial for how to make a stem then just went from there really, I made 50 in the end and then stopped.  So for about the past two months I have had 50  of these stems lying about the house and finally this week I bundled them all together and finished off the bouquet with some pretty lace and tulle netting.  What do you think, not bad for a first attempt even if I do say so myself.  Which is why I have put it for sale here, and here and here.  Who knows, if it sells I might even make another one!
What do you think?

Made a play mat

Finally got round to making a play mat for my bubba, I bought the fabric before he was even born!!  I decided on Monday that if I didn't make it that day it wouldn't get made and he would end up too big for one so I worked on it that whole day and a bit of Tuesday.  Here is the finished result, sorry this photo isn't very good, I took it on my phone. 

And here he is enjoying it! 

It was easy to make, simple sew some shapes of fabric together then make a sort of pillow case with them, I then stuffed it with a piece of 1 inch thick wadding.  

Hope you have all had a fab week, have a great weekend!

Jubilee Bunting - New item in the shop

Made some Jubilee bunting this week, slowly slowly, a couple of flags a day!  One of my friends asked "how are you making things with a new baby?" How indeed!!  But the pressure is on my shoulders to make up the money I will be missing out on by being off work for a year, so I have no choice but to get cracking with the sewing machine in order to keep our heads above water and keep on paying the mortgage. Every now and again I get a bit panicky thinking how on earth am I ever going to make up the money I need, but then I have to tell myself to get a grip and just take one day at a time, just do what I can do in one day, I can't do more than that.

So I really hope you like my bunting, I am hoping someone out there might be having a lovely Jubilee party where my bunting can can adorn a wall or hang boldly over a table celebrating the fabulous 60 years our Queeny has reigned. Click on the photo to take you straight to my shop.

What have you got planned for the Jubilee?

Orange button earrings - new item in the shop

Next set of earrings, orange this time, oh how I do love buttons.

Featured Crafter - iheartbuttons

You may remember a few days ago I blogged about a fantastic wedding I attended and included this photo of a stunning button bouquet. 

I have to say I was pretty impressed with the bouquet myself, I hadn't seen anything like it before.

Anyway, as luck would have it, the talented maker of this bouquet stumbled upon my blog by googling "button bouquet" and she was kind enough to leave a message for me.  I visited her website and sent her an email and asked her if she would be so kind as to answer a few question for the interest of you, my lovely readers, fortunately she said yes!

Hi Lesa, thanks so much for agreeing to do this interview please do tell us a little about yourself and your business:

Hi Helen, thanks again for blogging about I Heart Buttons, it's a pleasure to answer some questions for you, I am flattered that you think your readers will be interested in my business.  In 2010 I moved to the Isle of Wight to bring up my two children. I happened to see a photograph of a button bouquet on the internet and it was love at first sight. I researched how to make them, bought some buttons and other materials and gave the result to a friend. One of her friends saw it and asked me to make one for her wedding. From there I opened an ebay shop, launched a website and started getting lots of enquiries.

What/who inspires you? 

I can't say there is a particular person or thing that inspires me. I 
get a lot of inspiration from the beautiful vintage brooches and jewellery I find for my bouquets. Most recently I found the most 
gorgeous pair of vintage gold and blue/green leaf earrings. Then when in my local haberdashery shop I saw a material in a colour that would go perfectly and my "Tiffany's Treasure" bouquet was created.

What motivates you? 

The thought of creating unique bouquets and I love the reactions from the lovely people who follow and support my work.

What are some of your favourite websites/blogs that you like to visit? 

It is so busy at the moment that I struggle to have free time to surf the net but I do have a penchant for cars and belong to a couple of car forums. I also love looking at online wedding sites such as Ideal Bride, Ice the Cake and you have to love Kat Williams Blog, RocknRoll Bride.

Who are your favourite artists? 

Being honest, I am not from an arty background so have never really 
followed any artists. Although I do now belong to the Isle of Wight Arts 
www.isleofwightarts.com and there are some fantastic local artists here on the Island.

What are your goals/plans for the future? 

When a bride considers a button bouquet, I would love I Heart Buttons to be the first company that is thought of or recommended. I have lots going on at the moment so watch this space :)

How do you come up with ideas for your designs? 

They just happen. As soon as an idea pops into my head, I write it 
down.

Can you recommend places to buy tools and supplies for someone who wants to make button bouquets?

Craft shops would sell the tools. Fantastic buttons can be found in shops such as Funky Poppy in Plymouth and on Facebook/Ebay.

That's there serious questions over with, now for the stuff we really want to know!

What is your idea of the perfect day? 

A track day in my car at Oulton Park would be a fantastic day. Even 
better if it was in someone else's car (just in case lol). Or out sea fishing in the Maldives... 

What is on your wish list? 

A Lamborghini Aventador. I will have an I Heart Buttons Lamborghini one day, it may not be an Aventador but we shall see.

Do you collect anything? If so what? 

Betty Boop and Buttons! I started collecting vintage Betty Boop 
memorabilia back in 1999. I built up quite a collection which I am now selling off in my shop here in Ryde. Buttons, well that comes with the 
territory lol.

Who would you like to sit down to dinner with? 

My husband. It seems a rare occasion now we have any time together to sit down and eat dinner without interruptions from the kids or him being at work on the mainland. 

Do you have any guilty pleasures? 

Curries. I love making and eating curries from scratch.

Thanks so much for answering all my questions Lesa, it's been great talking to you.

All photos are from Lesa's website: www.iheartbuttons.co.uk

You can also visit Lesa on her Facebook page.