May Day!

Hey,
May and Spring are finally here! Not to jinx it but the sun actually came out today and it seemed to have some kind of magical effect on everybody as people were suddenly much happier!

I have mixed feelings about May. On the one hand we in the UK get lots of days off, the weather gets nicer and both Mum and The Boyfriend have their birthdays which means lots of eating cake and other yummy food. What this also means is that I have to start thinking about presents and things like that for my two most favourite people (yes, my Mum is one of my favourite people). For these peoples birthdays I am also in charge of cake baking which is fine accept Mum is vegan and The Boyfriend has asked for a shaped cake. I have never made either type of cake before so I had to start looking at ideas, especially for the shaped cake. I need something that will be easy enough for a first time cake shaper but amazing for his birthday.

Here are the ideas I've enjoyed from around the interwebs:

I like this one as it has Mario which he loves but doesnt look too intricate and finicky.

Other than the head I think this could be pretty easy to do as long as I really broke it down.

This TMNT cake is awesome and as long as I could work out how to shape the sponge we could be onto a winner!

 This VW Camper would be cool.

I'll be keeping you updated on both different cakes and will most deffinately post the finished articles!

Hope you have had a fab weekend so far and have a great Bank Holiday Monday if you are in the UK!

xXx

Re-use & Recycle.

Hey,

I've been off work the last 2 days and have been crafting away like a good 'un!
As well as making a load of granny squares I decided to sort out my jewellery drawer to see what treasures I could find. This was hard as there was a lot of stuff in there!

 Now this picture is with a lot of it sorted outbut theres a whole other section with loads of things!

Anyway, I had a seperate pile for things that were broken that I could reuse:

There are all sorts of little thingy-ma-bobs in there from little charms to beads and random clips.

I had a little bit of crocheted chain stitch left over from the hairbands I've been making so I decided to put it with the charms and make a cute bracelet:

As you can see I went for a nautical theme as I always love a bit of nautical in the spring!

It was so easy to make I think Ill do a tonne more!

Have you done anything similar?

xXx

Making Me Happy Monday

Hey!

So I dont know about where you live but where I am it has been raining non-stop for 4 days and not just drizzle or light rain, no. Full on storms wind etc. But this morning the sun had made its way through the clouds and it was pretty warm and everything was lovely!
With that in mind here is whats been making me happy:

Crocheting my little heart out:

I've had a lazy few days and its so easy to do one or two granny squares while watching TV!

These guys:

Cute & fluffy. Whats not to love?!

Taking the guys out with the Boyfriend and seeing all the pretty wild flowers:

Seeing out not so wild orchid flower again and remembering how pretty it is:

Taking a lazy stroll through a market and buying actual Pastel de nata from a Portuguese stall:

So yummy!!!

Whats been making you happy?

xXx

The Blanket.

Hey!

As you might have seen from one of my previous posts, I have ventured into the world of crochet and have been working on some granny squares.

I got off to a good start and made 4 in 2 days.
Then I calculated how many I would need for a big blanket.
That number, ladies and gentlemen, was 180. Yup. 180 granny squares.
Its safe to say that I was put off for a while at the thought of making 180 pink and white granny squares. Then I told myself to get over it and just make one or two when I have the time, put them together, and then just see how big you really need it.

Here is my progress so far:

I am enjoying the pink and white but have thought about mixing it up and throwing some other colour combos in there.

What do you think?
Have you made a granny square blanket before? How did it turn out?

xXx

p.s I have also joined the Meet Me At Mikes Granny a Day to keep me motivated!

Super Quick Jewellery Fix!

Hey!

Mum and I went to a bead shop yesterday and we picked up a few things for earring making and such but while looking at the bigger beads I thought one of them would be better as a ring so I bought a ring back.
When I got home I set up the glue gun and minutes later it was done:

Have a fab weekend!!!

xXx

Folksy Friday.

Hey!

I was a bit stuck about what to choose for this weeks Folksy Friday so, after a bit of thinking, I remembered that we Spring cleaned the WHOLE house last weekend so this weeks choice is all around organisation:

Bird Box Jewellery Box.

I love this piece and I really think it could be used for things other than jewellery. Maybe in the porch as a bit of a catch-all for keys and all those bits that get thrown down when you get in?

Seagrass Basket Storage Chest in Oak

This could be great for a couple of places in the house but Im especially thinking in an entranceway or at the foot of a bed to store all your extra bedding in the top and little bits and pieces in the baskets.

Magazine Holder

Why not use this to store magazines, letters, random bits of paper that always seem to float around the house but you cant seem to throw away?

Lost Sock Sack

If you are like us then you will always pull an odd number of socks out of the washing machine! This would be great as you can just dump the odd sock in there and then sort them out later!

Carrier Bag Holder

We actually have one like this at home and its brilliant! We used to just put our carriers on a hook or something on the back of the door but that made it look so cluttered and nasty but this has made it a lot neater. Just put the carrier bags in through the top and pull them out at the bottom when needed!



Have a fantastic weekend!!

xXx

English Afternoon.

Hey!

So I had a moment of madness the other day. We were watching T.V when the new  Marks & Spencers advert came on where they are all having fun at a garden party when I turned to the boyfriend and said "I would love to have a garden party, it would be so cute for the Jubilee weekend!". Now normally he turns round and reminds me of the practical reasons why we can't do something. Not this time. "That would be great, I'll start inviting people".

Damn.

Luckily the party isnt until May time so I have some time to think of what we need to get/make/do but heres a snapshot of whats got me inspired:

That last one is a picture of British food that Victoria Beckham made!

Essentially I just want lots of British food like sausage rolls, pork pies, strawberries and cream, lots of bunting and some kind of lighting for once it gets dark!

Have you started thinking about your Jubilee plans?

xXx