Another month gone!!

Well I can hardly believe it - today is February!! January seemed to disappear in a flash and 2013 is picking up a pace! So thinking on my feet I have many 'hats' to choose from...

'Mummy hat' - it is my little boy's 5th birthday next week (can't really believe my baby is 5!) so I have a select after school tea party to arrange. The requests have included spongebob/moshi monster/Spider-Man theme, so quite eclectic really!

'fundraising hat' - now a key member of the PTA I have pancakes sales, Easter Egg hunts and school discos to organise...just some more bits to squeeeeeze into my hectic days!

'ShireCrafts hat' - I have sooo many fab ideas for Easter including beautiful fabric wreaths in multi coloured ginghams and ribbons, fun spring inspired bunting strings and gorgeous fragile woven eggs ( shall definitely being posting some pis of those soon) and of course something chocolate-based! Plus I was buying some delicious Italian olive oil from a fab friend in the village today (who is also an amazing Italian cook) and we started hatching some plans for some very lovely kitchen textiles...very exciting...!

So busy times, but why not? And I'm not the only one in our household - my amazing little twins have also got the entrepreneur-bug! They have collected up all their lip balms, nail varnishes, hair accessories and 'jewellery' and do 'beauty for girls, by girls'. They even have there own business cards! A lesson for us all just go for it...! xx

A simple little something - in between sewing bunting strings yesterday I suddenly got that festive feeling! So fashioned a mini gingham wreath, adorned with buttons and ribbon. Perfect for door handles or drawer knobs to add a Christmassy feel to every room in the house...Advent is nearly upon us! xx 

Time flies!…well it certainly is true that time flies when you're having fun (and still trying to keep up with 3 children and set up a little business!). The school year is well and truly underway and we had a fab Halloween - the whole village (almost!) came out to join in the fun! We had pumpkins galore and fabulously decorated houses and more that 80 witches and monsters calling for treats, the sweets and glow-sticks ran out very quickly!

And now is the time to really focus on Shire Crafts. I have already done a couple of pre-Christmas craft fairs which is always fun and a great opportunity to look at other great hand-crafted products. And today things picked up a pace as I went out with a photographer friend of mine to try and get some fab pictures of my goodies in the fading Autumn light. So hopefully in the next few days we'll start gathering some photos and the serious business of website building can really begin....Rome wasn't built in a day - these things take time!! xx

Busy in the kitchen…what a busy time it’s been recently. We just got back from a family holiday in France – it was lovely! Sooo relaxing, the sun shone (well most of the time), the pool and the beach were great, the market was very interesting and the food and wine…delicious!

But a holiday soon wears-off when home again and busy. It was my Dad’s birthday a few days ago, so whilst the weather was keeping us indoors, the children and I made him a cake. He enjoys gardening, when he gets the time, so we were inspired to make a ‘vege patch’ cake complete with coconut grass, bourbon mud and icing veges, plus the little Happyland farmer to finish! We were all really pleased with it, and so was Dad – and it was v yummy too! So whilst I may not be a celebrity baker, a little bit of thought and effort can have great results…so get in the kitchen and get mixin’! xx

And here's one I made earlier...I made the pirate cake for my son's 4th birthday last February - definately got my 'signature style', don't you think...?!? xxx

Going to the races…sooo much fun – on Saturday I had my first outing to the races. My little ones spent the weekend with my parents and their South African cousins whilst hubby and I went to Newbury. Not really big money players, my total winnings for the day £5.50, and approx £25 losses!! But worth every penny.

A really enjoyable day and it has inspired me to 'hunt' out the upcoming dates for point-to-points in Oxfordshire and Surrey, so am pencilling dates for 2013 already!! Plus, got some great new ‘countryside’ ideas for some Shire Craft pieces so please keep watching this space, all the hard work starts in September and I’ll be making up some samples…get out and enjoy the countryside – embrace the rain! xx

Sentimental thinking…just thought I share this with you. Possibly a little strange, but I simply love the sentiment of the poem written on this old mug. (Bit of an 'eye test' hope you can read it...) 

And whilst I am no farmer and unfortunately am nowhere near self-sufficiency, growing a few tomatoes and some basil really isn’t enough (!) I just love the simplicity and the back to basics feel – makes me want to sit back awhile and appreciate what is going on around me. We should all make a little time for observing our natural world…it’s a beautiful place xx

 

Shabby Jack…home-spun and funky. We had such fun at the Jubilee with a huge whole village picnic – Pimms, best Royal Scarecrow and even welly-wanging - such a fabulous party atmosphere!

I made some of this bunting in advance and hung it up in my front window and was amazed by the response. I received several orders including one from the local community shop, and I am thrilled to say it is still hanging there! Each string is unique and each individual union flag divided by either red polka dot or blue gingham triangle flags. A really lovely string of bunting which can be used again and again...let your true colours shine through – Red, White & Blue! xx