Martha Stewart's clever shirt dress

I recently bought a Martha Stewart sewing encyclopedia and its filled with fab gems of info and lovely patterns that come in a very sensible CD format that means you can print them time and time again. My first project from the book is this little shirt dress/nightshirt that I made for Lottie using a mans shirt from a charity shop! It was so simple to make and a great use for any unwanted shirts. I shall be scouring for my shirts to chop up this week!

Easter Bunnies

Couldn't resist making beds for these adorable little bunnies!

Snuggle Blankets

In our house a snuggle blanket is an essential item, not because we have a cold house but more because the children have all grown up with a blanket to cuddle up with on the sofa. These blankets generally get dragged around from sofa to bed, to car, to garden, to Granny and Grandads and would possibly make it to school if I didn't intervene!

So when my new Dr Seuss fabric arrived I knew I would be making some blankets so others can experience snuggling in luxury! These blankets are backed with softest cuddle sherpa so feel like a super soft teddy bear. The blankets will be available to buy on my website in the next few weeks and at the next More than a Mama fair.

A book day happy Birthday to the cat in the hat

As you probably know it was World book day today, so our house was even more chaotic this morning than normal. Grace went as The Gruffalo last year and truly looked the part so I was rather dreading her costume choice this year but I really couldn't complain when she picked "The Cat In The Hat".  A most fitting choice not just because I have recently purchased masses of Dr Seuss fabric but more so because this week celebrated The cat in the hat's birthday! 54 years ago he was created to be an alternative to Peter and Jane books. Lottie also picked well and thankfully a much simpler choice, she went as Winnie the Witch and I confess I cheated and bought this one in my local oxfam as I just knew when I saw the outfit that Lottie would love it! So here are my girls ubba excited and raring to go at 8:30 this morning!
Oh and yes Lottie is wearing her knitted hat under the witch hat as she insisted she needed it!

My first item of clothing

I know I sew quite regularly but I have always avoided sewing the children any clothing, I think I have always found sewing patterns to seem unbelievably complicated and intimidating.
About 6 months ago I bought a lovely book called "making children's clothes" and have been flicking through it for the past month thinking I really must get over this fear of pattern following. So yesterday when Finlay settled down for his afternoon nap I got out the book and made the simplist item from it I could find and it worked! It may not be perfect and the stiching may be a little wibly in places but it worked! Its lined, it fits and with the help of some lovely Tanya Whelan fabric its quite cute!
So I quite proudly present you my first item of clothing!

New Fabric

After much pondering I took the plunge and order in a bunch of Dr Suess fabrics and I love them! It fair to say we have been a little Cat in the Hat obsessed of late in our house so it was only going to be a matter of time before I stumbled upon this fab range of fabrics.

I think they will make a wonderful range of baby products, changing mat bags, hooded towels, burp cloths and other blankets. As I have often offered a much more girly range of fabrics its also nice to have something more boyish.

Love is in the air!

Love is in the air, well OK not quite but if I am to get my valentines cards made in time to sell any then I need to get my act together now. I have 2 new designs ready to sit alongside of the traditional heart that I did last year and 2 more to follow. 

Love Bird (in case your in any doubt) 

I am a stationary Junkie

Its official I am and always have been a stationary junkie! I try to keep a lid on this habit of buying notebooks before finishing old ones but sometimes you come across a range of goodies that are just too irresistible. I therefore thought you might like to share in my excitement and have a look at the fabulous website www.artbox.co.uk where these goodies can be purchased for very little! They make great party bag fillers and there patterned tapes are a great way to decorate a dull Tupperware lunch box.

Lottie Started School Today

I can not believe it has come around so fast but Lottie started school today! She was so excited and adamant that she wanted to go in on her own and be left on her own! No tears or hesitation, I was a very proud Mum it has to be said.
So it was just me and Finlay that walked back this morning and will be just the 2 of us for 3 days a week till September when Lottie goes full time.

Happy New Year!

My Mad Hatter New Years Eve Costume

I do love fancy dress, so when my husband and I were invited to a New Years Eve Fancy Dress dinner I found myself in dressing up heaven! I think all grown ups should take time to be childish every so often and fancy dress instantly takes me back to being a child and makes me smile. 

As for new years resolutions which I know I should be making, they can wait. Christmas seems to have gone by in a blink, the fridge is still groaning and the house looks like Hamleys! I don't want the holidays season to end and making resolutions makes me feel like its over so I shall make my resolutions on Wednesday when the Grace and Lottie (first day at Nursery) go back to school. For the meantime though I will ignore the laundry stacking up and spend as much time as possible playing with the children and enjoying listening to the amazing adventures that the newly acquired Sylvanian Families are having in our house!

A gift for a friend

A friends little girl is getting christened at the weekend so after much deliberation I thought I would make her a little doll as a keepsake. She is yet to be named and at the moment has a set of PJ's for bedtime and a little dress. If time permits she may get a handbag and some another dress!

A day of sewing

It's been a productive sewing day! I am doing a little sale event in my local town of Berkhamsted in the morning so I set myself a great big list of things to sew this morning thinking I would have the whole day to get through it all. This is generally a bad idea as I don't get even half way down my list normally. It is 12:00 so just managed it all today but I have made 12 cards, 2 appliqued pictures and 4 appliqued tote bags!

New Shoes

Great excitement in our house this morning as the children all got new shoes yesterday from the lovely Hippity Hop and I couldn't' t quite resist sharing Lottie's new shoes with you all. They are just the sweetest shoes ever and as she hasn't yet reached the age where she needs boring school shoes we went for the fun red option.

I have spent the afternoon making little cards (more on that to come) so inspired by Lottie's new shoes I made a little shoe card.

A lovely day

It's been a lovely Sunday with a good mix of family time, catching up on jobs and a bit of sewing time! The result is 3 content children, a very clean rug and this lovely tote bag for a little girls PE kit.

And thank you to the little girls next door for the flowers from their Granny's garden, they are looking very splendid in the little glass bottle that Grace dug up on a bottle digging session with her Daddy.

Rather Random Bits

Graces Mug and Plate

The beautiful haba dolls

The Girls in France enjoy so much space!


Well as the title suggests this blog may be rather random but I decided a random blog entry is better than no entry at all! I had visions before the summer began of me spending lots of lovely time with the children, making, baking and really getting to grips with some of the sewing projects I have had on hold. The reality of my summer though has been nothing so idyllic, we have had a lovely holiday to France but this was before the schools broke up (frowned upon I know!) We have really just been at home and as the weather hasn't been the glorious summer that was promised we have had a lot of time indoors and its all felt rather boring!

We have had some highlights, Grace turned 5 and we had a lovely day surrounded by a lot of Haba dolls that we have been collecting since Lottie her sister got one for her 1st Birthday. Graces party is not till September as most of her friends were all on holiday so we do still have this to look forward to.

We also had a lovely visit to our local pottery project cafe where a beautiful plate was painted and a very sweet mug which Grace now uses daily.

I am hoping we manage to squeeze in a visit to Great Granny Alnmouth and perhaps a little visit to Devon to Granny and Granddad's but as the time is whizzing by I am not so sure.

I am doing a little fair in my local church hall (St Peters) on the 26th Aug with my friend and her fab business Hippity Hop shoes so if anyone is free would be lovely to see you I shall be there till 2pm.

Little wooden bed

A while ago I bought this lovely little bed in my local Oxfam store that was in need of a little love and care and it has been sitting in the dinning room for some time now looking at me and bugging me as I really haven't had the time to clean it up. So today with my fayre, Birthday parties and holiday all behind me I made a little time for the wooden bed.
It now has a lovely red ticking mattress, an appliqued quilt, matching cushion and with a fresh coat of white paint it has scrubbed up rather nicely.
I am however rather convinced that I will come downstairs in the morning and find the cat snuggled up inside it!

The Princess an the Princess and the Pea!

For all those coming to the Berkhamsted Pimms and Pamper evening tonight in Berkhamsted town hall, will be in with a chance to win this lovely handmade Princess and the Pea that comes with a lovely princess from The Puppet Company. Each bed has a lovely handmade blanket, 2 pillows and 5 scrummy mattress's.

As I am trying my hand at some boy versions of things I have also made to sell a lovely Prince and The Pea bed. Tickets to win the girls Princess and bed are a bargain £1 or £3 for 5 tickets so someone is going to go home with a great deal!

Happy Birthday Lottie

Well with one day to go before our lovely Pims and Pamper evening a welcome break was taken today from all the preparations to celebebrate Lottie's 3rd Birthday. She had a lovely party in the Garden this morning with 6 best friends and has spent the rest of the day dancing around to ballet music in a lovely new dress from Granny and Grandad. And although her cake was not a patch on the fabulouse cakes from Nievie pie it still went down a treat with the little ones.

Can not belive that this is the same little baby in the photo that was taken 3 years ago today she seems so grown up in just a blink!

If only I had more time!

I sometimes wonder how much work I could get done in a day or a whole week without children, dinners, and housework to juggle at the same time.

Most of my work gets done in little snippets here and there and today was a really good example of that.

I am a packaging junky, I am attracted to a certain type of packaging regardless of the content or item and so I decided to give my lovely new hair towels a shiny new label that then ended up with my making 3 more labels to enhance their packaging! So in between school drop-off, lunch, flyering for the next event, school pick up again and tea I have made 3 labels and it has made me really want a week to just get on with all the things for Islabbaby that I keep meaning to do.

Tomorrow Finlay is having a few of my friends around with there little ones for cake and pass the parcel so I really now must crack on with the list of jobs for today that got set aside in favour of doodling labels.

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak at my new labels for one of my lovely new products that will be available at the Pimms and Pamper evening on the 23rd June in Berkhamsted town hall from 7pm.

I am super excited about them as they have truley solved the wet hair problem in our house. (Product shots to follow)

My very soon to be 3 year old and soon to 5 year old can not keep a towel on their heads long enough after a bath to dry even a strand of hair so by the time they get downstairs their poor Pj's are dripping wet. So my lovely new gingham trimmed childrens Happy Hair Towels are just the job!