Christmas in July

I know, I have written about this before on my blog, but in the States, it is a big thing to have "Christmas in July" sales and events. This is not the case in England, where people look at you, as if you are half mad to even mention such a thing. As school is shortly coming to a close for us (tomorrow is our last day, Yipee!), I thought this would be a good time to use a bit of the Summer break to begin working on a few Christmas/winter-y projects.

One, being my crocheted granny blanket, which I have yet to have the chance to begin, with all the craziness of school going on around us. But, also to possibly start a few Christmas projects early. Here were a few things I came across and I might just try to make some of these, or at the very least be inspired by them, especially the sock monkey coffee cup wrap, he has personality!

Do you begin your Christmas making projects early, or are you a last minute kinda gal (or guy)? Enjoy!

Now is a good time to start collecting vintage cookie cutters at thrift stores and yard sales. These "frames" would be gorgeous to have up all year round!

These mice would make perfect teacher's presents or classroom gifts. If you changed the colors they would even be cute for an Alice in Wonderland Themed Birthday Tea Party.

Want to make your own granny square blanket to stay cozy with when the weather turns frosty, go to Meet me at Mike's for a granny square tutorial.

This sock monkey coffee cup wrap is too cute. Perfect for your coffee lovers, any time of year.

(All images copyright their respective blogs)

Tents

We have ONE week left to go of school and I am so ready for it to be over! This last term has felt as if it has gone on forever. It feels too long to still be in school, I am ready to enjoy a little bit of a Summer break.

Summer meant a lot of things and happy memories in my house growing up. One such memory in particular was the summertime rituals my sister and I always did. We played outside, creating bike "roads" out of chalk on our drive way. We went swimming, we went to the library and signed-up for the summertime reading list.

We ate ice-cream and fresh peaches from the farm. We played an endless game of monopoly that we made span the entire length of our Summer break and we built tents. We built huge tents with old blankets and sheets, sometimes encompassing a table and chair and part of a couch in our giant fortress.

We played underneath it, hung out, read, watched movies through our special "spy" hole aimed at the tv, we just had FUN. When I saw this tent tutorial, I just loved it. It brought back all of those little memories. This is a lot fancier than what we built, but I think just as magical.

What a fun summertime project for you and your little ones. I can just see it strung with fairy lights, filled with cozy blankets and pillows and the perfect place to lay down and read a book on a rainy day, falling asleep to the gentle pitter-patter of the rain, with the magical glow of the twinkling lights overhead.

For the how-to click here.

All images are courtesy of Grosgrain Fabulous. Original Post from Cakies.

Swings

What is it about the magic of a swing? I don't care what age you are, those two ropes and a board, hold something very special to them. They conjure up memories of being a child, your hair streaming behind you like ribbons, the breeze hitting your face, your palms becoming sweaty from holding on so tight.

Races with each other to see who could go the highest, or who could jump off their swing at the perfect moment and land the farthest. Pumping your legs harder and harder so you were swinging so high, you knew that if you let go, you would sail into the tree tops.

There is a park near my house with a nice little playground and some evenings when we go on walks through the woods, we stop there on our way home and just swing for 5 minutes or so. I find that there is something very therapeutic in that! Just letting go.

This is a very interesting and wonderful project, so I thought I would share it with you:

Fourth of July Round-Up

There is something magical about the Fourth of July, it is as if it truly heralds in the Summer in all of her glory, of hot days, lemonade, splashing in a pool, riding your bikes, the feel of a hammock on your back, the tickle of a cooling fan over your skin and evenings that are still filled with heat, but surrounded by starry skies, eating dripping ice cream cones off the back porch and stolen kisses.

I know that many families will be celebrating today vs. tomorrow, but I thought I would do a little Fourth of July Round-Up, for all those late minute party ideas and recipes.

This bike would easily win any Fourth of July Parade contest, decorated in all the glory of Red, White & Blue:

What could be better than a take home treat for your guest, or as a sweet to munch on under the stars as you watch the fireworks. To make them, start by partially filling a 2-by-10-inch cellophane bag with blue candies to stand in for stars. Then add red and white candy sticks to mimic stripes. Tie the bag with red waxed twine (Martha Stewart Living):

A spin on the traditional peach pie, adding creme fraiche to this dessert gives it a French twist:

No Fourth of July celebration would be complete without coleslaw, there is nothing better than creamy slaw piled high on a grilled dog, oozing with mustard!:

To go alongside those dogs covered in slaw, you need a good old-fashioned cheeseburger:

I hope everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July!

(All images copyright Martha Stewart)

Danny Brito

Danny Brito is an artist I discovered ages ago, through Danielle Thompson's blog. He is someone whose work I have come to appreciate it. Especially his curly whirly whipped ice-cream beehived hairdo clad women!

This is a little video he made on making a handmade book and I liked his process, so I thought I would share it with you, I can't wait to try making one of my own on my little dollhouse sized machine! Enjoy:


Mini-book from danny brito on Vimeo.

(All images and video copyright Danny Brito)

POPs

I love the "perfect bite"! Do you know what I mean? The perfect bite of sweetness and these pops look like the perfect bite.

Looks like Summertime happiness to me!

(Found on Hip Hip Hooray)

A New Project

I have a blanket that I am planning on crocheting, but with the craziness of school that has happened yet. The last time I was home, I picked up this:

I have done a few dry runs with my "practice" yarn and I finally decided on which pattern to use; a granny square with a circle center:

I decided to start small, to get warmed up again for designing and creating my granny hexagon blanket. I plan on turning this yarn into a very happy "Rainbow Brite" coloured scarf with a heather grey scalloped border.

So stay tuned, I am getting my crochet needle ready to start this project and since next week is half term and we plan on keeping things low key, it should be a wonderful time to begin crocheting this mini project!

Cinco De Mayo Round-Up

Tomorrow is one of my favourite little holidays to celebrate: Cinco de Mayo. A wonderful excuse to just have a good time! I thought I would share with you a few ideas I have found to create a wonderful fiesta! So grab your biggest sombrero and your best fake moustaches and lets have some fun!

1)No fiesta would be complete without guacamole. This is one of my favourite recipes from The Pioneer Woman and I promise you, after you make this, you will never want to eat store bought guacamole ever ever again!

2)All soirées need a little blush of colour and these tissue paper flowers from 100 Layer Cake are the perfect adornment to any setting, outside or in!

3)It wouldn't be fitting to have a Cinco de Mayo party if you didn't have a piñata. Since you might not have room for a big rainbow coloured tissue paper clad miniature burros at your house, these piñatas from One Charming Party are the perfect size for everyone! Perfect for your guest as take home treat!

(All images belong to their respective blogs; Cinco de Mayo banner created by J. Michie) 

Royal Wedding Round-Up

Today is the day of the Royal Wedding and I am very excited! Just what the World needs right now with everything that is going on, a happy event that is all about  LOVE!

Here are a few Royal Wedding Round-Up Ideas just for you:

1) If you are throwing a party with your friends to watch the "Big Day", go to Design Editor to print out adorable bunting, labels and even your own crown for your festivities.

2) Don't let your guest go home without a treat. 100 Layer Cake have an adorable and simple idea to package up shortbread for all your wedding attendees.

3) What British Royal occasion would be complete without the dogs? You can find a pattern to knit your own little royal corgi here.

*(All images are copyrighted to their respective blogs)

Eggstraordinary

A small Easter Round-Up, as we move closer and closer to the Easter Bunny coming. Here are 3 "eggstraordinary" ideas from 3  places I like to visit! Enjoy!

1) Abby Try Again, has created a carton of confetti filled eggs to brighten up any Easter party:

2)The gang at PoppyTalk have constructed painted eggs with a hidden message inside:

3)Molly at The Purl Bee has designed 3 different Spring time coloured bags, to hold all the eggs and surprises you find at the Easter Egg Hunt:

(All images are copyrighted to their respective Blog, Easter banner created by J. Michie)

Vintage Beauty

Our cottage is a hodge podge of vintage and new items. I have a soft spot for old things. Things that have stood the test of time and may or may not be used for their original purpose in our house. For instance, I have an old bon-bon sweets box that now holds laundry items and another vintage box that was re-purposed by a previous owner to become a tool box, but has now been re-purposed by us as a CD holder.

When I came across this post, it made me smile. I love to see old things gain a new life and not only that, but have a life where they are enjoyed every day and not tucked away. This has inspired me as one of the many things I collect are old linens, I have a few that would look absolutely beautiful on a lamp shade. So, now, I just need to find the right one!

To see Annalea's complete lampshade how-to click here.

Spring is in the Air

It is still bitterly cold here at times. As I came home from work last night and proceeded to open the door to come inside, I noticed that my fresh pot of sunshine yellow primroses already had a few ice crystals on their little blossom faces.

There is still the chance of snow, even though green is popping up here and there. My climbing rose has fresh growth as does the jasmine that I am training over the porch cover of the cottage. There are daffodils and crocuses in full bloom in front of a number of houses that I pass in the big red bus on my way to school.

The color of Spring is beginning to be all around us and that makes me smile. There is a promise of warmth and the growth of sunny flowers on the way. While catching up on my blog reading last night, I read a post of Spring Time happiness over at The Purl Bee. I know there is still the chance of snow, very likely more frost and it could be the same for you wherever you live. But, with these bright and happy projects, you can bring the Spring indoors to YOU. Enjoy!

(Click on the images above to be taken to the projects)

St. Patrick's Day Freebie

I come from a long line of inventive and artistic women. My Mom was always designing little things for us; drawing pictures on our lunch bags or on our love notes, especially if there was a holiday around the corner!

It is something that I have inherited from her. I love to doodle, to draw, to make things beautiful! I decorate for every holiday, just like she does! So, it was no surprise to me, as I was looking for my St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun to put out that an idea popped into my head. I decided I would create a little something to put on my table.

I went through my collection of images, looking for one file in particular and when I spotted it, I knew just what I wanted to do with it. I would create place cards for my festively green St. Patty's Day table.

I was so happy with how they turned out, I thought I would do something I've never done before: I would create a PDF file so that you can make them too!

I hope you enjoy making and using them as much as I have? If all goes well, a few more freebies might be springing up here and there.

To download your St. Patrick's Day Freebie click here.

A Lucky Brooch

St. Patrick's Day, is this Thursday and I can't wait! There is still plenty of time to make something for your lapel, so you too, will be "Wearin' O' the Green", as they say.

I spotted these cute shamrock pins on Martha Stewart's website and I thought they were very sweet. They have an air of vintageness about them. Something you could have seen your grandmother wearing on the side of her hat, or pinned to her smartest coat. The perfect thing to bring you luck any time of year!

For the full directions and pattern, go here.

*Watch this space, I am giving away my FIRST ever FREEBIE this week and it may or may not be St. Patty's Day related! ♧

Valentine's Round-Up

Valentine's Day is almost here and I have collected a few last minute ideas, recipes and sweetness from some of my favorite places to share with you. Click on the images below to be taken directly to the featured project:

Jenny B. Harris of Allsorts has done it again, with this cute Valentine's Paper Angel. A fun project for your little ones to decorate your kitchen table with:

Serena of The Farm Chicks has created adorably wrapped chocolate brownie bites. A cute idea for the little Valentine Love Bugs in your life:

Eat, Drink, Chic has the most wonderful answer to staying in for Valentine's. Amy Moss, has designed a DIY Valentine's popcorn bucket to invite your Honey Bunny to spend a night snuggled next to you on the couch. You just have to provide the popcorn and the right movie:

The lovely Bridget, of Bake @ 350 has taken "bark" to a whole new level with her Sweet Heart Conversation Candy Bark. A great idea to hand out to your neighbours or any little Valentine's fingers that might be around on the day:

The cute girls at One Charming Party have come up with simple yet effective idea. If you are stuck cooking on Valentine's night, why not bring as many hearts into the mix as you can. These home made heart shaped pepperoni pieces add a cute flair to store bought pizza for your sweetie pie:

And, just in case you forgot to get a card head on over to Eat, Drink, Chic for some DIY printable Valentine's cards and envelopes. You can never go wrong with polka dots!: