Ready to ship

I love putting an order together and packaging it into my lovely stripy paper bags...I guess it stems back from all those hours playing shop when I was little....weighing out sweets (small stones), serving cakes (rolled up pieces of newspaper with currants marked on with felt tips) all into wonky paper bags I'd made...happy days!

Now I get to do it for real!  

This order is all ready to ship and I'm very excited as a small part it order will then be heading to the U S of A.....

Snow Day

It's been snowing and we're having snow much fun...

Miss M and Frosty

Miss E created a brilliant game of going down the slide into a big pile of snow...such fun!

 

I love sledging....nothing like feeling like a child again. We headed to the local park and met so many friends.

Back garden fun...and yes we can still ride our bike in the snow!

 

We took a break from sledging and Head chef Mr A, assisted by Misses M and E, got busy in the kitchen making chicken kievs, roast potatoes and carrots and a lovely green salad for lunch.

I also got busy inside cutting out teddy and dolly plasters which you may have seen here on a previous post to replenish my stocks as they are proving very popular.

These are waiting to be tidied up, have their ends rounded and the velco added which is tomorrow's job.

Call for a Nurse

Mum's know the magical properties of a plaster to heal a scrape, cut or graze...even if you know that letting the air to it to help it dry and heal would be the better option, I'm prepared to put a bet on that many of us have reached for the box of plasters to make the hurty better. 

We currently have The Hungry Caterpillar, Moshi Monsters, Charlie and Lola and my favourite, some vintage circus design ones complete with curly moustached ring master!  Wow that's quite a collection...and it's not like we're the most clumsy of folks but their magical healing properties means I will never be without a box of plasters.

Miss M and Miss E love playing doctors and nurses and although Mr A and I have been mistreated by them on several occasions, I think their dolls and teddies are more compliant patients.  We have a very well stocked toy doctors case but it doesn't contain any plasters so I decided to make some... doesn't teddy look happy now his hurty has been fixed with a teddy plaster?

Nurse E, coincidently wearing the nurses outfit I used to wear when I was little (I love how my mum has kept so many things) comforting baby after applying a special plaster to her hurty leg.

Nurse E at work...I love how baby had to stand on her head to have her plaster fitted!

Baby Freddie is also feeling a whole lot better now he has a plaster on his poorly knee.

A Pocket Full of Love

I regularly put notes into Miss M's lunch box...whether it's a count down to a much awaited playdate, a reminder to eat her veg sticks, a joke or a little message reminding her how much I love her.  

Miss E however doesn't have packed lunches yet and wouldn't be able to read my little notes so I had the idea of popping a little felt heart into her pocket as she knows a heart means love...and A Pocket Full of Love was born.

Although I made these with the idea of them being used for children...I think they would be fun for grown ups too especially for valentines or anniversaries.  I know I'd smile if I found one in my pocket or handbag.....subtle hint to Mr A just in case you're reading this!!

Home-made gifts

I love making gifts for family and friends....

I truly believe you can never have too many hearts in your home...I have them hanging everywhere.  When Miss E was learning to count, her and Grandad would go around the house room to room spotting and counting the hearts.

I appliquéd and embroidered this rug for doggie mad friends, turning simple grey fleece rug into a personalised gift with hearts, dogs and their family name.  I adore the grey, red and white combo.

This was a grandparent and aunts and uncles gift from Miss M and Miss E....it makes me smile!  Took their photo, printed it, laminated it and popped it into a bottle of liquid hand soap.  Maybe printing directly onto a a sheet of acetate would work even better but we were pretty chuffed with this effort.

Still easing into 2013

I will join the ranks of 2013 very shortly but for now I'm just going to indulge a little bit more in late 2012....what else did we get up to?

We baked, wore reindeer antlers and baked some more...

We dressed up...

and we dressed up some more at Mshed in Bristol and had a brilliant family morning exploring the museum.  Lots of hands on, family friendly fun and the cafe was amazing as well...Mshed is well worth a visit if you haven't been and if you have then you'll know this anyway and won't need me to tell you.  We'll certainly be returning.
Mshed Bristol 

Easing into 2013

Before I delve head first into 2013...I know it's already started but quite frankly I'm still playing 2012 catch up....I thought I'd share a few highlights from the end of last year when blogging took a back seat and the festive fever took its lovely grip on chez nous.

I'm aiming to fully embrace 2013 shortly though with new plans and goals but for now let's just for a few moments pretend it's not quite started yet...shhhhhhhh don't tell anyone, it can be our little secret...

A big highlight in our calendar is the arrive of Ariel our elf who comes to live with us on the 1st of January.  This is her second year with us since we adopted her and Miss M and Miss E were over the moon when she came back again this year.  Ariel keeps an eye on things and then flies back to the North Pole each night to report on good and bad behaviour to Father Christmas.  She then hides in a different place each morning ready to be found by Miss M and Miss E.

Sometimes she tries to help out with the Christmas preparations; wrapping presents, making Christmas cards and paper-chains and writing cards...much to our amusement as I don't always think things go as she's planned them.

Sometimes she gets up to real mischief; playing snowball fights with Justin Beiber, helping to stuff some fabric hearts I've been making or baking tiny little elf cookies for Miss M and Miss E in her tiny little elf oven.

Sometimes she just hides and hangs out

Although normally we can't touch Ariel as it could affect her magic, on the 24th December we're very lucky because Ariel arrives with a letter explaining that as it's her last day with us Father Christmas will lift her magic for a short period after the Christmas Eve candle-light Christingle Service so that Miss M and Miss E can give her a very gentle kiss and cuddle....it's a very special moment.