Handmade Heart Swap Goodies

I recently signed up to join in with a Handmade Heart Swap over at Mary Poppins Blog

I was lucky enough to be paired up with the lovely Pen over at Rosalily

So last week i received this lovely parcel of goodies including a lovely letter with a handmade envelope :)

Its just like Christmas with all the lovely little parcels to open!

First up this pretty felt heart cuff.

A lovely felt bookmark.

A little felt hanging heart i just love the stitching all over this makes me think i should get more practice on my sewing machine!

These sweet little wooden birds with little heart wings.

And 2 little painted wooden hearts.

Thankyou Pen i love them all and hope you enjoy the gifts i sent you x

Cake pops

It's my little girls 9th birthday tomorrow so I thought I'd have a go at making cake pops for her to take to school instead of a normal cake.

They're quiet easy to make apart from mine falling apart when I put the sticks in :( luckily I managed to get enough made without them all falling apart ..... I'm really not good with cake making I should stick to just eating them teehee ;0

Anyway the finished result was ok and they taste yummy so hope the kids will enjoy them.

Crochet flower garland

With this learning to crochet lark i wanted to find some easy projects to start with so these flowers are so easy to make i thought i would have a go at making a little flower garland which will eventually go in my daughters room.

I chose 3 different coloured yarns and made 3 flowers in each colour.

Then it was just a case of doing a simple crochet string and attaching the flowers at various points.

I think its turned out lovely and I'm sure i will be making loads more in the future as this crochet lark is quiet addictive!

Carrot and Pineapple Muffins

I decided it was time i got my butt in gear and done some baking as I've been very slack lately but do enjoy baking goodies so should do it more often!

This is one of my favourite recipes i cant remember where it came from but I've had it scribbled down on a piece of paper for years and its an all time family favourite they are very very yummy.

4oz plain flour
4oz plain wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarb of soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
200ml / 7 fl oz vegetable oil
3 1/2 oz caster sugar
2 eggs
4 1/2 oz grated carrots
8oz crushed pineapple semi drained
4oz raisins


preheat oven to 180


Sift flour,baking powder,bicarb, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl.


Beat oil eggs and sugar until well blended


Add carrots,pineapple and raisins then add flour mixture gradually just enough to combine.


Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.


Enjoy x


I'm linking this up to Whitelilygreens HandmadeThursday 

Pretty in blue card

I had a nice morning of making cards yesterday inspired by some blog challenges.

This first card is a lovely digital stamp image which I've coloured in using promarkers and backed onto blue cardstock.

The background paper is from a stack i've had for ages.

And the flowers i coloured using promarkers as i didn't have any blue paper flowers in my stash! I think in future i might just buy white paper flowers as its so easy to colour them in with promarkers!

Im linking this up to this weeks My Time To Craft challenge

Crochet flowers

I'm really getting the hang of crochet now and have to say its very addictive!

Today I've been chilling out and learning to crochet these pretty flowers.

There's lots of tutorials online for different flowers but I find these ones very easy for a beginner.

Now I just need to stock up on more different coloured wools so think a browse on eBay is what's needed ;)

Hope your all having a lovely weekend x

Learning to crochet

For years I've tried to learn how to crochet but have always failed miserably and given up.

My mum has always been good at crochet but she's left handed so I could never follow what she was doing to learn from her!

So the other week I decided it was about time I found the patience to learn and looked up some tutorials on YouTube which have been a great help!

And I'm delighted that I've finally figured it out ....... Well I've mastered the granny square so far whoop whoop!

Now to start stocking up on more wool so I can hopefully learn to crochet flowers etc aswell :)

The "Jeanius" challenge

A while back Liz from Me&MyShadow asked if anyone would be interested in an upcycled jeans challenge!

Well i'm never the one to turn down a challenge as 

1. It gets me motivated and inspired to craft and ....

2. It saves me from the ironing hehe ;0

So i got to work chopping up an old pair of jeans i don't wear anymore and this is what i came up with.

First up a simple cushion cover with added floral fabric.

I've been wanting to get the sewing machine back out for a while but had no idea what to make and this was perfect to get some more sewing practice in!

It's just a simple envelope cushion cover so really easy to make and my daughter has already claimed it for her bedroom!

2nd make was a simple denim and red dotty fabric brooch with a gorgeous big red button in the middle :)

And last but not least some simple notecards using up the fabric scraps i just cut out flower shapes and added buttons then mounted onto backing papers, they'll make lovely thankyou cards i think!

I've still quiet a bit of fabric left over but I've run out of time to craft as we've got builders in this week ripping all our heating and hot water system out (Arghhhhhhh!) so I've had to pack all my crafting stuff away :(

Button Swap!

A while ago i was pointed in the direction of Noodlebubble by a fellow button addict as there was a button swap being organised!

Well that's one swap i couldn't resist so i happily signed up and was partnered with the lovely fiona over at LoveAlfie 

And here's the gorgeous selection of buttons fi sent me!

I love them all and am sure they will all eventually be used in craft projects so thankyou so much fiona one happy swap partner i just hope you'll be as pleased with the buttons i sent to you :)

Not only did fi send me a fab selection of buttons she also kindly sent me this lovely pouch she made of really pretty vintage fabric, its so lovely and i'll use it to stash all my favourite buttons in :) 


Thankyou again x

Folded Paper Hearts

Inspired by Tracy's HandmadeThursday post the other week over at White Lily Green's Blog i just had to have a go at making these cute little folded paper hearts.

They're very simple to make and it was lovely to just sit down yesterday afternoon and spend some time doing some crafting.

I'm thinking like tracy that these would be lovely for cards, i also thought they would look fab instead of bows on pressies so a good excuse later in the year to make loads from christmas papers! 

If you would like to try your hand at making these then the fab tutorial is available HERE

Black & White Birthday Card

Created using a lovely Digi Stamp Image from Pink Petticoat and coloured with black and warm grey promarkers and skin tone promarkers

I've then just used various backing cards and papers, ribbon paper flowers and a happy birthday sticker.

Simple but pretty

I'm linking this card up to the Passion For Promarkers Challenge Week 137

New Baby Card

I've a few friends due babies over the next couple of months so thought I'd better make a start on some cards.

I made this card using a fab duckie printable from Cuddly Buddly and die cut the letters to add the wording Baby Boy.

I'm linking this card up to Craft Your Days Away Challenge #39 

Valentines card

Thought I'd better make the old man a valentines card so came up with this little cutie ♥

I used a lovely Digi stamp from the "with heart" collection available from Pink Petticoat.

Coloured the image with pro-markers and backed it onto pink and red bazil cardstock.

I then added dotty backing paper ribbon and a little heart sticker from my stash.

I'm linking this card up to Digital Tuesday Challenge

And Polka Doodles Week 5 Challenge

Pretty heart tea light holders

For the first of my February crafts I've made some lovely little tea light holders.

Using 2 empty Gu pud glass jars that I've had stashed in the cupboard for ages waiting to be upcycled into something i decided to cross stitch 2 strips of Aida with love hearts (i used a love heart pattern from an old craft magazine but I'm sure there's plenty of heart patterns for free online if anyone wants to make these)

I then just used some glue dots to attach the strips of fabric on the outside of the jars and voila 2 simple tea light holders perfect for valentines ♥

Simple but pretty :) 

Handmade Thursday Little Felt Owl

On my quest to find some things to make on the theme on owls i came across a wonderful tutorial to make an adorable little felt and fabric owl Here

Now i will admit i am no expert when it comes to sewing but i found this little chap very simple and easy to sew together.

He's not quiet finished yet as ive no toy stuffing in my craft stash but thats just a good excuse to visit the craft shop ;0


I'm sure my daughter is going to be very happy with him once hes finished and i will add a ribbon loop to the top so she can hang him somewhere in her bedroom.

Im linking this up to Handmade Thursday over at her blog whitelilygreen

Twittie Owl Birthday Card

I'm linking this cute little owl birthday card up to the polkadoodles week 3 sketch challenge

The card is made up with a gorgeous little Twittie Owl digi stamp available from polkadoodles online store

I coloured it with pro-markers then mounted it onto various card and used various background papers etc to finish off.

I think you'll agree he's super cute :)

Simple Little Owl ThankYou Cards

Every January i like to make handmade Thankyou cards for my daughter katie to send out to various family and friends who have sent her gifts and money for christmas, i think its always polite for her to thank people this way as most live on the mainland uk so she doesn't get to see them to thank them personally.

Back in december i brought a cute little owl stamp and i guess this is why i chose a theme of owls for january :)

So i stamped some images on some plain white card then coloured them with various promarkers (a must have for any crafter!)

Then mounted them onto different shades of cardstock

Had a root around and used up some odds and ends of patterned backing papers and came up with these very simple but cute thankyou cards.

Having a theme is certainly giving me inspiration to craft and ive found some other makes id like to try but they have patterns that need printing out and unfortunatly just before christmas my printer blew up :~ so i might just have to go treat myself to a cheap printer to keep me going for now ;)

Cute Little Owl Handbag Charm

Well im keeping to my new years blog resolution to make sure i craft more and as promised this month im going to stick with the theme of owls.

I brought some of these cute little owl charms last month ...... available from ebay.

So decided to make myself a new bag charm, i thought pink and brown colours would be nice so had a root around in my box of beads for some pretty pearl effect glass beads in various shades.

Bag charms are very easy to make you just need a lobster clasp, chain, headpins various beads and a charm/charms of your choice.

Im very happy with the result but im thinking i need a new "brown" handbag to go with it ;0

Ive still some owl charms left over so when i get chance i think i'll make my daughter a little beaded bracelet with an owl on it as she adores owls.