Happy Christmas From Daisie Towers

"Aaaa pap pap crispie!"


Me and my beautiful girlies;


Snowman buns;


Presents under our tree (see, floor and skirting and everything!!);


And silly hats and whistles at lunch time;


We had a crazy crazy week sorting and cleaning and generally making ourselves very tired indeed. It looks amazing, will post some dedicated pics later in the week. We managed to get the tree up and we had friends round for crafting and snowman bun making. Christmas day was just seven, the six of us and Ant, the spare wheel on our family wagon. We did it all again on Boxing Day with the in-laws, my brother and his wife and my sister and her partner, it was great them coming here and not going there, easier for me and the children.

Lots of fun here, I hope you've all a wonderful time celebrating whatever you celebrate.

Daisie xxx

Oh Dear

I do wonder why on earth we thought this was a good idea. I have no doubt that it will be amazing when it's finished but that doesn't stop me rocking in a corner sometimes when no one is looking.

This past weekend we dug out the old fireplace;


And Simon set to removing the knackered, old, holey, mismatched ( a bodge by a previous owner) floorboards;





It's so very cold and draughty, no fun at all.

We have had an old door for many many years that gets moved around the house and has never been put to use until now, a great place for an impromtu fish finger picnic;



They reminded me a little of that famous photo of the men eating their packed lunches on a crane with New York as the back drop, you know the one I mean, made me smile.

Needless to say but my good humour seems to have disappeared with the floor, am not such a happy bunny at the mo but last week of work, children finish school on friday and we can get cracking and sorting and be ready for a Davies Christmas to remember!!

Daisie xxx

Not My Finest Moment As A Dressmaker!!

Nathaniel is to be a Prince in the infant nativity play later this week. School, as ever, left it a little late to ask for costumes, so I quickly cobbled together an outfit from an old bed sheet and some blue felt;


I was aiming for Prince but he saw 'Ninja';



Excuse his terrible skin, it's so dry and gets sore now the weather is colder, he is Diprobase Boy but still scartches when no one is looking.

But he is delightfully beautiful and his eyes sparkle so as he's been practicing his line; "I will bring the baby an enornorous emerwald!"


Really looking forward to friday afternoon now :)

And in other random news, there is a new boy in the reception class and...... he's called....... Nathaniel!!!! My boy is now known as Nathaniel D! Outrage!! My children have never had to use the surname initial before :(

Hope you're all surviving the cold/snow/Christmas preparations etc??

Daisie xxx

A Buttonie Wreath

I have been toying with this idea for a while and on Tuesday I went through my button boxes and pulled out all the green buttons and a few red ones and created this;


Maud gladly modelled it for me to give you a sense of scale;



I am very much in love with it!

I am also making some smaller ones to hang from the tree.

Daisie xxx

AWI Annual Tea Party

ooooh, I had a lovely afternoon out on Sunday, I was invited to attend the AWI Annual Vintage Tea Party, cake, tattooed ladies, singers, cake and fun.

My neighbour (and chum for the event) was the lovely Lindsay who makes bunting (needn't have killed myself making Christmas bunting being next to her!). I bullied her into setting up a facebook page which you can find here. Not much to look at yet but go like her anyway!! Her stall looked amazing;


My best sellers;


Maud up on high;


And my goodies were so many that I had to aquire an extra table from somewhere;


After the clean up the guess was that we'd made over £1000 for our chosen charity, which this year is, Derian House Children's Hospice. A charity very near to our hearts, one of the members, Kristianne, and our singing entertainment for the event, spoke openly and honestly about the care her and her husband recieved from Derian in 2007 before and after the death of their baby son Dexter. She was very brave and we were all moved to tears, sometimes we forget just how lucky we are.

Can't wait for next year!!

Daisie xxx

For Your Punky Christmas Tree??

In have one very poorly Francesca so we all had an early night last night (well, the three smallest people did) and as Simon was working late Elizabeth and I sat in bed knitting and stitching. I formed this idea in my head (and a very bad sketch in my knitting ideas book) a while ago to make to hang on the girls' bedroom door. Simon and I have a felt heart because we are in luurve and the boys have a Gruffalo because they are little monsters they love the story so and the girls had nothing :(

They are both a little bit girlie underneath but have a rock chicky exterior which I am nurturing somewhat.

So I dreamed up some punky, edgey, slightly girlie skulls;


The first one I made was met with great delight by Elizabeth and so I thought maybe other punky princesses may like them and then I thought how cool they'd look hanging from rear-view mirrors or on a black Christmas tree.


A few more are cut out and ready to sew, some with flowers for 'eyes' for an extra girlie feel.

Daisie xxx

More Making

I have been a busy making bee this week and have produced some more goodies for the up and coming Alternative Womens' Institute Annual Tea Party.

A lovely linen messenger style bag with plum cotton lining (yes, I know it doesn't yet have buttons);


A mini tote bag made with some off cuts that were too big to go in the scrap bag. A bag not big enough for library books but big enough to use as a gift bag or for taking your packed lunch with you in style;


Two more totes made using some lovely fabric that was donated to me when my parents emigrated last month;


A pair of super snuggly hand warmers in a silvery grey yarn;


And a daisy print slouch bag;


There are two more bags on the ironing board waiting to be sewn together and I have another project on the needles but I have had a brain wave for a little quirkie felt project so am off to do that first....

Daisie xxx

PIF Wanna Play??

The lovely post lady brought me a very special parcel yesterday from the lovely Georgia over at Little Blue Mouse. See, lots of beautiful parcels;


I had some willing volunteers to help me open them;



And look what was inside, lots of wonderful purple goodies, I especially love the little needle book;


And this confused us all for a while;


We decided it was a little pin cushion ring (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong Georgia) and I think it's utterly fab. Thank you so much!!

And in true PIF style I now have to ask three friends to play. If you'd like to recieve some hand made lovelies from me just leave a comment on this post and something will be on it's way via good old fashioned snail mail.

I must 'fess up to forgetting to send the lovely Emma a gift from the last time I did this (slaps wrist) so if you'd like to email me you postal address (again) Emma I will send you some loveliness too.

Daisie xxx

Pumpkins!!

Yesterday after school we got busy with some pumpkins. We cut their caps off, scooped out the middles and drew faces on the skins;


We sorted the seeds and dried them in the oven to make pumpkin seed bread at the weekend;


Nathaniel made a very smiley face and the girls made a more traditional scary face, Elizabeth experimented with just removing the skin in parts to make the detail glow;



We enjoyed pumpkin curry for tea and we have pumkin soup in the fridge for another night this week.

Can't believe it's November already!?

Daisie xxx

Making

Some more makes for the Alternative Women's Institute Vintage Tea Party.

Some festive felt robins;


A pair of purple 'tweed' handwarmers;


A pair of green 'tweed' handwarmers with a frilly cuff;


And some inspired by Elizabeth dragon bracelets;


Some bags are cut out and ready to be made just as soon as I have a plaster-dust free surface on which to put my sewing machine!!

My mitre square blanket is now up to seven squares of sixteen but I'm now worried my circular needle will not be long enough to pick up all the stitches round the edge for the border. Just hope it's ready when the 'snig' is......... Can't wait to reveal to you the plans for the dining room. So very exciting now!!

Half Term

Reasons to always have the ring sling in your handbag;


When you smallest boy insists he can walk round the park to feed the squirrels and does really well for hours and then gets freaked by a HUGE dog and falls asleep on your shoulder as the dog passes and turns into the half tonne baby as you haul him back to the car (which was miles away)!

Elizabeth, after months of thinking about having her hair all chopped off, finally decided to go for the crop. She looks amazing. She has decided to have some more taken off the back so it's more sculpted. Very grown up indeed. Am worried what the reaction at school will be tomorrow though *anxious mother alert*


We climbed some trees;





And found amusing things to do with peanuts;


We went and had a spooky party with some friends, I took two vamps and two tiny pumpkins;


We also had a playdate that turned into a carpet picnic for the children and an afternoon knitting for me.

We have lived in the bedroom all week while Simon has finished off the plasterwork in the dining room. Coving up next weekend and we're on track to have a Christmas tree this year :)

How was your half term??

Things Making Me Smile

So far this week I am not liking the darkness, getting up in the dark, the grey grey sky that has rained forever for days and days and makes you all wet from the knee down because even though you have your longest waterproof coat on the wind is driving the rain sideways! I am not liking that I have put my Berkies away for another year and winter feet are upon us. Gone are the funky coloured nails (no one will see them now except me in the shower) and trimmed are the lovely nails I have cultivated in the warmer weather to protect my socks.

But what socks;


The children bought me these in the summer for the astronomical price of 50p! This is the first time I have worn them. I love them. My favourite title/name/label/occupation/vocation/passtime......

Also liking my brilliant door mat;


Isn't it fabulous and it cost me less than three squids. Much happiness when I saw it and the happiness continues ever day when I wrestle my way back home through the wind and rain and open the front door. The picture has been turned many times but blogger seems to like it sideways??

So to sum up; tis wet and cold and miserable but if you look there are always things to make life seem better.

What's making you smile today?

Daisie xxx