Sun And Mugs

We awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine and not too cold temperatures so when Simon set off for his training course this morning the children and I packed the pram with bananas and bottles of water and set off to the park.

Nathaniel had a slide;


Francesca had a see-saw;



And Elizabeth had a swing;

Then they all swapped around and around until everyone had done everything (several times) and we were getting bored so we went in search of flowers;

I don't think these have been open long as there are still yellow ones in the park. Squirrels eat the yellow ones which is why you only usually see them in the middle of round-a-bouts. At least that is what I have been led to believe all my life, am sure someone will disprove this in the comments?

Then we went and bought lunch from the bakers and walked up to meet Simon and we all came home together.

Really glad we went out this morning as not long after we returned home it began to rain and it has been decidedly horrid since. But Enchanted on DVD and lots of snuggles has kept the blues at bay. And I managed to knit the other bootee!

And in that beautiful box yesterday were some fabulous goodies from the lovely Emma;

Some sweeties that seem to have disappeared, must go and sniff the children's breath! Some beautifully wrapped little parcels, some biccies (always a good idea) and some lovely teas to try.

I am pleased to see that I wasn't the only person to paint the mug!

Inside the mini-parcels there were some fabby glitzy organza pieces and some funky net, Francesca has her eye on the pink already! Some buttons (spotty and checked ones, squeek), some sequins and she also included a lovely little felt brooch that is purple, yum;

You really should pop over the Emma's blog using the link above as her pictures are much better. Although she will have taken her time over them, I was too busy keeping the small hands at bay and tearing open the packing!

Thanks Emma and thank you Jenny for such a brilliant idea!

Daisie xxx

A Productive Day

After Tumble Tots and some lunch, Nathaniel and I managed to sew together three taggy blankets;


These should have been done last night really but I accidently fell asleep when putting Nathaniel to bed, it is becoming a very bad habit of mine at the minute.

Better late than never, I always say!

And I love the randomness of the ribbons on these ones. Eliabeth helped me cut them last night before she went to bed. I am very regimented and methodical when chopping up my ribbon stash and even though I gave her the ruler they are all different lengths! Think it maybe adds to their charm?!



I also knitted half a pair of bootees;

The other half may get knitted this evening but them again, maybe not......

We made a yummy lemon sponge for after tea;

Whilst all that was going on the sweet sticky thick tomato and chilli sauce was simmering away getting more delicious throughout the afternoon ready for the meatballs;

And then to make the day even better, when I collected the girls from school we hot footed it down to the sorting office to fetch this wonderful little boxy parcel;

I shall show you what was in it tomorrow!

Daisie xxx

Button Maker

Having seen all the lovely buttons that have been swapped in blogland of late (not sure how I missed that one?) inspired me to go grab some fimo and make my own. The fimo wasn't nearly as pricey as I had feared but cutters?! Blimey, found some I really liked and then had to decide if I liked them enough to remortgage my house! So no new miniature cutters for me (but I do have a birthday coming up, hint, hint...) so I had to improvise with some chocolate moulds I have in the kitchen drawer and some badly drawn card templates;



A daisy, well, what else! Love the little leaves, they are made using a marble finish fimo and the daisy and butterfly have a glitter content. I can see a set of these on a little girl's cardigan, leaves all the way up and a flower under the chin!

Then using my recently discovered, perfectly sized button cutter (my wedding ring) I made some more in the sparkly stuff and made a spotty pattern around the edge with a very sharp pencil;



And you must please note just how sunny it is out there in my garden today, I can hardly believe it, bloody cold though!! Doesn't seem to be scaring the daffies though, there are new yellow heads nodding at me every day.

Yesterday I attended an adult art class (oooh, that sounds rude), partly becasue I like to learn new things and partly to let Nathaniel have some more time in the creche and try and address some of his seperation issues. And it was free!!!! Yes FREE!!!!

It's a three week course and this week was silk painting;



It was amazing to do, I really enjoyed it. We were asked to draw a design, I copped out and went with a flower (again) and then we drew this image onto the silk with a rubberised paint, when that had dried we got going with lots of fabulous coloured inks. I seem to have created a strange dappled effect with the purple in my background, not sure I could do it again but am quite pleased. I am so thrilled with the overall finished piece that I have even forgiven myself for the huge gold splodge at the top of the flower. As first attempts go I am rather proud of myself and can't wait to see it framed up ready to go into our bedroom (when we eventually finish it)!!

Daisie xxx

A Beautiful Baby Boy

Today saw my very first meeting with baby Daniel (yes, he now has a name);



Daniel is the small beautiful one, the old haggered bag would be me!! Please note the beautiful hand knitted hat he is wearing, there are boots to match but his feet were warm enough.

I made some goodies for him and his Mummy and delivered them in this changing type bag I made with some John Lewis "Noah's Ark" fabric;



I also made him this taggy blanket to match, the reverse is a lovely thick fluffy fleece;

He has his own knitted ted with a baby blue scarf;

Congratulations Naomi and Steven on the safe arrival of your very beautiful son. Welcome to the world Daniel!

Daisie xxx

Daffy Dillies And Other Flowers

My friend's baby boy arrived late on thursday night :-) but in my haste and excitement I forgot to photograph goodies before wrapping. Hopefully will be able to get a pic of him modelling them when I go and see him in the morning. Don't like him not having a name yet, feels odd refering to him as 'him' when that's what we have been doing for ages!!

Spring seems to have sprung in the corner of my garden, the girls spotted this when they were out on their bicycles this afternnon;



And while they were out I managed to have a go at this tutoral using some off cuts from my old jeans;



I scanned the tute very quickly when I spotted it and I really should have paid more attention to measurements. I kind of made it up as I went along (as usual) and have made the tiniest cuff in the world! Francesca had to wear it for the photo. I did make two more flowers though so can have a go at a bigger cuff when I get chance. I also thought the flowers would look nice a little bigger with a ribbon loop and stuffed with lavender? I am now on the hunt for some dainty floral fabric and will try out the scented flowers for my mother-in-law's birthday.

Daisie xxx

Cow Slippers And Football Pants!

A quick catch up on what's been going on here at Daisie Towers over the last week. It being half term and having loads of people in my house *stupid grin* for a whole week my poor old blog has been somewhat neglected.

Firstly I have to show you these lovely cow slippers that my mother-in-law brought along for me. The do look much better without the bad socks and hairy legs!


The children and I had a trip out to IKEA (we couldn't take Simon as we were in a micra as our car had gone for it's MOT) and we had a great time. The children love to open all the cupboards (especially now both girls can read the "look inside" stickers) and sit in all the seats and stroke the rugs and bed linen. They are lovely though and not noisy or rude like so many other children we saw while there!! We only got a few things but had a hot dog on the way home, well, you have to, it's the law! Isn't it?!

After car had been for said MOT test and all seemed well Simon looked closely at the certificate as he went to file it away and noticed that the odometre reading was almost four times the number of miles our car has actually done! A (slightly) stroppy phone call from me and Francesa, Nathaniel and I went back to the test centre to get a new one! Tsk!!! We left an under the weather Elizabeth to go back to bed while we went and thought it'd be a good idea to visit the charity shops and market while we were there. Francesca had a 50p in her handbag and insisted we put Nathaniel in the pram (and not in the sling) so she could help to push him as she is "such a good big sister". And what does a sparkly five year old girl buy in a charity shop with fifty pence? A sparkly fairy thing, that's what!! We also found an amazing knitting kit with a big ball of multi coloured chunky yarn and a pair of the fattest needles I have ever seen, all for 99p! Bargain!

I also found an amazing knitting supplies stall on the market (will make it a regular spot now me thinks) and she had an enormous box of buttons that were really cheap (2p each) so I spent ages searching through them while Francesca held out her hands for the ones I wanted. We also chose some lovely ribbon bundles. They seem to be between three and five metres long and were only 20p each!!! Then round the corner there was a craft stall that was closing down :-( but everything was half price :-) so we got some goodies there too!

We also have visited friends, watched movies and snuggled, read books and been very lazy this week and I think we all feel mightily refreshed for it. Except for poor Simon, having been let down by yet another plasterer (saying very bad words in my head!!!!!) he has decided just to sand the joints in the plasterboard so we can get decorating and moved in. We are thoroughly fed up of sleeping on the futon with Nathaniel between us and the girls don't have room to swing a cat in their room because of all the extra stuff stored in there. So hopefully with all his hard work this week we should be able to fit the coving and start painting in a couple of weeks, then get some bunks on order for Francesca's room and Bob's your sister's brother!

And now for the football pants. I would have posted some pics but fear social services may already be on to me? Nathaniel has been very aware of the goings on in his nappy for ages now and loves to tell you what's going on, his bladder control is great (and there was me worried he'd be hard work because he's a boy, one of the first things I thought when Val layed him on my tummy at birth!) and so the girls and I took him shopping for knickers. No, sorry pants! That is going to be the hardest thing!!! He chose ones with footballs on. They are so tiny and make his bum look so biteable (see told you the social are going to get me). He wears them when we come home in the afternoon and walks round showing off his "buutballs" and telling us all that he's a big boy. We haven't managed a wee on the pot but there haven't been any on the floor either. He likes to sit the dollies on the pot and tells them to wee-wee. So fingers crossed, we'll make a proper go of it during the summer hols (if he doesn't do it by himself first) and we will be a nappy free house by August!

There are lots of crafty goings on at the mo but can't show you any yet, I am making an amazing array of baby goodies for my friend who is due on thursday! Squeek! A very long awaited baby and loved to a million bits already. Very exciting indeed!

Daisie xxx

Julie

Today we have been raising funds to help us find a bone marrow match for Julie. Venues need paying, advertising needs to be done and The Anthony Nolan Trust needs more money. So lots of Julie's friends got together under the supervision of the lovely Helen and sold toys, gave away stuff via a tombola and raffle, sold hot dogs and made tea/coffe and generally had a great afternoon!

'Welephant' made an appearance (Julie being married to a fireman we'd expect no less!);



Nathaniel got to go in a BIG fire engine;



The girls got to play with a big hose;

They queued for ages to get their faces painted;

And here is Jemima (Julie's older daughter) to remind us what all the fun is for;

Not sure how much money we managed to raise in total but will let you know.

I have had a blog post ready and waiting in my head for a few days but events have over taken me somewhat this week. Normal service will resume (hopefully) next week and the "Cow Slippers And Football Pants" post will be published!!

Daisie xxx