Pumpkin Pie Baking Day

My boys love a Baking Day with Dad and Halloween was a great excuse to get baking!  Whilst Dad was making the main Pumpkin Pie, and his delicious spicy Pumpkin Soup, Ethan wanted to create the mini pies for him and his twin brother, so with sleeves rolled up he was off...

Baking with Dad I hear you cry!!! Well yes, in our house Dad is the main cook... he loves it, and well basically I don't!! lol!  So the two of them had a blast in the kitchen whilst I was busy doing some creating of my own at my Studio Desk.

With the smell of the Mini Pumpkins cooking in the Oven, Ethan's twin brother, Cameron and little Oscar were waiting patiently......

 And an hour or so later, here is one proud little boy with his Mini Pies........

Well, errr,  not for long, those Pies went down a storm and here's a big hug for his brother once he'd demolised a few... bless 'em.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Cushions, Cake & Bunting!

Ohh what a FAB morning I've had today, surrounded by fabulous crafts and lovely people in the comfort of my own home.  I hosted a "SEW Sumptuous" Party this morning alongside raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support and it was such a fun event with lots of colour, chat and laughter.

As some of my lovely readers may remember, Sew Sumptuous is run by my good friend Cath, who is solely responsible for all the lovely home decor creations you see in these photos.  We had great fun transforming my Garden Room into the Sew Sumptuous Shop, it looked wonderful once it was adorned with all Cath's pretty creations from Cushions and Bunting to Peg Bags and Apron's.  There were some scrumptious Christmas pieces to include cushions with festive slogans and the most adorable Micro-Bunting in festive fabrics.

Cath's little Geese are one of my favourites, I purchased one earlier this year to sit in my craft pot on my studio desk... so cute!

Most of Cath's creations can be tailor made to your choice of colour or slogan.  Her bunting is very popular with slogans such as "Merry Christmas", "Mr & Mrs", or even your childs name.

Of course I couldn't ask all my lovely friends to turn up without offering them some refreshments, so coffee, tea and cakes were on the menu, my little ladies in bloomers (below) gave details on the cakes fillings... Choccy Woccy and Apricot & Almond.. yummmm.....

I also had a very small "taster" of my Maygreen Fairies goodies, promoting the up coming Mid Winter Fair I am attending, it's such a wonderful Christmassy Day out to get you in the Festive Spirit and you may also pick up a gift or two, or three  ooopps!

I have to say my favourite piece of Cath's this season is her Festive Micro-Bunting it is FAB, I had to purchase some, just look at all those gorgeous fabrics.......

So ladies, if you are local and would like to host a "Sew Sumptuous" Party please visit Cath's Website where you will find all her contact details, I can assure you, you won't be disappointed, and neither will your guests!! Now... where is that left over cake ;-)

Button Beauties

I am concentrating on Button products at the moment, as you can probarbly tell!!  Rummaging through my ever growing button stash to find duplicate buttons for these pretty earrings was a time consuming mission but well worth it.  I often wear my own creations and my button earrings always get lots of comments so hopefully these will be good little Christmas Gifts for someone this year.

In addition to the earrings I have also produced some pretty whimsical button brooch pins, these lovely ceramic butterfly buttons were a recent purchase and I've added lace and feathers to create delicate pins to dress up Autumnal jackets and cardigans. 

And these beautiful wooden buttons below also make extremely pretty brooch pins, complimented with little swatches of lace they look fabulous on an autumn sweater!  If you are interested in any of my button jewellery please drop me an email as these new items are not yet available on my website.

The Knitting and Stitching Show

Yesterday my friends and I hotfooted it up to Alexandra Palace in London, where this beautiful Art Deco Building played host to the fabulous Knitting & Stitching Show.  It is an amazing event packed to the brim with Artists, Crafters and Vendors, so if you love any kind of textile craft, knitting, embroidery etc.. this is the event for you.

It was a busy Show with a wide audience, but the venue is so big you didn't feel squashed or battered about as you made your way around each vendor, it was quite calm and civilised... thankfully!

There were lots of varied things to see including Exhibitions of work, the main exhibition this year was that of the Embroiderer Beryl Dean.  Beryl was one of the major figures of twentieth century embroidery, and her innovative use of materials and techniques inspired her contemporaries and informed the making of a generation of embroiderers.  The exhibition of her works were stunning, from small embroidered panels of flowers to Ballet Costumes and ecclesiastical pieces.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to photograph this exhibition, but she is well worth looking up on the internet as her work is fascinating.

There was lots of other smaller Exhibits, including original 1920 fabric designs for dress prints, many drawn or painted on tracing paper as well as more up to date pieces, like that of the amazingly talented Mary Cozens Walker, again not allowed to photograph these works but do check out her website her pieces of work are just wonderful.

There was also some interesting mixed media art on display, like these unusual pieces, from a new designer, they were made from paper machie and thread, and were all displayed on what looked like a piece of tree bark.... fascinating!

 All around you was so much inspiration, even the vendors and visitors attire was a feast for the eyes!

Shopping at the Show was a real treat, the vast array of fabrics available was breathtaking, I must say I purchased a few glorious fat quarters for upcoming projects, and the buttons.... ohh so many wonderful buttons from vintage to new, mother of pearl to ceramic, something for every button floozie out there!!  And one of my favourite vendors, the Selvedge Stand, packed full of tempting goods from crocheted scarves and necklaces to fabric birdhouses and cages.

And then of course came the highlight of my day... meeting the super talented Frances Pickering, getting to talk to her up close and personal and see her creating right in front of my eyes.  Her work is so beautiful and inspires you to get home and just create! lol!

She was so lovely posing for photo's and very happy to let you hold and look closely at some of her previous works, photograph them and ask her as many questions about her work as you wish.

I currently have her first book, Page After Page, Making Individual Books & Journals, which is packed with beautiful photos of her work, with lots of tips and ideas, her second book is due out next year.  Check out her website here!

So after several hours of scouring every inch of the show we made our way back home to peruse over our purchases and reflect on a super day!

Stocking Up!

Look at these beauties!!!  This is just a sneek peek at some of the lovely vintage teacups I've recently acquired ready for altering into Teacup Pin Cushions.  They are all in great condition and very pretty, and I can't wait to get started on altering them.

At the same time I also was lucky enough to purchase some great vintage glass bottles, I will be altering some of these adding lace and vintage elements to them, whilst others I will leave untouched as they are pretty as they are.  All of these items will be available to buy at the Wealden Mid Winter Fair in November.

Tomorrow I am off to the Knitting and Stitching Fair at Alexandra Palace, I can't wait, it will certainly be a feast for the eyes I'm sure.  I am taking my Camera with me, although I have heard that it is not always acceptable to photograph the exhibitors at this fair, so I'll see what I can come up with for you.  But of course any goodies that I purchase I'll be sure to post here. xx