The Great Giveaway!

My copies of the sewing calendar have arrived, and it's looking pretty good, Megan has done a fantastic job in pulling it all together.  There are 2 projects per week from a huge variety of designers including :  The Long Thread, Elsie Marley, Sew Christine, Rachael Rabbit, Bella Dia,

 Pink Chalk Studio and there are 3 projects in there by me.  

(The calendar is available to purchase here or here)

So, now for the good part!  The great giveaway part!!

There are 3 prizes in total, top prize being a calendar, and for the other 2 winners, they will receive a little pack of materials (fabric, felt, buttons etc), and a copy of either the kitten or the hedgehog pattern as was featured in Sew Hip magazine (you can see them in the blog sidebar), so there are 3 chances to win.

Just leave a comment on this post before midnight (GMT) on Sunday 30th August, and I will get the random number generator to do it's magic.

Playing with food,

Now, I'm always having to tell Luke in particular off for playing about with his food rather than eating it.  But there are occasions when playing is the right thing to do, and this was one of them.  I decided it would be fun to make pizzas from scratch, even the dough.  (ok, I confess.  We did use the bread maker for the dough)

Each pizza was a different shape,

for Lucy, our resident rock chick and Hannah Montana fan, a guitar.

For Luke, the car enthusiast, a VW Beetle.

And for me, Lucy informed me this was in the shape of my favorite thing.  Given the frequent mess in this house I clear up on a daily basis, I assumed she was referring to the hoover!  But no, my favorite thing, as she reminded me is, of course, chocolate.  Its in the shape of a bar of chocolate!

Now, they're all in the shape of a few crumbs!

ps, next post is going to involve a giveaway, and 3 prizes!!

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather...,

or in this case, a bottle of wine!, but after all my moaning last week, just look at this...,

my children, (and husband!), frolicking in a field,

chasing butterflies and picking the odd wild flower.

We spent Saturday night under canvas, in a local field with a group of friends.  And, it has to be said, the person guilty of the most moaning was me.   I am not a natural camper, I went under duress, but I went nonetheless.  

Things I like about camping  ::  How excited Lucy and Luke were.  Overexcited.  I worried they were going to burst a blood vessel or something.  Watching them building dens out of branches and bundles of freshly cut grass.  And the fresh air.  I love the smell of fresh air.

Things I don't like about camping  ::  Earwigs.  I don't mind insects in general but really don't like earwigs.  Being the filling in a snoring sandwich between my husband and my son.  And lastly, waking up in the middle of the night and realising that the inflatable mattress which started out to be oh so comfy, has sprung a leak and is gradually going down, and down, and down!

It's the summer holidays...,

...and I know I should be enjoying it, but I do feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle here.  A battle against these words.

"I'm bored!"

I am enjoying the freedom, the time with the kids (when they're not bickering), not having to be up and out of the house at a certain time.  But I browse other blogs, and as well as feeling inspired, I also do feel an air of inadequacy.  Why aren't my children happy skipping through fields, chasing butterflies and picking the odd wild flower?  Part of the reason why, isn't down to them though, it's because, here in the UK, a) the weather is rubbish, we've had rain most days for the last few weeks and there's only so many times that getting wet is fun, and b) for health and safety issues, you're not allowed in the field for fear of someone tripping, hurting themselves and suing either the local farmer or the council!

We've done stuff, cinema, swimming, visited friends, playdates, made playdoh, and other crafty activities, and yet, they still say they're bored.  I've come to the conclusion, that although I'm exhausted attempting to keep them entertained, the thing they are happiest doing, is whining!  My only hope is that, rather than being inadequate, we're actually, dare I even say it...,

normal!

In a weekend bid for some happy children, we did set to a crafty playdate.  I was contacted by a UK craft supplier a week or so ago and asked if I would like some craft items to have a go with and review.  While I don't normally go in for advertising on my blog, summer holidays, children and the offer of free supplies was too good to turn down!   So, armed with a pack of plain tote bags, fabric paint and pens, and also some spinning tops, I went into battle with the boredom.

The girls eagerly decorated t-shirts and bags,  Lucy's very happy with hers and the paint dried pretty quickly too.

(Design wise, we've gone through the High School Musical phase and have now entered Hannah Montana zone) 

While the boys tinkered around with the spinning tops.  These were great fun actually, very effective.  Cheap too, and there's 12 in each pack.

(Alternative uses for spinning tops!)

I think I may have won.  Slightly.  OK, just a little!

The war rages on, next round is paper mache, what fun!

(All supplies from Baker Ross)