Feather Your Nest Competition

Stumbles and Stitches

The Feather Your Nest competition came to my attention through the ultra talented and on-the-ball Rachael at Imagine Gnats, and it really interested me.

The rules:

Requirements for Entry:

The item(s) you enter in the contest must meet the following requirements:

1) Made by you, for your own home. This includes all sorts of practical and/or decorative items, housewares and artwork. As long as it is for use in your home, it works.

2) Made with stitches. It can be machine-sewn, hand-sewn, embroidered, knitted, crochet-ed, felted, etc.

3) Made with some repurposed or upcycled material. As little or as much as you want. The options are endless! Get creative and think green.

4) Made in 2012.


You can enter up to 5 times. Some of mine have already been posted, but what the heck - if they fit in with the rules, why not show them again? ;-) 
     


 Night light. Made from a plastic Ferrero Rocher chocolate box, old fairy lights (LED is essential!, an offcut of fabric Isla adore. Plus some super glue, and some sellotape for luck. Fabric is stitched, so thats how it qualifies!


Got the idea from the brilliant Crafty Love (who used tissue paper rather than fabric, but her brill tute is here), and was just waiting to find a Ferrero Rocher box. Luckily (and very bizarrely) and friend at my Wool and Wittering clss have one in her car, so her presto:

Entry number 1:

Also wanted to enter my bunting made from webbing from The Dorset Scrapstore and a 70's skirt which I have hung onto for years, even though it was about a metre too long for me, because it is stunning!

Entry number 2:

Also a crocheted jam jar cover (obv. a recycled jam jar) and a recycled paper flower arrangement.

Entry number 3: 

And lastly,  selection of cushions made from vintage or repurposed skirt, curtains, jumpers, buttons and wool. The circular one was made following an excellent tute from Attic 24.

Entry number 4:

The reverse of them:

and lastly, a pin cushion made from that same stunning vintage skirt, and a teacup given to me by Rose, which was her grandmothers. I adore it!

Entry number 5:

What a lot of fun! Do pop over to see the other AMAZING entries :-)

Love Sarah

A little absent

Just wanted to explain my recent lessening of blog posts.
My son Lucas is going through a tough time at the moment. He has entered into Gonadotropin Dependent Precocious Puberty, which has meant that we have started horrible intramuscular injections. These are basically a massive dose of Gonadotropin - the hormone that starts puberty - so at the moment we have gone from a basically sweet, gentle boy just slowly having some pubertal symptoms into a 9 year old boy, developmentally and emotionally delayed in some ways in full blown puberty. He is hurting his sister, he is hurting me, he is miserable and furious most of the time, he is tired and cant concentrate, and he flips out without seemingly any pre warning, and he cant be left with his sister alone at all at the moment. His Aspergers is through the roof at the moment, and I am finding it really really difficult. I love him so very much, and I am trying to take it easy on him, reminding myself that it isn't 'him' acting like this - its hormones, and he cant help it, but when he grabs his 4 year old sister by the neck and rams her head against a door, its hard. She adores him, infact started crying and screaming at me when I told her that she really couldn't marry him when she grows up, but I am scared that she will start to become frightened of him.

I was supposed to do the Kids Clothes Week Challenge this week, but haven't sewn one thing. I am trying to be ok with that. They happen quite often, and my children have lots of clothes.

I also have cushions to sew, a bedroom to sort, work meetings, and we are awaiting results of tests to try to explain what Lucas' seizure episodes are.

So - put bluntly - I am just about getting by right now, but know that things will improve. If you fancy popping by to visit, I will post, just not with quite the ferocity that I was.

Thanks!
Love Sarah

Tuesday 10

Linking up with Lena at Mom 2 Memphis and Ruby
and Ashley from Flats to Flipflops

Theme: 10 Favourite Beauty Products!

 Decleor stuff is all amazing, but this is my fave product!

Ok, so its a bit 2010/2011, but it really works!

LOVE Laura Geller makeup. The Balance and Brighten fair for winter, normal for summer is brilliant

 More Laura Geller - bronzer this time

Isla chose this for me in the 99p shop when mine had run out (my favourite green), and its amazing.

 Eyeshadow is crucial imo, and Barry M stuff rocks.

 Best foundation there is. Not cheap, but it really lasts.

More Laura Geller. This time eye liner. Good colour, doesnt run.

Home made salt scrubs. Also love our homemade soaps and body oils :-)

So, bought this for the kids to try and stop them getting nits (they havent once!), but I pinch it as it is brilliant, smells nice, makes my hair shine.

There were lots of 'essentials' I haven't listed, but these are my fave ones that I thought might be of interest to others - plus at my age (just had a birthday, and am a wee bit sensitive), you need more than 10 beauty products to start your day, right?!

Our Reflection weekly photo challenge

Teaming up again with the talented Laura from Our Reflection for the weekly photo challenge.

This week the theme is 'water'. 

This is my daughter Isla at the local swimming pool. My Dad Julian Brown took the photo (which I have edited), and right after we were asked to leave or put the camera away, as you cant use a camera at the swimming pool (Good grief - or perhaps words a little stronger!)

 SO chuffed we managed this shot.

Project Living Room

I have been slowly working on making my living room space somewhere nicer to be - crocheting and sewing, and today it finally feels like it has come together!!! Here are some pics - not easy to take, as there is sunlight (hurrah!!), and a window - but here is what there is. I am really pleased, and looking forward to snuggling on the sofa crocheting this evening, with some scented candles lit, and maybe even a glass of wine!

Bunting made from a vintage skirt, and the window sill 

Paper flowers,  and a jam jar cosy (my family think I have finally cracked!)

Close-up of vintage fabric bunting, I also used strapping from the Dorset Scrapstore, so a free, fully upcycled project!

Cushion from vintage skirt

Crocheted mega-cushion

 Back of green cushion (again, fabric from the Scrap store!)

 Cushion made using the Attic 24 tutorial

Back of above cushion (made from an old jumper!)

Back of vintage skirt cushion (again, made from an old jumper)

Cushions in a row 

Pin cushion made from vintage tea cup that was given to me, and sits beautifully on the window sill.

I am really pleased - hope you like it!

Also really excited to be guest posting over at Imagine Gnats today. Thanks for having me Rachael :-)

Taggies for sale, plus a giveaway!

You could win this taggy! 
Update: We have a winner! Samantha Prewett, congratulations. 


Everything else is still for sale!

Just pop over to my FB page, share the album, and comment on it, and I will draw this evening.

 Giraffes and ladybird minky 28cmx28cm approx Red and white ribbons

Taggies for sale: (email me to buy)

Robert Kaufman. Yellow spots with tiny elephants reverses to stripey minky. Green and yellow ribbons. 24cm x 20cm approx.

£6 plus postage at cost

Dinosaurs and ladybird Mnky! 30x15cm approx. Ribbons - blue, red, gold.

£6 plus postage at cost

SOLD!

 Stripey Minky, reverses to pink plain. Pink and blue ribbons. 23cmx20cm approx. £6 plus postage at cost

 Red spots, reverses to white with red stars. Blue, Yellow and blue ribbons (Royal and turquoise) 25cmx25cm approx. £4 plus postage at cost

Orange and pink stripes reverses to white with red stars. Pink and white velvet ribbons. 25cmx25cm approx.

£4 plus postage at cost

I hope you like them! I had so much fun making them. I am also happy to make one to order - have lots of fabrics, or you can choose your own from your stash!

Easter Holidays

We were really excited to go to spend the long Easter weekend with my Dad and his partner Rose on a small sheep farm in the Midlands. It is lambing season (well, we actually missed an actual birth by a few days, which was frustrating - but there were 3 baby lambs who needed 'Bottling', which the children took very seriously indeed, and thoroughly enjoyed. I have to admit to taking rather a shine to 'H' - a gorgeous lamb, and wanted to bring him home, but wasn't too keen to bring 'Mrs H' (his Mum) along too!

 The weather was really quite appalling, as you can see from our elegant rain gear - but we were prepared, and didnt let it stop us! We learned how to 'ring' a lambs tail, how to 'ring' a boy lamb sensitive areas, Isla was thrilled to learn that lambs are fed from a Ewes 'bags', and is using the term as often as possible. We learned that sheep herding is relatively easy, and that Lucas' cane works brilliantly. We also had a wet, but good Easter egg hunt, with Lucas using a superb beeping device with tags attached to 6 eggs. We miss my Dad, Rose, and of course our beloved lambs - 'H' 'Number 2' and '17'.

Videos of the children doing 'Farmy' things (Thanks Julian Brown!):

Feeding lambs video

Pony Riding video

Macaroons, bunting, jobs lists and fun!

Fun:
Easter holidays here - so I have very little time to breathe, never mind blog, so I am mostly sharing some pics of what we have been up to :-) We went to one of our favourite places in the world - Moors Valley Country Park. The adventure playground is fabulous, it has steam trains - Lucas almost wet himself because there was a new one, and the place doesnt get so crowded that Lucas goes into meltdown. Plus, we had super weather (now a dim and distant memory)

Macaroons:

The children and I also learned to make Macaroons - and did our first job always - making a print version o of the recipe for Isla, and a Braille version for Lucas. Now, I try hard - cant cook to save my life, and can bake just a wee bit better than that, but oh my goodness - these macaroons are seriously delicious - even Iain ate them :-)

Jobs Lists:

I have also been looking at the children jobs charts - they have certain jobs each, and earn pocket money if they manage to do them. It has to be said that neither child has yet to  have their money refused - so I think its an activity aimed at making me feel in control, rather than anything else, but ho hum - they haven't twigged yet!! Anyway, their lists were tatty, print and brailled jobs stuck on the kitchen doors, and not very interactive, nor easy to change - so I played around with magnetic paint - total waste of time - it just isnt magnetic, so we got a refund, then I decided that magnetic knife holders were the answer (I found one in the bargain bin, and had the other, so they don't match, but its a good start)- and hey presto magnetic, changeable, jobs lists:

I plan to make bag to hang under, so we can add and remove jobs.

Happy to do a tute if needed - but it wasn't rocket science. 

Now just need to convince Iain to hang them for us.

Bunting:

Lucas is a reluctant crafter, and his skills differ so much from Isla's, that to get them to work on a project together is tough - but I have to do something productive with them at least once a day - I find I relax more than just endless hours of the park and pretend play (brave to admit, I do feel a failure about this), but I struck upon a craft today that they both thoroughly enjoyed - easter/spring bunting (not a good pic, but you get the idea!):

Linking up with Stuff I Love's Wednesday Wander: