Dotty Delightful

Introducing Mrs Marmalade and a craft fair invite x

2012-02-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if any of my regular readers know that I am organising a weekend vintage and handcrafted fair in Blackpool 23rd -24th June and I have another blog promoting all the stall holders and anything crafty I may come across, here is a snippet from my other blog:

There is the most wonderful lady sewing away in Blackpool, she makes the most adorable pincushions with kitsch trinkets on top and gorgeous patchwork quilts that make you think of home, her designs are bright, cheerful and unique just like her, as a stallholder and a good friend I asked her about her crafting:

She said "The joy of homemade has always charmed me - reworking vintage loveliness into "new" and finding lost treasures appeals to the Mrs Marmalade in me. Making quilts is a pleasure I have been making baby and dolly quilts for 10 years and just can't stop :O] x!"

Always on the look out for unusual finds she scours charity shops and boot sales looking for interesting pieces to add to her wonderful kitsch collection of trinkets .

She takes pieces of vintage and retro fabric and turns them into the most lovely fun

items for your home, she explains she was a late starter, just a decade of making and a dreadful sewing student at school she is only too happy to sew and make in place of everyday busyness, she is most happiest sewing, creating and reading blogs

If you want to carry on reading pop over and say hello at truly scrumptious fairs blog please x

Alternative healthy living sites to share x

2012-02-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Hello earth lovers, well I thought I would share with you some of the best sites I have found whilst on my journey, my journey into living a more healthy and pure life.

These sites are excellent for the begginer and also for people who want to live a different way. I cannot reccommend this first site enough, sign up to his emails and you will be kept upto date with all the latest health news. Dr Mercola

The next site I use most often is an E numbers site where you can either search the extensive list or put the E number you want to find out about in the search box. Remember not all E numbers are bad, some like E260 which is simply vinegar, when I started on my changing our foods to chemical free I armed myself with a list, on one side was good E numbers and on the other bad E numbers, this side was double spaced there are that many!, I felt pleased with myself and popped to the shops - boy was I in for a shock, it took me over 2 hours reading the labels, I felt despair, thought "we are never going to eat again!", slowly though, I began to remember some of the real nasty ones and it made it easier, now after 3 years or so I can glance at the label and know if its worthy of our bodies or not, sometimes especially when money is tight I go back to that despair feeling but know in my heart the choices Im making for myself and my family are good ones and it spurs me on to do my best. My advice to you is to make a list too (or get in touch and I can send you one) and start off with the ones that are most important to you, if you have children then the page on "keep away from children" would be most suitable as a starting place, focus for now on this when you next go shopping and don't get upset if it seems hard, its just different thats all. I will go into much more detail about food on more posts as I could ramble on for ages! E number site

The last site for you is Skin Deep, this is a great site where you can check your cosmetics, body products, household products etc, it has a simple search box with traffic light coding for each chemical, red for danger, amber for moderate use and green for go ahead, personally I stick to green only.

Lastly, if your new to all this it can be overwhelming, I would pick one area to focus on, each area is massive and the information endless, if you try and do it all at once you will probably get confused and give up. You can do it, you can live a healthier better way one step at a time, and to quote a terrible chemical laden company "your worth it!"

You can also get apps for your iphone now that has a chemical database on it so whilst your out shopping you can check on your products, much easier that when I first started out with a long list!

If you have any questions or want more info on anything relating to my post don't hesitate to ask, I love sharing my knowledge with others x

Corners of my home

2012-01-29T03:02:00.001-08:00

I love having a look at other peoples homes, they intrigue me a lot, so I thought I would share a little peek into my home for easy reading Sunday blogs.

my dreams and yours for 2012

2012-01-25T04:26:00.000-08:00

It's already near the end of January and I really don't know where the time has gone too,it has flown by since Christmas and I'm sure the new years resolutions are becoming a distant memory and you have gone back to the normal routine of life, but wait remember that buzz, that promise of a new year filled with so many dreams and ideas, get that back right now, close your eyes and think of what YOU would like to achieve this year, what are YOUR dreams for the future, harness that amazing buzzy feeling and then get a pen and a piece of paper and write them down, go on I give you permission for 10 Min's of YOU time, put them all out there for the universe to answer them, they can be great and things you may not think you could do in a million years, they could be small, so tiny in fact you may think its silly to write them down, its not, these are YOUR dreams, and YOUR thoughts, so go for it, put whatever comes to mind, be free with your ideas, the more you write the easier it becomes to write more until suddenly you have filled a whole page with your dreams.

I did this last year after I printed off Goddess Leonie's workbook, it was such an inspiration to me, simply by filling it in made me open my eyes and see my true beauty and potential, this year it’s filled with over 100 pages of worksheets & a printable calendar to help you dream, manifest, set your intentions, plan & cultivate your amazing new year. It has help over 3000 ladies worldwide and it helped me too, I am sure it will help YOU along your journey, it will show you your full potential, how all your dreams can manifest by just asking the universe for them to come true.I love the way it has been lovingly handwritten and when you read it, it seems as tough it has been written personally for you.I also love Leonie's rainbow illustrations they make me smile and will make you feel happy. The workbook is perfect for you to print out, soak up the colours of the rainbow and get thoroughly inspired by.

I have lots of dreams for the year ahead, some are already coming true, some I'm sure will come to fruition soon and others may make me wait but I know in my heart that the journey I take getting to each one of them will be an amazing one:

1.I want to learn to swim

2.I want to organise a big craft and vintage fair

3.I want to ride in a hot air balloon

4.I want to plant and grow veg all year round (not have an empty gap after summer)

5.I want to paint more

6.I would love to go on holiday in Cornwall (thanks Clare)

7.I would like to inspire women to create

8.I would like a new pair of jeans that fit me well and make me feel confident

9.I would like to spend more time outside

10.I want to move to Portugal

11.I want a house with land to be self sufficient

12.I want the house to have solar panels and a stream running through the garden

13.I want to have my own craft room like the ones in the back of Mollie makes

14.I want to learn to take better photos

15. I want to go on more day trips with my boys

16. I want to learn Portuguese

17.I want to have a tea party just for the hell of it

18.I am going to give love and joy to as many people as I can

19. I will visit my mother more often

20.I will smile at stranger even if they think I'm crazy

21. I want to go to bed before midnight every night

22. I will be a kinder more gentle mum ( as long as I do number 21!)

23. I will expand my music tastes

24. I want to ride my tricycle on a long journey with a picnic in the basket

25.I will be more productive

26. I will not eat crisp sandwiches at night time as often as I do now

27. I want to decorate the kitchen

28. I will try and do more housework and enjoy it (pulls a face!)

29. I will blog more (yes I know I say it all the time but I mean it :)

30.I want a dog

I could sit here typing for ages but these are just a few of the things I want to achieve, what are yours? I would love it if you could write your own lists and send me the link to them in the comment box below, have a wonderful time writing them and do visit Leonie's page for some amazing free things and for inspiration she truly is a remarkable woman x

my next big thing!

2012-01-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

I have taken the plunge and gone and book one of Blackpool's greatest landmarks The winter gardens for a summer vintage and handmade craft fair!!

its going to be a two day spectacular of crafts, vintage, entertainment and music with craft workshops, a vintage tearoom and lots of handmade goodness.

There will be over a 100 stalls selling the northwest's finest gifts, clothes, toys, accessories, food, art, cards, homewares and much ...more. We are lucky enough to have two performances on the sunday from the very lovely burlesque performer Kitty Koko and I am so hounered to annouce that the amazing Kirsty Almeida will be performing too - how amazing is that.
We shall be having various bands performing over the weekend on the stage and tea and cakes served on vintage china all in the beautiful art deco surroundings of the Pavilion theatre at the Winter Gardens situated in the middle of Blackpool town centre 23rd June 10am - 5pm and 24th June 2012 10pm - 4pm Free entry.

Stalls are still available but going fast £25 for one day or £45 for the full weekend. We can set up from 8am and as it is a secure locked area you can leave your stalls set up overnight if you are doing a full weekend. You will get a table and 2 chairs with extra space around you if you want to bring rails, furniture etc, please let me know in advance of any requirements you have regarding this so I can accommodate you.

There are people coming from all over, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Cumbria, Yorkshire to name a few so if you want to have a stall but don't drive just get in touch Im trying to organise a lift share.

Any questions please feel free to ask, I know this is going to be an awesome event and can't wait to see you there. If you can will you share this link with your friends and followers, if you share it leave me a comment in the comment box on here or send me a message on facebook (Dotty D Lightful) with a link to where you have shared it and you will be entered into a prize draw to win some lovely handmade goodies x
https://www.facebook.com/events/274062292649467/

We braved the elements

2012-01-20T15:04:00.001-08:00

Do you know I have felt trapped and cocooned sine Christmas I have wanted desperately to go somewhere green, see wildlife apart from the local putty picking magpie!, but the weather has been raining windy raining gales windy raining yeah you get the picture, now I appreciate the rain, it's great for the garden and for making things look clean and for filling up reservoirs but it's not so great for days at the park. Well one day it didn't rain, not a drop even the sun popped out to say "look at me hello, yes you hello I haven't left completely" so we got all wrapped up and off we went, it was bloody freezing!!! Chris my youngest loves the park, he was collecting twigs and rotted pine cones, watching squirrels and birds, taking it all in, Adam the older one does not like the park at all, he got chased and pinned up against a tree by a dog once in the park and is not petrified of dogs, his head swishes this way and that on the look out for dogs, I don't want to keep him away from the park in case his fear turns into a full blown phobia but it is frustrating dealing with it. In the end he said he needed a poo, his brother was building a den at this point and didn't want to leave, but of you need the loo then you can't hang around so we left the lovely park and rushed home because he refused to poo in the bushes!! It took me a while after being home that I realised he hadn't been to the toilet, I had been tricked with the threat of a poo, what a tricky mr, I will try and remember for next time the little beast!

New year new art

2012-01-11T17:49:00.001-08:00

I put my sewing machine away on Christmas eve and haven't had it out since, I felt like I have become all sewed out. I have been inspired to draw and paint instead and I'm loving it, each one of these is mixed media on boxed canvas, they are embellished with glitter and gems, I'm hoping to sell them so I can start my saving up account for us to move to Portugal, we're dreaming big this year!! Each one is £30 including postage within UK, I will post abroad so ask me for a quote

We are back and we have become bibliophiles

2012-01-09T09:31:00.000-08:00

Our diary of our no tech week:

Day one:

Its the first day and we are feeling hopeful that this experiment will be a great learning curve for us all, I'm happy and feeling excited about what the day holds for us, the children and I played games and did some art work together, we got a juicer for Christmas so we spent some time juicing up some yummy things from our juice box from Able and Cole, our favourite was apples, carrots and a pinch of cinnamon, very yummy like cake in a glass. I did some housework and made dinner, the boys moaned a bit whilst I was cooking as they said they didn't know what to do with themselves, I suggested things and they went off feeling sorry for themselves that there was no TV to watch, I heard them giggling and playing not long after this so the despair didn't last long!

After we had eaten I read the new country living magazine that had arrived in the post that morning, in front of the fire whilst the boys played lego. Normally I don't read a whole mag in one go, I just browse and come back to parts days later but with no other distractions I could. It felt naughty and luxurious. I felt so tired and could of easily nodded off, I'm actually looking forward to going to bed. Its been odd thinking about checking facebook and Ive wanted to google things but its been nice playing whilst un-distracted, its been strange getting used to not having to do things like checking emails or timing things so not to miss programmes, its been more relaxing and its as though not having these added distractions has enabled me to give myself permission to relax. I think we fill our lives with so much bombardment of visual and mental stimuli that we think it makes our lives easier but its seemed today has been easier not having them around. The other thing I have noticed is how different it is not having background noise of the TV, you can be fully focused on reading etc where as before it only had half my attention.

Night time was a weird one, we didn't really know what to do with ourselves, normally after tea the children and I watch TV or a film, instead we played marbles and read a story. It was very different and the boys got upset they couldn't watch TV. At bedtime I asked them both what they thought of the first day, the older one, Adam, said that he liked it except for the evening bit, but it was better than he expected. Chris (the younger one) said it was rubbish because I didn't play with him all day, he thought that, that's what we would be doing.

Its 10.40 pm, boys asleep, fire blazing, in PJ's, Tom (my fellow) is reading, I'm so ready for bed, normally TV would be on or I would be on my Iphone, I don't miss either right now.

Day two:

Still feel really tired even after an earlyish night, after breakfast we went to the library to choose books for the week, the boys normally say they have no interest in books, much to my horror, I might add being an avid reader myself. But to my surprise they choose some for themselves (there is an upside to this no TV lark!!), I got a stack out as usual, I'm really into reading about bettering your life at the moment and dreaming big, I cant wait to get Goddess Leonie's 2012 goddess workbook.

I also got some cookery books, I got the new river cottage veg book for Christmas and its brilliant but I always check out a couple of cookery books for extra ideas.

We battled the hideous weather, its been so windy and raining everyday lately, cant wait for the spring.when we go it home we was soaked so we got out of our wet clothes and put on our PJ's, something normally reserved for weekends, I'm not quite sure why we insist on being dressed if we are staying in, I'm guessing it something to do with productivity or lack of it in PJ's. We got dinner on and played a chess tournament, then the boys started reading their library books, I even got told off by Chris for disturbing him whilst reading - ha ha brilliant! This I had to stop myself laughing at.

They spent the rest of the day reading in front of the fire. I noticed how we was all yawning loads, maybe because its so relaxing, Chris proudly announced that he had read to page 97 of his book by the time dinner was ready - very proud!

After dinner we played word games and finished off the chess tournament, then we cosied up together and started reading the new book by David Walliams, "Billionaire boy", it was so good and funny we read to chapter 6, with pleas of more from the children.

I asked the boys how they thought day two had gone, they said they had enjoyed it more than day one because they liked us all being together and especially the reading together before bed instead of watching TV. This bit surprised me because I have always read to them every night before bed in their rooms, but I think they liked it that we was all together even my 17 year old sat in and listened!

Today has been lovely, no moans at all, Tom and I have noticed the boys have played together and laughed so much more these past two days.

Day three

The main thing that is starting to wear me down is the children's early mornings, before this they used to get up and go downstairs and watch TV and wait for me to get up, now with no TV to occupy him Chris comes and wakes me up every morning because he says he doesn't know what to do with himself. Adam has always been an early riser but these past few days he has been sleeping in so Chris has been on his own when getting up. We normally stay up pretty late and have been getting to bed earlier, a few minutes after midnight has been the latest but we still feel really tired . We read 10 chapters of billionaire boy after breakfast and got ready for home school club, I co-run it with my friend who is also a homeschooling mum so we get there early to set up, unfortunately for the boys only toddlers and young girls came, it was unusually quiet so they ended up playing together for the afternoon, after that we went food shopping and then came home, whilst I was making tea the boys read again, we sent the evening chatting and reading. After the boys went to bed I gave in and went on my phone to check my emails, I'm glad I did as I had an important work email, but its made me worry now in case I'm missing another work related thing, so its me who has broken the rules first, its made me feel a bit bad really, its not that I'm addicted, if I was on holiday for a week and I didn't have net access it wouldn't bother me the same as I would be doing other things but at home its weird. I know I have things I can do with my time but Ive craved the Internet, maybe I am addicted, maybe we all are and just don't realise it, its become so normal into our existence, without it who are we?

Going to bed feeling strange, it has made me think about things today.

Day four

Today I feel depressed, I don't quite know what to do with myself, I'm tired and feel stressed. I feel like I need time on my own, which is a hard ask when you home school!, I spent the morning in my PJ's, reading to the boys, I baked a cake from the Alys Fowler book I borrowed from the library, it was yummy, recipe to follow in a blog post soon. The boys read, moaned, argued with each other, I was having a bad day, I kept crying and feeling pretty rubbish, I have had a nasty cold, in fact we have all had it at one time or another these past few weeks, so maybe that's got something to do with my mood.

By late afternoon I had a chat with Tom about it all and I asked what he thought about finishing the experiment early, he thought we should carry on but wouldn't be too bothered if we finished early (maybe this had something to do with a football match on TV on sat). I felt as though I had let the whole family down and especially because I was the one who was spouting all this positivity at the beginning of the week to the children.

I moved the furniture back to normal so the tv wasn't blocked by the couch anymore, I out it there as a visual barrier at the beginning of the week. I called the boys down and told them how I was feeling and that we could watch a film on TV, they jumped up and down yelling with excitement, we sat down under duvets to watch a film, it was nice., I fell asleep for a little while. After tea we read again and then I put the boys to bed.

I spent the evening catching up with missed documentaries and travel programmes, I knitted a bit too.

Didn't go to bed till 2.30, realised its the TV that keeps me up till good knows what time, need to learn to switch it off.

Day five

Today is Saturday, I told the boys last night they could go on their xboxes this morning, I slept in till 9.30 and it was nice. We had a lazy morning and I felt free and happy, maybe it was the rest, maybe it was the thought of not having to find things to fill every hour, Tom got settled to watch football and I read for a little while, I re-installed facebook and twitter on my Iphone as I had deleted them on Monday night because I knew I would be too tempted to go on them otherwise, self restraint + me = none!

I expected to be wowed by what I had missed on Fb but it was a damp squib really, nothing of great interest apart from my lovely friend Mrs M who always posts lovely links.

Twitter wasn't much better either. I do like reading other peoples blogs and find some things pretty interesting, I love having google available to me to fill me in on parts of knowledge I lack, the social aspect is great too, you never feel alone with these social networks at the touch of a button but all in all I think we only imagine its amazingness when we are out of the loop, now I'm back in it it doesn't seem that special.

I went to town to see my gorgeous fairy friend Alex from the secret garden, she make all my days bright, her shop is filled with love, light and wondrous smells, she centres me and makes my dreams feel like they can come true just by being in her shop. I took my paintings I did earlier in the week to her so she can sell them hopefully to a lovely customer.

I felt fresh and alive in the crisp air and even though town was quite busy I enjoyed being out and seeing other people, I love to people watch, I look at their clothes, I look at their faces and sometimes imagine what lives they lead, what there names are and who they belong too.

I went home and the boys were still on their xboxes so I told them to have a break, Chris was really grumpy for the rest of the day, he kept trying to argue with Adam and was cheeky to me, I don't know if its just coincidence or if it is because he was on his xbox or not but his attitude has changed today.

We carried on the reading together before bed and the boys said they was glad to be back online but they thought we should have a couple of days in the week where we switch off completely, Adam said we can't schedule life and I tend to agree with him, I do agree we need to switch off more. Instead of relying on electronics to fill the voids in the day, we should think more constructively.

Tom and I spent the night talking about our future and how the week has gone, where we would like to live and how the homeschooling should happen.

Conclusion:

I have very little willpower

The boys seemed nicer to each other away from electronics

We all read more without other things to distract us

I'm not as 1940's housewife as I thought

We didn't talk more, we just read more

Chris thought it was a happy week

Adam thought it was peaceful but he missed electric a lot

Time seemed not to matter

No work got done!

It was an interesting thing to do but I wouldn't like to have no TV at all, I think that it has got it place in our lives, the boys learn quite a bit off channels like discovery and military history, I love watching crime programmes and girly stuff like desperate housewives (last series ever started on Sunday). Sadly I felt relieved when the ban was lifted, perhaps that's my rebellious side coming out. I thought I was made of sterner stuff!!

I would love to know if any of you lovely readers have done anything similar or if you have no TV how do you find it, what do you do to pass the time?

The experiment

2012-01-02T04:33:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow we have decided to start a week long experiment of no tv, games consoles, computers etc, we will have music and keep our phones on. After talking we have come to the conclusion that the children's imaginations have been taken over by a virtual world, in fact the grown up minds have been taken over too, I know we don't live in the 70s and to some families this seems like a weird thing to do or maybe it's normal to you to have no tv etc but this is just an experiment for our family to see if at the end of it we have been more productive ( how many hours do I waste on the net!! ), we have become closer as a family ( how often are we in different rooms doing separate things ), how will it affect the boys interactions with each other (they get moody after being on the Xbox ), will long time household jobs be finally finished, or will we be like electricity addicts desperate for a fix? I really can't say, I wonder who it will affect the most, on reflection before this begins I think it could be me, I have become quite reliant on my iPhone, always being an arms reach away just to check Facebook/twitter/emails etc I could make the excuse up that I need to be connected for networking for work but I'm sure 1 week won't hurt - will it, argh panic is setting in!!! Breath woman it wil be ok!, I will be back in one whole week to let you all know how it's gone and whether we have learned anything, wish me luck xxx

Jan 1st

2011-12-31T17:05:00.001-08:00

My first blog post of 2012, can you believe it's a new year already, I'm so excited about all of the exciting things that are going to happen this year, I feel it inside it's going to be a good one. My newest makes ( made yesterday ) are these 2 canvases, the one with the red hair is called "Bella, the butterfly princess", the one with the blond hair is called "Pippa the natural beauty". Both are on box canvas, mixed media with glitter and faux gem embellishments. £26.00 each including postage to U.K., I really enjoyed drawing and creating these, I can't wait to make some more, hope you all have a wonderful new years day x

New Years eve

2011-12-31T13:01:00.000-08:00

I know I've not been blogging for ages and I am sorry dear readers I have missed you all but have been so very busy organising and participating in craft fairs, things have gone crazy in December, I think at last count I have done around 10 fairs in December and then as I see everything myself each time I had a really good fair and sold lots I had to get back to the sewing machine and make more stock, I have become more popular and well known thanks to these fairs, Facebook and twitter, it is an exciting but super busy time, we had a lovely Christmas we went to the in laws on Christmas eve and spent Christmas day at home enjoying the children's presents and watching Christmas tv. We went to my mums on boxing day and then into town for the sales so the boys could spend their vouchers and Christmas money from relatives. On the Tuesday we had a dear old family friend round who is 73 and played the wii with such energy, we had a brilliant day with him and enjoyed an Able and Cole organic roast chicken dinner, Mmmm delicious. On Wednesday I came down with a bad cold and have been laid up ever since, tonight for new years eve I shall be snuggling and snotting all over my lovely fellow watching UFC, not glamorous but just how we like it. Never been one for a big new years do, anyway I hope you all have a lovely time whatever you may be doing, hope you all had a wonderful 2011 as I did, and let's look forward to an amazing 2012, I'm sure it's going to be a really great one and I will try my best to upload photos as soon as I can get a new monitor for the computer, I can't upload them off my iPhone x

crafty catch up

2011-11-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

Been super busy crafting, homeschooling, trying to keep warm and sleeping lately, each day whizzes by and before you know it it's bedtime again, I have tons of fairs coming up over the next few weeks so have been neglecting my blogs, so sorry readers for that normal service shall resume soon!,

This week we did a photoshoot for our local newspaper, its for ladies pamper night on 15th December in Blackpool at Cafe Dolce on Abingdon street, 7pm - 9pm if you live locally and dare brave the seaside weather pop down, the lady on the left, Anne does angel (oracle) cards and readings, me in the middle will be selling my sewn items and Fran the one on the right does amazing vintage clothes, there will be other stalls too and lots of cake :)

Hope to see you there xx

Super Duper fair

2011-11-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I attended as a stall holder Blackpool's Super duper fair, it was awesome, 60 stalls all selling lovely handmade items and gifts, there were so truly talented folks around

Here I am making a finger puppet for the children of watamu with Aunty socials pop up workshop

some lovely photos of my things by Mrs marmalade who sells gorgeous peg doll fairys, check out her folksy page, I met her at a fair in the summer and she is one of those ladies who I have been lucky enough to meet that makes me smile and is a truly lovely person.

I also met a lady who has the soapure website (great name isn't it), she hand makes soaps and lots of other lovely smelling things for your body and bath, all her products are totally chemical free and pure, I bought some things of her for presents but can't say what they are in case family members sneek a peek!, all I can say is the smell heavenly.

I finally got to meet cool crafting, if you haven't heard of them before they run crafty workshops and make lovely sewn items, I got some great buttons and ribbon of them.

what has been going on?

2011-11-04T04:58:00.000-07:00

twas Halloween and all the zombies came out to play, well actually it was just me going to our home school party, I was the only adult who had gone the whole hog and each time I smiled and talked to small children I forgot I had this look so was surprised they didn't like me!, the children had fun though, well other people's children that is, my boys wouldn't wear there costumes and didn't take part in any games, it's an awkward age being 12 and 14, our group is full of small ones and then a big gap until my two, sometimes other older boys come and they have a good time. We are trying to organise some inside activities seen as though the colder weather is upon us, in the summer everyone played outside the building as it leads straight onto the park which was great. We are slowly building up a bigger group now which is good, I did take photos of the day but I have lost my camera lead so unfortunately can't share them .

We got two new chickens this week, they are lovely girls, we have called them Alice and Dorothy, they will start to lay in about a month and are black tails, they cry a lot and haven't got the hang of going to bed yet at night but are very loving and lovely to watch. We are going to extend the chicken enclosure to stop them digging up my veg patch - naughty girls!! Photo's to follow soon.

I am also preparing for 5 craft fairs - 5 all in the space of 2 months, it's crazy but I'm sure I will enjoy them. I have had a burrow feeling lately where I have lit the coal fire and got snugly under a blanket to watch TV, I normally knit or sew but haven't felt like it even though I have all these fairs to sew for. I'm feeling like it's a time for reading and feasting and snuggling under the duvet, though there is no chance of that with the new chickens at the moment.

Hope your all keeping warm x

All about teeth

2011-11-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

Today a friend said how she was suffering with toothache on facebook, I commented and told her about some natural things to do, my comment sparked a lot of interest so I have done a page on my shops blog (where I write about natural health) to send to people if they ask for info, I thought I would share my thoughts on here aswell in case my lovely readers don't know any of this stuff either, feel free to comment and ask questions x

Having suffered myself with tooth problems and researched about alternatives to the dentists chair, I have found some great sites with helpful info that actually works. I have tried remedies from these sites on natural healing and oil pulling and I will tell you - THEY WORK!. Hop over and have a look at them:http://www.healingteethnaturally.com/ and http://www.oilpulling.com/index.htm

Have you heard of the effects of fluoride on your health?, we are led to believe fluoride is good for our teeth, many famous toothpaste brands boast about how great it is, how it is essential for children's teeth, all those posters in the dentist about why you need it blah blah. I'm afraid it is not true at all, if you haven't heard be ready for a shock - fluoride is very bad, it can cause brain damage, affects your thyroid, kidney damage, leads to bone disease plus a lot more. Children are especially vulnerable as they are still developing and fluoride can lead to fluorosis.

I use Sarakan a natural toothpaste with no fluoride or and other chemicals in it. It may surprise you to know what is in your toothpaste and what you put into your mouth twice a day, everyday all your life.

Take one leading toothpaste brand and look at the ingredients, in no particular order of awfulness - sweeteners - are used to alter the taste of a product, sweeteners used in this toothpaste are sodium saccharin and sorbitol. Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sugar - hang on are we not meant to be cleaning teeth?, sorbitol can cause irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - one of the main effects of sodium lauryl sulfate is to mimic the activity of the hormone Oestrogen. This has many health implications and may be responsible for a variety of health problems from PMS and Menopausal symptoms to dropping male fertility and increasing female cancers such as breast cancer, where oestrogen levels are known to be involved. There also have thickeners, binders, colours and preservatives in them. All in all not something I would be happy or letting my children put into their bodies.

There are natural alternatives to toothpaste too like bicarb and peppermint oil or miswak sticks .

and now he is 14....

2011-10-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

An open letter to my lovely middle boy,

your clever, tidy, very artistic, sensible and adore your xbox 360 like there is nothing else in existence,

your helpful and a good listener, how did you become 14 already?

I remember those long days of endless crying as a baby when nothing was wrong, your lovely smile and full cheeks, your gorgeous blond curls and then as you grew you turned into a most lovely boy, always great at school, full of life, loved sports and had lots of friends. Your now nearly grown up (as you tell me) and push the boundaries sometimes as teens do but I wouldn't change a single thing about you my lovely, I'm so glad you enjoyed your birthday, we had lots of fun bowling and ate the most delish bolagnaise. I still can't believe your 14! Crazy how time goes so fast, I hope you enjoy the next 14 as you have done the last, here's to you my sweet, love mum xx

Running with scissors, what a book!

2011-10-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

I LOVE READING, I don't mention how much I read on here really and I don't know why, the thing is, I get a book and in two days I have read it and move onto the next, I am an author groupie who devours every book every written by a good author. I love crime, horror, true life and factual books, I used to read loads of chick lits when I was single but they don't appeal anymore. I love Richard Laymon and have read all of his work, unfortunately he died so I can't get hold of anymore. I loved in a weird way the Dave Pelzer series of true life books even though his story was a harrowing one it was also a story of a courageous and inspiring man. I'm always on the look out for a new book, I choose books by whether the cover grabs my attention, then I read the first page to see if the style of writing gets my attention and makes me want to read more. I don't read the blurb on the back, I don't like to read the critics reviews either because what appeals to one may not appeal to another, actually that's why I probably haven't posted on here about the books I read because I'm not sure about recommending them to others but the other day I read running with scissors, what an interesting, twisted childhood Augusten (the author) had, it made me laugh out loud, it made me squirm, it made me think hard about life and the way different people live and think it's normal (or not). It is a memoir but written in a story like way, there are some rather strange bits in like the Dr who thinks his turds are messages from god and the dysfunction house where patients live with their shrink and his children but overall it makes a brilliant read, I did have to keep reminding myself this was someones actual life, it seems like a story you would dream up only with the help of good drugs. If I'm aloud to recommend a book then it's this one. I got so engrossed in Augusten's life I needed more so when I asked at the library whether he had written any more books I was overjoyed to find he had and I promptly checked out his next memoir

"Dry", I'm only a few pages in and can't wait for bed time to read more. Whist looking up info about him I also realised he is rather hot!!

What are you reading?

Saturday blah blah fed up

2011-10-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday, a day where normally I feel great at the prospect of a lovely day doing something good, my fellow is either at or watching football, my boys spend time on there xboxes and I normally watch catch up TV and sew or knit in peace. Today though, after a real crappy week with the teenager I felt fed up, I know I'm so lucky to have such a great partner and children, I love all the things I have, I love the way I can do as I please when I want, not being restricted to school times/job times etc, I am thankful, don't get me wrong, I know this but sometimes I feel fed up. I have been crying a lot lately, at songs, at memories, at anything really. I have felt pretty up and down, I am realising something that I didn't think would affect me at all, my boys are getting older and they don't need me as much anymore, I am not their whole world, the things I say are not magical and wonderful, I know all mum's must go through this but that doesn't make it any easier. I'm glad that they are beginning a new chapter in their lives and am looking forward to them achieving their hopes and dreams, but it's hard, it really is. I have borrowed books from the library on dealing/coping with teenagers and they have loads of info about what to do if your teen takes drugs/sleeps around/wears inappropriate clothing etc, none of which apply to us and our teens, none describe the transition between childhood and teen years, the struggle each day to understand each others view points, the battle in simple tasks, where once this child of yours was helpful and keen even to do things has turned into someone very different. Your boundaries change, their boundaries change, ideas that were once fun and looked forward too have become "boring" and "rubbish", I feel guilty each day, as parents guilt is a thing which crops up again and again, these things are not mentioned in any books or on forums etc, I wonder why, is it because the truth is hard to swallow?, is it because it is just me who feels this way and is secretly a nut case? I don't know, I don't have any answers - that maybe another reason it is not mentioned because there is no answer it's all about biding our time until the teenage years have passed. I find it difficult too being a home school mum and worrying about there future and what will happen with them although I'm guessing every parent whether they home school or not wonders this. So sat at the computer this morning, well it was lunch time actually after the time had vanished too quickly again, I thought about what would cheer me up and drag me out of this darkness that I wish would go away, the answer of course was baking (and eating them afterwards of course) so I made some bread which has collapsed in the middle again-why?, some mixed spice biscuits from the grannies cookery book and some carrot cakes from my own recipe, all dairy and gluten free, whist listening to Adele and singing loudly. I feel slightly happier now and am going to spend the rest of the day sewing I think.

I have 2 fairs coming up so need to get cracking at making some more lavender rabbits and I'm working on pinny's with appliqued teapots and cupcakes on, also the Christmas gift making is looming again, can you believe it is nearly that time again?!

I heard this song on the radio and fell in love, I really want this album now, have a lovely weekend whatever your up too x

A to Z of me

2011-10-12T16:04:00.000-07:00

Saw this on Polly's blog and it looked like fun, I love to fill in questionaires, have a go at filling it in on your blog, leave me a comment with your blog link so I can have a nosey x

A: Age - 35 Ekkk!

B: bed size -double, full of homemade cushions and blankets

C: Chore that you hate - washing cutelry

D: Dogs - I had a collie dog when I was small but am waiting for a bigger house to get an airedale terrier and a french bulldog - although the mr thinks they are ugly

E: Essential start to the day - cup of clipper decaf tea and breakfast

F: Favourite colour - it varies but either green, pink or purple

H: Height - 5'2"

I: Instrument you play - little bit of drums but not for years

J: Job - full time mum/homeschool teacher/sewing crafts artist

K: Kids -three boys

L: Live - Blackpool

M: Mother's name - Eileen

N: Nickname - runty

O: Overnight hospital stays - 2 as a child, tonsils and appendix, 3 as an adult - all babies born in hospital

P: Pet peeves -littering, dog poo and people who stare rudely because of the way me and my boys look

Q: Quote from a film - " But the worst thing I ever done - I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, t-t-then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa - and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life" Chunk in the goonies - best film of all time

R: Right or Left handed - right

S: Siblings - 2 sisters, I'm the youngest

T: Time you wake up - usually around 8am

U: Underware -depends on the occasion ;)

V: Vegetable you hate - parsnips

W: What makes you late - my children

X: X rays- foot, teeth

Y: Yummy food that you make -cakes, pies, stir fry, curry in fact loads of lovely food!

Z: Zoo Animal - elephant

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date.....

2011-10-10T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ever since being a little girl and my sister took me on the Alice in wonderland ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and reading the book I have been madly in love with everything Alice (by the way that's the name of a craft book I really desire!) I used the graphics fairy site to get some pictures and printed them off, I used paint and glitter glue plus some decoupage I already had to make these canvases, I adore them, I had so much fun making them, I want to do more themes like Red riding hood and maybe Hansel and Gretal.

Another blast from my childhood, a school friend posted this on Facebook, our class in the first year of primary school, I loved it! I'm the one second from the end on the right, second row down. I always wore pinafores and roll neck jumpers and red tights, the school uniform was brown and yellow and not compulsory (thank goodness), it's so funny how I can remember the other children's names from 30 years ago!

It reminded me of such innocence and carefree childhood, I enjoyed primary and junior school until I was about 10, after that bullies took over and I didn't like it one bit. It makes me think how different children are now, not all children obviously, but some are so far advanced in the way they behave and what they know, it is a real shame that they seem to have grown up so quickly and can never get that innocence back. Children in our area dress like little tarts and the parents are the ones to blame, sexulising 5 year olds by buying them clothes and shoes which are far too old for them in the design and look. I may sound like an old granny whinging on about it but it saddens me.

On a lighter note I'm really looking forward to the Christmas fair I'm organising, I'm hoping it will be as great as the last one, if not better, I can almost smell the gingerbread and cinnamon now Mmmm. I found a lovely recipe at this ladies blog for cinnamon muffins which I can't wait to make tomorrow, the look so yummy, I would make them now but my chickens got a fright the other day when next door's dog broke through the fence and scared them which has stopped them laying so I'm out of eggs, have a lovely week whatever your doing x

Autumn already! a monthly catch up

2011-10-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Another month passes by so quickly, its been one filled with ups and downs, my friend miscarried her baby which was awful, I did what I could to help look after her boys but there isn't much really to be done in these situations but just be there as a friend. We enjoyed some beautiful weather which cheered everyone up and had a home school sports day in the heat, the children really enjoyed it and we got 3 new families coming too which is brilliant. My mum moved from a flat quite far away to one very near by, we helped her move as she had an accident about a year ago where she broke her thigh bone, hip and shattered her knee so she has a frame now and hasn't been out since except in taxis. I'm hoping now she is around the corner I can encourage her to get out and build up her confidence again.

My best news for the month has been this - following me entering the supportive business mums competition (ta if you voted for me), the lady that was running it emailed me and asked me to make a cushion and rabbit to go with her romance novels, she exhibits around the country and helps small businesses by including there wares in her books and promoting them. I was so happy to be asked, the brief was to make them fit in with the colours and heart scheme of the books. It was quite strange for me at first as I normally work in other colours but enjoyed the challenge

I'm pleased with how they have turned out, Ces said she loves them and will be exhibiting them at the networking mummies exhibition in Bournemouth on the 5th October

Click here to download your free copy of Taste the light direction, an introduction two chapters to the romance series. You can also enter giveaways on it to win a holiday and jewellery and other great prizes.

Please vote for me xxxx

2011-09-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

hello all my lovely readers, I entered a competition at Supportive Business Mums to win £750 worth of design and print from Supportive Business Mums (Design sponsored by Biz Brand Buzz and Creatively Minded – Print sponsored by Dorset Digital Print).I have been lucky enough to be shortlisted into the top 10!, Can you imagine my delight, I feel so wonderful knowing that out of all who entered Im in the top ten!, Well I need to ask you a favour, in order to win I need to get the most votes so if you have a minute could you please pop over to vote, you can also read my interview and read the other 9 lucky contestants interviews too if you like.

vote here please

I want to say a massive thank you to Ces Loftus who has organised all this and who has done a cracking job on all the interviews x

what I wore, burnside nurserys

2011-08-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

The other day was my lovely fellows birthday, he wanted to get an ornament for his fish tank so off we went on our bus ride to an aquarium he had found on the net, this is me with a silly look on my face because me youngest two was making me laugh whilst trying to be serious having my photo taken, I'm dressed in cardie and velvet scarf from charity shops, the vests from a shop in town and I made the skirt and underskirt, my floral doc martins are off ebay, arm cuff also made by me.

well to my surprise the aquarium was situated at the back of a garden nursery which had an amazing craft section, I was in my element especially when I saw a most coveted cricut, I couldn't believe it wasn't that far away from our house and I had never been before.

Just look at the precious books, I love the covering, it reminds me of my room as a child

you know I love chickens and this tea cosy was awesome, they also had cats, pigs and houses, I may borrow this idea and make myself one as soon as I get some time too

look at this display, ohhs and arghhs a plenty coming from my lips I tell you, all sorts of lovelies for the kitchen, there was also a cafe area and lots of plants, gift section and an outdoor area with gnomes etc for the garden. We had a lovely time browsing but alas my fellow didn't find a suitable ornament. So we decided to go and get some more chickens, these are quite far away and we would have to get 2 more buses, it was OK as we had an all day ticket but we then got on the wrong bus (my fault) and ended up further away, we waited for ages for the next bus only to realise the stop was out of action because of road works, so we went to the nearest in service stop and just missed the bus!, by this time it was too late to get chicken so we went home, the boys whinged and argued all the way how bored they were and how its so boring looking at craft things/garden centers/blah blah. Not a good ending to a promising start after all!

Back to school

2011-08-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

As you are aware if your a regular reader I'm a home school mum and its that time of year again when I see other mums rushing around the shops, spending crazy amounts on prison uniforms, oops I mean school uniforms, the little darlings in tow demanding new bags/shoes/pencil cases etc all because they have been off school 6 weeks, I find it crazy that the shoes they had in July can't be worn in September because its a new school year, fair enough if they don't fit but really it's madness, a friend of mine told me the other day how much money she had spent on school blazers - oh my god, that's a weeks food shopping in our house! The radio presenter they other morning declared how happy and relieved all the mums and dads will be because its time for the children to go back to school so the parents can have some peace - erm excuse me but who decided to bring these children into the world - yep mums and dads, can they not cope with Jack or Lucy being at home more than a few weeks?, the other thing that astounds me is parents at the beginning of the holidays complaining " I don't know what I'm going to do with them for SIX WHOLE WEEKS! I am not against good schools in anyway at all, I'm not against parents who choose to send the darlings off to school (I was one of those parents a few years ago) but now I have stepped outside the school norm and I'm on the outside looking in so to speak I can see the craziness of it all.
We miss out on all this so whilst in town the other day we saw all the back to school stationary aisle, my youngest thought it was all so great having a whole aisle of things for drawing that's not usually there, he really liked a robot pencil set and I told him about the whole going back to school thing, he was amazed by it, so I said he could choose a not going back set for a treat, he was delighted at this and promptly chose the robot set, I was pretty amazed myself that for less than £2 he was over the moon at something so simple and something most children expect at this time of year. He was rather proud and showed his brothers when we got home, maybe there is something to be said for the madness after all!
A couple of great sites I use all the time for worksheets are:
http://www.math-drills.com/
http://bogglesworldesl.com/creativewriting.htm
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/index.htm

I love crafty talent!

2011-08-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

I was having a look at poppytalkhandmade and swooning over theses gorgeous items, I love the original designs and how cute they are

especially this I heart nerds design, it is so awesome it makes me want to go back to college just so I have a valid excuse to buy it!, Not that I need one really, have a look at the designers website too, its such fun. On poppytalk handmade they say "Welcome to the World of Kukubee. We create adorable (and sometimes creepy!) zipper pouches, bags, purses and notebooks with our original artwork. We are inspired by all things cute and slightly odd!" I agree they are adorable!

Also on the same online market I found Katy Endle,
she has really bright fun designs which made me happy when I saw them
this turtle magnet is so lovely, I imagine him made up into a toy, it would look fabby and I adore this owl (I love owls ya know!) its an original artwork piece but I think it would also make a lovely cushion design

I am always in awe of how creative we all are and how different too, that's what makes us all so special. I had a meeting the other night with Aunti Social and there is so many crafty things coming up over the next few months, it's rather really great because its something Blackpool is missing, I can't wait to do felt making, it's something I have always wanted to have a go at. What do you think of my new header and background?, Ive been wanting a change, they do say a change is as good as a rest, talking of that I'm off to bed now, I'm shattered, night all x