Booooo :(

My sewing machine is on strike. I'm not quite sure what happened but it won't sew more than 3-4 stitches before tangling itself up into horrendous knots and snapping the thread several times :(

I'm hoping my sewing saviour will visit soon and have a quick look for me (please mum?)

In the meantime I am amusing myself by sewing any large scraps into hexagons for a quilt. Small scraps are turning into diamonds for quilting and teeny tiny leftovers are popped into an envelope for cutting and sticking with the children. 

I've just been offered a very sweet toddler quilt cover by a dear friend. It has the cutest hedgehog print on it! I need my machine back. Stat!

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Blue Floral Hats

My first two creations are complete.

A sweet but slightly tricky sunhat for DD2 was my first try. I found the pattern  and tutorial for free at Oliver and S

My second pattern was this super cute and super simple flower hat. There's no printable pattern for this one just a guide on making the single pattern piece you need.  I made this one for DD1.

However both decided they liked the hats the other way around and swapped them. I've been calling them by their wrong names all day based on their hats.

What's the chances they swap back tomorrow? Just as I've figured out who is who? 

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Happy post - Fabulous Frugal Finds

I've been visiting some of my favourite charity shops this afternoon. It's just been far to nice a day to stay indoors. There were some fab bargains to be found.

First I found 2x double bed sheets in this pretty blue flowers print for £1. 

I'm hoping to sew the girls some summer dresses and sun hats over the weekend. 

Next I found Gman a Ralph Lauren jumper for £1. I think he'll look really smart in forest green.

Pound world had this TinTin boxset on  their DVD shelf. All  21 of his cartoon  adventures in one collection. I'm hoping the children will enjoy watching them, they could be just the thing to calm down hectic afternoons over half term.

And last but not least I found an Armani button up shirt for £1.50. I wanted an oversize shirt

 to wear as a light cover up from the sun, so I was delighted to find this. 

I'm guessing the shop volunteers didn't recognise the name or weren't paying attention. 

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Nettle and cheese quiche

When we cleared out the side garden a few weeks ago, we discovered a patch of stinging nettles growing in one corner.

It was all cut back at the time, but has quickly started popping back up again.

Knowing they were young leaves and uncontaminated with any weedkillers etc I decided to be a bit daring and try cooking with them.

I made the quiche in the usual way. The Nettles were blanched in boiling water for a few minutes, then stared at suspiciously for a few more before I was brave enough to touch them. 

Now the question is are we brave enough to try the quiche.....

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Baked Bean Lasagna

I've been trying a few new recipes from a frugal cooking group on facebook. Tonight's experiment was a complete success with clean plates all round.

It's one of of those great recipes that you can tweak to fit whatever is hanging about in the cupboard or lurking in the fridge.

Let me know if you try it, I'd love to hear what you think.

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A morning in my sunny kitchen

It's been a beautiful day outside. My washing line is full of bed linen drying in the sunshine. I've been in the kitchen making my first preserves of the year. Several jars of Elderberry cordial. I don't usually make as much as this but a few friends have asked me for some in exchange for home baked goodies. No way am I turning down the chance of free cake!

I also whipped up a batch of cheese scones. Some will be for tea this afternoon, the rest for breakfast and afternoon snacks. 

I wonder if my posh playground friend will want the recipe for 'focaccine al formaggio'.

Cheese scone sounds rather sexy in Italian, who knew?!

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Happy 2nd Birthday

My happy little Prince turned 2 on Sunday.

We celebrated with a Gruffalo hunt at Moors Valley Country Park. 

He spent the day scrambling through woodland, climbing tree stumps, being extremely noisy and eating way more cake then I'm going to admit to on the Internet. 

Happy Birthday Gman!

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Silk Painting

I bought two packets of Gutta printed silks an age ago. As we are in super money saving mode it's time to dig out all the stashed goodies.

We used thick felt tip pens rather than paints. DD2 enjoyed watching them spread across the silk as she drew the lines.

DD1 enjoyed making her picture colour coordinate. It was a nice low mess craft that kept them both interested for a fair while. 

Each pack includes 3 silk designs and 3 cards and envelopes. I'm looking forward to making the others in the next few days and then sending them out to family and friends.

98p well spent I think.

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Tarte Aux Murés for Mrs Bucket

There's a mummy in our playground we call Mrs Bucket. I'm sure you've heard of Hyacinth Bucket played by the lovely Patricia Routledge.

This is the sort of mummy who doesn't ever buy a loaf of bread only artisan sourdough loaves will do!

So this morning when she was telling us about a new fancy patisserie she was dying to try, I casually mentioned I was going home to bake some Tarte Aux Murés. 

She of course loved the sound of that and begged for the recipe which I have written out ready to take with me at pick up time. 

 I wonder how far she'll get before she realises she's just making jam tarts.

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Entertaining children on the cheap.

Now that the girls have reached competition level with they twirling group things have gotten expensive. Which means we need to tighten the purse strings a little more, because you CAN'T possibly twirl without a sequin covered leotard, and this mummy likes to spoil her princesses.

Our afternoon entertainment budget is now practically zero.

Tonight's family time craft is sewing based. I've saved the polystyrene bases from two aldi pizzas and found some chunky needles in the craft box. With a handful of wool scraps from my knitting stash to use as sewing thread. 

I can't wait to see what the girls can come up with.

Tomorrow we will hopefully be in the garden. I picked up 3x Tomato growing kits this morning for 10p each. 

Once I've added a few storybooks with a plant growing theme and some stickers to decorate the pots, we have the makings of a plant themed day.

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How does your garden grow?

We're trying out a new weekday schedule this week. Part of this setting aside an hour each afternoon after school for family time. 

It also coincides with our other task of the month which is "use it up!". I have far to many things stashed away for 'later'.

Today we played a few games of How does your garden grow. It's a sweet and simple game that teaches basic addition and subtraction. The girls enjoyed building their flower gardens and Gman was in charge of handing out the caterpillars. 

It's compact size would make it great to take on holidays and long journeys. It would also suit both loud and quiet enviournments as communication isn't essential to play. 

 Our copy is firmly in the keep pile. 

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