Thursday's Inspiration - Pastels

I've been adoring pastels recently!

It could be because the lovely, summery weather is so intoxicating, but they are gorgeous!

(Hence my lovely new, pastel mint pumps!)

Staying round my parent's house today and doing a bit of rummaging, I've come across some fantastic, old pieces from my own childhood. 

The wonderful pastel colours that are inspiring me at the moment, present throughout these pieces.

I love how the traditional, soft colours of childhood are those same, uplifting colours of summer!

I even remember reading this book as a child at night, when it must have been summer, because I can remember my parents being out in the garden whilst I was supposed to be sleeping.

And I'm not sure why, but I remember "Who Killed Cock Robbin" as being my favourite!

A bit worrying, looking back, but I remember always reading it, and being quite chuffed with myself because it was one of the longest nursery rhymes in the book!

:)

A beautiful combination of the joys of childhood and the joys of summer!

Perfect inspiration!

x

Being A Mum - 10 Things I Wouldn't Be Without

This Saturday the 24th May, I will be a mum to a 6 month old!

How on earth 6 months have zoomed by I'll never know,

but one thing's for sure, I don't know how I would have done it without these things!

1 ~ A dummy

I know that some mums are pro dummies and some are completely against them, but Finn found it such a comfort when he was little and trying to sleep, and now it helps him while he's going through teething his first tooth through (a dummy fresh from the fridge is a god send!).

2 ~ A Gro Egg

From the very first night we were paranoid about the temperature of our house without central heating and little Finn being warm enough. This was definitely an investment! And it came with lots of advice about how many blankets to use with ranging temperatures, and it makes a lovely little night light too!

Grobag Egg room thermometer

3 ~ A light weight blanket

 On the same subject as keeping your little one at the right temperature during the night, a thin, non-woolly blanket has been a definite must-have! Knowing that he's not going to over heat with a think blanket is great peace of mind when you need all the sleep you can get!

4 ~ Fairy lights

It sounds silly, but he's totally amazed by them. He loved staring at them when he was tiny and now seems totally mesmerised by them! 

5 ~ Fun baby clothes

Again, something quite silly when you think about it. Surely all baby clothes are cute and fun. But when he's managed to mess up a clean baby grow and vest within 5 seconds of you struggling with flying arms and legs to get him into it, it's less of a 'job' when you're then putting him into a super cute Tigger onesie!

6 ~ Muslin cloths

I think all mums would be with me on this one. Muslin cloths are your hero! They save the day with anything - dribbles, vomit, messy eaters, teething aids, a cool cloth in the summer... the list goes on!

7 ~ A clothes rail

We don't have a tumble drier, and one human has never needed so many clothes washing each and every day! 

8 ~ My phone

As much as I hate being ruled by the technology world, if I didn't have my phone when I became a mum, I'd have been a little lost. Being able to hop onto the Internet whenever a doubt or question popped into my head was a massive reassurance that all was well! 

And of course being able to take photos of the super cute things he does without having to hunt out my camera is a plus.

:)

9 ~ Rubber ducky

Probably just a Finn thing, but he loves his rubber duckies! In the bath or out, he's always after them, and most of the time chewing on them!

10 ~ Lewis

Most important, above all of these - Lewis!

Without him I would most definitely be a quivering wreck somewhere, doubting all my mothering instincts and scoffing chocolate like there was no tomorrow.

He has been amazing, totally beyond words, a super dad!

x

A Toy Box DIY

 How to make fun little toy boxes out of used milk cartons:

Do you find that you've got far too many baby bits and bobs lying around the house without a home?
Here's a super simple way to keep things tidy but still an attractive decoration and easy to personalise!

Make sure you have thoroughly washed out your box and it's completely dry.

First cut the top off at your desired height. If you want a shallower box, simply cut further down from the top.

Then, using a basic acrylic paint of your choice, start painting your box! 

A couple of coats will be needed to cover the writing,

and if you want the box to be more hard wearing, a coat of gloss or PVA should give it a nice finish.

To cover those raggedy edges up and give the box a homely feel, I felt a cosy crochet cuff would work lovely, or even a fabric one would work too.

Crochet cuff:

• Cast on and chain stitch to the circumference of your box
• Then undo 3 or 4 stitches (This will make the cuff slightly tighter than the box opening so that it will hug the box close and not slip down
• Slip stitch into the 1st chain to create a circle.
• Then single crochet (or double crochet - depending on if you use US or UK patterns) 8 rounds
• And cast off your stitching

You can make your cuff longer or shorter depending on how much of your box you would like to cover.

Once the paint on your box is dry, wrap your cuff around the rim of your box and fold half of it into your new toy box to give the edges a lovely finished touch.

Ta da!

A simple, cute and fun way to turn milk boxes into toy boxes!

x