Making Meal Times Fun

If you've been keeping an eye on me through my Facebook page, on Twitter or through Instagram you might have spotted a new line of crochet goodies!

These pieces have grown from a rather soft spot in my heart, put there by my ever growing and learning son and the love that my other half and I have for food and all the amazing discoveries and adventures that you can have with it.

Something we both discussed, even before our little one was born, was the increased desire to introduce our children into the world of food with excitement and curiosity!

Not just to indulge in foodie wonders but to build a healthy knowledge of food, where it comes from and how it's made. 

And the memories!

Who doesn't have a fond memory of ice cream or a treasured recollection of butter on toast round their grandparents, or that sneaky toffee treat? And my word, roast dinners!

 It all adds up a wonderful way to live life, loving food.

As our little one grew and the time to introduce food came, we found that food alone doesn't always spark the interest of their ever busy minds. 

And whilst hearing of other parents difficulties, trying to convince their little one that biscuits aren't the only food in the world, I found myself developing and working on pieces to try to make eating and meal times much more fun and exciting to be a part of.

These pieces that I've brought together make sitting down at the dinner table for a delicious meal so much more exciting!

Teddy Bear Placemats and Teddy Bear Coasters, crocheted from 100% cotton, and completely washable!

They get to choose their own colour or even a few different colours to make things a bit more fun. It can be their own little job to lay the table with fun teddy bear mats and even take it as a routine queue that teddy bear tableware means food time!

My own boy has a blue bear (as pictured above) and calls out "Teddy Bear!" if I've forgotten to get his placemat out for lunch. In fact, I need to make him a new one to alternate as they go through the wash, it's becoming a solid part of his routine which not only helps with meal times, but is starting to fill me with the most amazing feeling of having designed and made something that's really helping my son.

I hope these help other little ones to get excited about wonderful, new eating experiences and if nothing else, to make the dining table a more fun place to sit and enjoy time with the family!

Folksy Shop

Etsy Shop

#MakeMealTimesFun

x

Mother's Day

Sunday 15th March 2015 - Mother's Day

A day to appreciate all the lovely mummies out there!

And since becoming a mum myself, I have come to realise just how much it takes to be one.

It's hard work, exhausting in fact, and the little moments of rest, a chance to drink a warm cup of coffee, are pure gold. But of course, every single smile and giggle and cuddle are worth even more. 

Mum's I would officially like to high five you all!

I've only been a mummy for 2 years now, and as cliche as the whole Mother's Day thing is, I truly had the most amazing day!

:)

My boy and my hubby-to-be spoiled me rotten!

Apparently Finn picked me some very cheery sunflowers himself

Perfect for the gloomy weather that seems to be determined to hang around at the moment. My house still looks sunny and ready to welcome Spring!

There's just something about having fresh flowers in the house.

I had some wonderful doodled cards, scrawled by my very own crayon-muncher and a pot of adorable tiny roses to make our home look even cheerier!

So much loveliness!

We had to do a shop and Lewis sneakily bought me a chocolate milkshake - my guilty pleasure

:)

and some chocolate muffins!

Yummmm!

Thoroughly spoiled

But my favourite bit of the whole lovely day was my traditional, special Mother's Day ice cream

- a little tub of ice cream to eat whilst we're out and about.

This year's flavour of choice was 

Ginger Spice 

by Jude's

and ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls I would like to officially announce this as the best flavour in the entire world!!

I'm smitten, and may have to insist on this flavour for every other Mother's Day to come.

I'm still bouncing around today after my lovely day yesterday, I hope all you mummies out there had a lovely day as well and treated all of your mums to something lovely.

(If in future you are ever stuck for present ideas, I can't insist enough on how good Ginger Spice ice cream is!)
:)

Happy belated Mother's Day all

x

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Without doubt this has most definitely been a year full of adventures!

An adorable, tiny baby grew into a cheeky, still adorable, toddler.

And that in itself is quite an adventure!

We've had ups and downs like you all have I'm sure, and at the end of it, we all take a sip of something bubbly and contemplate how on earth we got to this point.

Honestly, I've no idea!

It goes by in such a whoosh, but I know that I feel content, achieved, and brimming with excitement and anticipation for the next year to come.

So 

who's got a New Years Resolution they're planning to stick to this year?

I've had a good few in mind, but I think I've narrowed them down to:

~ Blog more

(obviously! :) )

~ Try and be a bit more grown up about things

(that sounds a bit bonkers, but I still feel like I'm taking on the world as a kid. I'm not saying 'ditch my younger mind set'. Just try to be the responsible adult now that I've got my little son watching my every move!)

~ Organise!

(Now I've been a mum for over a year, I need to start organising my time properly, setting out 'working time' and 'play time'. My business needs a jolly good kick up the bottom!)

~ Try to fit in a date night or two

(Not that things are rubbish the way that they are, I just think a date night at least once a month would be magical. Even if it's just a game of monopoly and a glass of cider instead of watching the TV! Something I've found through the wonderful experience of being a mum - no one tells you just how hard it is to be 'Just Us')

There are sooooo many more, but at the moment, these are my 4 important ones.

Fingers crossed I can stick at them for more than just the 1st week of January!

I hope you're all enjoying your New Year!

Whether we stick to our resolutions or not, at least we know for sure that this time next year we'll have a gazillion stories to tell!

Have a good one everybody!

And I hope to be blogging to you all again soon!

And MOST importantly

Make The Little Things Fun

x

A Year Of Being A Mum

It has been ages!

I can't deny the little man has grown into an expert at absorbing all of time, but it's wonderful, so I'm not complaining! 

:)

Can you believe fellow internet friends...

my son is one whole year old!

On the 24th November we celebrated our little boy's very first birthday 

and congratulated ourselves on being parents for a whole year.

It's quite something I think, when you think back over a whole year and realise what you've achieved and have it staring right back at you, burbling and trying to grab your nose.

It makes you step back a little bit and go "Woaw".

It really does seem quite surreal.

I remember posting to you all about a little bean growing in my tummy and now he's a person, a tiny little individual, living with us.

I know everyone says it, but "time really does fly". 

And god I wish I'd immortalised moments more. 

His little hands and feet are bigger, his cry is different, his hair is growing...

-

I'm hoping my next few posts will be a gradual look back over a year of discovering how to be a parent. A scrapbook celebrating all of our little adventures!

(I wanted to post as things were happening, but Finn's ability to take up every inch of spare time is staggering!)

Starting from the birth of my special little boy and taking you through the learning curves we went through and all of the wonderful little discoveries we made along the way.

It's been magical, emotional, soul destroying, and euphoric!

- and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us. 

(hopefully some more free time - or at least a magical method of gaining more!)

Here's to more awesome!

x

Felt Jewellery

It's been a while since my last blog, but I haven't been sat on my butt watching daytime TV I promise!

...I've been re-launching Rebecca's Emporium!

WOOP!

:)

I sound like a loon I know, but I've missed my felting SO much, and finally finding some time to stab away at some wool and create an adorable little face, or quirky colour combination, has been like finding 'me' again.

I'm starting small, so no Pheeples or sculptural pieces yet, but I've got some new ring designs and I'm bringing back a range of felt ball necklaces!

All very exciting!

:)

Here's a sneaky peek:

Pumpkin Rings

Teddy Bear Rings

Felt Ball Earrings with Glass Beads

Bunny Brooches

I haven't taken any pretty photographs of my necklaces yet, but you'll have to take my word for it - they do exist!

I'm listing more pieces on my website now too, so pop over and take a peek.

www.rebeccasemporium.co.uk

Any website-making advice would be very much appreciated too.
I've re-written a lot of pieces and working on my tagging and things, so fingers crossed I know what I'm doing.

I've got my Etsy shop up and running again now too

Rebecca's Emporium - shop

I'm so excited to be back in the felting world!
I hope you like all my felty little guys, they're pretty excited to be out of their dusty box too.

:)

Hope you're all well

#MakeTheLittleThingsFun

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

Wednesday Makes - Cross Stitch

My felting might have been put on hold

(mostly because I couldn't bear the thought of little Finn discovering a felting needle, they're as sharp as anything!)

But that won't stop me from making things!

I've had a great time making little toy boxes and crocheted hats and at the moment, I'm really enjoying exploring the world of cross stitch.

Cross stitch was one of the many crafts that my Gramma was amazing at! She used to have great big landscapes and old town scenes neatly framed up on her walls and there would always be her next project all set up and half completed in the conservatory.
They were the sort of pictures that were so detailed and perfect, that only when you got right up close to them could you see all of the little thread crosses.

She's my craft hero, I swear!

I remember my very first cross stitched piece that I got as a kit when I was quite young. 

I still have it, tucked away in a pocket in my sewing basket 

:)

I've been getting into cross stitch recently as it seems to be a direction I can take the Pheeples, but I can easily lock it all away in a box with no fear of it all being ransacked when Finn gets mobile!

I started with some large Pheeple pieces which are still in my 'to-do' pile at the mo!

But these are my babies!

I love it!

It's like drawing in textiles.

There's so many more directions I can take my little guys and having a drawing come to life without the difficulties of 'how on earth am I going to make that?!' It's a lovely feeling now that I don't as much time as I did to ponder my little creations!

I've got a lot of plans for my cross stitch pieces! 

I can't wait to get more of them done...

...I just need more time!

:)

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

10 Awesome Things About Newborns

It's been nearly 7 whole weeks since my little boy decided to venture out into the big wide world, and it feels like one of those weird time bubbles where it feels like he's been here forever but at the same time, it's gone so quickly!

I can't believe we're creeping ever closer to the 2 month mark! And he's grown so much in this tiny space of time!

He is officially too big for his Newborn baby grows now and I've had to pack them away, and in a way it feels like a bit of a turning point. He's not a newborn anymore, he's my growing baby boy!

And to celebrate this, here's 10 awesome things about newborns that I'll miss as he gets older: 

1. Everything's so tiny! The very first thing that tugged at my heart strings about him were his tiny ears, and his hands, and feet, and nose, and just about everything! 

2. They sleep a lot :) hehe, giving you plenty of time to catch up on your sleep.. Or just to stare at them in utter awe as they dose!

3. Their constant need of 'something' makes you feel very needed and like you've achieved something amazing when you finally figure out what it is that they've been crying about - even if it's just a cuddle!

4. Presents! :) hehe, on a very selfish note, you can finally use all of those adorable baby presents you've been given and all of the cute things that you bought yourself! I spent ages pottering around the baby room before Finn was born, getting all excited about using his changing mat and going through all if his baby cloths.

5. Watching them grow, even as tiny little humans, they grow at a crazy pace! I swear some mornings I look at him and think 'I'm pretty sure you're bigger than you were last night!' It's amazing to see, but at the same time a little heart wrenching... Before I know it he'll be off to school to learn about dinosaurs!

6. Kind of in line with number 5, you get a whole new perspective to life by watching it from its very beginning. Almost everyday you'll have a 'I made that nose' feeling of awe, and you marvel at how amazing their little body is and how amazing yours is to have made something so complicated and wonderful!
I have made life!

7. Having something very awesome to show off! I'm his mum, so naturally he is amazing and wonderful and the best baby ever to be born! But it is good fun taking him to see people or inviting friends round to see his awesomeness themselves!
:)

8. Planning his little future. I don't mean that I am planning for him to be a doctor or anything, but the little things that will help him through life. I like thinking about when we should take him swimming, planning his first holiday, how I'm going to teach him about trees and bugs and to save me from big, creepy spiders!

9. Holding his little hand. It might be a baby reflex, but by god it makes my heart melt when he grabs hold of my finger with all of his tiny, baby fingers. One day I'll be holding that hand to cross a road!

10. And as silly as it sounds, all of those midnight feeds are wonderful. Getting out of bed in the first place admittedly is the hardest thing in the world, but when you're staring into that little face while he eats and tickling his little belly during changing time... it's magical. And I know when he finally sleeps through the night it will be great, but I also know that I'll secretly miss all of our little midnight conversations and cuddles.
They say that they grow up so fast, so I am more ok with loosing a little sleep to spend as much time with him as possible!

There's a gazillion more things that I could blabber on about my little boy, but from my very little, personal experience, these are more 10 favourite things... for now... there will be more as he gets older... he's already starting to smile like a loony at little things that make him happy... swoon!!

god help me when he finds hid giggle!

I hope you're all having a lovely week

and are starting your new years with awesomeness!

x 

Organising... Kinda!

Sorry I don't seem to be writing so much at the moment folks.

I am still here!

- just multi-tasking poorly I'm afraid!

I've been re-organising things in our house.

I love my new -kind of functional- shelf!

~ To Lewis: "It looks really pretty and puts lots of colour into the room!"

~ Secretly to myself: "Now I won't have to tidy up my wool stash after a crochet/knitting binge! Mwahaha!"

I've been knitting away at some little bobble hats for Innocent Smoothie's Big Knit!

TheBigKnit

Some people have made some amazing designs! It's worth popping over to the website just to have a peek at the teddy bear bottle hat. And it all helps Age UK too, so definitely not a bad thing!

And I've heard that some people have literally knitted hundreds! Hundreds!! I feel quite guilty with my little mob of 6... hopefully they'll do some good though, I'll try do more next year. Let me know if you see one of them about, it'd be great to find out where they end up.

I've been doing some more baby organising too!

~ it feels like that's all I do now, organise this, organise that! But it feels good knowing it's all done ~

I attempted following a knitting pattern for a baby's "elf-style" hat. It's not great, and I'm half tempted to cover it in pom poms, but hopefully when there's a cute little head in there it'll look much better!
Plus with a winter baby, it'll need all the head warmth it can get.

:)

AND... are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Get some red baby wool, pop a white pom pom on the end... hey presto! Baby Santa hat!

Oh yes, there will be many an embarrassing photo for our poor little Sprog to try and hide when it's older!

We got this too:

I know it's a bit main stream, and I probably could've knocked something up myself, but I just adore this little pond-style play mat.

And the little Caterpillar plays music! Hehe, hell, if the little one isn't entertained by this, I certainly will be!

Taggies Bugs and Hugs Playmat

I think it'll be perfect when our little one starts seeing and interacting with things. The mat's really soft too, and will be a great little play area when the mosses basket and baby bouncer get boring!

And look at all those tags to attach things too!

I must be careful not to go too nuts!

But I'm thinking pom pom garlands, toys, bells, soft bunting... ok, so maybe not all at once...

I've got an idea for one of our little rugs too. It's all fluffy and a bright green, kind of like grass, so I'm thinking of sewing in some crochet daisies and other flowers and making a mini indoor garden mat.

Maybe I'll make a few worms and butterflies too!

~

So with all of these wonderful distractions, you might be able to tell that I haven't been able to felt as much as I normally would.

I still have a custom order on the go, and keeping a few ideas open for Xmas and Halloween.

But I'm also trying to plan some 'baby safe' designs to keep me going when the little one is here.

To be honest, I don't feel 100% comfortable with the idea of having my felting needles about when I have a new, teeny, tiny human to look after!

So I've been branching out with my wet felting and trying some designs to keep me going until I can organise my felting world!

 I'm loving these cake topper and garland ideas. Simple, wet felted balls and a bit of glue or thread, but they look quite effective.

And having a few bowls of warm soapy water around a little one sounds a lot safer than a foam block stuck full of sharp felting needles!

I need to work on some lovely colour schemes, but hopefully these designs will be hopping into my Emporium soon.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week,

and haven't been struck by the doom of Friday 13th!

I apologise if my next post isn't for a while, my to-do lists seem to be getting longer rather than shorter at the mo!

But still, a couple of months to go, and then the only to-do I'll have will be to feed, burp, change, hug 

and repeat!

x