red rose

Triptych in acrylic on 5" box canvas - £40 with free p&p within uk

iron man

ironman is now finished :) really enjoyed doing this to say its not my usual sort of subject - now what shall i paint next???

next painting coming along nicely.....

finished poppy

the commission piece of a poppy is now finished! aologies for the poor photo - the paint was still wet and for some reason i can no longer open the photo editing software i use so couldnt chop the badly chipped toe nail paint off lol.

anyway i had a very very happy customer with this one - lets hope there are more to come!

POPPY

A mid-way through photo of the commission piece i have been asked to do of a poppy. it is across 3 5" suqare box canvas' and done in acrylics. really hoping i can get it finished later tonight :)

on a completely unrelated subject, i have just found out a friend of mine has been diagnosed as having skin cancer :( she has 3 little ones like me and it is a scary time for her and her family. fingers crossed it will be dealt with quickly and she will be back to full health soon

facebook page

I've now got a facebook page . please feel free to 'like' it and keep up to date with the art i do :)

Daffodil

Acrylic painting of a Daffodil on 8" square, 1" deep box canvas, Available for sale at http://www.thebridgegallery.co.uk/

Nappy Cakes

Have you ever made a Nappy Cake? they are a relatively new phenomenon here in the north of england - basically it looks like a tiered cake but is made out of nappies with lots of extra bits n pieces tucked in to suprise the mum-to-be at her baby shower.
Infact, baby showers themselves are pretty new here. my last child was born only 4 years ago and i didnt have one - i hadn't even heard of one! but what a fabulous excuse for a party! cupcakes, gifts and a celebration of the new life soon to arrive.

my best friend from school is currently 37 weeks pregnant and its her baby shower next week (i really hope baby is comfy and has no plans to make an early entrance!) and i have created this nappy cake for her. my first attempt at such a thing lol.

I dont know if you can see too clearly on this photo, but it has a plush toy cow and some handmade baby mitts and hat on the top layer of a large, cosy yellow baby blanket. i should point out my friend doesnt know if she is having a boy or girl so weve had to go as neutral as possible on the colour scheme.

the middle layer (with nappies round) has bottle of baby shampoo, lotion, talc and bubblebath, and the bottom layer has a curled baby sling in the centre.

baby slings are the worlds best invention - or rather the west's best re-invention. when my eldest (now 9) was born, you could only get the front tpe of baby carrier - not the comfiest of things to wear. but when Dan my youngest was born, i had got a baby sling from that most fantastic of marketplaces, Ebay, and he literally LIVED in his green peapod-like baby sling. Honestly, he screamed non-stop if he was taken out of it right up until being about 6 months old. i could breastfeed him easily and discreetly, and often people didnt even realise there was a baby in there at all!

anyway, my point being, i love baby slings and i think no new mum should be without one :)

I just really hope my friend loves the nappy cake and has a really enjoyable time at her baby shower x

some drawings

a few quick sketches of rabbits and hares i've done recently in preparation for some bigger pieces.

its been a looooong time since ive posted on here, but lots has happened since and life has been very busy. we have moved house (again) into a lovely big old place which needs total refurbishment and ive now quit working and am back to being a stay-at-home momma. i loved my job, but juggling work, home, 3 children, childminders, nursery and school was a bit too much. hopefully now we have the project of the new house to keep us busy, a new garden and greenhouse (!), my allotment, my lovely little chucks, a new sewing machine (yey!) i will not get too bored and will be happy staying home :)

i'm definitely going to try and keep up with posting once again and reading and commenting on all your lovely blogs :)

there is a new free block of the month flowers of love on Fiona's blog - mothers cupboard. the first block is up now :)

courgette cake

i've come across a lovely website the prudent homemaker which has some lovely recipes. often there is a glut of a particular veggie in the allotment and you are wracking your brains trying to think of something new and interesting to do with it. i saw a fab recipe for courgette cake, and after tweaking it a bit and converting it into english measurements, here it is....

12oz self raising flour

16oz sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

350ml veg oil

4 eggs

18oz grated courgette

optional - nuts and raisins

bang everything into the food processor (cept raisins if adding) and whizz until smooth batter. put into cake tins (makes 2 2lb loaf tins or so) and bake at 180'c for about 1hr.

icing

2oz marg

3oz cream cheese

dash of vanilla essence

10oz icing sugar.

mix together and sread on top of cake - yummy!

ps. just think of the veggies the kids are eating here without even realising it!

We seem to have a plague. of bugs. this summer, there seems to be even more than usual - more flies, more hoverflies, more butterflies like this one

the children enjoy watching the wigglies.

we even have moths out in daylight hours! they seem to love the sage flowers.

summer is here!

School is now officially done for the summer! no more running round looking for uniform, finding homework or dashing out the door for half 8 in the morning (well ok maybe still the last one when its a mummy-work day!).
the allotment is producing really well just now. unfortunately we eat everything just about as soon as it is picked and i keep forgetting to take photos, but yesterday for example we had peas fresh out of the pod, new potatoes cooked with mint, salad leaves, radishes, beetroot, courgette - and then a few things for dessert, redcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries. and some lovely flowers to cut and decorate the house. i love summer!

super cute!

how adorable! and up for grabs at once in a blue moon until 18th july!

teachers end of year gifts

this is what i have made for the teachers at the children's schools for their end of year gifts. lots of apples lol. i really hope they like them!

knitted baby bootees

these are what i have been making this weekend - i have a friend due in august with a baby boy (going to be called Leonard - such a cute name!) and these knitted up so simply in a hour or so. only thing, is trying to guess the size of a newborns feet. hmm bit hard seeing as i dont have any just now lol, so the first pair i made on size 10 needles, but they were so tiny, i made a second pair on size 6 needles.

the pattern is free from ravelry

giveaway!

lisa at just for you designs has a suprise parcel up for grabs!

The Naiad Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

The Naiad Frock Grosgrain Giveaway

Hello everyone!

just a few photos to show what we have been up to recently.
Here is one of the many, many bras we have collected for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance making the last leg of their journey. THANKYOU to everyone who helped out. we collected 675 in total - an amazing amount! (and we even had the newspaper round taking photos of us to do a story!)

and this is the newest addition to the family - welcome to Milky-Way. isnt he just the cutest bunny fluffiness?

we are finally getting into a good routine of work, childminders, and family life :)

Dan has (at long last) been confirmed as having a delayed milk protein allergy - yes it has taken 3 years and constant pushing but finally someone has listened and done the tests. thankfully, the consultant says he i well on his way to growing out of it, and by christmas will probably be able to tolerate milk almost as well as any other child.

Olivia has had her school report - fantastic as always :) we've got a bright spark there! and jess is very excited at the prospect of starting full time school in september. just 2 weeks until the summer holidays! wow where did the year go!

I've even been doing little bit o knitting - photos of extra baby-cuteness coming shortly!

gosh its been a while since i did a post!

but there is a good reason for it - we've been on holiday and LOOK at these gorgeous scenes. we went to north Devon, and the scenery there is just amazing. we had a fantastic time :)
and i've started working 3 days a week! children have started nursery, out of school club and a childminder so it has been rather hectic! but everyone is enjoying the changing circumstances (except perhaps the hubby who is having to pick up a little bit of housework -ha ha)

hopefully in a few weeks things will have calmed down as we all get more used to the routine, and i might get a little more time for sewing and blogging again :)