Happy Hour

 
What a lovely, sunny morning we've had here!  Truly a welcome change from the storms that have buffeted us over the last few days.  Days like this fill you with hope for the year ahead and certainly make my mind race with hundreds of ideas for projects I'd like to get done.  So, this morning I am ignoring the way the sunlight brings to life the dust and dirt of the winter months and just doing the cleaning I can - a new regime of "Friday Clean" for maximum weekend family time.  AND....the boys' sheets are drying on the line outside!  I know it's a small thing - but there is something so pleasurable about hanging washing outside for the first time this year - Spring is on her way and soon the house will not feel so much like a laundry and the washing will smell a little less like dinner!

Other than that, I have managed to balance The Clean with time with Noah.  I am determined to savour the days I have with him now his hours at Pre-school have increased.  So, this morning we played snap with his new Octonauts cards, animal dominoes, a Peppa Pig Floor puzzle and some Gruffalo colouring with his magic colour changing pens (How I loved these as a child - and the wonder has not gone with age - I enjoyed them as much as he did!)

I hope I don't sound smug - because believe me, most days this sort of perfect calm activity is not achieved and that's why I celebrate the days it does!
I even made myself a proper lunch of a yummy salad - something I am hoping to do as often as I can this year - too often I settle for a slice of toast (if that!  Naughty, naughty....).

The lovely sunshine and my new resolution to Love My Home inspired me to take a few photos to share with you of some things I love.  For Christmas my younger brother made us a beautiful wooden chopping board, which now sits proudly underneath one of my Dad's Trug baskets and next to his little spice grinder - ready to whip up some Kashmir Garam Masala at some point soon.

Our little kitchen window sill houses the Flour Jar I found in a charity shop in Bath for my bread and pasta making hubby - and some ceramic bottles bought from two sweet girls who had a table outside the village church a few months ago, raising money for their trip to faraway lands....

A cheeky comic strip sign hangs on the dresser - a gift from my good friend, Esther, who knows me so well!  The beaded "Home" sign at the top of this post was another gift from my friend Sally - a beautiful reminder to me every time I see it that that is what this place is.

The dresser contains a few of my cake stands, gleaned like treasure from charity shops over the years.  The Paper Pom pom was created for our Make Space Christmas Craft Night - but I can't quite bring myself to put it away, so it may stay there!  

A pretty pink plate found on Cinnamon Kid's stall at Grittenham Barn Craft market - a tiny treat to myself and other precious cakey things including a bowl and cupcake stand given to me by my mum and Auntie, a cupcake timer from my sister in law and a little piggy, found in the mud at my childhood home the day we went to do a final clear out.  My Dad loved pigs and this was probably a little ornament we gave him for a birthday when we were kids - so he remains a precious smile prompter of my Dad.

A beautiful cake plate from my Auntie, A blue teacup and saucer left here when we moved in, My Granny's favourite teacup with a very Sussex scene and two funky teacups found whilst Christmas shopping!

Yes, you can see we are Jamie fans in this house - perhaps it's all the pasta recipes!  And you can't go wrong with a bit of Nigella.  The Hummingbird Bakery book, a present from my friend Bev has already become sticky with use - always a good sign for a baking book!

The inventive gift tags our presents came with from my brother Tim and his wife Jo - aren't they lovely?!

So, I hope you've enjoyed the little tour around my kitchen.  It has made me realise how much I am surrounded by evidence of the generosity of others and the love that has been described in the many, many gifts we hold dear.  It does the soul good to have a peek around your home and see what reminds you of the people you love and how much they love you too.  Thank you to all my lovely friends and family who make this house a home.
xxxxxxx

Grabbing the moment

It's been a typically busy week and both Grown Up Welchs have been full on engaged in various all-consuming activities, holiday club deliveries, Make Space inaugural workshops, young carers camps and such. Today was a day to get together again and we spent the afternoon in one of our favourite spots, on the top of Bignor Hill. Our old car just about made it to the top with all 6 children in the back (one friend came along too) and we set up camp around the sign post, as we usually do.



It was busy up there today - but sometimes that works in your favour when you bring along a hoard of children! At least it wasn't just us disturbing the peace and tranquility of the South Downs! So, while football, rugby, chalk finding and tree climbing went on, I was afforded the rare luxury of daylight magazine reading, all hastilly packed up in my Mag Bag. One of my favourite finds right now (as I am sure I have already mentioned) is Molly Makes. Leafing through its colourful pages, packed with websites I want to look up, books I want to buy, ideas I want to try and things I want to make - it's almost too much! In fact, it makes me feel a strange mixture of inspired excitement and anxiety - isn't that odd!? When am I ever going to find the time to pursue all these avenues, and when will I ever be able to realise my dreams in the way the people on these pages seem to?


I say this, because I have had conversations with many of you who feel the same way - not just about Molly Makes, but about life in general. It's an especially tricky thing when you are mum to little ones - the balancing act and the constant decisions about which dreams to lay down until children allow (knowing that the time may never come) and which to chase knowing that it is what gives you life and feeds life into your family.
What is reassuring to me is knowing that there are others out there who juggle the whole thing in much the same way as I do. Your time will come. For now, let's enjoy the precious, rare moments that life presents us - whether they are glorious craft interludes, or a hug with your growing-too-fast child - it's all good - it's all creative. Grab the little windows of opportunity.




And don't stop dreaming, dreamers.
(You know who you are )
XXXXXXX

The End of a LONG LIST!

Back in April, my lovely hubby helped me write a plan to get through the next few months of craziness, to include 3 birthday parties, a wedding, a stall at the Fete in the Park and all the other stuff that life throws at you! Today was the final thing to check off that list - number One's Birthday Party.


In true C style, he wanted not only a Harry Potter Party, but a party in the woods, with 11 friends. So, by borrowing Nanny and Grandads' super Camper van (with the all important toilet!), we were able to provide such a party! All day we looked out of the window, wondering whether to cancel, whether to decamp to the Youth Club (cool, but not very Potterish), or whether to go for it and hope all the other kids were as up for getting wet as C was! In the end, we decided to trust the weather forecast and go for it - and a little miracle happened - for 3 hours straight, after wind and rain, the sun shone in the woods and the children ran around like spring lambs!



I have to say, I found it hard to get this party together in my head - such fun, a Harry Potter party - so much inspiration to draw on, but I just couldn't get it straight in my head. Maybe it was the hundred other things I was trying to do at the same time!



In the end, we had a lovely time, Jonny did a brilliant treasure hunt around the "Forbidden Forest" and we had some fun games and food. The babies survived their two hours in the confines of the Camper van and had a lovely time with nanny - after romping about in their wet weather gear and jumping in as many puddles as they could find!

So, the list is at and end, but as you know, there are always more things being added than taken away - and actually in less than two weeks my good friend Jo and I are running the inaugural workshops of our new venture, Make Space. So on Monday morning, I will be sitting down once again with a cuppa and a new list.

All the fun of the Fete

Well, what a lovely sunny (if a bit blowy) day it turned out to be today at the Fete in the Park! I had such a brilliant time and so enjoyed meeting lots of you and chatting about crafting, which is definitely one of many favourite pass times.
I had lots of visitors to my stall and eldest son did a fab job of selling the lucky dip!


Anna-Belle raised £23 for Children on the Edge, which is fantastic too and I'm sure she went to a very loving home. The dolls raised many "oooohs" and everyone seemed to fall in love with them. If anyone is interested in the dolls, they are £20 each and if you want one made to order, perhaps with hair the same colour as their new friend (dolls have friends, not owners!), or with a dress in a favourite colour, I would be more than happy to make one for you. Just contact me.


As always after a big event like this, I am exhausted! However, I want to especially thank my wonderful brother Tim, and his wife Jo, who helped me so much today and made the whole thing SO much more fun. Also thanks to my mum and my lovely husband, who not only looked after all 5 boys while I gallivanted off through the countryside, but also managed to clean the house for my return. Some of you out there will completely understand what a gesture like that means - to come home to a sparkly, sweet smelling home, when it could very easily be chaos upon chaos - what a joy!

So, for now friends, I am off to bed to get some long awaited sleep - and I will probably be dreaming of the next project! I will be reopening my etsy shop as soon as I recover....ah, sleep that knits the ravelled sleeve of care (as my dad would have said).

Introducing.....

I think I'm going to call her Anna-Belle! Isn't she sweet?! I have to tell you - I have been trying for a good three days to meet Anna-Belle, but have had real trouble finding her! Making a doll is a bit like that, it's a very delicate process and each little thing you do changes their character completely. It took me quite a while to get her hair right, but I think the addition of her crochet flower really finishes the look off. She's going to hang around here for a few days, looking pretty until her trip to the Park


I have been busying away in my studio every minute available (which are not as many as I would like, as ever), making things for the Fete in the Park this Saturday. It's been a couple of years since I last set out my stall at this brilliant event, but I'm taking the plunge again, so I hope to see you there. It's a lovely day out, with loads to do and see for the children and I am sure the sun is going to shine on every picnic.



My good friend and fellow mum to 5, Jo is going to be there too and between us we are going to be grabbing every passer by and telling them about our fledgling project, "Make Space". We are hoping to start creative workshops for anyone and everyone who wants to have a go and have some fun. We're really hoping to do a bit of friendly questioning on what sort of thing people would like to have a go at - so if you're around and you like the sound of the idea, come and let us know what you've been longing to learn! We will be doing a bit of simple crochet at my stall too, so come and have a go.

Of course, I will be selling my makes too, including Anna-Belle, and perhaps a few of her little friends too - if there's time! Come and see us!