Hello! Hooray! blog
I really believe that it is so important to take time out to be creative, so here on my blog you will find lots of ideas of things to do in your creative time.
We spend so much of our lives focussing on our day jobs that we often miss out on time for making, but finding even small amounts of time to create something with our hands can have a big impact on our productivity and well-being.
Steak and ale cobbler
Autumn is definitely here, which means the days are getting shorter and I just crave comfort food! As is traditional in our house, I made a Parkin to mark the start of the new season, and I made a yummy Guinness Parkin (click here for the recipe) which doesn’t use a whole can of Guinness.…
The Great Northern Quilt Show 2014
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1412355365456{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]At the end of August, me and Mum went along to The Great Northern Quilt Show in Harrogate (yes, I’m still catching up with post writing!). We had never been before so didn’t really know what to expect, but it was brilliant! The show lasted for three days and we went on…
Project Life storage
As I collected everything I needed to get started with Project Life, I realised that I had ended up with lots of different things in different boxes. It would be great, I thought, to have everything in one place, particularly as I don’t have a craft room so tend to move all my stuff around…
Slow roast tomato salad
I work with a great team of people in my day job, and one of the things we do quite regularly is swap recipe ideas. This one is a recipe from my friend Donna – she brought this in for her lunch one day and we all did that thing where we no longer wanted…
Festival of Thrift 2014
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1411851326181{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Today was a really exciting day – it was the first day of the Festival of Thrift! The sun shone over Lingfield Point and me and Mum went along to see what was going on. And a lot was going on! I’ve been really excited about this for such a long time,…
How to re-line a bag
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’m so excited about the Festival of Thrift, which starts tomorrow! It has been great to be a part of the School of Thrift and I thought I’d share another tutorial with you. This is a project that I have been planning for ages – I bought this satchel last year and always thought that…
More rainbow quilting
Over the past few weeks I’ve been making another rainbow baby quilt, this time for our dear friends Katrina and Adam, who are expecting their first baby next month – it has been a year of first babies for lots of our friends this year! I wanted to make a different quilt to my last one…
Catching up…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’m getting back into the swing of things with my blog now it’s up and running – I really hope you like my new site! 🙂 It feels like I’ve been away for ages, so today I’m spending a bit of time planning posts and generally working out where I’m up to! There are a…
Project Life: August 2014
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I started on working on my first Project Life album last month, and I’ve been so excited to share it with you! It’s one of those things that I knew I’d enjoy, but I didn’t realise just how much – it’s just fab! It’s been really good to think about the things I’ve enjoyed doing…
Chocolate mousse with fiery ginger shortbread and candied orange peel
[vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1411071182930{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]***This post is a reposting of a recipe that got lost in my blog transfer – sorry!*** If you follow me on Instagram (or you’ve seen the photos in my feed on my blog) then you may already know that yesterday our new Kitchen Aid mixer was delivered! I can’t believe…
Our first wedding anniversary!
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1411070580125{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]*** This is a reposting of a post from August 2014 that didn’t make it through my blog transfer – sorry if you’ve already read it! Some of the photos might be different, because I couldn’t work out which ones were in the original…Enjoy! *** Can you believe it was a year on…
10 years in Newcastle
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]September 11th is a date that we all remember, but for me it has other connections too. It’s my Dad’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!) and it is also the date I moved up to Newcastle from my hometown, York. And that was 10 years ago! I can hardly believe it really, as it doesn’t…
Blackberry curd
Many of you will already know that I am a huge fan of making curds, and this blackberry curd is fab.
Bakewell cake with raspberry curd filling
I’ve been invited to take part in Vertbaudet’s Summer Baking challenge, and was asked to make any summery cake and share it on my blog. So this is my entry – a combination of recipes that I love to make! The cake is a Bakewell cake, which usually only consists of one layer but I…
Welcome to Hello! Hooray!
I’m so excited that my new site is now up and running! Welcome to my new-look blog with a brand new name too: Hello! Hooray! There are several reasons why I decided to have a little update – let’s talk about the name first. When I started blogging a couple of years ago, it was…
Project Life
I’m so SO excited to be starting Project Life this month – today, in fact! 🙂 Project Life has taken the scrapbooking world by storm (just in case you’ve never heard of it) and having admired the kits and bits and bobs that you can get for so long, I’m taking the plunge and starting…
Top to skirt alteration
I bought this top a few years ago – I immediately fell in love with the gorgeous floral pattern! I know it looks like a dress, but it really is far too short for that…! Anyway, more recently it hasn’t fit on the top half, but I was convinced that if I had the courage…
Spiced lamb burgers with herbed yoghurt
Summer is well and truly here – it has even been glorious in Newcastle! We tried out this recipe at the weekend and it was so good. It’s really great to find a burger recipe with a difference, and the chilli, herbs and spices work so well with the lamb. So fire up your barbecue…
Summer sewing
Ok, I admit it: I have seriously caught the bug for sewing clothes! I’ve made quite a few things already over the past few weeks, and have got a few other projects planned too! I’m finally getting around to sewing things that I’ve wanted to make for ages, and it’s fab 🙂
Little house trinket shelves
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’ve had my eye on these little house shelves for some time now, and have been planning to customise them with pretty fabrics. You can pick them up on Ebay quite easily and I’ve been excited to get around to doing them! 🙂 I painted the houses white a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday…
Sticky honey soy turkey
We found this recipe a little while ago and it’s just fab – low fat, quick to cook and also not very expensive! So it’s great all round 🙂 It’s becoming one of our new favourites!
Pyjama trousers
I’ve got completely hooked on sewing clothes recently, and have done so much sewing! I feel like I’m really getting to know my machine better and I absolutely love it. I got this super fabric a little while ago to make some pyjama trousers, but I got a bit distracted by other projects before getting…
Ukulele Celebration Cake
A very dear friend at work celebrated a special birthday today, and we volunteered to make a cake for the afternoon tea party. This eventually led to someone saying: ‘Could you make a ukulele cake?’ because Jackie is a super uke player! As we never like to turn down a challenge, we said yes!
Pesto chicken with roasted vegetables
Finding really tasty but healthy meals can often be tricky. I found ‘The Diet for Food Lovers’ in a bargain bin in TKMaxx, and it’s a fantastic book full of delicious recipes that don’t make you feel like you’re scrimping on flavour! This recipe is fast becoming one of our favourites – if you’re…
A little bit about me and my blog
I have certainly found that being creative has helped to improve my mental health over the past few years. I find that when I have the space to take time out to be creative, I feel like I am working on something positive for me. Craft can't fix everything, but it certainly makes me feel good!
I am passionate about being creative with my children as well as working on my own projects, so some of my posts will discuss how we juggle our family time with running a small business and everything else in between.
Do feel free to get in touch, either by commenting on a post or by completing the contact form.
