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.
The making of Tom’s trousers
A few weeks ago, I started making a pair of trousers for Tom (see my work in progress post for the beginnings of this project!). It was never going to be a quick project, and I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d get it right first time but I’d got some fabric quite cheaply, so this…
Essentials Magazine feature
This week, a very exciting thing happened: me and Daria (my partner in craft) are in Essentials Magazine! Our craft blog Less Grafting More Crafting is featured as we are ‘Crafters of the Month’ – how cool is that?! This is our first ever feature in an actual magazine, so naturally we rushed out…
Pesto pizza with aubergine and goat’s cheese
I love making pizza from scratch – it’s a great thing to do at the weekend when you’ve got loads of time to make the dough. It tastes and smells amazing, so if you haven’t ever made one, why not have a go this weekend? I usually make tomato sauce for the topping but spotted this…
World Cup Cake Off: The results
So, in case you missed it earlier in the week, me and Tom had a World Cup Cake Off! We took our cakes to work on Monday (thankfully, they made it in one piece) and shared them out around the office. And the unanimous result is…
Aubergine and chilli tagliolini
I tried out this recipe this evening and it’s really easy, really tasty and low fat – brilliant! I halved the quantities here for the two of us, except for the 400g tin of chopped tomatoes. I think next time I’d put a whole chilli in for 2 people, but that’s just personal preference!…
Reversible loop scarf
Everyone has a month where you have loads of birthdays, and for us it’s June! I like to make things for people if I have the time, and spotted this lovely loop scarf in Love Sewing Magazine – it’s simple to make and I knew it would make a perfect gift. So I made…
Mosaic bird bath
I was recently invited to take part in the Topps Tiles Mosaic Tile Challenge, and as I’ve never actually made a mosaic before (and I’m always up for a crafty challenge) I decided to give it a go! I was sent a batch of mosaic tiles and some tile glue, but then from there…
World Cup Cake Off
In 2006, we were very lucky to get tickets to go to some of the World Cup matches in Germany – I’m not a huge football fan, but I must admit that going to matches is far more exciting than watching it on TV! As the 2010 games were in South Africa (and going…
Oh Happy Day!
As you know, I’ve been working on loads of top secret things recently! This cushion is a project for Less Grafting More Crafting, which we’ve done as a guest post on the fabulous Courage and Dash blog – and you can now read the tutorial here! (The internet ate our original post, but the problems…
Ricotta beef burgers
As you know, I like trying out new recipes whenever I can! I found this when I was looking for Easter recipes (not that this really has any special Easter connection) but it said that it’s quick to make so I thought I’d try it on a weeknight. The recipe serves 6 – I made…
Rainbow patchwork baby quilt
I’ve been wanting to make a quilt for so long now – I follow so many people on Instagram who are brilliant quilters, and Tom’s Aunt makes amazing ones too so I’m surrounded by inspiration! Our dear friends Luci and Simon are expecting their first baby in just a few weeks, so I decided that…
Warm raspberry and orange cupcakes with an orange sugar drizzle
I haven’t done any baking for such a long time because we’ve been trying to eat more healthily recently, but we had a couple of days off this week and I just fancied doing a bit! I decided to look for a new recipe with fresh raspberries and came across this one – these cupcakes…
Fusilli with chestnut mushrooms, leeks and mascarpone cheese
We love pasta, and have recently been trying out lots of new recipes 🙂 You may have guessed from the picture that we didn’t use fusilli here, but instead went for some elk-shaped pasta that I found in Ikea (we love novelty pasta too, haha!). This is a simple but delicious dish that is perfect…
Lemon posset
Lemon posset is one of those things that I’ve seen on loads of cookery shows, but have never got around to making – until now! It’s surprisingly easy to make and tastes delicious, so if you’re looking for something to make for friends I’d highly recommend it. The amounts here serve 2 people, but you…
Work in progress: Tom’s trousers
I recently asked Tom if he would like me to make him something, as I haven’t made him anything since the wedding waistcoats and I seem to have lots of things for me planned! Anyway, he said that he’d quite like some trousers. Hmm, trousers. From what I knew about trousers, they’re quite tricky –…
DIY printed nautical beach bag
This is another project that I’ve made for my business, Less Grafting More Crafting – sorry for another cross-post, but I’m just so chuffed with this! We’ve been posting about this summer’s nautical trends on our blog and decided to design a project that you can make at the weekend. We were keen…
Spinach and feta tart
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This spinach and feta tart is surprisingly easy to make and tastes delicious – it’s perfect for a summer meal or you could take it on a picnic too. I made my pastry from scratch, but you could use a pack of shop-bought to make it even easier. What’s really great about this recipe is that…
Top tips for a handmade wedding
As part of The School of Thrift, I’ve written some special wedding-themed tutorials as well as my top 5 tips for a handmade/thrifty wedding. It has been really lovely to look back at our wedding and think about how we planned it, so I thought I’d put together a more detailed post about it. So…
DIY Filofax inserts
I seem to have been working on loads of things that I can’t quite share with you at the moment, so I’m really pleased to be able to share this project with you at last! I had been meaning to revamp my Filofax inserts for ages but didn’t get around to it for the…
Tutorial: how to make a floral bouquet
The School of Thrift has had a wedding theme for the last couple of weeks, and it has been really inspiring to see lots of ideas on the Festival of Thrift Google+ page! [Edit: Google+ now no longer exists, so you’ll have to believe me!). I’ve already written a tutorial post about how to make…
Ginger crunch
This weekend looks set to be a lovely sunny weekend, so get your picnic baskets out and get out there! This recipe for Ginger Crunch is the perfect to make to take out on a picnic – it really is so SO good 🙂 Ginger is definitely one of my favourite flavours, and if (like…
Cod and chorizo orzo
When it comes to fish, I must admit that I’m not particularly adventurous. I basically don’t like eating anything if it can look at me, so that rules out quite a lot (I know that’s ridiculous, but…)! In addition to that, I don’t really like the fact that a lot of fish is just a…
100 Happy Days
I imagine that most of you have heard of the #100happydays challenge by now, either via friends or family, or through social media. Several of my friends and family are part-way through the challenge and I was so inspired by their photos that I decided to take it on too!
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.
