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.
Geometric painted roll-up blinds
When we planned our new kitchen, we knew that it would be a lovely light, bright space. Now that we’re well in to spring and the days are sunnier and longer, we’re really feeling the benefit of this! We knew that we’d have to get some blinds for the windows, and found one for the front one…
Fabric covered exercise books
It’s National Stationery Week this week, and I thought I’d make a little project to celebrate (as a bonus post for today – yay!). These fabric covered exercise books take no time at all to make and are great for fabric stash busting! I’ve used mini notebook-sized ones here, but any size notebook with a…
Raspberry and blueberry lime drizzle cake
It’s a lovely Bank Holiday weekend this weekend, which calls for cake! This lovely raspberry and blueberry lime drizzle cake is really fruity, and the combination works really well. Make it in a small square tin and it will be perfect for a picnic. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed for good weather!
Bits & Bobs: April 2015
April has been a jam-packed month – it started out with the Easter holiday, which was just so lovely and relaxing! Since then things have been a bit hectic with my day job, but that hasn’t stopped me trying to fit in as much making as possible. The weather has been a bit unpredictable this…
Vintage sewing treasures
Tom’s Nanna recently passed on a box of vintage sewing treasures to me, and I had to let you see them! I was so excited to discover what was inside… I love anything vintage but especially sewing things. They always make me wonder who used them and where they came from. I don’t actually know…
Leicester University Botanic Garden
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I was away at a conference this weekend with my day job, as a few of us were speaking about a reading test that we have developed for our international students. I was really worried about it, but thankfully it went much better than it played out in my head beforehand and I’m very relieved…
Filofax inserts
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1429462831161{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]About a year ago, I decided to have a revamp of my Filofax inserts and wrote a little tutorial for my other crafty project, Less Grafting More Crafting. I fancied having a change with the inserts recently and thought it would be good to freshen everything up (including the tutorial), which was…
Smiley jammy dodgers
Don’t you just love a jammy dodger? These ones are special: they are smiley jammy dodgers! I spotted the cutters for these biscuits in Lakeland a while back and just had to get them. They are brilliant! You get four shapes in the pack, with the front and back cutters for each one. I love…
Mollie Makes specials
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1429178532445{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]I am a huge Mollie Makes fan and when I saw that they had published another special, I knew it would be right up my street! The latest one is all about social media, and as I found the blogging special to be very helpful I decided to add it to my…
Spring in our garden
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1428958108391{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]It’s finally spring in our garden – hooray! 🙂 We spent a couple of days in the garden at the weekend and it was so lovely to be out there. On Friday the weather was glorious and so I did a bit of painting to brighten up our front door. It used…
Strawberry and banana smoothie
So Easter has been and gone, and it’s back to work tomorrow. I’ve been doing my best to avoid the Sunday blues by keeping super busy all day – I’ve actually done quite well for once, which is really unusual for me! I’m trying not to focus on the negative things about going back, as…
Liberty patchwork drawstring bag
I love love love Liberty fabric, and wanted to use my charm pack to make something that I could use all the time. I’ve been doing a lot of hand stitching recently and decided that it would be useful to have something to keep a project all together, so my Liberty patchwork drawstring bag is just perfect!…
Cinnamon and apple hot cross buns with marzipan
It’s a tradition for us to have hot cross buns on Good Friday, and over the past couple of years I have tested out some hot cross buns with a difference. This year is no exception, and this recipe for cinnamon and apple hot cross buns with marzipan caught my eye. Well, the word ‘marzipan’…
Bits & Bobs: March 2015
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1427962023771{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]Regular readers of my blog may well have been expecting the usual Instagram Gallery on the last day of the month, but I’ve been having a little spring clean on my blog, and decided to mix things up a bit (I am also a little late with it for various reasons –…
Roast carrot and butternut squash soup
We had a bit of leftover squash from our risotto the other week (I went a bit crazy on the amount that we actually needed!) so Tom said he’d make some soup with it and use up a big batch of carrots that we had too. He’s really good at just making stuff up, whereas…
Another patchwork baby quilt
I have recently made another patchwork baby quilt for one of our dear friends who has just had her first baby. This baby is a miracle really, especially after she was told in 2013 that she would never be able to have children – it was the most wonderful news when she told us! I obviously…
Banana bread
Some of you will already know that we only eat bananas in cake or bread form! Tom isn’t a fan of fruit, and I can’t get on with the texture of bananas at all. But in a cake, we both agree that they are delicious. This was the first banana bread recipe I ever made, and…
Foldaway shopping bag tutorial
A little while back, I saw a tweet from the Craft Cotton Co. asking for sewing bloggers who would be interested in working with them to create some free sewing tutorials for their new blog. I obviously jumped at the chance! I had a think about potential projects and decided to make a foldaway shopping…
Birkheads Secret Gardens in spring
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1426092243686{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]We went to Birkheads Secret Gardens for the first time last summer, and bought a season ticket so that we could go again. The gardens opened again a couple of weeks ago, and last weekend we went to have a potter around. The weather forecast had been great all week, but typically…
Roasted butternut squash risotto
This recipe is adapted from another recipe that I have already posted, but we wanted to make a veggie version of it. This roasted butternut squash risotto is so delicious (if I say so myself) – it’s really comfort food. Great for a mid-week meal or for entertaining as it’s so easy to make –…
What we learnt from our kitchen renovation
Our kitchen renovation is undoubtedly the biggest project we have ever undertaken, but it is one of the best things that we have ever done! We learnt such a lot during the process and I want to share some of the tips and tricks we’ve picked up along the way for any of you who are…
British pie week
Did you know that it’s British pie week this week?! You know me, I love a good pie 🙂 And it made me think that I have shared quite a few pie recipes on here so far, and I thought I’d put them all together in one post in case you fancy celebrating and enjoying a…
Vanilla shortbread
Sometimes, you just feel like doing a spot of baking. This vanilla shortbread is something that I made when I felt just like that! It’s simple to make, and I didn’t do anything fancy with it either – I baked it in my brownie pan and just cut it into fingers once it came out…
Fabric stash inventory
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1425052949469{padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”]This project and post was inspired by one of my lovely blog readers, Jennie! We met last summer at Harrogate station (on our way home from the Great Northern Quilt Show) and we have been in touch since then via my blog and social media. One of Jennie’s resolutions this year is…
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.
