It was my Mum’s birthday in April, and I made her this top. It’s my favourite top to make and wear – cool and comfy for summer and the only really tricky-ish bit is the neck binding. I got the fabric in the sale ages ago and it was nice to finally make it!

I also made her a caramel cake for her birthday cake, and I haven’t got around to sharing the recipe yet – but I will! It’s from the Clandestine Cake Club book, which is brilliant. I want to make everything out of that book!

Our dear friend Hannah got married earlier this month, and I stitched this sampler from Hoopla! magazine. It has been ages since I did any hand embroidery like this, and I had forgotten just how much I love it! I painted the hoop a lovely turquoise colour and it worked really well with the design. Hannah and her husband went off on honeymoon straight away, so I hope the last bits of disappearing pen had actually gone by the time they opened it! If you want to download the template, you can get it here from Bakercourt (designed by Stacey Siddons).

I also have to share the wonderful cake that Hannah made – if you’ve been following my blog a while then you might know that a Hannah made our wedding cake. Well, this is the same Hannah! She’s so incredibly talented. Just look at those flowers!

This month I have found some lovely things in the blog world.

How gorgeous is this outfit by Lucky Lucille? I love everything about it, and the styling of the photos is just gorgeous. I know I used the word ‘gorgeous’ a lot there, but it really is!

So is this floral DIY for your bike – makes me really want a bike! A pink vintage style one, obviously…

My lovely crafty friend Dizzy Miss James was featured on Beak Up Crafts this month – yay! Her story is really inspiring, so well worth a read.

I have also found some cool new things via Instagram this month. Stylusboy (aka Steve Jones) commented on one of my photos and so I checked out his music on his website. It’s great! It’s billed as ‘handmade indie folk music’, and that’s a good summing up I reckon. It turns out that he’s supported lots of great people on tour, and I’ll definitely be adding some of his music to our ever-growing collection. Have a listen here!

Have you heard about Caboodle Magazine? I also found this through Instagram, and the first edition was released this month. It’s a super mix of craft, fashion, food, vintage…lovely, lovely stuff. It’s also produced in my home town of York! Really hope that the team can keep going after such a great start – looking forward to seeing how the project develops. I’ll be reviewing it properly on my blog for you soon!

The Blogtacular speakers were announced this month – even more excited now! Check them out here. You can also listen to Kat Molesworth’s podcast for A Playful Day here – it’s all about creativity in blogging. Fab!

What new discoveries have you made this month? Share them by leaving a comment below! Hope you’ve had a great April

The post Bits & Bobs: April 2015 appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.