So where DID the week go?

I can't believe it's almost Thursday. I do look forward to them as it's the only day off from the twins I get.
My sanity or 'Twin Free Thursday' as it's known.

But I was full of good intentions to do so much this week. I made lists, set Calendar reminders and found lovely reasonable pictures.
In fact, I had so many things to blog about that I actually ended up doing none of them; consequently my little page has remained unloved this week.'sniff'

I had promised myself to join in with MochaBeenieMummy again on Silent Sunday. It's great fun to do, doesn't require you to be a fabulous writer or photographer ( although the standard of piccies is remarkable most weeks and puts my efforts to shame!) There are some lovely bloggy ladies who take part too.

So why didn't I?

It started with Sunday; which was spent watching number two son dance his little Tap shoes off at a fabby masterclass in London. It reqired a horribly early start and we didn't get home until quite late. It's a whole other post altogether as I was actually meant to leave him at his class and take the underground to a Vintage Fair.
(Something else I meant to blog about but haven't managed)

Then I wanted to take part in Magpie Monday. Missielizzie and I definately share a love of charity shop finds and I have lots of them to share at the moment. But Monday was spent doing huge amounts of laundry as being away on Sunday meant that the beds weren't done.

Is there a pattern here?

The Gallery is another blog event that I have wanted to take part in for a while but always either miss it or don't have the right type of picture!
This weeks theme was trees but I have been so cold this week that I haven't really been in the mood to venture out to take any. The lovely Tara assured me on Twitter that the beauty of it is that you can join in anytime so I am absolutely determined to do so next week, on Wednesday...

I have been a little busy though, besides administering love, mummy hugs and clean pj's to the small people I have started to write my very first tutorial.
I hope it will be simple to follow and someone will actually try it and let me know if it's not a dreadful disaster? I have made a couple of these lovely necklaces for the twins last Birthday

 Aren't they pretty? Which is more than can be said for the face Dimples is pulling at lashes. 'ahem'..moving swiftly on.

I plan to make some more to match their new summer frocks this year and I think it might be fun to make some up using some Vintage beads if you have any that are beyond repair? (Of course, I could never advocate breaking up the precious Vintage ones!!)

So that's about the week sewn up. Not much accomplished but onwards and upwards,
Hope you all are faring much better,
Love

Maybe it's Maybelline?

Just Fabulous!

I am so very, very. very excited! In a little over six weeks I have a Charity Ball to go to. It is for a fabulous friend (more about that another day) and I suspect most of my other twin mummy friends are going to be there too.

Some of them I have met, others never. Some of them are absolutely scrummy Mummies so I really do want to look my very best. Unfortunately, at this time of the year I have to watch my pennies rather more closely than I would like to. I have scoured the net for something worthy of such an Event but have yet to find a gown that is affordable and I actually would wear.

I do adore Vintage, but I fear that it is way out of my price range at the moment and at present, I am not Vintage sized! So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw these smashing gowns!

This one is called 'Harlow'. Isn't it divine! Best of all, you can HIRE it!! It would be unthinkable amounts to buy but you have it for less than £100 for a whole week.

Then there is this one.. 'swoon'

I would like to think that I could pull of such a stunning dress, it certainly ticks all the right boxes. I fear my upper arms would not be happy, a cape may help!

Lastly, this one caught my eye - for obvious reasons

Isn't it divine! It's a Cavelli Goddess Gown... utterly scrumptious. A tad more to hire but in the world of glittery events, I think it would definately be a 'red carpet' number.

All of the dresses are simply wonderful, whether you need a cheeky little Cocktail dress, a rock chick ensemble or a Silver Screen worthy creation 'Girl Meets Dress' certainly has something to make the pickiest of girls squeal with delight. The majority of them are Designer labels, such as Halston, Cavelli, Fendi, Herve Leger, the sort that I can only usually dream of wearing.

Just have to find the shoes, jewellery and some poor patient mortal to tame my unruly locks into Vintage loveliness now, I may be a while...

Love

 



p.s This is one of my affiliates so do I get a small amount of pennies if you hire something. It's free for you though of course. As a member of British Mummy Bloggers I did pledge integrity at all times, so feel honour bound to mention it.

Just had to share!

I know Christmas is almost over and so I apologise for this post in advance. Having been horridly ill for most of it I didn't get chance to share many of my creations this year, notably the twins Christmas outfits and the cute gift tags I designed.

So here is a shameful display of my talents, limited such as they are.

Aren't they adorable? The tops are all my own creation too. The headbands are altered ones from a large unmentionable department store. The leggings by me too, fur topped with large dots on. The fur cuffs are removable, marabou sewn onto red headbands, inspired hey? (Although sewing with marabou is not something I am anxious to repeat unless bribed with large amounts of chocolate)

Here is twin two trying on the half finished outfit very patiently for me. You can see the Reindeer more clearly on this pic, sans ribbon bow of course.

I also made some rather nice gift tags this year too. Darling husband has been very generous in creating a lovely, organised craft area for me so I was able to stamp and punch my merry afternoons away. I think they are very sweet and I do love red & aqua!

Last but not least, I saw some adorable little Christmas Trees and just had to try my hand at them. You buy them from the Miniature Village Websites, the sort that sells things for Train sets. They come very dark green. You bleach them and dye them and roll them in glitter. I love them! I shall be making lots of these next Christmas now I know how easy they are. Even if they did make the kitchen a tad whiffy, I think you'll agree that they are well worth it?

Just a shame you can't really see just how sparkly they actually are.

I promise, no more Christmas posts, I am undecking the halls or whatever the term is, this weekend. So I will be full of the joys of spring, bulbs flowering, new projects and maybe the odd resolution or two.

Love

Recipe for happiness.............

Just had to share my newest creations......... and their
srummy models :-)

Two baby pink tulle tutus.

125 yards tulle-hand tied on no-roll elastic, umpteen yards of
baby pink satin ribbon, four yards oyster pink chiffon ribbon-curled,
six pink gerberas with pink crytal centres.......
and sixty teeny tiny crystal hearts hand glued by moi........
with love of course!
Add to that two satin ribbon wrapped headbands with baby pink gerberas and a crystal centre.

Then...................

Take two very excited five year old birthday princesses
and this is the result :-)

Aren't they just gorgeous girls!

Happy fifth Birthday girls and thankyou to their mummy for letting me post their pics :-)

Thankyou to Kimberley at Angel Babes Tutus for the quick ship of the tulle from the US too.
Her tulle is just the softest and she has a great range of colours!
(She also does custom orders and accessories for your little princess.)

A New Chapter

After almost 16 years of a male dominated household I'm not ashamed
to admit that on finding out that the new arrivals were to be girls my first reaction
was not a happy one...........
The thought of dolls, prams, and all things - wait for it...
PINK did not fill me with glee at all.
Having grown up in a household where women
were all things annoying, mostly bitchy, secretive, backstabbing and that's on a good day!!!!
I really wished I'd paid for sex selection LOL

However, almost three years on I have to admit a sneaky liking for girly things!
Although the house, or my poor sons will never be the same again it has given me opportunities to explore things I had forgotten how to do. In my quest to dress my girls in any colour other than pink and the challenge to tidy their hair in anything other than the overpriced, chinese cr*p from Claires I have discovered a whole new world of crafting and made so many new friends in the bargain.

My newly twin shocked brain was addled........ the endless round of feeding,
changing, winding etc had left my poor head so tired.
I was sleep deprived and housebound.
The only conversation I got was online and so during the long periods of
screaming and thowing up I sat with one on a shoulder and found things to do
with my brain that it so desperately needed - namely a challenge.

Ok so it's not quantum physics but anything new learnt is going to keep
the ole grey matter ticking along nicely right? :-)

Bow making, tutu designing, hair clippies and so many millions of other cute and adorable things have been my saviour during my long hours of confinement in the house. The ladies on the yahoo groups have been a constant source of knowledge, laughter and kindness. I can't begin to thank them enough. Girls, you will never know how much you have brought to our household! Thankyou all so much.

I can now happily spend hours fiddling with grosgrain and tulle. Can create something to wear in a matter of hours and have managed to find something to share with my girls and that in itself is worth a big hug. The fact that I may possibly be able to make a living doing some of these things is a possiblity I had never considered.
I don't profess to being the master of the boutique bow yet but thanks to the fab videos kindly provided by Jessa on youtube I can sit here trying :-)
Her Etsy store is testament to her fabulous bow making skills.

Other ladies I just have to mention are Nancy whose unique sense of humour has brightened my day more times than she will ever know:-) Have a browse of her Etsy shop- it's full of fabulous creations.
Also, Janelle who has a great site and blog and is always adding fab new clippies is another lady who has been so helpful to me.

These and countless other moms who take timeout of their busy lives to add their pics, tips and advice, all free of charge are worth their weight in gold. Big hugs to you all!

Fran xx

p.s I still hate pink really and girls do squeal and whine a hell of a lot but I'm learning to live with it............. LOL

ooooh yummy!

I'm feeling a bit smug, I made some yummy, yummy cupcakes and some

cookies for the first time EVER and they came out just perfect.........

well almost if you don't count the icing bag bursting half way

though and having to use a freezer bag..........

I don't think I will try to make these again for a while.

Gumpaste stuff is sooo much harder to do than it looks ok? :-)

These little beauties took about six hours to make 16 of them

and then they had to dry for about 4 days.

Isn't that cute! edible glitter too.....

Ok -so they were the easy part but look how flat the tops are,

I was sooooo happy, happy, happy that I didn't have to squash

them down or cut the tops off,

that would have got really messy....

Ta Daaaaaaaaaa! One finished cupcake. Isn't that pretty?

Love,