Another Day Another Doll

N made another Babka doll today - Maria

Back from Turkey and straight back to crafting!!

We have just had a glorious week in Turkey, the weather was amazing and we had lots of fun. Here is a picture taken on the last day.....

We got back in the early hours of yesterday morning and picked Pepper back up before lunch, basically because N begged every 5 mins for us to collect her earlier than arranged!! She had missed her sooooo much.

This morning while I was trying to sort out the mountain of laundry N created a DVD of photos and music about Pepper.

This afternoon we decided to make a Babka doll, like the one on www.bigredhat.com as the iron on adhesive had arrived the day before we went on holiday.

Stuffing the socks.....

Ironing on the iron on adhesive.......

cutting the patterns out......

stuffing the arms......

sew it all together and what have you got?......... Megan!!

Some reactions never cease to amaze me!

You know how it is, kids get together and one of the first things they ask each other is 'what school do you go to?'.

"I don't go to school."

"You're lying!"

"No I'm not, my mum teaches me."

Which is normally followed by either "You're lucky" or "How are you going to learn anything?"

N was at amateur dramatics yesterday, they are preparing a food related quiz show. N had to choose an item of food to be from the milk and dairy section. She is going to be butter and has to research some facts about it before her next session. One of the children asked;

"How are you going to find out about butter."

"Well my mum and I share a computer, so when it's my turn I will search for the information."

"But you don't go to school, so how can you type?"

Now N is not known for her patience but she does seem to be able to keep her cool in these situations. Bless her.

Inspired by Grand Designs and my old GCSE art!

Hubby and I watched the new episode of Grand Designs the other night. Whenever we watch that program it always inspires us to have a better house - we can't so we will just try and tidy ours up a bit.

The next day Hubby could be found glossing the dining room door! Here he is clearing out the bottom shelf of the larder cupboard (I can never really complete a job on my own and always leave a little bit for him, he's better at it than me!!)

Then we cleared all the stuff that gets thrown up high on top of the wall units, due to the fact that our kitchen is so small there is nowhere else to put it. It is illegal to have anymore than 3 people in our kitchen due to overcrowding. Most people's bathrooms are bigger than our kitchen. Anyway where was I?? Oh yes tidying. After that we moved onto the cupboard underneath the sink. Now our kitchen is looking acceptable.!!

Yesterday evening after tea I showed N my artwork from my GCSE, Hubby had got it down from the loft so that we could use the folder as N's first one is totally full. A lot of my artwork was abstract, and N seemed to really like it.

Today she made this collage.

Then she painted this abstract picture of a CHICKHOROG - a combination of a chicken, horse and dog.

She started writing a story on the computer called The Secret Shell. Her stories at the moment generally include lots of pets!

I think we have managed to reserve a space on a Small Animal Care Course, running through November and December, so that should be really good for N. Just the type of thing she would like to try!

This evening after walking Pepper we attempted to pack some of N's things for Turkey. Its really sinking in for her now that we are off on holiday and she is getting very excited.

wildlife walk and taking steriods

This is us yesterday morning before we went for a wildlife walk with some of our friends. (I'm still looking pale because I'm so ill!)

Here is N writing in her wildlife diary.
I went to the doctors this morning and they have put me on steroids, unfortunately I have to take 6 at once - here is a photo of this lunchtime's dosage.....

I checked the side-effects for the tablets which include mood swings and a rounded face - am I seriously the right person to be taking these tablets!! I mean I am already there on both counts before I start, what am I going to turn into after a week of taking them!

N had a friend to play this afternoon, which included a trip to the park. Pepper happily scoffed up the disgusting food remains from Witney Feast all over the floor.

N decorated 3 necklaces - the flower one is for me!

We added BEKO, Fez and the Roman Empire to our book about the Republic of Turkey.

N coloured in a bat for the rainforest wall.

hey there's a caterpillar and still feeling crafty

N was thrilled to find a caterpillar in our garden yesterday afternoon, after a few seconds on www.uksafari.com we quickly identified it as a grey dagger moth caterpillar. We gathered some leaves together from the list of 'preferred food' on the website and put him inside the butterfly house we usually use to hatch the painted lady butterflies. Slinky - as N had named him, didn't seem too thrilled about everything, so we decided that if he hadn't eaten any of the leaves by morning we would set him free. Unfortunately he hadn't had a munch so we let him go, much to N's disappointment, I'm not sure what she wanted most - to hatch the moth or for him to die so she had another specimen for her dead insect collection!!

After completing a couple more pages of our Turkey project, we felt a bit crafty. Here are the results.....




and here.....

I decided to tidy out the larder cupboard, especially the baking shelf, its always in a pickle, if you take something out, three things fall on the floor! I found some out of date gluten free mix, so I decided to cook a kind of scone concoction whilst N was decorating her biscuits. I was very pleased with my cupboard tidying and couldn't wait to show hubby when he came home from Bristol. (tidying always impresses him, and since i don't do it very often I have to make the most of it!) (including jumping up and down clapping my hands - "look look")

N shared out her biscuits amongst the neighbours, then we watched last weeks episode of 'my family's crazy gap year', I had really enjoyed it and I knew N would too. Can't wait to watch tonight's episode with her later on this week. It makes me want to take a crazy gap year, but not N, perhaps the rest of the series will convince her, (I think it was the leaches that put her off - oh and killing and gutting the sheep).

Making a bowl and plate from vinyl records

Still feeling inspired by Oliart, we decided to try and make a plate and bowl from two vinyl records, just like Olivia Gray on her videos.......

First get two records you no longer want to listen to....

Heat up the oven, place tinfoil on top of a pyrex jug (well we kinda made it up as we went along we didn't have any large empty jars!!) and put the record on top. Put in the oven for 1 minute...

When it comes out of the oven shape it into the design you would like.....

Bowl and plate!!

Being inspired by Oliart

After amateur dramatics today N wanted to do some sewing with her sewing machine. We were looking for some inspiration and stumbled across Olivia Gray (Oliart) on Youtube. We watched her video on how to make babka doll. She was so cute and really good at explaining how to make it we decided to watch some of her other videos.....felting....sewing...making mobiles....and drawing faces.

This is a drawing N did after watching the Oliart video, you can see all the videos on www.bigredhat.com

10 days to go until we head off for Turkey

We started our little project book about Turkey today, there are so many things about Turkey we didn't know!

Build A Bear

We went off to Milton Keynes today the 3 girlies wanted to get a build a bear each; here they are!

Seventies Night at the Cricket Club

It was seventies night, we were supposed to dress up but we couldn't be bothered!
Ahem, I think you have a little something there in your moustache

N and her Daddy tripping the light fantastico!