New Normality ...

Great Post on living a quieter pace of life..
Creating a "New Normality"

Precious Moments

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath."

May every moment inhale life deeply.

Take the time to stop and stare and watch clouds fray the edges of the horizon.

Over spill with the wonder

and beauty of each single, stilled, second.

Silenced by the fragile, bare branches of winter trees engraving, the distant evening sky.

Painting patterns over the tidy white spaces,

Turning the prose of life into poetry.

Hearing a song in the silence.

Dancing beneath the falling leaves.

The way my little ones hair curls around her ear.

The imperfect stitches of a homemade gift.

The warmth of a coat on a cold winter day.

Bubble-bath footprints whispering softly on the carpet.

A child to small to speak holding her hands in prayer.

The curled pages of a well loved book.

A baby smiling in her sleep :0)

Let me remember to unwrap every moment like the precious gift it is

Papier Mache Rainbow Bowl

We had fun making this pretty and useful little bowl today using papier mache.

First we lined a pudding bowl with clingfilm


Then we painted on layers of PVA glue and torn pieces of newspaper. We painted on about 6 layers in total.


On the last layer I tucked in all the edges to leave a neat finish. However, the edges could be left raw and whimsical if desired :)


After a final coat of PVA we left the bowl to dry for a day or two.

Before painting it happy with a rainbow of colours. We used simple child's poster paints.
You could add another layer of PVA to seal and "varnish" if you want but I quite liked the matt finish.


A special place for your child to put their little treasures :)

Sunday in every shade of Pink...

"Pick your own" raspberries, fresh and bursting with memories of Summer

Fresh baked bread, straight from the oven...

Perfect with homemade "pick your own" strawberry and gooseberry jam...

And of course Pink lemonade!

Strawberry Pie!

A gift from a friend, sitting upon my kitchen windowsill, Pink Sweet peas!

A small jar of sweetness for friends...

Saturday Sewing with Emmy... Sew a simple vintage looking bookmark using scraps, trims and leftover fabric...

* Simple, Vintage Bookmarks! An easy first time machine sewing project for kids!

( This project only uses super easy straight line sewing)
*First choose the scraps, trims and pieces of leftover fabric you want to use.
This is a great way to use up those leftover odds and ends at the bottom of your sewing box!

Take a piece of lace to use as backing and start laying the other trims over the top. When you find a design you like sew each trim on separately, one by one.

The back stays clean looking as it is white and lacy.


light coloured trim like this powder blue sequin scrap hide the top stitching when layered over the top.

Keep the ends of the bookmark a little raggedy :)
It adds to the charm!


Some Victoriana style buttons finish the bookmark off nicely...
*
Emmy had a lot of fun making these... They are so simple, fun, quick and easy for children to make when first starting to sew.
Emmy is going to give each of her friends one of these as a leaving present before they all go off to high school this September.
I think they make a pretty gift.




Here is another design using the same technique...

Memory moments from yesterday...

Bujana and the white butterfly (most likely searching for broccoli, to munch on like last year but not having much luck poor fellow, guess courgettes just aren't his cup of tea)

Jam tarts (made by Tilly and Boo, with no help! )

Homemade, scrambled together, wild gooseberry peach and apple pie.

Boo's Music sheets for this week...

Some scraps from our garden... yesterday