Button clock

Yesterday i made this button clock inspired by pinterest post that a friend had directed me towards. The site shows lots of crafty (& very different) ideas of how to make use of an old embroidery hoop. I even had to venture into Maplin to get the clock parts but it was worth it!

Macaroons

Recently my baking has been rather boring; for the sake of time and convenience I have stuck to what i know - making usually cakes like lemon drizzle and brownies. However this evening with Martha asleep and Tom out at a college event I thought I would try something totally new and re-create those popular fancy macaroons you see in posh boxes. The macaroon mixture was simple enough - I followed Lorraine Pascale's  recipe from her lovely book 'Baking Made Easy'. However I really struggled making them neat and delicate, and this was even using an icing bag like suggested! I opted for a chocolate filling as I thought it made a nice colour contrast with the yellow macaroon. They don't look great but they taste good and it was fun trying something new!

New cards

I have been busy increasing my stock of cards for Friday's craft fair. I have included some mother's day cards and hope to get some time to make Easter cards as well. I love my new elephant parade fabric and bicycle fabric and pleased how they look on the cards. I am happy to make personalised cards if anyone would like them.

Craft Evening

On Friday my lovely friend Erin (Click here for link to her blog) and I had our first evening craft fair. We filled her living room and kitchen with our handmade wares and baked lots of cakes for our guests. There was a really cosy and friendly atmosphere and I was really pleased with how it went. It was my first time selling lamps (I felt quite nervous as it was totally uncharted territory for me and was unsure how they would sell!). So I was really pleased that I sold 3 and got a generally positive response towards them! The lovely 'elephant parade' fabric shades were very popular but didn't go, so Martha now has one in her room! Cards sold well and I ran out of Mothers Day cards. So all in all, a fun and profitable evening was had. Now we hope to embark on more craft fairs and events in the area.

My husband (Tom) and brother-in-law (Dave) generously spent much of Saturday afternoon planning a new website for me....I am really excited about it and can't wait for it to be finished!

Shades & pictures on display

Cushion For Sale!

Martha & Me

My blog is called 'Martha and Me' and It feels like it is about time that i gave a little update about Martha (my daughter) & me!

Martha is now a fully fledged toddler and this has made it both easier and more tricky for me to pursue my crafting career/hobby.  I now find she (generally) sleeps better so i usually get about an hour in the daytime and also most evenings to myself  but find it impossible whilst she is awake  (she just wants to join in with what I am doing or when my back is turned she gets up to all sorts of mischief.) So with all this time I now have, I am embarking on a new season of craft fairs and stalls. The first is this Friday with my lovely friend, fellow vicars-wife-to-be and all round talented crafter Erin.

This week Martha has shown an interest in drawing! I was so delighted that she was willing and seemingly pleased to participate in a creative pursuit!  Her first artistic experience has been with wax crayons and scrap paper. I'm not sure what the subject matter was, probably either books, bananas or biscuits (she seems to have a penchant for "b"words) so i will just leave it to the viewers interpretation. I wasn't so pleased the next day when she found a discarded crayon and went to the rug where we had previously sat to draw (on paper) and scribbled on the cream rug...I will have to watch out!

Sewing themed cushion

Amy Butler fabric lampshade and my growing collection!

Just made a new lampshade using some lovely Amy Butler fabric. It could be used as either a large table lamp, Standard lamp or ceiling shade. I have now run out of lampshade frames so tomorrow i must hunt around the charity shops!

An elephant parade lamp i have made for Martha's bedroom - matches her elephant mobile nicely!