When I was young, I remember that all my friends collected something which they could bring back as a souvenir from holidays and days out and keep on display in their rooms. Some collected erasers, some pens, and my collection was keyrings. As a child, my Dad built me special display racks to hold them, using planks of wood and cup hooks, and I took great pride in arranging them my colour and type.
I've thinned down my collection over the years and I now keep them in a pretty tin, but I love going back through them and reliving the memories of where I bought them. Some of them are now attached to bunches of keys that I use regularly. Even though I don't officially collect them any more, from time to time I still pick one up if I've visited somewhere particularly special.
I still remember the excitement of visiting the gift shop after a day out and choosing my keyring. Sometimes there was a limited choice, and sometimes there was a huge range. Where possible at first I would try and buy an embossed blue leather keyring with the name of the attraction. In later years I tended towards plastic ones. I liked to buy matching sets if I could, and I was thrilled when I was able to find matching plastic keyrings from three of the Disney parks.
I've been trying to interest the children in a collection. Mia isn't particularly fussed (although she has plenty of plastic nick nacks and stuffed animals building up in her room), but Harry showed an interest and he decided that he would like to collect magnets. So the last few times we've been on holiday we've treated him to a magnet from one of the tourist tat shops (Mia generally comes out with another stuffed toy). He chooses ones that are interesting to him, the bigger and more colourful the better, and he proudly displays them on his radiator.
These days I still like to collect things. I wrote a little bit about the things that I bring back from my travels, and I have a huge collection of leaflets and postcards from places that we've visited all around the world, neatly sorted in boxes by country. I also like postcards, especially the free advertising ones that you can sometimes find at the cinema or in hotels, and I have lots left from my student days when I used to stick them up all over the walls. I keep ticket stubs, programmes and nice paper bags, and selected printed ephemera relating to current events like the Royal Wedding, or the release of a popular film or book. The main thing about my collection now is that it is mostly free, and easy to dispose of if I feel the need to cut it down! I also have a collection of craft things, in particular buttons, pens and felt, but I do use it regularly so it's not too bad.
Did you have a collection as a child? What do you collect now?
Living near a pebbly beach, there is never a shortage of pebbles for crafting. Our garden has several gravel borders, and this is where I put the pebbles that make their way back from the beach in buckets and handbags. They are large and small, smooth and rough, and in a variety of different colours and shades.
I've been wanting to paint pebbles for a little while now, and I decided that now was the time. I collected together a selection of different pebbles. They aren't too large, they measure around 2-3 cm in diameter, and I chose smooth ones with a nice shape to them that were fairly flat on each side.
I painted the pebbles using gouache paints, as I had a nice selection of colours. They leave a flat, smooth surface. You could also use acrylic paints, which would give a shinier and more textured finish. When the paint had dried I finished with a layer of thin varnish.
The design on the pebbles is very simple - a yellow centre, coloured petals and green background. I left some space around the pebbles, so you can still see the original colour of the stone underneath, although it is made a little darker with the varnish. The white dots are made using a Posca Pen - a really useful crafting product which I've used before to decorate wooden Christmas decorations. The white showed up really well ever on the darkest backgrounds.
Some of the dots around the edges of the petals were painted before the paint had completely dried. This meant that some of the paint colour seeped into the white, making it look as though a paler version of the colour had been used. I waited until the paint had dried completely before making the dots on green, so they showed up as a brighter white.
They probably aren't sturdy enough to last very long outdoors, but I'm thinking of displaying them in a flowerpot which is sheltered in the veranda of our summer house. They were so quick and easy to make that I don't mind if they only last the summer - I can make more next year!
After the Hama bead wreath that I made recently, I decided that I enjoyed making Hama bead flowers so much that I'd make some more for another flower themed decoration! My previous flowers were made using a flower Hama bead pegboard, but these simple flowers just use a hexagonal pegboard and don't require too many beads. This is the design that I used:
I used three green lollipop sticks to make the stalks for each decoration. Two of the sticks are cut down so that the flowers fit nicely. The sticks are attached to the bottom with glue to hold them firmly in place, then the Hama bead flowers are glued to the tops of the sticks.
I've found that as long as you leave the glue to dry thoroughly, the Hama bead decorations stick down firmly.
When it was all dry I made some flowerpots for the decoration using some brown corrugated card. You could also use brown craft foam or just some thick cardboard. Alternatively you could just keep the Hama bead flowers on individual sticks, I bit like these decorative plant markers that I made using mini Hama beads.
The finished craft would look lovely stuck to the front of a card, perfect for Mother's Day or as a thank you card. You could also use BluTack to stick them up somewhere as a summery decoration, mine are currently brightening up my desk. They would also look nice with some ribbon attached so that they can be hung up.
Now that the half term holiday is over, I can't believe that the children only have five weeks until they break up for the summer. These last few weeks have gone so quickly, and the end of term will be here before we know it. They have both had end of term tests, and although Harry still has a piano exam in his final week, things definitely seem to be winding down. Their school shoes are looking scruffy as I'm reluctant to buy them new ones that they will grow out of over the summer, and I'm anxiously watching the hemline on Mia's tunics - she only needs to wear them for one more year and so I'm hoping that I can get away without buying expensive new ones!
I always spend this time of year fretting over school uniform. Admittedly last year was much more stressful, as they both started a new school in September and I had two complete sets to buy as frugally as I could. There will be a second hand sale at some point in the next few weeks so I need to get my list together for the school branded bits, then stock up on the remainder and the generic bits as soon as I can before the shops start to run low. This year I'm determined not to leave it until the last minute like I often do!
In my memory the summer term at school lasted for ages, and was mainly formed of long lunchtimes sitting out on the grass field, making daisy chains which we rushed to put into water as soon as we got home in the hope that they would last. I remember the excitement when it was warm enough to wear the summer dress, and it had to be very hot indeed for us to be allowed to bring a water bottle into school (there were just a couple of water fountains).
I hope that the children are making fun memories of their time at school, although quite different to mine. Some things are the same though - when I was at school one summer craze was a Coca Cola yo yo (I still have mine...), which is not all that different from a fidget spinner!
The children's school is very close to the sea, and Mia's class have been spending alternate weeks having 'beach school' which sounds fantastic. They've been drawing the pier, looking for shells, making art and doing some beach science.
I'm really looking forward to the end of term and having the children at home with me all day. I love the long summer evenings when there is no pressure to get up the next morning (although of course that doesn't stop them rising at the crack of dawn...), no packed lunches to make, no homework, and no school run.
However I'm sure I will have forgotten my enthusiasm a few weeks in, when I realise that I have literally no time to myself and the only way to get a break is to let them play Minecraft for a bit, which ties up my computer so I can't even do any work! I'll be coming up with a list of activities like I usually do, and spending some time browsing Pinterest for inspiration. Hopefully we can organise some play dates and day trips with friends!
What are your memories of the countdown to the summer holidays?
The children are now back at school after a busy half term break, so I thought I'd write another catch up post! Here's what I've been up to lately...
Thinking about
I've been reflecting on the fact that the children have been in their new school for almost a year now, and remembering this time last year when it was a flurry of taster days and uniform sales before the end of term. I'm so proud of them both, they have settled in brilliantly. Mia barely remembers her old school, and while Harry found the transition a little bit harder for the first couple of months he is perfectly settled now. This summer term seems to be going by so quickly.
Crafting
I've started working on a new granny square crochet blanket which is coming along nicely and is using up some of the yarn from my stash. I've also been having fun playing with some mini Hama beads, and made some little kittens from a kit which the children have adopted. Also staying with the Hama beads I was really proud of my Hama bead flower wreath which is currently brightening up a corner of the kitchen.
Watching
We are enjoying the latest series of Better Call Saul on television and have also started The Handmaid's Tale, an excellent adaptation but tough viewing.
I've been to the theatre twice this month, first with Harry to watch Horrible Histories, a fun show which taught us both a lot. Then three of us enjoyed the excellent Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London which was amazing.
I've also discovered a new genre of videos on YouTube - speed cleaning and decluttering videos! It might seem a bit pointless to be watching videos of other people decluttering when I could be doing it myself, but I find it really inspiring, especially watching videos of people that have more stuff than I do. A new favourite is the Messy Minimalist, I just love watching her have a sort out and she is really motivational.
Eating
It was Mia's sixth birthday last week, a celebration which ended up being spread across several days and involved four different birthday cakes, so there has been a lot of cake eating!
At the weekend we attended a Sangeet pre-wedding celebration with family and there was lots of delicious food to enjoy. I came back with a box of Indian sweets which I love, although they are very sweet - I can't eat too many at once!
Travelling to
At the beginning of May we celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday with a family weekend at a cottage in Bedfordshire. It was a really lovely weekend, we went to Whipsnade Zoo, my sister took us swimming at Center Parcs Woburn where she works, and we had lots of family time.
More recently we spent a few days over half term at my in-laws in Warwick catching up with some extended family. We had a lovely day out at Warwick Castle and some nice walks along the canal, then finished with the Sangeet in Luton.
Reading
I've not done much reading of books this month which is a little disappointing. I've added a few books to my wishlist, mainly ones that have been recommended by fellow bloggers, I just need to set aside some time to get on with it. I did re-read one of my childhood favourites while hunting out old books to pass on to Harry - Back Home by Michelle Magorian. I've just started Harry off reading the His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman which he is loving and I think they are definitely due for a re-read.
I have been keeping up with reading blogs though which has been really good, something that I had neglected for a few months. I'm now making the effort to have a daily read through the blogs that I'm following on Feedly, and looking for linkies to help me find some new blogs. There are so many talented writers and crafters out there!
Planning
Yesterday we held Mia's 6th birthday party at the local soft play. Because we were away in the days leading up to it I was very organised and got everything ready well in advance, with party bags ready to go and just a few bits of food to prepare in the morning. I'm always worried that there won't be enough food boxes or party bags and make extras, but this time there were no surprise guests and there was plenty for everyone.
At the beginning of July our village is holding a village wide garage sale trail. I've not committed to taking part yet but I've started gathering things together that I could sell if we were to join in, and I've amassed quite a pile so I think we will. I've been trying to group things into similar priced groups and saving boxes to display everything in.
I'm also busy trying to plan my blog and social media work in preparation for the summer when I will have children constantly under my feet!
Looking forward to
I can't believe that the children only have five weeks left until the long summer holiday. I'm very much looking forward to it as I love having them around, although it's hard work. At least it's much easier now that they are older and I have Minecraft as an option for easy entertainment.
At the start of July once the children have broken up for the summer we've booked a mid-week break to Center Parcs Elveden Forest. It will be the first time that we've visited during the summer as we usually aim for cheaper out of season breaks when it's cold and rainy, so I'm really hoping that we get some nice weather, maybe we will even manage a barbecue or two!
A small cardboard box with floor and sides (or you can cut down a larger one)
Newspaper or other thin paper
Tissue paper
Bostik White Glu
Black and grey paint
Alien cut out stickers
Stars and sequins
Instructions:
First prepare your box by cutting it down if necessary. Then tear lots of tissue paper into small pieces. Pour out some Bostik White Glu into a deep plastic cup. First make a rocky base for your box with some scrumpled up pieces of newspaper, especially in the corners and edges. Then take pieces of thinner tissue paper, cover them with the glue using a brush, and spread them out over the newspaper to make a smooth surface. Cover the inside of the box with tissue paper too in thin layers.
Wait until the tissue paper and glue are completely dry, then paint them with grey paint. Paint the rest of the box black to form the sky. When the black paint has dried you can add a coat of sparkly glue paint.
While everything is drying you can make your aliens. I used the foam alien stickers, and I stuck them to cardboard to make them thicker. I used a small square of cardboard to make a base for them, secured in place with a line of Bostik White Glu.
When the background to your play scene is dry you can decorate with star stickers and sequins. Then you are ready to play!
The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.
After I finished my crochet bunting I was planning on taking a break from crochet for a little while. But I found that I missed having a craft to work on that didn't take too much thought and was easy to pick up. So I decided that it was time to make another crochet blanket! I still had quite a lot of yarn left after finishing the bunting, in a lovely selection of pinks and purples. I try not to build up too much of a yarn stash, so I wanted to find a project that would use it up and could also be combined with something that I already had.
When I was planning my Sky Blanket I was lucky enough to be sent more than enough yarn than I needed from Make it Coats. One colour that I barely used was white, and so I ended up with plenty of extra white yarn. So I decided to combine the leftover bunting yarn with some of the white, and go with a simple large granny square blanket.
So far each side of the blanket is measuring about 70 cm, and although I've just started my second ball of white yarn I have plenty of the coloured balls left. I'm intending the blanket to be for Mia as it will match her bunting, and she seems to be pleased with that idea. I'm now trying to think whether I want it to stay square or whether I need to turn it into a rectangle, either with rows of treble groups down each end or with plain rows, then with a border around. It will probably depend how much yarn I'm left with when it's reached the width that I'm aiming for!
I like doing crochet in front of the television, but when my husband and I watch our shows together we devote our full attention to them and sit in the dark with no distractions. So I do my crochet when he's out or away and I can stick on something that doesn't take too much concentration. I also enjoy sitting in front of the PC and watching videos on YouTube, catching up with some of my favourite vloggers. Recently I've discovered the world of speed cleaning and decluttering videos and I've found a few favourites that I'm eagerly binge watching - they give me the motivation to get on with my own housework (perhaps I should film myself while I do it to earn a few pennies from YouTube ads!)
I also have a few balls of blue left over from the Sky Blanket and a couple of balls of green yarn from other projects, so I'm thinking if this blanket turns out nicely I'll make a second similar one for Harry.
