Miniature Halloween knitting for the dolls house

Today I have a guest post from my sister Anna. She's sharing some of the gorgeous miniature knitted items that she has made with a Halloween theme, great for adding an Autumnal seasonal touch to your dolls house!

You can purchase the knitting patterns for these items in Anna's Etsy shop here - Halloween Knitting Patterns for Pukifee and Lati Yellow. 

Jen has very kindly invited me to talk about my Hallowe’en knitting pattern book! It’s one of five knitting pattern books I’ve written for 1:12 scale ball-jointed dolls, especially Pukifee and Lati Yellow. I love these dolls, they are so cute, and it’s easier than it looks to knit clothes for them. All my patterns are designed so that they can be made by any intermediate (or adventurous beginner) knitter.

Because these dolls are the same size as dolls house dolls (other than their heads) a lot of the patterns in this book and my others can be used for other dolls, or for decoration. Also of course you don’t need to make them so tiny – using thicker yarn and bigger needles will make bigger items.

My personal favourite in this collection is the little pumpkin – at the smallest size it is very cute, and you can make it using any yarn and appropriate-sized needles, to make pumpkins in any size you wish for decoration this Hallowe’en!

The pumpkin hat has also been very popular, especially in my shop where I also sometimes sell finished items.

There are also patterns for a witch’s hat, witch’s cloak and a trick-or-treat bag in the shape of a little cat. Knitting miniature items can be a lot of fun – a bit fiddly but as they are so small they are quick to finish and you can outfit your whole dolls house with tiny jumpers in no time.

So why not give it a try!

Anna's Etsy shop is here - beepbeep - where you can find the Halloween Knitting Patterns book along with other books of knitting patterns and more gorgeous crafty things.

Playing the #minsgame again

I first took part in the Minimalism Game back in February 2015 (I wrote about the #minsgame here). If you're not familiar with it, the Minimalism Game was invented by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus - known collectively as The Minimalists - and is a method of decluttering your home. On the first day of the month you get rid of one item, on the second two, and so on until the end of the month. At the end of the month you should have made a huge dent in the number of things in your home - if I've worked it out correctly September should see me remove 465 items.

This decluttering method is very different to the Marie Kondo method, which I've also used before. But my clutter problem really is a continuous one, there's a steady flow of things coming in to the house, and I don't want it to pile up. So I find that taking part in the Minimalism Game fairly regularly (I think I've done it about four times now) is a good way to keep things in check.

I do bend the rules slightly. You are supposed to take part in the game with a friend or two, but after the first time, when I was invited to take part in a group, I've been playing it on my own.

Also, officially you are supposed to have everything from that day leave the house the same day, but that's not practical for me. Most of my items go to the charity shop, and I can't pop there every day with just a few bits and pieces. So I have an area in my wardrobe with different bags - charity shop items, charity bag things (for the scruffier clothing that is collected door to door) and things to pass on to others (after having checked that they actually want them!) There's also a small box for things to sell on eBay, I don't really like doing it but I have made some money that way. When one bag is full I take it where it needs to go.

I also stack things up in advance which I'm sure is frowned upon. But especially as the days go on I can struggle to find the time to declutter that many things at once. I keep a list on my phone so I can keep track, and the end result will be the same!

I find it a really motivating way to declutter. It suits my enjoyment in making lists, ticking things off, and having a goal to work towards. It also forces me to make decisions about things that otherwise I might have overlooked or procrastinated on. For example we have a room at the top of the house that had developed quite a pile behind the door of old boxes and packaging materials, far more than we will ever use, now it's lovely and clear!

I started with the craft cupboard which was very successful - I found over 40 paintbrushes and 15 pipettes, which have now been culled to a more reasonable number! I'm also tackling Mia's bookcase and passing on some of the picture and board books, she's much more interested in books about fairies and puppies now. Next up I'm going to be re-visiting my own bookshelves, and having a go at toiletries.

Have you every played the Minimalism Game? Or have I inspired you to give it a go? I'd love to hear your experiences!

September - Lately I've been...

I'm a bit late with my update this month - after sorting the children out with back to school I had lots to catch up on, both blog-wise and house-wise! So here's what I've been up to lately.

Thinking about

Now that the children are back at school I'm thinking about how quiet the house is, and wondering what they are up to. Today they are both starting new lunch time clubs - Mia has joined a Speech and Drama class and Harry has finally been persuaded to join the Junior Choir as his school is taking part in the Young Voices performace at the O2 next year. I hope they enjoy them!

I'm also looking around and thinking that the houses is looking a bit cluttered again so I'm taking part in the Minimalism Game again this month. I've written about the #minsgame before, I find it's a method that really helps me to keep on top of the clutter in the home and tackle the areas that I keep putting off.

Crafting

My latest crafty project is in collaboration with Love Crochet. I've been sent some lovely yarn to make something with, and I decided to make a small scarf for one of Mia's teddies. I'm combining the different colours together to add a bit of interest. Unfortunately I didn't work out the width very well so it's going to end up being a very large scarf - I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up fitting Mia better than her teddy!

Our Instagram crafting community continues to grow - last month almost three hundred posts were tagged with #craftingismytherapy_august. If you'd like to join in this month we'd love to see you share your crafty projects under #craftingismytherapy_september.

Watching

We've just finished watching The Handmaid's Tale which I enjoyed very much. It's one of my favourite books so I was interested to see how it transferred to the screen. I don't want to spill any spoilers but I was pleased with the adaptation, even if it did have lots of extras which are clearly a set up to future episodes going beyond the scope of the book.

We've been watching a few films too, although not that many that have particularly stood out. The Big Sick was quite funny, and Life was also enjoyable, albeit a bit gruesome!

Eating

The children are back to school so I'm back to being careful with what I eat. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I hadn't put on as much weight over the summer as I expected (and probably deserved to). I'm hoping this is down to the fact that I made a real effort to hit my step targed (11,000 steps) every day - even when I had to march around the house in circles because the weather was too bad to drag the children out. Hopefully a few weeks of proper calorie counting will sort it, and then I just have to be careful not to slip back into the unhealthy habits.

Travelling to

We've mainly stayed local this month, the furthest we've been was to a wedding in Bracknell over the Bank Holiday weekend which was very fun and a good chance to catch up with lots of people. Now I'm just travelling to school and back every day!

Reading

I recently re-read Bill Bryon's The Road to Little Dribbling after being reminded about it when a friend posted a quote on Facebook. It's hilarious and quite thrilling because Angmering gets a (very brief) mention, as does Worthing. I love all of Bill Bryon's books and I've read most of them several times over, they still make me giggle.

I'm currently re-reading The Handmaid's Tale after watching the television series. It's another book that I've read several times, but not recently, so it's interesting to go back to it.

Planning

Over the October half-term we have a very exciting trip coming up - we are going to Hong Kong and Singapore. Ram and I visited Singapore some years ago, and I always hoped that I'd be able to return one day with children. We've never been to Hong Kong, but we are planning to visit Disneyland Hong Kong for two days and then we'll definitely find plenty more to keep us busy. It's a big trip (kicked off with a 14 hour long haul flight!) and there is lots of planning to do. So I've set up a Trello board and I've been doing lots of research. I've put together a pretty comprehensive list of things that I want us to do, so now I'm moving on to the detailed planning - scheduling in the days and making a note of how to get to places, opening times and prices and so on.

Of course, like any trip away I also find myself planning and scheduling for my blog and social media to keep it ticking over while I'm away, so there's all that to plan too!

Looking forward to

Our holiday of course, and before that a few weeks of getting the house back to normal after the summer holidays!

What have you been up to lately?

Autumn Leaf Hama bead coasters

It's getting cooler outside, and with the children now firmly back at school my thoughts are turning to Autumn crafting. Last year I used my Hama beads to make some Autumn Hama bead battery candle holders which I was really pleased with, and so this year I've brought the Hama beads back out, this time to make some Autumn leaf coasters for those warming Autumnal drinks.

Although the leaves are made using Autumn colours, I've also included some pastel blue and green. Even though the weather is turning colder, winter isn't here quite yet, and there can still be some lovely blue sky at this time of year!

I came up with two different leaf designs and used a variety of different colours. I think they also look nice arranged into a square, a bit like my Hama bead Russian Doll tiled picture!

They are ironed on both sides, and well ironed to make sure that they won't come apart. After ironing, I always place my Hama bead pieces between two cork mats and leave something heavy on the top for a little while to make sure that they cool flat, otherwise the finished project can have a tendency to warp.

Related post - Ironing tips for Hama beads

With Halloween approaching, you might also like my Halloween Hama bead coasters. Or I have also designed some Hama bead coasters for Easter featuring Easter Eggs.

Related post - Hama bead crafts for Halloween

You can find all my Hama bead designs on my Hama bead page. 

Blog post ideas for Autumn

The children are back at school, and after taking a bit of a break over the summer holidays it's time to get back into my blogging! So I thought I'd put together a list of blog post ideas for Autumn to get me started, and hopefully they will inspire you too!

* Before the memories fade, it's a good opportunity to reflect back on the summer. You could share some of your favourite summer photos, and remember some of the fun things that you got up to. This could be done as an interview with children, asking them about the things that they enjoyed the most.

* Did you travel anywhere for summer this year? Now is a good time to think about what you enjoyed, what you didn't, and make your travel plans for next year.

* As the children begin a new school year it's a good opportunity for a catch up. You could write about how the children have changed since last September (perhaps along with some photos to compare) and what you hope the new school year brings for them. This could be done in an interview style, asking questions about their favourite school subject, what they hope to be when they grow up, and so on.

* Do you have any school tips to share with new school parents? Essential items for schoolbags or perhaps some packed lunch ideas, as well as helping children settle down and make friends.

* Has September brought a new change in routine now that the children are back at school? Do you have a little one that has started school for the first time and you finally have some extra time to yourself, or are you back at work after a summer break? How do you feel about it?

* I always find September a good time of year for a new start and new resolutions. Do you have any goals that you want to accomplish before the end of the year? Similarly it's a good time to catch up with those New Year's Resolutions and see how they are going!

* One of my favourite things about going back to school was always new exercise books and new stationery. You could do a roundup of the favourite things that you've bought for your children (or yourself!) this new school year, or a round up of new bits that you've spotted.

* As the evenings start to draw in it's fun to think about making your home more cosy for winter. You could pick out some seasonal decor for your home, like cosy throws and comfy cushions with an Autumnal theme.

* You could also do some seasonal wardrobe picks and share some of your favourite Autumnal clothing pieces.

* It's a great time to share Autumn recipes, using seasonal ingredients, that are warm and comforting, for example my Spicy Butternut Squash Soup. If you have published several on your blog over the years then you might want to consider publishing a round up so that readers can easily find them all in one place.

* Similarly, what are your favourite Autumn ingredients for cooking and baking? We have an apple tree in the garden, and I love trying out new apple recipes. Many years I manage to grow a pumpkin, and I love making pumpkin soup.

* Before the weather gets too cold, plan a visit out and about to see the beautiful natural Autumn colours. Write about a family or solo trip to the forest, and collect plenty of fallen leaves to use for crafting when you get home.

* There are lots of other natural things that you can use for Autumn crafting - like conkers, acorns, pine cones. See what you can come up with, and share the results on your blog. It's also a good opportunity for a round up of Autumn crafts, either sharing your own or choosing posts from other bloggers to share.

* Write a list of your favourite things about Autumn. You also could ask friends and other bloggers for their own favourites to add to your list. Great to look back on too when the cold dark evenings are in full swing!

* Think back to some of your favourite Autumn memories. Did you have any back to school traditions, a place that you always visited as a family to collect Autumn leaves, or a favourite meal or drink that you enjoyed with family or friends.

* I'm not a coffee drinker but I've noticed that everyone seems very excited about the yearly launch of Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte, are there any other seasonal releases that you look forward to?

* On the 5th November in the UK we celebrate Bonfire Night - you could write about Bonfire Night memories and how you celebrate with your children.

* You could write a round up of firework displays in your local area to help people planning trips out (you could share it to local Facebook pages or groups), or write a review of a display that you've been to. You could share safety tips, or tips for visiting a fireworks event with young children.

* Also in Autumn comes Halloween, do you mark the occasion with your family? Do you go trick or treating or host a party at home? How do you carve your pumpkins? Share some of your favourite Halloween memories and traditions.

* Do you decorate your home for Halloween? Share some of your ideas, or share photographs of houses in your area with the best decorations.

* If you are hosting a Halloween party, share some Halloween party food and costume ideas. This could be homemade, or things that you've picked up or spotted in the shops.

* If you have published lots of Halloween posts over the years you could consider a Halloween round up to bring new eyes to older posts.

If you've enjoyed this post, you may like some of my other lists of blog post ideas:

Blog post ideas for craft bloggers
Blog post ideas for travel bloggers
Blog post ideas for Spring
Blog post ideas for Summer
Blog post ideas for Winter
Blog post ideas for Christmas

Finally, I've gathered many of these ideas together to form an entire year of blog post inspiration!

Photo by Aaron Burden via Unsplash

Annoying at the time, but I miss it now

Last night was another long evening of putting Harry to bed and suffering through his convoluted bedtime routine (a series of actions and phrases that must be repeated in a particular order and that if deviated from necessitates starting again. Very frustrating!) Once again, I got myself through it by promising myself that it won't be long before he won't want me putting him to bed, and I'll miss it when that happens.

It reminded me of some of the other annoying things that I had to do when they were small children, and that how when you are in the middle of something you don't appreciate that it's just a phase and will one day come to an end.

For example, toddler Harry went through a Button Moon stage. He played it with play dough, with cardboard props, watched episodes over and over, and for his third birthday he had a Button Moon cake. Throughout this phase, for lunch every day he would have a 'Button Moon sandwich', which was a circular Marmite sandwich with four holes in the centre. Then he demanded 'cheese around the edges' - so I had to cut up little cubes of cheese and arrange them artfully around the edge of the plate in just the right way to satisfy him. It was really annoying and made preparing his lunch quite a chore. But now I miss making him a shaped sandwich, he really did love it!

Also at mealtimes we always had to prepare a small bowl of food for his cuddly Giraffe. This was a little bowl of food from the toy kitchen filled with some scraps of green felt to make pretend food. It was really sweet - I'm sure that he doesn't remember but he's still so attached to Giraffe, I bet he'd love it if I made Giraffe a bowl of food tomorrow!

Bedtimes have always been a bit of a struggle in this house, and for a long time as part of the bedtime routine with both children we used an app on the tablet called Nighty Night. It's a picture of a farmhouse, and you click on the windows to put each animal to bed. There's a short and a long version, and I used to find it so boring sat there, desperate for some quiet time after a day spent with a toddler, waiting for them to painstakingly slowly put all the animals to bed. Then suddenly one night we didn't do it anymore and it was all forgotten, and now I quite miss it!

I used to dread the walk home from nursery after lunch with toddler Mia. It wasn't far away so I would take her scooter, which used to fill me with fear for the first part of the journey as she had to scoot alongside a busy road. Then soon after that she'd just give up and I'd have to push her home, balancing both rucksack and my handbag as I leaned over at an awkward angle. She was so slow, always wanting to stop to look for pine cones, even when I could see that there weren't any there, and she wanted to be lifted up to stand on every post that we passed. But now I miss our little chats and that time that we had together.

However one thing that I definitely don't miss about small children is the night times! They really were both such awful sleepers - Harry in particular with a couple of hours of screaming in the early hours every single night. I also don't miss those 4.45 am starts - even though he's still an early riser at least he can entertain himself in his room until we need to start getting ready for school!

What do you miss about the toddler years? And what will you definitely not miss?!

Matchbox Monster Pets

I've just finished sorting out the kitchen cupboard and had emptied a couple of small matchboxes. I was looking for a craft to use them, so I thought that the children might enjoy making some tiny monster pets to live inside.

You need:

A matchbox
Coloured paper or card
Small pom poms
Small googly eyes
Any other monster themed embellishments
A Bostik Fine and Wide Glu Pen

Instructions:

First we decorated the outside of the matchboxes. We used coloured paper to wrap around the outside and then they decorated the boxes with small googly eyes, stuck down firmly with the Bostik Fine and Wide Glu pen. This pen is really easy for little ones to use as you just need to squeeze it gently to release the glue. One end is wider for spreading, and the other end has a smaller nozzle for more detailed application.

For the monsters they stuck two small pom poms together and added a googly eye in the middle.

The monsters fit beautifully inside the matchboxes! The children also decorated the insides with pens and coloured paper to make a little home. They've loved playing with them!

The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.