Matryoshka tooth pillows - felt

I absolutely love Russian dolls, as does my neighbour from the Ukraine! I designed these tooth pillows based on the popular image of the Matryoshka stacking dolls. There is a little pocket at the front where loose teeth can go while you're waiting for the tooth fairy to whisk them away.

Soon to be available from my etsy shop along with other variations.

Boy's room picture Felt on Canvas

I've got my first craft fayre in a few weeks so developing some ideas of items to sell. This will be amongst them, this is felt sewn onto canvas for added boldness and texture. I think this will look really good in a boy's room to help mark his territory!! There's no doubt who's room this belongs to!

These will shortly be for sale in my etsy shop

Christmas Wreath tutorial

I have just mastered the basics of photoshop having been shown yesterday so here is my first ever tutorial. Look out world, I've got my hands on some software I sort of understand! :)

Making Christmas Wreaths

Katie and I made a Christmas wreath today. I did the cutting, she did the sticking.

Cut out a circle from an old cereal box, I used a dinner plate and a bowl. I had previously cut out holly shaped pieces of paper and added today some leaf shaped pieces of felt left over from the fuzzy felt tree project (nothing goes to waste in our house!)

I really like it, I've got it hanging in the window as it's not suitable to put on the door. It's facing inwards too so we can enjoy it rather than the neighbours. Simple and kept her occupied for a good 20 minutes while I managed to get a small amount of tidying done!!

Fuzzy Felt Christmas tree for the kids

This is a fuzzy felt tree I made for the kids which they can use again and again... The tree is felt stuck to card and I cut the baubles from different coloured felt then let Katie stick bits of cut felt, gem stickers and glitter glue on to decorate them.

Hughes Christmas Mantel 2012

Handmade advent calendar, handmade heart garland and pine cones gathered on nature walks with the kids.

Just love it!

The Hughes Christmas tree 2012

Father Christmas Peg doll

Painted red by Katie (4yo) and she helped me stick the buttons, beard, hat and cloak on.

We made one for her playgroup tree too :)

Snowflake window stickers - genius!!

If you've got kids, and windows this is a no brainer! Just brilliant!

Christmas discovery bottles

Christmas Bottles!

I went into Katie’s playgroup and made these with her and her little friends, which also raised money for Evelina Children's Hospital. There are stars and Christmas confetti made up of trees, holly leaves and berries from the 99p shop, glitter and liquid glucose.

Liquid glucose is 1 part water to 2 parts sugar, melt in a saucepan until it is bubbling and all sugar crystals are melted. Wait till cooled and add a drop or two of liquid food colouring.

We had beautiful glass bottles to use but a jam jar or plastic bottle would work well too.

Old sweater to a new throw.

Upcycled the cardigan I made in 2011 as it was too heavy with the cabling so wasn't as flattering or as easy to wear as I thought it would be. The wool was lovely and heavy though so I made it into a throw to be lovely and snuggly this winter.

I prefer it as a blanket!!

Quilted Christmas Tree Skirt

I'm having a home made Christmas phase at the moment, which is probably the best time of year for it to be honest!!

I love this, and so does my husband. I hope we can make some wonderful memories of home-made, hand-crafted Christmases for our children. It'll definately make opening the Christmas decorations box more exciting for me!

Felt Advent Calendar

My friend Lucy put me onto this website as an advent calendar made of felt which you can use every year forever!! Brilliant I thought and have been busy sewing this little beauty for the last few months on and off. It was time consuming but now it's on the wall (for photo purposes of course! I'm not mental!) it looks a-MAZE-ing!!!

See the instructions on this brilliant blog Shannon Makes Stuff: http://shannonmakesstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/felt-advent-calendar.html

Each of the baubles is a little pocket that you can put a treat in, one side has the number and on the reverse is a Christmas image - a real, proper advent calendar!! :)

I love that I've done this in time to make it a Christmas Hughes tradition too, the kids are still so young that this will hopefully be one of those special things that makes Christmas for them and that makes me all warm and fuzzy.

NB. I know the lighting is quite bad but I thought it would make it more atmospheric. I might re-post it with daytime pictures depending how badly these come out!!

A couple of simple ideas to play with marbles.

Today was about marbles. I finally found the marbles I thought I'd lost (seriously).

We made a discovery bottle with red liquid glucose (1 part water to 2 parts sugar which has been brought to boiling point and cooled) and baby oil. We put a few marbles in the bottle too so not only do the colours seperate when you shake it and let it settle but the marbles bump along the ridges of the bottle.

When Katie wasn't watching I put a marble in a balloon and blew it up. Very funny, I'd recommend you do this!! Great fun to play catch with and she's really enjoyed shaking it and spinning the marble around inside the balloon.

 

Sensory Balloons

We made these yesterday, balloons filled with rice or beans/lentils, whatever dried beans you have in your kitchen.

 

Both kids loved this activity, it was really messy but easy enough to clean up on the carpet!

 

Ollie likes to throw these around now, but he does give them a squeeze and a poke first bless him :)

 

Threading game for toddlers

Sieve and pipe cleaners, who knew?? Kept Ollie entertained for ages and later, Katie so easy and from items I had at home. My favourite kinds of activities!

Coloured bead sorting game.

Coloured bead sorting game.

I've made holes in the bottom of an old plastic tub and put different coloured pipe cleaners through. Then I've given Katie a selection of beads which match the colours of the pipe cleaners and she can then match them up and thread them on.

When putting away poke the pipe cleaners back through into the pot, pop the beads in and secure the lid. I've even written instructions on the lid so daddy knows how to play it :)

 

 

Scoop from a bottle!

This was a thin bleach bottle (thoroughly cleaned) as the plastic is quite tough, thought it would make an ideal spade/scoop for playing in a wet sand pit!!! Kids loved it, sand too wet to build castles but still very happy just messing about in it with the new sand scoop. :)

Playdough Recipe

Playdough Recipe

Today we made purple playdough as it's today's favourite colour! Again, this is a really good recipe to make with your toddler as it's measured in cups and it's half the fun!!

1 cup cooking/table salt
1 1/2 cups plain flour
4 tblsp cream of tartar
4 tblsp cooking oil - sunflower/vegetable or olive oil.
Just under 1 cup of water - you can add more if you need
food colouring

Mix all the ingredients together and stir well. I add food colouring using tiny syringes that come with Katie's multi vitamins and then knead together like bread dough until it's smooth and the colour is uniform.

Should keep indefinately if stored in a plastic bag or container.

 

 

Pancakes for little helpers

Pancakes for little chefs.

Anything involving measuring with cups is genius with toddlers, Katie doesn't eat much, but she loves these!

1 Cup plain flour
3/4 cup milk

1 tsp baking powder
2 tblsp golden syrup
tiny pinch salt
1 tblsp melted butter
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients until fairly smooth (if your little helper will let you near the whisk!)

Fry on a low to medium heat until golden on both sides, you will see the bubbles rising and popping, then flip over.

I'd like to say I serve this with fresh seasonal fruit and natural yoghurt.... but in all honesty, I serve it with nutella because I know she'll eat it :)

Finger food that all children will love that's quick and you're cooking with them. Win/win. Enjoy. x

 

 

Home Made Finger Paints

Finger Paints.

Home made, cheap, non toxic and will last as long as expensive shop bought paint! Amazing colours too from red, yellow and blue liquid food colouring.

1 cup cornflour, mix with 1 cup cold water add 3 cups boiling water and ...

stir until thick like custard.

Split into three, add yellow to one, red to another and blue to the last one, then mix the primary colours together to get the secondary colours.

Idea taken from www.rainydaymum.co.uk

 

 

Home Made Watercolour Paints

Watercolour Paints

Home made paints, take two days to dry and have really good colours. Cheap to make and non toxic from everyday cupboard ingredients.

3 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp cornflour

3 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp liquid glucose syrup
food colouring

Mix bicarb, cornflour, vinegar and glucose until it stops fizzing, seperate and add a few drops of food colouring to create the desired colours. Leave to dry on a windowsill for 2 days till dry.

**Liquid glucose is made 1 part water to 2 parts sugar, boil until sugar dissolved**

Recipe idea from Eco Crafting with kids by Kate Lilley

 

 

The Gruffalo Mask

The Gruffalo mask...

Made out of felt with elastic to keep it on your face. Brilliant for role play. Am considering making a whole Gruffalo storysack to sell but stick with the masks for now.

Available to buy on my Etsy site : https://www.etsy.com/listing/106552569/hand-sewn-gruffalo-mask-made-out-of-felt

Jubilee Tea Cosy for BHF

I have designed and made this unique oversize tea cosy to auction on ebay to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation appeal on behalf of Chris' baby girl Isabelle.

 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320901753286

Butterfly Breastfeeding Wrap

This is a butterfly breastfeeding wrap, I made it for a fundraiser my friend Claire is organising for her Brighton Mums Breastfeeding Drop in Centre charity. This is one of the raffle prizes. I'm considering making these to sell, but waiting for some feedback.

Charity toys for Royal Sussex Air Ambulance

My craft group and I made these toys for the Royal Sussex Air Ambulance to put towards their fundraising. They were very appreciative and we were pleased to be able to help a local charity between us. The group has now unfortunately had it's funding cut so whether we continue to make things for local charities is uncertain.

Dear Zoo Storysack

I made these puppets for Katie to play with and she adores them!

Katie's Green Jumper

I wanted to make Katie a new jumper because I can't get her to wear the jumper dress I made her. We went together to the shop and she chose some purple wool and some purple buttons to decorate it with and when asked what I should make she said "a green jumper". Honestly, the child drives me to distraction!!!

Oliver's curtains

I have up-cycled these curtains from ones which were Katie's when she was in the nursery.

Before:

After:

Mother's Day 2012

What we made nanny and grandma...

Scissor fabric cushions

My lovely new friend Tanya designed and printed this fabric for me because she knows my love of all things craft. I have just finished making it into cushions, aren't they fab?!? I love them!!!

Rocket and spaceman buggy toy

This is for a little friend I haven't met yet. The idea is that it can be tied to a carry handle on a newborn carseat to keep baby amused. I've put some crinkly plastic inside the spaceman too so it makes a noise if baby manages to catch hold of it!

It is one of the first things I have put on Etsy, so if you would like one they are available on my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MummyHughesy

Crochet blanket in granny style

I was going to abandon this project which started as a baby blanket but was too thick and I worried about little fingers getting caught. My husband didn't want me to undo the work I'd put in and showed it to his brother who really liked the colours. So several weeks later this is no longer a baby blanket but a lovely snuggly throw for my brother in law.

My boy is helping me model it for the camera, what a helpful baby!!

A lazy afternoon pottering....

I really want to get all my craft things better organised so I thought I'd utilise a basket I bought recently on a whim. I used some strawberry print fabric to line it with some green ribbon to finish it off. I'm reading Anne of Green Gables at the moment and this is exactly the type of thing I can imagine her using.

New jumper dress for Katie

I thought I would make a jumper dress for Katie, I have knitted the skirt but tried my hand at crocheting the bodice and bottom trim. I have sewn some lace along the bottom inside edge too to make it prettier.

Unfortunately Katie is in an "I don't like it" phase. *sigh*

Kenton's Christmas Jumper 2011

My brother mentioned back in the summer that he really wanted a Christmas jumper, a proper hand-knitted jumper. I don't think he thought I was going to do anything, he really loves Christmas so I thought I'd do him this favour. As you can see, it took me several weeks to complete from a 1980s pattern I bought online - little did I know that this year these designs would be the height of fashion!! Kenton is massive too so this is the pattern in Large with an additional 10cm! I lost count of how many balls of wool I used to make this, but he was so pleased it made it worthwhile. Merry Christmas. :)