Monday 25 July 2016

Party!












Since we became parents some 5 years ago, my partner and I have found it hard to find time or space for anything else. Looking after two young children is full on! We miss being creative, to leave a mess without fear of it being messed with, to start a project and see it through to the end.

So for our son's underwater-themed birthday party, we decided to go for it and get creative, to have a bit of fun! We'd been throwing some ideas about for awhile but in that typical way that deadlines creep up on you, we found ourselves with less than a week to go to actually start putting everything together...arrrrgghhh!!

We decided on two party games: "Pin the tentacles on the octopus" and "Shark Attack!". We put them together in 2 days! 
We made 20 sharks by hand - drawing, cutting out, painting and sticking down red tissue paper. The octopus head was laser cut MDF, with red crepe paper for tentacles.
My partner also made fish and crab signs for the party and octopuses with strawberry laces for the party bags :)

It was pretty intense and I was up till 3am the night before, baking and decorating the cake after finishing making the party games but it was all worth it! 
My favourite bit of the party was when all the kids ran towards the sharks, water sprays in hand. So much fun and laughter :D













Wednesday 13 July 2016

**Postcard giveaway**



I have left 25 of these postcards at the wonderful Rogan's Books so get 'em while you can - they're freeeeee! And while you're there, why not treat a child (or yourself!) to a beautiful picture book - there's so much to choose from. Just ask Rachael for a recommendation :)


Monday 4 July 2016

Summer Tees



These two Summer Tees are now in my updated Etsy shop!
Now all we need is some sun ;)





Sea Stamps!






We are very lucky that my partner has access to lots of cool machines that do cool stuff at his work. Our latest family collaboration is this set of sea stamps, which were made by a laser cutting machine based on drawings made by our boy and me. We used them to make some cards---> LOTS OF FUN! :)


Sunday 3 July 2016

Rogan's Books







How lucky we are in Bedford to have Rogan's Books, a beautifully charming independent children's bookshop. I remember the excitement I felt when I first stumbled upon it and noticed a copy of Beatrice Alemagna's "The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy" in the window. With each visit I have discovered more beautiful picture books to add to my ever growing wish list. Shop owner Rachael Rogan's knowledge is vast, and her passion and enthusiasm for children's books infectious! It's one of my favourite places to be in Bedford :)
Even better, the windows have recently been decorated by award-winning local illustrator David Litchfield! Must go and check it out soon!!


Lovely books

Me and my boy have been enjoying some lovely books lately.
First up are three books from the "Mammoth Academy" series by the brilliant Neal Layton, in Japanese!! Big thanks to my agents Arena for sending us these copies - it's a real treat for us to have books in Japanese, especially when the language is becoming more of a struggle for the boy the older he gets. He still gives it a good try though and has really enjoyed these stories, which often left him in a fit of giggles :D


Next up is the beautifully illustrated "Iron Man" by Ted Hughes. I'm a huge fan of Laura Carlin's art and bought this book for myself many years ago (although I never actually got round to reading it!) so it feels extra special to be able to read it together with my boy for the first time. We're about a third of the way through and I can't wait to find out what happens next. The illustrations really do match the mood of the story, and there's a great sense of suspense and intrigue - although I do have to remind him that it is MY book so his fingers must not be grubby and he must be extra careful with it!