Easy Craft for Chidren :- Fabric flowers

So a couple of weeks ago I posted this craft, decorated pencil pot.

And I promised a tutorial on how to make those pretty fabric flowers..... here it is.

What you need

Scrap fabric
Pinking shears
Needle and STRONG thread
Button (optional)


First off cut a strip of fabric with the pinking shears 13" long by 1.5" wide.
Then in contrasting fabric cut a circle of fabric approx 1.5" diameter.

Sew a running stitch down the long side of the strip of fabric.  Try and keep your stitches small.

When you get to the end pull the thread and gather up the fabric.

It will naturally curl into a circle.  Put a couple of stitches holding the 2 corners together where you started and finished the stitching.

If you overlap the ends the stitches should hold the flower together with no opening.

Place your circle of fabric on top, centre it and put a running stitch around the circle to hold in place.

It will look like this at the back.

Add a button if you want to then secure all stitches and knot at the back.

Here I did 2 circles of fabric and I snipped the flower into petals (after construction)

For this one I cut the fabric 3" wide and folded in in half longways and ran a running stitch through the raw edges so that the fold was the outer of the flower.

Need ideas how to use them?  Check out this What to do with fabric flowers.

The Royal Baby arriveth

And so he has arrived.....that poor little peanut.  He doesn't know what he's in for does he?

Being British in the U.S. EVERYONE thinks that I must be soooo interested in the new Royal baby.  I was out playing in my weekly pool league last night and I can't tell you how many people came up to me to ask what I thought of the new royal baby. 

To be perfectly  honest I'm more interested to see if he has a Norland Nanny or not....just in case you are new to the blog or just stumbled across it, Norland is the college that I trained at.  Want to know more?  Go on...you know you do....click HERE

Anyway I'm not going to waffle on about that poor little blighter who one day will have more responsibility on his shoulders than he ever wished for.  I just wanted to share with you a sample of all the lovely British things I have in the shop just in case you feel like celebrating the new birth.

Cheerio!

Click here for more info

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To see the full collection visit Textile Trolley on Etsy

Parenting Techniques

I'd like to say that I stay on top of all the crazy 'parenting techniques' out there.....but I don't! 
There are way too many 'unusual' methods to raising children for my liking.

We appear to be in a world today that over worries about how to raise a child, it seems as a race we have become obsessed and neurotic about how children are raised when really we just need to cut it back to the basics. 

I understand that times are different today than when most of us (now parents/caregivers) were children, I know I didn't have to worry about drugs and gangs too much in the Yorkshire Dales (I was more worried about whether I was allowed to go to the Youth or the Rugby Club Disco at the end of the month).  But I don't see why the basic values of raising and interacting with children has to change.

I guess we have to ask ourselves what our goals are for who we would like our children to become.  When you cut it down to the basics I would imagine most people would have a list that would look something like this.

I would like my child to be....

Happy
Healthy
Honest
Well mannered
Confident
Grounded with common sense
Feel loved
Financially secure


So as a parent how do you raise your child to eventually possess those qualities? 
Well I think another list would be helpful.
 
As a parent/caregiver I need to....

Be honest
Be affectionate
Be aware of dangers
Be a parent not a friend
Be consistent
Be a good role model
Be a good listener
Be fun
Be firm


Now I'm just shooting off the top of my head here, rattling off because I can.  I haven't done research, I'm not writing a book about it so please don't fault me if I missed something major  :o)

And if you don't agree with my writings then maybe you could check out this article I read earlier on CTFD
The Latest Parenting Trend
Even if you do agree, the link is worth a click.

Easy Craft for Children:- Pencil pot out of a coffee can

It's been a while since I've done a craft tutorial so I thought I'd show you my decorated pencil pot from an old coffee can.

You will need these items

tin or card coffee can
fabric
ruler
scissors
Mod Podge

Ye old coffee can

Ye old naked coffee can (most wrappings are easy to remove)

Measure coffee can

Measure precisely from just inside both rims and you can use a piece of string or tape measure to measure the circumference of the can, then cut out the fabric according to the measurements and add about half an inch extra to overlap the fabric once it has gone round the can.

If you have a cutting mat, ruler and rotary cutter it makes the job very easy

I applied Mod Podge to the tin and then slowly wrapped the fabric around, making sure the loose end overlaps the glued end.

Let it dry for a good day.  Then you can add flowers or any other kind of decoration if you desire.  You could even glue on different fabrics in different shapes or spell a name in fabric and glue it on.  Typical, I have these ideas after I've finished the project. 

Use it for pencils, straws, flowers (smaller vase inside pot), really anything!

I'll show you how to make the fabric flowers in a later post.....they are SOOOOO EASY!!!!

The local Goat Walk!!!!!! What? You don't have one?

No it's not a leisurely afternoon stroll where all the local goats meet.  This is New Jersey's first bridge of sorts for exploratory goats.  Pictures will make this easier.

The Goat Walk

This wonderful structure is located at Alstede's Farm in Chester, New Jersey.

I don't live far from here but don't make it to Chester very often.  My neighbour was running over to the farm for the BOGO plant sale (great deal)....so I decided to tag along. 

The goat walk is a recent addition to the farm, I had never heard of a goat walk before, my knowledge of a goat walk is our neighbour walking his goat Billy up and down the road (he goat napped him from a BBQ 17 years ago, and now they are best pals, he was supposed to be the main dish *true story*).

See the yellow band leading from the ground up?  That's a pulley system to feed the goats.  There are half chewed plastic cups (those goats will eat anything) for you to fill with food and hoist it up to the goats waiting at the top.

FEED ME!

How's the view from up there?

Looks like they've even eaten the fencing up there.

There's even a place to clean your hands

Check out this handsome fella

And these cuties just chilling

Meanwhile for some, the grass is always greener on the other side

They have other animals at the farm too...

The bunny that looks like he swallowed a small child, "no carrots for me, I'm stuffed"

The two headed cow

A gaggle of geese

So what seemed like a little trip to pick up some plants turned into a rather thrilling trip to the farm.  This is why I always try and remember to carry a camera!

Alstede's is a great place to visit if you are in the Chester area or close by.  This working farm has so much  to offer Farm Camp for children, pick your own fruits, the farm store has a wonderful array of fresh fruit and veg as well as home baked goods, they can host birthday parties, there's a corn maze in the fall, they run seminars such as bee keeping and tree pruning, they offer a harvest club (read more on the website), there's a blueberry pancake breakfast happening tomorrow YUMMO! and a peach harvest festival in early August, check out their website for more info.


And if you are interested in looking at more goat walks click here to view these Google images.  Milburn Orchards in Maryland looks like the most intricate (and high). 

Bib and Burp Cloth Sets

I'ts been a crazy few weeks.  I feel like I'm not exactly on top of the blog like I need to be but I think sometimes you just have to bend a little.... right?

I've been busy putting together a new flash sale for Groopdealz.  I did a Paper Chain Kit with them a while ago that went pretty well....I'm hoping this 'Bib and Burp Cloth' one will do even better.

These sets are 3 layers of 100% cotton, designer print on the top backed by 2 layers of white flannel.

Regularly priced at $18 in the shop, they'll be going on sale for $10 on Groopdealz.com
I'll post again with the sale date when it's confirmed but hopefully in the next 2 weeks.

I'll be offering these 4 sets (looks like a clutch doesn't it?  LOL)

Owls

Whales

Birds

Jungle

Pinterest as a source of inspirtation for keeping the children occupied.

If you haven't discovered Pinterest yet where have you been? you should really get over there now!

They say a picture speaks a thousand words....Pinterest is a brilliant place for inspiration for all sorts of projects, crafts, remodeling etc, you name it, they have it.  I get a lot of traffic from Pinterest to my blog because of this instructional post I did on
How to make a patchwork blanket

Pinterest is a great source of ideas to keep the children out of your hair occupied this summer.

I pin on this board occasionally Kids Craft Ideas it has the most amazing ideas for EVERYTHING to do with children.  In fact you'll probably be so mesmerized looking through it that you'll need an idea to keep your children occupied while you're surfing.