Don't they grow up fast!

My eldest monkey left his junior school today, he is all ready for high school in September. At the beginning of the year I was really worried, he just didn't seem old enough to me. But how he has changed this school year! He is so ready now, he can't wait and I'm not worried about how he will cope anymore.

However that didn't stop my emotional meltdown after his 'leaving assembly' today. It started with pictures of all the children as babies and just starting school. They played Everybody's Changing by Keane (that song gets me at the best of times!). Then the children got up and all did little sketches or songs or dances in groups. It was brilliant, they were so funny and confident. One girl had such amazing comic timing, she has always seemed so quiet and shy, not only mine who has grown up a lot this year!

At the end the teachers got up and dressed as rappers and sang a song to the kids, this was a complete surprise to the kids and they loved it, a lot of fun! I kept my tears in check until I got outside and then I was sobbing, the embarrassment *shudder* At least my son didn't see me lol

Here is my eldest, with my youngest monkey (who has finally had his girly hair cut off, he made Daddy have his cut at the same time *grin*) Not the best picture of youngest monkey but eldest monkey is gorgeous in it.

Both my children make me so proud and happy every single day. But today I'm especially proud of my grown up boy. He is going on holiday with his Dad tomorrow for a week, I'll miss him a lot but I know he will have a brilliant time. The week after that both boys are going to stay with my Dad and Stepmum, this will be the first Andy and I will be without a child in a long time! I'm going to make the most of it and pamper my lovely man :D Whilst trying very hard not to miss the monkeys too much!

Oooh lovely!

How great is it when you stumble upon an amazing blog? I recently discovered U-Handblog run by Lisa. It is really worth checking out, Lisa has made some really easy to follow tutorials. Isn't it nice of her to share all her knowledge with us and even give us step by step instructions too! I have always been scared of zips on bags. Now I can fasten a bag with a zip and make a zipped inner pocket on a bag :D Thank you Lisa!!

I can also use piping, hurray! I used the Chevron shoulder bag tutorial to make this lovely bag...

As you can see it doesn't actually have any chevrons on it *whistles* as I didn't have any striped material and had been dying to use these 50's inspired fabrics I picked up in my favourite fabric shop Country Threads in Bath. You might see them nestled up there in my banner. My straps aren't very nice, I couldn't find large rings or fusible fleece, but I'm very happy with it anyway :D

I had some fabric left over and after looking at this tutorial at Sew Christine and this one at That Darn Kat for fabric purses, or wallets as they call them in the US, I came up with this...

Look it has pockets for notes, credit cards and a picture of my little monkeys, AND it has a zipped pocket for coins, hurrah!

I used some satin ribbon to close it that I've had sitting around for ages, it'll probably be very annoying tying that everytime but right now I don't care because its so gorgeous :D

Domokun

My son is crazy for this Japanese TV character Domokun....

I've been looking for a pattern to sew him, I found a tutorial to make an Ipod cover on Crafster, you can find it here but no sewing pattern.

So anyway, I decided to go freestyle and have just finished this...

Although it isn't remotely pretty, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I was worried it wouldn't stand up, but yey he does :D I used pipecleaners in his arms so they will bend but are still quite soft. I had been thinking about his teeth for quite a while, I didn't want to make them from felt as they wouldn't stay looking so sharp after sewing. I had a wander around Hobbycraft this morning and stumbled upon foam sheets, even better they had ones with adhesive on the back, so it stayed in place well as it was sewn. My sewing machine grumbled a lot but it did sew well. The rest of him is made from felt.

My son loves him, so job done! Now my sister wants one, I may do a tutorial as I make the next one, so watch this space.

Welcome to my new blog!

Well I guess it's finally time to start my own blog. I spend so much time browsing other peoples blogs, I should really give something back :D

My blog is dedicated to pretty things, who doesn't like pretty? I have a huge interest in many crafts and hope to share some of those with you.

My primary hobby/business is making bakery style candles and wax melts, I have a website selling them, you can look at them here. This is a new one I have just perfected, strawberry tart, perfect for summer!

My other interests include (this grows by the day!) sewing, doll making, quilting, jewellery making, Fimo, cooking, crochet and knitting.

I hereby pledge to commit myself to this blog and not let it be a passing fancy! What a good way to document my makings and buyings :)

Sarah x