It FELT great!

So I finally managed to pour my felting equipment on our large kitchen table. Been waiting to do this for a couple of weeks, ever since my lovely post arrived from Jayne.

Baby happy, daughter at the ready with her helping hands, clean and dry... so we started the process and here are photos as promised :)

We followed Jayne's instructions (see her Facebook page called Flowerfelt by Jayne). She's in Co. Kerry, Ireland, makes some beautiful flowers, corsages, broaches etc.

I read the instructions out loud and we both figured out how to do the layering together. Something my 4 year old Teagan enjoyed, once she understood the layers needed to overlap so that the fibres would merge later on. She helped with the olive oil soap, lathered it up with a scrunched up plastic bag. Thoroughly enjoyed the satisfying creation of bubbles. She didn't like waiting around while I made sure everything was correct but that's to be expected... she's 4 :D

Anyway, I did the process of dipping the final product in hot water, then warm, then cold water to shock it. So cool. Teagan happily stirred it with a wooden spoon while little brother watched on.

The felt is almost dry (left it dry naturally, it's taken the full day and a half because it's January... the heating isn't always on and well... it's cold weather and I didn't want it to shrink too much so have been patient for a change) so watch this space...

Now to decide what to make. A flower (for my hair) I reckon... what do you think?

♥

Food, glorious food...

I love how my kids enjoy their food.

Teagan can be a bit fussy at times, a bit like me I suppose. She often judges a meal by the way it looks. With some encouragement (okay, and some reverse psychology sometimes), she'd eventually sample it and make her honest, sometimes callous, review - eg. Dan made a yummy satay recently; she licked it and loudly exclaimed 'but it's got peanut butter in it! I don't want/like peanut butter in my dinner!' etc... you'd swear she didn't like peanut butter... she actually does! We explained that wasn't very kind of her to say it wasn't nice, just because SHE didn't like the taste, we liked it, Daddy kindly made it for us...

Anyway... we taught her about tact and kindness and how to be respectful at the dinner table. We thought it was resolved.

Bearing in mind, she IS four.

A day or two after, she burst out in praise of the evening meal 'I like THIS dinner, this is my favourite, the best dinner ever!'

We commended her for saying lovely things, and then the bombshell hit...

'I like it because it DOESN'T have peanut butter in it!!!'

And proceeded to go on and on and on about it for weeks later.

She is her father's daughter *wink *

It's SO pink and FLUFFY!!

Last week,  I was sent a lovely little package of felting goodies to test out and review - thanks to the lovely Jayne @ Flowerfelt by Jayne (on Facebook).

Since I received it, there's been a hectic week... been out, had visitors, fallen down stairs, rested back, teething baby, funeral, preschool... and another funeral tomorrow... that's not all but I won't bore you with details.

Needless to say, my new felting experience has sadly not been sampled yet :( It's been put aside for a rainy day. Which could be this weekend by the looks of the weather forecast!! Never looked forward to a rainy day so much before! Teagan keeps eyeing the felting pack as it's something she can do with me... if I can cope with a 4 year old handling MY fluffy wool ;) Watch this space.

How to get some sanity. Part 1.

Sorry, you have come to the wrong place!

I haven't got a clue. And I'm in need of a clue... badly.

So I am decluttering my home in the hope that I can declutter our lives and brains. Hopefully it'll help us feel more than tired blobs of mush.

The great news is some of our friends are expecting their first babies this year.

I have everything for babies and yes, I hear you, I still have a baby... but he doesn't need some things anymore. Moses basket x 2 (small and large), clothes (newborn until 9 months), muslin cloths... blah blah blah. Not needed.

I'm excited about the clear out!

And I can preempt what you might be thinking...  and eh... no, I don't think so :)

I'm looking forward to enjoying my little ones a bit more this year. In 2013, I struggled. Depression hit and I really found a new and almost overwhelming low. So now that it is 2014, I'd like to think I can better it all and start finding my old, bubbly self. I want my kids to continue reflecting happy, sensitive, generous personalities, despite knocks and blips. Not be taken down by my low and currently grumpy exterior. To declutter my mind and relax would be nice. So here goes.

Ideas (on how to reach this goal) on a postcard please ;)