Tree Fall

Also And

Twice in one day. How very extravagant of me.

When I made the children's Baking Sets I thought about making them for adults too. But decided that no one would want them, so just focused on the kids.
And then got a ton of emails requesting that I make them for adults. Sometimes you just can't know.
I have been more than happy to make them for grown ups too though. And although I've been working away on commissioned Sets, I managed to squeeze in a couple of extras to put in the shop.

They are very similar to the children's sets. Except they're bigger!

And just a little more grown up (not much though!).

They still come with the tote.

But with full size utensils that are awfully pretty for something so utilitarian.

And of course, the number cookie cutters.

I also managed to make this extra set.

Both are in the Shop right now. As well as a new Red Pear Cushion .

I am almost, almost up to date with orders, so as always, Thank You all for your patience!!! And hopefully everything will be in the post by the middle of next week - Bella willing!

And I'm pleased and relieved to report that things are mostly back  to normal with the monster. She's no longer violent and when the mood takes her, she's even logical. So that's good.

Edited to add that both these aprons are  also available just as aprons, without the baking utensils etc. Here.

Not the Brightest Bulb

The day started early this morning with Bella waking from a bad dream and me finding her hiding under the covers. Which absolutely Broke. My. Heart.
Until ten minutes later when she was energetically bouncing up and down, up and down, UP and Down on our bed.
Needless to say, we're all a little tired and just to illustrate that fact let me share this morning's brain dead moment.
My new issue of Living Etc. was waiting for me when I came downstairs. So I waited until after Jim and Bella had left (gone visiting) and sat down to read it.
Loved every page as always.

This.

Ahhh, this.

This.

And still more. This.

So, as you can see, lots of loveliness. But as I got towards the middle of the magazine I stopped and said, out loud, to the empty house, "What is this, the white issue???".

And I want you to look very closely here, because you may miss it, I did....

Brain. Dead.

Growing

I apologise in advance for the Bella heavy post!
The weather over the last few days has been lousy and the light has been even worse. So no photo op's and therefore no posts. (my mom was very surprised to find out today that a photo-less post would just be unacceptable).
But I can't leave it another day so in lieu of craft news, I'm going to share a few pics of last weeks gardening efforts.

This was the first time I've put her hair in bunches and both she and I just love it like that.

That's it folks, that's all I've got!

Actually that's not quite true. There's something else that I've been pondering over and now's as good a time as any to bring it up.
I've been reading a lot recently about various blog meet ups and am kind of wondering (in a very tentative way) if maybe we could arrange a get together for us UK bloggers.
Hmmm. Just saying. Just putting it out there. Pondering. (feeling a little nervous). What d'ya think? Hmmm?

Product Testing

My days often start in exactly the same way.... Bella has her weetabix and then goes in to the front room to play (or watch a dvd, ok? I know, I know) and I place whatever my new piece of work is on the bench in the kitchen and take photo's for that days post.
I do usually manage to get the photo's finished before Bella discovers me. But suddenly having the puppy/cat/cushion etc whipped away from under my nose isn't exactly a rare occurrence. And it is always immediately followed by shouts of "It's Mummy's work!!" (me) and "Mine, mine, mine!!!!" (her).
Today was one such day. The shouts were shouted and the bunny was whipped (away). Except that today Bella decided that she wanted to "Elp Mummy" (she's very French and drops all of her H's). And I decided that a little product testing wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

First of all let me show you what I managed to do before my new stylist took over. And then I'll show you Bella's side.

This is Sally.

Instead of the patchwork dress I've gone with the linen and patchwork. And I've embroidered hands and ears this time.

She's still got the gathered neckline though. And the crochet hemline.

Ok, let me preface the next set of photo's with the assurance that no bunnies were actually harmed whilst filming this sequence. (much)

For her sins, and still in one piece, Sally is available (and desperate!) for a new home here.

Thank you as always, for your support and great advice in both the Bella and the Jim situations.
On the Bella front things are beginning to calm. I'm pretty sure that rather than it being a complete  and irrevocable onset of the Terrible Two's (don't worry I'm not so naive as to think that I'll escape that horror) it's actually a reaction to last weeks trauma.
It is definitely easing though. We still have a modicum of violence and I'm pretty sure that there's some swearing going on, but in general she's returning to her old, relatively (it's all relative) calm self.
As for the Jim situation? Well,  we're keeping every thing crossed (we can do that now that we're no longer trying for a baby) and hoping that something fantastic comes along. And I have a couple of ideas that I would LOVE to bring to fruition given the chance, so we'll see.

And finally, I have a friend called Grainne. And I've known her since we were 3ish, which is a big deal for me because I'm an Army brat and know no-one else at all from my childhood. Anyway, it was her birthday on the 26th and instead of sending her a present (or even a card) she sent me one!  Just to chear me up. And I just wanted to take a minute to say how grateful I am for it and how sorry I am that once again, I've let her birthday pass without so much as a Howdy do! And I also just wanted to say, Grainne? I've lost your email address somehow! Please email using your normal address rather than the TreeFall one. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And as always, thank you for getting there a year before me!

7 Days

Oh what a difference a mere 7 days can make! Now don't get me wrong, I have no desire to have last week back. But I can honestly say that this week, being a mother is down right exhausting.
You see, somehow my child has been possessed by a demon. Isn't that nice? I for one am loving the whirling dervish that is now my child (voice dripping with sarcasm).
I enjoy being slapped and kicked and shouted at and told off and down right ignored! I enjoy being treated like the skivvy that I apparently have become. And I especially enjoy being Talked. Down. To by a 2 year old!
And to think that just under a week ago I was terrified that we might lose her and yet this week I'm thinking of putting her on Ebay - or actually, I made her myself so I can put her in my Etsy shop, right?

And yet butter wouldn't melt! Hmmm.
By the way, I'm writing this at the kitchen table whilst Jim attempts to put Bella to bed and it sounds like a herd of stampeding rhino's above me. So at least I know that it's not just the one parent that she loathes and detests.

A new Pear is in the shop .

I just can't get away from the red. It keeps calling to me.

And as if the Pear wasn't enough, I'm working on a new red Bunny too.

I have a new routine at the moment of trying to get up a couple of hours before Bella in the morning so that I can get some work done, which is great once I'm awake, but it means that by 7pm I'm dead on my feet. So I think that right now I'm going to take a little hand sewing to bed with me and pretend to stay awake long enough to do it!

Oh I forgot to say (and thank you those of you that have asked) Jim will be made redundant in two weeks time.
Blahh.

Crashed

As crazy as it seems, Jim and I dragged our very tired beeehinds out of bed first thing this morning and headed out to the first of two car boot sales. I'm not sure I understand why car boot sales have to only be on from 6am - 12pm, does anyone know? And on a Sunday too? I love them, but I'm thinking that a Sunday afternoon would be an awful lot more civilized.
It was the first of the season for us and a wholly new experience of going without Bella. And although it was more than a little nippy, we did pretty well out of them both.
There was nothing awe inspiring, but as a whole it was a decent haul.

A pretty good selection of children's books, both vintage and new. Including a Pat Hutchins that I haven't seen before, called Clocks and More Clocks.

Some vintage craft books - yes crochet and cross stitch. Bandwagon's and I are firm friends.

A couple of 70's prints on wood by an artist called J. Moerman. If any of you know anything about him/her I'd be pleased to hear it. I remember some very similar to these from my childhood and it's a style I really like.

Some buttons (of course).

A single bark cloth curtain that I love and will probably never have the heart to cut in to.

A scarf that was for Bella, but that I've just accidentally felted, so is now for me! Oops, sorry Bella!

Some great tumblers.

Two of these plates.

And a ton of linens that are drying as we speak as well as a couple of good sized wooden tapestry frames.
I don't know how much we spent (although with Jim's impending job loss and TreeFall soon being our only income, I probably should know).
So, as I said, nothing amazing, but still pretty nice.
The best bit though, was spending the time with Jim. We really do forget to laugh sometimes and it's a real relief to find out that we can still be silly and childish. It's also really nice to have the chance to see each other without our Parent hats on.

I had big plans for the rest of the day, but we are all just too tired. So after a quick trip to hire some dvd's, Bella is now crying upstairs (bathtime and exhaustion are a bad combination), I am drinking a very small glass of wine (because ya know, I really don't need any help in the sleeping stakes!) and eating some Saag Paneer and Jim is about to watch Casino Royale (after dealing with the overly tired, weepy child).
So instead of wowing you (hah) with work, I'll leave you with this picture of domestic bliss!

Failures

We are a couple of complete failures. It's a Saturday night and we have a non-charging, stay out as late as you like, very rare babysitter (my mum) and yet here we are at 10.30pm, home and already in our pj's. Pathetic.
We did manage to eat in a real, full of grown ups only restaurant. But to be honest, as nice as it was, we couldn't really justify spending that kind of money just on food.
I remember the days when we liked nothing more than going out for a huge expensive meal. But these days, whilst we're very grateful that somebody else has solved the eternal question of "What are we having for dinner", we are just as happy to eat for £5 in Ikea than go out for a 'real' meal at ten times the cost. Oh how the mighty have fallen!
Still, it was nice to get out and even nicer of my mum to take two hours and two trains to get here and babysit for us.
Oh and I haven't even told you the really good bit yet. She's also agreed to have Bella tomorrow morning so that Jim and I can go car booting On. Our. Own! Now that is a treat!

I managed to get a couple of hours work in today, so I'm a little closer to getting everyone's orders done and dusted. And hopefully I'll get a little more time tomorrow too.
In the mean time, I managed to finish Sofia first thing this morning before anyone else woke up.

She's very similar to my old style rabbit but I've tweaked a few things here and there and I think she works much better for it. I particularly like the trim around the bottom of her dress.
As you can tell, this patchwork and linen thing has bitten hard.

She's here .

Bella is much better again today and has taken to her inhaler like the trooper that she always is. We don't even have to hold it for her anymore.
To celebrate her increased energy (although it's still low for her), we took her to the park for a ride on the bike she got for christmas but hasn't seen before because it's still a little big for her.
It was of course a big hit. Albeit a little tiring for her.

Wish us luck with tomorrows thrifting!

What I Love

Jim suggested last night that you all are just going to think we're making this crap up! Of course, I pointed out that one of my favourite people has still got me beat hands down on the 'How Much Crap Can One Family Take' stakes.  But you know, I'm just taking that as a challenge!

Bella is home and much better. She had a really good night last night and although she is still wheezing like an octogenarian, she's happily destroying my kitchen as we speak.
We don't know what will happen next. The virus she has could be a one off, that has no long term affects, or it could actually be her first asthma attack. All we can do is wait and see if this happens again.
In the meantime she is on steroids (bleuchhh) and an inhaler. Neither of which contribute to a nice, quiet, calm child, but both of which are very necessary.
Bella and I spent some time this morning decorating her inhaler with Charlie and Lola stickers, and I'm hoping that she will soon stop seeing it as the enemy!

So... We once again strive for a semblance of normality and push it all back down, deep inside us where we can chose to pretend it's never happened. Coping skills people, coping skills.

Today I'm loving....

These skirts with these fabrics.

My latest purchase from Emily .

My newest Japanese embroidery book - isbn 4-8347-2480-8.

Some new fabrics.

And most of all. This...

A wonderful, thoughtful and incredibly generous gift for Bella, from the equally wonderful, thoughtful and incredibly generous Sarah. Don't you love him? I think he's a very cool cat indeed. Thank you so much Sarah (and there's an email on it's way to you).

Before Bella decided to obliterate my work plans for this week, I did manage to get a couple of things finished..
A new boys apron that I have to admit really floats my boat. The cowboy fabric is Boden and one of my all time favourites.

And another Baking set. I think I may have to do one of this set for Bella.

Both are here.

I've also got a new bunny in the works, so keep your eye out for that.
What I haven't been able to do though, is get to the post office or finish all the orders that I have. Today is supposed to be my work day but obviously Bella is not at nursery, so I can't get anything major done.
I really do apologise to anyone waiting and I will hopefully be able to catch up over the weekend.

So there we go. It's finally Friday and we can soon kiss this week good bye - although some of it is carrying over in to next week already, because we've now been told that the fate of Jim's job won't be determined until midweek.  But I think that apart from a understandably, fear fueled argument in the middle of the night at the hospital, Jim and I have proven once again that we're here for the long haul. And that we're not going to be beaten.
Thank you. Every one of you...

Quick post.

A very quick post to say that Bella was admitted to hospital yesterday because she contracted a virus that has caused major problems with her breathing. We're hoping that she's now on the mend after an awful, scary night and all just want to get some rest.
This week is the week from hell. And it's still not over.

Newness

I've been wanting to show you my new wonderful, wonderful Cath Kidston oilcloth for a few days now. It arrived last week on a 5ft roll. It's only a meter of oilcloth but it arrived on a 5 ft roll. Got to love Cath Kidston.
I actually left it on the roll for a good few hours because it looked so damn nice.
Not as nice as it looks on the table though.

See, I can still smile. You haven't beaten me yet world!  At least not while there's still fantastic oilcloth or beautiful plates. Which segues nicely to my next pic.

Believe it or not this little beauty is actually  just a melamine plate. And it only cost £2.50! Is it not the most beautiful plastic plate that you've ever seen? I'm telling you, melamine or not, this plate's got pride of place hanging on the kitchen wall. Ahhh, and it comes in red too.

I have to tell you this because it made me so proud.
Bella has a friend called A that is the same age as her but a lot, lot smaller in physique. They have known eachother almost from day one, but they don't play together very often.
Yesterday Bella and I met A and her mother at an indoor play centre so that the girls could tire themselves out whilst we drank coffee (if only). The girls were playing really well together when we realised that we hadn't seen them for a good 10 minutes. So we both climbed in to the large play area and headed to the upper level. When we got up there Bella and A were in a corner surrounded by some older children.
And this is the thing that swells my heart so. Both the girls were kneeling on the ground but Bella had both her arms around A and was physically shielding her with her own body. She was completely protecting A from the older children and was actually growling at them!
I can not tell you how proud I was to see Bella willing to protect another child, even though she was scared herself. It was amazing to see. She's amazing to see.
Love that girl. (Even if she did slap me about a million times today whilst shouting "Bad Mummy").