Presents galore

It is Tara's birthday next week (she will be 4 - eeeeek!!) and I wanted to talk about number of presents. Last year I think we gave her 2 presents and Anya gave her 1 present. This year we are giving her 3 presents (a box of Lego, a thrifted yellow handknit cardigan - her favourite colour - and a skipping rope) and Anya is giving her 1 present. She doesn't need anything really (but Lego is always good in this house!) and I really hate going over the top on birthday (or Christmas) gifts. She is having a party for nursery friends the day of her birthday so will get gifts then and we are having a family get together at the weekend so she will get lots of gifts then.

So does the above gift list strike you as stingy? It doesn't to me as she will be getting plenty of other gifts but others (I'm not going to name anyone but for those of you who follow my Twitter you will know I mention a lady* sometimes) think that we are stingy and that we should spoil our children with lots of gifts on birthdays etc. We already have a house filled with enough toys/books/clothes etc to start our own charity shop and I have no particular need or want to add to that pile.

Honestly, what do you think of the list? Would your children be accepting of 3 gifts from their parents? Or are you a believer in spoiling your children? I would appreciate honest opinions too :)

P.S. It's not the cost that bothers me (gifts cost us £35 this year and were about £10 last year - Lego is expensive!)

*I know that this lady is going to quiz Tara next week about what she got for her birthday and will continue asking 'and what else' and 'what else' which winds me up beyond belief but we are not here to talk about my inability to get on with this woman - maybe that's another post!

Photograph taken from Money Saving Expert.

Link within

If you are reading this through a reader then you probably can't see the new widget I have added to the blog but feel free to click over and have a look!

I have added a widget to the bottom of each post which looks for related posts within my blog that you might also like to have a look at. I first spotted it over at Curly Pops (although I think she has changed it now!) and then Dig The Earth and I really liked the look of it. Hopefully it might give you a bit more to read :)

As I have only just added it, the related posts probably aren't that related as the little 'bots' need to trawl through my blog and look for keywords etc.

Garden - thanks Mum and Dad :)

Here are some before pictures!

Huge overgrown hedge and a blossom tree that is much too big for the patch of ground it is in.

And this is what it looked like with the hedge gone (a huge job done earlier in the year) Please note the nasty wonky wall behind Tara. There is also half a large skip full of earth behind that wall too - I know because Mum, Dad and I shifted it all on Monday!

And this is it now. It still needs a lot of work like gravel, pretty pots and possibly a bench but it is looking sooooooooo much better!

From the driveway looking down

And on the other side of the driveway (it's a double width one) is this little patch of garden which has had a tidy up - not that you would be able to tell, but it has!

Gorgeous huge blooms on my clematis this year :)

And Tara pretending that the clematis is actually the beanstalk and she is Jack :)

And a little patch I forgot to tidy up - I'll do it soon :)

This month is hectic what with little girls turning 4, parties for little girls who are turning 4, 3 school trips (2 of which I am going on as a parent helper), craft fairs, restocking some of my suppliers, ballet shows with rehearsals - you get the picture! So something has to give a little over the next month and I am afraid it can't be Cuteable as it brings us money in (!) so it has to be this little space. I'm not abandoning it altogether but there won't be daily posts for a bit. I also have about 300 photographs to go through on Flickr to see if I have listed the items photographed or if they are just lounging around 'unshopped' Oh and I have the mother of all to-do lists.

Wish me luck?

BBQ

If it's BBQ weather this weekend then we know this will happen at all major supermarkets.

Luckily we went to the farmers market at the weekend so have farm fresh food :)

Clever people!

Look what the clever ladies over at Craftsville have been making.

Some rather fetching padded envelopes using a very clever person's tutorial :D Oh that would be my tutorial!!

My new mug!

That's as exciting as it gets around here at the moment!! We were away at the weekend and the girls don't go back to school until tomorrow. My mum and dad are over for a few days and are demolishing a huge raised bed we have (had) in our back garden. So nothing much to report at them moment but I will be back when there is!

Tea tastes good out of this mug especially when you have been lugging half a skip full of soil around all day! 20p from a local church sale :)

Cutie pies!

Meet Miss Butterfly


And Miss Lion

And woe betide anyone who told Tara that she couldn't be a lion because lions were for boys - she told them off with a detailed explanation of Nala from The Lion King! Go Tara!

Their faces were painted at Ikea (of all places!) as a freebie for World Environment Week. So if you are anywhere near the Manchester branch of Ikea then they are there until Sunday (near the restaurant) And a big thank you must go to Cheshire Cats who did the face painting and allowed me to use their pictures of the girls :)

A fabulous bargain

We were away last weekend and went to a car boot sale which is near my in-laws and is only on on Bank Holidays! There wasn't a huge amount of stuff to choose from but some good things. My biggest bargain was this sewing basket. It was only £1!! I spied it underneath a table where the guy was selling everything for a pound - I don't think my purse has been out of my bag quicker!

It needs work but I have spied potential in this little beauty. It's sturdy with no visible damage.

The lid is padded and covered in someones stitched work which isn't to my taste. The fabric on the inside is pretty but is very faded and has lots of water marks. Both will be replaced and I might do something with the wicker work too.

The inside which really does need work! I have been browsing sewing baskets on Flickr and have had a few ideas of my own. Watch this space :)

UK Handmade magazine!!

I'm featured in the summer edition of UK Handmade magazine! Now it's not a surprise as I was interviewed for it but it's still very thrilling to say the least :) It's an online magazine that you can view by clicking the link above.


The issue is all about upcycling/recycling/reusing so I fit right in and I was asked about my use of scrapstores which was great as I could extol the virtues of them for hours :) Poor Kirsten who was doing my interview probably didn't like me chatting for ages though! You get to see some of my flower brooches (must make more of those soon) and my German recycled envelopes :)

Eurovision!

I love Eurovision! Here are some of my favourite songs.