A Creative & Crafty Blog Meet at Breadsall Priory

On Sunday, I was invited to a Creative and Craft event at Breadsall Priory in Derbyshire. It was a great chance to meet up with some other like minded bloggers for a chat and to find out about some great products and businesses in a truly beautiful setting.

On the day, I decided to go with a vintage look, with some vintage Ralph Lauren and Marks & Spencer glammed up with a joules top and accessorised with a Sun Jellies bag, shoes and necklace.

On arrival to Breadsall Priory we were shown to a beautiful garden room for a selection of drinks, before being shown to our table for afternoon tea. The afternoon tea was stunning, with beautiful cakes, sandwiches, and scones with plenty of clotted cream and jam.

Even me, with the sweetest of teeth couldn't manage all of the the cakes, thankfully though the lovely staff bought them to our room so we could finish them in the afternoon.

After tea and cake we made our way to the Morley room, a beautiful and bright airy room which I can imagine would make a gorgeous backdrop for a wedding ceremony, especially looking out into the stunning gardens.

First up, we had a talk by Annette from Weleda, a brand I already adore and have lots of time for. We got to try some of their bath milks, hand creams as well as learn about how they work. I bought some foot balm to help prepare my summer feet.

Then we got on to making and crafting, with some hoops supplied by Korbond and lots of scraps of fabric, we set about designing a picture on fabric. I am a real novice when it comes to something like this, I am normally found crafting with paper, glue and children in tow. So it was great to find something new to try.

We also had  talk from Jen from Lunar 21 and Alice from Bless Your Arts Boutique and Phil did a great talk on Polyvine, they do some great products so I will be looking a bit more into this.

It was a lovely few hours and I only wish it could of been longer, there was so much more to learn and craft and talk about so I look forward to the next one.

Thank you to Samantha and Kat for organising and Breadsall Priory for hosting us, and their wonderful little goody bags I am looking forward to popping back to use the leisure facilities.

The day raised £100 for the Mollie Makes Crafternoon For Comic Relief  too, so as well as being fun it was helping a worthwhile cause.

Blog Roll from Sunday

Kat
www.akraftykat.co.uk

Emma

www.lilyallsorts.com

Charlotte
www.englishgirlathome.com

Hannah
www.daintyandivory.blogspot.com/

Phil

www.fireflyphil.wordpress.com

Samantha

www.crafternoonteahostess.co.uk

Claire

www.ninjakillercat.co.uk

Alice 

Bless You Arts Boutique

Jenn
www.lunar21derby.org.uk

What Water Means to Me - Plus Win a Fab Kettle

What does water mean to you? Well, to me, it is an important resource that should not be wasted. From an early age, I have tried to teach my children this and they are forever hearing the cry of “turn the tap off whilst your not using it” and “don’t waste water”.

There are many people in this world, that, unlike us, do not have access to any water, let alone the clean water that we take for granted. It is important that we learn to appreciate how privileged we are to have such easy access to this valued resource.

You only need to look at this video over Just a Drop to see how much water means to some people.

Just a Drop are currently the 2014 charity of Kinetico, who know a fair bit about clean water.

Our family drink water every day, the children drink it on it’s own and my husband and I mix it with cordial or coffee. We don’t have the best tasting water in our house, so when we replaced our kitchen 7 years ago, we chose a fridge that would not only allow us to have cool water and ice on tap but also came with a filter to allow us to drink better tasting water.

I’m not wanting to belittle this most important of resources, but the water we have here can taste pretty awful, flowing through old water pipes and with the chemicals in the water, so for us choosing a water filter (and replacing it regularly) was a great way to get even better tasting water to drink.

The people at Kinetico have kindly offered me something lovely and water related to giveaway to my readers. I have chosen this fab Bosch Styline Kettle, not only does it keep your water warm (which as a parent we all know kettles are often boiled and then go cold several times a day). It also has an audible sound to let you know when it’s done, nothing like a reminder you can here to make sure you pour yourself a cuppa and has different temperature settings too.

T&Cs apply. This is a collaborative post, however all words are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Big Thank You

This week saw me cut off my hair for Cancer Research and The Little Princess Trust, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the help and support of so many people and businesses.

I wanted to thank these companies and people on my blog and tell you to go and check them out.

First of all a huge thank you to the person who made it all possible, Andrew at Sutherland and Barnett, without his support and honesty I don’t think I would have gone through with it. I knew he had his reservations but I love my hair and without his skill and nerves we wouldn’t have made it.

Secondly to the wonderful and talented Jenni from Make Up By Jenni, without her I wouldn’t have had the confidence I needed to face the cameras and the lights of the salon. I felt as good as I did on my wedding day and her support and generosity was more than I ever could have asked for.

Sam from Inphase Media/Sam Rushmer Photography, not only did you capture the day but you were a great support and kept me focussed on what I was doing. The pictures are amazing and I cannot thank you enough for capturing both mine and my family's journey through this experience.

A huge thanks to my family and friends, especially my husband whose support was unwavering and my beautiful children whose response couldn't have been better.

And finally to everyone who sponsored me and helped me raise over £700 for Cancer Research, I can only hope that it goes someway to helping the fight against this awful disease.

There is still time to donate via my justgiving page.

Am I A Charity Shop Addict?

Of late I have become a little bit addicted to going into charity shops, part of me is excited to go to work on a Thursday/Friday just to get a look round them on my own! How sad am I!!!

I am looking for stuff I like but that might be worth more than I am paying, not sure if this is the business woman in me.

I also enjoy the thrill of finding a dusty bit of unloved glass or ceramic and giving it a good clean and watching it gleam and return to it's former glory.

This week has seen me purchase this gorgeous little milk jug by Biltons 1912 Ltd, I love the colour and the handle is so art deco.

These gorgeous little dishes are so pretty, the two back ones are French the front one is probably an English sundae dish, I love the ting it makes when you tap it with your nail. The colours are divine and they were so cheap I just couldn't resist!

I found this original Tupperware bowl with lid in another shop, it was only 40p and I am sure it would have cost a lot more than this back in the day! I loved the colour and have been using it for eggs when I am baking.

And finally, I don't think these are original as they don't feel heavy enough but I think for my food pictures these Falcon(ish) trays were only 30p each so I just got for the usage value.

There aren't many times any more I don't go out to the shops and not come back with something, I could keep on posting pictures.

Pretty sure I have a problem, maybe I should start a Charity Shops Anonymous group?!?

Vintage Loveliness

This week I have been on a mission to make up for some Kilner Jars I stupidly left behind in a charity shop a few weeks back!

I have found a couple of gorgeous pieces in the charity shops, in fact some felt so cheap I had to give the lady more than she wanted!

First up were these gorgeous doilies, I needed some for a little table the speaker in the lounge is resting on and I found a few so I bought them all. With a few balls of wool the woman said give her 49p! I was gobsmacked and only had a £1 coin so gave her that and told her to keep the change.

Next and I almost didn't pick this up but considering how much they are new it was actually a bargain, this rather fabulous boxed Tala Icing Turntable was just £2.50. I adore the original box and that it is made in Great Britain.

And finally, I love Vero Moda stuff and have picked a couple of pieces up from this particular charity shop, they stay looking great. Another bargain at just £2.99.

I love all these things and am becoming quite the charity shop obsessive, hoping to find some bargains to adorn the house.

Linking up to Magpie Monday over on Me and My Shadow.

Overpricing in Charity Shops

I have noticed this more and more recently, charity shops are ever increasing their prices.

What once would have been a few pounds is now £7-8, some things are just sat on a shelf week after week when I go in. One shop had a tea service in for about 5 months before it was either sold or got put away.

So my question is this, rather than have stock hanging about for months because it is overpriced wouldn't it be a better idea to sell the good stuff on ebay or send to auction and then sell everything else off quicker and cheaper.

Stock becomes stagnant and if it is the same old stock time and time again I stop going, plus if they are intent on being greedy then the money isn't coming in and the charity is missing out.

After all I am sure every penny and pound is needed, so is not better to sell 10 plates at 10p than none at £1 each?

With money so tight these day's that impulse buy is a thing of the past, before I might have bought something to find a home at a later date, now because they are so expensive I will walk away.

So charity shops, you are being given these things for free, anything you make on it is profit so is it time you stopped being greedy and waiting, hoping someone will buy that overpriced bit of china and instead accepted that you will get less and instead take half of what you would of liked.

If I see you have lots of stock I probably won't be giving my next lot of hand me downs to you, but if you are selling lots, you can have that next bag.

Using ebay as a pricing guide is only good if the things on there actually sell, are shop staff simply looking at buy it now prices or inflated starting bids, for items that never sell?


As one guy I overheard the other day said, it is worth that I checked on the internet and that is what they cost, fair enough I thought but surely something is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Would love to hear the thoughts of others on this.

Teach Your Monster to Read

My son has just started school so reading and phonics are currently top of our agenda, our fridge is covered with magnetic letters and we have many books that we read every night.

I am always on the look out for other interesting ways to get him reading and making sounds so when I heard about a game that could help my son with his reading, I was keen to see how he would get on.

Teach Your Monster To Read is a free interactive game which allows your child to design their own monster and takes them on a journey finding letters, learning how to pronounce them and building words in a fun way that makes it seem like they aren't even learning.

The game itself is fairly easy to play, my son who is four can quite easily control the monster using the mouse, although he misses a few objects hopefully the game will improve these skills.

There are several levels too, so it doesn't get too repetitive and they are all fun games that keep my son engaged.

Teach Your Monster to Read has been developed for the Usborne Foundation - a charity set up by Peter Usborne (who also founded The Usborne Publishing company). There will be a series of games, all of which will be given away for free. The game has been featured in the Sunday Times, the Times Educational Supplement and recently won Gold in both the Practical Preschool and Primary Teacher Update awards.

Finally, the guys at Teach Your Monster to Read currently have a great competition running over on their blog, if you have a little one who loves to draw monsters then they can enter to win a first prize of £150. The competition ends at 5pm on Friday so get creative and send in your pictures.

Disclosure: We have been given three of the Usborne Young Readers books for reviewing the game. The game is available free. All views and opinions are my own.

Olive's Army - Help Reverse Rett Syndrome

Today this post isn't about me it's about a beautiful little girl named Olive and an awful condition called Rett Syndrome.

I knew nothing about Rett Syndrome before Jen a fellow Nottingham blogger mentioned it, she knew Olive and her twin sister Tilda from their local TinyTalk class.

Just over a year ago Olive was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome a cruel condition which means she has lost the ability to talk, walk, feed herself, and play with her sister. As the mother of a little girl myself I simply cannot imagine how it must feel to watch your daughter suffer in this way.

Rett Syndrome is a debilitating disorder which most often strikes previously healthy little girls just after they have learned to walk and say a few words and begins to drag their development backwards.

Parents who discover that their daughters have this condition have no real treatment options. They are impotent in the face of this disease, as their little girl begins to fall, as her spine bends, as her body is racked with violent seizures.

In 2007 Rett Syndrome was reversed in mice in a lab setting. It is now positioned to be the first brain condition that could be reversed paving the way for treatments and cures for other conditions such as Autism and Alzheimers. It is felt that treatments to help Rett symptoms are close, and that a cure will follow.

Reverse Rett UK is a charity set up to raise awareness and funds to work towards treatments and a cure and has raised over $1million in the last 2 years.

If you do one thing today I urge you to watch this video, it is truly heart breaking to watch and I have sobbed every time. But with a cure possible and one that could pave the way for further cures then it is a cause worth supporting.

To find out more about Olive, her family and their journey then you can find them at http://olivesrettjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Yummy Mummy Week for Clic Sargent

I had a phone call today asking if I could put some posters up in the shop, sadly I can't as we are online only but I decided that I would do my bit to raise awareness of the week anyway.

It is called Yummy Mummy week and is raising money for Clic Sargent, a brilliant charity for children and young people with cancer.

If you are part of a nursery group then they have a pack for nurseries or if you are part of a coffee morning then please have a look to see if there is anything you can do. It is a great way to raise money for a charity so many of us hope we will never have to call on but sadly so many have to.

Saturday charity shopping!

I love popping into our local town to support local businesses.

Today we went to meet a friend for a coffee and to pass the time before his train we looked around the charity shops.

I am normally looking for some china tea sets for my birthday next year, but always look through the book section for some new reads.

Today I spotted this recipe book, I already have one of Donna Hay's books so knew it would have some great recipes in.

I wasn't wrong and can see some of these becoming next years favourite recipes.

Next two bargain buys we're these children's books, each 50p.

Considering this one is older than me I don't think that is a bad price.

Charity bags!

We must get at least two charity bags through the door every week, I give all my old clothes etc to charity but I take them to the local shops so I know exactly where they have gone.

There are two reasons for this, firstly I have seen vans pull up outside my neighbours and rifle through the bags before being caught by the real collectors, this is classed as stealing I think.

Secondly, have you ever read the small print on one of those bags? The one today says 'we donate a minimum of £2000 a month to xyz charity'.

I did a little checking on the website of the company who it was collecting on behalf of and their website states they do it this way because it is the only way they can get funds. But still if this collection company makes £10000 from the sale of the clothes they only get £2000, unbelievable.

Maybe I am just being ignorant? But I will continue to put these so called 'charity bags' to one side and instead carry on taking my clothing and other bits to the local charity shops to sell instead.