November rain

I know we are lucky where we are compared to some parts of the UK, but I am so sick of the rain!  I am sick of getting soaked everytime I have to go and do the school and playschool run! Less of the above picture and more of the one below please Mother nature...

I am longing for wrapping up in scarves, hats and gloves and crisp winter days instead of the wet, soggy days we are currently getting.

On a good note, the horrible weather has made me do a bit of sewing!  I am taking part in a local school craft fair on Friday after another one I was due got cancelled and changed to another date.  They did one a while ago which I took part in and I did well and got an order for a boy doll, which I will be taking along with me - that will pay for the stall at least!
I have also made lots of christmas heart decorations, all in festive colours with vintage buttons (no pics yet, will take some of stall if I remember!) and some quick and easy christmas bunting. I have also made some of these.....

I haven't finished them yet, so you will have to wait and see what they are...a little clue they are very useful for wobbly teeth!

I was very pleased to hear that Charlotte from Cottontails baby has received the mermaid doll she won in my first ever giveaway.  I am so pleased my kids picked her out as she was having a terrible day on the day she found out she had won. She is currently residing and Charlotte's beautiful house, do take a look at her lovely  and also to enter Charlottes giveaway for a mouse in need of a little TLC!

And the winner is.........

Thanks so much to Pomona, Jennyflower, Meplusmolly, Pants and Paper, Blondedesign and Charlotte Cottontails for entering my little giveaway. 
I loved all of the names you choose and couldn't decide a winner by the names alone, so decided the best way was to draw the winning name out of a stripy mug!

My little helpers enjoyed doing this!

And the winnner they picked was................

Charlotte from Cottontails, so well done Charlotte, a mermaid and some fabric will be making their way over to you next week. If you could email me with your mailing address and 'Penelope' will be meeting you soon! I have to say, I do like the name you picked and think it really does suit her! I hope you enjoy her.

Thanks everyone who took part for all your comments and for joining in.

I had a lovely birthday last Friday which involved a lovely thai meal with my husband and another meal the next night with all the family. I got some lovely presents including the new Cath Kidston book 'Sew', which is fab and has lots of projects to add to my 'Would like to make' list! Most impressive about it though was that my husband actually found out about it and pre-ordered without me having to ask so it was a lovely suprise!

I also got a bit of cash and have been out today and treated myself to a few bits! Well, we need something to cheer us up in the hideous weather we have had the last few days!  On the school run on Friday I was drenched! My big padded coat was so wet that it leaked  as did my sheepskin lined boots.  I actually was soaked to the skin (yep, even my underwear!). I hope you haven't got caught out in the rain!

Giveaway time !!!!

I am all excited today. I can't quite believe it but this is my 50th post!

As I mentioned on my last post (thanks for the kind comments left by the way!) I have a few things to celebrate, so what better way to than with a giveaway!

I decided to give one of my mermaids away and this is the chosen lady, posing on the beach ...

(and yes I think I probably did get quite a few strange looks from all the dog walkers as I photographed mermaids on the beach this morning as I have added more mermaids to my Folksy shop !)

She comes with her own bag with some shells collected from the beach and a naming certifcate. I don't really recommend for under 3 year olds, unless the doll is only being used for display and they are not really for rough play. She would make a lovely Christmas present for a little one!

I have also decided to put a few bits of fabric from my fabric collection - some Kaffe Fassett pieces and a couple of other bits. They are all off-cuts so no specific size.

All you need to do to win the doll and fabric is to leave me a comment and tell me what you think she should be called as a the moment she is nameless - I will then add her chosen name to the naming certificate for the winner!! It is open to everyone - in the UK or abroad and lurkers too! Go on, you can leave a comment as well even if you don't have a blog!

I am going to leave the giveaway open for a week, so it will close next Friday 13th November at 6pm UK time.  I am happy to post abroad and lurkers too! So if you don't have a blog you can still leave a comment. Thank you!

Nearly 50...

No, not my age!  I am nearly at 50 posts! I thought I would add a quick one in before Friday so that my giveaway can be for my 50th post as well as my one year blogiversary, to celebrate opening my brand spanking new Folksy shop (there is not much on there yet hopefully more soon), and also my thirtyblahblah birthday!
Talking of Folksy, have a look at this lovely Folksy shop where I found these fab ceramic cupcake tealight holders, I am going to have to get some of these for christmas presents!

Oh and please excuse the shameless plug, but I got a little mention  in this fab and free local magazine The Whitstable Imp. The Editor Chrissie is a multi-talented lady who not only created The Imp, but also has her own cake making business and is a singer too!

(click on the picture to view bigger and please excuse the awful picture, I had to do it very quickly when there was nobody but me and Little lady in the house so it invovled balancing the camera on a tower of things, clicking self-timer and running round to the chair! hence not very glam!)

Half-term fun

It's been a lovely half-term this week. My little man is back to school tomorrow but my little lady has an extra week off from her playschool as they have a two week half-term!

We have had lazy days, adventure days, spooky days and visiting friends and family days!

Yesterday the kids had a nice seaside walk with their dad whilst the tide was out, they thought they would go for an adventure! Whilst at the beach, they came across someone from the Whitstable Oyster Company experimenting with these baby oysters!

They were trying to see which bed the oysters will grow best on/under (not sure which, I am not an oyster expert!). How exciting, wish I had seen!  I will have to make sure I go with them next time and we can watch their progress! The light looked beautiful.

We took the kids trick or treating on Saturday. Luckily this spooky mist had disappeared by the time that we went out though. It appeared from nowhere and settled on the green by our house at about 5pm and was gone in 10 minutes or so,  very strange!

The kids got an amazing haul trick or treating! We ended up being out for about an hour as they and their friends were having so much fun!  The have enough sweets to last about a year!

I am still planning on doing a little giveaway for my blog first birthday but I haven't as yet as my mermaids look like this at the moment....

Lots of WIPs! I am making lots as I have sold quite a few at Taking the Plunge in Whitstable and at a couple of craft fairs, plus more I have planned so I have been making in bulk! It is my birthday next Friday, so I am planning on doing a birthday and blog birthday rolled into one!  So look out on Friday 6th November for a little giveaway!