The Pumpkin Palava

I love carving pumpkins!

Two Years ago I made a cat ...

... Last year I made Peppa Pig...

.... So this year i thought I would attempt something special!

After stumbling across this image on google...

...it had be Tinkerbell!

I bought my pumkins two days ago, in Tesco. I could only find small ones so I reluctantly chose two of the best looking ones. Of course, on my way out the door I spotted all the big ones! Oooops!

Nevermind!

So, I had all my pumpkin supplies...

(and yes that is glow in the dark paint in the picture,I was extra excited about using that)

First thing you do when carving a pumpkin is to cut off the top. Right?!

Wrong (in my case anyway)!

I decided to cut off the bottom

This wasn't, by an means, an accident. I'm pretty sure I've heard of doing it this way. Although, a google search didn't seem to show any evidence of this  being a "thing".

Regardless of whether this is a "thing", or not - IT WORKS!

No more candles going out as you drop them into your pumpkin. 

PERFECT! 

I will be using this technique every year from now on!

Anyway, after emptying the guts...Yuck!

I printed off a Tinkerbell silhouette, cut it out and drew it onto my pumpkin

 ( So far so good)

Next, I went over the edges with a sharp tool

Then, started attacking it with a pumpkin saw 

(this may have been where it all went wrong)

And my Tinkerbell pumpkin was...

.. a complete FAIL!!!!

Don't worry though ...

....I still had the glow in the dark paint!

"Just decorate the other side", I thought.

"It'll all be fine", I thought.

Em.....No!

How to help children adjust to the clocks changing?

It's that time of year again, when the clocks go back and suddenly you feel like you've been plunged into winter. The sudden change makes the whole world feel darker and every year I'm overtaken with an overwhelming urge to snuggle up and cosy in for the winter. The coldness is here and it's time to get the hats and scarfs out, put on your wooly gloves and stock the cupboard with soups to warm the cockles of the heart on those frosty days.

Winter always presents challenges but I am currently struggling with the first hurdle; getting the kids routine settled after the clocks have changed.

The UK clocks went back on Sunday night. All of a sudden my baby has gone from being an angel, who goes to bed at 7 pm and wakes at 5 am, to being a grumpy monkey struggling to stay awake until bedtime and waking me at the deathly hour of 4 am.

By 7.30 pm (formally known as 8.30 pm) my 4 year old is a whinging monster. Instead of enjoying starting my day at the reasonable hour of 7 am, I am now being woken at 6 am by my two wide eyed darling daughters.

An air of confusion has descended on me as I struggle to figure out when my baby is due milk. Two days ago I was able to look at the clock and predict when my baby would be hungry or be due for a nap. Now, every time I glance at the time I just feel dizzy.

As with so many things, when I'm struggling I turn to my old friend Goggle for help. In this case, the best advice I found was to adjust your child's routine by 15 mins and maintain the change for 3 or 4 days, then change by 15 mins again for another 3 or 4 days, and repeat until you have gained or lost your extra hour. It is recommended that you start this in advance of the clock change.

Of course, although this change happens ever year, it slipped my mind and it wasn't until the day before the clocks went back that I realised what was going on. So we will probably be playing catch up for the next fortnight.

Then there is meal times and naps to consider. The thought of making 15 min adjustments for everything in our routine is making my head spin. If I'm honest, I think the easiest option is just to be extra sensitive to my children's needs and slowly edge into the new routine.

I am confident that the girls will settle quite quickly. For now though, I am well and truly crashing into winter in a foggy, sleep deprived haze. So much for that extra hour we were promised!


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DIY Fabric Flowers

I originally started making these flowers when I was making a button bouquet for my wedding. However, the more I made, the more I realised how versatile they can be. They also work great for making hair accessories, jazzing up clothing and home decorations.

I saw a lovely image, on pinterest, of a large one of these flowers on a canvas.

A flower canvas is definitely on my "things to make" list now!

The flowers themselves can be made quite easily with just a needle and thread, fabric, a pen and scissors. Using the same folds and a glue gun also works well for those who prefer a "no sew" approach. You can even buy templates to make the flowers, which makes everything even easier (although they are quite simple without them too). 

The company I bought my flower making accessory from is called Clover, they make a wide range of templates and are probably the go to people for fabric flowers. 

I did find however that using the bought templates did limit the size of your flowers to the size of your template, they where also quite expensive too (if you wanted to have every type it would be a small fortune). On the positive side, they do make the job quicker (especially at the cutting stage) and if you struggle to remember the folds for each flower then they would come in handy.

On my YouTube channel you can find a video where I make three types of these fabric flowers (one using a clover accessory) . Just click the video below to view it and if you would like to see more of my videos then please subscribe while your there 

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