Tuesday 19 February 2013

Crafty Creatives - Whats In The Box?- Box 8

Ooh it has been a while since I reviewed the Crafty Creatives box as I have been so busy!  This months theme was:
SPOTS & STRIPES

Every month is a different themed box and this months had a bright and shapely theme to it which I love!  I always squeal with delight when I open the box as I never know what to expect!  The bolder the better, and this months art card was hard to ignore!

There is also a different Crafty Creatives 'kit' that comes in the box every month, giving us a chance to try something new and having instructions and props towards a new craft.  I have taken up crochet because of these boxes as one month had a crochet kit in it, and I have made a bath bomb which I will being doing again very soon!  This months kit was making a pendant necklace out of clay.  I am very excited about this as again, it is not something I have ever tried so I hope to post my results up soon.


Other bits and bobs have included these spotted cupcake holders and stripey straws...
...various materials including cloth and paper....

...and sticky spotty tape, stripey string and stripey glass beads

There were a few other bits and bobs in the box which I am holding back on showing as I want to make things with them and you will just have to wait and see, or buy a box of your own!





Photo A Day - Day 50 - I am...

Day 50 - I am...


...not a natural red head!  My hair is a lot brighter than this in the flesh and I have been dyeing my hair for about ten years now, going from orange, red, purple and pink!  Unfortunately, Rhianna made it popular for other girls to dye their hair red so now I blend in with the crowd instead of standing out!  Ill have to go green instead!



Photo A Day - Day 49 - Something I Don't Like

Day 49 - Something I Don't Like


I am a big arachnophobic so this was a big step for me!  We attended a play group with bubba where they had a reptile show and you could hold the reptiles including snakes which I held. But I was not expecting to be so close to one of my worst fears!  After about ten minutes of freaking out, swearing and sweating, I finally touched this tarantula long enough for my fiance to take the picture!  The things I do for photography!

Photo a Day - Day 48 - In Your Hand


Day 48 - In Your Hand

In my hand is my remote control for the TV on a sunday afternoon when there was nothing on!

Photo A Day - Day 47 - Perfect

Day 47 - Perfect


To me, my youngest son is perfect at just five months old!

Photo A Day - Day 46 - Inside Your Fridge

Day 46 - Inside Your Fridge



I crocheted this mushroom the night before and thought it would be funny to pop it in my fridge for todays theme seeing as my fridge doesnt have anything too exciting in it!

Photo a Day - Day 45 - Love Is...

Day 45 - Love Is...



On this Valentines day, love is not what you have, but who you have and I am grateful to have my three favourite men in my life xx

Photo a Day - Day 44 - Walking

Day 44 - Walking




Me doing the daily school run whilst pushing the buggy.  Cannot wait to take my blasted scarf and coat off when spring arrives!



Tuesday 12 February 2013

Photo a Day - Day 43 - Where I Ate Lunch

Day 43 - Where I Ate Lunch


This is my spot on the sofa, with my cushions which I cannot sit on here without!  I grabbed a quick lunch whilst baby had his afternoon nap!

Photo a Day - Day 42 - Entrance

Day 42 - Entrance


This is the entrance to the Savoy Theatre in London where my fiance took me to see Cabaret last month for my birthday.  I made it look old fashioned to capture the atmosphere.

Photo A Day - Day 41 - 3 O'Clock

Day 41 - 3 o Clock


At 3pm on a rainy Sunday afternoon, me and jacob were playing on the Wii to Just Dance and I only lasted about 2 songs before I was knackered and then slumped on the sofa!

Photo A Day - Day 40 - Guilty Pleasure

Day 40 - Guilty Pleasure




Bryan Adams!  He is my guilty pleasure and im not guilty at all!  I have some of his back catalogue (my fiance would say thats enough!) and I mostly love listening to him on sunny and fresh days with the windows open!

Photo A Day - Day 39 - Something Orange

Day 39 - Something Orange


Yes, this was my something orange, the car letting me know I was running out of fuel!

Thursday 7 February 2013

Photo A Day - Day 38- Your Name

Day 38 - Your Name


I am named after a character in the film Love Story although I have never liked my name!  I think its because of the way I pronounce it!  My middle name is Holly after thr musician Buddy Holly.

xx

Photo A Day - Day 37 - Soft

Day 37 - Soft


My little man playing with the softest teddy I could find!

Photo a Day - Day 36 - Something I Smelt

Day 36 - Something I Smelt


Ah, the sweet smell of a paperback book!  I have an awful habit of smelling books and love walking into Waterstones to soak up the smell of newness!  I also love going into old and second hand book shops to  smell the years that have gone by!
xx

Monday 4 February 2013

The Perils of Smacking Your Child

There was some debate today as Justice Secretary Chris Grayling spoke out that he 'smacked his children to send out a message' and this got me all angry and furious.  So I thought I would share my views on this controversial topic.
 
I would like to start by saying that I totally disagree with smacking my children.  I brought these little people into the world to love and care for them, so why would I want to hurt them?
 
I was smacked as a child, I remember it clearly, my Mum's approach was a good hard smack on the leg whilst I ran up the stairs trying to escape it!  My Dad's approach was scarier, he had a calmness about him but he used the slipper and made my legs bleed just from one hard smack with it!  This was when smacking was allowed so nobody would think anything of it then.  It did teach me a lesson, I learnt not to answer back as best I could!  However, I feel my parents did a good enough job bringing me up and teaching me manners and not to swear without beating it out of me.
 
My views on smacking these days come out of love and protection for my sons, my eldest is 7 and my youngest just 5 months, and my approach to discipling them is to hit them where it hurts!  Not literally but by taking away the things they cherish the most like the TV, giving them the silent treatment, (which my eldest son hates) and the good old naughty corner.
  I have used all these techniques and not one of them has physically harmed my son and I can sleep peacefully at night without the guilt of having used physicality.
  I see smacking as a form of letting out your own frustrations on them, because your angry, and you cannot deal with the situation in a calm manner.  Now, don't get me wrong, I get really really angry sometimes.  To a point where I have thought about smacking my son, either on the wrist or back of the leg.  But in hindsight, it would only be because I was angry and it was a way of letting my frustration out rather than using it as a punishment and that is hardly fair for any child.
  I was on a forum reading other peoples thoughts on this subject and I was surprised to see so many agreeing with Chris Grayling.  They justified it by saying that we are in a 'nanny state,' it's ridiculous how we don't smack our kids any more and that this is the main reason why kids have no respect these days!
  I put the reason down to lazy parenting.  If parents took the time out to learn how to discipline their children in a non physical way, and teach themselves to have patience and perseverance then children would have the respect and manners to give back what they have been taught.
  Lifestyles these days, with everyone rushing around and not having time for others has meant parenting has gone out the window and all parents want to do is put their kids in front of the Tv for a quiet life.
  I did not have kids to do that.  I wanted to share my love out with them and get excited when they hit their milestones, and for selfish reasons, teach them the skills I know so that I can be proud of them and me!
  I am not saying all parents are like this of course, this is just my opinion of what I make of the world from the outside.  But, my son is such a polite little man, he knows not to swear and although he is far from perfect, I know that it is down to me that he is the way he is.  I used the naughty corner and step on him and it taught him to realise that he had done the wrong thing and to say sorry and I will do the same thing again with my youngest son because I know it works.
  No one should have any right to hit another human being, so why should we be promoting this as a parenting strategy?  I know for years people did this but how much of that actually turned into physical abuse?  Where is the evidence that it actually worked on previous generations?  I doubt children these days sit at school and think to themselves that they will be naughty because at least they won't hit them?  If a child is going to misbehave, then they are going to do it.  Its down to their peers to deal with the situation in a correct manner.
  Sorry for the rant, I seem to have go off into another world but it just winds me up that smacking is something that half the world seems to agree with!
  You would not want someone else smacking your child, so why should you?
 x


Photo a Day - Day 35 - Hope

Day 35 - Hope


My hope is for our future generation bringing such promise.
I took this whilst Matthew was napping so I was also hoping he would stay asleep for another five minutes so I could eat my breakfast!

Photo A Day - Day 34 - Something Beginning With E

Day 34 - Something Beginning With E


A selection of my wacky Earrings!  I would not say I collect them, but I just love different and unique earrings which I actually do wear!

Saturday 2 February 2013

Photo A Day - Day 33 - Pattern

Day 33 - Pattern


I love patterns!  
This one is of my crochet bag which I made myself and I get some satisfaction knowing I made this!

Photo a Day - Day 32 - Fork

Day 32 - Fork


I found this fork stencil in my latest craft magazine!

Photo a Day - Thats January Completed!




Ooh I cannot believe I got through my first month of the photo a day project! Hooray!
  I have enjoyed this more than my 365 photo challenge that I only got half way through last year as the prompts make me think more and give me a different perspective of looking at things.
  I have now decided to put my pictures into a home made book too so that I have something to look back on and I love a new project!
  So now February themes have been put up on the Fat Mum Slim website and I excited knowing I can do it and get stuck in!


Photo A Day - Day 31 - Yourself

Day 31 - Yourself


Ah this is me from the last ten years!  Im not looking how I like to look at the moment so didn't want to take a picture of me now!  But this collage pretty much sums me up, a crazy, happy mummy!

Photo a Day - Day 30 - Down

Day 30 - Down


A hard theme today but I visited my mum and dads house and they have two flights of stairs and their carpet is quite old fashioned!  So I thought I would take this picture as I came down from my mum and dads bedroom in the extension.