Christmas keepsakes and traditions

 

 

    We have a lovely little tradition in our house that marks the start of Christmas for us.  Before we even coax the Christmas tree out of hiding we have a visit to our local pottery and make a memory bauble.

   This is something i started when little E was just five weeks old to mark his first Christmas and then it evolved into a lovely Christmas memory tree.

 

  Every year the bauble is very different and its a wonderful way to see his development as the older he gets the more input he has. This year he was very taken with the fingerprint characters so this years decoration is really fun and festive.


Previously I displayed them on a small real tree but I always worried about them getting broken so this year i hunted around for something safer to display them on and came across a jewellery tree that seems to work well. The jewellery tree has twelve prongs so is perfect for my vision of the twelve years of Christmas he he.

This is a really lovely tradition that i truly recommend to anyone with a new born as its a wonderful family tradition and something to cherish and enjoy year after year. Christmas i think is all about children and these will remind you of the lovely small years even when they are all big and grown up. I still have not managed to get round to making a very cute odd sock advent calender i mentioned last year but it a very cute idea that i would recommend.

Its always lovely to hear from you feel free to leave a comment and share your Christmas ideas and traditions.

Thought of the day ....................... 12 years of Christmas gosh that is a thought xx
 

Look who's home for Christmas

I'm going to let you into a little secret ............... Santa has some extra special helpers this year as well as the usual Elves he also has the flower fairy's to assist him in delivering presents on time. 

 

Flower fairy's are fantastic they deliver lovely flowers but are equally good at delivering favourite bears home in time for Christmas.

 

 

 

I think we can safely say that a certain someone is very very very pleased with his new found Frankie!! A big thank you to the wonderful people at inter flora who really showed lots of Christmas spirit and helped to  #findfrankie .

 

 

 

 

New Frankie is full of Christmas spirit and is safely tucked up in the warm tonight and is not allowed out of the house untill fitted with a teddy bear tracking device !!

 

We hope original Frankie is safe and warm and that he too will find his way home soon as there is plenty of room at our inn.  Keep your eyes peeled for him and  if you do spot a little lost bear please help him find his way home.

 

Thank you again flower Fairy's the man in the red suit takes the glory but he is nothing without you his flower helpers making people smile xxx 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please come home Frankie we miss you !!!

 

Have you

 seen this bear??

 

He is called Frankie and we would really love to have him home in time for Christmas but despite our best efforts of retracing our steps he has been lost somewhere in Witney for weeks.

  

 

 He went missing over a really busy weekend of doctors appointments, birthdays, shopping and viewing houses. Little E is really distraught and weeks on he still asks for Frankie as they have been together since birth.

 

 

 I had given up hope of finding the original one so started looking for a replacement but again was not having any luck as the design has changed since 2008.

 

I contacted the lovely people at inter flora as Frankie originally came with a beautiful bouquet of flowers as mum and baby gift. They have been amazing and through the power of social media and lovely people re tweeting and looking we have found two replacement bears. I have been overwhelmed by peoples kindness and going out of there way to help us.

 

We are really pleased and looking forward to the new Frankie arriving through the post soon.

 

Original Frankie is still at large but you never know the power of social media the real Frankie may still make it home too in time for Christmas to join his new found brother.

 

Maybe he is snuggled up on the sofa of one of those houses we viewed!!

 

Thank you to all the lovely people that helped and everyone who is still searching for Frankie.xx xx

Lovely prints from wall paper samples ........Making it home

Welcome to making it home blog hop a weekly linky to share ideas and  add your posts on how you are making your house home.

Here is this weeks update from me a simple idea for left over wall paper and samples/ swatches.

 I have a little confession to make i have a bit of thing for wallpaper and have a little bit of a collection going on at the moment of wallpaper samples and wallpaper roll ends that are gorgeous prints but have not quite made the grade to make it on the wall. The print above is really  lovely but was not quite right for the room i had in mind but it was just too darn pretty to throw the sample away.

This week i started doing the finishing touches for the kitchen and i wanted to add some colour and pattern to the room and this lovely wallpaper fitted the bill perfectly. I didn't however have any available wall space to play with to add a feature wall therefore the next best thing would be to add some framed prints.

I purchased a really nice white frame including a mount from Sainsburys it was a real bargain as cost around £7.50 supermarkets are great for basic items like this.

Using the mount included with the frame as a guide i moved it around the wallpaper until i found the perfect framed picture looking back at me.

I then simply cut the wallpaper sample to size and placed in the frame giving me a really lovely print  made out of a wallpaper sample that would of otherwise found itself in the recycling bin.

The framed print adds interest to the open shelving unit and breaks up the run of crockery with a splash of colour. This little upcycling project was really cost effective and only cost £7.50 in total. I also have a few pictures left over from the house move containing prints that no longer fit in with our new rooms so i will definitely be using this idea to bring new life to my old frames too saving money by using what we already have.

That's it from me this week hope i have inspired you to make your own art and add a splash of colour to your walls.

Now its over to you to link up and show us how your making it home...........feel free to grab the badge and ready steady link.....

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Review ...Deluxe Led Fogless Shower Mirror by Toilettree Products.

 

       I was really pleased to be given the opportunity to review the Deluxe Led Fogless shower mirror by Toilettree products as i love stylish things for the home especially ones designed to make life. easier.

     The mirror is designed for use in the shower to make beauty regimes a little easier such as shaving exfoliating and using tweezers to name but a few things.

 Usually you need to wait until you have finished showering and  the bathroom mirror has recovered from the steam before you can see properly use the bathroom mirror. The Deluxe Fogless Shower Mirror solves this problem as you can use it whilst still in the shower without any fog caused by shower steam.

The product arrived really well packaged and inside the box contained everything i needed to set the mirror up and fix to the wall with out the need for any diy, in fact it was so easy i didn't even need to rope hubby in to put it on the wall for me ! I was very impressed that even battery's were included in the box which is rare these days so once set up the product was ready to use without a trip to the shops being needed.

It was really easy to put together all i had to do was put the silicone and sticky pads that are included onto the back of the stand at the pre marked out places and then pop it on the wall near the shower and leave to dry over night.

 The next morning i put the mirror onto the stand and simply tilted it to suit my needs. When i was ready to use it i simply put the shower on and easily filled the mirror with water from the shower hose and switched on the light.

The little shelf on the stand i found really handy i used it for tweezers but it would also be really good for razors creams etc. I found the mirror to be really useful and i  did my eyebrows with ease while still in the shower. I am sure it would also be really helpful to men who like a wet shave. Over all i think its a really good useful item that looks stylish and at the moment it is £22.95 on amazon so it definitely won't break the bank.

Thought of the day ..................simple style to make life easier

Silent sunday

Random acts of kindness.......... reasons to be cheerful

Gnobody laugh ... oh go on then if it cheers you up!

Reasons to be cheerful.........

OK this is going to be a big ask this week as if you have seen my last couple of posts i am feeling poorly and  have renovation fatigue syndrome.

 However i am a glass half full kinda girl and with a boy as cute as a gnome how can i fail to look on the bright side of any situation.

My first reason to be cheerful is thanks to two very nice men who have been today and pruned the very large pine tree and laurel blocking any light coming into our kitchen. Our house has been over shadowed since we moved in by some very over grown trees that belong to the council.
Try as we might the council have been very reluctant despite my efforts or my paying council tax for their services to come out and cut back the trees.

 Today however on a walk to the shop a couple of workers were pruning trees a few streets away and i got chatting to them and explained my plight, kindly they said they would come round and help. Amazingly twenty minuets later they arrived and pruned away and within an hour hey presto we had light streaming through the kitchen window and seeing the sunlight coming in made me very cheerful.

What made me even more cheerful though was the kindness of the two men who went out of their way and finished work a little bit late this evening to help to make someones life easier.
Things like this restore my faith in human nature and make me really cheerful.

My next reason to be cheerful is a very lovely blogger Mummy plum who i admire very much as she writes so beautifully has awarded me as one of her beautiful bloggers. This really made my day to be admired by one of my favorite blogs, sometimes you can wonder  does anyone like what i have to say and it was really lovely to get this feedback. It also made me think...... i try to comment as much as i can but sometimes i will read a post and think that's interesting but not stop and tell the writer. I will definitely be making more of an effort from now on to comment more and try to often find ways to make someones day and let them know i think they are special.

That's my reasons to be cheerful this week if you would like to take part in reasons to be cheerful head on over to mummy from the heart and join in.

You could also share the blog love by popping over  and visiting other blogs finding more reasons to be cheerful



Thought of the day .................. Small gestures can make a big impact.