Jubilee Shubilee, I'm staying home and eating cake!

Everyone has gone Jubilee crazy! Myself included. All that I have been hearing about for weeks is "What are your plans for the Jubilee weekend?". You almost felt as though you have to had to have something planned otherwise you will be frowned upon.

However, I have been looking forward to the celebrations, street parties and the whole build up to it all.Let's face it, it is a huge achievement for the queen of our country and the silver Jubilee was celebrated 35 years ago when I was born, so I especially wanted to do something this time around.

But then, the weekend began and it started to rain a bit. Then it rained some more. Then (excuse my French) it pissed down! Bank holiday weekends have such reputation for having crap weather and this was no exception. Cold, wet and miserable! My daughter made some flags and a crown at her nursery in preparation for this weekend and we were really looking forward to enjoying a day out.

Looks like we have to run the phase two or three back up plans, which is to stay in or go to a close-by friend/family/neighbours house if they are celebrating at home. I'm in front of the TV watching the queen about to board the boats on the river Thames and then it dawned on me. I get a better view of this day being at home than watching from any cold and wet river bank.My heating is on and I'm just about to put the kettle on too, to have some tea and Jubilee style gingerbread men that I got from Tesco's (I'm so classy lol).

If you decided to stay at home today too, I'm glad to hear it. Put the kettle on and raid the snack cupboard just like me or you may prefer to get cracking on your Jubilee style treats.

1. Jubilee style cupcakes
2. Jubilee cake
3. Jubilee biscuits

Enjoy your Jubilee weekend, whatever that you decide to you :)

What a crafty one!

I've been hit by a bug that I never saw coming. It came totally out of the blue. No warning signs or anything like that. Now that I am infected, who knows what will happen from here. I have been hit with the craft bug! Oh yes, it comes to us all eventually, but it appears that it is officially my turn to be struck down with this infectious bug.

 I was never the most academic of children at school, but I did enjoy my home economics and art classes as it was better than sitting through a boring history or maths lessons. Being quite a quirky teenager, I loved the way that I could be as creative as I wanted to be, as thankfully for me, that was always acceptable in those sorts of classes. Clay modelling, jewellery making, sewing and paper crafts were among my favourite things to do back then. Being the quirky kid with the big Deirdre Barlow glasses and retainer braces wasn't cool when I was growing up.  I was very into the vintage/retro thing back then, which hard for my peers to understand as they were the typical teenagers who liked modern 90's style and culture. I really just wanted to fit in and end up doing a respectable career that was "normal" and acceptable. Had I have gone home to my parents and said that I wanted to my some sort of crafter, I doubt that would have gone down too well.

Before I knew it was time to head to college. Time for pastures new and to set the wheels in motion for what I wanted to be when I was a fully fledged adult. It was such an exciting time for me....................until I actually got there. I loved the socialising and meeting new people, some of which are very close friends up until today. But, during my lessons, I was bored stiff!  In fact, I hated it with a passion. It was a huge culture shock to the system, and unlike school where I had craft lessons to look forward to, there was nothing that I felt could keep me there and interested in going to college. I eventually passed my boring courses (god only knows how) and then done the really clever thing of getting a job that had nothing to do with what I studied for in the first place! The years went by and I hardly ever did any crafty stuff at all. In fact, it became non existent. "Wonder Web" would sort out any loose hems and the dry cleaners would do anything else that I would just find too difficult. Even sewing on a button was seen as being a bit of a chore. What had happened to me?

More years rolled on by, I became a mum and I got my first year of not working since the age of seventeen. It wasn't quite "not working", as I was on maternity leave, but all the same, it was bliss. Although the first few weeks were tough with sleepless night, stitches and sore nipples to contend with, things soon settled down and I had a lot of time to think/reflect. Having all this time on my hands on maternity leave, I got to check out all the crafty things that I missed out on and re-lit my passion for it all. I have collected many books and have spent a quite a bit of time investigating all the different sorts of craft techniques out there. Initially, I was scared out of my wit as I haven't done anything crafty since leaving secondary school. However, I'm so excited and rearing to go that this time around, I'm not going to let anything put me off. I've been bitten by the craft bug and there'a no escaping it now.

Here are my top three craft books, that are easy to follow and I refer to regularly:

                          

 Now, I'm not going to leave my job and start a craft business, but I will make a promise to myself to follow my heart and do things that makes me happy. Look out for up and coming blog posts dedicated to my love for all things handmade, vintage or darn right weird.  You've been warned.............

Are you a Handbag Contents Hoarder?

So here is the scenario. You are in a supermarket, queueing up to pay for your goods. The lady in front of you is being served by the cashier. She promptly goes into to her handbag, locates her purse and pays for her shopping. It's now your turn to be served. You pack your bags while having idle chit chat with the cashier, yet try to be as quick as you can as a queue is forming behind you.  And then it happens. The cashier tells you the cost of your goods and that rash begins to flare up on your neck that only happens when you are nervous. You have to go into your bag and locate your purse. Yikes. Ok, "don't panic" you say to yourself as you trawl through the mountains of receipts, tissues, make-up and god knows what else has been residing in your bag for months on end. The lady behind you sighs, gets impatient and starts to look to the ceiling as you continue to rummage.  Not long after that you have success and you find your purse. Yes! You whip it out to pay and just then a stray unwrapped tampon that has been a lifelong bag dweller, gets caught onto your purse and lands right in front of the cashier. Great!

Some people may find this situation difficult to comprehend but for many people this is a reality.
So many us of carry around so much crap in our bags that we don't even need. When we go into our bags to find what we do need, it is such a difficult task as the stuff that we don't need takes over the whole bag!

My handbag would be 50% lighter if I got rid of a lot of the the useless stuff in there. Time after time I would tell myself that I will tackle my handbag and clear it out but this just normally seems to be put on the back burner.

Here are my main offending bag contents.

• Tampons

Although useful to have in your bag they can be a nightmare when they become unwrapped and start to swim around in your bag like tadpoles!! They also seem to have a life of their own and can find their way out of your bag when you least expect it!!!

• Tissues

It turns my stomach to think that I actually do this, but I often find stiff used tissues in my bag. How gross!

• Receipts/Leaflets/Miscellaneous paper

This has got to be one of my worst offenders. I'm embarrassed to say how far back that my receipts go and as for other bits of unnecessary paper.............let's not go there!

Why do we hoard our handbag contents and why do we find it so difficult to clear out, organise and stay that way?

Can you relate to any of this? Are you a HCH or a recovering one?
I would greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions that I can share with anyone who will find it useful.

I have set my iPhone reminder to remind me to clear my bag out over next week. Wish me luck.................