Our babies are growing up!

The end of 2011, beginning of 2012 has marked the start of a few changes in our household. Sophie turned 6 months at Christmas so has now started weaning! Eeek, I'm now prepared for lots of mess, sticky fingers and probably numerous amount of purees I've spent ages making being thrown or knocked onto the floor!!
I have now come to the decision to wean her off breastfeeding too. I've not started yet but maybe next week I'll take the plunge and buy some formula and dig out the steam steriliser! This is the only thing that I'm not looking forward to. Breastfeeding is much easier as the milk is just there, ready for when baby needs it, the perfect temperature and you don't have to faff around with bottles etc! I do feel though it may make day-to-day life a little easier. I'm constantly planning the day and what we do around feeds...don't get me wrong I'm not too bothered about feeding in public but sometimes it's just not possible!! I will be sad to stop but I've been breastfeeding for over 6 months now which I'm really proud about. I'm so pleased I was able to do it again :)
Another couple of changes are Joshua getting rid of his dummy and starting potty training!! Joshua has always had a dummy for night-time and nap times. He's never been dependant on having one during the day but always wanted it, along with 'Teddy' for sleepy times. We felt however that by the age of 3 we really wanted to say goodbye to it. Sooo...my fabulous idea was to, on Christmas Eve, let Joshua put his dummy on the tree for Father Christmas to take away and leave lots of presents in return! We built him up to doing it a few weeks leading up to Christmas and he seemed fine about the whole idea. So Christmas Eve Daddy lifted Joshua up for him to hang his dummy on the very top of the tree! He went to bed fine with just Teddy...amazing! He's mentioned it maybe just twice since but it's not bothered him one bit. Woo hoo!
So with this being so so easy we then thought we would try something else whilst the Christmas tree was up. "Joshua, shall we ring the Christmas elves to come back to collect your nappies then you can start to use your potty?"..."Yes!" was the reply. So that's what we did and now, just over a week later, Joshua is happily in pants making regular trips to the potty! We've had our fair share of accidents and we still need to master getting out and about without nappies and also night-times without nappies. It's still all early days though and we don't want to push him and end up going backwards.
Along with all that we are seeing lots of different personal developments too. Being able to have proper little conversations with Joshua now is fantastic and some of the things he says are so funny!! Sophie starting to giggle is lovely along with interacting with Joshua and a few weeks ago she discovered she has feet!! That was funny to watch!
2012 is going to bring about so many other changes and developments too. I'm really excited to see them all but just don't want it to go too quickly! They're growing up too quick!!

Facebook Fan Page

I launched my very own fan page on Facebook last week. It was very exciting and great to get back some lovely feedback and a couple of orders too :) I just love to make things so for for people to like what I do really means a lot!
Whether or not I'll be able to keep up with it I don't know. If it starts to interfere with the kiddiwinks then I shall put a stop to it and once I'm back at work next year I'm guessing I won't have much time at all! We shall just have to see. I really hope I can keep it up and running as I just love to get my things out there! I have so many ideas for new bits and pieces too :)
If you'd like to find me I'm 'Sew Crafty Lisa Jayne' (I'll add a link box thingy-ma-jig on here once I work out how to do it!)

Sophie Collage and Bunting

Before Sophie was born I wanted to create some personalised artwork and matching bunting for above her cot. I found some gorgeous scrapbooking papers in a local craft shop so decided to use them for both the framed picture and bunting, so as to tie it all in together.

I didn't manage to finish the picture in time as Sophie arrived early but I've been able to finish it off recently and really pleased with the result. I used a mixture of the papers I found along with different fabrics and ribbons. I personalised it by embroidering her name and date of birth onto a piece of linen fabric.

I love the framed picture and feel it's a great keepsake which will last for years to come.

Apple Upside-Down Cake

Another recipe worth sharing is for this Apple upside-down cake I got from an Easy Food magazine. 

I forgot to add the ground almonds into the mixture though so instead sprinkled flaked almonds on top whilst it baked and added more once out of the oven. Then finished it off with a sprinkling of icing sugar.

I turned mine around because the almonds looked better on top I thought. So this one I made isn't technically upside-down! Whichever way you choose it'll still taste as good!....try it warm with custard, yummy!!

200g butter
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
225g self-raising flour
25g ground almonds
3 eating apples, thinly sliced
3 tbsp golden syrup

1. Heat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4
2. Line a deep 20cm spring-form cake tin with paper and grease it. (I used a sandwich cake tin and it came out fine)
3. Whisk the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
4. Mix in the eggs then fold in the flour and almonds. If needed, add a little water to make the mixture easier to spoon into the tin.
5. Line the base of the tin with layers of apple slices.
6. Add the golden syrup then spoon the cake mixture on top.
7. Bake for one hour. Cool the cake in the tin, turn out onto a wire rack and remove the paper.

I found because I used a sandwich tin there was a bit too much cake mixture. I made a few cupcakes with the excess. I sprinkled cinnamon, flaked almonds and granulated sugar on top before putting in the oven. Once cooled I made a few holes in each with a fork and dribbled some golden syrup over the top :)

Fun Birthday cake for Daddy!

I let Joshua loose on decorating this cake for Daddy! I used the previous recipe but used food colouring to colour the buttercream icing. Joshua then added lots of sweets to the top!

I created the swirly ones by using ready to roll icing. I coloured half of it and rolled the plain and coloured together and sliced. I think they look quite fun!

Don't think i'll be putting green buttercream inside a cake again though. It may have tasted good but it did look a little strange!!

Cake, cake, cake!

I just have to share this recipe for Victoria sponge cake, its amazing! So easy to make by simply adding everything to the bowl and mixing. It rises so well too and makes a very impressive cake.

I've now used the recipe to make a couple of cakes and cupcakes too :) I'm really getting into this baking malarkey whilst on maternity leave. Often with Joshua lending a helping hand....and helping me to create more mess in the kitchen!!

I've banned myself from baking for the last week or so though as it's doing nothing to help me loose this last bit of baby tummy ;) That's the only problem with baking. I love to bake but also love to eat my creations too!!

Anyway, here's the link....Check it out, it's a must!

http://www.howtomakecakes.co.uk/2007/09/back-to-victoria-sponge.html

Surprise arrival!!!

Our beautiful baby girl made an early appearance! Sophie Isobel was born at 36 weeks but both me and her are doing great :)

I had just finished work on the Thursday to start maternity leave and Sophie decided to arrive after the weekend on the Monday!! The very day I'd planned to pack my hospital bag once and for all and also write my birth plan! I'd quite fancied a water birth but with her arriving early I couldn't. I wasn't too bothered though, as long as she arrived safely I didn't care.

Call me strange/ weird and/or slightly mental but I loved being in labour!! I managed with just co-codamol and gas and air too! I just tried to stay calm, concentrating on my breathing and put myself in a bubble and lost all my inhibitions! The whole birth lasted for just over 12 hours with the first contractions starting at 3.20am in the morning.

She's perfect...we are all so made up, including her big brother Joshua!

Decorated Jars

For ages now I've had stored in a cupboard some old baby jars of Joshua's. I've always wanted to do something with them and eventually had the chance to!

I've made them all for different uses using lots of bright, funky papers, ribbons, buttons etc to decorate them.

Lot's more Christmas decorations...

Had another request for some more Christmas decorations :)

Sock Rabbit

I've made this cute little sock rabbit for our baby girl :) Once she's here and we know her name I'll sew on her initial to the rabbits tummy.....That's if I can find the time, no doubt she and Joshua will be keeping me busy!!

My Birthday Cakes!

I made a scrumptious chocolate cake and some pretty cupcakes for my Birthday...here they are!

Christmas Decorations

Ok, So I know it's only the end of April but I had a request for some personalised Christmas decorations! A friend at work asked for them, so my plan was to get them done before I finish for maternity leave...so i've been busy stitching away :)

3D/4D scan photo

We decided to go for a 3D/4D scan to have a peek at our little girl last weekend. We did the same with Joshua and absoloutely loved the experience. I would definitely recommend it to any expectant Mummys and Daddys out there!

We were there for an hour and a half. We got to see her smiling, yawning, wriggling around and sat cross legged with her legs right up underneath her chin (!!)

The sonographer also confirmed to us that it is a little girl...I was still convinced it was a boy up until now!

Joshua seemed interested in the whole thing too...at least for half the time we were there. He was happy playing with a farm set later on!
I think the experience has helped him to understand more what's actually going on in my tummy too. He's started saying 'Baby Sister' now and still loves to kiss and cuddle bump :) He's going to be a fantastic big brother.

Here's one of the photos of her at just under 27 weeks...she looks like she has beautifully defined lips :)...



I feel like i'm being kicked left, right and centre at the moment! She has really strong kicks now, they take me by surprise sometimes, make me jump! Some of them actually hurt! Joshua was never this wriggly!!

Union Jack Sock Mouse!

I was recently asked to make a Union Jack sock mouse! How funky does he look?! and rather apt for tomorrows Royal Wedding celebrations!!

Mum's 50th Birthday cake

I also made my Mum a special Birthday cake! It was a bit of a challenge for me because I had never used the ready rolled icing before, plus only made a few cakes but just couldn't wait to make it. I managed to hold off and do it the day before!

I got a few tips from my friend who is into making cakes - Thanks Sarah!




I really enjoyed making it and luckily it tasted good too after all the effort I put into it.

I'd love to get into cake decorating...Seems like a very expensive hobby though!

Fingerprint Picture...

Me & Joshua both had lots of fun making my Mum a celebratory fingerprint picture for her 50th Birthday. I designed the image myself, printed it out and filled it with our fingerprints...I did cheat slightly by getting Joshua to but his fingerprints onto a plain piece of paper for me to cut them out and stick them on. Otherwise i'm pretty sure they would have been all over the place!!

My new addiction.......!

...the iPhone app 'Instagram'

I LOVE it...totally addicted. It's a great app where you can transform your own photos with a whole range of different filters. You then upload and they are then availiable for people to see. There's a whole Instragram community where you can follow other uses and they can follow you. You're able to see tons of amazing photography.

You don't need to be a photographer to use it but I think it helps to have some idea of photography to do it well! Saying that you can turn a photo of a grey miserable day to something amazing just by trying out the many different filters....Try it and have a go! I'm 'lisamet' if you fancy finding me and seeing my photos.

Here's a few of mine....

It's a GIRL!!!

We found out yesterday that we are having a little baby girl :) Sooo chuffed! That's one of each, perfect! Another little Joshua would have been just as perfect too though ;) Totally made up with the news.

This is the scan pic and the first baby-gro we bought her yesterday...

Flower Girls cards

I was recently asked to make two cards for a lady at work who is getting married at the end of August. She requested two cards for her to send to her future flower girls to-be to ask them if they'd like to be flower girls!
She asked for a keepsake attachement to be the main focus on the card.
I decided to make two decorative hanging hearts with ribbon gerbera flowers on them. (Fushia pink gerberas will be in the bouquets)...