Adventures with Queenie Dot Part 1

I'm so excited to share with you a little project I'm doing with paper cutting extraordinaire QueenieDot! QueenieDot also known as Jo is a lovely friend and local artist and tutor who I met at a knit & Natter at Make Do & Mend. She's a fellow veggie, Bluetones lover, stationary fiend, bookworm and lover of cake! (Needless to say we get on very well!) Here's some of her gorgeous work, I absolutely love this personalised wedding paper cut.

The lady herself.

We didn't really plan much of our collaboration, just that it would be lovely to do something together - I love the bright colours behind Jo's work and thought it might be nice to have a very small scale pattern behind them also. So it being so gorgeous and summery at the moment we thought we'd choose a floral theme and just see what happened. Which is what I love about this the most - we met up a few weeks ago to show each other what we'd done and didn't have a clue of what to expect, was kind of exciting! Anyway, what I love about Jo's work is the crisp, delicate and yet structured lines, and so with my pattern I wanted to do something a bit different to that. So I first got out my watercolours and did some swishy swashy florals....although I just couldn't get these to work on their own, so I then layered tracing paper on top and drew more detail. It was really lovely to work in a slightly different way.

I'm going to save showing you all my final patterns until my next post, but here's a sneak peek of Jo's wonderful paper cut. I'll post a picture of the final pieces together very soon.

Also take a look at Jo's fantastic blog and shop here: queeniedot.blogspot.co.uk, you'll be glad you did! xxx

Delicious Delights!

You know how sometimes when you retweet competitions on twitter it kind of feels a bit pointless what with so may people etc etc, well it really isn't as I won the most wonderful prize this weekend through Lurpak and Delicious magazine! It was a meal for 2 cooked by amazing Chef James Ramsden. The meal was held in a gorgeous little Cafe on Holloway Road called Vagabond 7, it had the most beautiful rustic tables and such a lovely homely feel.

There were only about 18 people invited to the supper club, I had assumed that everyone would have won the competition in the way that I had, but actually there were food bloggers, cooks, people who run their own supper clubs and lots of other lovely people all who loved food! I was intimidated at first, and kind of somehow felt like I'd cheated in being there, but that didn't last long, as everyone was so warm and friendly, it was such a pleasure to be there.

Here was the beautiful chilled watercress soup with edible flowers - so pretty and tasty. My first taste of a chilled soup, was so delicious and refreshing, especially as the weather gorgeously warm on Saturday.

 The main course, unfortunately I can't remember what it was called, but it was Aubergine with a tomatoey type sauce with goats curd and salad, was so so nice - and not something I'd usually order so especially nice to have.

.....and the dessert, Ian and I have been talking about this ever since the moment we stopped eating it! I wish I could describe it in a way that would do it justice, but I'm a rubbish writer. Basically the base was made with Amaretti biscuits, then there was a lemony cheese cakey type cream with lots of Basil and then topped with strawberries, it was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, scrummy!

Followed by wonderfully decadent homemade truffles (not sure they stayed around long enough for me to photograph!) and deliciously strong coffee.

Ian and I with chef James Ramsden (I look like I've swallowed a watermelon!)- who was a fantastic host and very lovely (even though I must be one of the most annoying diners being both Veggie and pregnant!) Also Laura (I think that was her name, really sorry if I got it wrong) who was helping and serving was also extremely great in making us feel welcome and comfortable, we had such a nice evening.

We each got a copy of James' new book Small Adventures in Cooking and a Lurpak tea towel (I like to think I'm building up a good collection of their products, I have a lovely toast rack and butter dish I got from a vintage fair a while ago) - it's a gorgeous book and I was so pleased to see the pattern design on the front designed by one of my favourite illustrators Debbie Powell.

Thanks so much to James, Lurpak and Delicious Magazine for a wonderful evening, after talking to all the people there I now have a renewed enthusiasm for food. Now, who was it that told me about rose flavoured salt and how do I get hold of some?!xx

The Essex Flower Show

Just thought I would share with you all some quick snaps (I'm afraid they're poor phone quality pics - but doesn't the beautiful mess app make everything so much prettier?!), I took at the Essex Flower and Garden Show. It was the very first show of its kind and my sister Alie and I were really excited to be asked to exhibit through our blog Flowers in The Window. Alie did a beautiful floral display with a vintage ladder and accessories, while I did workshops including decorating glass jars and pinwheels, here are our displays.....

With baby number 2 only 7 weeks away, and still lots of work to do on our house, unfortunately I don't think we're going to be able to get away for a holiday this summer. But I do think we'll have lots of lovely seaside day trips and local adventures instead though.

I've always wanted to go to Cornwall, and I have quite romantic ideas about caravan holidays (yes I have actually been on them!). Parkdean contacted me with information about their marvellous sounding Holiday Park in Mullion, I can't wait to take our little family on holidays like this in the future, hopefully soon.....

Get Outdoors with the Family at Mullion Caravan Park

Switch off the TV, put down the games console and strap on your comfiest walking boots for a holiday at Mullion Holiday Park, where all the fun is found just outside your door! Located just a few miles from Cornwall’s spectacular Lizard point, the most southerly place in England, and with numerous fantastic walks to take and coves to discover along the coastline, the Mullion caravan park is the ideal place for adventure-filled holidays with the kids.

 1.) As Mullion Holiday Park is set within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, no matter where you wander you’ll find picture-perfect panoramic views of the Lizard Peninsula.

2.) Just five miles from the park you can discover its namesake of Mullion Cove Cornwall visitors love to come here and watch the boats bobbing around in the harbour before heading into the village to taste the Catch of the Day.

3.) For a really thrilling day out, take the boat over to St. Michael’s Mount, one of Cornwall’s most famous landmarks. Explore the 14^th century castle and its lush gardens on this intriguing rock island, and enjoy the views over the Lizard Peninsula from another angle.

4.) However, for those days when you just feel like relaxing, you’ll find plenty to do at the Mullion Holiday Park itself, as like every Parkdean Holidays park it’s packed with family-friendly activities and outdoor play areas. On the crazy golf course with sea views you can tee off, with the sound of the waves providing a soundtrack!

5.) The wildlife nature trail at Mullion is also an exciting way to spend an afternoon, as by following the signs and solving clues you’ll explore the area around the park and maybe discover some friendly creatures.

6.) Don’t forget to pack your swimsuits too to make a splash in our heated outdoor pool, with a water activity feature which will keep kids of all ages entertained all day!

7.) Kids can also meet our Parkdean mascots, Sid the Seagull and Lizzie the Lizard at the Mullion Holiday Park, by joining in on our kids’ clubs, the Tot Stars and Star Landers. Sid and Lizzie will make your kids’ holiday memorable with great games and outdoor activities at the adventure play area, whilst the grown-ups can enjoy their time together on the sun terrace, or at one of two on-site bars. At Mullion Holiday Park, there’s a great reason for everyone to enjoy the fresh air!

It all sounds so lovely! Hope everyone has exciting plans for the holidays? I think mine are going to be all about learning to survive with a toddler and a newborn!xx

Sarah Yewman's Amazing Mini Dudes

I first came across Sarah Yewman's work a few months ago on twitter - Sarah's a lovely local creative here in Chelmsford and is a childrens writer/author, painter, drawer and vinyl junkie! Her blog is really inspiring with lots of wonderful ideas, projects and commissions. Here's a few of my favourite pieces of her work all created on vinyl toys by Dudebox. There's something very satisfying about these little guys , they're so lovely- Sarah also runs childrens workshops creating them for Just Imagine (wish I could do one!)

This was a commissioned piece and I love the detailing on the scarf and beard - so intricate, love how they all have little personalities too!

Davina McCall is a big fan of Sarah's work and signed her mini Davina Dude which was auctioned for Comic Relief this year. To celebrate this Dudebox ran a giveaway to win your own DIY mini dude to create your own - and I was a lucky winner!

.....and here is my attempt! It was so much fun to do - but so hard! How on earth Sarah makes hers look so flawless and detailed is beyond me! I was a bit impatient and just wanted to dive right into it without much planning, so my first attempt at using watercolours as a background colour didn't work at all! So I needed a quick rethink and what did I turn to - my nail varnishes!! A bit odd I know, but I figured they should sit on the surface well which they kind of did, and I sort of liked the blobby marks the brushes made. I then thought I was using a permanent pen and it turned out it wasn't! So the result is a somewhat smudgy affair! But it was so nice to do something without knowing how it was going to turn out - and something very different for me also. I've been a bit stuck lately design wise, and sometimes I really think that making anything even if it's not directly linked to your practice really helps, and this really has. Thanks so much to Sarah and Dudebox for the mini dude and inspiration!