Brightening up the garden...

I thought I would share with you some of my bargain finds from B&M to brighten up the garden. As I'm not exactly a keen gardener, and often forget to water plants, I wanted a couple of low maintenance items to start to get my garden summer ready! You can't get anymore low maintenance than these. I bought fake flowers that came in plastic plant pots at £2.99 each and put these into the bright blue tins. I am also loving these bright pink flower solar powered lights. (just £3.99)

For those warm, summer's evenings sat on the patio furniture with a (non-alcoholic) Shandy in hand, I bought some pretty little lanterns to cast a nice shimmery light over proceedings.

I was debating whether to buy some plastic bunting that can stay outside. I've got lots of fabric bunting, but thought it would be nice to have something I don't have to fetch back in. I'm still not sure if plastic bunting is a bit tacky (says the girl with fake flowers and bright pink fairy lights in her garden!) I think its because it reminds me of a used car dealer's forecourt. What do you think about plastic bunting? I'm sure some Cath Kidston oilcloth bunting would make a great addition though? 

Cath Kidston oilcloth bunting on eBay.

I've also been doing some doodles on stones. I get a little frisson of guilty pleasure, when I draw on something other than paper. When I was a little girl, I would draw on everything - furniture, walls, books, anything I could get my hands on. My mum would give me a sponge and some soapy water and make me clean it off as punishment. On one occasion I had drawn on my bedroom wall, and was marched upstairs with sponge in hand and told I wasn't allowed to come down until I had cleaned it off. (I know what you are thinking - a modern day Cinderella story!) My mum was quite surprised when she came up to see her little girl had scrubbed her way through five layers of paint to show every colour that room had ever been. Unfortunately, I no longer possess this vigour when cleaning. When  I saw some decorated stones on Pinterest, it brought back memories of drawing on stones and doing chalk designs on the road a la Tour de France, so I grabbed some from my garden and had a go. I've done these with Pebeo porcelaine marker (fine). Maybe next week chalk art on our street.. I'm sure my neighbours would be thrilled!

Kids would love to do this. Pick some up from the beach and get them to decorate with pictures of their seaside trip. I also think these would make a cheap but pretty wedding favour. You could decorate them with a quote, simple picture or your wedding date.

Is your garden ready for summer?

My weekly sketch...Sewing

My weekly sketch, of things I love, this week is...Sewing. There is nothing so satisfying in life as creating something. I love the feeling of having made a gift with my own fair hands. For my wedding, I made hand embroidered stockings for the guests staying in the hotel and filled them with treats. My brother got a cushion one year for his birthday and my sister-in-law a tote bag. To be honest, I do not know who gets the most pleasure out of these things. (Well in the case of my brother I have never seen the cushion again...) When I first got my sewing machine as a gift from my parents one birthday, it was my sister who saw her opportunity to utilise this and redecorate her home. We made blinds (unfortunately they didn't fit the window - note to self do not let sister use a tape measure!), curtains and pillowcases all in the first weekend. My initial fervour dwindled and sewing is a more sporadic hobby these days. I really want to take to the sewing machine once more and get creative.

I love starting a new sewing project, and sometimes I finish them. I have a huge collection of abandoned projects. I have three half-finished patchwork quilts alone. I am going to try and finish some of these. My husband rolls his eyes when I come home with fabric, as he feels, as I've got three huge boxes of it that I may already have enough. He is wrong! Who knows when you might need to make something in a hurry? Or when inspiration will strike? Or some other form of fabric emergency?! Okay so he may have a point, but we wont let him know that. I think it is time to start using that material. 

What are your favourite sewing projects?

What I did this weekend...

We went to FORGE arts and craft fair in Sheffield this weekend, organised by Hallam Roses W.I., and brought to my attention by fellow Yorkshire blogger Emma from Oh Gosh blog. They were raising funds for their W.I. and the charity Roundabout. There was plenty to see and it was great to support all the local talent. Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay long, as my little baby boy decided to have a little bit of a meltdown. I still managed to find some nice items to take home and grab some cake, as my husband frantically rocked and attempted to soothe my son.

There was such an array of baking that I struggled to decide what to buy. It all looked so delicious. We opted for some lovely moist chocolate cake, some flapjack and some white chocolate and Tobelerone brownie. I must admit I had a little nibble of the flapjack on the ride home, as I couldn't wait, but the rest was devoured with a nice cuppa when I got home. I thought it was only fair to give my hubby half a taste of them.

I got this adorable sock monkey (from the Ginger Zoo), a cute panda origami card (from Terrible Lizard) and a deep repair hair mask. (from Lovely cosmetics) The sock monkey and card are for my sister-in-law, but I got the hair mask for me. It has left my hair luxuriously smooth and silky. I cannot tell you how much I love the smell too, as it reminds me of going to the perfumery in Grasse, France, as a little girl. 

Seen as I was having a naughty weekend, I thought it was about time I had my first post-pregnancy Nandos. It is an addiction! My husband commented on the beaming smile I had all day once we decided to have Nandos for tea and its true I did!

We then had a quick visit to Hemsworth Water Park, which I hadn't visited since I was small. My grandparents would often take my siblings and I when we were younger. It was a lovely nostalgic walk down memory lane.

It consists of two lakes (with a bridge ideal for poohsticks), pedalos, a cafe, a play area, a small beach?! and a miniature railway. It wasn't the greatest of weather, so we didn't stay very long. Infact we ran back to the car, (just as my hubby offered to buy me a White Magnum icecream. Gutted!) when the torrential rain arrived.

Hemsworth Water Park is free, but parking costs £2. There are also additional charges for different activities, Playworld is £2.50 per child, the railway is £1 per person, paddle boards, mambo canoes and ocean duo canoes are £1 per person.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

How to improve your photographs in post production.

As the title says these are free and easy ways to improve your photos without having to fork out for expensive programs like Photoshop. I understand that there are a million things you might want to change about an image, and these are quite basic fixes and effects, but I thought I would share what I have discovered in trying to alter my images. I have used two programs to create these effects: GIMP and Perfect Effects 4.

I understand that top photographers have already framed their image perfectly and altered their camera setup to get crisp colours. For us mere mortals, the first thing I suggest you look at is the crop function (in GIMP Tools -> Transform Tools -> Crop) and Brightness-Contrast (in GIMP Colors -> Brightness-Contrast) The great thing about GIMP here is you can actually see exactly what it will look like before you make your selection. I always like to have a copy of the original image saved and open, so I can see the change. It is also worth doing incase you change your mind about the changes you have made (although there is an undo function in Edit) For most photos this is enough, as you have a beautifully framed shot and your colours look vibrant.

Other things you may wish to look at are in Filters in GIMP such as looking at sharpening an image (in GIMP Filters -> Enhance -> Sharpen) There are many effects you can use to alter your image in GIMP such as an old photo effect, lens flare etc. However, I am now going to use Perfect Effects 4 to create some Instagram type effects. First open up your image in the home screen, then change over to the effects screen once it is opened. Down the left hand side there is an array of effects that you can use, simply click on the box and it will show you what your image will look like. Then if you are happy with your image click the Add button on the right hand side bar. Your image will not be altered until you press Add. The portrait retouch is good for smoothing out skin imperfections and fixing red eye. The vintage effects have the feel of Instagram. You can layer effects by continuing to press add. The image below is using Brandon (in Vintage) and White Round (in Borders)

The image below is using Vintage Postcard.

I have also created these little doodles and pieces of text that can be added to the image by using a transparent layer on GIMP, as I have used in previous posts. You could just draw directly onto the image, but I created a full page of random sketches that you can just then copy and paste across.

Hope all you Instagram fans will enjoy using these techniques to change the photos you hold on your computer. As I continue in my quest to take better photos, I'll be sure to share my tips.

Yummy simple lunches

I've really been enjoying using Warburtons White Sandwich Thins to make some yummy quick lunches this week, so I thought I would share them with you. Firstly I made Caramelised Onion, Mushroom and Chicken Bruschetta.

Ingredients

A Warburtons White Sandwich Thin

Torn up strips of chicken breast (I used Tesco Everyday Value Chunky Chicken)

A handful of mushrooms

1/2 a red onion

A clove of garlic

Olive oil

Soy sauce

1/2 tsp Sugar

Chicken Oxo

Chop up mushrooms, red onion and garlic. Fry red onions slowly on a low heat until soft. Add mushrooms to the pan, but keep separate from onion. Fry mushrooms until brown. Add a splash of Soy Sauce and  1/2 tsp of sugar to the onion. Add chicken breast and garlic. Toast Warbutons Thin. Pile chicken, mushroom and onion onto toasted sandwich thin. I had this with a little salad.

Next I made mini mozzarella and chorizo pizzas.

Ingredients

Warburtons White Sandwich Thin

Tomato Puree

Chorizo

Buffalo Mozzarella

Oregano.

Toast your sandwich thin. Squeeze on a little tomato puree. Add torn up bits of mozzarella and chopped up chorizo. Place under medium grill for a few minutes until cheese has melted and chorizo is sizzling. Dust with a little dry oregano.

I was really happy when I found these, as they are thin and precut, they are ideal for many different uses. I just love it when you find something simple and delicious. I also like to make my own version of the Nandos starter of red pepper dip with pitta bread. I toast the sandwich thins then cut them into strips. Chop up some tomatoes and red pepper into small pieces, put them into a small bowl and add either some Medium Nandos Peri-Peri sauce or some sweet chilli dipping sauce. Okay so I've made myself hungry now. Maybe my hubby will pick up a Nandos on the way home. 

My weekly sketch ...Photography

My weekly sketch of things I love this week is.....Photography. This is a very recent passion, spurred on in the large part by a desire to document my little family. My sister has always had a keen eye for photography, and takes some really beautiful pictures. She owns the food blog Bilberry Tart, and as you can see the photography on the site is stunning. (The recipes are pretty yummy too!) My husband bought me a Canon SLR camera for my birthday, and my sister has been introducing me to a world of ISO and apertures (well I took some of it in). My husband and I have always had little photography competitions when we go out, so I'm hoping with my new camera to be reigning champion. 

For my birthday, I also received The Digital Photography Book by Scott Kelby, which I'm really enjoying reading. He delivers his expertise in a chatty and humorous fashion. Some of the advice is more technical than I'm willing to go and more money than I'm willing to spend, but he also has really simple tips. One of my favourite tips is sure to stop one thing I am always guilty of on photos; having my eyes closed. He says when you are taking group shots ask the people you are photographing to close their eyes and to open them on the count of three. You then take the photo a second after you say three and everyone should have their eyes open. 

I'm also starting to drive all my family mad with instagram and what's app. They are getting a constant barrage of pictures of my baby boy. Sometimes I take so many that it becomes a flicker book of his every move. I was intending to learn how to manually alter images in an instagram type fashion on my computer using GIMP, but then I found the free to download program Perfect Effects 4. This has many of the masks that you can get on instagram, plus some excellent retouching features to smooth out wrinkles and imperfections. (Post to follow on free and easy ways to improve your pics in post production.)

If you enjoy taking pictures please take a look at the Yorkshire Bloggers Photography Competition. More importantly don't forget to SMILE!

How to make pretty picnics

For my birthday, I asked for a picnic basket, and we have already been out in the sunshine making good use of my present. In the summer holidays my 4 year old niece is coming to stay, and I can't wait to create some pretty pink picnics. She is quite the picnic connoisseur, and is often seen setting one up on the living room floor. Therefore I'm going to have to pull something out of the bag to make it special.

1. Pink hearts melamine plate by Emma Bridgewater.

2. Linen sprig acrylic tumbler by Cath Kidston.

3. Linen sprig melamine bowl by Cath Kidston.

4. Linen sprig acrylic wine glass by Cath Kidston.

5. Children's melamine tea set by Emma Bridgewater,

6. Pink hearts melamine bowl by Emma Bridgewater.

7. Pink Tweed Dress by Oasis.

8. Linen sprig plate by Cath Kidston.

9. Linen sprig melamine stacking mug by Cath Kidston.

10. Butterfly bunting by Laura Ashley.

11. Pink rose girl's dress by JoJo Maman Bebe.

1. Polka dot dress by Mod Cloth.

2. Provencal rose bowl by Cath Kidston.

3. Picnic basket by Next.

4, Rose earrings by Mod Cloth.

5, Provencal rose flask by Cath Kidston.

6. Melamine 3 tier cake stand by Laura Ashley.

7. Pink gingham dress from JoJo Maman Bebe.

8. Provencal rose bowl from Cath Kidston.

9. Provencal rose beaker by Cath Kidston

10. Floral tea set by Argos.

I'm planning on utilising my masses of pretty pink material, lace and ribbons that my husband berates me for buying. I also have flower garlands and fairy lights for in the trees. I'm hoping to get some butterflies and fairies to hide around. This would make a great idea for a little girl's birthday party. You could pick their favourite park and organise treasure hunts and games without worrying about them smashing into your furniture or trampling your flowerbeds.