Spring Flowers

We’re on the brink of summer and I love it. We had our doors open until past 9pm last night, swallows (or are they swifts - I never know?!) have been circling the evening skies and my roses are getting ready to burst, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. But before we dive in I wanted to capture my spring flowers one last time. 

This year I planted mainly supermarket bulbs as I was on more of a budget than the spring before. I picked up bulbs in Morrison’s, Lidl and Wilko. I chose them based on the colours of the packet rather than a specific variety. I planted them in my cut flower patch, in pots and in the garden - basically anywhere I had space. concentrating the more decorative varieties, so anything parrot like, patterned or frilly in the cut beds and pots and adding the ones bought in bulk bags around the garden. 

If planting bulbs is new to you don’t fear, they are really simple and after the initial planting they don’t require any maintenance. Packets appear in the shops at the end of summer and I start buying them as soon as I see them and then plant gradually from September - November for spring flowering the following year. Depending on the winter we’re having I might give pots a bit of extra water if like this year we’re having a dry winter. After that I simply wait for them to pop up. 

This year I grew tulips, daffodils, ranunculus and anemones. I always thought that ranunculus and anemones would be hard to grow but they’ve been just as easy as tulips and daffs, I grow them in my cutting beds as I’m growing them purely for the house. If you can I’d grow them in bulk as the corms are quite small and popular with squirrels so tend to get dug up easily. The only thing I'd really do differently for next spring is add more anemones and ranunculus to the cut beds, I think i'll try some under cover and some not to see if I get a more staggered flowering window. I'll also look for more interesting varieties, I did miss the pretty dancing ones I grew last year. 

For the tulips and daffodils, it's all about adding volume. After seeing the amazing tulips at Sarah Raven's garden this spring I want to double the amount of bulbs I add to my pots and throughout the garden. Daffodils will spring back every year but not all tulips will so I'd recommend adding fresh tulip bulbs to your beds every year - I'll definitely buy two bulk bags of tulips to one bag of daffodils. In terms of colours and type I'll keep buying what catches my eye, I'd like to add more tulips with double petals and I missed a trick not growing any orange varieties - they really are spectacular. .

Seeing the garden come to life and bloom again is one of my great joys, I relish my daily stroll to see whats popping up. If you haven't dipped your toe into the world of gardening then I can't recommend it enough - whatever your space there is plenty to plant and enjoy. I was thinking the other day I only started to grow flowers to accompany my DIY posts but the balance has tipped and now its the other way round - its funny how things change! Happy gardening! xx 

Three A-MAY-Zing DIY's

The weather might be keeping us guessing as to what season it is but these three DIY's for May are well and truly all about spring. I'm really enjoying looking back through my archives and pulling out my favourites for you to enjoy, hope you like this months beauties...

Silk and Tassel Bracelet - I gave my craft room a huge tidy up last month and rediscovered these gorgeous silk tassel bracelets. When the sun's been shining these are first on my wrists!

Hand Painted Gingham Gift Wrapping - I'm a sucker for anything gingham and this hand painted gift wrap tutorial is up there with one my favourites.

Leather Trimmed Glass Vases - I use these all year round and they are so versatile. My garden roses are beginning to bud so can't wait to fill these vases with freshly cut flowers but they would look equally fab hung on trees filled with (battery) tea lights.

Planning Projects Around Children

There's nothing I love more than having a project on the go whether that be for my home, garden or thinking of new projects for this blog. As much as I love the satisfaction of the implementation stage, I get a real kick out of the planning part too. I was speaking to someone a while back and they were asking me about how I fit my projects around childcare, I made out that it was all a bit of a fluke but later I realised that I'm actually really organised when it comes to finding the time to be creative and work on projects that excite and inspired me. For those that don't know, I'm a full-time mama, I look after my two small children largely on my own for 14 hours a day (thats from before breakfast to after dinner). Whilst I adore these brilliant young days, they are tough, and  I know that as part of my general wellbeing I need to be able to carve time to dream and create. Today I thought I'd share the ways in which I find the time to be creative whilst looking after two small children...

Be protective of your time - I have two nap times per week that are my time. I don't see anyone, I don't do any housework, washing, cooking etc. I use the time to make, be in the garden, photograph or write my blog. I am SO protective of this precious time - if you're struggling to carve time out then put it on a calendar or tell people - anything that makes it official. Even if you get 20 mins, its so worth getting into the routine.

Write a big list, then work on the top three - Every few weeks I sit down and write a big list of everything that needs to be done across all areas of my life. I highlight only the top three most urgent/important and work on those. This stops me from feeling overwhelmed plus it means I’m not starting 100 jobs and getting nothing done (although there are plenty of days like that!). I was a PA/Office Manager for eight years before I was a mum, this method really worked for me and I can definitely credit the success of my Creative Monday's to this method. 

Look at the weather - Of all the projects I do, the ones in the garden feel like the biggest treat. Unfortunately living in the UK means I am governed by the weather. As there's always a running list for inside and out, I check the weather forecast and work around that. This week for example, I had a free naptime and the sun was shining. Whilst the washing was calling my name, I shelved it and made the most of an hour in the garden, I'm so glad I did as it rained for the following two days!

Allocate certain jobs for certain days - I had a few sleepless night whilst prepping for the Spring Celebration Table, I knew what I wanted to do but couldn't work out if I was going to have enough time especially as it was half-term and couldn't rely on nap times. To calm myself I wrote out all the days I had until the shoot and allocated jobs to the days I knew I had childcare. This got me organised and focused (I worked backwards from the shoot itself), on my 'mum-days' I could concentrate on my little ones.

Turn off distractions - I'm sure I’m not alone when I say the internet, especially Instagram is my biggest vacuum of time (that and looking for tiny lost toys). Sometimes the only way to get on and get stuff done is simply put the distractions away and get on with it. I've been deleting Instagram off my phone once a week for mental reasons but I'm finding myself deleting it more and more when I need to crack on. 

Set a deadline - Apart from preschool drop-off and pick-up I don't have tonnes of deadlines - which in some respects is brilliant but not always conducive to getting anything complete. I set myself little goals to get projects complete by, it might sound crazy but if I say, "I'd like this done by Easter" I'm much more likely to get it finished.

Ranunculus and Rusty Tins

Pure prettiness for you today with these homegrown ranunculus and a new to me metal tin. I've recently upgraded my camera lens which I have to say has intimidated me slightly (its quite large compared to my kit lens). I've been doing the usual conversation of telling myself I'm not good enough for it but all I really needed was some time to play around and get used to it. I made use of a family nap last weekend to shoot these flowers for the sheer enjoyment and guess what?! I'm no longer scared of my lens, in fact I'm really excited to see what it can do. If photography seems scary to you my best advice is to keep experimenting and playing, confidence plays such a big part in it, giving yourself time to learn and grow is so important - the more you try the better you become , believe me! 

Watercolour & Gold Honeycomb Ball Table Decoration

You might have guessed by now - I LOVE laying tables! As part of the set up for my Alice and Rosa Celebration Table shoot I wanted to create a table topper that was beautiful, light and gentle but could also create a statement. The key when setting up a celebration table, especially when you have young children, is get as much prepared in advance, so on the day all that you need to do is combine the elements and enjoy it. Having a pre made decoration really helps with getting the set up complete as quickly as possible. I made this during three nap times (which is probably about three solid hours) and really wanted to challenge myself to create a new and really special DIY for my blog. My days are mainly spent "mum-ing" which I adore but once in a while I get an urge to sit down and create something that needs be done in more than a few snatched minutes around childcare. As part of the shoot I researched and planned all elements (more on planning projects soon) and allocated my time to make this accordingly, as a result it came together really quickly and I am so happy with how it turned out. Not only did it compliment the the stunning cakes it added another layer to table. I'll run through the loose steps below but I think these should be one-of-a-kind so please take inspiration from this one and have fun creating your own. Happy Making! xx 

Using a mix of white honeycomb balls, paper fans and tissue tassels (I used two packs of each) - delicately paint the edges in your choice of watercolours and leave to dry. Make sure you keep a few decorations plain. 

To assemble make a "swoosh" shape using chicken wire and wrap with a ribbon of plain cotton or a colour to match your decorations. Start to layer your decorations, I used a hot glue gun fix. I added my flat decorations first then the paper fans and honeycomb balls and then finished with the tassels. I used the following gold decorations, kindly provided by my the lovely ladies at OtherLetters - Gold Scallop Glitter Garland,  Foil Garland, Gold Stars and some of these Pink Ombre Pin Wheels (which are the best!). I also added a few pennies at the base to make sure it hung downwards. 

I painted two lengths of dowling rod white (mine was from a local wood yard) - your table set up will determine the length of the dowling. Insert into the gaps in the chicken wire and then place into two glass bottles or jars to stand. 

Easter scenes

It's been a while since I shared some everyday scenes from around the house, most days pass happily in a blur of messy floors and meal times (not really internet worthy yet still special) but this past Easter weekend was a perfect mix of sun, celebrating and relaxing with my little family. I recently invested in a new lens for my camera which I'm slowly learning to use (it captures things so differently) so decided to snap the weekends activities when I could. I decorated the house with a few Easter touches - decorated eggs (that were not simple but enjoyable to make), homegrown flowers and a mis-match of tablecloths and my favourite vintage plates. It was such a great taste of summer, I hope its filled with many more days like these. 

Three Egg-cellent DIY's for Easter

I love the Easter weekend, four days off and the summer stretching ahead - its my favourite. Less stressful than Christmas its the perfect weekend to get a little crafty. I've rounded up a few of my favourite Spring projects if you're looking for some inspiration. There are more on my Instagram stories too, if you fancy a look. Have a lovely weekend and let's hope the sun shines. 

Spring Gift Wrapping - Love this one, it works for all Spring gifting and not just Easter

Fabric Bunny Easter Eggs - Easily one of my favourite Easter tutorials I've made, so simple I'm going to dot these around my bunch table this Sunday. 

Floating Driftwood Shelf - The internet loves this tutorial, its been one of my most shared. If you're heading to the beach at the weekend look out for driftwood that could be used to make a simple floating shelf, then fill with treasures throughout the summer. 

Happy making! x