Yoghurt.

My Patina'd Heart

It's becoming almost a draining situation in regards to our local high street friendly shops.  As the internet has vastly taken over our high-streets, it shouldn't mean destroying our local community and people who want to shop where they live. It's almost as if we've lost hope and having to rely on-line won't please every body. We now live in a day of convenience and short cuts but don't realise the damage this is causing. Unfortunately the reality is good people with incredible ideas find it that much harder to make their dreams come true unless we rely on the community to bring this hope back. As a mother who takes the pram out almost daily, it brings me great sadness finding our local shops disappearing, it shouldn't be this way.

Why Craft Could Help You Live A Better Life

As a lover of craft and home-made items, I have been itching to find somewhere that holds plenty of supplies to keep me interested in the latest D.I.Y project. 

Well, what joy to find a shop like "My Patina'd Heart". Central Dover, Kent. Twenty minute walk from my front door. To find a friendly shop filled with local work, supporting the community and stocking craft supplies is truly wonderful. I'm surprised how many people have been making so many things here, you realise there are many talented people who clearly enjoy what they're doing. From scrap-books to baby burp cloths, frames everything was there. I spoke to owner Amy Howie, who is more than happy to help and always finds new items to stock. I couldn't resist looking at everything, home-decor ideas, buttons, I could go on! In the end I purchased some delicate Rose Petal beads for future projects. I came across the owner's website and am so pleased to see more idea's online and what's in stock. Although I prefer to see for myself and only a short walk away, it keeps me intrigued in what comes in.

Plain, unpainted, unfinished (ready-to-decorate) small, flat wooden letter. Paint, embellish, stain or Decopatch. Paintable craft blank.

Scrapbooking

Tattered Lace Interchangable Embossing Folders mean for the first time ever you can interchange the a range of embossing frames into any of the embossing folders creating a multitude of options. Ideal for cards, scrapbooks and other paper craft projects, this embossing folder will create the perfect pattern for you.

In my eyes , especially this day in age it can be difficult to impress someone from the younger generation of D.I.Y. Sewing, well that's what your Grandma is for. No, please no. We need to continue these wonderful hobbies in order to learn new things. Restoring old furniture rather than throwing it out? I'm currently working on a chair for my son, It's nearly 100 years old been in the family and needs some care. Surely you'd be a fool to throw something like that out. Baking? Surely it's never boring to bake? We always want to find new ideas and new trends, so why ignore our D.I.Y side? It's unique, fun and you can invite friends round to join in.
Please visit My Patina'd Heart.
I will be sharing to all my friends, thank-you for growing this community and keeping us creative.

Motherhood, looking back.

"It's raining, its pouring, the old man is snoring"... It's one of those days again. It's dark, it's gloomy. There is a 1 year old running around like a loose cannon in the living room. This is mum emergency and it's only the morning! So what do we do on a day like this?
We have all now heard of Pinterest, containing inspirational images of every subject you can think of, in this case "Indoor Games". In my eyes it's a perfect inspiration site for situations like this.
20 Best Indoor Games

I came across a blog "It's always Autumn". It contains printables, recipes, children activities and sewing ideas. Wonderful! What excellent ideas, not much effort and fun for your little ones as well as yourself. That's pretty much what we ask for until the clouds disappear!

What is not to like about various ideas like these? 15 minutes is no time at all to prep some fun activities for the children. As long as it keeps them entertained, interested and creative minded, there is nothing else to it but let them get on with it! Maybe you could quickly pop the kettle on and check up on an email or the latest news whilst your child has just managed to take the lid off the pen. Maybe you simply what to join in. Enjoy!

Wednesday. Today is the dreaded Wednesday, Lloyd is going back to sea for the week after an incredible three weeks off. We've been to the wonderful Christmas markets in Koln right up to Christmas Eve, had a lovely Christmas together with Leon and the final week we just tried to recover from the food!
But now it's Wednesday and the fun is over, back to routine and reality. I'm worried how Leon will react to Daddy going back to work, I can't wait to see his reaction when next Wednesday arrives (home time)!
So what to do today? I suppose the best thing is to stay in my pyjamas until I wake up properly, finish my Americano and then decide. Maybe you can help me?
Library?
Grandparents?
Baking?
Walk to the park (in the bitter cold)?
Stay at home!

Be back soon.

Mama Bee is finally up and running! I know, I know, so many of these lifestyle blogs are around so why do we need another one? I can answer this quite easily, it's functional, practical and simple! Who is Mama Bee? Mama Bee was a name I had created during early motherhood as a place for inspiration, experience and ideas. The world we live in, able to share online and write regular posts, I wanted to create something that mums could relate to. Whatever your life-styles are, it is to inspire you to keep creative, healthy and busy minded. I have a big passion for quality life, creativity and learning new things. Sewing and cooking is a big part of my family life. Not only have I introduced this to my 1 and half year old son, but my partner has learnt from this passion too and now we have a wonderful lifestyle that we would never change. Always smiling and always being creative.