May update!

Hi all, it's been a while.........sorry about that! I have mostly been spending my time with these two lovely pickles......

 

 Doing things like making messy handprint pictures.......

collecting stones .....

 Making toddler crafts such as alphabet stones.....

My May resolution is to keep making stuff with my daughters but to find time to bring back lampshade making and perhaps even do some lampshade workshops in West Sussex! Watch this space!

Lovely lampshades

I have recently made to order these lovely  lamp shades; they are a coordinating drum shape ceiling shade and a smaller table lamp shade. 

I love the customers chosen pattern and the fabric texture works really well as when the lights are on you can see the gorgeous weave of the fabric. 

Hen Party Workshop

photo: Kannayo Okolie

photo: Kannayo Okolie

photo: Kannayo Okolie

I love doing Hen Party workshops and this recent party was particularly special because it was for a good friend of mine. It took place in a undercover garden at a lovely London pub, craft can literally happen anywhere! The chosen workshop was customising ladies nickers and the hens produced some lovely creations whilst eating plenty of cake!

A workshop creates a great 'ice breaker' for a party where you may have people of all ages and where people may not know each other. It is always satisfying to learn a new skill and come away with a keepsake from the day!

Party workshops start at £6 per head (depending on venue and workshop activity) . Workshops can include making lavender hearts, bunting, decopatch coat hangers, tea light holders, pretty panties and even customising babygrows for a special babyshower activity!  

 

Handmade nappy stacker

NEW website!!

http://www.marthaandme.co.uk

Japp Design have made Martha & Me a lovely new website...check it out at marthaandme.co.uk.  I will be adding to the shop and updating the blog in the next couple of weeks. 

For anyone local to Cambridge Martha and Me along with Origami-Est will be having a stall at Mayfield School, Cambridge-  Christmas market on 30th november (7.30-10.00). 

and these are some shades i recently made to order....

Miffy cake - step by step

I can't believe Martha is 2 tomorrow! This Miffy cake is my first attempt at a novelty cake. I struggled to decide on a character, she loves Peppa Pig, Raa Raa, Postman Pat, Noddy etc so it was a tough call. I decided on Miffy mostly because she is my favourite and we have the book 'Miffy's Birthday' which we can read tomorrow. I hope Martha likes it!

This is a basic guide to how i made it (i am a novelty cake novice so please excuse errors or unprofessional methods!)

I made a simple template, this ensured i had enough cake and the scale looked ok before i committed to cutting!

The cake was made in two round and one square tins. I made a simple sponge. I mixed up 12oz SR flour, 12oz Sugar, 12oz butter, 6 eggs, 1tsp vanilla and 2tspbaking powder. The icing is fondant icing and I used some of those lovely gel food dyes to make the pink,

  

The finished result!!!

Recently my life has seemed predominately focused on Martha's sleep, or rather lack of sleep....

We are trying to reduce and stop day time naps (with a hope of her sleeping more at night!) so i have lost my craft slot :( I can't really use the sewing machine when she is around so I am doing a bit more jewellery making as I can do this at the table whilst she is playing. I have been making things with buttons and resin cabochons. Cabochon is a totally new word and craft for me but I am enjoying the results!

made-it-market

Tea cup candles

A lovely friend showed me how to make candles a few months ago At crafty spice (my craft club!) I made these scented candles in pretty vintage tea cups for friend's birthday.

Baubles

I have been using scraps of fabric and decopatch glue to collage over some really naff Christmas baubles I found cheap at the B&M store.

Wrapped soaps gift idea

I always love ideas that turn an ordinary gift into something special for friends. Wrapping a bar of soap in pretty paper, fastening with ribbon and attaching a parcel tag immediately elevates the aesthetic of a humble soap to something superior. I have wrapped up bars of the Body Shop's mango soap which smells gorgeous, it is important to use soap you would actually like to use! I decided to stamp the word 'soap' on the tag but you could also stamp a personal message, name or quote. Any fabric or paper could create the wrapper; I would like to try music manuscripts, maps and lace in the future.....I will have to get collecting!. The wrapped soap could be adorned with buttons, a brooch or even dried flowers for extra detail.

Pretty machine appliquéd hand towels

This is a really easy gift idea or quick way to jazz up your bathroom or kitchen. I used some plain hand towels and scraps of my favourite fabric to make pretty customised towels. I simply cut the fabric to size and machine stitched it onto the edge of the towel. I also added a hook with ribbon so the towel could be hung on a hook in our kitchen. You could also add buttons and decorative beads. For a wedding present how about embroidering or appliquéing the couples names or initials? I am going to make matching face cloths and hand towels as presents using my friends favourite fabric designs.

Christmas stocking

I know it's only October but all the lovely Christmas fabrics in the shops have inspired me. I found this Christmas Dove  fabric in Dunelm Mill (new to Cambridge) for just £3.99 a meter. The green fleece lining is a blanket I also found in Dunelm for £1.99. This is going to be Martha's stocking so I wanted it to be both cosy and practical and the fabrics really work for this purpose. I used the stocking tutorial on The Eternal Makers blog as a guide and it was really easy to follow(10 out of 10!). The stocking took well under an hour to make so i was able to make it during Martha's nap (and  still do the washing up!)- an important requirement! 

Cinnamon rolls

In Cambridge we have a cafe/cake shop called Cinnabon. You may have guessed from the name but It only sells variations of cinnamon rolls. Its delicious but sadly incredibly expensive. By that I mean crazy prices that just cannot be justified however yummy the produce. So today I thought I'd give baking my own cinnamon buns a try. I used the recipe in British Baking by Peyton and Byrne. It was easy to follow but rather time consuming because of the amount of time bread takes to rise and knead. You do get an impressive result and it is a calming and satisfying process (like with any bread making!). Overall the effort was definitely worth it!

My favourite lemon drizzle recipe

This lemon drizzle cake is from the Peyton and Byrne British Baking book. It works every time, is really easy and above all tastes delicious....what more could you want!

Birthday chocolate button jar

At the weekend I made a jar of chocolate buttons to take with me to a friends birthday celebrations. As in previous projects i used my lovely button mould and melted different types of chocolates to make the buttons both more interesting visually and to taste. I used one of my lovely cath kidston stickers for the label.
These would make lovely Christmas presents for both adults and children.

Yet more cards!

Amy butler fabric peg bag

Today I made myself a peg bag out of some lovely Amy Butler fabric. I have been saving this fabric for ages because i hadn't found a suitable project for it. I love the colours and bold print but It's quite a loud style and could easily overwhelm! I used a child's wooden coat hanger for the hook and drew round the shape of the hanger to make a template.

Workspace

Photos of Martha testing out mummy and daddy's work spaces! i think mine is much more fun! I have been working on some new cards for the craft fair!

Some of my recent 'made to order' shades

I love making lampshades to order as the customer can get exactly what they want.

It can be so difficult to find the perfect shade even at big stores with lots of choice. Many people end up choosing a plain shade as a 'safe' option which seems a shame if it is not what they really want but still costs them lots of money.

I may be biased because I always love patterns and I have a thing for lampshades but a custom made shade is a really good option. On average mine cost between £25-£50 which is comparable to department store prices like John Lewis and Debenhams.

Having a shade made for you is really not as much of an extravagance as one may think!