Two Crafty Brownies

We went to Blogtacular!

Hello lovelies!

How is June treating you? The sun has been shining here in London, which means lots more time outside, eating, playing, exploring and generally having fun! Last weekend, Jenny and I had lots of fun together! As I mentioned in my last post we were attending Blogtacular, an annual conference, for full time or part time bloggers, would be bloggers, small creative business owners or anyone with an interest in this area. Our last away day was far too long ago!

Our overriding emotion leading up to the event was definitely excitement. We knew from seeing so many colourful posts on instagram last year, that people looked like they were having so much fun and we wanted to join the party! We were really looking forward to meeting some of our ‘instafriends’ who we knew were going, connecting with new creatives, attending inspiring talks on varied topics and we’d heard that the food was good too!

Before the event, there was a lot of communication from the organisers about the speakers, the schedule, info for newbies and there were opportunities to introduce ourselves or share our latest blog posts on facebook if we wanted to. Encouraged by this, we posted this pic of ourselves with our handmade scrabble letter name tags on instagram a couple of days before using the hashtag #blogtacular, and a few people at the conference (including Cath Dean, the editor of Mollie Makes!) told us they recognised us!...

The day before the conference, I went on a photo walk. Jenny suggested I put my name down as she knows how much I love photography and she kindly offered to pick my babies up from school so I could go! So lovely! Every attendee of Blogtacular, as part of the price of the ticket, has a chance to attend either one of 2 photo walks or a video walk (new this year) and if there are too many applicants for the number of places, I believe names are chosen at random. I was both excited and nervous when I was told I had got a place on one of the photo walks. I was looking forward to it but didn’t really know what to expect and I didn’t know anyone else going.

Well, I loved it! We met near Victoria Station and our group leader, Kristabel Plummer (pictured below), whose brain I believe is also a sat nav, proceeded to lead us through the streets of South West London looking for beauty and colour……

 

 

Such a beautiful cake shop...

 

..with such a beautiful display!

 

I wanted to ride away on this bike!

 

Beautiful flowers outside a beautiful flower shop

 

Colour goals!

 

  

More colour!

The ladies I met on this walk were gorgeous! As we walked along, we introduced ourselves to each other, chatted, posed in our colourful footwear/hair/dresses/glittery skirts/macs etc! I was quite giddy at the end with how much I enjoyed it, how lovely everyone was and how many pics I had taken. Check out these lovely ladies.....

Jenny and I were reunited (phew!) in the evening for the Blogtacular party, hosted by West Elm, where we enjoyed beautifully chilled glasses of wine, a couple of delicious mini burgers each whilst chatting to familiar faces (from my photo walk) and lots of new faces too. The organisers of Blogtacular and West Elm had arranged little gathering areas, where as a group, we could talk about different topics. We talked about the success of various social media platforms, but we found it slightly hard to hear everyone because of the music that was playing in the background. The evening went by in a flash and before we knew it we were on the bus on our way home but very much looking forward to the next day!

The next morning started with a delicious breakfast (I’ll try not to go on about the food too much!), with time to organise ourselves, settle in and meet yet more lovely creatives, all buzzing with excitement about the day ahead.

 Waiting for it to start....eek!

The opening keynote talk was wonderful as was the closing keynote. In the morning Natalie Lue, a relationship expert and blogger who specialises in helping people to transform their lives and break unhealthy patterns in their relationships, gave the first keynote speech of the day and it was the most amazing pep talk! My favourite nugget of wisdom that she gave us was, ‘There’s no gold stars or brownie points, so it’s best to rock on with your bad self!’ Yes!

During the day there was a diverse range of workshops to choose from. In fact we found it hard to choose, but knowing that all talks would be available on audio after the event definitely helped. We didn’t feel like we would be missing out on anything! Jenny and I attended talks on the foundations of marketing, working with brands, finding your niche and a creative business masterclass. We came away with key tips, tools, new ideas, concepts, connections and information that we know will help us to transform and focus our business going forward. I sound like I’ve been to a conference don’t I?  

There was lots of audience participation during the talks we attended and there was always time given to ask questions. During the creative business masterclass, we played business card bingo, where we were given a chance to swap business cards based on things we had in common, such as liking bullet journalling (Jenny!). We loved this game and we’d like to see more activities like this next year!

There were lots of breaks in between the talks, with refreshments available each time, spread out across a few stations to minimise queueing. We were very impressed by this! The lunch was scrumptious. Jenny and I (and a few others) were led into a separate area with more seating at lunchtime. It was lovely and calm but we wondered if it was in fact the naughty area!

During the breaks, there were opportunities to visit both the marketplace, where a few fab small creative businesses were selling their wares and the Creative Genius Bar, where attendees could meet with a few experienced bloggers, designers, photographers and authors to ask questions and pick up more tips and advice. Oh and there was a brilliant backdrop where you could take a colourful selfie!...any excuse...

Overall we really liked the venue. It was cool and comfortable and there was plenty of seating in the lecture theatres. The staff at the venue were friendly and efficient and the Blogtacular volunteers were helpful, fun and friendly too! Each year, applications are opened up to anyone wanting to volunteer to be part of the Blogtacular Team. It looks like fun and hard work, but it would be a great opportunity.

We would have loved a forum to give feedback after the event (such as a form via email) and apart from that, the only other ‘criticism’ we have is that we were having so much fun, it felt like it ended too soon! We really did want the good times and the learning to go on...Blogtacular, The Retreat perhaps? I am not sure Kat Molesworth would think that was a good idea! Kat is the inspiring and talented creator and organiser of Blogtacular. Jenny and I are fans of the Blogtacular podcast too. We think Kat is very hard working, pretty awesome and funny! Thanks Kat!......

And thanks for the goody bags! They were a wonderful design and the contents were great too!....

Blogtacular was very special and one of the most valuable things we are taking away with us is new friends. Not literally of course, although there were quite a few lovelies we met that we wanted to take home! For some reason, I believed that it might feel that there was some kind of hierarchy based on how many followers you have, or how well known you are, but it was not like that at all. It was honestly full of friendly, kind, fun, colourful, generous and inspirational people and we shared with and learnt so much from them!

This weekend is going to feel very uneventful in comparison but that’s fine, the sun is rumoured to be shining for the duration, which means fun and frolics with the family! What have you got planned?

Lots of love and hugs as always lovelies,

Lucy

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Creative Happenings

Hello loves!

This week has been half term, so we have been doing what we usually do in these short breaks from work and school, pottering, playing and finding beauty in the city and slightly beyond if possible. Of course at the beginning of the week it was Valentine’s Day and as Jenny mentioned in her last post (did you see Jenny’s iced heart biscuits? - delish!) we are not really into it, but we are huge fans of love and we enjoy giving it and receiving it all year round! This tulip petal heart is for you, lovely readers.......

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a wish list of all the things I wanted to do or start to do. It is different from my to-do list, which details all the nitty gritty stuff that I need to get done. For example one of the items on my wish list is ‘to write more’, whether that is poetry, a children’s book and so on. One of the items on my to-do list is ‘to update a document listing all my writing ideas’, which is more specific and leads on from the ‘wish’. Another example is that I wish to have more colour in my life and so I have been buying weekly flowers which give me a well needed colour boost, especially during these dark Winter days. I really am starting to struggle with the lack of sunshine.

I love having these two lists that relate to each other in this way. It is really working for me. I have been reviewing my wish list and thinking about my year thus far and I realise firstly that almost everything on that list is a creative ‘wish’, and secondly that I am doing very well in making those wishes a reality! So far, this year has been a whirlwind of creativity and I love it! I love that crafting, sewing, baking, photographing, writing, designing, dreaming up schemes and projects have become the things that makes me happy. I know now that if I am not doing one of these activities regularly, I will not have that wonderful sense of fulfilment and joy. That is a good place to be in life I think.

 Let’s start with that colour! Flowers, how I love thee…..

 

Sigh........

I’ve been doing a spot of baking too. I discovered this gorgeous book through instagram and ordered it straight away….

You can read all about the story behind this beautiful recipe book here but briefly, proceeds from its sale go to Unicef’s Syria Relief Fund  which helps the children of Syria, too many of whom have lost so much.

So far, I have made the Barazek shortbreads, which are made with wholemeal flour and topped with crushed pistachios, but there are so many more delicious sounding recipes I’d love to try! Yummy in our tummies!.....

My boy turned 9 in January, so I made him a chocolate cake decorated with buttercream and shards of marbled chocolate…….

I have also done a little bit of baking for our local WI meetings. Beetroot brownies (recipe from Waitrose Food).......

.....and vanilla cupcakes (Victoria sponge recipe) with raspberry ripple frosting…….

A few weeks ago, the Winter light was beautiful, so I got my camera out and snapped away. These pics were all taken on Hampstead Heath, North London which is just 20 minutes away from us. We are very lucky to be city dwellers who live so close to such a wide expanse of green…….

We noticed small signs of Spring..........(yay!)

I hear you cry, “What about crafting Lu? What have you been up to? Tell us, tell us, we’re dying to know!” Of course, last but by no means least, I have been getting busy with needle, with crochet hook and with self-adhesive glitter foam sheets too (oooooo, love this stuff!). It is great to have little projects on the go, things you can complete in an evening or two as well as the lengthier tasks. So as well as learning to cross stitch and writing my first cross stitch tutorial.......

I have done a little bit of crochet….

Some macramé….a Mollie Makes Mag free project, as is the little pin cushion above…..

A spot of embroidery…….another Mollie Makes Mag free kit…...

A tiny bit of sewing (my machine was dusty! tut tut!) with leatherette...............

And a little bit of prop making for the selfie booth at the kids’ school Valentine’s disco.…..

I had to take a pic of this sweet little lad who was transfixed by the light from the lightbox!......

In case you were wondering, yes I was in charge of the selfie booth (which was bonkers!) and yes I did embarrass my kids by wearing said props and dancing about! Job done!

Silliness makes the world go round don’t you think? Kindness and love too of course! Oh and cross stitch might play a part…..and embroidery….and crochet, paper cutting, decoupage, embossing, spray painting, pouch making, clay rolling, jewellery making, upcycling, quilting………… tee hee!

All the love poppets!

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kindness: Lucy's Word For 2017

Hello! I’m feeling ever so positive about 2017 lovelies!

My word for 2016 was ‘Clarity’. You can read my blog post all about it here. I wanted to spend the year trying not to feel so overwhelmed, being able to put things into perspective, to see through the fog of that to-do list and to have clearer boundaries.....

To some extent I achieved this and I feel really good about that. At points I did see that there was just too much going on, I was saying yes far too often. So I said ‘no’ to some things that were taking up a lot of my time and preventing me from working towards my goals. After I got over feeling a little bit guilty, it felt great! Prioritising space and time to build our business was fantastic. I am looking back on a year where Jenny and I have made many significant steps forward and now we can review what we have done, how it went, where we are at now, what we want for Two Crafty Brownies going forward and importantly too, what we want for ourselves.

2016 was interesting wasn’t it? Like Jenny, in her lovely post last week , I have heard many people expressing that they want to see the back of 2016 and that 2017 has to be a better year. So much happened in our world didn’t it? We were often shaken by political and world events. So much loss, tragedy and conflict……..

Personally, 2016 was at points happy, fulfilling and sometimes even ‘jump up and down’ exciting. But it was also difficult and so so tiring. I suppose that is life isn’t it? Ups and downs…..Although I managed to say ‘no’ a great deal more, I did end the year absolutely exhausted and this exhaustion slowly gave way to illness over the Christmas break. I’ve thought a lot about this and I’ve realised that I still have a tendency to say ‘yes’, but to myself. Yes, you should be cooking more interesting meals, reading more to the kids or doing more at home to top up their learning at school, yes you should be seeing your friends more, reading more novels, learning more skills for the business, earning more, eating more healthily, exercising more, helping the world more…….Oh My Goodness! This list could and does go on and on…...I should be doing more, I should be achieving more, I am not doing enough. I am not enough. This is a message I have been telling myself for years. I hide it well, but to those who know me well, they see it and they tell me, “Be Kind To Yourself Lu”.

So friends, my word for 2017 is KINDNESS. I CHOOSE KINDNESS. Excuse the capitals, but I am shouting this from the rooftops! I am singing it from the branches!

KINDNESS and LOVE are the answers. Not just towards myself, although this is where I need to start. Kindness and love are what YOU need too and I am sending so much your way right now. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening - big love to YOU!

Kindness and love are what the world needs. Just imagine where we would be if people could just stop and see that? I know there are so so many kind, loving people out there - hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions and I am lucky enough to have some of those in my life - both real and those I have never met! I understand too that this is not simple. We live in a very complicated world. But if we did simplify issues sometimes, if we did look at things in terms of kindness and love, wouldn’t we be able to prevent conflict? I for one would love to see more empathy and humanity, especially in those who hold responsible, powerful and influential positions. We have had a few role models who have achieved this recently but a few is not enough! I am not going to get on this soap box I see before me, because this will not be a blog post but a rant and perhaps a book too, with lots of volumes!

I am choosing kindness. For me, this means that…

I am going to do the things I love to do and I am going to believe that I can do them! This point encompasses so much. This is the root of everything. This is about my wish list - all those things I would love to do for me and for or with others. This is about believing in myself. I have so many dreams and ideas and I am going to start to work towards some of them. I don’t want to be the one who stands in the way of my dreams. If I have a go, some of them might come to fruition. If something doesn’t work out (I do not like the word ‘failure’!), I will give myself a pat on the back for trying, work out why and move on to the next thing.

I am going to try and get ahead of myself, to tick things off the list ahead of schedule wherever possible, so that I do not do things with a sense of panic. I like to do things thoroughly and that means giving myself enough time to do them.

I am going to play, have fun and lark about - even if I have to schedule it in! Tee hee!

I am going to stop at points during the day, week, month and throughout the year to really SEE what I have done and take moments to be proud and grateful.

And the message that I am going to give myself? You have done enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Well lovelies, I started by saying how positive I feel and I am going to end by reiterating that. I am really really looking forward to 2017! Have a fabulous weekend. I am going off to have some organised fun!

All the love and kindness, Lu xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pottering and Playing Again!

Hello lovelies,

If you read my last post, you will know that I am so very happy that the Summer hols are here.....

.....and so grateful that my hubby and three kids are home too for lots of quality time as a family. Looking back over the last term, I really don’t think I have spent enough time outside, exploring and pottering just for the sake of it. This Summer, although I fully intend to take some work days, to do a spot of planning and crafting, I want to catch up on some outdoor fun - come rain or shine I might add. You just have to plan for all weathers in the UK!

There is nothing like pootling about, revisiting familiar haunts, changing up our environs and discovering new places, trying to identify flora and fauna, doing a spot of foraging, skimming stones on a lake, playing pooh sticks and hide and seek, eating fish and chips by the sea, skipping along country paths, playing natural instruments in the woods and writing poetry by a river! Two weeks into the hols and we have been doing all of the above so good going so far! I’ve been playing with my camera too, to capture some of the sights and a few of our exploits……

One of our favourite places to lark about in when we visit my lovely Mum, who lives near Minehead in Somerset, is Dunster. There is just so much to do and see. The castle is pretty spectacular. Here it is in the mist......

The castle gardens are magical.......

The River Avill runs through the gardens and this bridge built for love (Lover's Bridge) crosses it within the gardens.......

And further on, out of the gardens, Gallox bridge crosses it.....

...and leads to a little clearing. While the kids played, the hubby and I wrote a little poem.....

We love Dunster beach too. Photo creds to my big girl for these next two......

 

We found shiny treasure at Dunster beach......

....and jumped over waves at Minehead beach.....

 

We always have a play in Bossington, which is on the Holnicote Estate. We love it for the woods, the river and the beach.....

 

We discovered (the way that Christopher Columbus 'discovered' America!) Wimbleball Lake/Reservoir in Exmoor National Park, Somerset. We fell in love with this wondrous place straight away - so vast, so beautiful, so calm. It wasn't a very bright day but I took many many photos! I have spared you the many and brought you just a few.......

 

We walked all the way along the lake path and banks to the dam, which created this beautiful reservoir in the 70s. And yes, the hubby and I (such big kids) did use being at the dam as an excuse to repeatedly say the word in an exclamatory fashion and in an American accent!......

From the dam wall, looking back over the lake.......

 

From the dam wall, looking towards the hills on the other side.....

The sun came out for a few seconds and I tried to capture the rainbow that appeared in the water. Can you see my boy looking so little in comparison to this vast structure?......

And a fancy panorama shot.......

 

 

I got a serious case of house/cottage envy quite a few times when we were pottering about. In my mind, I had packed our bags, relocated and started blogging and crafting from my new quaint garden studio/workshop, decorated with tasteful, natural and upcycled, tie-dye and floral furnishings. I would have breaks to feed the chickens, milk the goats, pick some apples and peaches in the Orchard and Country Living Mag would be on the phone asking to feature my studio and home. Of course, Jenny, the other Crafty Brownie would be in the neighbouring cottage living her dream too! Oh how I love these daydreams!....

 

On our wanderings here and there, the kids were patient when I stopped to take some obligatory pics of flora.......

and fauna.....

This little fellow (a water vole? A mole?) looked a bit lost on the path........

 

My slide show is almost done. Bear with....

This arty shot of a rusty anchor taken at Porlock Weir is for the lovely Anne of Frayed at the Edge....

 

And I'm getting a little bit braver about showing my face so to finish a couple of selfies.......

 

I’m off to meet Jenny for a ‘business meeting’ at a lovely new coffee shop in our local garden centre…….

 

Well lovelies, have a happy weekend and thanks for tuning in.

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rain, Rain, Go Away.......

Hello darlings! How are you doing? I was so impressed with Lucy's Sunglasses Cases. In fact I was very envious of her kids, who all got one. Well, I should have known that Naughty Brownie would have one up her sleeve for me! She brought it round the other day, for me to keep my phone in. She also shared her win from Cha Com Letras, one of our fave designers. Thank you, Lu!!

It seems to me there has been an awful lot of rain in my life recently. I mean actual rain, not sad things. I have been trying my best to escape the rainy weather. Firstly, when the schoolchildren here in the UK were on their Spring break, we headed off to the South of France to visit my godmother. She lives in a gorgeous little French village. I was sure it would be sunny, I packed light summery clothes, sunscreen and prepared to lose my unsightly winter paleness. Well! After an initial hopeful sunny arrival, the next day dawned cool and grey. It rained for the next 3 days!! It was so cool we actually lit the fire. The last 2 days were a bit warmer, but it was not the blazing sunshine I had been dreaming of.......still, we made the best of it, wandering round her village, drinking french wine and walking by the sea.

Back in London, the weather has been no better. This weekend past hubby and I were invited to a wedding in the country. At our age, most people we know who are going to get married are already married, so this was a real treat! (I love a good wedding!!) I hopefully packed my summery wedding frock, slightly more layers than last time and walking shoes in anticipation of a couple of nice walks. Our boys are old enough to take care of each other for short periods now, grandparents popped in to take them out to lunch, and The Other Brownie, who lives nearby was on hand if there were any problems. We drove off in a hire car, stopping first at Hackney Downs as H wanted me to see the beautiful wild flowers that have sprung up.

We then drove (in the torrential rain I might add) up to Suffolk. In between rain showers we stopped for a predinner drink, a look at the sea (it was far too chilly and windy for a walk) and a fish and chip supper.

We were staying at a lovely place called The Stables. We had a huge room, and deep claw foot bath. It looked beautiful outside but to be honest I just couldn't face walking around in the rain, so we snuggled in that night.

The wedding was lovely except for....you guessed it! It rained pretty much the whole time. Still, we did our best to have fun, which required a lot of prosecco. Late in the afternoon the sun came out and reminded us how gorgeous the English countryside can be..... grrr!

Well, enough about rain. Though as I write this the rain is literally bucketing down. Summer? What summer!! In other news, do you remember the 'Make a Wish Bunting' I made for a dear friend? Well I'm delighted to report that little baby M arrived safely, and I have been up to check him out. Oh he is so adorable. He is tiny, sleepy and he smells divine. He and Mum are doing really really well, and I am so proud of them both.

I have also taken up crochet! I have done a bit before, mainly a blanket that, you guessed it, I got bored of long before it was finished! As I've mentioned before, I have a subscription to Creativebug, and my favourite teacher, Cal Patch was doing a lesson on crocheting a rag rug. I have been needing some new placemats, so I decided to have a go. I found a couple of old sheets, ripped them into 1 inch lengths and got going. What do you think? I love them!

Lu and I have been working on our first products behind the scenes. It has been a dream of ours for a long time to make and sell things, stuff we've designed. It's a long and arduous process, deciding what we want to make (there's just too much choice if you're crafters who love doing different things.....). We both love scarves, so they were definitely high up on the list. We also love tie dye, and the idea occurred to us to create some lovely, pretty, floaty scarves for the summer. It has taken a lot of experimenting, sewing, measuring, documenting, sweat and almost tears, but we are so very nearly there! Here are some of our scarves, and we will soon be uploading them into our Etsy shop. Watch this space!

Well, lovelies, I really hope the weather is better where you are! Take care until next time!

Jenny xxx

 

Birdy Love

Hello friends!

I love the ‘make a wish’ bunting that Jenny made for her friend’s baby shower! Such a sweet idea - to make wishes full of sentiment, love and hope ready for the little one coming soon. Lucky baby I say!

If you follow us on instagram you will know that I have been going a bit potty about the little birds that have been flitting about my garden and surroundings. I have watched them looking for food and nest-building materials; perching prettily on fence, branch, aerial and roof top and I have heard them singing such pretty tunes to each other as they go about their birdy business! Oh how I have fallen for them! I have become quite excited and preoccupied and some would say, slightly obsessed with my feathery friends. I think perhaps because I live in a city, I have grown to appreciate and feel lucky about birds being around. We've spotted robins, bluetits, great tits, blackbirds, goldfinches and the obligatory pigeon.

We are now supporters of the wonderful RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) and received this amazing haul in the post…..

 

My brood and I are very much looking forward to exploring the nature reserves looked after by the RSPB and learning more about birds and other wildlife! I’ll report back!

Of course I have been trying and mostly failing to photograph them, to capture their colours, their feathery cuteness and funny little movements. It is now a mission my kids join in on too:

Child one, two or three: “Mummy!! Quick, a bird...it’s the robin again”

Me: “Ok, coming!....shhhh!, don’t move!...right, just focussing.....oh bother!”

Groans of disappointment, usually followed by giggles.

On occasion I have succeeded in capturing them (in photograph form!) and amongst the slightly ‘out of focus, not quite a full bird, just the movement of the wings as the bird flies away’ photos, I have actually taken some decent shots if I am allowed to say so myself. Here’s my slide show. Bear with…..

 

These winged wonders have not only inspired me to get my camera out but to get crafty too. I have done a bit of sketching…I’m calling this A bird in The Hand…...

 

I have made a perching blackbird embroidery hoop. Don’t blackbirds sing so beautifully?.....

 

I have made a brooch using some plywood and an old vintage stamp featuring a parrot. I got my junior hacksaw out for this project - fun!…I’ll grow up one day and be allowed to use an adult hacksaw!.…

 

We have expressed our love for the birds in decoupage form too! My boy and little girl decoupaged an owl and a penguin…….

 

I decoupaged these letters….

 

I am not sure what I am going to do with them (put them on the wall perhaps?), but I just had a compulsion to create them. I suppose that is creativity for you! I decoupaged them using my stash of Mollie Makes papers and these wooden letters. They were quite simple and satisfying to do and I think they look great. Decoupage letters are going to feature in many of my crafting projects I think!

Check out my tutorial here if you fancy doing a spot of decoupaging yourself. Have a look here for decoupage paraphenalia and here if you want any more birdy craft inspiration.

Well lovelies, lots of love as always. After all the crafty goings on around here this week, I need to put my feet up with a cuppa. Oooo but what was that flitting past my window!…..I’ll just get my camera………..

Lucy xxxxxxxxxx

 

Pottering and Playing....

Hello friends!

For me, the Easter holidays are lovely. The end of term busyness is over, the days are longer, warmer and sunnier, the kids and the hubby (who is a teacher) are off school and work, and the diary is refreshingly empty. I think I may actually prefer it to the Christmas hols (gasp!) and you know how much I love Christmas!!!. For us, the Easter break is so much quieter and event free, so we get to potter around, pootle about and play!

Even though holiday pootling was the aim, I did ring fence (serious business terminology!) a couple of days for Two Crafty Brownies product design and development. However this is a difficult and sometimes stressful task in my household, with no room dedicated to my busyness and business and with my 4 lovelies knocking about, they are in my work space and I am in their play space. I did manage a couple of hours here and there, but what I dedicated lots of time to this hols, which is possible to do when pottering with the rest of the fam, is photography. Photography isn’t a past time I’ve spent a lot of time on historically, but I’ve been practising and playing with my relatively new camera, a Nikon Coolpix S9900, taking lots of pics and some films too.

So this is my holiday slide show but don’t nod off - there is a cool little film of Brownie making with recipe at the end!

When the sun was shining, I took pics of blue skies and blossom….

 

 

 And took advantage of the sunshine coming inside, creating patterns of light on the table…….

 

I took lots of photos whilst pottering about in London, like Jenny, finding beauty in our city….

St Pancras International Station......

 

Tiles on the underground.......

 

 

 

Street art.......

 

We Brownies and our families made our way to Crafty Fox Market, a great market for crafty businesses (we hope to sell here one day!), enjoying London as we went…..

 

We may have had to stop in a pub and rest our weary legs and enjoy a meal and a glass of prosecco…….

 

I loved taking pics at London Zoo, where so much wonderful conservation work is carried out. Amazing colours, animals, setting…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was taking a pic of this poster I liked, when a mongoose did pop through, but I wasn't quick enough to snap him!..….

 

I did a double take when I walked past the first aid post…….

 

We popped into Brighton and I just couldn’t put my camera away. I loved it! We pottered along the pebbly beach, gazing at the sea, past the beach huts...…

 

 

 

 

 

...the bandstand, the old pier and other interesting sights worthy of a pic or 2……

 

 

 

 

...into town, into Choccywoccydoodah. This, believe it or not, is made of chocolate......

 

I found it difficult to be restrained in Brighton sewing centre ..........

 

and in the reclamation yards and thrift shops...... 

 

The architecture of Brighton Royal Pavillion wowed us.......

 

I clicked and I clicked until the sun went down….

 

Back at home, I did a spot of baking from this book and played about with the short film setting on my camera…..I give you Making Crafty Brownies……

 

 

Please ignore that annoying background music - I can't seem to get rid of it on my camera! If you did play it with the sound on you may or may not have heard one of my children say the word 'bum'! Oh dear, what was I saying about me in their space and them in mine? Moving swiftly on, these brownies are so tasty! Here’s the recipe:

Melt 185g/6.5oz dark chocolate and same amount of unsalted butter together. Cool slightly. Whisk 3 large eggs and 275g/9.5oz golden caster sugar together until doubled in size.

Fold melted choc and butter into this egg and sugar mixture.

Sift over 85g/3oz plain flour and 40g/1.5oz cocoa powder and fold in.

Stir in 50g/2oz chopped milk choc and 50g/2oz of chopped white choc.

Pour into lined (with foil) 20cm/8” square tin and bake for about 40mins (recipe says 25min but I always have to leave it in for longer!) at 160C.

Leave to cool in tin, cut into squares, dust with icing sugar and enjoy!!

 

My lovelies, I have been so excited about sharing my photos with you. Thank you so much for indulging me and sitting through my holiday slide show! Do you have any useful tips to pass on about photography for blogging, social media or in general? I’d love to hear them!

Much love

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxx