My Lucky Dip Life!

       After my last, lengthy post I was a bit short of ideas, well not really short of ideas, because I've been quite busy sewing kids stuff...but I wasn't sure what to follow on with.  Then I remembered these sweet little treats I made back in August for my daughter's class mates when it was her birthday.  It is a Dutch tradition to take a "traktatie" in to class to celebrate.  There are so many different kinds and all so clever.  I came across this idea whilst I was looking for inspiration and fell in love with these little "kabouter huisjes" (gnome houses).  You can find the original idea and the how to Here .  Just scroll down and click on the link next to the picture.  That will show you how to make the little "roofs" and birdies.  I'll just mention that I couldn't get stickers for the white dots and there was no way I was cutting out a hundred little dots for the roofs, so I dipped the back of a pencil in w...

    OK, I have to admit, I got a bit carried away. I've come to realise that I can't do things in half measures, less is not more for me and I somehow can't do "simple" even if I start out thinking something will be "simple" it usually turns out not to be! I belong to a group of lovely, crafty women. We chat daily online about the stuff we are making, offer advice and encouragement.  We all have varying abilities and interests and are dispersed across Europe, from England and Scotland, to the Netherlands and Belgium.    In the beginning of 2012 we agreed to do an anonymous craft swap - the only conditions were that it would be something small and obviously hand made, and oh yes, it had to be done by Easter.    I got really excited.  I wasn't sure what I was going to make, but I started stealthily checking out my recipients Pinterest boards for clues, admiring her photos on face book to glean ideas of what she...

  If you're anything like me, you might find yourself unprepared when the "real" winter strikes!  Here in the Netherlands we've had a really mild winter so far, we haven't even needed scarves and hats unless we've been outdoors for a while.  As a result, I haven't bought all the kit that goes with really cold weather like we've been experiencing, and if I'm honest, I don't see myself going out and buying waterproof ski clothing for a few days of snow!  As it is the girls would much rather be indoors with a mug of hot cocoa - they must have inherited their dislike of the cold from their parents!   Now we've had snow, and quite a bit of it....it's been hanging round for days and out of the blue my 6 year old tells me she hasn't taken part in any snowball fights at school because her gloves would get wet, leading to extra cold fingers.  Oops!  Bad Mummy Moment! Finding myself in a predicament I put the ol' thinking cap ...