Frank and Josie's House

We love  Westonbirt . As a family we try and go there once a week. It doesn't always happen because life is busy but we try, whether it's just me and the dogs or the whole clan. I mean just look at these colours.  The perfect place for a crocheter looking for inspiration. These Japanese Maples are the main attraction during Westonbirt's Autumn Colours feature. So many beautiful colours that it's difficult to really capture. The colours range from bright orange to dark purple with a vibrant red in between. These photos were mainly taken in the Maple Loop of Silk Woods. I took the kids, dogs and our friend during half term and even on a chilly day when we were bitten by little bugs we still had a great day. The kids always collect leaves during this season. They never seem too old for it. The picture below is of some tiny maple leaves. The hand below the leaves belongs to Merida to she you how tiny they are. It's a great place, always has been in our experience, and s...

Bat wings, mummy fingers, carrots cut in the shape of pumpkins, monster cupcakes and ghost gingerbread - it must have been Hallowe'en! We love Hallowe'en in our house, can you tell? Every year we do something for it, even if it's something silly at home like dressing up and painting faces, apple bobbing and dancing to Hallowe'en related songs. This year the main focus was on fun and food! My sister invited us to her house in Dorset to spend the weekend (just) before Hallowe'en. It was the end of half term week and seemed a good note to end the holiday on. The idea was to dress up and play games and watch the Hallowe'en Strictly Come Dancing . I started talking to Merida about the food side of things and we mentioned blood soup and all sorts of grisly ideas. I then logged on to  Pinterest  and then had many more ideas, as is the way of a good Pinterest search! Before I knew it I'd created a new  seasonal recipes board ! So many wonderful ideas. The ones I pic...

Since the kids have gone back to school life has ramped  up to craziness. I know that sentence doesn't quite make sense but I'm tired and wanted to write a blog post about how wonderful I am. (Now there's a statement of self-confidence if ever there was one). I've been neglecting my lovely crochet and prioritising singing. I was asked to be a soloist in a concert (ok so I was asked by my dad but the local paper gave me a good review), I had a gig with my a cappella group and I was in a play (in which I did more singing than had lines ironically, but it was super fun). All of it was great to get the creative juices flowing and the vocal chords warbling.  Here I am doing my thing  But now I'm back to crafting and starting with a little upcycling (I'm still unsure about that word). Basically I wanted to clear a few things out of my house. My son's duvet got trashed by going through the eash, despite carefully followed washing instructions. The outside covering ...

So many changing colours already and it's only September. It's seems like autumn has hit bam! But summer keeps throwing a few days of sunshine our way to tease us. Here are some photos I took on a recent dog walk. I was so surprised to see leaves turning already and conkers becoming fat and getting ready to fall. Even the dog has taken shelter!   Now. Of this should be a surprise though. Summer does trickle into autumn which I actually quite like. I took these photos whilst at my parent's house one weekend. My mums garden is beautiful. I love all the colours that can be seen from the garden here. So many shades of green as well as the evolving reds and browns which gently and quietly invade and take over. It's so inspiring and that's why I love nature. It holds so much power and beauty and we can't stop the change in the seasons even if we wanted to. Plus their dog is a little hardier than mine! Below is a picture of a patchwork my mum made years ago. It represe...

It's been a tough couple of weeks here in Frank and Josie's house. After our wonderful French holiday we are not only exhausted, but we have brought a cold home with us from France. Not the kind of souvenir I would normally aim to bring home! It's been a horrible cold too, real painful stuff. Headaches, runny noses, sore throats and lots of frayed tempers. (Calpol sponsorship anyone?) On top of that we've not had enough sleep because of it. It's been one grumpy household. We also missed a weekend away because of it. I missed a rehearsal and a small gig I was supposed to do as my throat was so sore that I could hardly eat let along sing! Plus the weather turned into rain, lots and lots of rain. At least it was appropriate weather to hide under a blanket. (I'd love to say it was a blanket I'd crocheted myself but it wasn't). Despite it all we've managed to get on with life. The dogs have been walked and meals have been cooked and eaten. Lots of films h...

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop waiting for my boy to finish at a birthday party and I'm listening (almost unwillingly) to Sting on the stereo and I'm surrounded by signs like these: As someone who is busy working on her own branding and wanting to make a (currently very droll) on-line shop a success it makes me think. Signs like these are almost iconic these days, as is proven by a coffee shop using them in it's decor. So how does one design a brand that will compete?  Well I've come to the conclusion that without a team of marketing people and a fair whack of money you simply don't. This is not to be negative, just honest. How can little old me compete with the likes of Cadbury or Martini? Luckily I don't need to as they are nothing to do with crochet (even if both are consumed in the making process) The best I can do as a very small starter business (with limited time to dedicate to it) is be myself. I read this in Mollie Makes (I think).  But the ...