Foxy Mountain Clouds Mobile

It's been a while since I came up with a new mobile design idea (I think the balloons were my last new idea) and then I was suddenly inspired by a baby jumper (I wish it had been big enough to fit me!!) which had Foxes and Mountains on it. I added in some clouds, as you usually find those around mountains, and went to play with some felt....

I'd made a felt fox once before, when I made a country mobile for a friend, so dug out my pattern and went to work. The mountains were free hand cut, and I think look like the shape of a stereotypical mountain drawing!

A Weekend in Oslo - How To Travel On A Budget in Norway

We've just got back from a weekend in Oslo, which was an incredibly beautiful, but expensive city!!

I thought living in London made you think that everywhere else was fairly cheap, but Oslo is definitely an exception. It was madly expensive, think £3 for a can of Fanta in a supermarket!!! £10 for a cheap drink in a pub!!! Oh dear.

We knew it was going to be expensive, we guessed it would be slightly more than London, when in trying to find accommodation, it was £40 for a hostel room, and the Lonely Planet guidebook suggested 140 Euros per person per day as a BUDGET travel budget, but I don't think we were quite prepared for just how much everything would quite cost.

However, we did end up spending around £200 for 2 people for a weekend and had a great time!

Here are some recommendations....

Sleep
We stayed in the Anker Hostel: http://www.ankerhostel.no/en/ it looks like a hospital room, but is in a great location, has comfy beds, really good showers and friendly staff. We could easily cope with clinical looking rooms in exchange for all of this, and for around £40 per night.

Eat
We had breakfast in the convenience stores, where a coffee/tea and pastry was only 25NOK (£1.90). Lunch was hot dogs, for around 30NOK, and then for dinner, we found a local pub, where dinner and drinks was only £50!!! (Mad anywhere else for a pub but cheap for Oslo and tasty food!!)

See
We went on a free walking tour with http://freetouroslo.com/ which was really interesting, and then did just wander everywhere. Oslo is quite a small city so it is really easily covered entirely on foot. The only time we got the T-bane was when we went out to Holmenkollen to see the amazing ski jump, which is definitely worth a visit.

The big spend was on a fjord cruise which was 269NOK and well worth the money. The views out in the fjord are stunning and it's unlike anywhere else I've ever been.

All in all we really enjoyed our weekend in Oslo. It was a clean, peaceful, interesting city, and  everyone we spoke to was really friendly. I would definitely recommend it as a weekend break, but only when you're feeling fairly well off!!

Felt Elephant Cushions

To match with my fun felt baby mobiles (and conveniently in time for Christmas present shopping time) my felt elephant cushions are back!! Here are some photos...

Mass Mobile Making!

As it's half term, so I have lots of time, and I've been selling lots of mobiles lately so am running very low on stock of them, I have spent the last few days doing some mass mobile making!

Some are repeats of ones I have recently sold, which were very popular, and some are new designs. There are millions of different colour schemes I could go for so I enjoy coming up with new combinations! I also have to sometimes force myself to make mobiles in combinations I am not so keen on, and remind myself that not everyone has the same taste as me and so someone else is bound to love it!!

Here are some photos.....

Handmade Kites!

As it's turned blustery and autumnal already, I was excited to see my patchwork kites in the latest Mini Boden catalogue. I made them back in the summer when it was lovely and warm; here are some photos...

Making Bridesmaids Dresses #2

I got asked earlier this year to make some bridesmaids dresses for a friend who got married last weekend. This was my second request to make bridesmaids dresses for a friend, although this time, excitingly, I was also asked to be one of the bridesmaids, and so got to wear one of my creations!!

We made a pinterest board of style ideas, and then I got out my pattern paper, and French curves and got drawing. It's been ages since I've done any real pattern cutting, and it was very satisfying. I decided to make the dresses have a princess line seam at the front, as I don't like when darts give you a funny pointy shaped chest!

I was quite pleased with my first toile, but the bride wasn't happy with the neckline, so we changed it to be more of a boatneck style dress. 

Ta-da! One finished dress with a boat neck line. Now if only it would puff out a little.....

So here we are in our finished dresses with layers of net and a spotty tulle underskirt! Perfect! And the little bridesmaids dress I think is the cutest thing I've ever made!!

I also made some pocket squares to match for all the groomsmen and ushers. 

My dress sadly was too close to an usher dancing excitedly with a bourbon and coke in his hand. Most of that drink ended up all over me, and covered my dress!!! Arghh!!! It's currently soaking in the sink in some Ecover delicate washing liquid, so I'm hoping it comes out looking ok!!

Gaya Street Sunday Market: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

So I'd read mixed reviews of Kota Kinabalu, mainly saying that it doesn't appear great on the surface, but if you give it a chance, you'll actually have a good time there. One thing that they all agreed on though, was that the Gaya Street Sunday market was AMAZING! Well, amazing, if you want to go and see weird things, mixed in with the general tourist tat, fruit and veg, dvd's, plants - this was all sorts of market mixed into one. 

Now, as a regular market trader here in the UK, I love a good wander through a market abroad, and this one did not disappoint, from 6am every Sunday, the locals here are busy setting up some weird and wonderful stalls....here are some of my favourite photos....

Starting off normal looking, just like Colombia Road, just a little more exotic...

I'm not sure Pets at Home would agree with these cage sizes....

I love you love fruit. The label says it all. Definitely an essential at 6am on a Sunday morning!

Just in case you don't have an HD TV. Plus they are wrap around so if you have to squeeze onto the sofa sideways, you still get HD vision.

Goldfish anyone?

And finally, the weirdest thing possibly ever: a purse, made out of a genuine dead frog skin. Fit.

Milford on Sea

I LOVE the seaside. As soon as I smell the sea, I turn into a small child and get excited by everything. I also have to run into it at my first opportunity, despite the weather, as I just love it.

I have excitedly been to a few lovely English seaside towns this year, with the most frequently visited one being Milford on Sea. Milford is a very small, quiet and unspoiled place, near the New Forest, overlooking the Isle of Wight - I only heard about it as a friend of my auntie owns a flat there, and very kindly lent it to us a few years ago to stay in.

Milford has beautiful pebbly beaches, dotted with picture perfect multicoloured painted beach huts, and is just so quiet!!

I went at the beginning of July this year, with my boyfriends family, and we had whole chunks of the beach to ourselves. The sea was deliciously warm then, and quite rough so it was great fun to jump around in the waves and all act like small children. 

There are walks all along the coast, to Hurst Spit, where you can catch a small ferry back to Keyhaven (and maybe spot a seal in the harbour), as well as the other way towards Barton on Sea. 

I'd assumed it was so quiet as we were outside of school holidays, but I went back last week, with my Mum and Auntie, and it was still so peaceful. 

The sea sadly this time was freezing. Like ice. No wonder no one else was in the sea (although we still went in multiple times a day - yes we are nutters)

It is the perfect holiday location though. Beautiful, quiet, and loads to do. Oh and AMAZING fish & chips at Mr Pinks in the centre. 

Walking out on Hurst Spit, with the Isle of Wight in the background. We saw a great firework display there one night, with beautiful views out over the sea. 

Some early morning beach yoga, in my pyjamas. This was 7am though so I am not too surprised that we had the beach to ourselves at this hour!!

Sharing the sunset with quite a few seagulls but not many other souls! We had such a lovely time in Milford, I am sure I will be back there soon!

Nearest Train: New Milton (about 1 hour 45 mins from London)