Christmas at the Mays

Christmas at the Mays was ace! we had the best time!! Joshua ate his own body weight in chocolate and I think I did too!! I love a mince pie or too but ate a whole box in an afternoon (oops).
Anyway just thought I would share some of the memories:

 The xmas tree, not quite as extravagent as the ones I posted on here earlier!! (maybe next year!)

The table place settings....oh how I love a bit of glitter and sparkle!!!

The goodie bags I made for everyone. Complete with homemade bath salts, hot chocolate pots and more (stupidy didnt take photos of these!!)

Cookies for santa on the plate and cup I painted last year.

 Chocoalte coated marshmallows

marshmallow snowmen and reindeer (the snowmen's noses didnt quite work out but I thought they were cute anyway!)

Great fun had by all!

Lots of love and Merry Xmas!!!

Ellie May xxxxx

Even more decs

 I wanted to make full use of that enormous window On our stairs so hung decs from nylon from a curtain pole

I also used another couple of curtain poles in the kitchen across the window and hung various baubles!

thats all for now
lots of love
Ellie xxxxx

more decs!

Oh how I love xmas!!!
notice sid dishes and Diana wash in the foreground!! heehee

This is a little tree that I am very proud of but I couldnt get a good photo as the light was shining through the glass bricks!! I cut down a branch in my garden, painted it white and hung little hearts filled with glitter and sequins. I added a couple of birds too and think it looks really cute.

I found an old lamp shade in  a charity shop cut off the shade and used the frame to hang icicles and snowflakes on nylon over our stairs. I was very pleased with the result!

In Joshuas play room I hung some green foliage across the window and mafe some presents by wrapping old boxes in brown paper and tied them with raffia, cones and fake holly berries. I also hung some 10p stars I found in a charity shop! bargain!

This was mine and Joshys attempt at a nativity scene! we didnt really get that far and not sure we will have time to finish it!! but had fun making anyway!!

Anyway thats enough for now!
watch this space for more!

Lots of love
Ellie xxxx

My christmas makes and decortaions!

I have kind of kept my promise as it is now the 7th of December and Im sure that I have about 7 things to show you that I have made! I have been trying but Joshua started nursery and I have been a busy lady!!!
First of all I made a little tree to go in our downstairs loo (yes I know..a strange place to start!- but thats where visitors go!!)
I chopped down a bit of tree in the garden (yes...I used a saw and everything!) and I found these cute Gisela Graham decorations in a charity shop. I stuck the tree in a vase with play doh and finished it off with a bit of red ribbon. (unfortunately the walls behind it still need painting :( )

then I put up that outside tree that me and mum got a 3 for 2 on in m and s and hung some icicle decorations on it (again found in a charity shop) I have also after this picture was taken added a few blue glittered droplet baubles too! it looks very understated and lights up the patio beautifully!

Next i assembled the tree on the dresser in the dining room. This dresser was a recent find (in the back of the inlaws garage) and I intend to paint and change it in the future but for now it is holding a metal tree frame and some gorgeous scandi style decs! My 'life ring' also has pride of place on the top shelf!

these next decs were a huge bargain at just 20p each in a charity shop. Baubles on sticks what a clever idea!! again the decorating is letting me down here as there needs to be a skirting board fitted behind!!!!

Anyway gotta go as my dinner is ready! will continue later on (or tomorrow if I forget!!!)

lots of love
Ellie xxxx

Jack and Lexies Birthday party!

Jack and lexie had a beach theme for their 2nd birthday party it was fantastic!! well done mums you did a fab job!
Here is some of their good work:

Pinwheels and sand

Chocolate shells

Parasol cupcakes

Shark cupcakes

Goodie buckets

Fish in Jelly

Gorgeous cake!!! The sand was soooooo realistic!!!

Seagull plates

Sun plates

Crab plates

We had a brill time so thanks for inviting us!!

In awe of your creations!!

Lots of love

Ellie xxxx

Crafty Christmas

Me and Joshy spent today making chrsitmas decorations before having dinner with family. We made a chrsitmas tree out of a cardboard box. Joshua had a lot of fun sponging the paint onto the box and then mummy cut it out in to the shape of a tree :

we stuck a star on the top. We then spent the rest of the time making baubles. There was glitter everywhere! Joshua particularly liked shaking the glitter and as you can see there is a lot of it about! I will cut these out at a later date and stick velcro or blutac to the back so he can stick them to his tree!! We had a lot of fun doing this! definitely an activity I will repeat...although I know I will still be finding glitter in the summer!!!

after we had finished the baubles Joshua didnt want to stop so I let him carry on on another piece of card! I will think about what to do with these later (maybe frame them? ) anyway here he is getting 'stuck' in!

Cant wait to move on to the next thing!!!
Lots of love
Ellie xxxxx

Joshys birthday

It was Joshuas birthday on friday and we had a whole weekend of celebrations! Joshua was certainly spoilt! it was a quiet one this year as just moved but opened his presents very slowly and let him play with them one at a time which was lovely! Family came on sunday and we went to see santa and fireworks on saturday. A couple of lovely friends came to visit on friday and a good time was had by all! I wasnt as creative as I have been in the past as I just havent had the time this year but I did make a train cake and some train biscuits!
I also made (with his help) a train out of cardboard boxes (we have a few at the mo!!!! hee hee) and put his presents in them!!

He loved it!!!
And so did I!!!
Lots of love
Ellie xxx

24 days of (christmas) craft

Its nearly the 1st of December and I cant wait to get my tree up this year! and all the other decorations! they have been burning a hole in my dining room floor for weeks and I have been adding to them for weeks also!
I would love to be brave enough to produce a tree like some of those on www.trendytree.com but not sure if I even have the ability, check some of these out!!:

I have decided this year to set myself the task of making something every day for the whole of the run up to xmas starting on the 1st! Not sure I can do it (or that I will have time to post every day!!) but Im gonna have a go! I thought if I set myself the challenge then I might actually make half the stuff I always say Im going to each year!!!
well wish me luck!!

lots of love
Ellie xxxx

glow sticks in the bath

I managed to pick up these glow sticks at Wilkinsons for 35p for 2 (very reasonable I thought!). Joshua had a lot of fun with them in the bath! Highly recommend it! And apparently if you break open the sticks and add the contents to a bottle of bubble mixture you get glow in the dark bubbles!!!

also shaving foam and food colouring makes great paint for the bath!!!

lots of love
Ellie xxxx

Get down to ikea for xmas decorations!!!

I went to ikea on sunday and their xmas decorations are awesome!! check out these stands. hang baubles on them for in the kitchen or on window sills, they looked lovely on display there!

they also had some enormous baubles!!! and loads of gorgeous scandi red and white decs!! I need to go back! shame I now dont live so close to it!!!

lots of love
Ellie xxxx

34 sleeps til xmas!!!!! yay

I dont think I will ever not be excited at this time of year!! I love it!! the nights are drawing in, its lovely and cosy at home and its an excuse to drink mulled wine and eat mince pies (like I need one!) Anyway I spend most of November stocking up on yet more xmas decorations and buy more craft bits to make more decorations with (even though I hardly ever get round to most of them). I find it so hard not to put up a decoration before the 1st of December!! I live with a bah humbug of a husband so even the 1st is too much for him but I do it anyway!! and this year we have more than one xmas tree (me and mum just couldnt resist the 3 for 2 offer in M and S!!)
I made my first decoration last night!, its supposed to be an alternative xmas wreath made from wool but my husband said it looks like a rescue ring! (which I suppose it does-but Im proud of if anyway!)

it took hours!!! now.....where to hang it! ????

love Ellie xxx

Autumn Leaf flowers

went on a lovely Autumn walk today in the woods near our new house, joshua was so excited! anyway I collected some leaves and made some flowers out of them! I was quite pleased with my efforts for a first go!!:

lots a love
Ellie xxx

Phew! we made it!!

I havent posted for a while as the move was to say the least a tad stressful! We finally moved in on sunday and are getting there slowly but surely! I know this blog is supposed to be about my creative activities but just wanted to share some pictures of the 'creative' things we have been doing in our new house!!! Happy viewing!:

BEFORE:

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WITH OLD CARPET:

WITH NEW CARPET:

lots of love

Ellie xxxxxx