Ridgeway Cottage anyhow

There are so many things that I would like to spend time doing that I often think I don't really have time to go to work. I have asked, on several occasions whether I can become a stay at home mum but this occupation is not conducive to our current life style, beside I like my financial independence and I did have to do years of studying and hard work for my career. The grass is always greener but there is no harm in dreaming. One thing I would like to do is to work harder at my blog, mostly because it's something that I enjoy and secondly because I am a bit of a wannabe writer / full time crafter. Pip Lincolne is someone I would love to be, if she ever felt like a life swap and as part of her blog school, this post is my over due and late homework. The task was to list your favourite blogs in a post which for me was just too numerous to even start to think about. Instead I am listing my favourite blogs by women that I would like to swap lives with in order to discover whe...

Today's post is dedicated to a make over. We are all packed up ready for our holiday. Josie spent the day at a friend and I allowed Charlie to remain glued to the computer, iPad and TV as we are off to live without electricity for a few days.   BEFORE This is a rather shabby looking plastic photo pocket display that I have had since Josie was born. Quite a few of the pockets were ripped and it was definitely looking a little worse for wear. Despite taking digital photos everyday, I very rarely get them developed. I have kind of got out of the habit. I ordered some last week and the postman brought them today, which was actually quite exciting. AFTER I modge podged a piece of white fabric onto the back so that it would hold all the ripped pockets back together. Then I used a scrap of fabric to bind the edges and filled it with photos of our recent exploits. I stitched the binding on to reinforce everything and stop the whole thing falling apartf and pi...

By the time it comes to tea time on most days, my brain has pretty much turned to mush. What with getting up early, work and the battle of the school run, I am not really capable of any in depth thought, even after a cup tea. That "What's for tea?" question used to give me a bit of a panic attack but then I sorted out a menu planner. I wouldn't say that I was exactly qualified to give good mummy advance but when you have an eating machine like my Charlie, being a little bit organised seriously reduces the amount of stress. If they want to know what is for tea, I look on the fridge and that is what's for tea, no discussion, no negotiation and no arguing and because my husband is such a complete star and does the shopping, everything I need to cook what the fridge tells me, is in fact in the fridge. There is a little bit more to it than that, like deciding what meals are going to go in the menu planner and writing the shopping list, but I am so grateful to have the ...

I love my bike. I use it almost everyday. It's not fancy although it has had a make over (check it out here ). I did think that the make over was complete but I have recently added a crocheted seat cover and embellished the bike lock with crochet stitches. The bike seat cover The bike lock I have been riding around with a little one on the back for 8 years so I was really very sad recently when I finally admitted that Charlie is now too big to ride in the seat on the back as it is way to dangerous.   I started teaching Charlie to ride a couple of weeks ago but then it rained a lot and last weekend was devoted to Josie's birthday and roller skating so on the second day of actually trying to teach him, he has pretty much got it. I do have to push him to get him started but I am looking forward to riding bikes in the summer holidays.

I really love my bike now!

Ever since I discovered Mod Podge , I've been reading the daily blog posts detailing all the fantastic projects that involve Mod Podge. I am really not sure how I lived without it for so long, it does make PVA seem like such a poor substitute. I recently saw what could almost be my dream project, involving a bike, fabric and Mod Podge. A lady called Jenean Morrison had used fabric that she had designed herself to revamp a bike and it looked amazing. I had to copy the idea but just needed to find the time to do it. It was quite a tough decision deciding which fabric to choose. It's not like I have other bikes and if the fabric on this one didn't match my outfit, I could just ride a different bike and I do ride my bike everyday. This was the cushion pad for the child seat on the back of the bike before, which was to be honest, really quite hideous. And this is the part way through picture. I used June Bug Tea by Alexander Henry which I like so much more than ...

Once you have started blogging, it is hard to stop, especially if you have a creative mind. The world is such an inspiring place and there are so many things I would like to talk about, but today I have chosen something short and sweet and simple. It is another make over with a 'before' and 'after' photo and not much work in between, which is the best part. The 'before' photo This watering can had been knocking around in the garden for a while, looking a little sorry for itself really, so I thought it could do with a bit of a makeover. I got some decoupage paper from the brilliant art shop Chromos  in Canterbury, cut it to fit the watering can and used Mod Podge  to attach it. Then whilst it dried we went to Howletts Zoo, which I love. We have a season ticket and go all the time, but see something different everytime. The 'after' photo

My first giveaway I have learnt so much about blogging in such a short space of time, but what seems strikingly obvious is how important your readers are. One of the other things I noted is, the generosity of the bloggers with their giveaways. Everyone likes to get something for nothing, it is always quite exciting to be a winner and what better way to keep and increase your readership. What's even better is, that I get to make up the rules. So I am very pleased to announce my first giveaway. This is it. It is a glass paperweight that I made today using some scrap material from my quilt, a charity shop treasure and one of my favourite new discoveries - Mod Podge  How I made it Materials * A glass tile (I found this one in the 50p basket in a charity shop yesterday) *Some totally gorgeous fabric - this is Kaffe Fassett Fabric - Milliefiore - Red * Sparkle Mod Podge It was really quite simple after I had found all the materials. I measured and cut the fabric to the sam...