Thursday 22 January 2015

Learning how to make Story Sacks

Greetings guys and gals!
 
Last week I started a new course at my local children's centre, where I will be learning how to make Story sacks!
 
For those of you don't know a story sack is defined as a large cloth bag containing a favourite children's book with supporting materials to stimulate language activities and make reading a memorable and enjoyable experience.
 
So this week in group we chose our main story and started to plan what materials we would need to make our props.
 
The book I chose to use is called Dear Zoo , and it is a particular favourite of Kaylee's. In it there are 7 animals that get sent by the zoo for a pet, but for one reason or another, get rejected. These include an elephant, a Giraffe, a lion, a camel, a snake , a monkey , a frog and finally a puppy ;)
 
The plan is to make or buy the appropriate animals, to complement the story, but more of that next week .....
 
This week I managed to start designing my actual "sack" where all the components will go ....
 
First I got some green felt and cut out the letters for the title...
 
Then I stitched them onto a pillowcase
 
 
After I had done that I unpicked 5cm of hem on one side of the pillowcase
 
 
Then fold the edge down , pin and press then new edge
 
 
Stitch at the bottom of the new edge to hold the ribbon/string in place 
 
finally attach a safety pin to the edge of the ribbon , and use it to guide the ribbon through the top of the pillowcase, thus making a drawstring bag.
 
 I am planning to do some more design work on my story sack .... but you will have to wait until next weeks blog to see what I have managed to do.
 
Also next week I will be starting to make my animal props to go with the story book, so I will take as many photos as I can to "show my workings out" !
 
Bye for Now!!
 



Friday 14 November 2014

Re-opening this blog with good news!

Good News everyone ! I've decided that I am going to start blogging about me, what's going on in my life right now, recipes I'm trying, and generally fun interesting stuff that's occurring.
 
I am not going to commit to blogging every week or on a regular basis as I will still be attempting to update my other Blog called Becky & Andy's beautiful Baby Blog. But it is my intention to blog about anything I deem interesting that is not baby related ;)
 
So as the title would suggest I have some good news!
On the momentous day of Wednesday 12th November I took my driving test for the 3rd time and I was over the moon when my examiner told me I had passed with only 8 minors !
I initially thought I had failed due to having to do my manoeuvre twice, ( in this case reverse around a short corner) however he told me that because I didn't actually touch the kerb , and decided to try again under my own steam it was fine :)
That was fairly early on in the test and if im honest, after that I had a really nice drive around Corton, Oulton and Oulton Broad. My examiner was a really friendly chatty and patient guy which I think made the world of difference.
 
So yeah as you can imagine I was pretty happy when I finished my test, I know this is where I should say " oh I knew I was going to pass, I had a gut feeling" but really, I didn't.
Having failed my test twice before ,I was already preparing myself for failure, and for the sympathetic smile of my driving instructor Gary Lee . Fortunately this was not the case, I was so happy that I not only hugged my examiner but also gave a big ol' hug to Gary! ( I can now totally see why you are not allowed to drive home after a test, I was just way too psyched up!)
 
So here I am with Gary, my certificate and the gorgeous beast of a car that I got to learn to drive in !
 
 
 
All that remains is that I say a huge thanks to everyone that has helped me over the last few months, my driving instructor Gary, Loving and supportive hubby Andy for allowing me to borrow the car for practice, and of course my mum and dad who have supported me and cheered me up when I have been down ;)
 
************************************
For those of you wishing to learn to drive, I have posted Gary's details below, I thoroughly recommend him, he is an amazing instructor , with one hell of a car!
 
 

Saturday 6 July 2013

London Film and Comic Convention 2013 Saturday

This weekend me and the hubby travelled (at great peril) into Earls Court in Central London for the London film and Comic Con!
 
 
The weather was dreadfully hot, reaching the upper 20's for most of the day, however despite all this we had a smashing time.
 
We were fortunate enough to buy 2 gold passes before the event, although they were a little costly they were worth there weight in gold, as we got to queue jump and got all of our talks for free ;)
 
Our first Talk that we enjoyed was the Game of Thrones talk, presided over by Joe Dempsey (Gendry) , Lena Headley (Cersei Lannister) and Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo)
 

 
All of the talks were a basic Q&A setup lasting about 45 minutes, sadly with this talk, Lena and Jason didn't show up until 20 minutes after the talk had started, which left poor Joe Dempsey to hold the court until then. However it is my opinion that he did very well. It was fairly clear that both Lena and Jason were still suffering from either the night before or maybe jetlag....
 
Straight after the Game of thrones talk we were treated to a 45 minute talk with Peter Dinklage !
 
 
This man is nothing short of a legend, His talk was so animated, you could tell that he was clearly there for his fans. He talked not just about his role in Game of Thrones, but also some of his other projects and some of his personal experiences. A very funny, talented and Charming actor who I was fortunate enough to meet on the Sunday ( see tomorrow's blog)
 
********************************************************************
 
Shortly after the 2 talks we wandered around trying to look at some of the stands and cosplayers before joining the queue for my photo with Jason Momoa, here's some of the highlights ;)
 





 
 and finally one of the major highlights of the day - briefly meeting Jason Momoa
 
 The day was only slightly hampered by the unbearable heat- hats off to all the cosplayers! , and the traumatic experience of driving through central London at 4pm on a Saturday ;(
 
On the plus side though, we got a free upgrade at the hotel so we got a gorgeous suite with a beautiful marble bath tub - which I enjoyed Very Much ;D
 

Monday 17 June 2013

Driving lesson update

Just got back from my latest driving lesson with the AA and it went uber well!
I am learning in a Ford focus which is a really lovely care to drive in, super smooth and easy to control .



This week I went around the block 4 times and did roundabouts, going up hills, hill starts and stops and worked on my steering technique a little more.

I've now logged 5 hours and my instructor Pam says that when I move to 90 minute lessons after next week , I am finally ready to go further afield!

Were I not pregnant ( now 19 weeks) I would undoubtedly celebrate with a nice glass of wine , as it goes I got a celebratory hug from my darling hubby and a nice chilled non alcoholic mojito ;)

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Yummy non alcoholic drinks from M&S

So today I met with a friend for afternoon tea in M&S Norwich, whilst there I could resist buying a few bottles of my all time fave new drink that I am craving this week...

They have loads of options but today I got
 
non alcoholic Pina Colada , made with white grape, Pineapple , coconut puree and lemon juice.
 
 
Mango Daiquiri , made with mango and lemon juice
 
 
and finally my old favourite alcoholic drink Mojito! made with mint, lemon juice and a dash of lime juice, all waiting to be poured over ice :)
 
All super yummy and at 3 for £5 a total bargain.
 
I implore all pregnant mums to be to try these gorgeous drinks as they are all made from real fruit juice ( not concentrate) and almost make you feel like you are drinking 'real' cocktails again !