Belton House

Whilst Grandma Jo and Elle were down for the half term holiday, we visited Belton House in Lincolnshire for some Hallowe'en festivities. We dressed Mr Bee up in his little skeleton suit, looking like Donnie Darko and took part in the hallowe'en trails.

We saw absolutely hundreds of Ladybirds in the gardens, they were everywhere. We came to the conclusion that they like oak trees as they seemed to be nesting in the undergrowth, whether that was just a coincidence I am not sure.

Elle and Louie

climbing trees

The grounds really were truly beautiful, and expansive. There were the Italian gardens and the sculpture walk, plenty to see. The trail kept Elle perfectly occupied and Louie had a whale of a time running around. The adventure playground was awesome, with one massive slide that we went down rather fast.
Unfortunately the house was closed on the day that we went, which was a little disappointing, but it wasn't too much of a bother, we still spent most of the day there exploring!

We will have to take Papa next time :)

In Pictures

In to town on the bus, treat!

Playing cars

To be a quilt for Louie

Yummy hazelnuts from Graze

Grandpa

Papercraft Fair goodies

Fuzzibunz Review

Newly landed at the Palace of Pants is the new and improved Fuzzibunz Elite.
I must say, I have never tried any of the Fuzzibunz range before, as I thought they were ever so slightly dated. However, after seeing how popular these new nappies seem to be, I thought I would have a try of one.

Left: Fuzzibunz Right: Bumgenius V3

'Grape'

When I first got my hands on the Fuzzibunz Elite, I was very shocked as to how petite the nappy looked. It would be an understatement to say that I didn't think that it would fit from Birth to Potty, let alone fit Louie at 21 months! However, having a play with the unique leg and waist elastics, which adjust with concealed buttons and elastic (like you get in kiddies and maternity waistbands!) I managed to manipulate the sizing really easily, and drastically. I can imagine that this nappy would fit a newborn beautifully, providing great containment thanks to the great elastication around the legs.




The nappy comes with two Minky inserts. This was quite a new thing for me, and I think it is one of the only nappies which has minky on the inside instead of the outside. I decided to use the nappy with just the one, larger insert to see what it was up to.


With the nappy on in a medium/large setting, I was surprised at what a beautiful fit the Fuzzibunz was on Mr Bee. It has three poppers in a triangular formation, which means that you can get a really adjustable fit both around the waist and the legs.

Once Louie stood up, I gave it a good inspection and was really happy with how slim fitting it was. Once I put his vest on, you would have no idea that it was a cloth nappy underneath.




 I was adamant that I was going to give the Fuzzibunz a good test, as Louie isn't a very heavy wetter. We were going on a day trip so what better time to do a nice trial. After a good play on the play park and a big roam around the gardens of Calke Abbey, Mr Bee finally had his nappy changed at around 1:30. To my surprise, the Fuzzibunz had lasted all that while without any leaks! I was actually really quite shocked at how soft the nappy still felt after it was completely saturated.

Luckily, it was wash night that evening, so I managed to get it washed quite quickly, which meant that I could test the drying time of the minky inserts. My was I impressed, the minky insert was dry quicker than my usual microfibre inserts!

My only misgiving with this nappy, is the size of the pocket. From the first photo you can see that it is considerably slimmer between the legs than the Bumgenius, which does make it slightly more difficult to stuff. It was alright with my small hands but may prove a little more difficult for Daddies to do.

I think I might have a new favourite nappy! I really am so impressed with the nappy overall, the fit, the snugness, the absorbency (even with just one insert) and the quickness of drying. At £14.95 they are fairly reasonably priced, and are honestly worth every penny, and Fuzzibunz have even treated their customers with some cute printed designs too.

Get yours today from Fill Your Pants!

Cushion

Last night I got to work making a cushion cover for Mr Bee as a Christmas present. After umming and aahing over a pattern to use, I loosely followed the wrap around cushion cover from the Liberty Book of Home Sewing.

Months ago, I collected some fat quarters of fabric to keep especially for making things for Louie. After we bought his chair from Ikea, I wanted to make something to spruce it up (I want to make a quilt to match too).

I cut the fabrics into strips, 12 in total, 3.5 inches by 16 inches, then sewed them all together (with a half inch seam allowance) to make one long strip. I turned the outside strips in on themselves (in half) and hemmed.

Then I wrapped the long strip around the cushion and marked the corners. Folding the strip at the marker, right sides facing, I sewed the long sides leaving only 1 cm to allow for the bulk of the cushion. This makes the cover a nice snug fit over the cushion.

Turning the cover the right way round and pressing it, it was finished.

I am very pleased with how it has turned out, the fabrics look lovely together and I haven't done any basic quilting since I was at school!

I hope Louie likes it as much as I do!

I will make some more of these to sell at my next craft fair which is in December.

Calke Abbey in Autumn

Today Mr Bee and I took a trip out to Calke Abbey. I have been desperate to visit in the Autumn as I knew that it would be utterly beautiful, and my, I was right!

We dropped Papa off at Uni and headed off. I went a different way to last time, a much nicer way. When we got there, Mr Bee marched me straight to the little play park, but only for a little while, because he dragged me off to see what else there was.

We got our tickets and headed out to the gardens. Mr Bee was insistent that we walked up the steep grass, instead of the gravel path... Then we went into the walled gardens to explore.

I let Louie lead me around the gardens, so that he could enjoy himself. He lead me to a park of the estate that we hadn't explored when we visited last time. I was very pleased that we stumbled across it though because there were beautiful vegetable gardens and even a lake!

Pumpkins

Mr Bee was such a good boy all day, he must have walked for at least three miles in total all day. We went to the restaurant for lunch and shared some bangers and mash. The restaurant at Calke Abbey is second to none when you have a little one. There are plenty of high chairs, plastic plates and cups that you can help yourself to and a microwave if you need it. Not to forget the colouring table.

Then we had a quick wizz around the house, then stopped off at the shop before going home. We bought Papa two Christmas presents, and a little present for my little Bee who had been a star all day.

Non-Stop Sunday

This morning we rose bright and early and got ready to go to the local car boot. It has been running for years, but I have never been. Everyone says how excellent it is and what bargains they find, so I thought I would have a nose to see if it was as good as it is cracked up to be.

Wrapped up all snug and warm, we started making our way around all of the stalls. Immediately, I spotted some miniature bells, which I picked up for my rather geeky collection. Not an awful lot caught my eye, until we got to the van selling cooked breakfasts... a sausage and egg buttie later, yumyum, we continued around.
I saw a beautiful old Singer sewing machine which I would have loved but I knew I didn't have enough cash on me, nor enough space to store it at home!

I had just about had enough of wandering with out finding anything of any importance, when I stumbled across a VERY lightweight pushchair, and remembering that Nana Bee was looking for one (we had been offered a pink one) which was going for a Fiver, so that will do Nana for pushing Mr Bee around London next weekend.

We headed back to the car, stopping off at the big bouncy slide for a play, then headed over to Fosse Park for some food shopping then a wander around the retail park. Besides getting there too early, we had a good walk around. I was desperately looking for a nice winter hat, but it would seem that my head is too small for all the ones on the high street.

In the car on the way home, Louie fell into a beautiful sleep, so I hurried into the house and started to prepare the cheesecake I had planned to make. I actually forgot to put sugar into the mixture, but it was still delicious, and suitable for Grandad Roger, who is diabetic. It was so yummy, very light and tasted like Milky Bars!

Yummy!

I had such a productive hour or so whilst Mr Bee was asleep, making the cheesecake, preparing the sunday lunch, then he woke up just in time to watch the Foxes on BBC1 (thankyou BBC for treating us to some Championship football this afternoon). Sadly, we lost 2-0 after a good first half.

Neat and Tidy again

Then when I had a spare half an hour before dinner was served, I had a good, well needed tidy up of my craft space. I sorted all my leftover goods from yesterday, tidied all my scrap fabrics which were all over the place, banished all my stray embroidery flosses back to their home and even had a good read of my new book, The Liberty Book of Home Sewing.

I have also been very busy updating my Bee Hive Facebook Page, with all the things that I currently have for sale. If you fancy a browse, just head on over to www.facebook.com/thebeehivecraft for a nosy :)

Ready for going back to work in the morning with slippers at the ready! I hope you had a nice weekend too :)

My First Craft Fair

Today was my very first Craft Fair.
It was really quite nerve wracking at the start, getting in and set up, seeing everyone elses lovely stuff. I knew I didn't have that much stock, and only a small table so I got set up really quickly.

In all honesty, it was quite a slow day, but I think I did really well for my first fair. I managed to break even about half way through, and managed to nearly double the cost of the table, which I think is pretty good! I managed to sell two gadget cases, an apron, rings, cards, lavender hearts and drawstring bags.

I did meet a lovely lady, from Bee Designs, who makes really beautiful cards and other papercrafts. I bought a beautiful handmade sketch/scrap book from her, with bumble bees on (of course!).

I do have another fair booked for December, if nothing comes up before then, but of course I will keep you updated! I have lots of festive ideas in mind for December, but now, my focus will be on getting Mr Bee's Christmas presents ready!

Leicestershire Readers

If you have a few hours to spare tomorrow why not make a trip to the Blaby Social Centre for the Hargraves Art and Craft fair?

There will be lots of exhibitors there with a variety of stalls, something for everyone!

It is only 50p entry, which is donated to the Air Ambulance, and a Heartlink charity tombola :)

Maybe I will see you there!

Perfect

This weekend has been pretty perfect really.

Autumn has finally landed, hurrah! My favourite time of the year.

The temperature has dropped slightly, the trees are a beautiful golden hue and it is time to bring out the stew pots.

Yesterday I made an early morning trip into the town for some essentials. I don't like shopping at the weekend, so it seemed the best thing to go first thing. It was really very quiet, just how we like it :)

We were home by 10 o Clock, after a rather white knuckle bus ride home, as the main car is still out of action, and Papa had mine. 

We were straight in the door and into the kitchen, making some soup. It seemed so homely and perfect, with the nippy weather out of doors.

On the menu was a first for me, Grandpaaa's Leek and Potato Soup. He makes it so beautifully so I asked him for the recipe. As I expected, my rendition wasn't quite as good as Grandpa's, but everyone seemed to enjoy it none the less.

Mr Bee and I also made some bread, making a big loaf from me and a small one from Lou, that has become tradition now. 

Mr Bee had some wicked fun doing the washing up for nearly half an hour. 

Isaac, 3 months

Then came the arrival of our wonderful friends, Anna, Sam and Baby Isaac. It turned out that we hadn't seen our closest friends for two months. It was lovely to see them all, especially Isaac, who has grown so much!

We had such a cosy afternoon, snuggled up watching Flubber and searching for a bicycle for myself whilst Mr Bee slept. I would love a vintage one, but its seeming hard to get one to suit me. I have however, found two new cycles that I love.

Claud Butler Windsor

Dawes Duchess

Which one do you prefer?!

Sunday has been just as lovely. Waking up later than normal, then climbing into bed to watch cartoons. A quick trip to the supermarket was followed by a quick Al-Fresco lunch, as Papa was all dirty from getting the Astra ready for its new cylinder head. 

 After another lazy afternoon from Mr Bee, taking a two hour long nap!! I managed to steal away for a few hours to get crafting. I managed to make some Lavender Bags ready for the fair, and prep some rings ready for sewing. Not too much that I want to get done now.

 Back to work in the morning!