Father's day

Hi all

Did you get to celebrate father's day? If so what did you do?

We tried to spoil my hubby as much as possible but I think he deserves so much more. We are so lucky & blessed to have him in our lives and love him loads. We did the usual cards and presents etc but I also baked a carrot cake :) & hubby was most pleased with it.

Just wanted to wish all of you fathers, step fathers and fathers to be a belated happy father's day.

Love

Lily

Christmas magic

Hi all

I'm so excited about Christmas 2014 already as my Cody will hopefully be old enough to understand the magic of it a little. I know it's kinda selfish but I have let him watch some of our Disney Mickey Mouse Christmas special DVDs to start to get an idea. He loves them.
We feel like we kinda skipped christmas last year really as I was struggling with my pregnancy and Cody was ill with an ear & chest infection on Christmas Day. We actually ended up at the hospital with him on the day. I hope & pray for a healthier & happier christmas this year.

Do you have any tips on introducing children to the magic of Christmas? I would appreciate

Hope this finds you well.

Lily

P.s. Image insert curtsey of Google Images.

Devil's cake

Hi all

Tonight we had a few reasons to celebrate, mainly all of us under one roof and in good health. It has been nice to avoid doctors and hospitals and medication for a little while now so my amazing hubby surprised me with a bottle of pink champagne. It was delicious, so delicious that we forgot to take photos. So in return, I baked a "devil's cake". It's basically chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

I know what you are thinking, not very healthy but we hardly do it so it has been a real treat :)

How did you spend your weekend?

Hope this finds all of you well.

Lily

My babies

Hi all

Here are 2 of the reasons that I have not been blogging ;) my 2 beautiful blessings.  My Cody Pasha is 2 & my Collette Rosetta Elizabeth is 4 months old. I call them my Co-Co Beans :)

Thank you very much for your lovely comments. I looooooovvvveee hearing from you.

Lily

Busy busy busy...

Hi everyone

Hope you all are doing well. Just a quick note to say that I am desperate to start blogging again & should be able to start again soon. I had another baby (a surprise baby) in January. I had an extremely difficult pregnancy followed by some health issues after birth. Thankfully for now we are all healthy and happy and gradually getting back to normal life.  You may remember my little boy Cody who is now 2 & my daughter is 4 months old. We named her Collette. She is a delightful little thing.

I have missed visiting your blogs and contacting all of you & look forward to getting in touch again. So bye for now & "speak" soon,

Lily

Belated Merry Christmas to you all

A very belated Merry Christmas to you all.  Unfortunately I have not been able to blog sooner than this but I sincerely hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. How did you all celebrate?

We had a special Christmas this year as it was our baby's first Christmas. He loved unwrapping presents & enjoyed his turkey dinner :) He was spoilt by everyone & received so many presents that was still unwrapping some on the 27th of December! I just wanted to share some photos of our Christmas and Birmingham's Christmas market with you all & say that hope the New Year brings you health & happiness.

Lily

Birmingham Christmas market

Cody's treat for Santa Claus 

Christmas Eve

DIY Christmas Napkin Holders

Hi all, the article below is written by a guest author & I hope you all enjoy it :)

Lily

DIY Christmas Napkin Holders

Image source: http://scraphappenshere.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

It doesn’t take a whole lot of money to create a beautifully set table for the holidays, just a small amount of time, a little creativity, and some common household items. There are not very many of us who can afford to buy a special set of Christmas china and linens that will only be used one day out of the year, but there are ways to dress up your ordinary table cloth and everyday dishes in order to make an elegant and festive presentation for your dinner guests. The easiest way is with Christmas Napkin holders you make yourself from common items that are already lying around, like Christmas cards and decorations. Put these around a plain cloth napkin to set on top of each plate, and you instantly have a festive table. The best part is that children can help with this project so that you are creating memories at the same time.

To begin making a Christmas napkin holder you will first need something to use as the ring itself. Plastic napkin rings can be found in the discount stores at a fair price, but you really don’t need to invest even that much into this project. Using the plain card stock from the back of a Christmas card, you can cut it into one inch strips that can be rolled and glued into a circle. Want to make it even easier? Cut empty wrapping paper rolls, paper towel rolls, or toilet paper rolls into one-inch pieces. These can be painted in a holiday color such as red, green, or even gold and silver.

Now that you have an actual napkin ring to work with, it is time for the fun part, decorating it. Here is where you can let your imagination be your guide. Decide on the type of look you want to achieve. Depending on the decorations you use, you can make them whimsical or elegant. An ideal place to start is with old Christmas cards or any extras you still have after sending them to friends and family. This is a great way to recycle the special Christmas cards you get. Cut out the main pictures from the front of the Christmas cards and glue them to the ring. Keep your theme in mind so that they look nicely coordinated on the table. If you start by cutting out religious scenes, continue to do so with each napkin holder. Same holds true if you begin with a cartoonish Santa picture. Make one for each place setting at the holiday table.

The final touch is to embellish the napkin holders. This can be done by outlining the edge of the pictures from the Christmas cards with glitter. You could also add ribbons. Curly ribbon, such as used on wrapped gifts, can add to a whimsical look. Small red velvet ribbons tied in bows are perfect for a more elegant feel. Glue on items from around the home. This could be small jingle bells, little pinecones, and sprigs of evergreen. Experiment with the first napkin holder until you achieve the exact look you are after. Continue to make the rest look similar. Keep in mind that the slight differences in anything handmade will simply add to the charm. Most of all…have fun!

Erin Levine is a contributor on behalf of PaperStyle Company, an online retailer of invitations, greeting cards, and more. She loves to write about holiday crafts and has been a guest author on a variety of Christmas-themed blogs and websites.