Northern Hi-lights

Cushions

2012-01-30T18:16:00.000Z

I dusted down my sewing machine yesterday to make some new cushions in preparation for the grey sofa we have ordered from IKEA. Our new extension is still a work in progress furniture wise but once the sofa arrives in a couple of weeks I think it will start to come together.

The grey fabric in the above photo is from the matching sofa footstool, hence the colour of the new sofa too. I wanted a contrasting colour for the throw cushions and was pleased to find this bolt of mustard fabric in our local Red Cross Shop for only a couple of pounds.

My sewing skills are pretty basic, so I stuck to a simple pillowcase closure.

hmmm...maybe should have ironed the fabric first...

Friday Fancies

2012-01-27T20:33:00.000Z

A House in a Tree - Source [exchangesconnect]

Berry Ice cream lolly - Source [Uno De Dos]

Toilet Roll Art - Source [fubiz]

Pod Hotel, Switzerland - source [POD House]

Thursday Thrifting

2012-01-26T16:15:00.001Z

Thursday; my day off work, my day of putting a bit of order back into our lives, replenishing the bare cupboards, catching up with friends, drinking too much coffee and visiting my local charity shop.

A small catch today, but no less satisfying. I'm sure I will think of a use for this 'small fryer' (50p) ?....

...and this Pyrex dish (20p) - I can feel a new collectors bug coming on......

Boy Slippers

2012-01-22T19:05:00.002Z

I needed a quick crochet fix last night, so broke out the chunky wool and rattled out a pair of slippers for my littlest, who always seems to have cold feet. Because our house has mainly wooden floorin,g I sewed a couple of leather patches on the sole to stop slippage.

Thank you AyanaRed for the lovely and really easy to follow pattern (here) ♥

Wholemeal Cheese Scones

2012-01-21T16:23:00.003Z

A sick child and a husband unexpectantly called into work put pay to my plans for my Saturday morning of thrifting and shopping for wool, so I did some baking instead....

We are big fans of 'The Great British Bake-off' , so the latest 'Sport Relief celebrity Bake-off' last week was a bit of a bonus. On one of the episodes I was impressed with Paul Hollywood's wholemeal scones - they seemed to rise really well given they were made with wholemeal flour, I found the recipe (here) on the BBC website and gave then a go.

Pretty tasty, if maybe a little on the heavy side - they rose well and were promptly eaten...

Friday Fancies

2012-01-20T16:52:00.003Z

A few things taking my fancy this week:-

leaf-it Sticky Memo Notes - source[thefutureperfect]

Heat Sensitive Tiles - source [moving color]

Edible Jelly Typography - source [Amazon]

500 Pencil Display case - source [Felissimo]

Timber & Stone

2012-01-15T16:30:00.002Z

A trip West today to visit the 'Timber & Stone' Gallery to buy some locally-made additions for our freshly completed new room.

The 'Vegetarian Antlers' caught my eye as well as these beautiful elm blocks.

We finished off our trip with a walk around Glen Tanar Estate and a visit to the Fairy Lochan...

and then home to warm our frozen toes and hang our new antlers..

Boy Leg Warmers

2012-01-14T22:01:00.002Z

My eldest son is a chip off the old block when it comes to his home comforts and his need to feel cosy and warm whilst at home. He always takes an interest in what I am working on crochet wise, and so during the Christmas holidays when he learnt I was making some leg-warmers a request was made - how could I refuse?

And to give him his due, he has worn them non-stop (and for a while only one whilst the second was being made) claiming that they keep his ankles cosy in the morning. As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to crochet a rib effect pair so using a slight variation on the half double crochet stitch (brilliant tutorial here) a rib was indeed achieved.

They were pretty easy to make - crochet a rectangle wide enough to wrap around the lower leg and then sew up the seam to make a tube - bear in mind that the leg warmer will stretch, so make it a bit smaller as you'll want them snug. This pair of leg warmers seemed to take an age to make, probably due to the fine yarn and size 3mm hook I used- son number 2 has now requested a pair (not to be left out) so I think this time I will use a thicker yarn and bigger hook, and then eventually maybe I'll get round to making my own pair...

Friday Fancies

2012-01-13T16:33:00.001Z

A new feature for Friday - a little bit of what I've fancied around Cyberworld this week.....

CupCakes - source [ Diary of a ladybird]

Paper taxidermy - source [Etsy]

vintage linoleum staircase - source [CapeRace]

Kiwi Coconut Smoothie Shooters- source [Food and Whine]

Breakfast Bento Box - source [Hotel Americano]

Chalkboard organiser - source [Etsy]

Mirror House - source [MLRP]

♥Happy Friday♥

Thursday Treats

2012-01-12T15:34:00.000Z

Two little treats in my shopping trolley today - and yes, I know it's probably indecently early for both, but there's nothing like a little treat to celebrate making it (almost) through the first week after the holidays in one piece!

and then a stroke of good luck on the way home when I popped into our local charity shop...

..a beautiful enamel coffee pot - I love the unusual retro shape of this one, and it also comes complete with some kind of percolator system inside...

A few nice omens for the end of the week - bring on the weekend!!

Back to Life

2012-01-08T13:50:00.000Z

Today is officially the last day of our 2 week Christmas holiday - back to school/work/life tomorrow, and as much as I am dreading it, in reality as a family we work best when in a routine and all this lazing around has left me feeling lethargic and sluggish.

After 2 weeks of over eating, I am trying to start as I mean to go on with lots of healthy recipes and snacks for the boys. Each day the boys are required to take a 'healthy' snack to school to have at morning playtime. Most of the time I give them a slice of banana loaf, a muffin or a bag of plain popcorn, but when in a rush and the baking tins are empty I often give them a a bought granola/biscuit bar ('Natures Valley' I think). These bars don't come cheap, so I thought I'd make my own.

I used a favourite oaty biscuit (cookie) recipe and packed the mixture tightly into a square tray before baking and then sliced them into bars.

Transportation is often a problem when sending home baking into school. I usually put the item into a small paper bag, but as I didn't have any to hand I wrapped the bars in greaseproof paper and sealed with a sticker - all ready to pop into their school bags - one less thing to think about in the morning.

Happy New Crochet Projects

2012-01-07T18:27:00.004Z

Happy New Year!

My crochet hook is red hot right now, and as usual I have about 3 projects on the go - my focus as usual, all over the place....thought I would share what's inspiring me right now

[source here]

Our new room is crying out for a crochet footstool.

[source here]

...and I'm thinking of yarn bombing a few branches we collected from the woods during the holidays - a modern sculpture for the corner of a room?

[source here]

I have also mastered the art of the perfect ribbed crochet stitch thanks to these magnificent instructions, and am in the process of making a pair of legwarmers (always have a mental stumbling block when you have to make 2 of something - got the first one finished)

[source here]

I could go on and on...as you can probably tell I have been spending far too much time on Pinterest (here's a link to my Pinterest Crochet ♥ board if anyone is interested!) - better get on with a bit more of that legwarmer!

Perfecting...

2011-12-29T18:53:00.000Z

Strange times these days inbetween Christmas and New Year, so unproductive yet so appreciated. We've all been fighting virus's the last few weeks/months and this downtime is just what the Dr ordered. We've been reading, watching films, playing yahtzee, napping and grazing on Christmas left overs and it's been bliss. My crochet mojo has returned and I'm currently working on a pair of ribbed legwarmers ('cos you need a pair when lounging you know) as well as the perfect G&T....

1. Crushed ice and a big slice of lemon

2. A splash of your favourite Gin (The Botanist - a must try for gin fans)

3. Topped up with a nice quality tonic water.

Ahh.... I ...AM...LIKING these strange limbo days...

last minute gifts

2011-12-19T18:01:00.006Z

Some Sugared Cinnamon Almonds (recipe here) - you could use any kind of nuts, but I seem to have an almond glut at the moment.

Gift tags printed from here

Icing

2011-12-15T21:02:00.002Z

Just popping in to say hello amidst the busyness that accompanies the build up to Christmas; not to mention coughs and colds and manic decorating......hoping that a bit of forward planning now will result in a bit of a rest once we break up on the 23rd.

My littlest helper and I finally finished the (Aldi) Gingerbread house last night- quite amazing what a dusting of icing sugar hides, although I can see I will have to shake on a fresh dusting daily to cover the finger trails.!

Robins

2011-12-13T13:36:00.002Z

Christmas just wouldn't be the same without rustling up a few of these little robins - not quite on the scale of last year, just a few tiny birds made with left over bits of silky cotton yarn. This one was made using a size 3mm hook and I wasn't 100% happy with it - it was a bit 'holey', showing little bits of stuffing through the gaps - maybe try the next one with a size smaller hook ♥

Hexham Christmas Market

2011-12-09T08:05:00.001Z

A blatant plug for my sister of Pixie Peg crafts (blog here, Etsy shop here)- if you are in the Hexham area tomorrow pop along and visit Jill's stall of beautiful handmade wreaths and other Christmassy goodies at the annual Hexham Christmas Market: 9am -3pm in the market square. ♥

Scottish Larch

2011-12-02T16:30:00.001Z

For the last few months we have been having an extension added to our house. This is the first time we have embarked on any major work on our home and the whole experience has been a bit of a learning curve. However, the end is in sight and the push is on to get everything finished in time for Christmas.

We decided to go for a Scottish Larch cladding on the new building- it's a sustainable material which is locally grown and requires no preservatives - in time the wood will change to an attractive silver colour. I am pleased with the finished result and happy with the choice of dark grey for the window frames.

The taping/skimming of the walls should be completed by early next week and then the decorating and floor laying can begin, but in the meantime the vacant room is still being put to good use...

Strike Day...

2011-11-30T20:54:00.001Z

...and to be honest a welcome break from the daily grind. The boys and I took a trip to Newton Dee,(our local Camphill Community) and I let the tranquility of this special place wash over me...

We had a mooch around the gift shop at some of the Christmas goodies..

and took a trip to the Bakery for some organic bread...

Followed by an hour sitting on this bench..

whilst the boys had a kick about..

❅Snowflake Garland with Pattern ❅

2011-11-18T13:29:00.001Z

It's getting towards that time of year again so thought I would try my hand at a lacy snowflake
garland.

Very addictive and easy to make - you could rattle off a string of these in no time at all. Due to the flimsy-ness of the thread I used, I ended up having to pin and starch my snowflakes as the points were beginning to curl a bit. I pinned each 'point' to a cork board and sprayed on a bit of fabric stiffener:-

....Left them to dry over night, and by morning I had a lovely firm string of snowflakes

For some reason I started off with a 6 point snowflake, but after hooking a couple more they ended up with only 5 - either way, they both look ok, so it's up to you if you want to add another point or not. Here's the pattern but after 2 or 3 I promise you won't even need it!

❅Snowflake Garland ❅ (written in US crochet terms)
Using a yarn of your choice with an appropriate hook size (I used crochet thread with a size 2mm hook):-

❅Chain 58

❅Count back to the 50th chain and join the last 8 chain stitches from the hook with a sl st toform a ring of 8 chains.

❅Rnd 1: Ch 3, work 1 dc intoring, ch 3, * 2 dc into ring, ch 3 * rep from * 4 times (5 times if you want a 6 pointed flake), join with a sl stinto top of beg ch-3.

❅Rnd 2: Sl st across until you get to the first ch-3 sp, - ch 1, * 1 sc, ch 3, 1 sc, ch 6, 1 sc, ch 3, 1 sc* into ch-3 sp,rep from * 5 times, (or 6) join with a sl st into first sc.

❅chain 28, and the slip stitch into the 20th chain to form a ring of 8 and repeat the snow-flake again -continue in this way until the garland is your desired length - finish off with 50chains - this will give you enough length to tie up the garland at each end.

Tea-Towel Art

2011-11-14T21:23:00.000Z

Happy Monday - and a splash of colour amidst the damp, dreich weather which seems to be hanging around up here in the North East of Scotland- my new vintage tea towel of 'Fergus' the bright orange bull, printed for 'OXO' on Irish Linen. I tried very hard to iron those crease marks out before stretching out in the frame, but alas to no success.

In other weekend news, I turned 37 on Saturday - a good excuse to eat too much cake and drink lots of alcohol - thanks to my loved ones for throughly spoiling me - my parents came to visit for the weekend and it felt like such a treat to have a birthday cake made for me and tea cooked by my lovely Mum. The boys are at home for a couple of days this week (teacher training days), so I can feel a bit of indoor crafting coming on..watch this space..

This and That...

2011-11-08T21:35:00.000Z

Well Hello - that was a bit of an unexpected blog break! Life has just been a bit busy around here lately with coughs and colds and building work going on at the house, that kind of thing.. But I have managed a bit of crochet work of an evening - The above bracelets were made using fine cotton yarn and a size 2.5 hook - a basic single crochet band sew around a thin metal bangle for added support - I'm building up a stash for Christmas present, so will have to refrain from wearing them myself!

Had a result on Monday at my local charity shop - 2 sweet little enamel mugs (30p each) I'm already picturing two little boys sipping hot chocolate from them on cold winter days....

and a bit of retro Danish melamine in the form of this Rosti bowl...

ahhh, lovely...

'Forceful'

2011-10-27T21:16:00.001+01:00

Too tired to blog properly this week - I think it was the demands for the Darth Vader pumpkin that sent me over the edge....

Tomorrow...

2011-10-17T19:48:00.000+01:00

...off on a train journey, just me and the boys to see my beloved family in Newcastle - can't wait!

Driving Home..

2011-10-16T21:42:00.001+01:00

....On a beautiful late Saturday afternoon..

I See the Sea..

2011-10-12T22:35:00.000+01:00

We are currently enjoying the first week of our 2 week school holiday up here in Scotland -So far, mornings have been spent mostly in pajamas and afternoons a bit more energetic out in the bright Autumn sunshine. Today we took a trip to our nearest seaside town - Stonehaven.

The boys couldn't resist a peep into the now 'closed for the season' lido (outdoor saltwater swimming pool)- usually a big draw for us during the Summer months, however sadly due to our abysmal weather this year we never visited it once.

Today the sun shone and the North Sea looked as blue as could be. We played in the park for a while and then walked along the shingle beach and then back to 'Aunty Betty's' for an Ice cream...

...with the works...!

Enamelware Special Delivery...

2011-10-08T19:03:00.000+01:00

Look what the faeries left on my doorstep this evening! I am in enamelware heaven...

That little red teapot is perfection...

Nadja Scarf

2011-10-04T19:11:00.000+01:00

Don't you just love this time of year - so many crochet projects whizzing round my head: I'm thinking hats, scarves, blankets, Christmas decorations..the list goes on. I finished this scarf (neck warmer?) at the weekend - I'm quite pleased with it and think I might make a few more in different colours for Christmas presents.

The ruffle around the edging and the tie at the front give a nice nostalgic look (Victorian?) when worn - I think it will look good and feel cosy when worn with a winter jacket. I purchased the pattern on Ravelry (Nadja scarf )- a first for me, as I usually only search for the free patterns. I was really impressed with the professional and easy to follow style of the pattern, and look forward to seeing more from this particular designer.

The body of the scarf was made using a 'Granite' stitch -new to me, it produced a nice texture and was easy to work. Wouldn't it be great to actually get ahead with gift making this year? I think I will get started on Nadja number 2 this evening...

2 days..

2011-10-01T20:50:00.002+01:00

Whilst England is basking in sunshine with record breaking temperatures, Saturday has turned into a bit of a disappointment in NE Scotland with grey skies and rain for most of the day - mustn't complain, our Indian summer did last for 2 days! Last night we all sat around our chiminea in short sleeves until well after 9pm - unheard of at this time of year but such a pity the high pressure didn't hang around for the weekend...

This morning I had a mooch around our local town in the rain whilst the boys played their Saturday morning football. Every month the Townhall holds a second hand book sale and I don't think I have ever come away empty handed.

Today I came away with a handful of vintage books, including this one above from the 70's - the illustrations are amazing.

As I was about to leave, an elderly couple in their 80's arrived carrying a box of books for donation. I heard the man declare that some of the books once belonged to his mother as a child, so of course I had to have a look. I came away with a couple of beautifully illustrated old books from around the early 1900's - I didn't want to be greedy, so held back and bought only two (50p each ) I have to say I felt slightly disgusted at the man guarding a pile of around 30 original Beatrix Potter books, which he promptly bought in one fell swoop - obviously to make some money on - I hope they eventually make their way to a good home..

Monday Bake Day..

2011-09-27T19:26:00.000+01:00

I baked some bagels yesterday (recipe here) - a first for me, but the jury is out on whether or not it will be a last.....they were very tasty, but I am now starting to think that £1.25 for 5 at the supermarket is actually quite a bargain given the amount of time and effort they take to make (it was that extra poaching in the pan step I think....)

But nonetheless they look great showcased next to my latest enamelware find -£2 for a vintage enamel coffee pot (does anyone know how you actually use a pot like this to make coffee??)

I baked up a storm yesterday, on what has become my 'Monday bake day'. It's the only time in the week I actually have any time now to bake, and its a good feeling to stock up the tins for the packed lunches ahead. These Lemon Muffins came out great and I also made wholemeal based pizza slices with sunflower seed topping as a substitute for sandwiches..phew...

Homemade Air Freshener

2011-09-22T15:33:00.001+01:00

Growing Boys + Sporty Husband = Smelly Trainers, lots and lots of them...Not quite sure how we have managed to reach this point, but all of a sudden my shoe cupboard is full of stinky trainers and football boots. I found this great idea via Pinterest on 'The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking' on how to make your own air freshener.

It's a beautifully simple idea and works a treat - basically Bicarbonate of Soda and your favourite essential oil mixed up in a jar with holes punched in the lid - shake gently to release extra smelling power. I used some clove oil - not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it's deep spicy scent and use it in a lot of homemade cleaning products for it's antibacterial qualities- you can usually pick it up for less than a pound in your local chemist.

Cheap and easy to make, I have put one in the shoe cupboard and dotted a few around the house - lovely!

Wet, Dry,Wet!

2011-09-20T21:28:00.001+01:00

At around 9am on Saturday morning it stopped raining and the mist rose from the hills - loch Morlich was as still as glass..

and miraculously it stayed dry for the whole event..

before the rain started up again..

my week...

2011-09-15T16:44:00.001+01:00

A busy, but good week, with a few hi-lights to share:-

Monday - at last some charity shop success (been having a dry patch for months now) in the form of 2 Lustre glazed dishes. The first is a 'Fire King' bowl - I looked up the make when i got home, as it was slightly unusual and had a vintage Pyrex look to it - apparently it is ovenware from the USA, I paid £1 for it, and thought my new season pears looked particularly pretty sitting in it.

The second was a pretty little yellow pot, coincidentally with the same kind of iridescent glaze as the bowl (50p), I might use it in the bathroom to store toiletries etc.. This thrifting lark really is a cheap hobby, or at least this is how I rationalise the addition of yet another bowl to the household to Mr Northern Hi-lights and the pleasure I get from these finds is quite incredible!

Tuesday - Work and a lovely lunch break with my friend the Black-eyed Blond

Wednesday - I played at being the official photographer for the school I work for's annual sponsored walk. What a great day- unbelievably the sun shone for the whole day making the Deeside countryside look magnificent - slightly achy legs this morning though..

Thursday - a day off work, which has been spent spent shopping and cleaning out the old caravan for a trip away this weekend.
For the past 5 years a group of us head up to Loch Morlich for the 'Cairngorm Adventure Triathlon' (I must add that it is Mr N-HL, not myself who is participating) This year, we're looking at 15 children and 10 adults - it's normally fun, but complete chaos and I'm just hoping for better weather than last year!

the essentials have all been packed (beer and biscuits), sheets washed and beds made..

Please, please, please let it be dry!

The Book Group.

2011-09-12T20:38:00.002+01:00

I am a voracious reader. There has never been a time in my adult life when I haven't had a book 'on the go', so I was never really that bothered about joining one of the many book groups in our local area - imagine being told what to read! Two years ago a few of my close friends wanted to start up a small, informal book group and I was persuaded to go along and be part of it. It's been a mixed experience for me - on one hand the social side it great - we meet at someones house approximately once a month, drink too much wine and eat far too many crisps. To start with we all felt slightly shy and awkward about critiquing the book, so discussions were short, but as the months progressed, we became better - sometimes we actually spend a whole hour talking about the book before moving on to other more pressing topics. Some of the book have been (in my opinion) awful, others a real revelation and despite all the 'no shows' and the 'non readers', we are now embarking on our third year.

Last week we chose the books for the next 6 months - it was quite a heated debate, but we finally came to the agreement of reading the above books. I have read 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist', but the other titles I have not -looks like a fairly interesting selection - I'm quite looking forward to reading all of them! Comments anyone?

Chilly fingers

2011-09-07T16:49:00.000+01:00

There's been a definite Autumnal feel to the days this week, with cold mornings and chilly breezes in the air. My crochet mind is turning to hats and gloves, although according to my Mum - mittens are the new gloves this season!

My Mum is the knitter of the family, knocking out beautiful gifts for the whole family at an impressive rate. Last week my Mum sent me up a lovely pair of woollen mittens, accessorised with cute heart buttons - These will defiantly Cheer me up on frosty mornings.

♥ note ♥ Mitten Pattern taken from 'Fun and Funky Knitting' by Emma King

Seedy...

2011-09-05T20:50:00.000+01:00

Sorry, it looks like Monday is turning into my weekly cookery post! It's because it's my day off work and the only day of the week I get the time to play about in the kitchen.

Unfortunately for me, my other half has absolutely no interest in cooking or baking at all - If I weren't around he would happily exist on cereal and digestive biscuits. I might also add, that he is a fitness fanatic and is currently in training for the 'Caringorm Adventure triathlon' which is taking place in a few weeks. Right now he is expending a great deal of calories with all the training he is doing and as he doesn't really take his own nutrition seriously, I try to make some 'healthy' snacks for him to munch on during the day at work. Today I decided to use up my surplus of seeds and nuts with this 'Spicy Roasted Pumpkin and Sunflower seed' recipe.

I Googled a recipe and honestly, this 'Joy the baker' recipe popped up first in the results - it was meant to be, you know what a fan I am!

I added a tablespoon of this smoked hot paprika instead of the chilli powder, which gave the mix a lovely smoky, BBQ flavour and in addition, threw in a handful of sesame seeds and flaked almonds. The mix was incredibly quick and easy to make - its has been jarred and labelled, and is now sitting at the front door JUST in case Mr N H-L's (as is the norm after all my efforts) forgets it!

Re-Cycled T-Shirt Yarn

2011-09-01T12:45:00.000+01:00

I've been playing around this morning - cutting up an old t-shirt and winding it into a ball of yarn. I found this very enticing tutorial via Pinterest and had to give it a go.

My yarn didn't end up looking quite so smooth and due to probably a slightly blunt pair of scissors I now have very sore hands - but thought I'd round up the morning trying out (another!) a bangle:

Three rounds of single crochet was all that was required to make this very sturdy and rigid bangle - it looks slightly 'rustic' around the edges, but overall I am pleased with the result - I think I just need to work on making a better ball of yarn in the first place -better go and sharpen those scissors!

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

2011-08-29T16:17:00.005+01:00

Monday seems to have become my unofficial laundry/cleaning/baking day, but it's nice to start the week with a day at home and a chance to get 'ontop' of the mayhem caused by the weekend.

Feeling slightly blah today, so needed a carb fix on the baking front - enter Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread...

I have mentioned 'Joy The Baker's' blog before in a post, and I have to tell you I have never had a 'miss' with any of her recipes. I found her cinnamon pull-apart bread recipe via Pinterest ( Isn't Pinterest amazing? -I know, 'old hat', but I'm new to to it, and honestly you could get lost for days re pinning gorgeous images!)

The bread turned out beautifully - soft, doughy and luscious with a slightly caramelised base - the boys demolished half of it on their return from school - I'm hoping it'll stay nice and soft for them to take to school for their morning snack tomorrow - if there is any left that is...

Let's Crochet like its 1974...!

2011-08-28T20:10:00.000+01:00

'Green Goddess' shift

Thank you to my friend Diane for the link to this fab Etsy shop ( Wonky Zebra) which sells original vintage crochet patterns . Check out some of these dresses..

Tunic Dress

Afternoon Dress

Goddess Dress

Granny Square Maxi Dress

Surprisingly wearable!

Thrify Book Covers

2011-08-26T13:23:00.001+01:00

Whoooosh....where did that week go? Getting back into the swing of things now after last weeks shock to the system. This Week I have been inundated with school exercise books and requests from teacher to cover them - for some reason the books seem rather large this year; too big for my usual 'old comic page' trick. During a recent clear out I found an over sized 'Where's Wally' duplicate copy, purchased for 40p from our local charity shop, so I didn't mind pulling it apart to use the sheets - problem solved! (BTW, did you know Wally is called 'Waldo' in the US?)

Have a great weekend, the tonic water is chilling as we speak.....

bubblicious...

2011-08-20T16:39:00.000+01:00

Ever since a child, my drawing tool of choice has always been a black fine liner - I must add, I'm no artist, but like most people with a slightly creative leaning, I enjoy a good doodle on a nice new pad of paper. I really enjoyed drawing out the new banner for this blog (black pen on yellow paper), there was something really relaxing and immensely satisfying about stepping away from the computer and creating something by hand for a change. Whilst browsing Amazon the other day, I spotted the above book -'How to be the best bubble writer in the world ever' and for the price of £5.51, I decided I couldn't pass it up.

To be honest, this book is probably aimed at children, as opposed to a 36 year old wifey like myself, and I know my 11 year old self would have been all over this book. It's printed on heavy matt paper, similar to a child's vintage colouring book, and as well as instruction on creating different 'bubble' alphabets there are activities to complete and cut out.

Nonetheless, its a book that makes me extremely happy to flick through, and I can't wait for a moment to sit down and doodle some of the funky alphabets (did I just say 'funky'? ...oh dear). I have left it around the house in the hope that my eldest son will pick it up and look at it - yes, I can but try....

...and off we go again..

2011-08-19T17:30:00.003+01:00

first week back at school and for me back to work. I am lucky enough to have a term time only contract (I work as a technician at our local secondary school), which means I get all the school holidays off, and to be honest, by the end of this long six week break I had almost forgotten I had a job!

On one hand it's been good to get back into the old routine, and on the other it's been an emotional roller coaster - tired children adjusting to new teachers and the confinement of the school day, early starts and having to be organised with packed lunches and homework, breakfast dishes sitting at the sink until I come home from work, Cubs, swimming, football, etc... Its a merry-go-round, that keeps going round and round and round...

But tonight, the sun is still peaking out from behind a cloud, the boys are outside kicking a ball, I have a very large gin in hand and a lovely weekend of 2 x 40th birthday parties to look forward to - its all good.

Tawashi - Japanese Wash Cloths

2011-08-15T13:30:00.001+01:00

I score pretty low on the cleaning and housework front, lifting a duster or pulling out the hoover only when the dust is so bad you could write your name in it or if we have visitors coming to stay. However living with 2 boys, bathroom hygiene is pretty important.

For the last 10 years or so I have tried to keep household chemicals to an absolute minimum and either buy eco-products or make my own. Vinegar is a staple in our house -I slosh it around the toilet with some clove oil, or make my own surface spray with a 50/50 of water/vinegar and some lavender or peppermint oil - and contrary to belief, vinegar evaporates quickly leaving no smell.

I also use a lot of E-cloths, (microfibre cleaning cloths), especially for dusting and wiping down the bathroom - they are however fairly expensive, so I now make my own.

A Japanese Tawashi is a cleaning cloth made with 100% acrylic yarn. Acrylic yarn is made of very fine synthetic fibers similar to microfiber, and it's this fine-filamented material that is, as you may know, the key to brilliant cleaning.

As a crocheter, it couldn't be easier to knock a couple up - I tend to use chunky, or double stranded yarn and a single crochet stitch to make the cloth nice and dense. The yarn MUST be acrylic, but as this is probably the cheapest yarn around, it makes it pretty cost effective to make a few. I find that they work best used dry - they are great for picking up the dust that gathers on porceline in the bathroom and anywhere else for that matter. They are fully washable and make a pretty addition to your cleaning supplies - I love mine!

Saturday

2011-08-13T17:20:00.000+01:00

The sun came out today, so after hanging out 3 loads of washing on the line, we headed off to Deeside Activity centre in Dess. We fore-went the axe throwing in favour of a walk to look at the falls, which were looking spectacular after all the heavy rainfall.

..and then back to the activity centre for some lunch

Burgers made from the meat reared on the farm itself with sauteed potatoes - extremely tasty by all accounts.

The Popcorn Bracelet ♥Pattern♥

2011-08-12T19:59:00.000+01:00

Finally a pattern for you have a go at making these fun bracelets - so quick to make you'll want one for every outfit!

Popcorn Bracelet (written using US crochet terms)

You will need

♥Yarn of your choice, for this example I used bamboo tape
♥Button for the closure on the bracelet
♥Size 4mm and 3.5mm hooks (adjust if you are using slightly thinner yarn, such as DK)

Step 1
Using the larger hook, crochet a length of chains long enough to wrap around your wrist (remember the yarn will stretch slightly - I made approximately 28chains)

Step 2
Now swap to the smaller hook and single crochet into the second chain from the hook, and then SC into each chain across

Step 3
Turn your work: Row 2 - (this is going to consist of SC stitches and Popcorn stitches)
Chain 1 and Sc into first stitch in row, now work a popcorn stitch into the second stitch.
Note: to make a popcorn stitch:- work 5 Double Crochet stitches into the second stitch , drop the loop from your hook and insert hook from back to front in the top of the first dc of group (see below)

... pull dropped loop through stitch (a slip stitch really) (for further clarification see this Link for instructions)

continue the pattern of SC, Popcorn, SC, Popcorn.etc..across entire row, your bracelet should now look like this:-

Step 4
Turn your bracelet, you are now ready to work the 3rd and final row.
row 3:- ch 1 and SC into each stitch across row (working into the top Slip Stitch of each Popcorn stitch and each Single Crochet from previous row)

Step 5
At the end of row 3 you now need to make a loop for your button to go through. Chain 4 (or more or less depending on the size of your button) and join to make a loop using a slip stitch (see below)

Fasten off, and weave in any loose ends

Step 6
Sew your button onto the other end of the bracelet

....and there you have it!

Make some more in different colours and stack to your hearts content!!

Please let me know if you have any questions or need clarification on any of the steps - Elaine x

It's Raining again...♫

2011-08-10T20:11:00.001+01:00

These photos were taken at 1pm today from my kitchen window - this summer has been truly awful...This evening we have had to put the central heating on - I mean, come on! its suppose to be Summer! I have just been reading Attic24's latest blog entry, and feel even more fed up! The sweet possibilities of a long warm summer are slipping through my fingers as we near the end of the school holidays - no lazy days and picnics by the river, no trips to the Lido at Stonehaven, or playing on the beach - humph.......! F.E.D U.P!!!

On a plus side, I have been crocheting up a storm whilst the boys raced on the scalextric today.

The 'hoop' type bangle wasn't working, I just couldn't get the tension the same on the first and last row, so have been working on a strap type bracelet with a button to close.

They are really quick to make and very addictive - think of the possibilities! one to match every outfit!

I'm currently working on a simple pattern, so watch this space - Crocheted Bracelets! yeah, lets start a new trend!

♥Update♥ - sorry annaboo, meant to say:- used 100% cotton yarn for the dark blue one and bamboo tape for the light blue and green one and used a 4mm hook

The count down....

2011-08-08T14:56:00.000+01:00

More bangles hot off the hook - still a work in progress as regards the design and getting them to sit properly, but a brown one this time made from cotton that has a sheen finish to it. I made this one a bit thicker and sewed it together on the inside to make it a bit flatter

The actual pattern consists roughly of a chain ring, one round of single crochet and then a round of alternative 'puff' stitches to give the 3d relief. I repeated this to give a deeper bangle this time round.

It's the last week of the school holidays up here - tempers are slightly fraying, not helped by the wet weather and trying to persuade my two to go out and do something feels like an impossible task - my suggestion of a walk into town to visit the library went down like a lead balloon - the are currently playing 'wrestling matches' on the living room floor - its all going to end in tears.......

Lemongrass .....

2011-08-02T21:12:00.001+01:00

Caravanning this weekend in Glen Affric....Midges, lots and lots of midges......

Lemongrass essential oil seems to do the trick...burning it, spraying it, sniffing it, dabbing it.....

Beautiful scenery though.....

Bangles...

2011-07-28T18:44:00.000+01:00

The crochet hiatus is over!! last night I sat and made 2 of these cotton bangles....

My mind is now whizzing with ideas and the possibilities !

This Weekend...

2011-07-24T21:03:00.000+01:00

♥A glut of berries and local free-range eggs = meringues and cream for afternoon tea♥

USA Trip: Week 2 - Chicago

2011-07-21T18:48:00.001+01:00

Chicago is an all round exciting city to visit - great architecture, great parks, shops and food. My Brother-in-law lives near an uber cool part of the city called 'Wicker Park', which is full of great shops (Renegade handmade being my favourite) and places to eat. It was easy to while away most of the week just exploring the local neighbourhood and going for early evening drinks at ridiculously trendy bars and cafes (despite growing up in a city, it's times like this that I feel like a complete Teuchter )

We did however venture 'Downtown' to do all the obvious tourist things - on this particular day the sun was shining, sky was blue and Chicago was looking its most glorious best.

We spent most of the morning at Millennium Park, listening to the free concert at the amazing outdoor venue and playing in the water fountains.

Lunch was an obligatory hot dog - and boy, do the Americans know how to do condiments! (our youngest is the world's biggest gherkin fan, so was in awe of the local 'pickle' habit)

...and then we walked down the 'Magnificent Mile'

and ended the day with cocktails on the 95th floor of the Hancock Tower..

savouring the amazing views of the flat plains and lake.

I can hardly believe we have been back in Scotland for almost a week now and can feel the relaxed state I was in by the end of our trip starting to slip through my fingers. Our 2 weeks in the 'States' has been the best family holiday we have ever had - maybe it's just that the boys are getting older and slightly easier to take places - but without doubt it has given me the travel bug and I'm itching for another trip.

USA Trip 2011 : Week 1 - South Haven, Michigan

2011-07-18T19:27:00.003+01:00

Steps leading to the beach at South Haven,

We spent the first week of our holidays by the lake in a small town in Michigan (approx 2 hours drive from Chicago) called South Haven. This was the relaxing part of the trip, a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of Chicago- the weather was perfect and we literally did nothing except go for walks, swim, read, play a bit of sport, eat and drink. My brother in law came along with us, so the adult to child ratio was 3:2 - what a luxury! we took full advantage of this - I even managed the odd daytime nap

The Octagon House

We stayed in a lakeside 'condo' called the Octagon house (we had the upper part of the building) - it was pure American luxury - massive fridge/freezer with ice machine and water chiller, (is this a little weird that I am getting so excited over a fridge?) glorious decking that we ate all our meals on, shared swimming pool (there was never anyone else there) and huge TV with a gazillion channels (the 2 men in the party were in 7th heaven once they had argued over who got to hold the control)

4th of July Firework Picnic

The weekend we arrived in South Haven happened to be the 4th of July Holiday, so were lucky enough to be able to go along to the 'Harbour side' fire work display - the sky that particular night was ablaze with the most gorgeous sunset.

Lake Michigan itself is a huge expanse of water - 118 miles wide and 307 miles long. The beaches and the water itself are amazingly clean with beautiful white sand.

I knew from guide books that the area itself was home to a lot of antique villages and shops, however being the only female on the trip I really was fighting a loosing battle trying to persuade the others to partake in a spot of antiquing with me - I did however manage to wangle a visit to a roadside Antique center - It was brilliant! full of the most interesting items, - defiantly a hi light for me, even if both children refused to get out of the car!!

Ahhhh South Haven - what a wonderful place....

Home again..

2011-07-16T15:41:00.001+01:00

We're back! Head currently all over the place due to jet lag, but just thought I'd check into my neglected blog. We have had the most amazing trip, seen and done so many things - eaten so much food!

Thought I would leave you with a picture of 'Brunch' - You have got to hand it to the Americans, they really know how to make a good Breakfast.

Summer Reads

2011-06-26T21:12:00.002+01:00

A Birthday

2011-06-19T20:53:00.000+01:00

It's been a Birthday weekend up in the Northern hi-lights household with our youngest son turning 7 today. Celebrations began on Saturday with a football party with his little pals and then another family only party tea this evening once his big brother returned from a weekend at Cub camp.

All party decorations were hastily made on Saturday morning after a hectic week at work. I printed the flags and cake toppers onto red and yellow card (the only card I had in my craft supplies). To make the bunting, I sewed the flags together using my sewing machine - it worked well and a few metres were run up pretty quickly.

I must admit to finding children's birthday parties pretty stressful and exhausting, so I was relieved it all went well, and we enjoyed a quiet family day today...with more cake....

Happy Birthday my sweet one ♥

Rose Tinted Glow

2011-06-13T18:10:00.000+01:00

A hot tip if you live in the UK - Glamour Magazine are giving away Benefit products this month, free with magazine - I'm not a massive make-up wearer, but my all time favourite product is 'benetint', which is a lovely rose scented cheek and lip tint - very natural looking - hurry, hurry!! I picked up the last copy in my local newsagent this evening!

A break..

2011-06-12T20:14:00.003+01:00

I think it must be at least 2 weeks since I blogged. At the moment we are all on count down mode until the school holidays, and in 3 weeks time we are heading off to Chicago to visit my brother-in-law. In the mean time I feel like I have a small mountain to climb before we get there - Birthday Party, Cub Camp, football matches, relatives visiting, end of term nights out etc..etc.. Football training/matches for our two sons are more or less taking over at weekends right now, so when I heard that there was to be no football this weekend (yippee!) I put my foot down, demanding some family time away in the caravan. Now, the beauty of going away for the weekend in the caravan is that it is actually a break for me - no housework, minimum cooking, no washing and the boys are normally fairly content and occupied cycling around the camp or playing with new friends they have just met - it also means that we actually get to talk to each other and reconnect as a family. With this in mind, we didn't want to travel too far on a Friday night, so opted for a site in the Glenesk valley, roughly 50 minutes drive away. When we arrived on Friday evening the camp looked like this:

But...in true Scottish Summer weather tradition, on Saturday morning we woke to rain - teaming down...all day! We made the most of it, being hardy Northerners after all..

(The campsite had a certain retro feel to the place - couldn't resist a photo of this fab table in the dish washing room)

Made good use of the 'recreation room', read lots of books, visited a local beach town for lunch, drank lots of tea and played Scrabble (what a revelation - the boys are actually old enough now to be able to hold their own in a game!)

and when bed time came around there wasn't a word of complaint from the boys about climbing into their cosy bunks

So here I am on Sunday night - home, rested and hopefully ready for that climb..♥

Campbelltown Pottery

2011-05-30T20:24:00.001+01:00

Phew..co-parent has returned, I can feel that eye twitch starting to ease off...

Just thought I'd share with you the unusual medal the runners got for completing the Mull of Kintyre half marathon race- apparently the local potter produces a new design every year.

nice touch..

The Joy of baking

2011-05-28T19:59:00.002+01:00

It's just me and the boys this weekend - Daddy NH-L's has gone off to the Mull of Kintyre to run a half marathon (as you do). Everyone's tired, so without Dad here to drag us out on walks/bike rides etc.. we're having a lazyish weekend (i.e me lying horizontal reading my book whilst the boys play/argue football in the back garden) I did get up at one point to bake some biscuits (read, no food in the cupboard desperation baking)

Have you discovered Joy the Bakers blog? Here is a woman obsessed with peanut butter and chocolate, which suits me fine - she is also very funny and posts some great recipes (pictured above are Joy's Chocolate ginger biscuits - recipe here)

Hope you are having a great weekend
♥

Small Pleasures..

2011-05-26T18:13:00.000+01:00

♥ A clean and tidy livingroom
♥ Quiet House to myself for an hour (footie practice)
♥ Chilled glass of wine
♥ For once, my own playlist on in the background...
An unexpectedly pleasurable Thursday evening...

the beginning.....

2011-05-24T21:15:00.001+01:00

Thank you for all your encouragement regarding my new adventures in printmaking - and now I'd better come up with the goods so as not to disappoint! To get the ball rolling I think I'm going to start with some basic lino cutting. I was delighted to be able to borrow some equipment from work, and I will begin with a few sketches and try to produce a simple stamp. A quick search through Flickr provided some great inspiration.

Flickr - Memi the Rainbow

Flickr - Girls are Crying

Really though, there is too much 'out there' to inspire and I usually end up spending all my time looking at Flickr etc..what I need to do now is switch off the laptop and focus!!!

New ideas

2011-05-23T14:23:00.000+01:00

I've fallen a bit out of love with crocheting at the moment, it's just not doing it for me right now, so I have been searching around for other crafts and creative ideas to try my hand at. This months Country Living magazine featured an artist based in Orkney (Sarah Johnston) who screen prints wonderfully bold motifs onto fabric.

visit Sarah's website at Marram Studio's

A couple of years ago I took a night class at our local Art school on printmaking - I loved using all the vivid inks and ancient presses, and found the processes very rewarding, but have never tried my hand at screen printing.

Last week I ordered this book from Amazon

It's a very well illustrated book, containing lots of ideas for simple printing from home.

You really can't beat a brand new craft book in my opinion to get those creative juices flowing once more. Now to go and dig out those cutting tool's I'm sure I have somewhere...

Souper

2011-05-17T13:29:00.002+01:00

Curried lentil soup for lunch today (and a good excuse to showcase my new olive wood ladle!). I have to admit to mostly only making soup in colder weather, but recently I have been coming round to the idea that it is a useful and filling lunch whatever the weather and (another veg portion) when time is short.

My place of work is only a ten minute walk away, so on work days I consider myself very lucky to be able to come home for lunch - there is something so nice about opening the front door to an empty, quiet house. Soup ticks all the boxes on the working lunch front - I never bother with a recipe, for this particular soup I fried an onion with some chopped up corguette, added a tablespoon of curry paste, red lentils and stock - you could always add some coconut milk too if you wanted - souper delicous! What's your lunchtime staple?

Quite Right!

2011-05-10T16:43:00.000+01:00

This cheered me up today, as the 'housekeeping' at the Northern Hi-lights household goes from bad to worse!
Available at Lettergirl's Etsy shop, found via Rich Inner Life blog

Cornered...

2011-05-09T10:55:00.001+01:00

I love this idea, simple yet genius

See d.Sharp Journal for full tutorial

Thanks Jo...

2011-05-08T19:29:00.005+01:00

My Bloggie friend Jo of Pangaloon has very kindly sent me a versatile blogger award. I have been following Jo's blog for a while now and am impressed at how it has grown and evolved over recent months. Jo's encouraging and warming comments on my blog make my day. One of the rules of accepting the award is to pass the award onto seven other, and also to share 7 interesting facts about yourself. Now, this second rule has sent me in a tizzy as I really don't think I have 7 interesting facts, but here goes...

I only learnt to crochet about 5 years ago, and really regret not possessing this skill when I was pregnant and my boys were babies - think of all those missed opportunities!

I am now partially deaf due to a virus I caught a few years ago..

I like eating ReadyBrek with cold milk and honey for my breakfast

I am a bit of a techy nerd and enjoy making spreadsheets for things!

I met my now husband on my first day at University in Edinburgh aged 18, and we have been together ever since - we are opposites in so many ways but compliment each other perfectly.

I have been reading the BEANO since I was around 6 years old and am still an avid fan

I am a reluctant runner, forcing myself out for a run 2-3 times a week, today my 30 minute run around a forest with a friend turned into an hour and a half as we got lost - Nightmare!!

There are so many blogs around that I love to follow, that choosing only 7 is a bit tricky, so here are 7 off the top of my head, in no particular order - I am so thrilled that people take the time to stop by my blog, and the rush of a new comment cannot be beaten!

Party Talk

2011-05-07T17:49:00.001+01:00

I picked this book up today at our local second hand book sale. Children's books are only 10p each, and I ended up coming home with 11 in total! Flicking through this book today has made me nostalgic for the 70's house parties my mum would host for me and my sisters when we were little girls, We would dress up in our floor length party frocks and play games such as the non-politically correct 'pass-the-parcel' (you know what I mean, it bugs me now when i go to a party and the music is staged so that each child gets a 'go' plus a sweetie) and eat hot dogs and pickled onions on cocktail sticks with jelly and ice-cream for pudding (from a rabbit mould that would never set!) .

Some of the games in this book are great, bringing back lots of memories

I'm sure we used a Mars Bar for this game...

Classic!

Still a family favourite in this house...

Our youngest is obsessed with this game, never quite as good with only 4 people!

Whilst I'm talking about parties and the likes, Birthday season is well and truly upon us right now, with one or both of my children coming home with a party invite on a weekly basis right now. I have a question - how do you feel about buying gifts for countless parties? (including joint ones, class kids you don't know etc..) and how much is reasonable to spend? Generally speaking for a typical class party I try not to buy toys, sticking to books or sports equipment etc.. if there is an offer on I tend to buy a couple and put away and try and stock up a 'present drawer' with immaculate 2nd hand books etc.. I like to think of this as smart buying and am proud of my frugleness. It kind of disgusts me when I see parents fill bin-bags with presents of 20 plus gifts for one individual child - we live in an affluent area where parents feel pressure to spend a certain amount on a gift, whether they can afford it or not - an example - yesterday I was standing in the playground waiting for my boys to finish school - a parent approached me and asked if I had sorted out a present for a particular party this Sunday(a joint one) apparently a group of the mothers had decided to club money together and buy said child vouchers - "£20 would be fine, thank you very much" ...Now, I was kind of caught on the hop, I had been working all week and this was the first I had heard of this arrangement. The mother, seeing my flustered face, back-tracked saying I probably had something else organised, she had been told that 'I like to do my own thing'.!(ok, so I obviously have a reputation!) I was polite and declined her offer, because personally I think £20 is an obscene amount to be spending - that's £160 per child !!

What do you think? Am I being mean? Personally speaking I cannot afford to be forking out £10 for every party my child gets invited to - Am I the only person who thinks parents should politely ask guests not to bring gifts, just themselves? or a donation for a charitable cause?

Rant over......

Hip to be Square?

2011-05-03T21:01:00.001+01:00

Car journeys can be useful crochet time, particularly at the moment when my 'sit down' time after putting the kids to bed is getting later and later (Cubs, football, lighter nights, extended supper time and stories) and I've barely time to have a quick cup of tea let alone crochet, before its my bedtime!

Travelling back home on Monday I managed to finish off my square doily. I used a pattern in this Japanese crochet book, a ball of blue 100% cotton and a size 2.5mm hook.

The pattern was a repeat of 3 rows with a decorative edging, and given the size of the hook, made up pretty quickly. This time I used a diagram to follow the pattern, which was relatively easy to do once you got into the swing of it, giving me a bit of confidence to pursue further Japanese patterns in the future

Not quite sure how I will utilise my new doily - I never really saw myself as a doily kind of person, but I think I may be a convert...

May Day Weekend

2011-05-02T16:56:00.000+01:00

Just back from a perfect weekend away with friends at the beach. We headed North in the caravan to Sandend near Portsoy (North East coast of Scotland) and have had the most fantastic time .

A boy heavy weekend, with not a girl in sight (except the mums) meant lots of non-stop action..

I did managed to sneak in a bit of reading and a tiny bit of crochet on the journey home (finished my square doily!)

Not sure if my beloved Kindle is particularly beach compatible as there is now sand in every crevice!

On Sunday we visited the pretty harbour town of Cullen (of Cullen Skink fame) for fish and chips and a mooch around...

This morning before we left for home, I picked up some smoked haddock from the local smokery

We have been so lucky with the sunny weather and are starting May windswept and every so slightly sun kissed...

This cracks me up

2011-04-26T19:30:00.000+01:00

Oh Paris, now I have yet another reason to rate you as my number one city of choice...

Juliana Santacruz Herrera is the artist behind these beautiful, colourful fabric-filled cracks in the pavements of Paris.

After our cold winter our local roads are peppered with potholes - wonder how this idea would go down with the 'folks' around these parts?

{found via the free people blog}

Eggs and Cotton

2011-04-24T21:42:00.001+01:00

A great weekend, filled to the brim with family time, chocolate and sporting events...

I sneaked in a bit of wool shopping at the end of last week - the lovely ladies in the Art department at the school I worked in surprised me a few weeks ago by presenting me with some gift vouchers for a gorgeous wool shop in Aberdeen (Wool for Ewe). I have been teaching them how to crochet for a few months now on Friday lunch times, it's been great fun and these very creative and talented ladies have taken to crocheting like ducks to water. Last Thursday I finally made it into Aberdeen, child free with a bit of time on my hands to browse. To be honest, I was completely overwhelmed by the choice and ended up spending half of my vouchers on the most gorgeous cotton yarn I have ever seen. I will have to return for a longer look some other time, but in the mean time I am more than happy with my selection.

I have started making this place mat from the Lacy Crochet book, and so far the soft smoothness of the cotton has been a pleasure to work with.

I love 3 day weekends and I'm still feeling in holiday mode this evening, even sneaking in a G&T - roll on the next long weekend!

A little Pot

2011-04-18T18:26:00.000+01:00

Sweet little enamel pot made in Yugoslava, and purchased today by me for £1.00 from my local Charity shop - it has come to a good home...

Chicks on a Stick

2011-04-16T15:37:00.000+01:00

Our front door is looking splendid with my new chick decoration, kindly gifted to me by my sister Jill of Pixie Peg Crafts fame (visit her blog and Etsy shop).

I'm really chuffed with it, it is so nice to have a such a cheery and quirky door decoration.

I pilfered some twigs from our local woods yesterday to hang some Easter decorations, including my new pair of fawns, also a present from Jill.

We've just spent the afternoon watching the 'Granite City Rally' as one of the stages was being held in our local woods, so I am now trying to warm myself up with a nice cup of liquorice tea - back to school/work next week! can't believe the Easter holidays are over before Easter has even started! That's Scottish school holidays for you! Hope you are having a fab weekend ♥

...and home again..

2011-04-15T18:45:00.001+01:00

..with fabulous caravaning memories

..interesting city visits

...an Eco festival

....precious time spent with my beloved family

...and back home again - a great trip away...x

...and off we go...

2011-04-08T20:41:00.000+01:00

The boys and I have spent our first week of the holidays cleaning, preparing and stocking up our little caravan in preparation for our first trip away of the year. Tomorrow we are heading down to Edinburgh for a few nights to soak up the sights and sounds of Scotland's fine capital, and then further south to Northumberland/Newcastle to spend some time with my family- I can't wait!

Back in a week with tales of our adventures..xx

Mothering Sunday

2011-04-03T20:00:00.000+01:00

Homemade card and breakfast in bed (well, both boys were beside themselves with excitement at the idea and ended up in bed with me and ate most of the breakfast..) lots of cuddles and snuggles...

Yes, the blanket is finished and I'm pleased to see it is big enough for both!
♥ Happy Mothers Day♥

A Cathrineholm Bowl..

2011-04-01T18:15:00.001+01:00

So, I was making my usual Thursday rake around the local charity shops, spotted above bowl, which looked vaguely Scandinavian (with Norway stamped on the base) paid 50p for it and left, rather chuffed that I'd managed to find another enamelware piece..
Back home, I Googled Norwegian enamelware and the name Cathrineholm popped up..who'd a thought?

Cathrineholm print - Yumalum Etsy shop

The Lotus pattern series of Cathrineholm with bowls, pans and pots designed by the famous Norwegian designer Grete Prytz Kittelsen in the 1950’s. Enamelling was a Norwegian speciality in the early years of the 20th century. Characteristic of her designs were the abstract motifs and striking colours....there's even a flickr group dedicated to her designs. I'm quite delighted with my find - I did a quick Ebay search and they appear to be worth around £70-£80!!!
Mr Northern Hi-lights has been away on his travels again this week, so I am chuckling to myself picturing his face when he walks into our bedroom later this evening and he spys my other thrift shop bargain...

Isn't it a beauty (£3.00) ? I have had my eye out for a vintage quilt all Winter, and admittedly now that it's Spring the need is not so great.

The caravan maybe?

What goes around...

2011-03-27T20:51:00.002+01:00

"Muuuuummm, you said you would play a board game with us this afternoon"

"Oh yes, so I did" (damn, they remembered...) "Go and choose something from the cupboard"

"Monopoly - good choice" (OH NO!!)

So, I'll try and squeeze in a few rounds of my granny squares in between my go, they won't notice...

10 minutes later....

That'll be that then - eldest son does not like it when he is losing...although I can see my mother smirking with recognition at a game played 28 years ago with a similarly aged child....Karma I think its called...

Tea for Two

2011-03-24T13:50:00.000Z

My Ebay caravan teapot arrived in the post today - oh yes, I am in enamelware heaven! This beauty apparently holds 3 pints of tea, perfect for a brew on those chillier mornings (yes, I am psyching myself up for the colder temps) My two Italian super market mugs look perfect with it, and practical as ever the robust enamel should hopefully stand the test of time♥ P.S - the sun is still shining☺

Next stop Norway..

2011-03-21T20:44:00.002Z

Deary me, have almost 2 weeks really passed since I blogged last? Where does they time go? Right now in the Northern Hi-lights household we've been enjoying some mild sunny weather (last weekend it snowed!) and hit the beach yesterday for a picnic and a spot of beach cricket.

Beaches around the Aberdeenshire coast can be bracing, especially in March, but we got lucky yesterday, with a mild inland breeze making it warm enough to even take our hats and gloves off (we're hardy up here!)

We've also been making plans for some building work on our house and a few caravan trips. Schools break up for the Easter break next Friday, and to be honest I can't wait - my batteries are running low and we all really need a break. Hoping for milder weather so we can take the caravan out on it first voyage of the year - this has pushed me into action to try and finish my 'boy' blanket for cosying up in the bunks on the chillier nights.

I still need to edge it with a contrasting colour (brown?) and no doubt once it's finished they will both want one!

Cherry Bomb..

2011-03-09T13:40:00.001Z

I'm wearing my favourite necklace today - my eldest made it for me last year from Fimo and it never fails to make me happy.

Potting and Planning...

2011-03-07T20:18:00.000Z

Another lovely bright Spring like day - could definitely feel some heat in the sun today! Potted up some bulbs and plants to brighten my front door step:-

Our minds have also started to turn to caravanning again - planning our first outing of the year this coming Easter holiday (yippee!!) I have been drooling over my favourite caravan styling book today, getting a few ideas - whats not to like?

Another One...

2011-02-28T22:09:00.001Z

I know, I know, another banner. What can I say, I'm fickle..but the sun has been shining for THREE whole days now, so I felt that last banner was a bit too Wintery and not enough Springy - I'm sure it'll change again at some point - changing your banner is fun though, a bit like buying a new outfit...

Spent a bit of one-on-one time with my 8 year old tonight whilst the youngest was at Beaver Cubs. For World Book Day (this Thursday) the boys school is having a 'dress up as a Roald Dahl character day' (I know..) Fortunately we like Roald Dahl books a lot, and whilst eldest was initially not the keenest, he has decided on Charlie - normal clothes with a giant Wonka bar to accessorise.
I cracked open a Roald Dahl stamp set I picked up in a charity shop last year and we set about stamping and making our Wonka bar.

For the Wonka bar we wrapped up a piece of wood in tin foil and then made a wrapper - so that's one down, now to get my head around son number 2's costume - an Umpa Lumpa apparently....

Blogging along

2011-02-27T20:27:00.000Z

Feels like ages since I blogged last - not much creativity going on in my life right now, just busy with work and family life. The sun peeped out this weekend, making me feel like I am slowly crawling my way out of my Winter hibernation - got up early this Sunday to go for a run with my running buddy Jenny around the forest (unheard of going running on a Sunday morning!) baked bread (rye - was quite heavy!) and went roller skating around the streets with my eldest. Hubby flew down to London this evening for a week long training course, so I am currently rewarding myself with a large G&T for managing to get both children bathed, storied and bedded by 7:30pm (unheard of right now!)

Busy, busy, busy again this week, but thinking about making one of these (thanks Victoria for the inspiration) whilst enjoying solo control of the TV remote and watching South Riding. xx

Cardi Update

2011-02-22T18:47:00.000Z

This is where I am with my Chicago swing cardi - body finished, just the collar, button band and arms to add. This pattern has been great so far, really easy to follow and at this point I have used less than 1 ball of 100g wool!

Every second row I have worked a cluster stitch :-
Yarn over, insert hook in indicated stitch and draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through 2 loops on hook (2 loops on hook), [yarn over, insert hook in same stitch and draw up a loop, yarn over and draw through 2 loops on hook (1 additional loop on hook)] twice, yarn over and draw through all 4 loops on hook.

I like the textured effect it gives, and once you get into the swing of it, it's a quick stitch to make. Just thinking about buttons right now, which in my opinion can make or break a garment! leaning towards large black flowers - any thoughts?

So, if you fancy trying your hand at making a cardigan, I recommend giving this one a go ♥

Etsy ♥ Hair Grips

2011-02-18T16:56:00.001Z

Daylily Hair Pins by Bina Geyer

Friday! oh how I love that Friday night feeling - I shall ignore the fact it has been raining for the past 4 days, with more forecast for the weekend, pour myself a large G&T and sit back and admire all these lovely Etsy hair grips..

Golden Feather Bobby Pin Set - tamar

Antique Pewter Tiny Twig Hair Pins by Woodland Belle

Flying birds nature hair clips - by mykonos

Mushroom Madness. Hair Clips / Pins by Piggy

..on my hook...

2011-02-17T13:31:00.000Z

I started a new project a couple of nights ago which has needed my utmost attention for each row so far.. I am making this cardigan, apparently it is made top down, in one piece - my favourite kind of pattern. I am still at the early nervous stages where you are not quite sure where it is going...I have been here many times before, become completely confused and ripped the whole lot out, so fingers crossed this is a good one xx

Island Hopping

2011-02-14T22:21:00.000Z

Mid-Term school holidays - a long weekend to Ayrshire to visit my mother-in-law, and a day trip to largs, which wouldn't be complete without sampling some Nardinis ice-cream...

...and taking a ferry trip to the nearby island of Cumbrae

The sunshine and homemade shortbread were an unexpected bonus. How great it is to get away from it all for a long weekend. I have returned home rested and invigorated, ready to take on the rest of February!

Sunshine & Ladybirds...

2011-02-10T12:00:00.001Z

Look, Look!! the sun is shining upon Aberdeenshire today - how uplifting, how great to be able to pull up a chair and sit in the sun and drink coffee for a brief moment!!
Jennifer of Little Birds Fly asked a question about my Lady Bird book collection (a previous blog post), and I thought I would indulge myself today, showing you some pictures etc.. from my collection.

Lady Bird books were first published back in the 1940's, and by the 1960s and 1970s the company's Key Words Reading Scheme (launched in 1964) was heavily used by British primary schools to help children learn to read. This series of 36 small-format hardback books presented stereotyped models of British family life – the innocence of Peter and Jane at play, Mum the housewife, and Dad the breadwinner.

In the 1960s, Ladybird produced the Learnabout series of non-fiction books, which right now probably make up the bulk of my collection - Click here if you interested in learning more about Ladybirds History.

From a personal point of view, it was probably nostalgia that prompted me to begin collecting the books. I still remember pouring over the lavish illustrations of Cinderella as a child, and to spot a 'matt' edition in a charity shop or book sale feels like hitting the jackpot! I have mostly paid around 10p for each book, and the obscure topics that I often stumble upon never cease to amaze me.

Picture taken from 'The story of the Cowboy'

A favourite - 'Little Red Riding Hood', not sure why but the little girl always reminds me of my sister Jill..

NYC - taken from 'Flight 3 - United states of America'

British Wild Flowers

One of those obscure topics, with an amusing inscription:-

It amazes me how much pleasure you can gain from a simple, inexpensive collection, and the thrill of a new find - what do you collect?

Valentine Tutorials♥

2011-02-08T13:36:00.000Z

Hooked up a few of these sweet hearts last night, simple pimple....

Easy to follow tutorial from PlanetJune
And speaking of valentine tutorials, we are spoilt for choice right now - here are some of my favourites:-

Cardboard Gift Tags - Family Chic

Love Letters - My Pangaloon

Cupids Arrow Cupcake toppers -via Poppytalk

Saturday in Pictures...

2011-02-05T18:09:00.001Z

Saturday football training for the boys - first session since November due to a frozen pitch - surely a sign of Spring?

A mooch around the local Saturday 2nd hand book sale, and four new books to add to my Ladybird collection (and only 10p each - result!)

A walk around the grounds of our local National Trust Castle..

..marveling at the new treetop adventure course currently under construction...

and a visit to the cafe after our walk for a steaming mug of coffee..
How's your Saturday been?

Treat day

2011-02-03T10:05:00.000Z

Thursday = my day off = cleaning the house day - how dull! I have a stinking cold and energy levels are low, so I will try and cheer myself up with lots of good strong coffee, a trip to the charity shop, and one of these:-

Valentines Cupcake Tutorial

2011-01-31T13:51:00.001Z

written using US crochet terminology, number of stitches you should have at end of round is shown in brackets. I used a double knitting weight yarn and a size 3mm hook to give a nice tight finish

Abbreviations:
Sc - Single Crochet
Hdc - Half Double Crochet
Ch - Chain

The cupcake consists of two separately crocheted items- the case and the icing. Lets start by making the case:-

Cupcake Case

R1: Ch2, and them crochet 6sc into 2nd ch from hook (6)

R2: Sc 2 in each Sc around (12)

R3: *Sc 1, 2sc in next sc* x6 (18)

R4: *Sc 2, 2sc in next sc* x6 (24)

R5: *Sc 3, 2sc in next sc* x6 (30)

R6: *Sc 4, 2sc in next sc* x6 (36)

You should now have a circular base, like the one shown here:-

Now for the sides of the case:-

R7: Work 36 Sc in each stitch all around - for this particular round only, work in the back loops only to give a ridge, as you can see below:-

R8 - 12, single crochet in each stitch around to built up the sides.

With round 12 completed, we'll now make the lip of the cupcake.

R 13: *2 SC in first stitch from round 12, then 1 SC in the next. Repeat this pattern from the * all the way around. (54)

The sides of the cupcake should start to flare out like this:

R14: 1 Sc in each stitch around (54)

R15: Sc decrease over the first 2 stitches and then 1 Sc into the 3rd. Repeat this pattern all the way around until you have 36 stitches. Tie off your yarn.

You have now completed the case of the cupcake, now for the icing, which is made using the Hdc stitch - the entire icing section is worked in the back loops of the stitches.

Cupcake Icing

R1: Ch2, and them crochet 6 Hdc into 2nd ch from hook (6)

R2: Hdc 2 in each stitch around (12)

R3: *Hdc 1, 2 Hdc in next stitch* x6 (18)

R4: *Hdc 2, 2 hdc in next st* x6 (24)

R5: *Hdc 3, 2 Hdc in next st* x6 (30)

R6: *Hdc 4, 2 Hdc in next st* x6 (36)

R7: *Hdc 5, 2 Hcd in next st* x6 (42)

At this point the icing is almost completed and should look like this:-

If you want a plain edge to your cupcake, tie off now, leaving a long enough piece of yarn to sew to base - or like mine, you can add a frilly edging to the icing, as shown below:-

*Skip 2 stitches and 5 Hdc into 3rd stitch, skip 4th st and s.s into 5th* - continue from * - * all the way around the edging. Tie off your yarn, leaving a long enough tail to sew top to base

Assembling your cupcake.
Stuff the case of your cupcake with filler and then sew the icing onto the top edge of the case. If you added a frilly edging, make sure you sew at round 7 so the frilly bit is an over hang.

When you have about 2cm left to sew around the edge, stop and put more filler in the cake, making sure the icing has a peak and doesn't sit flat - I use a large crochet hook to push it in. Cut out, (or crochet!) a little felt heart for embellishment and glue (or stitch) onto top - sit back and admire your creation!

Cupcake anyone?

2011-01-30T17:00:00.000Z

With February arriving this week, my mind has turned to Valentines Day crochet, and lets face it - who doesn't like a cupcake? I am putting together a basic tutorial for the above cake, it's a nice easy project for a beginner, and should just give you enough time to whip up a batch before the 14th ♥ watch this space♥

Some more of these..

2011-01-27T10:58:00.000Z

Another crocheted picture frame - I have a few of these butterfly prints I would like to frame, so might make a couple more to make a set. These frames are really good fun to make (pattern from lola Nova's blog) and I had a go making a tiny one using an old curtain ring

I put my owl stickers to use with this one, probably a group of them would make a bigger impact though.

Friday tomorrow, thank goodness, it's been a tiring week - oh, and its the last Friday of the month which means cakes in the staff room - its the small things ♥..!

Shopping and Knitting..

2011-01-24T18:20:00.001Z

Today, a shopping trip to a dreich Aberdeen (photo taken from the bus), where it felt good to be out and about scooping up a few end of sale bargains, as well as enjoying a coffee along the way.

I picked up some cute little stickers from Paperchase, no idea what I'll do with them, but couldn't resist..

..and some sweet little 'jammies' for my youngest from TKMAXX for only £3 - I felt like I lost hours today wondering around that shop marvelling at all the 'stuff' they stock. Living in a small rural town, I don't often make it into the 'big city' and do most of my shopping online, but every once in a while it's nice to see whats new and to have a mooch around, a posh coffee and a spot of lunch - I returned home feeling quite invigorated and refreshed.

Remember I mentioned knitting in my last post? Above is my attempt at a face cloth - I'm not a knitter at all, I much prefering crochet for its instant gratification. However, I forgot how pleasing a plain knit stitch looks, this cloth was knitted using size 10mm needles (with a crochet border), so mega chunky and it knitted up pretty quickly - I was pleasantly surprised, perhaps this will be the start of something new?

Fallen off the Blog Wagon...

2011-01-22T13:10:00.000Z

Have lost my crochet/blogging mojo this past week or so, two things I normally love doing in equal measures. I have been easing myself back in gently by starting a few mindless granny squares - and have even been trying my hand at a spot of KNITTING!!

Still addicted to reading other creative, crafty blogs and have discovered 3 new ones this week:-

A Foothill Home Companion

Maize Hutton

Misako Mimoko

Hoping to be back with renewed vigor next week! Have a good weekend ♥♥

Are you an Anorak?

2011-01-11T20:29:00.001Z

When I was a kid one of my greatest joys in life was reading my weekly edition of the Beano comic. Unfortunately kids comics/magazines aren't what they used to be, and more often than not I try and steer my boys away from the trashy children's magazines on display in the supermarket as I feel most are a complete and utter waste of money, sucking the kids in with the free plasticy rubbish sellotaped to the front cover.

With this in mind, it was a complete joy to stumble upon 'Anorak' magazine -'the happy mag for kids'!

The magazine itself is printed on lovely heavy quality matt paper and is jammed packed with cool illustrations, cartoons, facts, puzzles and colouring pictures.

Unfortunately you are unlikely to find it on a supermarket shelf - I bought this copy from an independent bookshop in Edinburgh (Analogue books - very cool shop!) but you can buy it online, or give a subscription to a child as a present perhaps? It's also worth checking their website, they even have a blog, bursting with fab ideas and illustrations - - you definitely don't have to be a kid to enjoy it!

Chocolate Biscuits..

2011-01-10T18:30:00.004Z

I have a terrible sweet tooth and my biggest weakness has always been biscuits. This goes right back to my childhood where I was often caught red-handed with biscuits hiding in my hand as well as a couple tucked up my sleeve. Of course now I am an all grown up I have much more self-restraint....hmmm, yes...
Usually when I bake for the family I try and make slightly healthier things. I try and avoid recipes with too much butter and substitute sugar for honey, that kind of thing. Yesterday I just fancied making something sweet and tasty, and these chocolate cream sandwich biscuits ticked all the boxes!

I have to say, for me they were a 10 out of 10 kind of biscuit - very tasty and of course they are now all finished.
Here's the recipe, I thought I would share it with you just so as I am not the only one breaking the January healthy eating code...

Chocolate Cream Sandwiches
125g Butter, softened
75g icing sugar
115g plain flour
40g Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3.
Place the butter and icing sugar in a bowl, and beat until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and cinnamon into the mixture and mix to form a dough.
Place the dough between 2 sheets of baking paper and roll out (very important, as stops the dough sticking)until dough is 3mm (1/8inch) thick. Cut out rounds (you choose the size!) place on baking sheet and bake for 15 mins, or until firm to touch. Once cool, sandwich together with a filling of your choice (or eat them on their own unsandwiched)

I made a vanilla butter cream icing for the filling (butter, icing sugar, vanilla extract), sorry I don't have measurements for this, I normally just guess the amounts, and it's a good excuse to taste as you go!!

And just to confirm to you that I have defiantly fallen off the January wagon - immediately after making the chocolate biscuits I tried my hand at some shortbread - this is what we had for pudding tonight - well, you need a lift on a Monday night, don't you?

Dressing Up..

2011-01-08T19:23:00.002Z

The Internet, and in particular other blogs are a great source of creative inspiration to me, often bombarding my mind with so many ideas I suffer from overload. Sometimes you chance upon a photo or image, that just sticks with you, seeping into your brain and motivating you to make a small, but positive change in your life.

The above photo had that effect on me. Taken from my friend Jolene's blog The Precious East, I'm not sure if it was the pelican lamp, the small red case, the pretty tea cup, or just that everything looked so beautifully organised yet still interesting and eclectic. The same day I saw this I started to think about my own 'dressing table' area in my bedroom - basically a dumping ground for toiletries, coins, receipts, make-up, and hair-clips - an uninspiring mess. I headed for the kitchen and plundered my dresser for a few vintage teacups and a cake-stand and with my newly acquired charity shop lamp I set to work trying to make it my small corner of inspiration.

**Photo Update** - Thanks Nana Go-Go, you were in fact right about the mirror x

Visually, it's not as exciting as Jolene's photo, the shade isn't quite right for the lamp, and I probably need a few more saucers and dishes for complete organisation, but it is looking 100% better than before, and I am now wondering why I never bothered with 'mood' lighting before. The cake stand works perfectly for stashing my day-day jewelry and accessories and I have filled the spotty case with my scarfs and crocheted bits and bobs. I have been thinking that this could be visually an interesting project to run with - a collection of photographs of dressing tables - they show you alot about a persons interests and personality - anyone else game for bearing all?