Grandma's Poetry Book by Di Castle

When I was asked to review ‘Grandmas Poetry Book’ I wasn’t sure what to expect. As a ‘journey through the eyes of a grandmother’ I didn’t know if I would be the right readership. However, this book has had a profound effect on me and prompted me to connect with some thoughts and feelings that I hadn’t yet explored.

Making Home Link Up #18: Dining in Style With Our Duckydora Amalfi Dinner Set

Welcome to the #MakingHome weekly link up!

Be inspired by posts all about home; moving house, home decor, DIY, crafts, family activities, recipes, gardening and more. It’s all here under one roof at Mrs Crafty B’s.

Don't forget to join in this week and link up your own posts. The linky is open from Friday until Tuesday. Find out how to take part at the end of this post. 

Our home is an eclectic mix of things collected over the years from various points in our lives and places we have visited. Something they all have in common is the feeling of happy. We enjoy bringing in pretty things to make us smile and making things personal. Everything tells a story, holds a memory or gives us a simple pleasure. Our collection of dinner ware has grown in the years since we were students (a longer time than I care to recall) and although we have fond memories of those days, they aren't pretty to look at. As big foodies, I have been waiting eagerly to replace our chipped mismatching plates with a nice dinner set that we can enjoy. When I was asked to consider some handmade items by Duckydora, I jumped at the chance.

My Cake Addiction: Cake by Post with Baker Days

If you are not already familiar with my relationship with cake, let me enlighten you. I love cake. Like a lot. Baking it, buying it, eating it, whenever or why ever. there is no occasion that need not be celebrated with cake. Now that we have that straight, I shall tell you that when I was asked to try out a cake via post (like through my letter box) I wasn't too sure I could get on board with that concept. Firstly, how in the heck does a cake survive being posted?

The Making Home Link Up #15: How to Clean Your Oven

Welcome to the #MakingHome weekly link up!

Be inspired by posts all about home; moving house, decorating, DIY, handmade for home, crafts, family activities, recipes, gardening and more.

Don't forget to join in this week and add your own posts if you are a blogger. You can find out how at the end of this post. 

First up, a little bit of an update from me.

The new year has given me a bit of a boost. 2015 was a bit glum on my part and I lacked motivation to achieve in all aspects of life. It is totally cliche but 2016 has brought with it a new determination to drive my business forward (Hello My PA), spend more quality time with my lovely family and to make our home beautiful. I don't really make 'resolutions' as such but I am determined to get my mojo back and find the old me! 

So last week I launched #CraftyBs online and now I have no excuse not to make time for myself to indulge in a hobby. Our routine at #CraftyBs HQ has changed up a little bit, allowing me to get focused and Hubby B and I have started a little bit of home organisation and spring cleaning. Not bad for only 15 days into the year right? 

There are things in the house that have been a bit neglected since we moved in, one of them being the oven. It is very well used and the build up of roast dinners, weekly teas, baking and of course Christmas cooking was making me cringe a little. I had a little dig around in our cleaning box (I totally have one of those) and I found something that meant I could literally (I kid you not) wipe this stuff of with a damp cotton cloth! 

A Snowflake DIY Crystal Card Kit by Craft Buddy : A Review

I have found something special. Something sparkly, therapeutic, nostalgic and just downright pretty! I have been using a DIY Crystal Card Kit by Craft Buddy and I literally could not wait to tell you about it. 

What to Do in Birmingham with ICHF and Travelodge Hotels

Most of you will know by now that I like getting out and about around the UK. I can't claim to be well travelled across the globe but I love visiting places big and small across the UK especially when there is something going on the get involved in.

With the ICHF Craft shows at the NEC each year and with lots going on as the UK second biggest city, a trip to the City of Birmingham is a must. In the past I have visited the Bullring shopping centre, The Museum and Art Gallery, browsed the Christmas market and I am no stranger to the NEC.

Evolving Cities: How Birmingham Has Changed Over the Years

A Snowflake Ornament Kit by Riverside Beads: A Review

This year I have a new ornament hanging on my Christmas tree. It was not made without difficulties (I can assure you) but this beautiful snowflake ornament was made with a kit by Riverside Beads.

A Crafty Sparkly Christmas with Pink Pear Bear

Today for #CraftyChristmas we are joined by the lovely Louise of Pink Pear Bear who is giving us a lesson or two in making Christmas crafty and sparkly. What more could you want?! Louise is drawing inspiration from this fabulous looking Usborne book '100 Christmas things to make and do'.

I'm lucky enough to have several shelves jammed full of craft idea books, many of which are kiddy ones, as I can't resist when I see an offer on. In actual fact, all the ideas came from just one book. It was small and light enough to take out and I ended up finding so much in there I didn't even need to look at the others.

My craft bible for this post.

A Craft Box Subscription for #MiniMakers: A JacDo Review

Over the last few weeks my #MiniMakers have had the pleasure of dipping in and out of their very own JacDo 'treasure chest'. If you haven't yet discovered JacDo; this is one not to miss. Especially with Christmas around the corner.

Halloween 2015 With Dylon

Here at Crafty B's HQ we are big fans of dressing up. The Little Bs have a dedicated storage unit in their room with all manner of costumes and items to use in role play. With a few ideas of what the Little Bs might like I was keen to find out what Dylon had come up with for this years Halloween palette. I was not disappointed. 

Scenting Your Home: Forbidden Fruits GloLite, Warm Hearts Tealight Holder and Iced Snowberries Tealights; A PartyLite Review

I recently conducted an online poll in which over 45% of the participants said that fragrant candles were their favourite way of scenting their home. I only ever use fragrant candles but alongside scent, the warm glow of a candle adds something extra to a cosy evening in. Being a fan of lighting candles in the home for various occasions I was excited to be asked to review some products by PartyLite. 

How to Make a Pom Pom Rain Cloud

You may remember a few months ago that I acquired a neat little gadget that gave me the ability to make up to 20 pom poms in one go. The Multipom has been hiding away for a short while with the busy summer we have had at Crafty B's HQ but the list of pom pom projects is ever growing. In this post I am going to give you a little instruction on how to make a cute little rain cloud with all those pom poms you will be making. Perfect with the coming of September. See, rain isn't all bad! 

Making The Weekly Shopping Quicker and Easier with the New Capitan List App

Over the summer holidays, the weekly shopping routine got to be a bit hectic. We were making more than one trip over a few days, going for random things, doubling up by accident and forgetting various items. Now the new term has started and I am working regularly, I don't have time to not be organised. So imagine my excitement when I was asked to try out a brand new list app, Capitan. We all know I love a good list! 

The new Capitan List App

Rose Gold Plated Star Charms Bracelet: Jewellery Maker Kit Review

I love trying all sorts of crafts as you will all know; but jewellery making is something I hadn't yet tried my hand at. It always seemed like you had to have an awful lot of bits and bobs with beads being sold in bulk and wires in metre roles and I never really wanted to commit; especially if it was making something that I wouldn't necessarily wear. Then I was given the opportunity to try out making my own jewellery with a kit by Jewellery Maker.

I Need moremags.com!

During my browsing time at the ICHF craft shows, I was drawn to a stand which had magazines laid out with crafty kits as a bonus. I got chatting with the lovely folks from Practical Publishing and I am now familiar with moremags.com (which you should check out). Not only were they selling copies of lovely magazines, there were lots of crafts kits up for grabs from past issues of various publications.

Although I do a lot of online browsing (obviously), I am a big fan of books and magazines. There's nothing like a good sit down with a cuppa and a mag and being able to pop an actual marker in for your next project! Fully armed with reading material for the train on the way home from the show, I started browsing and decided that I would tell you a bit about the publications I have now discovered; just in case you hadn't heard of them yet! It is worth noting here that it you still do prefer doing everything online, there are a lot of digital subscriptions via moremags.com 

The publications offered are essentials for crafters, covering things from knitting to paper craft, sewing and stitching. I'm going to kick of with a new sewing magazine…

Top Notch Sleep With Premier Inn NEC

Whenever my family and I travel, we stay at a Premier Inn. We have always received good customer service, a delivery on the promise of a good nights sleep where other guests aren't so considerate and they are always situated in good, convenient locations.

This was also true of the Premier Inn, NEC. When I decided I would go to the ICHF Crafts Shows over three days, there was no debating where I would stay. Although it was a walk to the shows due to sheer size of the venue, the Premier Inn is pretty much on site. There were also shuttle buses if you didn't fancy the walk. Although I had travelled by Crosscountry trains, I did note that the hotel was off of a main road. This is always true of Premier Inns which is why they are so convenient and it never fails to amaze me that I never hear any traffic. EVER!

Getting to The ICHF Craft Shows at the NEC with Crosscountry Trains

I haven't travelled on the train for quite a few years! Having become a driver towards the end of university, no longer having lots of long journeys to do and having children, I've never really had the need.

When I decided that I would be going to the ICHF shows at the NEC, I thought that maybe driving would be a bit much; the traffic, navigating, parking etc, so I logged into my old Crosscountry account to find out whether I could get there by train.

Mollie Makes Boho Feather Necklace Kit from Immediate Media Co

During my browsing of all of the fab exhibitors at the ICHF Craft Shows, I discovered the Immediate Media Co stand. Hubby B has a huge collection of Gardeners World Magazine and I love Mollie Makes and Craftseller, so I was straight over to see what was going on!

As well as offering 'at show only' subscription deals they were handing out a free gift! I grabbed mine immediately (pun intended) to discover it was a Mollie Makes kit (designed by Charlotte Smith of Lotts and Lots.) I'm looking forward to having a play with this and showing you the results!

Not only do Immediate Media Co offer great subscriptions on these particular craft magazines above, they have a whole host of others that are also present on my book shelf; such as Love Knitting for Baby, Love Crochet (obviously), Good Food and even some non-craft related titles such as You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby and Pregnancy.

Multiple Pom Poms with Multipom!

A short while ago, I told you all that I would be tracking down a company called Multipom at the ICHF shows at the NEC. I did indeed track them down and as mentioned in this post they made good on the promise of being able to create up to 20 pom poms at a time! Although the little gadget I had previously makes a quick pom pom, I could still only do one at a time and this product allows you to get multiple pom poms of equal size!

The Multipom maker was one of the best things I acquired at the weekend and Sue and Ellie were two of the nicest people that I met over the three days that I was there.

I was in complete awe of the demonstration as Sue showed us how the frame worked sat amongst a beautiful display of all things pom pom! (I was so distracted that I forgot to take a picture of their beautiful stand! Doh!)

A Fabulous Crafternoon with Hillarys Blinds, The Crafty Hen and Joe Blogs

Yesterday I ventured out into a world outside of my (much loved) Little B's and the laptop. For the past few months I have been communicating with anyone and everyone via the internet and thinking about my blog and my new business venture. I had yet to take that step back into the world of networking, meeting people and not hiding behind the screen, pram and my boys. I actually had to be myself; whats more, people didn't throw things at me! Score.

So, where did I go you're all wondering. I headed down to Chapter in Cardiff to #HillarysCrafternoon. This was an event organised by @joesbloggers and hosted by them alongside @hillarysblinds and @the_crafty_hen.