Making - An Update

I have been making, and no, I haven't been blogging, not here anyway! I've had many distractions this last few months, one major one being the business my husband and I are setting up called Cocooned.

After caring for our daughter in hospital, having had two open heart surgeries and numerous other surgeries, it became apparent that dressing your child under these circumstances is extremely difficult, and so, we designed clothing that will help families in this situation.

We're still working on the design and should be moving into manufacture soon (fingers crossed).

So as well as making things, designing clothing and doing 'business stuff' I've also been over at the Cocooned blog, blogging about support for families who are caring for their child in hospital.


Boy have I been making though! What have I been making? Well, I have recently knit my first pair of socks!! Oh my gosh, that was terribly exciting, so exciting I've since made a second pair and am chomping at the bit to make a third!

My First Ever Pair of Socks! - Three Colour Socks

2nd Pair of Socks! - Purl Soho Pom Pom Socklets 
(sans pom poms!)
Yarn from We Love Knitting

I've made a stack of little cup cosies to support Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) research,  You may remember my post on Mel's Hats for Aleshia campaign. Well now Mel has a new campaign called Cup of Hope. Make sure you are following her on Instagram so you can get your hands on one of hers (or my) cup cosies. 

A fantastic stocking stuffer and a great cause to support. I've made my own pattern in 8ply (DK) yarn and when I get the opportunity, I will pop it up on the blog.

Stack of Cosies

Sweet!

Other makes... Baby blanket for an adorable new little man, an octopus, mittens for Lion and the Snail, a tea cosy, as well as a little (mini) faux taxidermy triceratops and a giant doughnut (really should have photographed them side by side)!

Baby Blanket - My own Pattern

Octopus - Pattern from Purl Soho
My design is a smaller version. 8ply on smaller needles.

My own baby mitten designs!
You can find them at Lion and the Snail

Skipping Girl Tea Cosy
This was my own design from an existing pattern

Mini mini Faux taxidermy Triceratops!
Pattern by Sincerely Louise. 
Made with 10 ply (Aran) on 4mm needles

Pattern from Donna Wilson's Book;
 35 knitted animals and other creatures
(or doughnuts I guess!)

Yipes, it's all very knitty, isn't it?! I do have some sewing projects I really want to get to, Mum and I did make some sewn fish together (to become Christmas decorations) that was fun.

Catch of the day!! Pattern from the book Tilda's Toy Box

I also managed a Hammered Leatherworks Whisk Luggage Tag. Which I haven't whisked away for any major holidaying as yet...

I did made a monkey 4th birthday cake too.

Monkey Cake!

Plus, thanks to the CWA, I got myself a new crafty skill. Japanese braiding or Kumihimo. 

So easy and so addictive! My 5 year old loved it too

So as far as my 2016 'challenge', make 12 items in 12 months, by my count, I've already done it! Not much of a challenge though is it?! I think I need to up my game for 2017...

Seriously, a big handmade challenge for 2017, any ideas?

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Hot Air Balloon Cake

Balloon! I loved this cake

This cake I made for Arthur's first birthday (2 and a half years ago) has been quite popular from my previous post. So I thought I'd give it a bit more attention by adding a little 'how to'. It is a very easy cake to make. 

Concentration!

You can make whatever flavoured cake you choose. For this one, I made one of my favourites, an apricot chocolate chip cake. Yum, it's a good one.

Some hot air balloon cakes use a square basket (cake), I found the round one to be just as simple and perhaps a little more appealing. 

To decorate the basket I used a simple chocolate buttercream icing then placed the raspberry milk chocolate coated bullets as shown to get the basket weave effect. You can use liquorice, again it all depends on the flavours you like. 

I dug a small hole out of the top of the cake and filled it with smarties and the candle. 

Under the paper straws, I placed bamboo skewers. I was able to dig these into the cake to keep them in place. 

At the top is a paper lantern. You can get these in every colour under the sun and I think it has a nicer effect (and is reusable and better for the environment) than a rubber balloon. Also, when you light the candle underneath, you're not going to have melty poppy balloon issues!

I think it's my most favourite kids cake that I've made to date. Quite possibly the easiest too.

Have you ever made an easy, yet effective kids cake?!

That Takes The Cake

Cakes! I love making cakes, especially for my kids. At the moment I'm gearing up for my daughter's christening this weekend which has a 'woodland' theme. I have all my bits and pieces collected and the cake is cooked and in the freezer... how it will turn out, we shall see.

The first kids cake I can remember making was for my little sister, I would've been probably about 12 at the time. It was the ice cream cone castle out of the women's weekly cookbook (I now own my very own copy of this book, love it!)

Women's Weekly Castle Cake

The next kids cake I can remember making was about three years ago for my eldest son's christening. Not the best job ever, however I have since taken a class and honed my skills somewhat.

Felix's Christening Cake

Rose - My Threadcakes 2011 Entry

This cake I made as an entry to the Threadcakes competition, and as a birthday cake for a friend. For Threadcakes, you take an image from a Threadless tee and make it into a cake! I actually 'traced' over the image with melted chocolate and the roses are coloured white chocolate. I was so impressed by the end result, however the competition is fierce with lots of very skilled fondant wielders so this has been my first and only attempt


Felix's first birthday cake wasn't the masterpiece I had envisioned as by this stage, I was suffering morning sickness with our second. Felix loved dogs, and this is what he ended up with... not that he cared what it looked like!

Felix's First Birthday Cake

By Felix's Second Birthday he loved Trains

Toot Two Train Cake

For his 3rd he asked for a 'Red Car Cake' that's what he got, inside and out. He had never seen the movie Cars by the way, he's just been subjected to advertising. I bought the matchbox cars to stick on top and hastily whacked it together (at this stage Sophie was in hospital and had been for a month).

The Red Car Cake

Poor Felix has ended up with a few slapdash cakes. Arthur hasn't done too badly so far. I was pretty pleased with his christening cake.

Arthur's Christening Cake

His first Birthday cake was a simple hot air balloon. ** Edit 2016; see new post for a 'how to' on this yummy cake!** I was pretty pleased with how that turned out too.

Arthur's 1st Birthday Balloon
See more on this cake here

Arthur's 2nd birthday is next month and I already have the cake mind. He is teddy bear mad!