Newcastle Vintage Fashion & Textiles Fair

I love a vintage fair, and when I saw there was one being held in Newcastle the other day, I HAD to go!

I thought it would be a nice day out for me and the bairn and the weather was looking really promising in the morning. I loaded Brodie into the baby carrier and off we went!

The rooms were filled with lots of old dresses, fur coats (probably real - yuck!), jewellery, fabrics and craft accessories. I was in heaven! ... Then Brodie started winging and he wouldn't stop. The place was heaving and rummaging was proving a little difficult. I came across a beautiful vintage lace wedding dress, but no I didn't buy it, that's just a little creepy! 

Found a few nice pieces and went upstairs to try them on but the LO just would not settle at all, so mummy had to buy blind and get out fast. Absolutely pouring outside, made a mad dash for the car, baby in toe and headed home.

Note to self, never go to a rummage fest alone with your 10 week old child!

All was not lost though, when I tried on the dress at home it actually fit really well and will last me for years and years to come! 

Sunderland Vintage and Retro Festival next month :) 

New Makes - Reusable Wipes & Taggie!

I spotted online recently this thing called a Taggie. It's basically a square of fabric with ribbons around the outside and designed to keep babies amused by the loops, colours and textures. Decided to have a bash at it myself and got some lovely soft minky fabric, skulls cotton, various ribbons and cut out a square from the bag you get in a cereal box, to make it sound all crinkly when the Taggie is grasped.

Was a really quick make and was pleased with the results! Can't believe websites are charging up to £20 for these!!

Another expensive thing I was refusing to fork out for was reusable wipes! We acquired some baby washcloths in pretty patterns but they were really thin and just lying around in his changer drawer unused. Decided to back them with white cotton terry and sew around the edges. Et Voila! Cheap terry/flannel baby wipes! 

Now all I do is soak them in a solution of water, organic baby wash and a few drops tea tree oil, wring them out and store in a small wet bag, ready for use! Cheep and environmentally friendly :)

REVIEW - Ewan The Dream Sheep

Can this little lamb really send your baby to sleep? For Brodie it's a big bleating yes!

Ewan is a soft, cuddly sheep with a warm glowing heart. It has four different sounds that stay on for 20minutes. A Velcro fastening tail allows you to dangle him safely in baby's cot/crib/Moses basket without the risk of suffocation.

I was a tad sceptical when I read about Ewan, he got a lot of mixed reviews but I love him, he's really squishy and soft and will be great for years beyond birth when Brodie starts to cuddle into things for comfort. I find that if little legs is fighting sleep, I put Ewan on and within the 20 minute timer he is gone!

Only gripe I have is that you have to supply your own batteries to get any proper use out of it and the ones that it comes with only gives you a "trial" of each sound which lasts about a minute.

Here's the evidence of Ewan's power on my baby....

Like Pokemon, But For Mums

My cloth nappy addiction is getting a bit out of hand now, but alas, I have found a new hobby... NAPPY TRADING!

Have been at it for a day now on Baby Centre, they have a special Pre Loved Cloth Nappy group. its a bit exclusive and you have to be 'accepted' onto the board, i feel somewhat privileged! Trying to trade bits of what I have for new stuff I want to try. It's quite cutthroat, lots of mums all wanting the same ones or specific colours. Trading your "shineys" (excellent used/new nappies) for "doublers" (not so new nappies).

Learning new jargon like EEEUC (excellent excellent excellent used condition), VGUC (Very good used condition), AOI (all in one nappy)... And so on.

Gotta catch 'em all.

REVIEW - Tots Bots Bamboozle Stretch

Bombproof!

The Bamboozle stretch is a birth to potty 2 parter shaped nappy made with bamboo. It's boasts super absorbency and being soft against babies skin.

I love that it comes in 6 different rainbow shades (even if they are covered over by a wrap) or natural white/cream if you prefer. The super stretchy leg gussets and back panel mean that you get a more snug yet comfortable looking fit. The bamboo is super absorbent and so far had no leaky pooplosions! I love the snap in bamboo booster which stays in place even with my wiggly bum child!

They do require a wrap to be put over and while the bamboozles are so comfy looking, the Tots Bots flexi wraps were not. I got 4 wraps with my kit but they looked like they were cutting into little ones legs and torso, plus they did not contain the bamboozle too well and it kept poking out through the leg holes causing leaks. I prefer to use a Blueberry coverall as it has the double leg gussets, perfect for containment!

Only gripe I have with the actual bamboozles is the drying time... They take forever (up to a day and a half) to line dry indoors. I have 20 though, so plenty more to use while I'm waiting.

All in all, I love my bamboozles, they're so soft, highly absorbent and come in pretty colours! :)

Ratings -

Bamboozle
Absorbency - *****
Containment - *****
Drying time - **
Cuteness - ****
Comfort - *****

Flexi wrap
Absorbency - na
Containment - **
Drying Time - *****
Cuteness - ****
Comfort - *

You Go... No You Go... Ok I'll Go!

It's a common sight in this household to be up in the middle of the night feeding this hungry Bairn! Every night I wake up hearing him fidget and snort because he's hungry, look at the clock and hope that he's made it through the night for the first time. No such luck yet, I guess it will come with time, although tonight he has gone just over 5 hours, which is somewhat of an achievement. Yay for sleep!

Routine - wake, get up, let the dogs out the back, make bottle, nappy change, feed (while playing candy crush saga or trailing Baby Centre), SLEEP!

This time 2 years ago you'd never willingly catch me up at this hour on a Sunday morning, unless I was paralytic, stoatin' in from some club and clutching a half eaten tray of chips, cheese and/or gravy.. I'm so rock and roll now :)

BARGAIN! Famous Daves Self Tan

Got it from Debenhams for £7.65 reduced from £25.52! Just so happens the one I picked, the pumps broke! Still gives me a lovely tan though :)

My Baby Boys New Knitted Shorts

I'm absolutely addicted to cloth nappies! We started on them a few weeks ago and I love seeing his little squishy bum in them. I started off with a maxi pack of rainbow Tots Bots Bamboozle Stretchies (which are awesome by the way and the company based in my home town of Glasgow - www.totsbots.com) and then I have slowly (lie - more like quickly) been adding to my collection.

I caught wind of such a thing as a wool soaker and at first thought, what the hell is this and how would this stop leaks from getting through his cloth bum nappies? Turns out the wool evaporates liquid as fast as it absorbs it, or something like that. Anyway, I thought I'd make one of the wool soaker things.

Trying to find a 100% wool yarn that's not superwash (which I found out after I was half way through the shorts :() was pretty hard in the local area. So the wool soaker turned into just regular shorts, but they still look cute I think, plus 100% merino wool so they are lovely and soft. Wool was on deal at £3 for 50g from my local wool store.

I've now started making a blue pair, just in time for summer :)

Here's the pattern I used, I can't take full credit for its cuteness,
http://punk-knitters.livejournal.com/110889.html

Bonjour, Guten Tag, Hola... HELLO!

Welcome to my blog! Inspired by my Auntie-in-law Sue and her crafty blog which I can't find the address for. I'll get it later.

I'm 27, from Glasgow but living in the north east with my other half Andy and our gorgeous baby boy Brodie who's just 9 weeks old!

I love all things crafty, vintage, baby related, animal related and that's about it really! I started my blog to let you see all my crafty makes, tell my baby stories and really just to vent about everyday life!

I hope you enjoy reading :))

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