A sweet makeup case for teacher, what we did on our holidays and win win wins!!!

Unfortunately I'm not getting much done at the moment. 

Its the school holidays, which of course means I'm either at work, or looking after mine, and possibly other peoples children. I cannot do ANYTHING with children in the house, as I'm either cleaning up their mess, cooking their food, pumping up paddling pools or similar, or responding to 'muuuuuuum' or 'Lyynnnnnnn' followed by 'can I have this/Joeys hitting me/its my turn on the tablet/can you help me with this' and so on...

Anyway. I did get a superquick makeup bag made for Joeys teacher who has been great with him this year. These are so quick and easy and look much more professional if you box the corners. 

My mum sent me the external fabric which has a linen feel. The lining came from Japan (I had an etsy spree). The 'handmade' zip pull is from Emmaline Bags (also available from Bobbin Girl in the UK)

In other news, we've done our best with the british weather. Some days were good - like when the Huntingdon churches laid on this beach in the town centre, as well as free entertainment and food. It was very windy, but the sun came out.

We have of course, been to the woods. Hinchingbrooke Park is always a good option for kids.

They have cheap inflatables and fun stuff outside the garden centre too. 5 quid for endless bouncy castles, trampolines, and boating? ok then.

There was of course our camping holiday last weekend in Norfolk, which we cut short, because it rained endlessly.

Made more bearable because of a) the outdoor pool right next to our tent which the kids loved even though it wasn't that warm and b) being able to meet up with my lovely friends Anna and Nic and their spouses and children - I still have no plans to attempt camping again any time soon. 

Give me a hotel room any day :)

vintage tea room in Swaffham

Dressing like an Egyptian in Swaffham museum

At http://www.greenbritaincentre.co.uk/

In the tent. 

Little Egyptians

Oh and I nearly forgot - I've been winning some prizes lately too!!

I sadly didn't get to go to the British Belles picnic in the park, but I did win this lovely combo in their raffle:

Prize courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/AudreyStarsBoutique and https://www.facebook.com/thebritishbelles. 

The Bag of the Month prize winners have been selected.
Sadly I didn't win any of the prizes over the 6 months - although my vinyl companion bag was a finalist for the January prize - see http://handmadebymrsh.blogspot.co.uk/…/2015-finalists-bag-o….

However, I did randomly win a prize for my small companion https://www.flickr.com/…/1630776…/in/pool-bagofthemonthclub/  which was a $50 gift certificate for fabric.com (guess what they sell?!!) - which is a huge yey (as long as the delivery, customs and handling fees aren't larger than that LOL)

Full winners list here: http://sewsweetness.com/…/bag-of-the-month-club-winners.html

Well done to all the winners. Go have a look in the album at everyones entries:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/bagofthemonthclub/

Finally, I  won a bundle of beautiful fabric from the Sewing Directory!!

Bagmaking: The Seneca Creek Mint Glitter Flamingo bag!

There's a lovely little independent shop in Huntingdon called the Parsley Pot, which sadly I don't think its going to be open much longer. The back of the shop is now empty and they are selling off display goods.

Amongst the shelving and jewellery bits was a large roll of mint green glittery fabric. I don't know exactly what it is - its not like vinyl as its textured, and thinner (more deco weight) but I think its made of glitter thread as its like its woven in. 

I didn't buy it the first time. I went home. And I mulled on it. And a couple of weeks later I went back in.

It was still there, and it was marked at twenty quid for 3 metres, so I bought it.  I have all sorts of plans for it!

This is the first incarnation. I've had my eye on this 100% cotton flamingo fabric for a while, and I thought it would go lovely with the mint, so I printed out the May Bag of the Month Pattern

This is a sweet little convertible bag which can be worn over the shoulder, or around the waist if preferred.

It has an inner zipped pocket and and outer pocket with a magnetic snap.

The buckle is just for show!

I really like this combination, and I really love that glitter and I already have its next incarnation planned!

Sadly my Pfaff has broken again though, so I'm using the backup machine. Its quite hard work when you're used to precision and quiet, but beggars can't be choosers :)