Great Balls Of Twine

Twine. I love twine. I have loads of twine. I am a twine addict.

And so I made these... decorative twine balls

I have seen them in Department Stores, adorning furniture, so I tried making my own.

Balloons, twine, PVA glue, paper clips and the garage washing line...

Oh and I forgot, patience too!

I applied the glue bit by bit. I found this the less messiest way.

As I wrapped the twine around the balloon, I wasn't convinced it would work, but I carried on regardless - hopeful that I would be proven wrong.

I was allowed access to my husband's garage (!) to hang them to dry, using the pegs to stop them sliding down the line.

I left them overnight and after bursting the balloons and pulling them out of the twine...

Voilà!

Considering I was unsure, I was quite pleased with the finished product

Think I may use the idea for some fairy light covers this Christmas ... watch this space 

****Linking up at these sites

Hello Summer! Finally...

We're used to unpredictable weather here in England, but this summer has taken the mickey just a bit! Last time we had great weather, I blogged about it. That was 20th May 2012! This weekend, summer has finally graced us with His presence (I say 'His' because if summer was a 'She', we would have a wonderful few months every year without fail!)

We spent what seemed an age digging up weeds and pruning the hedges to reveal the view from our garden.

The recent warmth and sunshine has also enticed the roses out and I didn't realise what lovely colours we have in our garden. I am not a 'gardener', so if you know what variety of rose these are, let me know.

I type with a red glow on my body - sitting out crocheting in the sun for a little too long it seems. But I got carried away with the music playing from my ipod and a cheeky drink ;)

As the sun set, out came my crochet tea light holders and the chimnea - come on, you didn't think the warmth would last into the evening, did you??! 

Our chimnea was bought with gift vouchers from our wedding back in November 2010. It's one of the best things we've ever purchased, enabling us to sit outside 'til late, feeling snug and warm. It also gives David the opportunity to be a boy scout again...

Mr Summer, please don't leave it so long to visit again, David and Karen miss you!

Strawberry Fields Forever

When the forecast is showers, it's difficult to know where to go for a day out! This weekend we have had our nieces and nephew to stay. I figured if we were going to go out in the rain and mud, we may as well go out for something we can eat! So a trip to Gorst Hill Farm seemed the perfect destination.

Pick your own fruit!

Neither myself, David nor the kids (Ellen, Maria and Sam) had been before, so this was a brand new experience for us all.

We chose to pick strawberries, raspberries and gooseberries. I think strawberries were our favourite as we picked far more of those!

The kids couldn't wait to get the punnets weighed so we could get home to wash the fruit and introduce it to ice cream.

It may have rained a little and we may have had to tackle muddy pathways, but we had a fun time and something far more satisfying than a fridge magnet to take home as a souvenir - even if it didn't last long!

Beach Boy

During our stay in Cornwall last week, my husband faced his fears and went into the sea! David only ever paddles, so for him to go Body Boarding took a lot of courage!

The wetsuit was on ... he smiled ... then started to get a little nervous...

I followed him down to the beach to laugh take some photographs. From a distance I could see he had made it into the water, just.

Time to face his fears and get in above the knees!

I could only imagine how cold the water was as I sat on the rocks, wrapped up warm, enjoying the view

David well and truly faced his fears and made me very proud

I think he was proud of himself too!