Crochet Catch Up – Granny Square Project

Crafts / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I figured it was time for a bit of a crochet catch up following my Granny Square Blanket post. Almost 2 months since I started but we all know I’m slow with projects! Most of the time it’s down to my indecisiveness, I hate making decisions and never know what colours or patterns to use. Luckily this time I used a fantastic pattern generator Mrs A from Hooks & Dragons (My crochet guru!) passed on to me. Using that plus some input from Izzy the granny square blanket I ended up with the pattern below.

Crochet catch up - granny square project

After finding myself motivated enough to keep on top of blogging, I shared a post of 10 blogging tips to stay motivated  of course that meant I then lost my motivation. Or rather I quickly found myself falling behind again as I became more motivated to crochet instead.
Granny square project in progress

 

I was ferociously crocheting granny squares for quite a while and the blanket began to grow quite quickly. I picked up a second hook in the same size to pop in my handbag with a small ball of wool for journeys. It really helps my anxiety & passes time quite quickly, the drive to the Rochester Dickens Festival went so fast whilst I crocheted another square.

Using the 4 colours has worked better than I expected though and even though I hate pink, I do love the way this blanket is working up! I have really enjoyed working on this blanket, Until I ran out of purple & blue wool! Now I’m at a bit of a standstill until I have bought more tomorrow.. One day I will learn to always pick up extra haha!

Working out the pattern means I know exactly how many squares of each colour scheme I need. Which also means it will be easier to continue once I have more wool. I am keeping track of the pattern so I can make another similar one for Eva too.

I’m currently around halfway through the blanket!

I still need to work out a border to finish it off, any suggestions? I’m not sure which colour or pattern to use for the border. I’m hoping to have the blanket finished by the end of summer. A nice slow easier project I can pick up & put down easily has been just what I needed. I will definitely be making more granny square projects!

So there you go a little crochet catch up for my readers. What have you been working on recently?  What do you think of the blanket? 

Grays Fire Museum 10th Anniversary Open Day

Days Out and Events / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple
Grays fire museum 10th anniversary open day

On Saturday we took the girls to the Grays Fire Museum 10th anniversary open day. They regularly hold open days but we usually can’t make it for some reason or another but we finally made it. We got there fairly early and stopped to watch the sky lift being moved which the girls really enjoyed watching.

Sky Lift

We headed inside the museum afterwards and found a fantastic display of vintage fire extinguishers. I especially love the Winhams 1950’s fire extinguisher and the L & G 1960’s fire extinguisher. I do love vintage exhibits like this. They are so fascinating seeing the differences over time.

Vintage fire extinguishers  

Whilst I was checking out the fire extinguishers Izzy was a little worried about a mannequin.. at least I thought he was a mannequin until he moved! You may have seen My Sunday Photo – The Moving Mannequin.. kind of creepy!?

Once Izzy ws over the mannequin she spotted these cool lanterns and was quite intrigued by them. I love the old photo’s that accompany the exhibits, they really helped the girls understand how certain things were used & what they did.

Lanterns

The wall’s around the museum and above all the display cases were littered with badges, helmets, photo’s and signs amongst other interesting items. It really was amazing to see so much history on display at the Grays fire museum. The girls seemed to really enjoy seeing the different helmets and fire engines that have been used over the years.

The walls of Grays Fire Museum

There were lots of boards filled with pictures, news clippings and information everywhere. The Grays fire museum have an impressive collection of memories & exhibits with some fantastic volunteers who were happy to answer questions too.

Displays

Eva and I continued to wander around the exhibits and came across another mannequin. This time it was definitely a mannequin.. we double checked! Eva nervously braved a picture with him haha!

Next we came across this brilliant display where a guy pressed the smoke button getting Eva to shout ‘Smoke! Behind you!’. Eva found the display really interesting looking at the gas mask especially but she didn’t seem too sure about the baby being inside one though!

Display

Fire Engines

We wandered around the small but full museum for quite some time. Looking at a range of equipment dating back well over 100 years used by the Essex fire service. The old fire brigade carts and vehicles were absolutely stunning, most in fantastic condition still too!

The girls as fire fighters!

The girls were fascinated by the different fire engines too, there were several different types parked up. They jumped at the chance of sitting in one of the modern fire engines just before we left. 2 volunteers helped the girls sit down and offered them helmets to wear which they happily accepted. Izzy was a little unsure because of the weight of the helmet but they both loved it.

We probably spent about an hour or so at the museum absorbing information & taking far too many pictures. I would definitely recommend anyone with an interest in the history of the Essex fire service going to the next open day at the Grays fire museum as it is wonderfully interesting with so many different exhibits.

Would you find the Grays fire museum interesting?

My Sunday Photo – The Moving Mannequin

Days Out and Events / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

The moving mannequin is this weeks #MySundayPhoto taken at the Grays Fire Museum 10th anniversary open day!

We had a fantastic day which I’ll share with you all tomorrow but for now.. guess which one isn’t a mannequin??

Mannequin or not?

Can you figure out which one is the moving mannequin?

 

Photalife

Learning Origami With The Girls

Crafts / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I’ve been learning Origami with the girls after the Mr picked up an Origami tricks book for Eva. I remembered spotting Origami paper in the craft section & picked up 2 packs of 120 coloured square sheets of paper. The girls love sitting and making things and Origami seemed something fun but easy to clear up after. Win!

Fortune tellers were something everyone could make when I was at school & I remember spending hours making and playing with them. The book showed how to make Fortune Tellers amongst other things & I made one to show Eva. She was really interested in making a ship’s wheel. The Mr sat with her and helped her a little bit and she soon proudly presented her ships wheel.

Ship's wheel origami

Izzy wanted me to make a frog she found in the book so I gave it a go. Feeling pleased with my first attempt I made a second one as Izzy wanted her frog to have a sister. She spent a whole morning playing with the frogs, making them hop & flip everywhere.

Frog Origami

 

 

Origami Animals

After making the frogs I decided I wanted to learn more Origami tricks so had a look around for some tutorials. I ended up making a cat & a dog whilst Izzy & the Mr went shopping haha! The cat most definitely needs improving but the dog didn’t turn out too bad. Izzy was impressed at least when she returned to find them lined up on the arm of the sofa waiting for her!

Cat Origami

Dog Origami

 

 

There are so many Origami tutorials online from book animals, bookmarks, characters, flowers and more! We ended up making a ladybird and bookmarks too. In just one day we managed to make quite a few different things.

Origami Makes

I love how simple some of these are to make and can see us having fun learning new Origami makes for quite some time. Such a cheap and fun activity to do with the kids!

 

Have you learnt Origami before? What I your best make to date?

 

Rochester Dickens Festival 2017

Days Out and Events / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

We spent Sunday at the Rochester Dickens Festival with Martyn & the boys, enjoying the sunshine, actors, music, food & scenery. It was the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Medway so there was plenty going on in Rochester & surrounding areas for the entire weekend.

Rochester Dickens Festival

Rochester Dickens Festival

After attending the Medway English Festival with Martyn and the boys we were looking forward to joining them again for a lovely day out. With a nice early start we managed to get to Rochester just before everything started, giving us plenty of time to have a slow wander around.

Actors

We came across some brilliant actors over the course of the day but the first Fagin we bumped into Izzy absolutely loved! She couldn’t wait to get in a picture with him, sitting on his knee. He was wandering around looking for the owner of the lost pants in his hand.

We found another Fagin a little while later too and all the kids jumped in for a picture this time! Both actors were fantastic and really interacted with the kids which was brilliant. It was nice to see the girls enjoying the characters too although Eva was a little worried about the clock face guy!

There were so many different Dickens characters wandering around and people who simply dressed up and joined in too. It made the day quite fun having different characters chatting to us & the girls really seemed to enjoy it. Eva was a little unsure about a few costumes but still enjoyed herself.

Performances

Dancing

We stopped to watch the dancing which was absolutely fantastic and Izzy especially loved it, joining in with her own little dance too. Moving on we came across these actors singing ‘Beer Beer Beer’ an ode to Charlie Mops the inventor of beer!

charlie mops beer beer beer

Everyone joined in with the chorus which was quite fun even though it was a small group as it was still fairly early in the day. It was interesting to see so many different characters up to different things. We’re definitely interested in going to the Rochester Dickens Festival again next year so we can catch more of them!

Grand Parade

Next we watched the parade with bagpipes playing & a range of characters, I loved this purple dress! I had to get a video of it all as there were some fab costumes. Most of the Actors were really amusing & played the role so well! I had to take a few videos of the parade as it was so fun, here’s one video, you can find the rest on my YouTube channel.

After the parade the boys got stopped by bobbies on stilts! ‘They went that way officer.. honest!’. These guys were hilarious chatting away and asking who the ring leader was haha!

That way officer

 

Food & Drink

After the parade we headed up to the castle, stopping for doughnuts & ice cream. Another vintage ice cream van was selling ice cream, although a little pricey! We then headed up to the castle grounds where tons of stalls were dotted around full of goodies!

 

Cupcakes & cookies

The girls decided they wanted gingerbread men to take home from Cupcakes & cookies which the girls said were delicious! Unfortunately they got a little bashed up in my bag but the girls enjoyed them anyway.

Treats To Take Home

We also popped by Sudzz again to get Eva another super exploding pink bath bomb and some soaps for both girls. Sudzz bath bombs are amazingly explosive & Eva LOVES them! The cute heart soaps are all different scents too.

 

Simply True Jewellery were there too, so we took them all to get another £1 lucky dip. The boys got skull necklaces again but different to their last 2. Eva got a clear heart necklace & Izzy a star necklace. For £1 I’m still can’t get over the quality of the necklaces! At this rate I’ll be ordering a jewellery box just for Jewellery we buy from Simply True Jewellery!

Stopping off for lunch the kids had a picnic whilst Martyn, the Mr & I had chips & burgers from Scoff & Sip.

Having lined our stomachs the Mr was of course on the Goody Ales again. Although Goody Ales themselves weren’t there the beer stall had beers from several breweries.

Goody Ales

Martyn & I headed over to the Kent Cider Company for a delicious Strawberry cider. I’ll definitely be after a bottle to take home next time! Very tasty & certainly packs a punch. I’ve recently lost my love of cider but I think I may have found it again in the strawberry cider.

Kent cider co

 

With the day almost over we had a little look around the castle grounds before dropping the boys off. It was a lovely day all round although quite pricey for rides & treats. Luckily there was enough going on that the kids didn’t moan too much about going on rides.

 

Have you ever been to the Rochester Dickens Festival before or is it something you’d be interested in?

My Sunday Photo -Custom Triumph

Cars and Bikes / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

This week’s #mysundayphoto is a Custom Triumph we saw in town last week. I love the shade of red used on the Triumph and especially love the skulls! The Mr had a chat with the guy who owned it too. I love spotting motorbike’s I haven’t seen around before or customised bikes like this.

 

Custom Triumph

Custom Triumph

Custom Mudguard

Custome Triumph Helmet

What do you think?

Photalife

Hallmark Father’s Day Gift Guide 2017

Gift Guide / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Wondering what to buy for Father’s Day? Hallmark & Tesco are making buying for dad easier this year. With a fantastic choice of gifts & cards available there is a little something for everyone this Father’s day! Father’s day is all about showing dad just how much you care & with a range of personalised gifts and fun cards Hallmark at Tesco make it that bit easier.

Hallmark at tesco fathers day gift guide

Hallmark Cards At Tesco

Hallmark’s choice of cards ranging from £1 – £4 are brilliant, with different styles & sizes available including cards for stepdad’s & granddad’s too.

Large fathers day cards

 

 

 

These large cards ranging from £3-£4 are so adorable! Eva loves the cat & breakfast card & Izzy loves the monster one. Perfect from little ones to their daddy to make fathers day special.

The Shed card is so cool! It turns into a little pop up shed for Dad.

 

Medium Cards

 

 

These medium-sized cards are £2-£3 with a variety of styles. There are cute ones like the family ferris wheel card, the tiger one which opens its arm’s for a hug and a popcorn card that wiggles too! I love the superhero card with pop out superhero mark & the DAD foldout card looks fabulous.

 

 

stepdad fathers day cards

 

 

Hallmark have 2 brilliant cards for stepdad’s too! I absolutely LOVE the card on the left with its googly eyes and humour it’s perfect and at only £1.50 it’s great value too. The right hand card is lovely too with a simple design that says it all for just £2.

 

smaller cards

 

 

These super cute & cool cards ranging from £1.50 to £2.50 are awesome too. Choose from a cute fox, loving elephants, daddy’s princess, a cuppa or for that super cool dad the 24ct gold dad card! Whatever you are looking for Hallmark & Tesco have exactly what you need!

granddad fathers day card

 

 

 

Don’t forget Grandad this father’s day either, this awesome card is just £2 to make grandad feel special this year!

 

 

 

Gift Ideas

Looking for some gift idea’s to go with your choice of father’s day card this year? Tesco have you covered with this fantastic range of gifts. Why not treat dad to a new T-shirt for just £5 or 2 for £8 & decorate it just for him with these fab T-shirt Graffiti Pens below? Father's day

Socks & Card

 

 

I absolutely love these socks & ‘You know you’re officially a dad when you receive socks as a present’ card. Just £1 for the card and £2 for the Best Dad Ever Socks from F&F at Tesco, dad is sure to laugh!

 

Sweet Gifts

 

 

 

Looking for something sweet to bake for dad this year? What about some home-baked gingerdad biscuits? Tesco have this fantastic mix, bright writing icing & this awesome gingerbread man cookie cutter set. To top it of add this fantastic card  for just £2.50!

father's day

 

 

 

I love this fold out card & it would go fantastically with a box of Cadbury Milk Tray, perfect for the dad with a sweet tooth! (If they make it out of your hands that is!)

 

 

 

 

Which would your dad enjoy this father’s day? What do you think of the choice of Hallmark Cards at Tesco?

*I received these products to feature in this gift guide. All opinions are my own.

 

 

Fallen Brewing For Father’s Day

Ales and Craft Beers / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Father’s day & the Mr’s birthday are coming up so I’ve been hunting out some gift’s like these awesome beers from Fallen Brewing! He really enjoys his craft beers & ales and loves a chance to try something new. This is a great gift for any craft beer/ale loving dad this father’s day and would go well with a nice home cooked meal too!

Fallen Brewing

Fallen Brewing

 

Fallen Brewing have some big flavoured craft Ales, a range made using only pure, soft Scottish mountain water and the best hops and malts from around the world.

For Father’s Day summer session drinking the refreshing blond New World Odyssey 4.1% (£2.90 hippobeers.co.uk) is Ideal. For a dad with a sweet tooth the limited edition Big Raspberry Dog Chew 10% ABV (hippobeers.co.uk)  made with Salted Caramel and Raspberry Milk Stout and tastes like an alcoholic Ruffle bar.

Blackhouse and New World Odyssey

Fallen Beers include:

  • New World Odyssey 4.1% ABV Blonde,
  • Local Motive 3.9% ABV, Session IPA,
  • Dragonfly  4.6% ABV, American Amber,
  • Blackhouse 5% ABV, Smoked Porter,
  • Grapevine  5.4% ABV,
  • Chew Chew 6% ABV, Salted Caramel Milk Stout
  • Platform C 6.3% ABV, India Pale Ale.

Dragonfly

The Mr really enjoyed getting a chance to try beers from Fallen Brewing as he hadn’t heard of them before. Trying the beers gave me a bit more knowledge about the different types & flavours too. With such a great selection of beers from fallen brewing there is definitely something for everyone’s tastes.

Just the ticket

Where are Fallen Brewing based?

Established in 2014, Fallen Brewing is situated in the old Kippen Railway Station with views towards The Trossachs and The South West Highlands. Fallen brew modern interpretations of classic styles with an emphasis on bold flavours and new world hops.

Where can I Buy Fallen Brewing beers?

Fallen beers are available all over the UK online from www.hippobeers.co.uk and in Scotland from Oddbins, Waitrose and M&S as well as independent shops including The Woodhouse Farm Shop, Cork and Cask, Cornelius and Beer Hive in Edinburgh and Hippo Beers, Good Spirit Company and Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow.

Would your dad or other half love trying these for father’s day?

Luxury Flowers From Prestige Flowers

Product Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

I Received a beautiful bouquet of Luxury flowers to review from Prestige Flowers. I was sent flowers from their Luxury range. The flowers arrived in a lovely sturdy box with a pretty flowery design on the box.

Just had a special delivery from @prestigeflowersuk 🙊 Looking forward to writing up my review! 😍💐

A post shared by Ember (@relentlesslypurple) on


The flowers had been carefully placed in the box along with a card. Removing the flowers from the box I discovered a lovely box of Truffles along with a vase for the flowers & a flower care guide along with some feed.

Luxury flowers like these currently start at £19.99 for a standard bouquet. For a medium sized bouquet it’s just £5 extra or £10 extra for a large bouquet. You can add on extra’s such as vases, truffles,  balloons, teddy bears, wine, chocolates & even cake! I was quite impressed at the free add on’s & the price of the Extra’s too.

Luxury Flowers

 

Prestige flowers provide stunning flowers for a reasonable price & there is something for everyone. With so many options including a huge selection of flowers & colour schemes to choose from as well as gifts & hampers, you are bound to find something beautiful for someone special.

Luxury Flowers - Prestige Flowers

 

Prestige Flowers cater for all occasions including Birthdays, Mother’s day, Sympathy/Funeral, Thank you, Get well & more all with suitable gifts to match. Delivery options include Next day (7 days a week), Saturday, Premium Sunday & UK same day deliveries ranging from £5.80 – £7.99.

I’m not usually one for ordering flowers in all honesty but I will definitely be using Prestige Flowers in future. I know a few people who would love to receive flowers like these on a special occasion.

Do you buy luxury flowers for anyone? What do you think of Prestige Flowers?

 

 

 

Inspire Enterprising Behaviour With Clever Tykes

Book Reviews / 7 years ago / RelentlesslyPurple

Clever Tykes are helping inspire enterprising behaviour in pupils/children along with positivity and resourcefulness with their storybooks. They also have the worlds first enterprise education portal too! Supported by the Lloyds Banking Group Clever Tykes were able to send us 3 of their storybooks to help spread the word about these amazing resources.

Enterprising behaviour with clever tykes

At Clever Tykes, we’re passionate about instilling enterprising behaviour and the associated skills in children. We know that enterprise education has a key role to play in helping children adopt a positive mindset and attitude towards work and their future.

So what is enterprise education?

Enterprise education isn’t just about the skills needed to be enterprising but also the behaviour, attitude & mind set needed.  The 3 storybooks created by Ben & Jodie Cook help children develop a fundamental outlook on life & a can do attitude. Enterprising education enhances positivity, resourcefulness, independence, resilience & endeavour.

Enterprising Behaviour

It is much easier to instil these traits in younger children so introducing enterprising education during primary years is ideal. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily need to be a subject on it’s own Enterprising education can be integrated into PSHE lessons & more. A lot of children lack a positive role model to teach them new skills & ways of thinking.

Clever tykes aim to educate and inspire children to be high-achieving and empower children.

Our Thoughts

Eva read the Clever Tykes Change It Cho book first and quickly flew through it with plenty of smiles! Once she had read it I asked Eva what she thought. She really enjoyed the book and reading how Cho decides to change how much junk food kids eat. Cho starts raising awareness but faces several challenges along the way. Eva said her favourite part in the book is when Cho stands up in assembly in front of other children to tell them about healthy eating.

clever tykes change it cho

Personally I think these books are fantastic. Eva’s attitude has changed since reading the book. She has started putting a lot more effort into everything. Challenges no longer end in tears since Eva read the Clever Tykes books. Eva is stopping to think of ways she can solve problems rather than getting upset & feeling defeated. Definitely a sign the books have helped instil positive enterprising behaviour.

Resources for Teachers

Clever Tykes have the worlds first enterprise education portal which contains plenty of resources for teachers. Over 100 pages of teachers materials and lesson plans can be accessed via the portal. UK schools can use portal.clevertykes.com to create their account. There are a range of ways in which enterprise education can be integrated into PSHE lessons and other areas if the curriculum.

Ben & Jodie believe enterprise education shouldn’t be a mandatory part of the curriculum. They do however feel it can be incorporated in other lessons to encourage enterprising behaviour in children.

Overall I think Clever Tykes books & resources are amazing and brilliant way to improve enterprising behaviour.