Boxing Clever

It was Lily's Nanny's birthday this week so of course, all self-respecting Nannies require a Treasure Box to hold on to all those special little keepsakes to remember their first granddaughter's early days. As usual I did a bit of shopping around and found that nothing really fitted the bill properly, so decided to fall back on my crafting skills and make something special instead.

First job - arm oneself with materials.... a lidded cardboard box from Hobbycraft and some pearlised poster paint.





Combine the two together to create....


The box and lid both ended up with two coats of paint inside and out to get a good even finish. Next job, customise the lid:



I used some cardboard cut out letters I picked up in a card shop a while ago. One of those purchases I knew would come in handy at some point! Now I need to decide what to do with the other three sets! I attached them with some super sticky double sided tape (as shown on the letter Y). This stuff is great for projects that might get a bit of extra wear, or for attaching slightly heavier items like buttons for example. I used the same tape to attach the ribbon:



At this point I thought there was something missing so I decided to add a flower and tag. Flowers seem to feature on most of my craft projects in some way. I made this one by layering up some paper flowers with a brad (a little doodah like a mini paper fastener) then sticking the glittery centre over the top (with more super sticky tape).



The tag was made by coating a metal-rimmed vellum tag with glitter glue, and writing a message on a handmade paper tag using a gelly roll pen. Then I used a scrap of ribbon the tie them together and attach them, along with the flower, to the box.

Inside the box I placed one of Lily's first sleepsuits, a hat and some bootees. I also made a little box ready for a lock of hair from her first haircut. This might have to wait a while as her hair is so fantastic that I really don't want to cut it!



The box is made from an origami design using two squares of paper, one slightly smaller than the other, to create a box and lid. It was decorated in the same was as the main box using ribbon, paper flowers and a tag.

In my excitement at finishing this gift, I forgot to take a picture of the completed article! But I will add one soon to show off the finished result! Lily's Nanny was very pleased :)

A Right Royal Knees Up

Wedding fever truly hit the Prior household yesterday! The lounge was decked out in bunting, union jack table cloths were out in force and of course there was a little spot of dressing up:



TV went on at 8am and there we sat, watching all the build up and right through the ceremony itself. I know there are some people out there who are anti the royal family to varying degrees but I thought it was fabulous and made me proud to be British. It was so impressive to see the huge outpouring of support for a young couple who seem so in love and in some ways so normal, but have such a huge weight of responsibility to carry through their future.

After a quick break for a swimming lesson.....





.... it was back home to get the plates and (union jack of course!) napkins out ready for the royal visit! Well, not quite but two sets of parents and Aunty Carole amount to almost the same thing.

In true British style it wasn't long before we had a knock at the door inviting us to an impromptu street party round the corner. So we gathered up cakes and wandered round. Say what you like about "the country today" and "things aren't what they used to be" but we had a great time and were really welcomed into the area. I love these times when the community comes together with a common cause to celebrate.Maybe this was a good practice run for the Diamond Jubilee next year? I better get my organising hat on, I feel a spreadsheet coming on....! Talking of hats, Lily's red, white and blue effort was such a hit I may have a few orders coming from the local primary school :)

All too soon it was time to head back home, have a little relax:



and contemplate having watched history being made!

The Circle of Life, or Musical Chairs

Mothers' day (or Mothering Sunday, to be completely correct!) was always going to bring with it a mix of emotions this year. It was my first as a mum but also the first without my lovely Granny who lost her battle with lung cancer last November. My grandparents have had a huge influence on me, teaching me the meaning of unconditional love and giving me that feeling of a safe secure base from which to explore life knowing that anything I achieved, however small, would fill them with pride.

Lily is lucky to have all four of her grandparents very much a part of her life and all beginning to teach her about that unconditional love I was so fortunate to experience as a child. Her Nanny said today that she had "moved down a step" now she is a grandmother. I actually prefer to think of it as taking a step up. Or maybe sideways... We are all still fulfilling some of our family roles, maybe as a parent, child or sibling. But with the loss of my Gran and the arrival of Lily we've all shuffled around a bit too, taking on new roles and giving up others. It's taken a few months but we all seem to be settling well into this new pattern and I think having new roles to focus on has certainly helped some of us get through the pain of the roles we've lost.

I have many hopes for Lily's future, but one of the greatest is that she is able to spend time with all four of her grandparents, learning from them and just simply being together. I think sometimes we can underestimate the importance of this relationship but when I look back now I know I would not be half the woman I am today if it wasn't for my grandparents.