Baby gifts

Two cushions I've recently made as gifts for friends and family to celebrate their new baby boys. Past season Liberty florals backed with John Lewis Noah's Animals and added applique and embroidery details. I hope they like them!

Raggy-Tag + Liberty

A patriotic baby-related post for the Jubilee weekend! I love this Raggy-Tag snuggle blanket made with Liberty Roses cotton front and a pink velour reverse. Made in England, the blanket features brightly coloured ribbon tags, including the Liberty crown logo and the Union Jack.

Easter baking

Instead of buying chocolate eggs, we did a spot of baking and made up some little hampers for L's friends.....gingerbread biscuits, chocolate cornflake nests and banana muffins, with the addition of a few foil-covered chocolate bunnies. In return, she received a cute fabric pouch of mini creme eggs and a beautifully wrapped Buttons egg.

Nannas knits

Nanna has started knitting adult sized cardigans too...yey!!

Cute packaging

A bit late with this post (although it could almost be for Valentines!) but I love the customised Cath Kidston wrapping on these presents from my friend to Lily and baby J.

Hello baby Jake!

We made the long journey up to north-west London yesterday to meet baby Jake (already nearly 8 months old!). He loved his knitted hand puppet (from Julie's Handmade World) and we loved his little lion socks! We had a nosey around his home and found some very quirky and eclectic things....a brightly coloured crochet blanket, denim toys (his Mum is a very cool denim consultant), a 3-in-1 wooden horse rocker/high chair/table found on eBay, fabric dinosaur bunting from Antwerp, beautifully illustrated books, cute footprint cast and scan pics, and Pinocchio hanging up in the kitchen!

Footprint pottery

We visited the new pottery cafe on Northcote Road, Battersea just before Christmas to make some unique presents for family. Lily painted with her feet to create a gorgeous little mug for her Auntie (complete with red London bus stamp on the inside!) and we turned her footprints into butterflies on plates for the grandparents.

Happy Christmas!

Someone was a little spoilt yesterday....although this is kind of her first Christmas as last year she was only 5 weeks old! Dressed in a cute reindeer outfit and santa socks (surely that's obligatory!).

Handmade loveliness

We are so lucky to have such creative family and friends, and I had to share some of Lily's beautiful presents from her 1st birthday. Thank you everyone!

1) Hand-sewn cushion in Ikea heart fabric and appliqued 'Lily' felt detail, with her date of birth appliqued on the reverse. Also in the left corner of the picture is a screen-printed cushion cover from Robin & Mould that I bought for her on etsy (and have yet to find a pad small enough to fit it!).

2) A beautiful Old MacDonald cross-stitch picture with Lily's name and DOB intricately hand-stitched by Lily's Auntie (made with a lot of love and over 280 hours of work!).

3) Hand-painted wooden trinket box in the style of a Bermudian house - bought back from Bermuda where her other Auntie lives.

4) Hello Kitty toy knitted by her very talented Nanna.

5) Hand-made rabbit in Cath Kidston fabric, with a little monogrammed 'L' pocket. See close-ups and other toys made by my friend for our baby buddies on her blog.

6) Hand-drawn 'Lily' name plate with images of objects beginning with 'L'!

7) Fabric balloons in Liberty print off-cuts and card bows made by me for Lily's friends.

8) Hand-painted ceramic piggy bank bought from a little craft market in Crystal Palace.

9)We picked up this gorgeous 'Rock Out' rocking horse screen-print by Kay Vincent yesterday at the Dulwich College farmers market, for a late birthday/early Christmas gift!

Friendship bracelets

I'm a little out-of-touch with trends at the moment while on maternity leave, but my cool creative friend sent me a little gift for my birthday recently.....a handmade friendship bracelet using locally sourced thread (Hayes Lane market) and packaged in a tiny manilla envelope bound with washi tape. Although I haven't worn one since the 90s, I am informed that they are the accessory to have and therefore I am now the coolest Mum in Crystal Palace!