I’ll be lying low from blogland for a little while - one of the MissPs has been in hospital after a febrile convulsion and the little lass needs some extra TLC. Normal service will resume shortly. Back soon x

L was having a party. She was going to be six. She had invited six friends and she wanted to make some jewellery at her party. Her Mummy asked me to teach them. So, what to make with the party goers?

I walked round my garden, picked a few little somethings and then reread some lovely blogposts. 

I raided my stash and came up with a design. 

The party began. Little fingers got busy.

We made some lovely foliage and leaves…

…and of course, we planted flowers in our necklace gardens.

We all admired the handiwork…

…and we modelled the results.
There were lots and lots of leaves and flowers in our little garden necklaces… 

…and every garden needs a welcome little visitor!

I know some of the partygoers will be popping by to have a look at their lovely work. Didn’t they do well? Did you enjoy yourselves girls?

I’m hoping that’s a yes! Thanks to S, L’s Mummy, - I really enjoyed the little party workshop.

The last six months or so have had their tough times. This winter’s been a tricky one. As the days edge into spring cheerful thoughts are coming more easily and certain things can really raise a smile:

Little hands learning to wave and the sign for ‘Mummy’.

Making and hanging a little willow wreath.

The triple fingerprint necklace I made last week, delivered in time for Mothers’ Day. I’m pleased to say that it trigerred smiles in the recipient -she wouldn’t put it back in its box. All three of her children’s prints have been captured in time. I am working on a postal kit for silver fingerprints - watch this space.

Some of my recent designs- rather smiley to make.

All the spring-themed blog posts out there. I certainly got very excited about this clematis.

Finding hidden treasure in the garden - this is wild rocket that self-seeded and is now almost ready to start eating!

This. Design your own paper butterfly and watch it fly away!  MissP1 loves it and so do I. 

I shall be embarking on some crochet if I can soon - thanks for your top tips - I’m not sure if crochet will be smiley yet, we shall see.

Your lovely comments - they’re an absolute treat to read and I don’t get nearly enough time to answer them all. This little posy of grape hyacinths is for you, lovely readers. Thankyou - sometimes your comments have cheered me up no end on a greyish gloomy day and pulled me out of the wintry woods.

What’s making you smile at the moment?

Granny and Grandad Pebble live in a very beautiful place close to the Lake District and in sight of the Howgill Fells. We visited recently and went on an early spring walk. It’s rather a remote area with lots of untouched habitat which means that if you’re lucky you can spot some really wild things! I did a little Ray Mears-style tracking - would you like to see what I found?

A badger’s footprint! Click here to see that it’s true! Grandad Pebble swears he knows where the badgers’, ahem, facilities are. I don’t think I’ll share that with you today.

Roe deer footprints. A little peep here confirmed it, and here are some pics of the beast itself- scroll down to see the real live bambi. 

The nearby river and its banks are a Site of Special Scientific Interest - an SSSI. On the top of an old bridge we spotted a heron’s anvil, where the heron brings its catch. It will bash its tasty finds on the stones to get at the meat inside.

This isn’t any old catch though. These are native British crayfish which are now endangered.

The American Signal crayfish, introduced in the ’70s, carries a fungus which has almost wiped out the smaller British species. It was a privilege to see the evidence of the natives thriving in my mum’s local river.

After a while one little creature got a little tired of tracking with Mummy and had a snooze.

When we returned we discovered a cheeky but not so rare someone raiding the birdfeeder.

I was very excited by the signs of wildlife - get out there and see what you can find!

Here are a couple of satisfying equations:

Two chairs

+ two quilts

+ one ripple blanket (bought, not made- for shame!)

= one happy little girl in a Wendy house

One Duplo window (my microwave Mummy!)

+one wooden plum

= one happy, breakfasting monkey.

I’ll leave you with a small appeal - please, can anyone out there direct me to some digestible, easy -to-use intructions for getting from a crochet chain to something more substantial - perhaps even a flower or just a disc?? I am currently a bear of very little brain so special secret crochet code would probably baffle me. Please help!

Do you know, I have been making things. Jewellery no less! Actually rather a lot of it this week, hence my absence from blogland. Instead of tapping at this here keyboard I’ve been busy with the pliers.

My ‘maternity leave’ from Emma Mitchell Designs is over and this weekend I have my first two events of the year. One I am very excited about indeed. I’m having a stall at a market at Jimmy’s Farm. Lovely setting, happy pigs, tasty sausages and hopefully a few ladies keen on my wares - we shall see. I’ve managed to snap a few pieces of the beaded work I’ve been making.

Back to some of my favourites - shells. I have some serious seaside withdrawal symptoms at the moment - this necklace answered the calling in a small way. 

A lampwork, hand-painted bead and semi-precious bracelet.

This beautiful hand-painted bead is from one of my suppliers -the lovely Juliet at Spoilt Rotten Beads. I’ve been visiting her shop rather a lot recently.  It is rather a treasure trove so click the link at your peril! Here are more hand-painted pieces of loveliness. Sigh. 

Here’s another birdy commission. Charlie! He’s finished!

I’ve been working on some new silver pieces too - to come next time. I also had rather an amazing nature walk at Granny and Grandad P’s house. I have a picture of a badger’s footprint! Coming soon to a pebbly post near you.

Now to change tack a little, you may remember (warning, the following link is to be approached with caution) this quilt. It was unique in many, many ways. Now, break out the smelling salts and prepare to feel rather fluttery, for it is a truth…

…universally acknowledged, that a single,

ahem, man,

…in possession of a large fortune…

..must be in want of a wife! Mrs Trash brings you Donkey Darcy. Oh! Such intrigue! Ladies, I can hear you swooning. What spectacular breeches. He’s single, he’s hairy and he has really very marvellous ears. IT COULD BE YOU, but form an orderly line and practice that coquettish gavotte because I heard it on the Meryton stable grapevine that some donkey called Giddyup Liz has taken his fancy. 

After all that I really do need a nice lie down.