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Wild Blossom Life
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  • sewing a backpack

    Sewing a Backpack

    May 26, 2017June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    6 Comments

    Sewing a Backpack One of the things I have discovered about being a parent is the sheer amount of stuff you end up carrying about. When my boys were babies, it was little cups, bibs, nappies, wipes and spare clothes. Now they’re older, there’s not much less stuff,…

    Read More Sewing a BackpackContinue

  • how to sew fabric storage boxes

    How to Sew Storage Boxes

    January 26, 2017June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    11 Comments

    How to Sew Storage Boxes Storage boxes are always useful. I have made a number of fabric storage boxes over the last few years, and I have usually managed to find a use for them within a few days of making them. They’re great for using up fat…

    Read More How to Sew Storage BoxesContinue

  • how to make tracksuit bottoms without a pattern

    How to Make Tracksuit Bottoms

    December 30, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    1 Comment

    How to Make Tracksuit Bottoms My eldest boy Dominic has got to the stage where if I shut my eyes for a few seconds, when I open them I’ll find that he’s grown several cm. He never gets any wider, just taller! The trousers that a couple of…

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  • easy backpack tutorial

    Easy Backpack Tutorial

    October 4, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    8 Comments

    An Easy Backpack Tutorial When my boys were tiny, I always hadΒ a bag of stuff for them. Little cups with milk or water in, an extra blanket, nappies, wipes, a bib, a change of clothes, spare socks, it was easy to fill a large bag! As they got…

    Read More Easy Backpack TutorialContinue

  • How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers' Network. My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don't know the exact reason but I'm guessing it's also why my second boy, Aidan, won't wear trousers unless they're tracksuit bottoms (apart from his school trousers, which he has no choice about!). As I had never made a shirt before and it was something I wanted to try, I decided to have a go at making a little shirt for Barnabas. Children are an easy shape to make things for and, being small, the things require less fabric. I also wanted to try to make a shirt without a pattern. I thought it would probably be doable as long as I kept things simple. Officially I should probably have taken all his measurements and made the pattern that way, but I did not want to chase him round the house with a tape measure and probably trip over the cat and mangle myself on Lego in the process. So instead I used one of Barnabas' t shirts as a guide for making the pattern. You can read the full tutorial showing how to make a little boy's shirt without a pattern here, including how to make the pattern pieces. Barnabas likes his shirt and I'm very happy with the way it's turned out! It is very simple, nothing fancy. The main part of the shirt is three sections. There are button bands on the front, but they're easy to do and they solve the issue of the front bits needing to be wider than just the back cut in half. The collar has a collar stand so that it sits nicely and doesn't distort the shirt. The collar was the only slightly tricky bit. I made a dress with a collar a few years ago from a pattern and it was a disaster! The instructions were totally confusing and I got into a right muddle. This time I did it my own way. It's turned out okay but I'm going to experiment a bit more next time to see if there is a really easy way to get a nice neat collar. The fabric I used is this superhero print from Minerva Crafts.

    How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern

    August 20, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    2 Comments

    How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers’ Network. My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don’t know the…

    Read More How to Make a Shirt Without a PatternContinue

  • easy childs travel pillow neck how to tutorial

    Easy Child’s Travel Pillow Tutorial

    July 21, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    5 Comments

    Easy Child’s Travel Pillow Tutorial If you make long car journeys with children, you want to know that they are going to be comfortable as well as safe in the back of the car. And if they get so comfortable they fall asleep, that’s even better! The problem…

    Read More Easy Child’s Travel Pillow TutorialContinue

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Wild Blossom Companion: A Gentle Beginning

A free offering of reflections, creative invitations, and journaling prompts to help you slow down, notice the seasons, and find joy in small creative moments.


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Wild Blossom Companion

The Wild Blossom Companion is a gentle, seasonal guide for creative people. You can find out more here.

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November πŸ‚ Storm Claudia blew most of the leav November πŸ‚

Storm Claudia blew most of the leaves off the trees last week. There are still some, but lots of them have gone now. The berries are very visible, lots of hawthorns and still some rowan berries.

Everywhere is muddy! Big piles of sugar beet have been slowly disappearing, and all the rain has made the footpaths squishy.

If I go out at 4.30 pm to get milk or cat food or bits for tea, it's dark and my reaction is "bleugghh!" But I actually quite like it. It's nice to get back home to my cosy little house with my boys and my cats.

It is tempting to dislike November but I quite like it. What about you? πŸ‚πŸ§‘

#wildblossomlife #november #norfolkfens #findinginspirationinnature #getoutside #seasons
Leaf rubbings revisited πŸπŸ‚ Last year I made Leaf rubbings revisited πŸπŸ‚

Last year I made some leaf rubbings using thin paper and chalky pastels. Now a year on, I wanted to do some more, but different.

I was toying with the idea of trying out printing with a gelli plate (@vickymyerscreations has lots of videos). It looks like fun but I suspect it is addictive, so that doesn't sound like the best idea for me at the moment 🧐😜

Dealing with my disappointment with myself for being sensible, I realised that one of the things that appeals about gelli plate printing is the layers.  Layers is the theme for  October's Wild Blossom Companion (honestly nobody is going to check if the months bleed into each other! πŸ’–), and I had an idea to make leaf rubbings again, but creating layers by adding colour to the paper first.

I like the results, and I already had everything I needed πŸ’–πŸ§‘πŸπŸ‚ I still haven't ruled out the gelli plate thing through!

#creativelife #wildblossomlife #natureinspired #leafrubbings #layers #seasonal creativity
Do you... 🍁 Find inspiration in everyday thing Do you...

🍁 Find inspiration in everyday things?
🍁 Like spending time in nature?
🍁 Crave slowness but can't seem to find it?
🍁 Like making things but don't know where to start?
🍁 Maybe miss yourself a little bit?
🍁 Would like something gentle, not another demand?

Then you are in the right place! πŸπŸ§‘πŸ‚ This is exactly what Wild Blossom Life is about. No huge life changes or masses of time required, just some gentle ways to slow down a bit, notice the changing seasons, and be creative without any expectation of perfection. If this sounds like you, you are very welcome here πŸπŸ§‘πŸŒ°πŸ‚

#wildblossomlife #creativelife #seasonalcreativity
#natureinspired #slowingdownabit
I've been thinking about how easily we can slip in I've been thinking about how easily we can slip into comparing our lives with other people's and feel that we are failing because our lives don't look like theirs.

In the end, we are all different, our circumstances are different, our children are different, our home lives are different. What might work brilliantly for one person at the moment, in the season of life they are in, might just not work for you right now.

Sometimes the best we can do is accept that the current situation is what it is. Sometimes particular things need to take priority, or there might be a weird phase we have to live through. 

But it is worth remembering that growth can look like stillness, care can be keeping things simple, wintering is a thing, letting go is sometimes necessary, and tending what is can be as necessary as cooking up something new.

This is what Wild Blossom Life is about. It's not about making huge changes to your life. It's about doing little things that help, slowing down, getting outside even if it's only for a few moments, remembering to breathe, noticing what is there, then having some kind of creative thing for your hands to do if that is what you need, without pressure or expectation.

#wildblossomlife #autumn #lettinggoofperfectionism #peacefulmoments #changingseasons
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