Monday 29 March 2021

Easter 2021 Inspiration Guide

With Easter coming this week, I feel a little unprepared and I know I'm not alone so I've popped together a little last min inspiration guide.

Emma in Bromley - Easter 2021


Decorate

Add an instant sprinkle of spring with a window cling, we love the ones from Stickers4Walls a family run company,  because they are super easy to apply and not at all sticky making them easy to remove and reuse too. An absolute winner.

Emma in Bromley, Easter 21, Bunny Window Clings - Stickers 4 Walls


Treat

I love the "Wildlife in Spring" print from Victoria Eggs and it just sits perfectly with Easter - a new British made tea towel, something for me and a nod to spring - this print puts a smile on my face and reminds me of growing up in the countryside.... I might just need to go back and add a tea cup to my collection too!

Emma in Bromley Easter 21 Victoria Eggs Wildlife in Spring Tea Towel


Chocolate

In the past it has been difficult to find vegan Easter eggs (Especially ones that aren't just dark chocolate) but then the last few years have brought a wonderful choice unfortunately this year I've really struggled - I had 2 online grocery deliveries where neither had any vegan eggs left and the few shops that are open are really lacking, my local Holland and Barrats this year only had a choice of 2 so It's been like a massive step back - I've had to go online, my go to online vegan shop didn't have much choice left at all so I had to try harder to find something good and I'm excited to have discovered a new brand -  HiP Chocolate (Created by John Cadbury's great, great, great grandchild)

Emma in Bromley Easter 21, Vegan Easter egg HiP Chocolate


Make

With 2 weeks off for Easter and we are still limited to where we can go, or what we can do I suggest grabbing a den kit - I particularly love the simplicity and tactile nature of the Wooden Den Kit currently on offer for £20 from Hobbycraft Everyone loves a den - if we are lucky with the weather - maybe we can put it up in the garden but if it just rains everyday (As is the norm for school holidays) then we can watch a movie from our dens!

Emma in Bromley Easter 21 Wooden Den Kit Hobby Craft

Hoppy Easter xx






* I have received non-returnable press samples of some of the items shown for the purpose of this post content and photography. 

Monday 22 March 2021

Preparing for Easter

Easter is really close but nobody is really talking about it, maybe its because it'll be another lockdown easter - another easter without a big family gathering or cousins playing together, perhaps it's because the schools have only just returned - with only 2 full weeks of school before the easter break, we haven't really had that chance to breathe, think and plan yet or could it simply be the lack of retail presence? 

Easter Crafts 2021

Easter is usually so heavily commercialised but most of the shops you would pop to for egg hunt supplies (I'm looking at you Hema) or crafting inspiration, chocolate treats or home decor are all closed - whilst some are still doing online shopping - not everyone is and its so hard to browse for inspiration and I can't be alone in feeling frustrated by "out of stock" messages every time I click on something. 

I've also noticed a lack of chocolate goodies in the few shops which are open, it feels like there is less variety, I had my eye on the Nomo Caramel egg which is exclusive to Tesco - I've tried 3 branches and online and it just isn't available... and the vegan creme egg is no where to be found - H&B said they aren't stocking it this year! 

Wondering what the secret is? where are all the goodies? is it possible to shop in only a few places rather than so many bits here and there? 

It looks like we will be doing a very small family of 4 roast dinner, a small egg hunt around the house and I'm struggling to see how we can fit any Easter crafts in, I'm hoping to at least make a spring wreath!

What has everyone else planned? 

Sunday 21 March 2021

Finding Craft Love in 2021

I've always loved crafts, I've attempted many and I'm always drawn to them. I can cross stitch, I can do a very basic knit, I can sculpt things from air drying clay and I can make a pretty beaded bracelet but if we are being honest here, I'm not very good at completing a project, I always get distracted by parenting needs ... and I know I shouldn't say this but ... I'm also a bit rubbish at crafts - I love them, but I'm not a natural. 

Children learning to Knit, Lockdown Crafts and childhood anxiety and OCD


The thing is, I've recently been incredibly drawn to crafts, I don't know if part of it is pandemic boredom - There isn't really a whole lot we can do in a pandemic and I need to keep my mind busy and my children busy.

Or is it just that very brutal confrontation of our own morbidity and wanting to leave something to cherish behind? Being fortysomething with only one kidney really makes you contemplate survival odds.

I started making my daughter a scarf using just basic knit, I attended a Hobbycraft press event and there was an amazing knitter there who refreshed my memory on the basic technique my nana had taught me when I was somewhere around 8 but this particular event was back in 2017 and between serious building work on our home and the wonderful chaos that comes with parenting, this partial scarf got left in a box until just a few weeks ago when I rediscovered it and with a mixture of both boredom (these days I tend to feel a bit 'meh' if you know what I mean?) and the curiosity of my children - "what is it?" "How do you knit?" and the predictable "can I have a go?" I picked up that partial scarf and it is now a bit longer partial scarf that may become a snood because it takes me forever just to do one row, this is the most imperfect scarf you can imagine, full of holes, mistakes and quite bobbly for something that isn't even close to completion!  BUT most importantly I have (almost) successfully taught my two children the basic knit! 

I purchased wooden knitting needles and a small ball of multi-coloured cotton yarn for them both - I think for children, the tactile combination of the wood and the natural yarn is quite grounding, I read somewhere that it's very calming for children suffering from anxiety (which most children in a pandemic are facing) and it's great for childhood OCD, it's also a much needed screen free task!

So now I am so full of creative ideas I feel like I could burst! My children also want to explore "off screen"  - I want to try new crafts and expand on the ones I can already do, but most of all I'd like to make things to gift to the people in my life. 

We are entering a weird stage where schools are returning but nothing else is back to normal, not to mention the schools are only back for a couple of weeks before a 2 week easter break. 

I know I'm not alone with feeling a little worried about the children going back and I need to keep my mind occupied so it's the perfect moment to pick up a few new skills.

Have you tried a new craft or rekindled an old skill during lockdown?