Stoneywell Cottage An Arts And Crafts Gem

Arts and Crafts is honest and simple and harks back to simpler times and is honest in its making.Life is fast paced and to have a house and garden in harmony is a rare treasure indeed.










The cottage which was designed by Ernest Grimson so it appeared as if organically grown among the rocky outcrops of Charnwood Forest and he succeeded and even Gertrude Jekyll approved. There are even rooms within the cottage and they are barely split on seven different levels.We found there it was best to go with the information and captivating National Trust Guide when we were looking round as they offer an unique insight into the property.

The cottage has a a slate roof originally it had a thatch roof but due to a fire which destroyed it in 1939, Stoneywell has so much magic and it is a quirky honest property.The cottage was first turned into a summer house to escape far away from the ravishes of city life and industry in Leicester, it went on to become a family home in the 1950's.Stoneywell was always adapted rather than be changed in any way.











The property was acquired by the National Trust in 2012 and you can only visit by booking on line , while visiting you can always partake in soup ,sandwiches or even cake and of course tea no National trust visit is ever completed without a that very British stable of a cup of tea.

The cottage is furnished still  with original pieces made by Ernest and his circle of Artisan craftsman. Just beyond the front door stands a beautiful dining table which top is made from one single plank of wood and today is well worth over £20,000 

All the books and toys that are around allude to a mush loved family home we were told on our tour that the children loved climbing through windows and running through the house.

Personalised Gift Ideas For Father's Day

Father's Day is approaching with alarming speedy and you might be well prepared and you have the card written and the present neatly wrapped and over sellotaped ! But just in case you haven't even sorted anything yet then I can offer a few suggestions to elevate the pressure of you just a little bit.Now if you are like me you have already got enough mugs in the house then why not go for something completely different like a personalised cushion for that Father's Day gift ?

A personalised cushion is £19.99


And if you have a husband or dad that is anything like mine who loves their BBQ then a personalised apron is sure to hit the spot and keep them clean and tidy !

A personalised apron is £14.99

Now Mr T has been eyeing up a BBQ set and this one caught my eye and summer is all about BBQ s and having fun and I think we will be watching a lot of football outside this summer with the world cup just around the corner.

A deluxe BBQ set £39.99


And Mr T is taking great pride in the garden of late and has created a rockery despite coming out of hospital and I know he would love these garden tools.

The personalised tools are £18.99

Now on the funky pigeon website site there is all manor of personalised cards  and gifts to suit your pocket and a website like this is especially useful for my university teen who is away from home busy studying at the moment for his archaeology degree.




This is a collaboration post.

You Fat Shaming My Cat ?

Number 1 cat has been at the vets again , I think my cat is in (cat hoots) with the vet as he must need a new car or something?! He’s got an abscess on his leg and last time we were at the vets it was thought he has a muscle injury.And so he was treated then with an antibiotic and anti inflammatory injection and had some follow on anti inflammatory liquid.

Oh this time oh boy it was the D day for the abscess and it was drained by the vet there and then ~ nice if you’ve a penchant for that type of thing?! Apparently there’s a whole subculture where people watch human spots etc being burst and squeezed-yuck !Then the cat was given another anti inflammatory and antibiotics injection.

Then he was ceremonially plonked on the scales to be weighed and the vet said 

“ I’ll give you some antibiotics tablets and some anti inflammatory liquid”

I said “ No antibiotics liquid “

“Not for his size “ said the vet 

I thought you fat shaming my cat ?!!

“It’s dead easy  giving a cat tablets “

Cue a a ninja based movement and voila he had demonstrated the art of cat pill popping , I thought you’re coming home with me tonight ( but not in that way !!)

So I’m crushing up tablets with the back of a spoon and feeling like my cats drug dealer.

Gardening As You Feel

I’m gardening as I feel no rules here and some plants have just appeared like this Mountain Ash ( Rowan) which I’m just going to leave be has decided to grace itself with its presence so I’m happy to co exist with it.

To often we oik plants up without really researching what they are , we get rather pitch fork I feel about stuff and feel the need to burn it with fire.Thats not to say I haven’t got my battle with plants such as a bramble/ blackberry which is just relentless.

And the ivy I’ve a battle with that also think it’s marching from the neighbours but I’ve rallied my defence against it.

We micro manage our environment and I don’t use weed killer unless deemed necessary.I have a wildlife pond so I have to be careful and it has tadpoles in it and a resident grump of a frog.Mr Frog is a tad camera shy and won’t oblige with any pictures frogs are fickle things.

I had a black bird swoop over my head as if to tell me I was in their way as they flew down to drink from the pond.

And we craft what we want to see from our window like the lady of Shalott  as she weaves  ... “Near Camelot is the Island of Shalott, where a beautiful young maiden is imprisoned. She, the Lady of Shalott, must not look at Camelot but can only see what is reflected in a mirror as she works on weaving a magical web.”

These are windows viewing the natural yet sculptures landscape of Stoneywell Cottage.

Vlogging With A iPhone 8

I learnt a new skill the other day at a Three discovery store and it was a skill I didn’t possess as a blog and that was my ability to do a video . Doing a video was usually the domain of my husband and yes he’s comfortable with doing that and I wasn't comfortable at all in front of the camera.When you are thrown into something sometimes you have to run with it and I was grateful to Three discovery store for the opportunity to learn a new skill.

I suppose my husband could have shown me how to use iMovie but you know how it is sometimes when its your nearest and dearest you don't always necessarily listen wholeheartedly! This is maybe also why when my husband tried to help me learn how to drive he practically had kittens and slapped more L plates on the car then I had ever seen in my life.

It was super easy to get to the Three discovery store in Islington just one stop on the Tube to Angel from St Pancras and I do love St Pancras with all my heart she is a grand old lady but a truly decadent age.And I am so happy in my heart that new life is being breathed into her with hotels and champagne bars and the like , oh if I could only go on the Orient Express from there.

I met some truly inspirational people at the event ( there was 4 of us ) we were paired up originally but I went my own way as I aim just learning this craft.We were using IPhones 8 which is the same phone as my husband has it is his new phone as well I dropped my phone down the toilet a few weeks back so I had his iPhone 7. I didn't think it was quite fair that I should be the one that got to have the new iPhone 8 even though it is an awesome phone.

You don't necessarily have to establish yourself a vlogging identity unless you really want to crave yourself a niche in the world of Youtube maybe but perhaps just to do quirky videos of family trips etc. I am shy and I am am very hesitant to talk to camera but I will do in short bursts I think its the fact I don't like how I sound on camera.

iMovie is super easy to download from the App site and big bonus is that its free and its here you can either create a movie or a trailer , I think its really funky and I have created a few trailers myself inspired by the day my trailers are of my family trips!

So I challenge you to have a go with I movie and see what you can do and you don't have to speak if you don't want to you can use captions. I love learning new skills and you can never stop learning.