craving cupcakes!

On twitter, I follow a fair few cake bakers... I'm so in awe of how amazing they are!!

meet... @amylane, @fashioncake and @mumswhobake

I'm so jealous of their skills! and over the last couple of days, I've been reading their blogs, Surfing mumswhobake's website and desperately wanting to eat cupcakes!!

now, I do bake cakes... but the one's I've seen are amazing, The Birthday cakes that @fashioncake made, are so so so cute! it was her son's 2nd birthday and she made him the most wonderful Iggle Piggle cake! Look...

amazing isn't it! So talented... I wish I lived closer to her, I would be buying cakes for all my kids birthdays!... I can't wait for her to find out if she can mail order cakes... I'm going to be her 1st customer if she can!!!

@amylane was twittering yesterday about her cakes... and her classes she's been going to, She'd blogged about it all too, So off i went to be nosey.. and OMGosh.. what did i find.... amazingly crafted flowers, cupcakes and fabulous cake toppers.. Oh.... how jealous am i! Then, also on twitter, she added a picture through twitpic of a birthday cake she'd made for a friend's son!..

Here i was sat in front of my laptop.. wanting to lick my screen.... I so needed to eat that cake... its amazing... Look.....

then she put another picture on twitter... this was torture... look.....

I am desperately in need of a sugar/cupcake fix now... how amazing are all these cakes...

Then only a few moments later, @Mumswhobake put up a tweet about her Xmas stock shopping and a new cutter/puncher she'd been using to make snowflakes for her Christmas cakes... and Look.....

how super are these!!!! I have to buy this cutter to make my own springy Christmas snowflake cake!!! I'm in love!

But... all this cake loving and wanting made me soooo hungry for some of my own and I didn't have any ingredients in the house... so couldn't satisfy my want... I had nothing sugary in the house... so had crackers & butter! bummer huh!

So.. today's plan of action was, whilst taking boys to their Samurai class, I would buy the ingredients to make my own cupcakes.. Not on a scale like these wonderful lady bakers.. but hopefully something special enough to satisfy my cake needs!!

I'm also suffering from major PMT this week! I'm so stressed! so I thought I might incorporate some chocolate into the cakes, normally I use bournville cocoa powder, but I wanted something a bit more solid.. so looking along the candy aisle in the supermarket, I saw buy 2 for £2.50 big bars of cadbury bars.. (the big ones!!!) and thought.. ooh.... Crunchie & Caramel... how yummy would it be to put a chunk of each in the middle of the cakes... So i did!!!

Also, I only have a red food dye, but didn't want bright pink butter icing on the top! the boys have an aversion to pink! so.. i made half of it pink and left half white.. and put it in the piping bag to make it mix up!!!!

Here's my results... Now be warned.. they are no where near as fab as the wonderful twitter bakers... but they tasted yummy.. and the choc chunks worked out great!! they sank.. but still worked out well!

the buttercream did turn out a bit too pink so, I thought i'd better put some of our left over black holographic edible glitter on them!.. they look fab don't they!! Wish i had more colours of the glitter though.. maybe some red, gold, pink, purple, green, orange... Oh heck.. i wish i had ALL edible glitter available!

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Proud Mummy moments!!

Well.. so much for my blogging every night... How useless am I!?!

My 1st proud mummy moment happened over 7 days ago now, I really shouldn't have taken so long getting this up for you all to read!

my 8yo son had his 1st Samurai seminar at Falmer university, Brighton and it was amazing, He loved it! I was so proud seeing my son take part in the demonstrations and prove to his sensei that he deserved his next belt (white with a yellow stripe!)

here is a picture of him doing a Demo:

the demonstrations and training went on for about 2 hours...it was amazing to watch and 8yo really tried hard to do everything right!

He was one of the youngest & smallest there! (apart from the kid they partnered him with, he was a titch.. Poor boy didn't know what hit him when 8yo threw him over his shoulder/back!!

and when the boy had to do the same move on 8yo... No chance!! poor kid!

he loved every minute of the morning, and was so excited to see his mum & dad (rare that dad ever does anything/go anywhere with mum!!) sitting in the viewing area upstairs! he kept looking up & waving!!!

after the demonstration, all of the sensei put together an assault course and split the kids up to compete! (they even let 6yo join in! which he loved!!!! here's a video of them all!!

*6yo is the one in the Bright blue top!*

after the assault course, the head sensei took them through their grading, then sat them down and gave them all their certificates and new belts... they were told to take off their white belts and to put their new one on, but 8yo was given an adult size belt and it was so funny.. watching him trying to put it on!!! it was HUGE! it took 3 sensei to help him.. Poor boy

here is 8yo with his certificate... I'm so so proud of my eldest son.. he's amazing!

Now.....my 2nd proud mummy moment was going to see 6yo in his school performance.

it was called "Stella the Starfish" and was all about a starfish who'd lost her family and had to travel through the mgical ocean to find her family.

6yo was a Turtle.. not just any Turtle, but a depressed, grumpy Turtle!! He'd been singing the songs for weeks... so i'd learn't ALL the words! but was excited to see how a turtle this grumpy could be played into the performance...

Well.. here's the video of him singing his song.. He's the one in the middle of the screen.. (bopping!)

the words to the song are:

"snap, snap, snap, i'm Terry the Turtle,

grump, grump, grump, keep outta my way,

My flippers are tough & i'm feeling rough,

So just - leave me alone Today"

"Snap, snap, snap, I'm Terry the Turtle,

grump, grump, grump, keep outta my way,

My blood is all cold & i'm feeling old,

So just - will you please Go away"

"snap, snap, snap,

Grump, grump, grump,

Read MY beak

NOT AT HOME TODAY"

*this was just the verse.. I could remember the whole thing!!*

(but loved the bit about turtle soup!! lol)

here's a picture of him in his costume, He's looking a tad shy.. awwwww!!!

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this is what I love.....

ok.. so this is an unplanned blog entry, but I have to share this with you all...

I've just recieved an Email from a lady who asked me to make her daughter a Sophie4Sophie dress!

she'd been waiting for me to finish the sample sizes of the 4-7 year old dress! and as soon as i had, she sent me some gorgeous fabric!!

I was so excited about making this dress.. as the fabrics were divine and I couldnt wait to see them come together!

( I haven't got any pics of the dress as i forgot to take any. i was super rushing to get it posted on saturday!!)

but anyway... here's the email!

Dear Natalie

I'm been meaning to write this all day - whenever I've sat down at the PC some mini drama or so has unfolded (usually involving poo or wee as my son is potty training)!!

I received the dress this morning and it is AMAZING!!! Even better than I could have imagined X 100!! I'm not someone who is easily impressed these days (too old and cynical!), so please consider it a real achievement!! My little girl F***** really loved it too...so bonus!!

I'll send some pics onto your fan page on Facebook soon.

Thanks again

K** xx

Doesn't get better than that Huh??

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Today was Tuesday.....

today was Tuesday..

I woke up early, Knowing I had to be at 6yo's school to watch him in a play called "Stella the starfish" which was amazing... 6yo was so funny and did the best grumpy turtle dance ever!
(he played a depressed Turtle!!)

I'm planning a blog on this V.soon!! haven't uploaded pics & video yet, but promise to do so soon.. as its super cool!

After Watching 6yo in play, I took all my newly made dress orders to the post office, one package went to Oslo, Norway! (Look out for the big news on this one!!! website to follow too!) one went to http://www.weepunk.co.uk/ (@weepunk on twitter! and now my 3rd stockist!! YAY) and one with a sample dress that went to a hopeful new stockist.. which if successful, will be named here at a later date!

4yo had an appointment with Speech and language today too.. so after the post office trip, We got on the bus to the next town, along the coast road to the clinic..
4yo was fab! not one stammer.. typical.. but the speech & language lady was concerned about his behaviour.. and his 'need' to shout.. EVERYTHING!! so has referred him to audiology!
6yo had surgery in Jan to fix his hearing, he was 80% deaf!!! but perfect(ish) now.. no more shouting! so hopefully.. if 4yo has same.. he can be 'fixed' too! i'd love a quiet home... LOL

well... after spending about 1.5hours with the S&L lady, we decided to pop into Brighton again (we'd been Monday!) to buy some things... I'd seen some Lego reduced and wanted to buy it! God knows why.. i think i spend half my income on Lego for the boys.. but they do love it!
I also went into a high street shop... to look for 'fat tops' I've never ever had to buy a size 20 until now.. and I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that.. "you can't wear a size 10 anymore Nat.. You look ridiculous!!" (thanks mum!!)
So.. I searched for some tops and found a couple.. one of them was reduced to £14 from £22 and one was reduced to £5 from £18, not bad!! so went to pay... at the checkout though.. they guy rang them through and said "that'll be £10 please.." huh... nice one!.. best not tell him he rang through the £5 top twice!! I chip & pinned and walked out! hehe (i love a bargain!!)

not thinking and the Stokke Xplory being full of things & no handbag, I put my purse, phone and other bits into the bag with tops and put this bag into the Lego bag.
left the shop and got the bus home!... and just in time.... The heavens opened a Thunder and lightning storm had just started!!!
why is it that lightning isn't as cool when its daytime.. I love lightning... but not when you can't see it properly! So glad we had 4 episodes of it today.. Kids got super scared of it this evening... really freaked them out! wimps!! (OK. maybe it was the sound of the thunder that scared them.. or even the fat that the Sky+ didn't work due to the storm.. amazing how NOT being able to watch TV can traumatise a child!!!) I love thunder & lightning.. amazing it is!
Anyway.. i digress... I got onto the bus and it was PACKED... so many people got on & i had to stand.. so put the shopping bags into the cargo part at front of the bus.. and stood next to 4yo & Soph in the Xplory.
My knees have been giving me a lot of pain these last few days (I've been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis in my knees) and i was struggling to stand up, so when the bus died down.. a space came up next to the kids on the other side.. (the seats where the sticker says "priority to the elderly, disabled or those less able to stand") I think I pass for this category?! Well anyway.. I sat my ass down!!
Because the bus had been so busy.. it had had to stop sooo many times and time was running out.. it was 2:45 and i had 15 mins to get into my town, take shopping home & meet 8yo on the hill so we could quickly whizz round and collect 6yo from his school..
just coming into the town centre, I Was distracted.. someone started to talk to me about the Xplory... now i LOVE talking about the Xplory and how uber cool it is, but i was tired, stressed and almost LATE.. I said to the lady, "oh i am sorry, this is my stop.. thanks for your comments, Yes, She DOES look like a princess!" (haha! i love it when they say that! she's the Official #1 Stokke Queen!!)
Pushing the bell for the stop, the bus driver nearly missed stopping and I quickly got off the bus... thinking.. oh I'd better check the time... and ...................

NO.... NO... NO... NO... NOOOOOOO
I'VE LEFT MY F**KING SHOPPING BAGS IN THE CARGO BIT..... MY FREAKING PURSE... PHONE... EVERYTHING..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......

shouting at 4yo.... i said... "RUN.... run after that bus..." now, this is the road and its a STEEP hill



It may not look like a long way... but when you have a 4yo & an Xplory and Stoopid freaking Knees.... it can feel like Everest...
I RAN... ran so hard and so fast... I started crying... my knees were giving way... BUT i had to catch the Bus... What if someone saw me put the shopping on the bus.. Knew i'd got off and then took my shopping knowing I couldn't do anything about it... Noooo...

Shouting at 4yo to hurry up.. I almost ran into oncoming traffic... I was hysterical... I couldn't stop, because i'd miss catching up with the bus.. BUT OMGOD... I'm so FAT.. and SO freaking unable to run... I'm never going to catch it.. 4yo is crying too... "mummy... my heart is hurting me..."
"KEEP RUNNING..... we have to catch up with the bus..."

NOPE.. it was gone.... I'd ran all the way to the next stop.. and it had gone... the next bus stop was too far away...

I started Blubbering.... All my money...My phone.... kids Lego... irreplaceable thing in my purse, like photos of kids and the Tracking info for the packages I'd sent this morning... Noooo... all GONE..

Then.. it hit me.... Taxi... get in a taxi and "CHASE THAT BUS, DRIVER"
I went into the taxi office and through my out of breathe, blubbering fat red face.. i tried saying that i needed a taxi NOW....

the lady in the office said.. "Nah.. darlin... ain't got nothing for at least 5 mins..."

FIVE F**KING MINUTES..... No... i need one NOW... she saw i was hysterical and asked what had happened, I tried telling her... but started having a panic attack... I've never had one before (in public that is.. but now... in a taxi office.. with 4yo crying.. Sophie flabbergasted to what was going on with her mummy...) I was going crazy...

Thankfully.. the blackberry was in the pocket of the Xplory.. what a god send that pocket is... I got out my phone and tried ringing my sister (business partner - BIG Sophie!!) I couldn't talk to her... i just stammered down the blackberry... saying
"I..i...i... taxi.... now.. kids... school...bus... Lego.... running.. knees....money... now... help... please... centre... help... come...."

what i was trying to say through hyperventilating was.....
"I'm waiting for a taxi.... the kids are coming out of school NOW.. and i'm not there..... i left a Lego bag on the bus with my shopping & purse, phone in.. and I ran after it.. I'm now in the town with NO money... and i need your help.. come to the town centre and help me..."

She didn't understand a thing... "Nat.. what the F**K s wrong with you... where are you??"

passing the blackberry to the lady in the taxi office, she told her where i was...

I was so upset.. all I could think about was the kids... they were coming out of school NOW and for the life of me.. could i remember the phone numbers of their schools? nope! could i even ring them and make sense down the phone.. NOPE... I was a mess....

My knees were hurting so much... was pumped full of adrenaline.. but my knees couldn't cope.. i collapsed on the floor of the taxi office... crying in shame now more than my loss of shopping and things... how embarrassing... I've never been so unfit.. and/or so unable to run... this is such a wake up call...

after what seemed like an eternity.. BIG Sophie arrived and i was able to cryptically tell her that I wanted her to take 4yo & Soph with her to find 8yo who'd be scared out his wits that mummy wasn't home or had met him from school.. (he walks down the hill to our hosue everyday after school and i meet him outside the house) and to then ring 6yo's school and tell them to keep him there in after-school club...

and still NO TAXI... this bus would be miles away by now... I started crying again... where is the taxi...
"I've got a taxi near the bus..." taxi lady says... "I'm going to send him after the bus without you.. as it'd be quicker than coming back here to get you"
"O..o...kay"... i said... picking myself up off the floor...
BIG Sophie went with kids and i sat down on a bench and continued to cry into my hands...
GOD... what a complete state i must have looked.. now in all my life.. I have never shown this kind of public breakdown... but i couldn't help myself... I was out of control and showing the world my soul... OK.. maybe not my soul... but, i was so upset! I'm such a closed book in person.. I never let my emotions show... Not ever to strangers anyway!.. and come on Nat.. it was only Lego, clothes and a purse & phone.. you CAN replace most of this... OK.. not the photos, tracking info & other few bits.. but most of it... WHY are you getting so upset??!

I think.. i was more upset that I'd been so Stupid.. i never ever normally leave things on the cargo part.. for fear of someone snatching them whilst I'm sat down and distracted... but here I was.. being THAT stupid and leaving my things there... and also.. i think i was ashamed... ashamed that in an emergency.. i couldn't perform.. i couldnt catch the bus up.. I nearly got myself, the xplory and 4yo ran over by running into the main road.. GOD.. what kind of a mother am i!?!

the taxi lady's phone rang... " are you there... is it there... what did your bag look like love??"

Umm... I've told you a million blubbering times.... "it was a LEGO BAG... yellow... with a purse and phone in it.."

"did you hear that... its a Lego bag... have you got it??"

god the suspense was killing me.... Was my shopping there.. had the taxi driver caught the bus?

i was starting to calm down now... hopeful that the Taxi driver had stopped the bus.. and was collecting my bag... Please please please....

her phone rang again

"whats your name lovey??? (Grr.. i hate being called "lovey")
"Natalie"

whats your surname....
"L***man" i said... " has he got it??? I was shaking again.... please... please let him have my bag...

"ok.. " she put down the phone..
ok.. OK what.....

"he has your bags... he's on the way to the office!"

YES.... omgosh.. I've never been so relieved in all my life.. i started crying AGAIN...
(geez... am i hormonal or something???)

looking out the window... i waited for the driver... here he was....
YAY... he had my things!!!

I thanked him SO much and threw all the money I had in my purse at him.. i think it was about £15..(wish i could have given him more...) but I had my purse! I had my phone and I had the kids Lego! YAY!

I hobbled home, wishing i still had my Xplory to hold onto.. I could barely walk... and was still so upset and red faced from crying (or was that shame...)
got in the house and callasped... on the floor.. literally and cried again... but this time in happiness... I was so thankful... i had my things back and the kids were home safe

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my obsession with Stokke

I think everyone who knows me, Or who follows me on Twitter will know how much of a Stokke fan I am!

At the present time, I am the Proud owner of 6 Tripp Trapps, 2 Xplorys, a Table top, A Hippo rocker & soon to own Care unit!

the only things left on my list are the Keep unit & and the junior extension for the Sleepi, but Sophie would have to actually sleep in her cot before i made it bigger for her!!!

on twitter @mummytips is my new best friend! she runs the Global PR for Stokke and she's amazing!! I wouldn't be where I am today without her! (be sure to check out her blog too... full of amazing products and exclusives!)

I met her on twitter after she set up an account for Stokke fans called @StokkeLovers and ran a competition.. I Won!! (I knew I would!!) it was a cup holder for the Xplory! YAY!

I have a Yellow Xplory, which was released in limited amounts, I think only 100 were available for sale in the UK.. I feel super fab knowing I won't bump into another!! and its gorgeous! It came with the Forest Olive kit too.. which is So beautiful

but me being me, I get bored quickly... I wanted more colour for my Xplory!... never content me!

Mummytips kindly sent me come Orange textiles for the Xplory... but when the parcel arrived, inside where Turquoise ones!! WOW i thought.. these are amazing.. and SO BRIGHT... how cool would they look against the Yellow!

But because they weren't the ones i ordered, I didn't use them! i put them in the box and pondered...

Now Yesterday.. I received my Orange Textiles... Oooohh... they are Lush! love them... they match my forest olive kit perfectly!

I couldn't wait to get the new orange bits on the xplory, So today we had a play! Before I did though, I saw this post on Twitter

"Wonder what colour Soph4Soph's Stokke Xplory will be today?" from @mummytips

Well... this is what colour it was....

I know I'm not keeping the Turquoise Textiles, but I had to ask @mummytips If i could Use them just to see what it would look like.. and OMGOSH... I think I might just have to beg her to let me buy them!! They look amazing with the Yellow... SO vibrant!!!

What do you all think? which combo do you think looks the best??

I'm sure when we go out tomorrow morning, we are going to get a lot of notice and Stares!! but that's what its all about!! ;-)

I, and even Sophie love getting stopped by passers by! she waves at them like she's a queen... and she is THE queen, the Queen of Stokke!

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Spider Web Spinning!

well after the mammoth post last night, I though tonight's could be somewhat shorter & lighter!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about the Story behind Sophie4Sophie and the showcase of my new product, which shall now be referred to as the "kinky bib" thanks Claire!!

So...
Today I've not really got much work done, with my lack of enthusiasm to do anything & it being so blooming hot... I've not moved far from the sofa since i got home this afternoon.

I did however take photos of all my most recently bought fabrics! I've been meaning to do this for a while! I've bought so many wonderful fabrics and have been secretly keeping them all to myself!

but have decided, this is not fair!! Why shouldn't the World enjoy them too... Especially on a Super funky Sophie4Sophie dress! (or bib!!)

I've put them all on Flickr!!! I'm so excited about my flickr!! I'd been locked out of it for nearly a month! I'd forgotten the password & couldn't reset it.. but today.. out of sheer luck, I tried to reset it again..and it WORKED!! yay!

I had been worrying that I'd have to start a whole new account and re upload the hundreds of photos that I'd already got on my original account! So, Phew... that's a job not in need of doing!

The photos have all been put here have a look!!

I do only have limited availability of some of the fabrics, maybe even only enough to make 1 dress.. or even 1 bib! (I've added my big scraps!!) If your interested in any... act quickly... as someone else might beat you to them!!

Also today... (skipping onto a completely different subject!)

spider web spinning!!! the title of today's post has been inspired by my sons.. They've been having so much fun today, much to my annoyance.. with balls of string...

We took a load of clothes to the charity shop a few weeks ago, and walked a round the back of the shop to leave them in their porch, seagulls tend to eat any bags left out in the high street and I didn't want any of the clothes getting ruined. The back of the shop is in a large communal car-park and beside the back door were wheelie bins.. now i don't normally take much notice of wheelie bins, but these ones were Full.. so full of things... not rubbish... I thought.. OMGosh..whats that??.... I have that baby gym at home, it cost me £50!! and its still in its packaging! WHAT.. I took it out the bin and investigated further... What else could be in here if they're throwing away good toys.

So many things were in there.. but most importantly these balls of string! there were hundreds!!! glittery ones, black ones, Red ones, pink ones! I thought how cool... we could have so much fun making things with these.. so We took them home! (shh.. don't tell anyone we bin borrow!!)

this is what the balls of string were made into today: They spent HOURS... tying this string to every available surface in their bedroom...the hall...the bathroom and even the landing!.. it looked amazing!!! I'm not sure if I'm happy about it, but for the peace and quiet it gave me this afternoon, I'm not going to grumble! they had so much fun and the creativity of them is amazing... Roni my 6yo (pictured in the Ubang Elephant top!) had taken on the role of a giant spider.. here he is scaring me out of his room...

He's so funny!... i love how imaginative he is!! the spider web is still there, He wouldn't let me cut it down, I don't know how I'm getting into my bedroom tonight...Its a bit like the crystal maze... but what will I win if i manage to get through it!

Maybe I'll just take up come scissors and say another bigger spider came along and was jealous!! If not he can just make a new one... we still have 99 balls of string left!!!

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Well... Hello to all.. I'm here by (hopefully) popular demand! and raring to go with my 1st blog entry!

I thought I'd start off by telling you a bit about myself.. and what 'Soph4Soph' is all about...

I'm a Single (nearly 30yr old!) Mum to 4 kiddies.. I have 3 sons, aged 8, 6 and 4. then I have my Daughter, the wonderful and most amazing... Sophie-Isabella Syna! (yes her initials spell out S.I.S!!) She's 19 months old and Very very cheeky! (and Beautiful!!)

Soph4Soph (as I'm known my on Twitter account) is the name of my clothing Label, 'Sophie4Sophie' I started the clothing label in May 2008 and its been a slow but fun learning experience! which has in the last few months turned into a real business!! and selling Online!!

The concept behind Sophie4Sophie was to make clothes for babies/Toddlers that didn't have a 3 month size tag! I wanted clothes that evolved with the baby/toddler and that were super funky and adaptable!!

the 1st design we (i saw 'we' as my sister.. Sophie is the co-founder to the business! (also I'll come to the name thing in a min!!)) came up with was a pair of pants! or trousers.. i used to call them trousers, but prefer the word pants now!!

the pants fit from 6 months (approx!) all the way to 18 months and Beyond!... they are unique in design and unique in style! and almost unique in FUNK!! (but can't take the credit for the funk'ness.. that's down to the fabric designers... I love them!!)
here's a pic of a pair!!!

I haven't made any of these for a while, Because along came my 2nd creation, and the one I'm mostly known for... the Super funky.. totally cool... Sophie4Sophie Reversible Dress!!!

these dresses are my passion, they fit from 9 months (approx! as i know a few 6 month olds who fit in them!!) all the way to 3 years and beyond.. (don't tell anyone, but my 4 year old son fits them perfectly!!)

they are designed to be worn as a loose long dress whilst baby is young, then as they grow they turn from a dress, to a short swing dress, to a super cool swing top! they can be worn all year round, as in summer wear alone, then when the colder months come around, just team them up with leggings, jeans, tights and Tops, vests or really ANYTHING!!

here's a pic of my fave dress ever

I love the fabric on this dress, its so NOT conforming to a little girls outfit.. but who could resist the half naked workmen on this dress!! so funny and So cool!.. the reverse of this dress is a tad more suitable tho, it has manga fighting girls & flowers on! Still totally Cool... but less shocking for the little old ladies that see her as she's walking down the road! Ha ha! i love the looks i get when she's in this dress!!

You can see all of my work on my facebook page I haven't updated Facebook for a while, but soon you should see more of my most recent work.. and upcoming News, Events and special offers!

Right... so now I've kinda and Hopefully bought you up to speed on who I am and what Sophie4Sophie is, let crack on with Today!!.... Wasn't it blooming HOT!!

I was woken up this morning by my sister Sophie (yes.. will still come to the name thing in a min!!) at 9am! its Wednesday.. what was I doing in bed.. at 9am on a school day! didn't the kids know that they had to wake me up??

I said... "uhh... whats the time?? why are you ringing me?" (dribble still adorning my cheek.. why oh why do i sleep with the electric fan pointing towards my face!)

"where are you, you home yet" she said...

"um... I'm still asleep... whats the time... 9AM...... No way.. I'm still in bed... The kids... they're so going to be late for School!"

"I'll be round in a min.. put the kettle on" Sophie said! (from now on, Sister Sophie will be known as BIG Sophie! this is what the kids call her otherwise it gets confusing!!)

up like a shot, I thought 'Right.. time to get into gear' running down stairs, shouting.. "boys.... are you ready for school?"

(they always get themselves dressed in the morning, 8yo makes them all breakfast.. so when i do get up at 7am'ish they're pretty much set!)

"yeah mummy... we are..." this was 8yo!

walking into the living room.. they So weren't ready!! they were all on the sofa covered in blankets watching playhouse Disney!!

I shouted at 8yo to get his School clothes on, which he did and he left the house! We live on the same road as his school, its literally 4/5 houses away and i can see it from my living room window, so every morning he walks himself!

now.. only 6yo and 4yo to get ready.. i put the kettle on and thought... 'I really can't be arsed to rush about... can i just ring the schools and say boys are ill? heatstroke? up too late last night??

what a bad mum i am! YES.. i could say that.. i WAS up all night last night, It was hot.. they could have been up too?? the school won't know.. So i rang them!

" I'm sorry 6yo won't be at school today, he was up all night, didn't sleep very well in this heat, I think he may have have slight heatstroke?? best I keep him home all day indoors.. to recover!"

how bad is that!!! they accepted my 'excuse' and said, "i hope we see him tomorrow!"

as for the 4yo's school/nursery... I didn't bother ringing them! (another post there.. major issues!!)

So at home we stayed!!

BIG Sophie arrived, I had coffee (she had tea, YUK!) and we chatted... I'm trying to help her find a placement for work experience. She's at Uni studying BA Hons Fashion Design, and entering her 2nd year in September! She'd love to do it with River Island, but has quite a few others she'd like to go with too. (cutting this part of the day short.. as another post will cover this story soon!!)

BIG Sophie left and i thought.. I'll work on my new Idea for 'S4S'

I'd had this idea about making something for Sophie (daughter!) and today, I had no school runs, no work, no housework (miracle!) so thought.. lets crack on with it!

armed with my 2nd cup of coffee and some home baked bread.. I got out my fabrics!

on Twitter.. I've been teasing a few of my followers with what i was planning on making, said i had some PVC.. and they Questions came flooding in!!

"are you making a kinky outfit?!" umm.. no.. its for Sophie!

"is it a S4S dress but waterproof? like an apron??" umm.. no, but thanks for the Idea!! will use that one! lol

So.. what i was actually making was a Bib!! I wanted a bib for Sophie for when we ate out.. She is a very messy eater and I'm not a fan of the pull over head jersey plain or printed bibs!! so boring.... I wanted a funky bib! something that stood out.. and something wipe-able! not soak-able!

I have loads of funky fabrics which i could use for the bibs, (all co-ordinated and available to match my dresses!!) should someone want a matching dress & bib!!

I wanted it also to fit a large age range too!! just like everything i make (or will make!) it has to have a long life span!

So, no Velcro... no poppers.. these inhibit the longevity of the bib.. I chose to put ribbons on the bib! simple tie up at the back, making it available to fit, babies, toddlers and again the 4yo! he wasn't impressed being asked to wear a bib!!!

so.. your thinking.. OK... you've told me its a bib... you've told me how its done up at the back, but what makes this bib so special?? and where is this bib??

would you like to see pictures??!!... YES i hear you say!!.. so OK! here's the bib!!

Sophie looks bemused in the pic.. but she's actually pre-sneezing!!! I caught her at just the wrong moment!! but I love the picture!!

the bib was made from 3 layers... top: PVC, middle layer: Alexander Henry 'midnight snack fabric' and bottom layer: organic jersey cotton, bought from Gossypium
I bound it all together using black binding and for the ties... I put in eyelets on either side and used a ribbon to bring the sides together at the back, Here's a pic of the back!

looks so cute doesn't it! and very funky compared to the normal standard bibs available at the mo!!
I've added more pics of the bib and the making process on my Flickr account.. please take a look here
forgive all the other photos in my stream... I'm a Stokke Addict.. and am obsessed with taking photos of my daughter in her Xplory! (another future post... which will feature soon too!!)

Well... so what do you think?? do you like the bib? do you think it has a market?? I'm planning on selling them on request only.. which if you are interested in, please contact me on hello@sophie4sophie.com
I've deliberated on the price.. and have settled on £8 per bib! but.. as I'm always up for a haggle... Haggle with me!! LOL

well.. i think that's it!... Its taken me a good couple of hours of cut/pasting/editing & thinking to get my 1st blog post done!.. I hope you've all enjoyed the read!... i will be writing every evening (if i can..!) so please feel free.. to unfollow me at anytime! i waffle on like crazy, don't make much sense most of the time and so will probably bore you most nights!...

Speak again soon...
Natalie( that my name by the way!!!)

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Right... now for the explination of Sophie4Sophie, BIG sophie & Sophie-Isabella Syna!!

Sophie is my sister, she has a twin.. my other sister.. Isabel!
when my daughter was born, they both demanded i name her after one of them... so Sophie-Isabella it was! Isabella rolled of the tongue better than Isabel! Isabel who's known as Izi now liked that version, so phew, that was ok!!
Syna is my daughters 2nd name and its meaning is 'two together' whihc i thought was quite fitting.. seeing as her 1st name was the two names of my twin sisters put together!! and also... initils are important to me, I wanted her to have an 'S' name so hers would be S.I.S 'sis' because she was a Sis.. she was an only girl to my family of 4! and after having 3 sons.. My daughter was a god send!!
she was the inspiration behind starting Sophie4Sophie.. girls clothes are so much funkier than boys.. they can wear anything and they aren't inhibited by colour! (boys DO wear pink.. but not as a rule!!)
BIG Sophie was and still is studying Fashion at college (now Uni!) and she was making amazing things.. i wanted in on the action and decided i'd start making things for 'my' Sophie!
i've already told you about the pants and dresses, so i won't go on about them again! but they were the 2 things i made.. I was so proud and as Sophie was helping me so much and giving me tons of advice (i've never been taught to sew/design!) we thought we''d try selling our creations! we thought of a name and it just popped into my head, Sophie was helping/making clothes for Sophie.. So, Sophie for Sophie... became... Sophie4Sophie! it just sounded Right!!
so there's how Sophie4Sophie was created, named, and hopefully explained!!

I have a website, which ATM is still under construction.. I'm so useless at web design, that a friend has kindly said she'll create one for me! its in its process and i;ve seen a few Proofs! it looks amazing and I can't wait to show it off! but for now... my work/updates etc.. are all on Twitter.. follow me by searching @soph4soph! or through my Facebook page, which is linked higher up in this post!

once again. thanks for reading, thanks for getting this far without falling asleep! its just gone midnight and i still have 14 cupcakes to buttercream & glitter! (6yo's got a school Fete and i've been asked to do cakes!! YAY!!!)

signing off for tonight... so goodnight... toodle pip... goodnight!
Natalie! xxx

Read more...

Testing, Testing, 1...2....3....

this is the blog of Sophie4Sophie!

( but will most probably have more ramblings about our daily Soap box life!! )

This isn't my 1st Post... this is juat the TEST post... so please ingore this!! later on tonight, we will hopefully have much more interesting 1st read!!

Signing off now, as kids are still demanding my time, Soph's wanting feeding (from me!) and I have oodles of sewing to to!

So until tonight.... Toodle oooo!!

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