Scrapping Tonight

During the Easter Holidays we had the great pleasure of entertaining the Deacons!
We decided that we would have afternoon tea.




Menu :

Open cheese and cucumber finger buns
Open cucumber and ham finger buns
Brownie and cheescake topped cupcakes baked by Holly Deacon
Scones with clotted cream and Jam
Oat and honey biscuits



As you can see a lot of fun was had!
Thank you to Sue, Holly and Em for coming to see us, we loved having you!! Why not invite your friends over for an impromptu afternoon tea.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna xx

Remember I was invited to the Ambi Pur crafting day with Danielle Proud?
Well we were given a lovely hamper of crafting goodies and Ambi Pur lovelies.
During the Easter Holidays Izzy decided to have a go at a touch of Mosaic using the crafting project that was in the hamper basket.



Izzy chose to do the trinket box. A typical tween, she has plenty of trinkets that need a home! Izzy started by pencilling out her design on a piece of plain paper.



Carefully using the tweezers provided she then started to pick her mosaic pieces and glue them into place.



After about an hour Izzy had completed gluing all her pieces into place.



The last stage to do now is to add the black grout, which we will do this weekend and I will post teh completed project for you all to see.

I have seen these project boxes many times and not thought much of them. But now I have seen one they are a lot of fun for older children. I wouldnt recommend for an adult, although dont get me wrong I have started doing the night light!!
A lot of fun for any young budding crafter! Have you tried one of the House of Crafts project boxes? Would love to hear.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

The Bowkis family are huge, and I mean HUGE Roald Dahl fans. We have the books, we love the movies and we love all things Roald Dahl.
So this Easter  at long last we found the time to go and visit the Roald Dahl Museum in Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire.

After some time trying to find somewhere to park we eventually gor parked and made our way up the road to the museum. I was rather glued to all the gorgeous Interior Design shops and general gifty shops.
We queued and got our tickets as well as paying to attend a story telling workshop in the afternoon.

As you enter the Museum you are greeted to the Enormous Crocodile bench and a map of the museum.


I had to get a photo of the girls together and this was a perfect place to stop!


The museum goes through the ages of Roald Dahl's life, each room a chapter of his life.
I loved all the details throughout.


Peters favorite Roald Dahl book and movie is The Fantastic Mr Fox. So much that he has his own book and DVD copy!







Check this out! A replica Roald Dahls writing chair for kids and adults alike to try out. The real chair is behind glass.
Lilly had to try for size. How tiny does she look!



We had great plans to have lunch in Cafe Twit and try out some familiar dishes like oompaloompa sandwitches and bogtrotter cake, but it was packed, so we headed out into the village to find somewhere else to eat.



We found an amazing Tapas restaurant. Not so good for Peters pockets but we all thoroughly enjoyed the dishes. The chorizo in red wine was  a great hit and we had to order another!

We had a great day and bought a few bits from the gift shop. We all got a note book and a box of Roald Dahl magnetic words so we can all make up our own whizz bang stories on the fridge!

If you and your family are Roald Dahl fans do make the journey to visit Great Missenden and visit the area and museum. We didn't have time to visit areas of interest in the village as we had to get back for Suki.
I will leave the last word to Mr Dahl himself
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”


Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

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The girls are on holiday and Peter has been off for the week. We have had such a lovely family week.
With Easter weekend just gone we spent quality time at home as a family enjoying our house and lots of home cooked food.

Easter Sunday morning we started with an Easter Egg hunt but with clues this time. I am not sure who enjoyed it more, the girls or Peter and I!
We hid eggs all over the house with a clue placed with each egg. Starting with a drop off form the Postman, ending with a BIG surprise in the Studio. the girls had great fun working our where the eggs were and its was lovely to see them working as a team.



After the Easter Egg hunt Lilly helped me make up the table favours; cute Easter boxes I found in M&S, that I filled with mini chocolate eggs.



To finish our Easter decorations I bought Tulips and Daffodils and Lilly added yellow shredded paper and chicks!



I hope you all had a lovely Easter holiday. I will be sharing out trip to The Roald Dahl museum later in the week, a must for all Roald Dahl fans!

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

Today I waved goodbye to Izzy as she embarks on a weeks holiday with school at West Runton in Norfolk. Two years ago Izzy last went on a weeks school trip and was so tearful it was a horrid experience to let her go. Infact all the mums and children were teareyed and it was a really emotional affair!
This year 40 odd year 6 kids , all smiles and enthusiasm got on the coach to spend a week away for the last time as a group of classmates and friends. Parents were emotional but the children were excited and looking forward to the adventures that await them! The weather is going to be stunning all week, and today they start their holiday off with a pool party!!
Yes you heard me right, a pool party! Izzy has gone complete with kaftan top and lip gloss to complete her look.

So here she is, my independant 11 year old, all packed and ready for her school trip.

love this quote, so apt for me right now

If I am still blogging in 5 years time, I am sure there will be a similar post about her off to Uni or something!

I know she will have a wonderful time and I cannot wiat to pick her up on Friday and hear all about her week.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

Last Thursday I had the great pleasure of being invited to a workshop at Homemade London hosted by Ambi Pur and Danielle Proud. Sue came along with me and we met at Kings Cross Station at 9.30am.

We made our way across London to Marble Arch and the shop Homemade London. We were greeted by lots of smiling faces; the lovely Emily and Helen from the PR agency for Ambi Pur and a warm welcome from Nicola the owner of Homemade London.
I immediately fell in love with these beautiful pompoms made from tissue paper. I can see them hanging in trees with bunting for a photo shoot!



We settled down to our seats and were served fresh coffee in the most exquisite china teacups and fresh orange juice. Scrummy brioche and croissants and bowls of fresh fruit were on the table for us all.



Sue and I were only able to stay for the embroidery class where we learnt several different enbroidery stitches, I can now chain stitch!! Our project was a tea towel. I stitched a couple of strawberries on mine, and was really chuffed with my finished tea towel!
Sue the expert taught the class how to do a french knot, I am still trying!!




Homemade London is a treasure trove of a crafters heaven! So many trinkets and touchy feely projects laying around. Downstairs where we had lunch, is a room dedicated to sewing machines!!!
Do visit their website as they have some lovely courses coming up and they do kids tea parties!!



Danielle Proud was Ambi Pur's guest also, and she was so lovely. Danielle came and sat with everyone chatting, she is so down to earth and I just loved hearing about her Interior Design projects she is working on.



After lunch Emily presented Sue and I with a hamper of crafting goodies and some Ambi Pur goodness!

Finally it was time for Sue and I to go, but not before a quick photo!



My Ambi Puri gift was the Ambi Pur 3volutions product Seabreeze scent. It is so easy to use, it just plugs into a spare socket. The new 3voloution has not one but 3 complimentory scents. The clever idea behind this is so you dont become accustomed to one smell! Genius. The plug in will rotate the 3 scents at intervals. I love mine, it is plugged upstairs in the hallway by the girls bathroom!
The 3volution is available in 3 fragances.

I had such a wonderful day and met a lovely group of ladies.

Thanks for stopping by
Anna x

I am coming to the end of my first year in business next month and I thought it would be fun to celebrate by offering a FREE Mini Session to one lucky fan!
Mini session is for up to 5 people and last about 30 minutes. You will receive 5 images on disc.




All I ask you to do is

• "like" my face book fan page
• post here on my blog that you have done that with a link
• for an extra chance to win, share this blog post on twitter @AnnaBowkis

Yes it is really as easy as that! One lucky fan will win a Mini Session with 5 images on disc, to take place at Brampton Woods or Hitchingbrooke Park.

Closing Date is 28th April 2012, winner will be announced on 30th April 2012.

I am really excited about my first competition, please spread the word, and good luck!

Anna xx