Tea Parties Aren't Just For Dolls

There's nothing better than indulging yourself in your favourite hobby, surrounded by good company and tasty treats! So that's exactly how I decided to create a huge "thank you" to my mum, to show her how grateful I am for the incredible amount of help and support she gave me when I was moving out and continues to give me every day

My mum is amazing. I know everyone thinks that about their mum but I honestly can't stress how truly inspiring my mother is to me. She raised two daughters (one of them being particularly difficult sometimes, ahem, sorry) alone, with the exception of some babysitting help from her own parents, she works a full time job and she now takes care of my nan these days too. So every now and then, it's just nice to spoil her a bit.

Mum loves crafting but she's always so busy that she hardly ever gets the chance to do any. And who doesn't love a cup of tea?

That's how I ended up throwing a surprise thank you party under the guise of crafting with my sister and a friend. Everyone was expecting just the odd mug of tea and a spread of shop bought biscuits.

But this is my mum. My mum is coming over and I need everything to be special...

Time to do some lone crafting to get ready for the day itself!

I threw together some simple invitations and then I got baking. I baked like I've never baked before in my life. Mainly because I actually haven't. I've never actually baked anything without help before in my life.

I made scones, I made chocolate chip cookies and I made ginger bread biscuits. Then I made all the finger sandwiches for lunch. After that I decorated. I even managed to get a proper tea set and adorable disposable plates, napkins and a cake stand.

Obviously this wasn't all prepared in one day, I did odd bits and pieces after work throughout the week, but still, there was a lot of planning and effort went into this.

I don't think any of my guests could quite believe it when I served the food. I don't like to brag but I'm pretty sure I make a good hostess. Everyone loved the tea party half of the party. Including me.

After the food, we moved on to the craftathon I'd promised everyone. Unfortunately I can only show one of the items I worked on as the other is part of a gift that I can't reveal just yet.

I've taken to making special embroidery hoops though, inspired by the amazing Love & a Sandwich, I've only made one before this but I decided to attempt to create a Hunger Games piece. I definitely need more practice, but hey, it's a start.

All in all, days like this are what crafting is all about for me, it's about making people happy by doing just that little bit extra. Why not try it yourself? You never know, the joy might be contagious, I can't wait for my next craft epidemic.