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3Jan2022

❤🎄 ❤ NEWS – First Peek ❤🎄 ❤

Hello everyone, how are you all?

Happy New Year to you all.

Definitely feeling the Sunday blues in our house today.  Not that we had a busy Christmas, we certainly didn’t with Omicron around but my week is out of kilter now.  I’m convinced it’s Tuesday and need to be putting the recycling out – what am I like?

Anyway been busy finalising the book, the layout of both the paperback and the Kindle should be with me today for checking and signing off.  Exciting!  I truly am proud of this book and I hope you’ll love it just as much as I do.

As I say, launching on 7th January, 2022, it will be around £5-6 on Amazon, not sure yet until the book is finally uploaded and I see what Amazon intend to charge to print it, but it should be around that price.  Let me know what you think.  Do you like it, will you consider buying it for your little one?  Also, I don’t think I mentioned this, but a donation will be made for every book sold, to Badger Trust West Midlands, so raising funds for a good cause too.

Let me know on the Facebook page. As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them at Prickly Hedge FB Page

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, Prickly Hedge NEWS

Happy New Year and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
27Dec2021

❤🎄 ❤ NEWS – It’s ALMOST HERE ❤🎄 ❤

Hello everyone, how are you all?


Hope you’ve had a good Christmas, or that it was at least better than last year.  Sadly, we were a place missing last year when we couldn’t see our eldest son, and this year, he was there but not his dad.  The last three years have been tough on all of us and my heart goes out to anyone who has lost a loved one for whatever reason.


However, life cracks on apace, I’m afraid and all we can do is go with the flow for a while until we have the strength to, once again, take charge and find new directions.


And speaking of new things, we have a new book coming out on 7th January 2022.  This would have been my husband’s 71st birthday, so it’s extra special this time.  The book is written in rhyme this time and the illustrations are gorgeous.

This is the first page of the book, where Bubble is hoping that Squeek can come round and play.

Teena Rahim, who illustrated the book has captured Bubble’s personality beautifully.  In Teena I found someone who I’ve been able to work with in creating just the right mood for my characters.

She is sooo darn cute, Bubble that is LOL.

The story is about how fearful Bubble is of Billy the badger but once she gets talking to him and understands why he’s so sad, as ever, she wants to help him and in doing so, finds out what ALL of us can do to help him too.

As ever, the book is styled not only on the message of easy ways to help our wildlife, but also on principles of tolerance, inclusion and friendship, which is illustrated by Bubble’s attitude as the book progresses.

With each page that Teena created. I oohed and aahed just a little more, she has also captured Squeek’s playfulness in other pages.  I just LOVE her work.

As I say, launching on 7th January, 2022, it will be around £5-6 on Amazon, not sure yet until the book is finally uploaded and I see what Amazon intend to charge to print it, but it should be around that price.  Let me know what you think.  Do you like it, will you consider buying it for your little one?

Let me know on the Facebook page. As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them at Prickly Hedge FB Page

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, Prickly Hedge NEWS

I hope you have a great holiday and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
20Dec2021

💛🎄 💛 NEWS – Beautiful Christmassy Holly… 💛🎄 💛

Hello everyone, how are you all?
 
Hope you’ve had a good week and are keeping safe.  I came across a charity called Cool Earth this week and they are doubling any contributions given this month, so basically, give once, help twice is their December tagline.

They are a global network helping to stop deforestation.  Why are they are helping the rainforest, check out the website tomorrow to find out HERE

As important as rainforests are in the global regulation of our planet, our own flora and fauna at home is pretty important too.

There’s nothing really more Christmassy than holly.  When those gorgeous red berries arrives on the trees, I feel like Christmas is really close.  I’m lucky enough to own a small yellow holly tree.  It’s not mature enough to have berries yet, but it belonged to my neighbour who sadly died and I managed to secure a bit of it before the developer ripped it all out.  And quite apart from the tradition of bringing it into the home to make us feel all festive, it has enormous value to wildlife from hedgehogs to deers.  There’ll be more about that on the website on Thursday, so check it out HERE .  In the meantime, here’s a really upbeat little video all about this wonderful spikey plant.

And to finish off the week for #craftfriday, how to DIY your own bunch of holly.  I was mesmerised watching this and the end result was stunning.  No, it’s a bit complex for kids, but I thought it was worth watching.  I haven’t forgotten the kids though, there’s also a pop up holly card to make as well.

Hope you have a lovely week.  Take care and stay safe.

Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter for up-to-date news on the new book. You can sign up at www.pricklyhedge.com/freebies You can also catch up with on Facebook at PricklyHedge

Hope you have a lovely week.  Take care and stay safe.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
13Dec2021

💛 🎵💛 NEWS – It’s just like Mistletoe… 💛 🎵💛

Hello everyone, how are you all? Well, I hope.

I know it’s been a long time since I wrote out to you.  I hope you’ll forgive me when you know the reason why.
 
Back in early May, (the last time I wrote to you) my husband went to see his cancer consultant, he’d been battling with melanoma since the September previous and we had a good meeting.  He was doing great, going on to the next stage of treatment.  Everything was going really well.
 
However, within  few days of that appointment, he fell ill and to cut a long story short, the scans he’d had the month previous that showed such good results were now life-threateningly bad.  By mid-June, Peter was dead and life changed dramatically for me.
 
I didn’t know if I wanted to continue with Prickly Hedge, he’d been ill for some time and I hadn’t had much traction with it, but I know he would have wanted me to continue with my writing.
 
I’m doing fine, I choose to live in the gratitude of having had him in my life, rather than in the pain of the loss of him in my life and that’s how I’m coping.
 
So as we look forward to Christmas and clearing out the Christmas toy boxes, I found this super little project that recycles kid’s toys.  There’s a video and then tomorrow, there’ll be a post on the website with more information about the charity. Seems really worthwhile.

Pete and I were together 40 years and 30 of those we’ve lived at ‘Prickly Hedge’ and he always told me that the trees on one of the roads close by held mistletoe at Christmas.  I never believed him, said it was bird’s nest until this year (sod’s law) when I saw it and thought, he was right all along, well I’ll be blowed.

So I thought I’d include a video on mistletoe this week and then on Thursday, there’ll be a post on the website telling you more about it from the Wildlife Trust.

And to finish off the week for #craftfriday, how to DIY your own bunch of felt mistletoe but if you don’t have or can’t afford the materials for that, there’s another little video showing youngsters how to draw mistletoe.

AND…. I have some very exciting news. We have a new book coming out, not quite finished yet. More on that next week, but for now it’s still under wraps, and only those who sign up for the newsletter are getting the ‘breaking news’ on that x You can sign up at www.pricklyhedge.com/freebies

Hope you have a lovely week.  Take care and stay safe.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
10May2021

💚🌷💚 GARDENING KIDS – Make Monster Plants and Easy Origami this week

Hello everyone, how are you all?  Well, I hope.
 
If you live in the UK, we’ve had a bit of a deluge of rain of late, but I hope you’ve been able to get out and about.  This week is all about growing, hiking and making easy origami animals on CraftFriday.
 
It’s a short letter this week as I’m suffering with some tooth discomfort and typing is making it worse, hopefully, it will have improved by next week.
 
Here’s a video about an adorable little boy who is learning how to make Monster Plants, such an easy little project to get your youngsters interested in growing.

We’ve also got a little video from Sesame Street about a girl and her dad taking a hike and all the things they see on the way.

On Friday, we have some really easy origami animals for #fridaycraftmorning.  Follow along and show us anything you make.

Again, you can check that out on the website or Facebook page on Friday.

Let’s hope we can get out and about a bit more now and also start to socialise with our family and friends in the UK at least.

Again, you can check that out on the Facebook page on Friday.

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/

 As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them.

I hope you have a great week and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
3May2021

💚♻💚 RECYCLING KIDS Hedgehogs GALORE! DIY projects and a helping hand in the garden

https://youtu.be/b389YrU31SE

Hello everyone, how are you all?  Well, I hope.
 
This week is dedicated to hedgehogs, they are just starting to emerge from their Winter hibernation and need all the help they can get.  Take a look at the following video on ways you can help them.

Next week is Hedgehog Awareness Week 2021. The initiative was set up by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) as an annual event, and is a whole week dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness of hedgehogs, so keep an eye on BHPS social media pages for competitions, tips, pictures and videos. You can get also get involved  by sharing photos and stories with #HedgehogWeek.  You can find out more about Hedgehog Street and become a champion for hedgehogs at www.hedgehogstreet.org

Here are some tips to help keep other wildlife and domesticated animals away from food you put out for hedgehogs https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/cat-proof-hedgehog-food/

If you have a handyman or woman in the house, a video showing you how to build a hedgehog house will be out on Wednesday this week and you can check them out on our website at https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/ or on our Facebook page /pricklyhedge. 

On Friday, we have a gorgeous craft item for #fridaycraftmorning to make a gorgeous hedgehog, it’s the most realistically looking one I’ve seen in a long time.

Again, you can check that out on the Facebook page on Friday.

In the UK, we may be a step nearer to being out of lockdown on May 17th, so that’s something to look forward to.  In the meantime, I hope you’ll be able to get out and about and see if you see any of the gorgeous woods that will be chock full of bluebells this month.

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/

 As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them.

I hope you have a great week and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
26Apr2021

💚🐦💚 ANIMALS KIDS Watch the House Martins Nesting

Hello everyone, how are you all?  Well, I hope.
 
I have only seen house martins around our current house once or twice in the 30 years we’ve been here, so this week’s videos are a bit of a treat to see them on a nest cam.
 
Here’s the first of two videos letting us into their world.

So on Wednesday, we’ll get to see Part Two of the house martins nesting video and in honour of the approach of May, we learn how to draw bluebells. You can check that out on the website or on our Facebook page at /pricklyhedge.

There will be a myriad of blue fields soon all over the UK and there is nothing more magical than walking through a wood filled with their beautiful nodding bells.  We usually go a local wood for their annual open day and a walk around their small bluebell wood, but I doubt it will be open this year.  Oh well, always next year to look forward to. But on Friday, you can check out our video on how to draw bluebells either here or on our Facebook page.

Oh, if you’re not aware there are different types of bluebells.  We have the English bluebell, whose flowers all lie along the same edge of the stem and arch downwards and the Spanish Bluebell (below), whose flowers sit around the stem of the plant, reminiscent of the beautifully scented hyacinth.  We may find that we lose the English Bluebell altogether if we allow cross-pollination between these two plants.  Sadly, we can’t tell the bees where to get their pollen from.  As pretty as the Spanish Bluebell is, it is a threat to our natural flora and fauna.

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/

 As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them.

I hope you have a great week and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
19Apr2021

💚♻💚 INSECT/SEEDS KIDS Seeding for Kids with Lana and Sayla


Hello everyone, how are you all?  Well, I hope.
 
Anyone have a lizard for a pet?  Something I’ve never really been into, they are way better outdoors anyway unless, of course, they’re bred for captivity and then its cruel to try to ‘rescue’ them.  I long for the day when no animals are caged.
 
This week Ellie learns all about lizards and we find out what all the parts of the plant and called and do some craft work creating a plant.  But to kick off this week, we have the lovely Lana and Sayla who are showing us all how to sow our own seed, which hopefully will encourage all of us to get growing more.

So on Wednesday, Ellie learns all about lizards..  You can check that out on our website at https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/ or on our Facebook page /pricklyhedge. 

On Friday, we have a video all about learning the parts of the plant and doing some craft work to create them. Again, you can check that out on the website or Facebook page on Friday.

I hope you have a great week and what we send out weekly, gives you pause for thought and reflection or gets you motivated to get out ther and do something for yourself and for nature too.

If you have any pictures of things you’ve grown in your garden, or seeds that are already sprouting, let us know.  We’ve planted some broad beans so we’ll keep you updated on those.

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/

 As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them.

I hope you have a great week and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
12Apr2021

💚🌷💚 GARDENING KIDS Primrose & Violet (The Flowertots)

Hello everyone, how are you all?  Well, I hope.

Did you manage to get outdoors more last week?  I hope so,  if the weather was good (or bad) where you live.  I LOVE walking in the rain, so it never bothers me to go out in the rain, but I have to admit to liking the sun a tad more lol.

This week, we have some cute characters that I’ve never come across before in the guise of the Flowertots.  My kids used to watch Tiny Tots back in the 90’s.  Do you remember them?  I’m a tot and you’re a tot, Tilly, Tom & Tiny.  They loved it, along with Bump the Elephant.  Anyway, I digress.
 
Here’s a little vide featuring Primrose and Violet.  Enjoy.

Despite the lovely Spring weather, there are still a lot of animals that like to live underground.  Wednesday, we get to know what it’s like to live underground in a video that due out then.  You can check them out on our website at https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/ or on our Facebook page /pricklyhedge. 

If you loved the paper cherry blossom, then check out our video on Friday for #fridaycraftmorning where we’ve dug up 23 more ideas to make paper flowers.  I feel inspired.

It really does feel good to be getting out and about more in the fresh air, and I may even be able to get a walk in the park scheduled with my eldest son, it would be nice to see him for a little longer than 15 minutes on the doorstep.  Can’t wait to give him a hug, like the rest of the population.

If you have any pictures of things you’ve grown in your garden, or seeds that are already sprouting, let us know.  We’ve planted some broad beans so we’ll keep you updated on those.

Don’t forget that on our website, you’ll also find a round-up of environmental news on our How To’s page, https://www.pricklyhedge.com/right-sidebar/

 As ever, if you make anything, drop a picture on the Facebook page, we’d love to see them.

I hope you have a great week and until next time, stay safe, stay well and don’t forget to let us know if you make any of our craft items.

Lots of love from Yvonne, Bubble and #TEAMPricklyHedge

News
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