How to carve a pumpkin

Hi guys,
Pumpkin carving is something of an annual Halloween tradition in the Fabfrocks household: hubby and I carve a pumpkin each every year, and compete to see who can create the best design! But if you've never carved a pumpkin before it can be quite daunting. Which is why I've written this quick step by step tutorial (complete with pictures) so that you can create a scary Jack-o-lantern of your own!

1. You will need: We don't buy special pumpkin carving kits, we just use the tools we have in the kitchen. We use a sharp knife, a blunt normal eating knife, a spoon, and an ice cream scoop. You will also need a biro to draw your design template.

2. First you need to do your prep work. Take a sharp knife and remove the top of the pumpkin: traditionally this is done in the shape of a simple circle. I like to create a star shaped lid. Once you have removed the lid comes the boring bit: emptying the pumpkin! Remember that the more of the flesh you can remove, the longer your pumpkin will last. I use a spoon and an icecream scoop to remove as much of the flesh as possible.

3. Choose your design. Google images is a great source of inspiration for this! Once you know what you want your pumpkin to look like, take your biro and draw your design onto the front of your pumpkin: this will provide the template that you will cut out.

4. Get cutting! Take the sharp knife and remove the skin and flesh from your design. I then use the blunt knife to smooth the edges as much as possible: I find it much easier to control and stick to the design that way.

5. Insert your candle, light you're pumpkin, and put it in your living room window so that it can frighten all the children on your street....Mwah hah hah!!! It really is that easy!

Have you carved a pumpkin for this Halloween? What design did you go for? I'd love to see your pumpkin pictures!

Love Tor xx

Our house: The circus themed nursery

Hi guys,
We have been living in our new house for almost four months, and slowly but surely, it is starting to look like a home I am proud to live in. Last month I showed you the final version of my walk-in wardrobe. This month, we have finally (very nearly!) finished the baby's nursery. So here's the tour:



The shelving unit, cot, and wardrobe are all from good ol' Ikea. We changed the knobs on the wardrobe door to make it look a little more unique. The red double sofa bed was already a spare room feature, but we decided to keep it as a big comfy seat to watch him sleep/play/whatever, and as a spare bed for overnight visitors: we only have a 2 bedroom house, so it's important to maximise space.


The vintage circus posters (which we talked about here) are all from eBay. The cushions on the sofa are from Cath Kidston, Etsy, and Little Joules. Cath Kidston does a vintage circus print fabric that I absolutely fell in love with. So I made some bunting using it, and then enlisted my much craftier mum to make all the other soft furnishings in the room using the fabric: She made the cotton bags hanging from the wardrobe doors, the huge sofa throw, and the quilt on the end of the baby's cot. She even used the circus print fabric to trim his little towels: now that's attention to detail!


The glass balloons hanging in the window are from Murano; the glass island off Venice. We picked them up when we were there last month and my dad made the frame so we could hang them. The giant elephant seat is another Ikea purchase and he already has more bears, books and toys than any little boy needs: and he isn't even born yet! With that and his fancy wardrobe full of clothes, I think it's fair to say we've gone a little over the top.

All we have left to do is buy a light fitting (we're finding it really hard to choose!) and make the curtains. I've bought the fabric: red and white striped, like a big top. I just have to get my sewing machine out, sit down, and actually make them!

Love Tor xx

Our house: My walk-in wardrobe

Hi guys,
It has always been a fantasy of mine to have a walk-in wardrobe. A room where I could keep all of my clothes and accessories, plan outfits, a relaxing fashion space that was just for me. So when we moved into a house that had a box room which could only be accessed from the main bedroom my first thought wasn't the same as everyone elses ("nursery!"). No: my first thought was '"wardrobe!" I promptly gave my husband full reign of the built-in wardrobe in the bedroom, and my mission for this weekend was to a) finally unpack all my clothes (it's only been 3 months!) and b) set about creating my dream.

The main thing was that I wanted to turn the room, effectively a blank canvas, into a wardrobe on a tight budget. So I utilized the big wardrobe, chest of drawers, and dressing table that we already had from our old flat. I then brought an £8.99 hanging mirror from The Range which I've hung over my wardrobe door, storage boxes from John Lewis for my handbags (£9 each) and from Asda for my make up and jewellery (£4 each).




Finally I wanted a clever storage solution for all my shoes, in a way that I could see them and the pairs I wear most often could be on display. And a comfy chair, so that I could view my domain for hours without hurting my back. So we hit some second hand furniture stores and picked up some shelves for the shoes for £20. Sadly I couldn't find an armchair I liked, but the hunt is still on!


The plan was that turning this space into a workable dressing room shouldn't cost more than £100: I managed to achieve my goal and have only spent £65 so far, including the hooks and trinket boxes and other bits and pieces I picked up. That means I have £35 left to find that elusive armchair. Pretty impressive, even if I do say so myself, and not bad for a weekend's work!!

Now I will admit this isn't quite the walk in I always dreamed of. What I would really like is an open floor to ceiling wardrobe across one whole wall, so that all of my clothes were always on display. But as we're renting this place, fitting something that big to the walls just isn't feasible. And so, for now, this is my version of the dream! I'm really looking forward to getting dressed tomorrow morning....

Love Tor x