When I Grow Up
est. 2004
A Creative kind of Life. A blog by Helen Hobden
I still haven’t worked out what to do when I grow up! I’m mainly a writer, an artist, and a fairytale dressmaker with various crafty hobbies! Here (and on YouTube) I share bits of my life, thoughts, and what I’m learning along the way. Let’s find magic and inspiration; join me for this creative living adventure!

 

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Creativity
Modern fairytale painting
Fashion
How to style a tutu skirt
Lifestyle
Christmas decor
Travel


Browse Recent Posts:
Worbarrow bay
Poetry for ease of lockdown
May 18, 2021
Dance of the Butterflies A semi-circle bay of liquid turquoise as still as a deep secret and barely a sound as the languid waves touched the pebbled beach. It was so much warmer than expected; unneeded layers draped over our arms. Merlin panting; concerning us for lack of fresh water until we found a Jurassic filtered stream. All of us excited for his first trip to the sea All of us excited for our first day to be free. I’d only thought yesterday I was yet to see a butterfly, but as we walked the stony track to the car we saw a pair of them, unidentifiable by their urgency. Enchanted by each others’ spirit they were trapped in their frenzied jive of spring. Unable to leave each other, or to leave the dance Unable to be completely released; unable to take the chance.   Whispers of the Stones Imagining recollections of the lives of here The way they felt; the joy, the fear The mundane, their day to day The colours of spring, the winter grey The salty breezes absorbed in their bones Their secrets and memories whispered by the stones   I’ve started an art journal! And these are the words I wrote to go with the mixed media art I came up with. It was all inspired by the first time we were allowed to leave the house for actual fun! We went to Tyneham Village – an abandoned place where everyone was evacuated for the Second World War, and weren’t allowed back. A short walk from there is Worbarrow Bay; and with the sun shining, the sea really did look turquoise. If you’d like to see our day out, I have started back on YouTube again, and it’s in this week’s video:
Visiting Oxford in winter ~ Our Christmas ~ A traditional Wassail ~ Painting a modern still life.
January 17, 2023
Happy new year! Here's a catch-up video! We visited Oxford for a long weekend just before Christmas; enjoyed looking around the Christmas market; had a tour of the Town Hall and looked around the museum of Oxford. We also did the tour of Christ Church College (part of Oxford University) and saw a Harry Potter filming location (There are more in my visiting Lacock video if you're interested in those); and Oxford Cathedral. We spent Sunday afternoon visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Oxford Natural History Museum. On our way home we stopped at the beautiful ruins of Minster Lovell Hall, and had a stroll around the very pretty village of Turville - home of Vicar of Dibley; Miss Marple; and is the filming location for several Midsomer Murders, Marple, Morse, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Killing Eve. We have our Christmas holidays - a walk in the magical forest on Christmas Eve, and spending time with the family. I share my modern still life mixed media art, and lastly, I take you on a Somerset cider country Wassail! What is a Wassail? You'll find out! As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Click the thumbs up and the bell notification button, and subscribe for more videos. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends! :) Please consider supporting this channel and join our lovely community receiving creative inspiration, behind the scenes content, and extra videos at https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Take a look for your fairytale bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ and your handmade gifts here: https://etsy.com/shop/byHelenHobden Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun Keep in touch! Links about my clothing business: Website: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ E-mail: helen@threadsofafairytale.com https://www.instagram.com/threadsofafairytale/ https://www.facebook.com/ThreadsOfAFairytale Links about me and my blog: Blog: https://whenigrowupblog.com/ e-mail: helen@whenIgrowupblog.com https://www.instagram.com/helenhobden/
Old farmhouse Christmas decorations tour ~ Visiting Lacock & Whitehall garden centre
December 24, 2022
Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings! My last vlog of 2022! Here's our visit to Lacock in Wiltshire, and looking around Lacock Abbey. We also go to Whitehall Garden centre for a bit of Christmas decor shopping and to see the festive displays. And I had a few requests for a proper look at my Christmas decorations around the house, so here's a tour of most of them. (I actually forgot about the fun Christmas tree in the hall, so perhaps I'll add that into a January vlog!) I hope you have a lovely Christmas or other celebrations. Thank you so much for your company this year. See you in 2023! Take care. x As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Click the thumbs up and the bell notification button, and subscribe for more videos. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends! :) Please consider supporting this channel and join our lovely community receiving creative inspiration, behind the scenes content, and extra videos at https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Take a look for your fairytale bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ and your handmade gifts here: https://etsy.com/shop/byHelenHobden Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my harddrive fund, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun Keep in touch! Links about my clothing business: Website: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ E-mail: helen@threadsofafairytale.com https://www.instagram.com/threadsofafairytale/ https://www.facebook.com/ThreadsOfAFairytale Links about me and my blog: Blog: https://whenigrowupblog.com/ e-mail: helen@whenIgrowupblog.com https://www.instagram.com/helenhobden/
Studio vlog ~ Organising and tidying up art & craft supplies ~ Mixed media painting Scotney Castle
December 10, 2022
A studio vlog where I organise and sort out all the art and craft supplies from my recent haul video. I love finding little containers for everything! I use the Tim Holtz distress oxide sprays and Caran D'ache 2 water soluble crayons, along with gouache and inktense pencils to create a mixed media painting of Scotney Castle. I also pack up some handmade Christmas gifts I've made and sold. By the way, I'm doing Vlogmas on YouTube shorts, if you'd like a little snippet of what I'm getting up to each day in December! As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Click the thumbs up and the bell notification button, and subscribe for more videos. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends! :) Please consider supporting this channel and join our lovely community receiving creative inspiration, behind the scenes content, and extra videos at https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Take a look for your fairytale bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ and your handmade gifts here: https://etsy.com/shop/byHelenHobden Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun Keep in touch! Links about my clothing business: Website: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ E-mail: helen@threadsofafairytale.com https://www.instagram.com/threadsofafairytale/ https://www.facebook.com/ThreadsOfAFairytale Links about me and my blog: Blog: https://whenigrowupblog.com/ e-mail: helen@whenIgrowupblog.com https://www.instagram.com/helenhobden/
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