Vintage & Cosy

a few pics

2010-04-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

just to keep the blog going a bit. I'm a bit snowed under with a sewing project that I kept putting off and really need to finish this week so I'm unable to start anything new.

The pics aren't great I'm afraid. Need to fiddle with the settings on the camera I think.

So first a looky at my bed at the moment. I was lucky enough to get an eiderdown for Mothers Day a couple of weeks ago now. It's not as pretty or lovely as some of the lovely patterns around, but it goes really nicely with my bedspread I got not too long ago.

I also made a couple of pillowcases using a candy stripe sheet that I got ages ago.

Some lovely daffodils in a little Grindley PetalWare jug I got from the charity shop the other week. Another little addition to my utility china collection.

And finally a sneaky peek at my sewing project :OD

patchwork and crochet edging

2010-03-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

I have an empty space in my kitchen that has in the past housed a dishwasher, but we got rid of it and now just use it as extra storage space for recycling and other bits and bobs. It always makes it look so cluttered though that I 've always wanted a little curtain to put across it. If I could inject some colour into the kitchen too, then all the better. I decided to do a quite large patchwork curtain as I could never decide on the right fabric. My DD and I spent an evening cutting the squares and arranging them in just the right way. I'm really pleased with the final result. The sewing was a bit sloppy, I think something had gone wrong with the machine or the thread wasn't playing nice, but I just wanted to get it finished.

I also have another patchwork blanket in progress, but shall do a photo once the recipient has it. She doesn't read here, but you never know.

I got a lovely bedspread on ebay the other day, it was a Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady print. I'd never seen the bedding range, but have her book which I love. It was a rather brill bargain at less than £8 including postage. You can just see it here on the bed. I wanted to take a better pic, but OH is packing to go away with work next week so his side was messy!!

Did you notice the crochet edge to my pillowcase? I was enjoying the difference the nice throw made to the bed and wished my pillowcases looked a bit better. I need a nice stash of vintage ones! Anyway, I was browsing how to embellish a pillowcase and came across this blog. She has done some wonderful crochet edging on pilllowcases and I wanted to copy her.

There is going to be a crochet - a - long on this blog where she is going to do a tutorial on how to do it and make a pillowcase too. I was being a bit too impatient to wait so I got going straight away. The hardest bit was blanket stitching the pillowcase, and if I'm honest I don't know yet how to do the nice scalloped edge that some others had, so I'm on the lookout for how to do those. I just used a crochet edge pattern I had in a book at home, not quite as fancy, but I still like it.

I still need to do the matching one, but shall do it when hubby away next week. Oh and I now have plans for more edging in different colours!!

Finally, a bit of thrifting went on yesterday. Not much but I found a lovely little Johnson Bros Greydawn jug and sugar bowl to add to my collection. Love that stuff. I need more in different colours though!!

2010 - the year of the...

2010-03-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

(ok I know we're in March already, but well...)

eiderdown

(pic from www.Ohsovintage.co.uk - but sold!!!!)

Oh I soooooo, want an eiderdown!!! It's my birthday coming up and I'm very tempted to get one, but I'm also aware I really want a nice vintage one, I don't know if it will upset my hubbys allergies (he's had down jackets before so he says he'll be ok, but argh they are expensive!!!). I could get the CK one, but it's not really as nice as some of the vintage ones.

What do you think???

What I need is to be able to find one at a car boot sale or charity shop, just so I know they will be safe to have with my hubby, and then I can save and buy the perfect one. Or I could just go for it.... and make OH sleep on the couch??? lol!!

cornishware

I'd like to have my first item of cornishware - a jug perhaps??

a vintage roberts radio

I'm not going to pay the price of the new ones, I just want a cheap one that looks good!

I don't want much this year do I???? Lol.

Hopefully a craft filled post to come, but have been a bit unwell this week and need to sleep!!!

keeping the momentum going

2010-03-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

I'm not feeling well today so have spent the day snuggled on the couch. I thought I'd blog some more recent pics. I love blogs with lots of pictures in them :O)

Christmas was lovely and I managed a bit of craftyness with some new stockings for the kids. I left it very last minute but I was super pleased with the results.

My DS, DD and I made some lovely orange pomanders which sat nicely next to a lovely Christmas scented pillow I got from Mary Poppins.

The tree was small but I liked it. It needs to be in this house!! We made popcorn tinsel and some saltdough decorations. I also made a gingham present sack, as the lovely Mary P sent me some spare red gingham tea towels after I saw what she had done with them. Easy peasy to make, even for me!

Christmas saw some lovely presents come my way. I was very spoiled. I got a radio I had wanted for ages, here it is in situ

It goes so well with my bargain of the decade (lucky we're into a new one, maybe I'll get another bargain!!), which is a Dualit toaster I picked up from the car boot sale for £2!!!! Yes you read that right two pounds!! Of course our scabby kettle packed up the same day so I had to go get a new one to match it all :O)

It would have been fab to be a colour other than cream, as you know I have a cream and beige *everything* but hey ho. It still looks good when the kitchen is neat and tidy :oD

Well it took me till the day after I wrote this to sort all the pics out, but I've also found the camera charger so plans for more pic filled posts in the near future.

Blows the cobwebs away....

2010-03-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

Gosh it's a bit dusty in here ;) I'm not sure if I even have any readers left! Although I did get an email from a Real Life Friend who stumbled across the blog, so big waves to S! So weird how different worlds collide in this age of the internet.

I've just realised I had some comments in moderation - thanks Mel / ShabbyChick for checking in on me. Must try and sort the comments to come to my e-mail (I think they must go to an old addy).

I'm not sure I have lots to catch up on. I've tried really hard lately to not spend too much money on frivolous things, and what with no car boot sales well the pickings haven't been too rich.

I thought I would show some pics of things I was lucky enough to be given and that I never managed to show off.

First of all was some fab decoupaged letters that I won from a giveaway over at Clover Cottage. I love them so much! OH attached them to the fireplace and, even though I was worried he would hate them , he didn't!!!

Then we have a lovely owl brooch that was part of a swap I had with Louise. I did take some photos of the whole swap but can I find them? Nope. Anyway, it was a lovely stash of goodies. I'll try and gather up the rest of the stuff and post a photo.

Then we have a lovely little hanging butterfly I got from Little Gem. She sent it as a thank you for sending some fabric for her to use in her crafting sessions. It's lovely and it hangs in my room and makes me smile!

I made a start on a little crafty-ness the other day, I made a patchwork cushion for my DD. It was using pre cut squares that I got from the Vintage Fabric Market. A lovely site and I especially love that it isn't hugely pricey and the prices include postage. Anyway, here's the finished article. It's my first ever patchwork and I have plans for lots more!!

I took some other photos of some things I'd like to share, so I'll try and come back tomorrow or soonish with some more things to show off!

Thanks for reading if anyone is still out there!!

Gone AWOL

2009-09-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

but for a good reason. We've been on holiday to the Scottish borders and had a wonderful time. The kids were a bit scrappy with each other but I tried to ignore it and my hubby and I just felt so chilled out by the end of it. Was really what we both needed. The sea was just across a very quiet road, lots of rock pools and nature. Lovely.

I managed to avoid the Cath Kidston shop in Edinburgh but only as it was in the wrong end of town to where we were. Hmmm. Next time maybe!

Unfortunately I'm going to be off line for the next week as well as we're having a 1940's week at home with ration foods and not tv or computers. I'm hoping it will give me plenty of time to get back into being creative with the sewing machine and catch up on what I still need to do at home.

2009-09-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well it seems I have one victim for my PIF. I think I may try and do a giveaway with 2 prizes if no-one else fancies it? I'll try and get going with my gift soon.

I've had a serious lack of mojo going on here. I have a whole host of things still to do. Thinking that if I blog I'll remotivate myself. Maybe I need to do some lists or something.

So what have we been up to lately? Lots of visiting friends and going out and about. We went to a fab historical reenactment last weekend. I adore WW2 and the forties so we hung round those bits lots! I've been buying some new books about the period too

and these 2 fab books

Such an amazing feast for the eyes and lots of history to discover. My favourite :O)

Pay It Forward

2009-08-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of receiving a Pay It Forward gift from Lorraine at The Balancing Kiwi. It was this most gorgeous owly

She is wonderful! And puts my sewing efforts to shame, have been studying closely to get some tips!! My daughter has named her Brenda :O) Thank you so much Lorraine!!

Now to fulfill the conditions I have to offer to make something to 3 of my readers. So if anyone would like a little handmade something from me then put a comment at the bottom and I will get cracking. You do have to promise to do the same and make for 3 more people each. I think that's right anyway. I'll keep the comments hidden like Lorraine did aswell until I have 3 victims, er I mean friends ;o)

It's been a week already!!

2009-08-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Where did the week go??

We've been doing a bit of zipping about now that we have a car again. Nice to be mobile again. We went to Past Times on Friday having seen the website (Dh was after a union jack cushion) and although we didn't find one, we picked up some of those packs with replica war ephemera in it. Got a car one for my DS and a childrens war one for my DD. This is what is in the Childrens War pack (not the shoes!!) which I thought was loads!

Hubby picked up a guinness mug. He really loves guinness memorabilia and especially the Toucan stuff, so it goes well with what I'm trying to achieve everywhere. You can see it here (just!)with a Johnson Bros green dawn coffee pot I got at a new charity shop last weekend for £1 and a Tala measuring cone I'd been eyeing up and found for a quite reasonable £4 something in Dunelm.

Also managed to pick up some new crochet hooks in Dunelm as I keep losing mine. Think I need to make myself a crochet holder like I did for the swap, so little time though!! One day. So I've been getting on with my granny square cushion which has been ignored for ages as I couldn't find the hook. It'll be down the side of the sofa or something!

The library came up trumps with some good books

I really like this sewing book, lots of nice projects.

And I've been pouring over this book - love the forties, my fave era at the moment. I'm hoping my Lovefilm subscription will send me the dvd of it soon.

Some thanks are due from some lovely ladies on the Shabby Chic Cafe (or the sugababes cafe as my dd calls it!). First I had bought some fabric at auction from Lacey and she so very kindly sent some extra bubbles fabric and a lovely brooch too.

Then Dimity sent me this fab knitting booklet which I have loved looking through. Planning on knitting a golly at some point. Thanks so much ladies!!

Hallway makeover

2009-08-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

I finished the hallway the other day. I hadn't intended to do anything here at all, but when I did up the chest of drawers and decided to put it at the bottom of the stairs instead of at the top as I had originally thought, it seemed the next logical step to give it a quick tart up!

It's only a small space, and I have a husband who has lots of shoes and jackets (ahould be the other way round surely?) so it gets cluttered really quickly. I also didn't have anywhere for scarves and gloves so every winter I'd have to buy new ones again. Not good.

Anyway, some pics.

This is pretty much it!! Haha, it is *very* small! We got a new doormat at the weekend. My hubby spotted it in Matalan and wanted it so I 'let' him!! Lolol, he does like the UJ thing. This isn't a great pic due to the light that comes into the door, but I also made some bunting for the door out of some stray Sarah Smith cloths, nice and easy. Unfortunately hubby doesn't like the bunting so not sure if it will stay or not. You can just see the drawers in the foreground and I've put the decoupaged Ikea drawers on it too to hold mail that comes in. To the right you can see some shelves that were a general dumping ground and every time I opened the door things fell off. Something needed to be done.

I decided to line the shelves with the Focus wallpaper and I painted up an old cork noticeboard. I realised that I actually don't have that many pretties to put on shelves, never been a thing I've bought much of. But I found one of my many camper van models which looks ok! I could still see the dark wood shelf underneath the paper though so decided to attach a bit of gingham ribbon to finish it off. Not sure if it will stay on though. We'll see. I laminated some of the wallpaper for the bottom shelf which has the shoes on so I won't need to worry about it all getting dirty.

I think that although it's not perfect, it's a huge improvement. If it helps me keep it tidy it's worth it too!

Note to self - buy more pretties!!!

Adorable Vintage Kids Books

2009-08-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

I love books. There I said it. I have way too many, especially for our little house. I need a bigger house just to keep the books in!

I have started to collect Enid Blyton books, I'd actually got a couple in my collection already. My absolute favourite is the one without the dust jacket.

It's called Enid Blyton's Book of the Year. I can't remember who recommended it to me first but as soon as I got it I loved it, it felt twee and old fashioned but I actually liked that. It has stories, poems, music, a part work story all based around each month and the nature around us then. I've read bits lots to my kids and they really like it too.

I was looking at it the other day and realised that it is over 60 years old! That is just mind blowing.

Here's the inscription

It was given at Christmas 1948.

I don't know if you can see but it has a bit on the bottom about it being printed in the authorized economy standars which is to do with the rationing that was still around. I only spotted this as I was reading a book about wartime britain and wondered if this book had it printed in and it did.

The book that was on the top of the pile was my latest book and a very special one as it had been kindly sent to me by Simone at Little Pink Lady. It's a lovely book and just right for my youngest to read, she's just getting fluency and I think she'll love it. Simone was overly kind and sent me some lovely Sarah Smith cloths too - I love these cloths and shall add to my growing collection (might have to clean at this rate!). Thank you so much!

I thought I'd share a couple of other old fashioned type books that we love in this house.

First off are these Little Bear books

There's a cartoon based on the books, not sure if it is still on NickJr. It was when mine were much littler and I used to love watching them with the kids. Most cartoons are awful, and this was too to some extent, but I loved the old fashionedness of it all. Always sucks me in!

And these are my favourites. I think they were originally published in the 30's but are still in print now. They are american, but really I have some lovely picture books from America. I could list so many more, but I won't I'll just share these by the same author. If you like scotty dogs as much as I do then you'll adore the Angus one. I have another, called Angus and Wagtail Bess (with an Airedale terrier) but couldn't find it in time to take a picture

If you ever come across books by this author they are just lovely, timeless books. Here's a picture from inside the Angus Lost book:

How cute??

All I can say is it's a shame children have to grow up, I could buy kids books forever!!

Cupcake swap - sent

2009-08-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'm still very new to this swapping lark, but here's what I sent Louise at SnuggleShack for the cupcake swap at the ShabbyChic Cafe. I know she's recieved it now so I can show you all. I only took one picture, and well you're lucky you got that as I'm good at forgetting!

This was also the first time I'd sent any of my sewing for use by anyone other than me (oh except my mum's cushions, but she's my mum, she'll not think bad of me!!). I made a crochet hook roll out of some cupcake fabric, and a tissue holder out of the same stuff with some nice CK tissues inside.

I knitted a dishcloth with a cupcake on and crocheted a little cupcake. Now I was gonna stuff this but my daughter thought it looked better open so you could put little bits inside so I went with what the boss said ;o)

There was some pretty cupcake cases and sprinkles, a cupcake coaster I picked up in York and finally I tried my hand at making some little cupcake buttons out of Fimo. I think they turned out ok, although not sure how strong they would be.

I struggled a bit with this swap, I searched and searched loads for nice stuff to add but couldn't find much and my crafting is only so so (and I'm very slow at it too!). Of course going round TKMaxx yesterday I saw loads!! It never seems very much when I send stuff, I look at other swaps sometimes and think - oh that looks lovely, and then there's another 5 photos of more stuff!!

Been fixing up my hallway today and adding some pretty bits to it, I'll take some photos tomorrow and show you once it's done.

And another!

2009-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

makeover that is :O)

This chest of drawers has been sat in our garage for so long now, it was falling apart and I was going to freecycle it, but then didn't. I have so much furniture that doesn't really have a place in this house. We've been here 3 years nearly but it's still got furniture from a much bigger house in it. I want to move again so don't want to spend lots on getting smaller bits that fit better, only to move as soon as I bought it. But maybe I should have done it ages ago! Oh well.

Anyway, I have no before pic, but I'm sure you can imagine what it would be like before! Really this is an inbetween picture as I still need to sand the top properly and I need to wax it all. I didn't distress the paint as I have a feeling it won't take long to get naturally distressed in this house!

I also need to find some nice handles for it. Or I may paint these if I can't find anything I like soon enough. I'm going to add some hooks on one side so that the kids can hang their coats on it (it's in the hallway). Hopefully it will hold all our scarves and gumpf that lands in the hallway and makes it look a mess.

I need to get making some pretty things to hang off the drawers don't I? Argh! Need more time!!!!

I've also lined the drawers with some gorgeous wallpaper I picked up from Focus today which lots of bloggers have been raving about. It's reduced to £5 a roll and very CK'ish. I foresee lots of rooms being decked out in it. Not ours sadly though :O( Hate renting houses!! Although I know I should be grateful I have one :O)

Makeover madness

2009-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Been getting the paintbrushes out here lots :O)

We've had a little side table that sits at the side of our couch for years. I think it's supposed to be a plant stand but we cought it ages ago from Ikea when we got our first (and only brand new) sofa, which was a really low futon, so it was ok that it was so little. Now we live in a shoebox and it's useful in that it just fits this tiny space. However, as usual, it was getting a little grubby. I only just remembered the before pic!

A couple of coats of a nice bright blue (get your sunglasses on!!) and it's looking much fresher!

I've already made a start on 2 other things which I'll get photos of once I'm done. It's a bit addictive this painting furniture isn't it?

I completely nabbed Little Gem's idea of covering a boiler with some nice retro stuff. I need some more nice magnets and a few more bits to cover it, but hubby really liked it when he saw it, so must have been a good idea!! Pity I didn't think of it myself!!

And a couple of more pretties to add:

I can't say I made this, although I had though of making one for a while. I had nothing suitable at home to make it with and I figured that by the time I 'd faffed around and bought stuff, left it hanging round for a while and eventually got round to it it would be next year before I got onto it! And this one was really reasonable from Ebay so I went for it. It's CK Rosali as far as I'm aware and is a perfect place to put all my nice little cards I've been lucky enough to get recently :O)

And finally my first 2 bits in my new collection of Utility China. I'd seen this stuff on various blogs and really liked the pastel shades so decided I'd like to collect it. I got the green Beryl Woods Ware plate from a car boot a couple of weeks ago now and saw the blue Johnson Bros teapot at the charity shop last weekend. Oh well, you've got to start a collection off somewhere!

Serviette decoupage and Union Jack love

2009-07-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've been trying out a new craft these past couple of nights, serviette decoupage which someone on the Shabby Chic Cafe had been talking about. I'd bought some serviettes and tissues from Cath Kidston specifically to do this, but the thread on SCC gave me the push to get on with it.

Here's what I started with:

As you can see it was just a basic Ikea storage drawer thing that has been hanging around for years and has held crud for a while!! It was looking really scabby so I would have been pleased with any improvement really. Here's what it ended up like:

I just painted the main bit with a sample of paint I got from Wilkinsons and decoupaged the front of the drawers. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I wasn't so pleased with a picture frame I decorated, it turned out a bit wrinkly. It might look better once it's on the wall!

In other news, my son was busy yesterday morning with making some paper chains. They were from East of India and I had been drooling over them for a bit, and eventually succumbed as they'll look so good in my son's vintage aeroplane room won't they?

And here they are in situ - this is half a pack btw, my daughter has the rest in her room. Even the teddies are saluting it ;o)

Go Granny Go

2009-07-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Been for a walk down to the supermarket today with my granny trolley *grin*. Managed to dodge the showers pretty much and the kids were happy enough too which was a bonus. Trying to time it right is hard when you don't have a car but are used to having one (ours is broken, looking for a newer one soon).

Here's a picture of the tea cosy that I mentioned in my last post and thank you to Lala for telling me that it would have been put on top of a thicker padded cosy and so would be interchangeable. It's so pretty, I wondered at first if it would have been machine done as it is so well embroidered but I don't think so. I think I'll try and make a mini cushion with it :O)

Also been crocheting some more of the granny squares that I started ages ago. I wasn't quite sure about how the colours were turning out but friends said that it looked fine. I kept thinking it needed another colour, maybe a yellow or something. Anyway I'd left it for a while because of that and then decided to have another go last night. I decided I definitely didn't like it, but didn't want to waste what I'd done already so I decided to make it up into a cushion cover. It's not all done yet, I still need to do the back but I am going to do just one big granny on the back and take out the dark pink as I think that is what I'm not liking. We'll see how it goes anyway. So, not the blanket I was hoping for, but I'll get there one day!

Just a quick post

2009-07-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

bought not too much in the CS's today - just a little box of vintage dominoes for my kids and a hand embroidered crinoline lady tea cosy. I think it's a tea cosy anyway, it's a little thin, just like a tray cloth so I've no idea how it would keep the said tea warm. Oh well. It is very pretty and I will try and take a picture tomorrow. No plans for any car booting tomorrow and as the weather is supposed to be dire, maybe I'll actually do some decluttering? I think I should and now that I've mentioned it, shall report back tomorrow.

Just a quick mention that Shabby Chick over at Country in the Town is doing a giveaway so please go and have a look. She has a lovely blog :O)

buying and making

2009-07-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

seems to be pretty much what I'm doing lately. I really need to be adding decluttering to that list and maybe deep cleaning the house but hey.

Anyway, some pics to brighten the blog!

First the 2 pics that I got last week from Mitty are now hung in the kids rooms - they look fab:

This is my 7yo dd's bed - another high sleeper so a git to take a photo of. She has some Laura Ashley bedding that I got at a CS the other week and forgot to blog. It makes such a lovely difference to her room having some pretty florals in there. Lots of dogs too you'll notice!!

Looking good!

And a complete bargain of a find last weekend at the CB was this, for my son's room. It was 50p!! It does have a tear in it, and if it gets much worse I'll recover it (maybe with a RAF roundel??). Don't point out the heart shape too much to my son ;O)

From the same boot sale I got this oil painting for £1.

and these gingham elephant bookends, also £1 (sorry for rubbish pic)

and some vintage books

I found some new storage for my ribbon stash

And did some making - mostly sewing. Still trying to be a bit better at it.

A fabric hanger - need more practise with this. Made with Cath Kidston's posy which is my favourite at the moment.

My cushion cover made from a CK duster - really love this. I just did a white fabric envelope back so I still have one duster left. Not bad for £4 really.

And a little owl softie I made up as I went along. Been admiring other people's owls and made this for my DS who loves it. Helps that we are all Sheffield Wednesday fans so owls are big in this house!!

And finally a new craft. Been mucking around with some fimo with my DD. She helped me make the rose which I'll hopefully add a brooch back too and she made the daisy all by herself :O)

Cupcake swap

2009-07-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

I recieved my cupcake swap this morning from Mitmot and oh my it was like Christmas! Here's what she sent me:
And inside this scrumptious packaging was some lovely handmade goodies:

a pin cushion (much needed in this house, been meaning to make one!) and a lovely brooch

a very clever tape measure!
2 lovely pictures. The aeroplane one was so thoughtfully sent due to my sons love of vintage aeroplanes and us trying to deck his room out with that as a bit of a theme.

yup - the real cupcakes are gone already!!

and a lovely cup, already has my tea in it, cake cases and a cupcake hook.

I feel so very lucky today, and everything has a home already. Thank you so much!

Now I need to get my butt in gear and finish my swap :O)

It's not what you know but who you know.

2009-07-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Been doing a bit of sewing lately. It's coming along but I'm not briliant still. These cushions were for my mums birthday. She hit a big number this year, with a nought (as I did too - sob), so wanted to do something nice.

The fabric was just cheapy stuff from the market, and yes a bit pink, but I quite like them! They go nicer in her house as her couch is dark so it suits it better if you see what I mean.

Fabric stash is coming along nicely as I got a couple of meters of the flowery one, still a bit of gingham left and another pink/white fabric which is utterly gorgeous. No pic at the moment, as it's too dark to take a good one.

I was after a pair of pinking shears the other month and was quite surprised at the cost of them, £20 plus was what I was seeing. I wasn't sure if I'd use them much so wasn't really wanting to pay much for any anyway. I asked my FIL if he maybe had some kicking around from before my husbands mum died. Unfortunately he didn't but what he did have were some dressmaking scissors, 3 pairs and being from Sheffield, he went into great length about scissors and stuff about them... Anyway. I was so pleased to be able to get some decent scissors to cut fabric with as I was just using bog standard household ones before that and obviously not doing a good job. You may remember I won a sewing box with lots of goodies in it from ebay? Well what I didn't put in was that it had a pair of pinking shears in it. But unfortunately they were completely blunt and couldn't cut anything. So off I go to FIL again and ask if he can do anything with them. He gave them back to me tonight all sharpened and apparantly they are a very decent pair of pinking shears and him and his mate had a good time with the challenge of sharpening them. So it really is not what you know but who you know!

here they are, have already tested them and they work fab. I love the box, and they even have a price on the back of 5 shillings. I'm so pleased we've been able to bring them back to life.

Oh and Mitmot has posted about what I sent her in the spots and stripes swap here so go and have a looky if you like. I wasn't organised enough to take a pic before I sent it. It's my first ever swap :O) I'll try and remember before I send my cupcake swap which I'm doing well at and not too much more to go till I can send I don't think :O)

Swap and goodies a plenty!

2009-07-10T11:58:00.000-07:00

today is my sons 9th birthday and so we planned a lovely day out in York visiting the National railway Museum. Had a fab time, I oohed and ahhed over lots of old fashioned railway adverts and bits about days gone by. I came away with some fab postcards...

and then my son bought a train set and as we spent over 10 pounds we got another load of postcards free!
As we were in York I fancied visiting the Cath Kidston shop. I try not to be overly enthusiastic about her stuff as I do think most is vastly overpriced but I just wanted to see what a shop was like and so off we toddled. My dd who is 7 was oh so excited to go and was squealing with delight when we arrived. If I didn't look so shabby I'd have probably been mistaken for a yummy mummy who only buys her daughter CK or other designer stuff. But really my appearance probably discounts that thought!

It was a lovely shop, much bigger than I imagined too and had some lovely displays and goodies. I was very good and restrained and got myself the following:

I'm hoping to make a cushion cover out of the dusters as I have seen other people do and I wanted to try a bit of decoupage type stuff with the tissues and napkins.

Came out of the shop and my DH told me there was some other fab looking shops so I had a quick look, trying to remember we were out for my ds's birthday!! Almost directly opposite the CK shop was a fab shop with postcards, coasters, metal signs and other bits and bobs all with old fashioned adverts and stuff like that. So I got...

more postcards (!) and a couple of coasters. One for my DS and one for my dd. Can you guess which one is which? Lol, dd is getting all the dog stuff and ds all the war type stuff!

We were all really flagging by the time we set off for home so after a long journey home you can imagine how excited I was to find a parcel bearing the postcode of a lady who I knew was doing my swap. I desperately wanted my dh and his dad to go so I could open in peace and squeal with delight when I opened it, but that would probably have been rude of me to chuck em out ;) So I retreated quietly into the kitchen to open it and I was so pleased to see what I was sent. Viv was my swap partner and she spoiled me rotten by making me a fantastic bag, similar I think to the one's she's been making for herself and pictured on her blog.

I adore it. I have been so in need of a new bag for a while now and kept putting off buying one thinking I'd keep my old one a little longer. Now I don't need to do that. It's just great, and so well sewed. i'd never have done such a good job. My father in law said it was very me so high praise indeed coming from him.

Also included in the swap was a fab little roll that will go nicely in my bag to keep all my stuff secure and organised (how did Viv know I was a messy pup??)

and the most gorgeous fabric bucket in the most gorgeous bright spots and stripes (goes well with my ironing board :) ). I love bright rainbow type colours so this is just perfect.

Thank you so much Viv, I love it all and feel really lucky to have recieved such a fab swap that obviously had a lot of time and effort involved in making it.

Needle case

2009-07-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

A bit more advance sewing tried today - a needle case from a tutorial on the ShabbyChic Cafe by the fab Mitmot. First time quilting and using bias. I'm quite pleased with the results :)

Busy bee

2009-07-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

I didn't get enough sleep last night and have been a little under the weather today so I've been a bit grumpy. I decided to get a move on with the housework so I could do some sewing this afternoon.

I wanted to do a cushion cover from a lovely little LA dress my dd wore some time ago now. I just love the print on it and was reluctant to part with it. However when I started playing around with how I wanted it to be it didn't look right so I left it be for a while.

So I set to work on using some of the fabric I got at the weekend to make some drawstring bags. I made the trains and the rose one. My dd made the rainbow one (it was from a sewing kit she got for Xmas - I am v. jealous of the fabric!) and my DS made the car one.

Then I decided to make my grocery bag holder which wasn't too different really. It'll match my curtains nicely!

I know, not hugely exciting or difficult, but I am a beginner sewer so I was pleasantly pleased with the results. One day I'll try some more tricky things!

Stash Building!

2009-07-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

(lots of pics!)

Lots of last week was spent finishing up the swap that I signed up to on the SCC so I couldn't really blog it. I of course forgot to take photos of what I made and bought but maybe Mitmot will blog soon :) I really enjoyed doing it :)

I've been trying to do a bit of 'sewing bits' stash building, which makes a change from the stash busting I've been trying to do with my yarn! I've been drooling over some people's finds at car boot sales - old sewing boxes with loads in em. I even tried freecycle, to no avail. Then I managed to win one on ebay, bit more expensive due to postage, but I'll try to remember that my car is so thirsty it would cost that if I even thought about boot sale visiting!!
My daughter needed a box so she's getting this one. It's in really good condition, no idea how old it is though! She's already started filling it :)

Some ribbons (sorry for blurry pic)

Loads of other bits - bias, buttons, thread, needles and fasteners.

A huge amount of the top lace and a smaller amount of the bottom one (plus gratuitous pic of my CK sewing box!!)

I also added some gingham ribbon to my stash from ebay along with some bright buttons (no pics of the buttons, although my dd helped herself to some!)

I visited Felixstowe at the weekend and visited a great fabric shop called the Remnant shop. What a treasure trove! I was very restrained, mostly as it was too hot to be in for too long and I was with a pregnant friend so felt bad about dithering. I upped the fabric stash with

some fabric offcuts for 10p each!Some boyish fabric - hopefully make a drawstring bag with this?

a strip of UJ fabric with 3 full flags on. I'd seen this on ebay and fancied it so for 1.40 a strip I got some :)

and to go with it some UJ buttons - how fab are they?

Also got anothe FQ of some flowery stuff, but forgot to take a pic of that.

And finally I got some CK posy fabric on ebay which I totally adore. I got a small bit a few weeks ago along with some rose paisley and cowboy print. I actually only wanted the paisley but figured I'd buy a few others from the same seller and I fell in love with the posy. It is just gorgeous, it looks so old, but bright at the same time. I just need a project to do it some justice. These are only small pieces too, seems it's discontinued?

Ok so onto some making that's been going on. I promised some pics of the kitchen curtains which I made in LA heath green gingham.

here's a before (we had no curtains, looked very boring!)

And after - what a difference a bit of gingham makes!

I want to make some more crochet flowers as tie backs but haven't managed it yet :)

I attempted my first fabric bucket following a tute on Lace Hearts blog

It doesn't sit quite straight, but not too bad for a first attempt!

A work in progress! An RAF roundel cushion cover (with thanks to father in law who informed me of it's proper name!) Might take me a while to finish this one, but did lots while visiting friends at the weekend as fairly mindless!

And lastly a few more buys, some mugs from Sainsburys that were going very cheap - 49p each

and some vintage ladybird books - 30p each

To add to my growing collection!

Stripy goodness!

2009-06-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

First of all thank you so much for your lovely comments on my sons room. I find it really hard to get stuff he'd like as he's getting to that age where you can't brainwash him... My daughter on the other hand can't be brainwashed either, but she loves everything I love at the moment - roses, flowers, pretties! Much easier to think about stuff she'd like but then of course I feel like I need to keep it kinda equal.

Today I've had a really good day. I was working so it was my day off from looking after the kids and I normally love my day out, I get the bus so I can stop off in the big town centre and look round the charity shops. Today was the day of the summer fair in the village a I work at so I decided to go in earlier than normal to look round otherwise it would have finished when I got there. There wasn't much there although I got a lovely Westie dog soft toy for my dog mad daughter for 10p. But I also spied in a room off the main church hall a treasure trove of goodies. On further inspection it seemed like it was a charity shop that was obviously run fairly informally and was open on Sat and Weds mornings. It was great in there, the type of place with no pretentions and loads to look at. I managed to find a candy stripe single sheet which was on my main list of things to find and look for in CS's and some vintage embroidered tray cloths. Just noticed the one I picked up wasn't finished though, maybe a project? I also got a few buttons, but of course I can't find them now at all :( On going to pay the lady spotted some nail varnish on the sheet and said I could have the sheet for free. It might come off and if not I might just applique a heart over it or something.

After that I went to work (I work with my dad at his newsagents) and he asked if I wanted to go to an Open Day at the Asda Warehouse with my mum. So I ended up doing very little work and was chauffered to this open day sale which had loads of old Asda stuff being sold cheap. And I mean cheap! Alongside some cheap cereals and washing up liquid I got 2 enamel tea/coffee caddies, a pale yellow teapot and some stripy storage boxes for the kids rooms. ALso picked up a few kids things for Crimbo. I couldn't get too much more as I had to haul it all home on the bus but the whole day (inc the CS and fete) I didn't spend more than 10.00.

Anyway, a quick pic -

(ugh my pics on here are terrible. Must try and sort out proper camera and stop using the phone!)

I'll try to get some pics of the curtains tomorrow, still haven't had chance to hem them yet.

Curtains and a boys room

2009-06-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well I've nearly finished the curtains in the kitchen, just need to hem and they're done. It's too dark to take a photo though at the moment. I do love them and really glad I treated myself to the LA fabric.

I will share some pics of my sons room at the moment. I hesitate to say that anything in my nearly 9 year old boys room is chic, most certainly shabby!! But I have been trying to collect some vintage aeroplane bits and bobs for him to add to his room.

This is his bed, it's one of those high sleepers so blummin hard to get a photo of! You can maybe make out the aeroplane bedding that he has. I was so happy to get this from ebay, for the grand total of 2.99 including postage, in actual fact it cost the seller 2.70 to send it and I felt so bad for her that I paid her a couple of quid more. I couldn't really see it well on the listing but took a chance. On getting it it had all the British WW2 planes on it (and named so I could learn!!), not made up drawings (iykwim) but actual drawings of the actual planes. My son loved it!! You can see the pictures a bit better here, although it is a shoddy pic!!!

When we went to an aeroplane museum the other day I saw some of the RAF ensign flags hung up and thought they'd look great in his room and so had a search on ebay for one. Managed to get a huge one (5ft x 3ft) for about 4.50 including p&p.

Some framed prints I've managed to pick up in CS's, need to find a hammer now...

And finally some bunting I made for him and more prints, this time of old cars, his other love. Some of it was from some old bunting we'd been given years ago. I took the less girly ones (they have stars on although not really clear here I don't think) and added some gingham to make a little string for him. (Reminds me, I still need to re do the rest of it for my daughter). I did it before I decided to do a vintage aeroplaned theme type room so I might try and make some other triangles to tie it all in, maybe some UJ's?

union jack

2009-06-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Gosh this was hard work! But I really like how it turned out so I guess it was worth it. My husband really liked these when we were wandering around a shop somewhere, debenhams maybe, so I thought I'd have a go at making one. If I could have chosen fabric from scratch I'd have gone for a more darker blue to give it a more vintage feel to it if you know what I mean. Actually my hubby would still like another for on our bed so maybe I'll keep a look out for some fabric that is just right.

I managed to ride the waves of fate and picked up some of the Laura Ashley heath green fabric today and also found out there was a LA shop within 4 miles of me. Hmm, not sure that is a good idea!! Mind you I didn't buy anything else, all just a bit too expensive for me I'm afraid.

Right, best get on with some more stuff!

Fate?

2009-06-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

I did do a bit of ramble the other day about why I like CK and LA fabrics and designs so much especially as they are just way out of my price range really. I didn't end up posting it as I saved it, wandered off to do other bits and bobs and forgot! But anyway...

I decided I wanted to get some sage green gingham or check fabric to make some light curtains to bring a little bit of colour into our kitchen which is, you guessed it, a symphony of beige too ;) I got a nice sample from John Lewis but that was waaay too expensive really. I'm awaiting a sample of the Heath Green gingham from LA as I like the look of that too and it's a bit more reasonable.

But what's this? A 25% off everything event at LA this weekend? Must be fate, and on the weekend of pay day too :OD

I shall endeavour to take some photos of recent crafting going on here, well me finishing another cushion - a Union Jack cushion that my hubby was after. Was tricky and a lot of work but I finished it today.

A symphony of beige!

2009-06-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well I finally finished my crochet ripple blanket like Attic24's. Nothing like it in terms of colour but I used her tutorial on how to do it. No mine is much more muted colours. I do like it very much, and as I have made something useful out of my ever growing stash of wool then all the better.

It's also made me feel so much more confident with my crochet. I am a real beginner, and crochet patterns still look like gobbledy gook to me so a tute that holds your hand all the way through was brill!

I need some colour in my house though, it's desperately needed. We live in a rented house and although we could decorate we haven't so far. We're thinking of painting two alcoves pink in the living room to cheer us up a bit. It's all so drab, magnolia walls, beige carpet, dark wood fireplace, and old cream leather sofa. The living room is also North facing and so is cold and dreary at the best of times. No I think we need some colour.

And so to introduce to you my next blanket in progress! Yay a granny square blanket. I love the look of these, so cosy and homely. I loved looking at the blankets on Little Jenny Wren's blog and had been meaning to learn how to do them. Here's the start:

Should be sew easy!

2009-06-12T12:54:00.001-07:00

Well I always think sewing should be easy. What I forget is that I have absolutely no patience when it comes to measuring and cutting and getting it just right. Or I think I know exactly how an envelope cushion will work and so sew it up and hey presto... er um... well it didn't quite work!

That's what happened when I decided to do a cushion cover made from some Laura Ashley tea towels. It sat looking sorry for itself until I decided to redo it today and thankfully it worked this time!

Here it is in all its glory next to a cushion I made right the first time (phew! am learning just a bit then!). They just need some sort of embellishment - a crochet flower maybe? The patterned cushion is for my daughter who absolutely loves dogs and animals. I scoured ebay for some fabric that caught my eye and found this print which I think is Moda pampered pooches or something. I adore it anyway. Especially the little scottie dogs, and I've now got a request to make a stuffed dog that I saw on a site somewhere. I think I bookmarked it. Oh here it is :) I think she overestimates my abilities!!

More sewing! I made this pillowcushion for my son (excuse my daughters sandals!)
He's kind of a bit old to be pushing much a vintage style on, he's nearly 9. I've been trying to think of something I'd like his room to be (of course I have to be happy with it!!) and realised that actually he has vintage likes already - planes and cars. Sorted. I also found a fantastic duvet set for him on ebay which has old WW2 planes on which he loves. Seems like it's coming together then. I'd like to crochet a RAF circle cushion too. When I get that done I'll get some pics of the room :)

I'm enjoying this!

2009-06-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

Getting lots of inspiration from reading lots of blogs and also from the Shabby Chic Cafe. Such a lovely forum there. I've even signed up for a swap and am really excited to create some bits and bobs for someone else. Good to get my brain working at ideas.

There is a car boot that has just started within walking distance of my house and we headed down there on Sunday. Not lots there but the weather forecast was bad and for a first week I think it was pretty good. The kids enjoyed spending their pocket money and getting more for their money than in a shop. I enjoyed finding a pretty cute teapot. Actually my OH and the kids spotted it. I think I might have passed it up but for 1.50 (argh where is my pound sign??) and for the fact they all loved it I got it. As a family we're quite into Route 66 and old cars and stuff so this actually fitted lovely for us as a family.

Just posting another pic of a jug that wasn't quite so loved by my OH (actually he hated it!) which I got at the CS. I think it's fab and just what we need to help the kids drink more water!

The house sorting is coming along well if still a little slowly. We just have way too much stuff :O( I'm getting close to finishing my crochet blanket, and trying really hard to get it done before starting anything else. I do have a bit of sewing on the cards though, hopefully have some pics soon.

It'll get worse before it gets better

2009-06-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

Ugh. Been decluttering and rearranging rooms. We have too much stuff that is junk and need to streamline it so much! It'll be worth the hard work I'm sure, but the going is tough.

I have my heart set on a vintage, country feel in the home now. I've been thinking about it lots lately and all through different fashions I've always been drawn to floral prints, old style houses and simple country styles. I've always loved old childrens books with nostalgic covers, old tins with character and houses where you can spend ages just looking at things and not get bored. I've never liked modern styles. I think I know now that this is my style and I need to follow my heart and get the house looking just how I want it.

I'm going to have to write some lists so I can keep track of my ideas!

I mentioned in my last post that I am crocheting a blanket. I am really quite proud of this and although it won't be as big as I'd like I'm sure it will be a welcome addition to our blanket stash! I am over halfway now but here is a picture of how it was a couple of weeks ago to give an idea of how it's going to look.
It will have 6 or 7 repeats of the pattern and you know, for a first go at crochet I think it's not bad! I'm hoping to do a granny square one next after that :O)

Work in Progress!

2009-05-30T12:49:00.001-07:00

My house is really a work in progress. Sometimes when I look round I see some snippets of vintage loveliness but mostly it's not a very inspiring home. I aim to change that. I spend so much time here that it's important to be happy with it.

I like to knit and have learned to crochet recently thanks to Attic 24's blog - what a fab blog that is. So much colour and well I am starting to have a soft spot for crochet things, they remind me of a time gone by! I've also just recently found out my sewing machine so am planning on crafting a few other bits and pieces. Not only do I like making things I also really like the idea of being able to pass these skills down to the next generation. My daughter has been learning to sew recently and loves it. She made herself a little purse out of a Sarah Smith cloth which I thought was pretty fab, and I learned how to hand sew blanket stitch while we were at it so that was good!

I am currently crafting a small ripple blanket (pattern courtesy of Attic24) in nice neutral colours. I'm hoping it will look at home anywhere in the house and it will be a size that is small enough to cart about places. I'm really loving crocheting it.

It's been gorgeous weather here recently and I've been just loving sitting in the garden. The ultimate in getting back to basics and simple living. :O)

I'm hopefully going to get some bookmarks of my favourite blogs together soon so I can get round them a bit easier. A task for tonight!

Hello?

2009-05-26T04:26:00.000-07:00

*peers above the parapet and wonders if it's safe to come out*

Just a quick intro to the blog. I love reading blogs with gorgeous pics in and inspirational ideas on decorating and giving your home the vintage /shabby chic touch. I'd like to have somewhere to jot down my ideas, share pics and finds and inspire me to get it all together.

It will not be prim and proper, but hopefully will have a cosy feel eventually!