What a great way of re-purposng tatty old vintage children's books for Christmas decorations .... this one is Noddy and his friends
Sunday 27 November 2011
Upcycled Display Board
My display board made with a vintage picture frame with added ingredients of linen toile fabric, East of India Union Jack ribbon and upholstery pins. This one is dual purpose as I will be usng it to display small items such as hansmade corsages and jewellery when I do the vintage fairs in 2012
Sunday 20 November 2011
Stir up Sunday
Here is a link to the Wiki definition of Stir up Sunday and even though I am the only Christmas pudding and cake eater in the house it hasn't stopped me today. There was a really quick and easy pud recipe by Jamie Oliver in yesterday's Mail Weekend magazine and as I had all of the ingredients in the store cupboard there was no excuse!
I used the ramekins that supermarket desserts come in to make individual ones and one large one .... the smaller ones are steamed in the oven for an hour and I have to admit to scoffing one already .... it was delicious and not too sickly and rich like shop bought puds and yes you aren't seeing things there is Guinness in the recipe.
I've been out this morning stocking up on animal feed for our menagerie which now includes two goldfish and another bantam ... she is a Bantam Quail and is currently acquainting herself with the other chooks.
Hopefully I have enough supplies to last into the new year which is frighteningly only 7 weeks away .... how did that happen!
We took a team of OH's canaries to a show in High Wycombe yesterday and with time to kill we hopped onto the M40 and headed north to Bicester Village .... I have neither the dosh, inclination or patience for shopping centres and much prefer my usual second hand shopping haunts but there is a Cath Kidston outlet here and I wanted to see what fabrics they had. My goodness you would never believe that we are in the grips of a recession after seeing how full the car park was at 9.00 am and the masses of people chucking their credit cards about. I am strictly a cash only type of girl now and very careful about how I spend it .... the CK fabric here is £12 a metre which I can put up with but I would never pay full price or the stupid money that some people seem to do on a well known online auction site.
I had to rub my eyes when I saw the price tag on this lovely sewing box .... only £10 reduced from £40 ..... now that's what I call a bargain.
The purse was a special treat to myself as I have had another very good sales month at Country Matters and I was in need of a new one.
The whole place is twinkly with all the Christmas stock on sale and there is something new every week. Based in an old village hall in Hexton it is open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday and has a gorgeous tea room with home cooked food and a lovely fire to warm your cockles whilst sipping tea and eating cake.
Now where was I????? Going off on a tangent again .... after CK I couldn't stomach any more of Bicester so we headed off to Brackley Antique Cellar which was only about 15 mins away. We haven't been here for years and it was nice to see how it had changed and expanded.
Debbie over at Vintage Wants Not Needs and Annie of Vintage at the Corner House have units here and I really did missing seeing them and all the other lovely sellers/bloggers/visitors at the 2nd Market Harborough Vintage & Handmade Fair yesterday. Can you spot a certain baby picture? I already have this one otherwise it would have been coming home with me. My one purchase here was some gorgeous glass chandalier droplets .... I have been collecting these for years and they make perfect vintage decorations for the Christmas tree and at only £1 each for the tear drop shape and £2 for the multi-drops they are terrific value.
Found this strange object growing in the garden this week too
Looks like Molly wouldn't let her share the kennel and not wanting to get her bum cold this was the next best thing!
Sunday 13 November 2011
What did we do BI (before internet) .......
My second daughter has returned to college this year to do the Access to Health & Social Care course in preparation for undertaking a midwifery degree next year .... consequently she keeps nicking my laptop and although I can read a few forums from my phone I can't comment and have had severe withdrawal symptoms this week!
Having said that I have got lots more done and by making a list every day and updating it as the week went on, it is amazing how much can be achieved when not attached to the interweb ;-)
Felt Christmas decorations have been completed with some lovely felt from Annie The Felt Fairy but like a numpty I forgot to take photos before I took them down to Country Matters at Hexton .... this glorious Aladdin's Cave of goodies is decked out for the Christmas period now and I picked up a couple of bargains myself down there this week.
This is last year's Dotcomgiftshop's Advent Box .... it is so sweet and will last for years for the grandchildren to open and thankfully there is enough room in each little box for sweeties for all of them!
This little hanging ornament in the shape of a tree is simply three copper cones that make a lovely ringing sound when shaken .... it was only £1.25 and I hope there are some left when I go down again at the end of the week.
A visit to the wool shop in Baldock was on the agenda yesterday .... Baldock is a small Georgian market town with some lovely old buildings on the High Street
I am loving Katia yarn .... it is from Spain and the range is fantastic .... the Triana is used for boa scarves like this
I did make another grey mix one last night to go with my bargainous M & S coat from the charity shop but a certain little lady who has been on sleepover with us this weekend pinched it!
It's a wool/cashmere mix and is so light and soft and looks as though it has never been worn all for the princely sum of £8 ..... Ellie did make laugh though when she said nanny Pat from Eastenders wears a coat like that! Mmmmm I was quite confident till she said that .... better not be wearing any big dangly earrings with it then!
Some more finds this week were ...
an Oak tea trolley from the CS .... now on the project list for a paint job but in the meantime commandeered by said little lady as her desk cum dolly trolley
A nice little occasional table ... again on the paint job project list
Three vintage needlework magazines all with the pattern sheets unused inside
I had no idea that the Littlewoods catalogue had been around this long and that sitting room !
Can you imagine having to wear this??? Especially if there was a wet accident .... yuk !
and a little forward thinking to next summer ladies ..... fancy having a go at some rather fetching crochet headgear ?
I found this in one of my craft room drawers .... probably acquired at a car boot but I really can't remember .... perfect for these dark evenings and the Christmas tree when it comes down from the loft in a couple of weeks.
The Victorian Oak mirror from the Essex auction has had a polish and now hangs in the hall
This charming print of Fred Morgan's oil painting 'Never Mind' came from the same auction and must have been living in an attic next to a chimney .... it was absolutely filthy with soot but has cleaned up nicely and the frame has had a coat of black enamel paint .... he apparently painted some of the Pear's Soap pictures and this one dates to 1884.
Finally my daughter's friend wanted a personalised present for her mum .... this is her favourite verse which I have transferred to a piece of vintage linen which is sewn onto some blue ticking stripe fabric to make an envelope back cushion cover. Hope she likes it!
Thursday 3 November 2011
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