Crafting

I'm loving making these fabric pictures, the houses for Debbie in my last post and one for me. But inspired by this - I made a piece of scrappy patchwork (those CK samples are good for this kind of thing!), cut out a tea cup shape - template found online as my freehand skills are very limited!!).

I have another cut out ready to applique one for me. I think I enjoy painting the frame just as much!!! (this one in LA duck egg).
This one was made for the SCC kitchen themed swap for bibbitybob.

I made a carrier bag holder, and reversable tea cosy in co-ordinating fabrics. I like the panel effect of the holder (so much I now have one!!)

Bibbity did ask me what fabrics I used (sorry it took so long to get back to you), the stripe is Globaltex Lulu stripe which I got from here.

The floral is globaltex too, from Dunelm, I will try and find a link for you, but I bought a while ago in store...

I'm glad you liked what I made and I only stalked you a little bit to discover your kitchen colours lol!!

Freestyle Swap

Hello....remember me?? I had a non planned bloggy break due to yet more tedious computer problems (2 new laptops both carking it after a very.short.time) anyhoos fingers crossed its 3rd time lucky and I'm back. I have a long list of 'things to blog about' so hopefully I will catch up soon. I have done quite a bit of crafting and received some fabulous swaps. The first one was from Debbie who was paired with me (lucky me x) for Silkie Sue's Freestyle Swap.

My parcel arrived one Saturday morningI waited til I was child free to enjoy opening my goodies.....

I absolutely love Debbie's cards that she makes (there are tons more examples on her blog)

She made me some fabulous things - beautiful bunting that has bead detail on. And a lovely heart with buttons.Now I did have a cafetiere cover on my list of planned projects (and we all know how quickly that would have got done lol!!!)
Don't have to now!! And I would never have made one as brill as this one:)
I now have a fab mobile phone charm too......(you knew my phone would be pink didn't you??!!!)

A fabulous family album...Debbie like me has been blessed with 4 boys and has used fab boy themed papers for my album. What a great idea...in use already....there is geography homework outstanding at the minute!!Currently on the bedside table for bedtime inspirational reading a gorgeous housey book.Thank You so much Debbie - I LOVE everything. And thanks to Sam for organising the swap.

I made Debbie a fabric house picture.....

and this fabric storage bucket with a union jack pocket on it.

(and more pics over on Country Heart and Home)

Back soon with more swap goodness :)

SC do London - pretties!

Aswell as the fabric and haberdashery (I love that word!!), I managed to purchase a couple of other bits.
In a gorgeous (if not overwhelmingly pretty!) shop that Lacey introduced us to.
I found these hooks
A tin bird to hang up...somewhere!And, ever the romantic, I bought my new husband a little pressy ...Now who says romance is dead!! It was a very thoughtful present as he has been annoyed to death about the fact that, since decorating, we haven't managed to find a loo roll holder we like/agree on - so here we are! Posh flowery loo paper courtesy of Heather!!
In 'All the Fun of the Fair' I got these fab knitted biccies. They are sitting on my windowsill in this pretty pink bowl. Well they are supposed to.....the small boys love them and I find them in the playroom a lot :)
The window of that shop was fab. I can knit...but I'm not a knitter, I know practice makes perfect but with 4 boys time is limited and I sew every spare moment I get (of which there are few !) - maybe one day. And perhaps I will even get past making a chain with the crochet!!! Then I will go back and buy wool to knit instead of knitted stuff!!Emma Bridgewater was next...now I love her designs but I really don't think I could ever justify paying her prices for a mug. But she has some gorgeous melamine items. Plates and Bowls in vivid colours, with matching beakers. And beakers with the same design as her china.

I got these for the boys. The men at work matches C's lunch box and money box - so he was happy! And the big boys share my union jack love so more happy customers! The baby couldn't give 3 hoots but he got one anyway!!
In Cath's place - I showed great restraint! Obviously I got the fabric (some of it essential) and I got a Stanley bag - I have the cowboy one of these and the baby takes it to the childminder. And a change is as good as a rest!!I had promised myself the thread tin to match the pin tin. I haven't use the thread yet so have no idea if its any good or if its as crap as the pins are (blunt)!!!And these boxes were on sale so I bought a few to keep sewing room stuff tidy.Thats it now for day out posting! Apart from the inspiration!! I really did have the most fantastic day, and can't wait for the next one :)

SC do London - haberdashery!

Here's the first part of my shopping from the SC day trip!
I had no real shopping list. I had been saving up my pennies just to buy things I didn't need. My favourite type of purchase!!
Except these...
This was on the list - I needed oilcloth to cover the table I use in my workroom. And as I was in CK, it would have been rude not too!!
And the little boys need a blind in their room- so with a little help from my friends I chose this.....
and may I say how nice it was to shop with people who offer more than a 'buy it if you want it' or a 'yeah its alright'!!!
These are CK dusters which will be turned into a cushion at some point - not the most exciting purchase!Liberty was a real treat, I think it had been 15 years since my last visit. I managed to (finally) choose some prettiness....just a small amount of each....At the moment we are still at the stroking stage. Is it wrong to like fabric so much. I'm an amateur in the fabric stash stakes but I'm enjoying working towards professional status!! Just have to make the odd thing now and then so that the husband thinks it is all Really Useful and Essential!!

In Macculloch and Wallis I got some fab bias binding. And ricrac.
I've used the sexy red gingham binding today making this......And last but by no means least buttons -
cute transport ones....
fab London ones...
and cute gingham pastel coloured ones from Liberty.
Totally random unnecessary purchases - fab! There are more non-haberdasery pretties to come later!

Some of you have said how you can't read my posts when they show on your blog....could be my playing with the post dating thingy - its not working properly!!

pay it forward

On my return from 'that London' on Saturday I was treated to a parcel from Mel over at Country in the Town. She had sent me a lovely pay it forward gift.A very pretty and very detailed lavender heart, (containing, I think, the best ever smelling lavender) and a packet of buttons.Thank You so much Mel. The heart is fabulous and I love the buttons. x

shabby chic'ers do London - a day in pictures!

Saturday saw me getting up at 5 am to catch the train to London to meet up with some friends. Friends who, until yesterday I had not met in real life.
6of us from here met up in Covent Garden to begin our tour of fabulous shops! We shopped til we dropped -well until our trains called us home - but it was a long, but very fun, day.
Cath KidstonI only managed to get 1 shot inside....just before someone got told off for taking pics!!! (MM is very brave so in our 2nd CK shop of the day a few more snaps were took)
After a short chatty walk via The Bead Shop and a vintage magazine store.....kicking ourselves that the Jackie mags of our youth weren't saved, we ended up here..All the Fun of the Fair
(I bought something knitted in here- decided that my 'i could make that' thoughts needed to get real!)
We made time for this at lunchtime.......

LibertyLove these cushions....

MacCulloch and Wallis
(Gok shops here - I didn't get interior pics as I was too busy fondling the haberdashery!!)V V Rouleaux
Emma Bridgewater
We really did have a great day - there was perhaps about 5 minutes of shyness when we first met, but I suspect that anyone would have thought we had been shopping together forever. Thanks girls for a fab day xx
We all got tons of inspiration from the places we visited and each other, I can't wait to get some of the projects from my head into reality!
We shopped til we dropped...In case anybody's interested I'll post some pics of my haul later?