Friends, Flowers and Fairy-lights....

I have a few things to witter on about today. At the weekend I made some little "lampshades" for a string of plain fairy-lights:

I was inspired by seeing them on Pinterest (I can't find them now however!! You can find a similar tutorial here though). 


The tutorials I found were using paper/plastic cups covered with paper or fabric but I thought the cups were a little too big so I used little plastic shot "glasses" which I found in Poundland. I covered them with paper (I used wallpaper and some scrapbooking papers I had).


To stick the paper to the little cups I used PVA  glue which was rubbish, the hot glue gun would've been better, although maybe it would've melted the cups. Anyway, you really need something that adheres instantly, perhaps double-sided tape would be good?

BTW I know butterflies like this are terribly un-PC but my Dad bought them for my Mum when I was a little girl and so they have sentimental value....

As I only had a pack of 40 shot glasses I did the shades on every other bulb but because the shot size is much smaller than a normal paper cup I think they would look good on every bulb (some of the larger cups make the string look crowded IMO).

Last Friday we attended our first auction (well except for a car auction where Mr G bought a duff car that refused to start the moment we handed the money over and Doncaster Bloodstock Sales where we were moments away from accidentally bidding several thousand pounds on a racehorse, that is!!) - it was held in a church hall and was full of every stereotyped wide-boy and wheeler dealer (Del Boy style) you could think of but at the same time was rather fun.

We won two vintage suitcases and a wooden tea-trolley for a grand total of £12.

One of the suitcases is fabulously battered and has the odd vintage sticker:

We didn't realise the blue one came with the brown and I think it's a perfect candidate for covering in fabric - which I saw on a blog recently and now Can't Find Either!! How v. annoying. 


Edited to add: still can'r find the original one but there is a tutorial here for covering a suitcase with fabric and it looks fabby!!

The lady in question had used vintage fabric and Mod Podge (which after using both it and cheap ol' PVA glue I still can't tell the difference) and vintage fabric to cover and line her suitcase.

Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon with Ashley and Rose from Country Rose and I was chuffed to bits not only to see them but because she bought me not only a gorgeous Cath Kidston pencil case and a peg bag (both of which I really needed) but also these beautiful blooms:

Aren't they lovely? They make me smile every time I look at them....

Now this post is getting very long, so I think I will keep the tale of how Ashley let me play with her new baby for tomorrow....

hugs to all,

S x

My First Blogiversary!! (Little Giveaway)....

Today is one year to the day that I started blogging!! 


I was inspired to start my own blog after finding lots of wonderful blogs that I like to read.


I had never really read a blog before until I mentioned on the online horse community forum I  frequented how I loved CK and shabby chic - someone sent me a link to Posy  and it was then that I realised that there were other people out there that love CK, crochet and vintage as much as me who knew?!!


In this first year, after a bit of a shaky start when I felt as though I was talking to myself I have gradually gathered over 200 followers - I am grateful to each and every person who reads and am constantly amazed that anyone is interested in my little life.


I have made friends; taken part in some lovely swaps; learned loads from other blogs and my Bloddies (Cuckoo's word - blog + buddies = Bloddies); won and hosted giveaways; been asked to feature in a home magazine (I declined!!); and generally found a whole new way to engage with people.


So, to celebrate I am offering one of my little crochet votives as a little giveaway:

To enter you need to be a follower and leave a comment below - I will use the random number generator thingy to pick a winner next Tues 17th Jan.

In other news, I love, love, love spring flowers so was delighted to see these whilst shopping in Lidl last week and I couldn't resist especially as they were 4 for a fiver:

I chose pink and blue hyacinths, crocuses and narcissus. Lidl is worth a look for seasonal houseplants as they often have good deals and special offers like these. 

It seems to trick me into thinking spring is nearer than it actually is have these in the house, I loathe the post-Christmas period and can't wait for spring proper.

I was supposed to start my Alpha Course (or as Mr G calls it "God Squad") today and after several encouraging comments and a couple of emails from people who had done it I was rather looking forward to it, however today the curate called to say that every single other person had dropped out.

She has offered to do the course material one on one over 5 weeks (instead of the usual 10) in her home so I am weighing up whether to do that or see if I can find an alternative full Alpha course. 

The problem being I have been wanting to do it for years and have never found a course before that started soon and that was during the day - most of the courses are at night and I just know even if I manage to attend a couple I'll not stay the course if I have to go out in the evening (I like to curl up, stay in and put my nightie on after dinner!!)

Anyway, Mr G has lunch ready (I love that man!!) so I better dash....

hugs,

S x

PS don't forget to comment below for the giveaway!!

My First Quilt....

Hello my lovelies, I hope you are all having a nice weekend?


I am sat surrounded by the smell of slow-roasted pork shoulder, it's rubbed with a paste of coriander, fennel seeds, peppercorns, lemon and garlic and smells seriously gorgeous!!


On Friday I attended my first session of the quilting group I mentioned in my previous post. Any apprehension I had about attending on my own had been eased by the lovely welcoming emails I had had all week from Wendy, one of the founders of the group.


A warm welcome greeted me from all the ladies and they delighted in telling me I was the youngest and therefore "the baby" of the group. As someone who is approaching 40 this year, it was music to my ears!!


Wendy showed me the instructions for the quilt I was to do as my first, a simple one made from nine FQ's of fabric- I chose an assortment of Tanya Whelan fabrics with a little CK thrown in, in shades of pink, blue, red and white.


The ladies showed me how to cut accurately and I chatted, cut, drank tea, cut, ate cake, cut and made new acquaintances (hopefully soon friends).


I finished cutting my FQ's when I got home and soon had this:

Yesterday, each row was sewn up and then sewn together to make a block and when I had done them all I arranged them out on the bed to see how I wanted the completed quilt to look. As I did this I realised I somehow had 10 blocks not 9 - which meant I must have started with ten FQ's - I mean I *know* I am bad at maths but I can usually manage to count to 9!!

So, the leftover one was put to one side and I sewed up the blocks:

What looks like plain red actually has white pin spots & the "plain" white has tiny flowers....

Typically for me I am not loving the colours :0/ - I don't think I should have used the red -which looked nice when they were folded FQ's but not so much now. 

Although, looking back at the quilt I used as an example on my previous post the colours are similar:

It now needs a border (I'm going to do a 4 1/2" border in plain white) and then I have to make a "quilt sandwich" with the backing and wadding before pinning, tacking (yuck) and then machine quilting. Wendy has kindly detailed everything I have to do for that to keep it all flat and so on, but I think I am going to be a chicken and wait until the next meeting on Friday.


Next Sunday (15th) there is a Quilters & Fabrics January Sale at Farnham Maltings at which (I am told) you can get some bargains so Mr G is going to take me up there. Then at the end of the month Mum and I are going to pop along to Ardingly Spring Quilt Festival where there will be lots of fabulous quilts to admire as well as trade stands.


In other news, there maybe a little bit of change coming here to shabby chic HQ as well, will tell all when/if I know more later....


hugs,


S x

Goals For 2012 (Cosmic Wishlist?)....

I thought I would take inspiration from some of my favourite blogs and take the opportunity to record some of my goals and "intentions" for 2012 - I won't call the New Year resolutions as we all know how likely it is that they fail when given that label!!

 Image from Tikki London

1. To learn to quilt - I want to make a Snapdragon quilt from the book "Two From One Jelly Roll Quilts". 

I've only ever tackled the odd patchwork cushion and such so would like to learn to do it properly - so I went on the Quilters Guild website and have found a quilting group local to me. They are a group of 25 ladies, of all abilities, that meet every Friday afternoon and will get me started with my first quilt. The lady who runs it has been so helpful and welcoming already so I am attending my first session this week.

 2. Loose weight - both Mr G and I are very overweight and since losing 29lbs last year I have put it all back on (and probably more, I daren't get weighed). I would like to go from this:

Me Jabba The Hutt

To this:

Christina Hendricks

Who wants to be a size 0 when you could be a 16 and look this gorgeous?

With the amount I have to lose that's probably be unrealistic, but I would like to drop 3 dress sizes and get in a size 18 pair of jeans - I know this will still be MAHOOSIVE to some of you, but I know there is no point saying "size 10" as I haven't been that since I was about 12!!

Until I was about 18 (and had been on the pill a couple of years) I was about a size 14. I went up to a size 22 and then lost 4st before we got married. I then had two babies in two years and am still trying to shift the baby weight ("babies" are now 11 and 13!!)

So we are going to try Slimming World - I don't believe in diets (they make you fat) and so it has to be a lifestyle choice not a "diet".

 TC (The Colonel) and I a-g-e-s ago....

 3. To Ride My Horses - I haven't ridden since last February!! This is due to all manner of excuses but the crux of the matter is I am scared and lazy. 

I had all confidence in my riding shattered by my first horse and after falling off TC about 3 years ago have made any excuse not to ride. TC is (usually) very good but he is BIG and also I hate riding alone - I like to ride with someone and have a natter and that helps me forget my nerves. No-one rides at the farm where I keep my horses so I have no company.

So, I am going to advertise to see if I can get someone to ride one of my horses while I ride the other.

4. Try And Be Less Anxious - I am constantly worried about health matters and am sometimes almost crippled with fear of something bad happening to me or my family. I have been referred for (yet more) cognitive behaviour therapy so maybe this time it'll work.

5. Explore The Church - I would describe myself as agnostic - I really want to believe and am envious of people who have faith as it must be such a great comfort. My main anxiety is a fear of death and I can't help feeling that someone who had faith would not be crippled like I am with worries.

I have lots of questions and so have decided to attend an Alpha Course at our local church which they bill as a place "to explore the meaning of life" - it starts next Tuesday.

6. Go To Bed Earlier - I am such a night owl, I usually go to bed about 1.00am and then play a relaxing puzzle on my iPhone until 2.00am and then struggle to get up in a morning. 

I think that is all for now - thanks for reading what is probably quite a dull post for you!!

hugs

S x

First Ta-Dah of 2012....

I gave our dresser a makeover:

It was "factory done" in buttermilk paint with orange pine and was nice enough but not properly shabby chic, the factory finish looks rubbish compared to the finish you get with the chalk paint.

So I mixed my own shade of periwinkle blue to match the little flower in the Cath Kidston paper using Annie Sloan's "Aubusson" and "Original" and set about it with my paint brush.

I really fancied a blue dresser and it's turned out perfectly!! Notice I managed to do away with the old xBox and TV that was on there spoiling the look!!

I hope you are all taking care in this vile, vile weather....

hugs, 

S x

2011 Was A Year Of....

Family:

(Click to enlarge)

Home:

Projects:

Pets:

Vintage Goodies:

Food:

Flowers:

One of my favourite things about blogging is it inspires you to take lots more photographs than you normally would have done, which means I now have a wonderful photographic record of the whole year, from the mundane to the magical....

hugs,

S x

Raising A Glass....

Pic is from the the summer, but I have partaken of a few Cosmopolitans this evening!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

S x