yellow day

2014

2012

My fondest memories of H. are in the garden, in the sun. So today was a perfect day for making more memories. Not much to it, a paddling pool full of My Little Ponies, new swimming cossie & some bubbles. Perfect - Just like old times!

my funny girl

Favourite thing to say June 2014:

 "you've got a tiny head!" 

(this applies to everyone)

Latest vintage finds

I had a good weekend in terms of vintage hunting. I found these lovely big green glass vessels. Are they demijohns or carboys? There seems to be confusion online as to the difference but I think either will do. I have been on the look out for something like this for years, to display fairy lights in at Christmas and I was lucky enough to find two! They are made by Viresa in Italy during the 1960's. The glass has that dimpled, hand-blown quality to it and they just need a little clean. I do love old glass, which I never realised before but I do seem to keep buying old bottles and vases in different colours, preferably in vibrant colours and with wobbly bits!

I also bought a collection of brass bits. Something else that I am unexpectedly drawn to. I even managed to get in the shed ("studio" if I'm feeling cocky) and take some half decent photos and get some listed on Etsy:

I thought these brass cherub candle sconces a while ago and decided they were a bit too yellow looking. So I painted them with layers of Annie Sloan Chalk paint - Old White and Florence. I distressed the paint and then added some dark wax in the details before sealing with clear wax. 

I wanted a weathered look of old paint and verdigris. I think it has worked...! All available in my Etsy shop now.

my baby is 4

My baby turned 4 yesterday and as she likes to constantly tell me, she's grown up now!
 I can't help feeling a nagging sadness when I realise that her baby years are behind us all now, especially when I look at all the old photos and footage of her... the round little wobbly toddler, squeaking nonsense at me and reaching out to me for support. I am so glad that I recorded the details of our daily lives together, things that she did and said which were her "trademark" of being 1 or 2 or 3, things I would have forgotten if they weren't recorded.

I know that we are all changing and "growing up" all the time, which is unavoidable. I found motherhood such a shock to the system, it took a strain on me physically and emotionally that when I look back it is all a bit of a blur. I tried to make the most of every second, but I know there were times when I was knackered and stressed and wondered if life would ever feel normal again. Of course what I now know is that just when it starts to get easier, they aren't babies anymore! I know what I am saying is nothing new but I think at 4, she seems to have finally shed those last bits of "baby".  The fact that I am turning 40 this year is making me feel a bit nostalgic. But having her in my life is a complete privilege and I am grateful for every second I spend with her. I am incredibly proud and continually delighted by her. She is a sweet sensitive soul; imaginative, loving, funny, joyful and a little bit mad!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HESPER ROO!
X

WHERE

HAS

THE

TIME

GONE?

home details

collection of parrot feathers

vintage flower press // ink & nib pen from the Bronte Parsonage, Haworth

vintage cameras // little packet of vintage photo postcards, found in  the drawer of my second-hand bureau

handmade heart & box from scanned book pages // buttons covered with vintage embroidery

craft morning with H.

"mummy"

buy, keep, sell

A couple of recent purchases... one sold before I had got around to blogging about it!
Excuse the dismal photos of the first one, taken on a grey day in my dark little house, but if I hadn't taken these, I would have no pics at all:

I found this outside a charity shop, with a pile of manky old plant pots all collecting rain. This caught my eye, it was covered in soil but there was just something about it... and I was right! It has the name "Vetter" underneath and the mark of West German pottery.  I'm used to seeing West German pottery with rich coloured glazes - browns, reds oranges. This had a stone base with a mottled white glaze on top, so it still has the texture of the "Fat Lava" pottery but in clean, neutral colours. It has a lovely, contemporary shape too. It was a good spot, because it sold within days!

This one's the keeper:

I found this in the same shop for £5. I think the frame is plastic and I thought it might look a bit too Disney-ish, but once on the wall I think I get away with it. 

I was thinking about antiquing the glass... will I ruin it? we shall see....

mummy

"Mummy" by Hesper aged 3 years, 8 months.... spookily accurate:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ME!

Today is my birthday and I just spent a lovely day at home with Chris and Hesper. I had a birthday breakfast of croissants and bucks fizz then basically spent the day opening presents, watching films and lazing around in front of the fire. Might not sound that exciting but after a week of illness and taking the dog backwards and forwards to the vet, it was bliss!

Jon Klassen

// All images via Pinterest //

cheat quilt

I made this quilt for Hesper before she was born. I did not (and still don't) know anything about 'proper' quilt making; I had lots of scraps of fabric and just had a stab at it. I think I cheated really since reading a little bit about quilt making and what an art it is. My method was to cut up lots of random patches of fabric, lay them out onto a big  sheet of fusible Vilene and iron them on, tucking the edges under. Once 'stuck down', I zig-zag stitched all the edges, added a layer of wadding and then a layer of backing fabric. 

It was meant originally as a mat I could throw on the floor for her to roll about on, but when we bought the cot bed, it was the perfect size. She uses it now as a snuggle blanket for cuddling up on the sofa with, not quite as vivid as pictured here. The cushions that I mentioned yesterday are covered with vintage tea-towels that I found in a charity shop, I also added an apple applique to the quilt purely by coincidence; but it all ties in together with her new doll that I made.

shiny happy workroom

 Since I have not done anything really creative (other than make the odd thing for H) for MONTHS, my poor workroom (old shed) has pretty much been left neglected with the door shut all through the winter and wet summer. As it is after all, just an old outbuilding, it does have a bit of a problem with damp and ventilation. Although we did our best to make it useable when we first changed it into a workroom, it needs a bit more constant TLC. After a big clear out of mouldy fabric and old bits of tat, everything was cleaned, treated, sealed, painted and generally made better and brighter.

Instead of the old white walls, I wanted turquoise walls to make it feel more uplifting and calming. It is also supposedly good for creativity!..  and is a good backdrop for the odd splashes of red and orange in the room. We rearranged some cupboards, bought big, sealable boxes and a long table suitable for screen printing and fabric cutting. I love it and want to live in there, looking right across the garden is lovely when the sun is shining, the buddleia is in bloom and H is playing! All I need now is the time to use it...

July

 

Taos

We nearly lost our beloved dog Taos on Wednesday after an aggressive tumour was found on his intestines. We were told that he might not make it, but after an emergency operation, lots of crying (and a £1200 vet bill), he is back home and getting better each day. Love you Taos! x

Orla Kiely bed linen

 

I got an amazing bargain yesterday from John Lewis. This Orla Kiely duvet cover (in scribble stem, sand) was reduced from £90 to £32. The lovely lady serving us then took another £5 off! So we paid £27 for a superking size Orla Kiely duvet cover (in a lovely re-useable box too!).  The fabric is good quality and the print is really vibrant. The only problem now is it makes me want to change everything else in the room! 

home life

 It feels like we've all spent so much time indoors lately due to being poorly, it being so cold and now the snow! Though we did actually go out in the snow today - Hesper's first real experience of snow, but unfortunately we have no decent photos to show for it. It's always tricky to get a decent photo when surrounded by snow (gives a false light reading) and only being armed with iPhones doesn't help.  So, here are some recent, random photos of home life instead - namely, Hesper looking serious and harassing the pets. 

My parents found an old Fisher Price "Family Camper" toy that me and my sister had when we were young, which is now being played with by Hesper. I loved this toy and still do...the clicky noise it makes when being pulled along take me right back to my childhood.