Lovely Vintage Pages...

Morning Everyone!!I'm up early today because Arth has work at 9...i thought i might as well get up with him as i start at 11 anyways!!
I took some pictures of the pages i so cruelly ripped out of the old annuals from the auction. i felt terrible doing it but most of the books in a pretty poor condition and the only thing i could do with them was to save the best bits.Ive got an idea floating in my head to use some of the pictures to make a sort of collage picture...that's not how to describe it....imagine a picture frame with one of the pictures below as the main focal point, but around it I'm going to use fabric scraps, buttons, other paper etc to jazz it up...i guess its going to look like a mood board in a frame....hmmm we will see...

I'm quite happy today, Arth and I have been offered a lovely house to rent which sounds fantastic, we are going to go and look at it Sunday. Also, its my birthday on Monday and we've decided to go to bath for it. i love bath, and who knows...maybe i will have some birthday pennies to spend whilst I'm there??

Righto....I'm off to get dressed, i think I'm going to sit in the park for an hour before work and read...

Take Care

Buttons Anyone??

Righto...i promised a more coherent post yesterday so this is my attempt...(although I've just finished a ten hour shift at work so i don't hold out any hopes!!)

i thought id show you a few snaps of the great buttons i got at the auction on Monday...these are just a few of the good ones!!

some pretty flower buttons...

some fairly old wooden ones which make me think of ties..

some rather smart metal ones...

lots of these shank buttons...the smaller ones make me think of trifles...

And some absolutely beautiful glass ones, there were ten of the big hexagon ones you can see at the back.

It was the first Craft Night in last night i new it would be a bit quiet as it was the first one...this one was but it still went well so i booked the next one for the 27th of June...if anyone wants to come.

OK...I'm going to go and count down the minutes until Arthur gets back from work...hes bringing me some takeaway food...naughty i know but there is nothing in the house and im starving!!

I'll be back in soon with some pictures of the bits i took from the old annuals i got at the auction!

Take Care

xx

Im Still Alive!!

Hello out there!!

I'm really sorry for the lack of posts of the weekend. i went back to King's Lynn (where i am originally from) for a family weekend! Mum and Dad don't have a great Internet connection so i had to leave off of the whole Internet world!! we got back today tho'...after a 5 and half hour train journey!!! ridiculous!! but it was worth it! i had a great time!!

Whilst away for the weekend i lost my auction virginity!! Yes people they let me lose in an auction...more fool them!! it was great, my nan and grandad were there. Grandad is THE BEST bargain hunter ever....if hes not THE BEST he is a definite contender! he is always pottering about in his shed with tools and what not so he bid on a few monstrosity's which i think were saws of some sort!! Can you hazard a guess at what i brought? (im not going to offer a prize because its soo obvious..)

Yep! you guessed it....BUTTONS. a big 'ol tin of them with some corkers in!! i got a bit caught up in it all because another lady was bidding for them too! i had had my eyes on the lot since the start of the day and the buttons were lot number 313 so were right at the end!! i was determined to take them home with me! after i had one the bid i had to sit down for five minutes...i was shaking like a leaf!! The buttons were all ready matched up by color and put into sandwich bags but some had gone all sweaty and the colour and ran on some of them so here they are before i spent an hour washing each one...

and here they are drying out in the sun! There are some beautiful red ones!! I'll do a separate post for them later!!

My mum won a bid on a basket full of vintage linen...which she won for £6!!!

She kindly gave me a great table cloth...buts the light has gone and I'm sleepy after a horrible train journey so I'll post about that later to!!
I also got a huge box of vintage annuals...so from the 70's but there were a few books from the 1930's!! although the covers were a bit battered so i may have committed book sacrilege and taken out some of the better pages to make things of later on...please don't hate me!

Right, I'm sorry if this post seems a bit haphazard but I'm all over the place. it was the craft night in this evening which started at 6, however i didn't get in from the train journey until about half 4! so my brain is all scattered.i promise you a proper coherent post soon!!

Take Care

xx

Rain On...Rain Off...Rain On...Rain Off...

Hello all.

Isn't this weather kind of annoying? i love being inside in the rain, especially in our bed room as it is in the attic so it sounds awesome; but I'm not such a fan of it when i keep getting caught in these peculiar five minute down pours which keep happening around these parts! It gets all on my glasses, so then i take them off, but then i wonder around looking like a squinty mole...which i imagine is not too attractive.

Arthur and I went to Cirencester because we both had the day off it was so lovely and green thanks to the rain (so i shouldn't really moan about the weather!)

We decided to go there because i wanted to chase up MADE (the shop which sells StuffedNonsense stuff). They had said they would email a few weeks ago with an inventory of what had sold but we hadn't had any. Turns out there was nothing to worry about, they were just going to add April's sold items on May's sold items. There's a post on the StuffedNonsense blog with some pictures of our stock in the shop.

There's an awesome antique shop in Cirencester...we couldn't resist a little peek...

We finished the trip off with some coffee and cake at an amazing coffee which roasts its own beans!!

The smell was wonderful!!

The Cup Cake was Lavender and Lemon...interesting.

I'm trying to be crazy organised, i mentioned in a previous post that everything is going to happen all at once in late June early July, so i madea few button necklaces for our stall at the next craft fair ...the light was a bit rubbish so i decided to hold of on the picture taking. But on another crafty note...

My mum asked me to make some bibs for the twins which she looks after. these were a nice simple project...i just sat back and enjoyed sewing them. i used rubber stamps and fabric paint to print the messages on the front.....

O.K, I'm going to head off, feeling a bit tired and melancholy so I'm not going to chew your ears off any longer!

Take Care!!

Drum Roll Please.....

Hello Ladies, i hope you are O.K.

As i promised myself yesterday...today is the day that the work starts...
So...

i finally got around to booking a room for the first ever Craft Night In. i couldn't get the date that i was hoping for so i had to get and earlier one ,Tuesdaythe 26th of May....except now I'm worried that the date i got is too early. Oh well...if people can't make it then I'll book it for mid June instead, if no one can make this one. I'll see what the feedback is. If any of you ladies are local and want to pop over please do!! its going to start at 6pm and finish up at 8pm.

The gig last night was great!! i had a lot of fun and the music was wonderful! it wasn't a very busy gig, which was good because we got really close to the front without getting squashed! I took a few pictures but my camera didn't fair to well...

The supporting bands were O.K. i really enjoyed the first group which were called Talons...but i wasn't to sure on the second group they were called Three Caged Tigers..

The gig was at the Guildhall in Gloucestershire. its a pretty small venue but it was great inside, the bar was really funky. you cant see it too well but there was a plaster mould thingy (I'm such a philistine!) that had two cool looking people with theatre masks on...but my camera was playing up..

Before the gig goers descended...

See...we were really close!!

Right....time to open the office again...and email all of the people who emailed me about Craft Night In...

See You Soon

xx

The Last Day Before...

...The hard work begins.

Hello Ladies. How are you all?? Thank you for all of the congratulations and happy thoughts!! it is the most amazing news ever and I'm really glad to be able to share it with you. I'm going to take loads of pictures for you all, so that you can see how it goes. ohhh, i forgot one important thing when i posted yesterday...El and I are going to call the shop StuffedNonsense...its the name that we use for all the stuff we make and its the name of our folksy shop so we've just decided to carry it over. Sound O.K.?

Soo Today is my last day of sitting around...my last day of rest!! Which means

Lots of lovely cups of tea...

Yummy cream cakes...

Sitting on the sofa by the wide open sash window enjoying the breeze and the story...

And going to see 65 Days of Static this evening with friends....perfect!!

As of tomorrow every spare bit of time is going to be taken up with stitching, organising and probably pulling my hair out! everything is going to come together really quickly...Arth and i will be moving house end of June/start of July, the next craft fair is on the 4th of July, El and I can move into our shop by the 6th of July!!PHEW!!! i hope its not too much...i think it will be O.K. Me and El have lots of people to help us!!

Right Then, I'm off to enjoy Sunday (and perhaps a nap....i got in late last night and danced the night away so I'm in need of a few more zzzz's i think!)

Take Care

xx

The Most Amasingly Fabulous News!!!.....EVER!!

Thank you for your lovely supportive comments on my last ,rather undescriptive, post
Well...its offical from the 6th of July El and I will have a shop!!!!!!!!!

Right....ok....details....

its a sub let property. we are renting it off of the lovely Ben who rents the whole building, his shop is downstairs and its called Proud Lion (its an awesome comic shop). Entrance to our shop is through Proud Lion. We have the WHOLE of the top floor which is a lovely size, not to big not to small.

Here's the best part, the first 3 months are rent free and then after that it is £200 a month. now i think this is a deal too good to pass up. i doubt that we would find another place like this for as cheap, and there's also the bonus of having a landlord who we kind of know. Our opening hours will be the same as Proud Lions, as Ben has to be there for us to gain access (at least for the first 3 months just whilst we get to know each other and insurance things get sorted out) We are not going to be able to open 6 days a week (Proud Lion is are shut on Sunday's), because we're still going to have to slog at the cinema to pay our rents on our flats...so we are looking at opening Thursday's, Friday's and Saturday's. Ben has told us that these are the busiest days at the comic shop anyway so that's good.

Now we have to get our head around stuff like registering as self employed and opening a business account....serious stuff!!!

We've got a lot to learn but both of us want this soo much that I'm sure we can make it work!!

I'm soo grateful to Ben for giving us this incredible opportunity!!!

If any of you lovely people have any hints, tips or advice please please let me know!!!!

Right...onto a more crafty note....i ordered some buttons from Sarah. i went for a mixed bag of yummy flowery ones, when they arrived they were in the awesome envelope that you can see in the pic!! I've pinned it up in the sewing corner...

I read Sarah's blog and id recommend her if you were thinking of buying anything from her. really quick postage and a great product too!!

I also got this lovely cosmetic purse from Emma. i sent her an old sew hip which i was finished with, she had been trying to find it for a while, and she kindly offered to send me this lovely as a thank you!!!

Its got really cool sparkles on one corner.

and a really cute heart charm on the zip. Thank you Emma!!

O.K That's all for now. I'm going out for dinner in a bit and I've just seen the time!!! ahhhhh!!! after dinner we're going out as a good friend is up from Manchester and well....i think we need to celebrate!!!!

Take Care my lovelies!

xx

Shhhhhh...

Hello lovelies!! WOW!! thanks for all of the comments on the last post. i have some crazy exciting news for you all but I'm not giving too much away right now because i don't want to get carried away. its a very grown up decision and i want to make sure that i (we) do it right (keeping our feet firmly on the ground....

but....are you ready for this...

El and I have been given the incredible opportunity to have an actual shop in Cheltenham...one with a window and bricks...what i mean is its real....not something from my imagination. I'm not going to say much more because it is early days but...at the moment....it seems very probable.

Whatcha think of that then???!!!

xx

A Second One!...

WOW! Thank you all for the lovely comments about the coin purse. i have run it past El and we've decided to take your advice and we've put an order in for some more clip frames. to test the water i managed to prise my little paws off of this beauty and have listed it up on our folksy shop...please can i keep it??? Plllleeeeaaassseeee!!!

i had another crappy day at work (please excuse the language) today i was politely informed by an ohh so charming customer that i only get paid five pounds an hour so why should i care?!ohh yeah and the he said "shut up. im not talking to you anymore" so i got a bit upset but remembered all the words of advice you guys gave me before and i soon cheered up....and the big boss manager told him off to...which helped!!

Before i go i have an idea to run past you lovelies....I'm going to organise a craft night called "CRAFT NIGHT IN" (hehehe get it??) its going to run alongside the Lovely Little Cheltenham Craft Fairs

Basically...its a craft club...like Stitch and Bitch clubs but not about knitting so much. a night when crafty people can meet other crafty people and eat some cake, drink some coffee (or wine....) and spark some creativity. my plan is to see how the first one goes and then I'm going to book a room for the same time every month. once they get going i hope to have group projects. when it gets to this stage i think I'll give the lovely people who come a shopping list so that they can bring everything they will need to make the project. well that's it...what do you think? silly idea or fun idea??

Right...dinner time!!

Take Care

xx

Look What I Made!!!!

Afternoon peoples. i hope you are OK and have got to see some of the sunshine today!! I'm really pleased with myself because today i managed to make something i have been longing to make for ages!!

i found some great purse frames on Saturday night which came in great colours and were quite a reasonable price. Ive been waiting and waiting and waiting to make a coin purse with a clip frame, don't ask me why...i just have. Well they arrived today and i succeeded in my crafty ambition. i followed some instructions from an old sew hip....

I made this one for my mum as it is her birthday on Saturday...i hope she likes it. Ive also got a coral coloured frame which I'm going to save for myself. Right....I'm going to go and wrap up some stuff i need to post tomorrow. have a nice evening!

xx

Lovely Lovely Swap Goodness!!

Afternoon my lovelies. How are you all?? I'm sat writing this on the sofa enjoying a rest after walking up the race course for the car boot fair (not an amazing one this time....some rick rack and four special buttons...but i had fun so I'm not going to complain!)

My day off yesterday went a bit wrong. Arth and I were going to go to Cirencester so i could take some pictures of the StuffedNonsense stock in MADE...we decided to catch the bus from a different stop (one closer to our house) but the silly thing never turned up...well i say never...it was half an hour late by the time we decided to give up. I'm 100% sure we weren't being stupid and waiting at the wrong bus stop i checked about a million times!! So we had to change our plans.Instead we went to the Curious Cafe for Lunch which was scrummy, but i still felt a little disappointed for the rest of the day...i really fancied a trip to Ciren...grrrrr.

But i soon cheered up when i got my swap parcel from Steph !!! I loved everything in it.....

A lovely big pincushion...its so lovely i don't want to put my grotty old pins in it...i might have to get some pretty pearly ones to go in it!!

An awesome necklace!! with really bright buttons and crochet rings and balls. (my camera didn't want to play when i took this pick!) but trust me it is wonderful!! it went straight round my neck!!

The most amazing corsage brooch!! the colour matches my coat perfectly and it is sooo soft! i love the texture that the green wool on the bottom gives the whole brooch!! i kept stroking it yesterday!

And a crochet kit. id mentioned on Steph's blog that i wanted to learn how to crochet as my Nana (my dads grandma) was a master of it and used to crochet granny squares until the cows came home!! I'm going to knuckle down one evening and try and figure it out!

Thank you soo much Steph...i loved every item you sent!!

I had another go at the plush toy i made in the last post (i wasn't happy with the size of the head on the first one) I'm a lot happier with this one...i like its little french knot eyes and its small smile...

I'm definatly going to make some more...but I'm faced with a dilemma now....what should i call them???Any ideas??

Lastly i also messed around in my scrap box and came up with this little piece of patchwork, i followed instructions in one of my old sew hip magazines.... its pretty small (about the size of a coaster), so its not practical for all that much. i was thinking of sewing it onto a card for my mum...its her birthday soon and i thought it might look quite striking if it was backed onto a cream color?

Right...I'm a bit engrossed in a book at the mo' (which is good...i haven't read anything in a while!!!) so I'm going to leave you to you Sunday afternoon...Ive got work at 6 on the new Ben and Jerry's ice cream counter...yummy!!!

Take Care

xx

P.S. i almost forgot i saw Coraline the other week. Neil Gaiman is my favorite author so i was really worried about this adaptation but OH MY GOD!!! this film was amazing. anyone who has an appreciation for craft and hand made items would really enjoy it!! especially the bit at the start!!!