... Is alive!

So I know I haven't posted in a while but I have a very good reason.  After much thought and very little planning I have moved to BRIGHTON!!
My bestest friend Laura of Illustryous fame has lived in Brighton for several years and has been asking me to live with her for quite a while.  It seemed now was the time to make the move so on the 11th of July I packed my bags and headed south.
So far everything has gone pretty smoothly but so I don't rabbit on too long, here is a brief summary of what has happened:

+ I spent three weeks sharing a bed with Laura before moving into my new house where, after much maneuvering I have ended up in my room with very little furniture.  I share the house with Laura, Hester, Dave and Kiki the dog.

+ After five days of exploring I found a job at the truly charming Blackbird Tearooms where I get to work with a bunch of lovely people serving proper tea and yummy homemade cakes.

+ I have been going to weekly life drawing classes at Draw Brighton where laura is one of the many models.  (I now have more naked pictures of my best friend than any normal person should have!)

+ Even though I have only had my own room for a few weeks I have already bought/acquired a wardrobe, two chairs, a mattress, two dresses, a bean bag, a curved mirror, a wooden writing box, a parasol, a chaise lounge and a pile of vintage fabric.

+ I have made several trips up to London to see my lovely Dan Hodgett.  One of the many reasons for moving down south :)  (In ten days we'll have been together a year! eek!)

That's about it for now.  Apparently the Olympics were on too but I wasn't paying attention.  Here are a few photos to fill in the gaps...

This is a view from my house of the South Downes.  Not exactly the bustling metropolis of Brighton but its not too far away.

A bit of Brighton poetry...

...and a bit more.

Brighton station.

A bit of vintage goodness. There's a lot of it around Brighton.

A bit of Brighton artiness. There's loads of that too!

Laura's room that she has just finished organising and now looks like a fairy grotto.

My room which is a mess.

So that's it for now.  I'll keep you posted with new developments.  Hopefully get some creative stuff on the go soon!

Laters xxx

p.s. One of the lovely ladies I work with has a super blog called Yours Truly.  Check it out if you know what's good for you!

...Says thank you.

This one is for you Papa...

and this...

and this..

Happy Father's Day!

Thanks for the need to take photos, the taste for good ales and the squiffy vision 8-) xxx

...is on the market.

So last Sunday Big Sister Bertie and I took part in The Worcester Flea, an outdoor vintage/craft market in the heart of Worcester.  This is the second time we've given it a go the last being in March when we had wind, rain, sleet and snow.  Unfortunately we didn't make money back on the stall and we spent our float on tea and pasties.
This time however the weather was much better and with a bit of forward planning we came up with ways to make our stall more appealing.  The main attraction (which we were rather proud of) was a "gallery" made by tying garden mesh (found in a charity shop) to the posts of our stall that we pegged prints, clothes and other lovely stuff to.

Pretty nifty huh?  We also had a table of lovely things we'd made including some mini hot water bottle covers made from felted woolly jumpers (made by Bertie).  There was a washing line of vintage clothes and lots of fabric bundles courtesy of Dearest Mama who came along to help.  The weather held out, we made a profit and there was tea and pasties.  

Miss Bertie in her handmade flamingo dress (commissions available)

Dearest Mama making labels

Me looking very pleased with myself

All in all a good day :)

...gets a bit patriotic.

Last week I submitted my entry for the Best of Britain exhibition at the Corinium Museum in Cirencester.  The idea is to create a new stamp design for the Queen's Jubilee.  Each entry had to be the size of a postcard and follow the theme "Best of Britain"

I decided to use an idea I used for my graduate work at uni which was all about tea!  A hand stitched tea bag with Union Jack design, some lovely bunting and letter stamping. The result is below:

Have a look at all the entries here!

The exhibition runs from 30th April - 5th June and there is a book launch on the 4th May if you're in town.

xx

... Gets Folksy!

I have finally put items on my Folksy shop! Have a nosey at my handmade Pretty Flamingo Tote Bags.  Made using recycled fabrics including some vintage pieces. A perfect unique accessory to go with the summer trends.

I will soon be adding tea cosies, pin cushions and needle cases. x

... feels a little guilty.

So I haven't done a blog post for over a month and I feel a little bit guilty but here's some of the things I've been doing to fill you in...

Big Sister Bertie and I had a go at selling crafty stuff at the Worcester Flea. Unfortunately after having a lovely sunny week the weather decided to be completely rubbish.  There was rain, sleet and a very chilly wind which meant that there were very few people and we spent most of our money on hot drinks.  I sold one pin cushion and traded a bag for a vintage skirt.  Not a great success but we still had fun meeting new people.

As Middle Sister Harry was turning the big 30 this month and was having a bit of a difficult time with a poorly knee, Bertie and I decided to throw her a surprise birthday party with a railway children theme (as it is one of our favourite films).  All friends and family were secretly invited,  costumes were made and we transformed a damp old church hall from this...

... to this...

We basically moved the contents of our parents living room half a mile up the road.  There were metres of handmade bunting, iced buns with pink icing and lashings of ginger beer. We showed the The Railway Children film (1970s version of course!) on a projector and everyone had a jolly good time.  Harry really had no idea which made it all the more wonderful!

In other news I will soon have some brand new glasses and sunglasses which I am rather excited about and this weekend I will be making cushions for Hampton Court Chapel.  I have also set up a folksy shop and will have tea cosies and flamingo bags on it very soon!

See you soon x

... Tries out this romantic malarky.

As its the day after Valentine's Day I thought I'd write a post about some romantic stuff or at least things I find romantic.  I think romance is different for everyone. What can be one person's idea of a loving gesture is another's vomit-inducing-heart-holding-stuffed-bear (No offense to those who do like vomit-inducing-heart-holding-stuffed-bears but if we're going for a stereotype, I'd rather have a bunch of flowers (Hint Mr.D)).  Anyhow here's three things that were invented by loving husbands for their lovely wives (at least that's how I imagine it):


1.  Sticky plasters (or Band-aids) were created by Mr. Earle Dickson.  His wife was rather clumsy and always accidentally burning or cutting herself so he created a small sticky bandage so that she could cover the injury and continue to do things until she hurt herself again.  

2.  Bird's Custard Powder was invented by Alfred Bird whose wife was allergic to eggs.  He also invented baking powder because she was allergic to yeast. He sounds like a keeper (and he was probably loaded).  Money and pudding, win, win!

(It also makes children want to do the ironing. Another win)

3. Latex medical gloves were first used by a surgeon William Stewart Halsted.  Before then surgeons washed their hands in carbolic acid to deter germs.  However Dr. Halsted's wife, who was a surgical nurse, had a bad reaction to the chemical so he asked the Goodyear tyre and rubber company to develop gloves that she could wear.  It was only later discovered that using gloves reduced the spread of bacteria but at least they got there in the end.

Thumbs up William!

Latex gloves were later developed using the same process used to make condoms, which is sort of relevant...right?

Hope you all had a good one xx

p.s. To all those who say its all about the card companies making money, why don't you make a card and stop moaning! Or better yet buy one from an independent crafter who probably needs the money.