deck the halls

Let the festivities commence!

A very Merry Christmas to you all.

Love Clare xx

creating traditions

 Not feeling Christmassy yet?

Why not start a new tradition.

Today my friend Karen and I began a new Christmas crafting tradition.

All you need is one or more friends some crafty products

 and a radio playing Christmas tunes.

 We gave air dry clay modelling a go.

Neither of us had used this product before,

 a little tweaking here and there and we were on a roll.

*quilt by Molly Flanders

 Well Karen was,

she was like a woman possessed!

 I was a bit more methodical.

Now we must wait until they dry...

I'm thinking over night should do the trick.

Anyone interested?

We used DAS air dry clay,

bought from a craft shop, but also available online.

You will need cookie cutters 

(letters nigellas)

and buttons etc 

and basically anything you can press into clay!

You will also need a rolling implement, a pallet knife

and some skewers or a large needle.

Couldn't be easier!
My mind is whirring away...
don't you love learning a new craft?
I'm thinking the possibilities are endless!!!!

ps.
hopefully they should dry white,
I'll update you when they're finished.

friday favourites

If you noticed my new cushion a few posts back,

then you'll want to know where it came from right?

 Well I struck it lucky when I won Annettes giveaway

over at My Rose Valley one of my favourite bloggers.

 There really is nothing like a blog parcel!
Thankyou Annette I love everything!

Annette knows my penchant for fabric and threw in these lovely florals...

and a cute tin heart which is hanging next to my new santa decoration.

He came from Finland via the Winchester Christmas market.

So it seems I am developing quite the taste for Scandinavian homestyle

as Annette is from Sweden, although she lives in Swizerland.

Hopefully then my little home made swedish gift will 

get a gallop on and arrive with Annette for Christmas.

I have had a wonderful year of giving and receiving gifts from around the world.

It really has been a great experience, did you know that a parcel from the UK

takes roughly 1 week to arrive in the US and a couple more for Australia!

My word for this year was to connect with people, 

my word for 2013?

trader

ps.
I have opened a facebook page 
please take a look if you fancy a chat!

Liberty love

 I have always thought I was born in the wrong era..

stepping into Liberty confirms my theory.

It was love at first step.

This is my place.

So forgive the quality of these naughty snaps,

taken with my phone I couldn't resist.

 Anyone else wondering how they hung those paper chains?

 If I had to choose one shop to shop in for the rest of my life,

let it be Liberty!

 This picture is for Mary and everyone who loves fabric!

 Believe it or not I wasn't in fabric buying mode?

Not this time at least.

I did buy myself a little memento

a handmade button bauble from their refound department.
A selfsewn decoration on the same tree as one from Liberty!

If you find yourself in Regent Street

make sure you pop your head in,

you might find me behind a till or hanging some decorations...

again..I'm dreaming!

country living?

Well I can dream can't I?

You know the part in 'Elf'

where Buddy decorates the store big time...

that's me when I decorate our tree.

More is more right?

ps

See that lovely Christmas cushion.

It's a giveaway gift that I won 

from one of my favourite bloggers

My Rose Valley

(more to come on that)

If you like my blog

you'll love Annette's.

loving decorating my tree from my own stock!!
photo was created via picmonkey

out of the dark

 and into the light.

 I am a fan of candles,

yet I rarely light them.

I've had this idea rolling about in my head for a year now,

since I saw a real wax flameless candle last year.

In an effort to spend as little as possible

and to make use of what I have,

I bought some battery flameless tealights,

took a fixed potato peeler to this pillar candle

carved out a hole about two inches deep
(I used the pointy end of the peeler
not the actual peeler part!)

and

tadah!

one flameless candle.

 two flameless candles 

(uh huh ha)

With my mind now in full flow.

I raced about the house finding things to light up.

The possibilities are endless....

so why not have a go?

Give your house a clumsyadult child/pet friendly glow.

* I bought my tea lights from Robert Dyas

6 for £2.99

They do sell flameless pillar candles too.

My only tip with the tealights 

is to try before you buy 

if possible.

These flicker,

which is a tiny bit artificial.

curtain call

I did it!

Dont you love it when a plan comes together?

I had just enough fabric to make two curtains.

 I had to add an oddment(of the same fabric)
 to the top of them to make them long enough.

If you look in the first picture
you can just about make out the additions
at the top.
I don't notice now,
I'm sure most wont!

*curtain, vintage fothergay fabric a bargainous £5
secondhand curtain header free!
chairs from the dump
picture dottie angel teatowel
heart decoration Winchester Christmas market
light fitting Laura Ashley
vintage letterpress tray ebay
trinkets around the house!
(thats another post)
dingy photoshopped snaps courtesy of mother earth!

cold snap

Is it arm warmer* weather?

Today yes!
(unless you live in the southern hemisphere!)

I'm linking up with Rachel 

at stitched in color with this cold snap post.

two reasons 

one. the inspiration for her quilting bee was my summer of love quilt.

Go take a look it's going to be beautiful.

two. the inspiration for her colour palette included a fashion shot

with the very same arm warmers!

My chunky crochet blanket is nearing completion,

I'm thinking of edging in different colours....

and I happen to have some chunky yarn that matches the arm warmers..?

Right I'm off, 

I need to find some toe warmers.

ps. sorry about the old orange jumper,

it's like my comfort blanket!

*arm warmers Christmas present from 2011

Joules.

vintage fair booty calls

 Whilst we're on the subject of rummaging and the repurposing of found items,

I just had to share my £3 booty (minds out of the gutter)

On a recent outing to a vintage fair

I spied these three beauts in the £1 box,

you know the one

full of broken treasure

of no use to anyone??

I am not interested in the beautiful table top wares,

I prefer to squirrel scrapple about rummaging through boxes

whilst to be fair, showing a great amount of booty!

When I'm at such fairs I have the kind of brain that says 

I could....

The tiny watch didnt work,

but it was teeny and cute and thought my husband would love the challenge.

Who couldnt love a four leaf clover

with all it's ambery goodness.

The last piece was surely made to be worn on the head?

Thats what ran through my mind ala Downton Abbey style.

It has a rhinestone missing, 

I don't care, 

anything can be fixed!

 Rhinestones aren't just for Christmas!

 After a rummage this morning 

I have found a piece of velvet ribbon*, a piece of wide elastic* 

and some black thread*

And in my ad hoc throw it together kind of way I made a head band.

(in the dark I might add)

Vintage fair booty calls

Remember don't neglect the rummage boxes 

Always have room in your head for ulterior motives

If it captures your imagination and it costs a pound buy it.

Wear a longer shirt that covers ones behind whilst rummaging.

Take a chance on a broken watch...it might well end up being Swiss made

and could also be coaxed into ticking....

even if a little intermittent!

* vintage haberdashery family hand me downs.
ps
I've been wearing my hairband all day
even to put out the rubbish..
how very glamourous!

home styling, interior designing or making a house a home?

  Whatever you wish to call it..it is the best bit right?

Time to re-purpose all those 'finds' that have been squirrelled away..

and there are many for I have been a squirrel for decades!

Remember these fabric finds?

The one on the right is a vintage fothergay 'anemone' piece,

alas I only have enough to make one curtain or two curtains with added fabric?

The piece on the left is an old patchwork quilt.

Both were were £5 and both from charity shops.

How do we feel on mismatched curtains?

This arts and crafts stool purchased at the Shepton Mallet fair,

has been crying out for some love for a long time.

 When you have an extension built
it doesnt leave you with much in the way of folding money,

so being inventive with squirrel finds is all the more rewarding.

Cheap shelves from B&Q painted in satinwood.

 Not all objects are easy to re-home however..

this lovely convex mirror belongs to my husband,

bought 20 years ago from a carboot!!

I have so far struggled to find it's place..

but watch this space I have an idea.

Anyone want to rummage in my loft,

I know there are many more nuts to find!

black friday

We don't really 'do' black Friday* here in the UK

though it's catching on.

Anyway I thought I would link the day with my recent makes,

which contain black.

These beauties are for my friends kids

 whom I've been making silly Christmas gifts

for a few years now.

Their tastes are on the Gothic side,

so I went for black yarn,

which I rather like,

even if it makes my eyes turn spirals like the fellow below.

Remember last years makes?

*black friday falls the day after thanksgiving.

It denotes the beginning of the Christmas holiday shopping season,

where many shops have huge promotional deals.

The 'black' name relates to businesses

recording their losses in red ink

and their gains in black.