Some Jars, Ray and My Nails

So today someone put a bid on Bertie the blue table, so he is off to a new home, where ever that may be.. so if you would like him in your life then this is your last chance!

Please forgive my otherwise boring and disjointed post, I have been sorting out car stuff today and haven't had much chance to be crafty.

Although my jar and can are now dry which makes me happy all they need is a plant inside them and to be hung in the garden. I also purchase a nail varnish pen set today and did some experimenting on my nails, I know the picture is not great and I have painted half my finger as well but it was my first attempt and I don't think they look too bad!! I added the picture of Ray in for good measure, he looks really fat in it and I thought it was worth a laugh! Have a good night.

Lime Green

This is one of my favorite ever colours, so I thought I would share a selection of lovely things, all of which I want in my life.. (the bike would only be for display though because I cant ride one!!)

So admits all the dreaming, I thought I would share my newly painted lime green can and jar! All ready to go in zee garden on Thursday once we have picked up our new car. Yes thats right new car! I would love to be able to say that it was lime green, but that would be a lie.. Rich wouldn't let me have the lime green one, sad face. But never mind maybe I will paint it while he's not looking!

 I thought I would share a picture of my buddha too, just for good measure.

Mondays Armchair Activity

Happy Monday, I hope you are enjoying the first full week of March...  still can't believe we are into March already, how scary!

Anyway today, for Mondays armchair activity, I bring you a really easy puggy pin cushion (or any other shape you fancy really!!

So choose which ever fabric you would like to work with. I am using one the the prints I did for my cushion fabric which didn't turn out so well but you can use plain fabric or something you have drawn yourself, and you can even make it into any shape you fancy.

Pin the two sides of your fabric together ready to be sewn together. I will be using a simple blanket stitch which I am going to attempt to explain below;

Start by anchoring your thread, just do a stitch over and over again basically.

Once you have anchored your stitch, take the thread from the top of the fabric and push it through the bottom of the fabric to the top... as seen above.

Before pulling the thread tight, put the needle (holding the loose end of the thread) through the loop and now pull tight.

Continue doing this over and over, keeping sure all the spacing is roughly the same.

Grab some stuffing and pop it all inside your nearly complete pin cushion.

Now all you have to do, is finish sewing your pin cushion up, tie a knot in the end and then trim off the ends of loose thread and there you have it, your lovely Monday pincushion. Its quick and easy and you could even use scraps of fabric, meaning nothing gets wasted, jolly!!

A big baked bean tin project!!

 I know that it is not summer quite yet but I thought I best start sorting out my slight mess of a garden. The previous tenants of my house, destroyed it slightly but sorting it out is going to be my new project.

So I began today by painting baked bean tins in bright red, waiting for them to dry, sanding them up, putting a plant in them and hanging them up! 
I thought decorating the boring trellis at the back of my garden was a good place to start, as I don't have to dig up any weeds and it only takes a few minutes meaning my fingers don't go too blue!!

I used some really pretty blue heather to fill my pots with, and it was only 50p meaning it wont cost be too much to finish and obviously all the tins are free, I only have two at the moment though so I should probably get on eating some more beans really! I think I am going to need about 20 more of them to dot around the trellis, all painted in different bright colours, holding an array of different plants and flowers.

I'll keep you updated with my progress and any ideas would be much appreciated! 
Have a good weekend everyone. x

Bertie and Bread

Today I made home made bread and it actually worked quite well. Looks good eh! And it only cost about 30p to make, bargain! I think next week, I am going to try making fancy bread with cheese and herbs and what not, I will make sure I share the recipe.

Other than making bread I have also been finishing off Bertie the blue table and have taken some new pictures of him with his lovely glass top on, all done and ready for sale HERE, go and have a look at him, he's only on for a starting price of £25.. thats the second bargain of the day and he could be yours!

Bertie the blue table

Here is a little sneak peek at Bertie the blue table. I have been working on him for a while, and couldn't find the right sort of top for him, but I think this gorgeous, vintage inspired cat paper works beautifully and I've added a bit of lace, which look great when the glass top is placed down and I have crinkled the paper slightly for a bit of texture.. lovely...well that's my opinion anyway!

Bertie will be up for sale tomorrow for only £40, he is the perfect side/coffee table and also makes a good tv tray / laptop table, as Bertie was originally part of a nest of tables, he has one scalloped edge missing which means you can slide your legs underneath him easy peasy!! 

I will put up some more pictures tomorrow along with some pictures of my home made bread, which I am attempting to do first the first time tomorrow, wish me luck!!!

Happy Birthday

Last week was my lovely friend Lydia's birthday, so I thought I would share the little presents I got for her!

The first thing I have to show you, is the lucky stars I made for her, they are made in a very similar way to the origami hearts I made a week or so go, but they are a lot harder and a lot of them got scrumpled up and fed to the dog! I will do a "how to", when I am a little less irritated by them! I have used 4 different kinds of paper and drawn messages and faces on the plain white stars and then popped them all in a jar,lovely!!

If you fancy it, you can put them in a bowl?! I think my logic with this was that they looked  bit like cereal...

My favorite shop in Winchester is The Hambledon, they supply a gorgeous array of gifts and hand made typey bits, like the little bits below; writing set, full of papers and enevelopes, labels and what not, a lovely little harmonica and a funny little cat card. So that was the second part of my present to her, all wrapped up in my favorite paper and tied up n string, done!!