Birthday Bunting

Well, my baby girl's first birthday is fast approaching so I thought it was time I started thinking about her party. I'm only planning a small gathering as I don't want to overwhelm her, but it's nice to share such a happy day with family and a few ante-natal friends.

I have been receiving lots of catalogues recently with things to buy for first birthday parties (goes to show how much these marketing people know about me if they know my baby is going to be one soon!). Some of the ideas are nice and some are just a load of tat. So I thought, wouldn't it be better to make some handmade bunting I could get out every year.



I looked through my felt stash, purchased from the lovely Lupin Handmade, That Crafty Fish and my local fabric store (I like to spread my felt purchasing far and wide).

The banner is going to be a carefully planned (i.e. scribbled on a scrap of paper) mixture of alternating flags and letters in shades of white, cerise pink and plum purple. My mum has kindly offered to sew the cerise pink and purple flags, so I only have photos of the white ones. I will blog about the finished banner in all its glory in a couple of weeks time!

Last of the Summer...tomatoes

As I watched the rain lash down today, I was reminded of how lovely the weather at weekend had been. I was also experiencing a glut of tomatoes, so I decided to make some soup. It also included homegrown basil, oregano and garlic (from my Mum).



This is the perfect time of year to get preserving all the lovely fruit and veg which has been growing over the Summer. I know when I take this out of my freezer, I can taste a little bit of Summer in the middle of Winter (if it stays in there that long!)



We made the most of the Sunday sunshine and took a trip to Ashton Court on the edge of Bristol. It's a pretty amazing green space, owned by the council and open (for free) to the people of Bristol to use for picnics, cycling, horse riding, kite festivals and lots more besides.





It's also home to two deer enclosures for Fallow and Red deer. We saw these handsome chaps lazing about near the fence. They must be very used to seeing humans as the council allow access to the enclosures. People are able to walk along designated footpaths to get a closer look at the deer.



Relaxing 'en famille' in the late Summer sunshine, with my Mum, husband and baby daughter!

Vintage love: Hornsea Pottery

A new charity shop has opened in my local area. Never one to miss an opportunity to check out a new thrifting venue, I paid the shop a visit. The minute I walked through the door I saw this little beauty - a piece of vintage Hornsea Pottery ceramic lovliness.



It was marked in the shop as a 'sugar pot', but a quick Google search tells me it is a 'lidded jam pot'. For all you ceramic geeks out there, here are a few facts:

"Hornsea Pottery Saffron was produced from about 1970 until 1992. It was designed by John Clappison and this popular pattern was sold in very large quantities. It has now become very difficult to obtain items of Saffron in good condition"



Every time I look at it, I fall in love with it a little bit more. I love the pattern, I think it has to be my favourite Hornsea motif. It is a quintessential vintage floral pattern, bold and simple. Less is more as they say...



I'm so glad this new charity shop opened, they have fantastic furniture for sale including an Ercol table and set of 'Refectory Style' dining chairs (which look like this). I have yet to convince the other half that we desperately need to buy them. He's not convinced. I guess I will have to be satisfied with my 'lidded jam pot'. For now.

Work in progress: lavender hearts

I's been over three weeks since I last blogged and alot has happened since the 23rd July. My husband was involved in a cycling accident on the 27th July. Luckily, he came away from the accident with bruising and a broken arm. The reason I say 'luckily' is because at first the paramedics thought he may have broken his back. We spent a tense time in A&E waiting to hear the results of his x-rays and we were relieved to discover that he hadn't fractured his spine.

Having said all that, looking after someone who has lost the use of their right arm (if only temporarily) is hard work. Coupled with looking after our 10 month old baby full-time, I've been run off my feet and pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I am lucky to have a helpful and supportive Mum. Plus, I have received lots of support from kind friends I have met via Etsy. They know who they are and their kindness wont be forgotten.



I have (somehow!) found time to cut out a stack of lavender hearts. It's the type of crafting I can do on a tray, in the evening, on the sofa! Obviously my husband and baby are top priority, but I feel I need to work with vintage fabric at least once or twice a week, even if I'm very tired. It's just something I have to do to stay sane!

These photos show the broderie anglais back of the hearts. I have also cut out lots of vintage fabric lavender heart fronts in yummy patterns and colours. I will be listing them just as soon as I get a chance - watch this space...

To see the four colourways I currently have for sale, please click here

Self Sufficient (ish) 2010

I started blogging last year about growing fruit and veg at home. As I mentioned previously, veg grown at home tastes better and have travelled a very small distance, which means less road and air freight.

Yesterday I tipped out my last bag of homegrown spuds and made a handful of them into a salmon, broccoli and potato pie for our baby girl. She absolutely loved it and gobbled a big bowl down for tea. I used a recipe from the Truuuly Scrumptious Book of Organic Baby Purees, it is brilliant, I haven't found a recipe that our baby doesn't like (yet!).

This year, I have very little time for gardening with a young baby to look after. But I've still managed to grow some spuds, tomatoes, blueberries, pak choi, various salad leaves and lots of herbs.

Due to lack of time, I chose flowers that were tough and could look after themselves with very little help from me. One plant which thrived on neglect was the Ragged Robin Poppies. The original seeds came from a friend's garden in North Wales, so they have travelled quite a distance. They are absolutely stunning, although they are short lived.





I also love these Balloon plants because the slugs don't eat them and they are a perennial so no faffing about each year, it just dies down over the Winter and reappears in the Spring.



I try to be a thrifty gardener and very rarely buy plants and always try to grow from seed or cuttings. This Hydrangea came from a cutting my Gran took about four years ago.



Likewise the snapdragons were grown by my Mum from seed, they don't get eaten by slugs either and look after themselves, so a big thumbs up from me.





These Allium bulbs were a gift from my Mum and the bees love them, which is always a bonus as their habitats and survival are under threat.





There was one weird thing which happened with my potato plants this year, they bore 'fruit'. I'm not sure what they are, I thought their fruit was underground in the form of spuds. I'm thinking maybe they flowers were cross-pollunated by an insect from my tomato plants? What with me not being a botanist, I'm not sure if this can happen!

And the winner is...

The winner chosen at random is...Bells and Unicorns

She wins the Summery Canvas Stripey Tote, it will be in the post asap!!

Many thanks to all who entered the giveaway - check back for more competitions in the coming months!

Vintage fabric lavender hearts

Over the past few months I have been busily making lots of vintage fabric hearts. They always prove to be very popular both online and at craft fairs. They are very versatile, either hang them in your wardrobe (lavender acts as an eco friendly moth repellent) or place on the bedside table to help you drift off to sleep.



They also make lovely eco friendly wedding or anniversary gifts. If you are planning your own wedding, they make ideal keepsakes to give to your bridesmaids to thank them for their hard work and remind them of the happy day. Many people choose to have a more 'handmade' look to their wedding theme, and these hearts fit in perfectly.



Each heart is made from vintage fabric and filled with chemical free lavender. They have a satin ribbon hanging loop and feature a vintage button for added detail. The backs of the hearts are made from vintage broderie anglaise fabric.











I currently have four different colourways for sale at the moment, but I have lots more planned, so keep checking back to see more. If you have a particular colour theme you are looking for, please do get in touch!

Lavender hearts on Etsy