Blooming Lovely!

Today my thoughts are among the flowers...I find myself getting giddy every time I see floral prints, a little chintz...

It's taking over my wardrobe...

It's creeping into my kitchen cupboards...oh Pyrex, how I love thee...

I see all things through rose tinted spectacles...it compelled me to cross-stitch...

It's consuming all creative thoughts...

It's blooming marvelous!

Happy Monday!
Tania ♥

Buttons and pinnies!

Greetings sweet friends! Well, I am still here...I think...Sometimes it feels like I'm losing my head with all that needs doing at this time of year! But, there is always time for a little indulgent sewing time! Have you seen the new 'Granny Chic' book by Tif Fussell and Rachelle Blondel? I have finally got my mitts on a copy, and yes, I'm turning into a primate...lots of  'ooh-ooh' and  'aah's' induced by the sheer drool-worthy pages of this delightful book! I do love a bit of granny chic, and it marries well with my desire to be thrifty and crafty! The first project that I have tackled, inspired by the very lovely Dottie Angel, was a 'peachy perfect pinny'!

I used some favourite fabrics from my stash...old sheets, buttons, lace and some truly scrumptious bias binding...and a doily for granny chic goodness of course!

A perfectly useful pocket...

 

My new pinny...perfect for craft fairs me thinks!

 

 

 

Apart from pinning and sewing pinnies, I have also made a few more bits for the upcoming craft fairs, and also to sell on my Facebook page.

 

 

 

Vintage inspired button bouquet brooches...

 

 

 

 

 

I've got one last little project to share with you. I've been toying with this idea for some time, after seeing some origami dresses on Pinterest. I wanted to use fabric instead of paper to make a little framed picture. Such fun!

 

 

So, this is what have kept me from my blogging chair for the last week or so! What have you all been up to? Anything exciting? I can't wait to have a little time to sit with a warm cuppa, and to catch up with all the wonderful blogs out there that always cheer me, challenge me or inspire me! Do say hello! I'd love to hear from you!

 

Blessings, Tania ♥♥♥

 

 







 

Take a leaf from this book...

Hello my lovelies! How is your Monday treating you? Hopefully with kindness? The kidlets are on their half-term break at the moment, so we spent the morning in the lovely town of St. Ives (Cambridgeshire), just pootling around the market, and indulging in a few comforts from home...Home being South Africa, and the treats being sweets and 'dry wors' from 'Die Koskas', a bit of manna from heaven in the shape of a market stall! I've also been doing a little sewing for my very own Christmas market stalls which I will be selling at in the run up to the festive season. I've been sewing leafy bookmarks...I'm not quite finished, but I'm well on my way. I adore books, and it scares me that technology seems to be replacing the use of printed books. Nothing quite beats the turning of pages on a journey through a gripping story. Hence my desire to make some bookmarks!

Just in case you missed it...

 

 

Leafy loveliness...

 

 

 

Apart from sewing, we have also had a wonderful weekend spent in the company of friends. I mentioned in my last post that we were planning a 'Soup Night'. Well, we all had a wonderful time laughing, eating and catching up over steamy bowls of soup. Here are a few piccies!

 

 

Autumnal posies...

 

 

 

 

Set the table...

 

 

 

 

 



 





 

 

'Friends are the family we choose for ourselves...'

 

 

I wish you all a very happy Monday, and an even happier rest-of-the-week!

 

Tania ♥

 



 

 

 

 



Romance meets granny chic...

Hello my lovelies! I'm sorry for the silence on my part, but this week has been a testing one! Life does sometimes throw one a curve ball (or three), and then all good intentions and productivity flies out the window! Anyhow, I did finally manage to do a little sewing today, albeit a 'quickie' project. In all honesty, this little project was all I could muster today! I think you all know by now that I am madly in love with lace and doilies...yes, I too have been converted to granny chic. So, today I decided to use both to make a scarf. A bit of lace for romance, teamed up with some cute doilies, and that's how you marry romance and granny chic!

I started with my base...two strips of muslin fabric cut to size...about 10" x 60"...roughly...no need for fiddly measuring!

I took a deep breath, and cut into this once beautiful, now slightly worn lace blouse...some panels to sew onto my base...

Using the panels from the lace top, and an assortment of lace and doilies, I set to work adding the layers to the one of the muslin strips...No exact science...just how and where I fancied...

Then, placing the two base strips together, right sides facing, I sewed all around, leaving a 10cm gap at one end to turn it inside out. I then sewed the open end shut, pressed the scarf with an iron, and voila!

And there you have it! An easy-peasy, romantic,  lacy bit of granny chic! And all from re-cycled bits of loveliness! Please excuse the 'not so perfect' photographs...they were taken in a hurry whilst burning dinner in the oven! I will make sure to take better pictures next time, and not to cremate the fish and chips!

Until next time!
Blessings, Tania ♥

A nifty little thrifting challenge!

When the opportunity for a little me-time presents itself, (which doesn't happen very often might I add!), I love spending that time thrifting. Some woman hit the shoe shops, I go straight to the car boot sales! This weekend hubby occupied the kidlets so that I could  have some down time, and a little 'hunting/gathering' was just what I needed! I do try to go with a clear idea in mind of what our home needs, as opposed to indulging in impulse buying , you know, buying just for the sake of it! After all, one has to try to be wise with the pennies! So, I set myself a strict budget of ten pounds, and made a little mental list of little necessary treasures to look out for. For one thing, we were in desperate need of tumblers...the combination of young children, a very unforgiving Belfast sink, and brutal granite kitchen worktops, have meant that many a glass have died a death, and so we needed to replace these! I could just go to Ikea, or the supermarket for these, but that's no fun! And boy, did I have a successful day's thrifting! And of course there is always room for those 'necessary' homely touches that you just can't pass up...

Just look at these lovelies...
Vintage Panache Flamingo tumblers! They don't get more kitsch and yummy than these!

 

 

1960's Plastic Toy Tumblers...so cute! And useful of course...

 

 

Beautifully crocheted flowers...

I'm sure they will come in handy...

 

 

 



A little while ago, I sold a print which I had grown a little tired of. It was a lovely piece, but sometimes a change is needed! I have been keeping my eye out for something a little lighter and more cheerful, and I found a beautiful original water colour painting titled 'Summer Glory'.

I'm in love with it...
(And got it for a song!)

 

Lovely summer bouquet...

 

 

 

This Liberty of London teapot had my name on it...I can't believe it wasn't wanted anymore...♥

 

 

 

 

 

More florals...a Wedgwood plate, and cute little jug...

 

 

 

 

Another much needed necessity is bowls for cooking and serving up food...Mine seem to have gone AWOL one at a time...Over the years we have socialised and attended gatherings of a 'bring and share' nature. Somehow, by taking food to events, I have lost some of my lovely dishes over the years. And I'm slowly replenishing stock. I didn't want to just buy any old dish. I've had my eyes peeled for Pyrex dishes, as I love these! They remind me of my childhood, as I remember my mum having some.

 

Finally, I spotted this sweet rose Pyrex dish...granny chic at it's best!

 



 

 









The one I couldn't ignore...

I love old tins, and this commemorative tin celebrating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was too lovely to pass by!

 



I am absolutely delighted, tickled pink, and full of the joys of spring over all the spiffy thrifty bargains that have come home with me. The best part of course, is that I managed to save myself quite a bit by buying pre-loved items, objects of loveliness which are useful, have got much life left in them, and are needed! Happy days!

 

Have a superbly, blessed week!

Tania ♥



A little imperfect perfection

The summer holidays are coming to an end, with the children excitedly anticipating the start of a new school year on Wednesday. Our youngest will be spreading his tiny wings a little too when he starts at playschool, so life is ringing in a few significant changes for our household. I haven't done any sewing since the kidlets broke up for the summer, as I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before the balmy summer days make way for the cold, crisp confines of autumn  and winter skies. So, like a race horse I have been chomping at the bit to get back in the saddle of my trusty Elna! I wanted to sew a little something that I could start and complete in as little time as possible, something to ease me back into sewing mode! I am not a very patient person, and as a result I don't always enjoy long, drawn out projects which take weeks on end to complete!

Our dining table has been looking a bit sad and neglected...It's so easy to use it as a dumping space for anything and everything that needs to be put away 'later'... So, I figured that if I dress it a little better, then maybe, just maybe I'd be more inclined to keep it looking lovely and tidy. What it needed was a pretty table runner to cheer it up! I'm a big fan of the lovely Tiff  at Dottie Angel, and am partial to a little 'granny chic' myself.  Armed with my favourite leftovers fabric scraps, doilies, lace and a little vintage loveliness, I set to work an made my very own table runner, one I'd like to call 'a little imperfect perfection'. The trick with this project was to not over think things! I tend to do that...One sometimes has to get in touch with ones inner child, the part of oneself that can piece together a naive collage of sweetness and innocence with a free mind and an open heart. This is quite tricky for someone like myself who suffers from 'perfectly-measured-and-drafted-control-freak syndrome'...

Anyhow, I thoroughly enjoyed making this crazy patchwork of random thoughts and cheerfulness. The dinner table looks happier...

Linen, covered in lace, doilies, yummy fabric scraps and vintage loveliness...sewn together in a rather haphazard fashion...

 

Vintage buttons for added cheer...

 

Butterflies and birds...

 

 

 

Vintage handkerchiefs...♥

A very happy, cheery little patch of sweetness...

The wonderful thing about a little project like this, is that even if you 'don't know how to sew', you could make it! And make it beautifully! I urge you to have a go, and if you do, spread some cheer and post a note to let me know you've done so! The only rule is: 'There are no rules!' That's the fun of making something that is so imperfectly perfect!

Have a fabby-dabby-doo week!
Tania ♥