playing with plaid...

yesterday i dabbled with plaid...

i dabbled with plaid to balance out the florals which appear to be having babies all over our shed these days. now i do not claim to be a plaid expert although i do like to think once upon a time i knew a thing or two about tartan. many many moons ago, i had a job working on a button and ribbon barrow in Edinburgh. it was the daily norm to be asked questions about different tartans and what belonged to what house. i did my best to sound like i knew what i was talking about but alas i think the accent gave it away...

yesterday i sallied forth with plaid in mind, the sort of plaid which would sit comfortably amongst the florals. as the case would be, i did not come across any plaid which fitted the bill, however, i did come across a plaid flannel which stopped me in my tracks. it was a plaid which told me once upon a time it would have lived life as a granny's car blanket. something to keep the old legs and jippy knees warm whilst driving around in the middle of a cold winter's day.

i was not convinced.

the plaid was.

and so it came home with me,

all 2 and 1/2 yards

i had visions for my little piece of plaid to be backed, along with inners and everything being rather lovely and quilt-y like. however my cogs and body changed their mind upon arrival home. it took me all afternoon to 'doilify' my little piece of plaid, for my doilifying skills are rusty to say the least. 

after cartwheeling 8 doilies in place i had to have a rest, i noted Miss Ethel needed one too. we both agreed a quilt-y like throw would not be necessary today...

as i placed my newly doilified plaid throw (a grand title for a couple of yards of fabric and a few doilies) upon the settee and stepped back, 

thoughts of my youth and tartan knowledge came trundling through my head. i wondered if indeed this was a true tartan, and if so, what house would it belong to? the little voice inside my head piped up, very pleased with its self.

"why Tif, of course it is a tartan and it belongs to the House of LumberJack"

Tif :)

A slight Misshap and some Changes to our schedule

 

 Image via pinterest

Things have been moving very slowly at our place recently.
  Earlier this week I tripped over our vaccum cleaner which resulted in some fractured ribs, ouch!!
  My doctor has given me some strong pain relief so I do feel very relaxed!
We are still going away for our family holiday on Monday but won't be taking part in any markets :(
You are most welcome to purchase from my online stores but after Monday I will not be posting for 2 weeks.
Take care,
♥Leah

hip hip hooray!

today i turn 44

and

tomorrow, 

Gladys opens her door for the first time

so many things to celebrate

so many things to be thankful for

Tif 

(spending her birthday quietly and wisely with her constant canine companions)

Vintage-look garden sign tutorial

Recently on Pinterest I came across a link to this laundry makeover. I really liked the rustic sign they had made, and I thought a similar one would look good in my potager. It was easy and cheap to make, and best of all looks like it has been there for years! Read on for a tutorial.

 You will need a piece of wood for your sign. I used a piece that the builders pulled out of our house when they were taking the chimney down, but pallet wood would also be excellent. Give it a rough sand to remove any splinters, but leave it quite textured.

 You need two colours of paint - black and white (or thereabouts). I used test pots which were super cheap, the dark one is more of a green black but that is fine for these purposes. Put the wood on a work surface, with a couple of small plastic pots or jar lids to hold it off the surface. Paint it with your black paint. Do two coats and let each coat dry thoroughly.

 Take a candle and rub wax all over the sign. It will stick to the raised wood grain. (If you don't have a candle, omit this step. It's not essential but will make distressing the sign a bit easier.)

 Paint ONE coat of white paint on the sign.

 Using a word processing programme, print out the lettering to go on your sign. You can print it in outline to save on ink. Cut around the letters and arrange them on your sign. When you are happy with the arrangement, trace around the letters with pencil.

 Use your black paint and paint in the letters. Do two coats for these. Let the paint dry for at least 24 hours, then take to it with sandpaper!

Lightly sand along the edges to remove the top layer of paint. Be very gentle if you go near the painted  letters as it's easy to remove that layer as well. You can go a bit heavier near the ends, the more distressed the better here! When you have aged the sign to your liking, coat it with some clear varnish if desired, or leave au naturel so the weather can continue your work.

 I decided to hang my sign on the arch leading into my potager garden. I attached it firmly with wire so it doesn't get blown down in a breeze.

And that's it. A house name sign would be really nice, or a coffee sign for your kitchen. The possibilities are endless and all it takes is scrap wood and paint. Happy signwriting!

Spring posy

 This weekend I spent some time with my old library friend Vintage Flowers again. I was feeling inspired so I whisked into the garden this morning, scissors in hand and gathered up a posy of spring flowers. I made a hand-tied posy, which is a technique I love now that I've learned how to do it, since once tied you can pop the flowers into pretty much any vase and they'll hold their shape.

I had a few spare stems so I made a mini posy to go alongside.

The main bunch has hellebores, freesias and linaria, and the small posy has one freesia, one hellebore, one linaria and a few white carnations.

After my flower arranging I gave the garden a leisurely water. The forecast was for rain, but they said that yesterday too and it didn't do much. I decided to give the potager a good soak, especially the garlic, broccoli and little seedlings I planted out on the weekend.

 Shortly after that, I noticed dark clouds beginning to loom menacingly. I raced out and quickly picked some veges for dinner - carrots, onions, leeks and silver beet - all the time watching the clouds pile up overhead. It was like someone had drawn curtains across the entire sky. 

From day to night in an instant. And did it rain?...

 Oh, yes.

September flowers

It's been a mixed start to spring this month. We've had some beautiful warm, sunny days, and also rain, gale force winds, thunderstorms, sleet and hail. It's been exciting weatherwise but not so good for the early performers. The blossom on the almond tree was half knocked off by hail and finished off by wind, and the daffodils have been pummelled. Fortunately there are some hardy souls throughout - Miss Rose Chiffon the miniature peach tree (pictured top left) has kept her blossoms on, and there are ever present pansies cheerfully blooming away. The potted pulsatilla*, mostly kept for it's spotty foliage, has put out shoots of quirky pink and blue flowers. The first ranunculus are pushing through, although slugs and snails are finding them tasty.

 I always like the look of a group of assorted glass bottles with flowers in them, and springtime is one of the best times to achieve this display (mostly thanks to the wild abundance of grape hyacinths). To break up all that blue, I put in the first pink carnation buds of the season. Height and fragrance come from some stems of earlicheer daffodils.

This post is linked to Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. What is blooming in your patch this September?

*Edited to add... it's actually pulmonaria not pulsatilla. So many plants with 'p' names to trip me up... pulsatilla, pulmonaria, penstemon, platycodon. In general I prefer common names but the common name for pulmonaria is lungwort which is kind of gross! However, lungwort it now is!

its a marvelous thing...

its a marvelous thing after the longest time, to see clearly again. me and my '3 in 1' rose coloured specs will take a little while to truly become one, but for now, i can't help but marvel at how big and beautiful the world is through my new specs

its a marvelous thing to know my girls are both coming home for christmas. i know its rather early to be thinking of christmas, but i do not care, no sirree. for the longest time i thought this would not be the case, but now i know it is the case i am wholeheartedly crossing off the days and thinking of christmas in september

its a marvelous thing to have a diary again. after 2 years of going it alone with only my little cogs to retain nitty gritty, i came to the conclusion it was madness. my temporary madness has been replaced by a sense of relief, knowing my little diary found on a pottle around the seven dials in london, will take all the responsibility of everyday things needed to be remembered. its a hefty responsibility for one so little but so far after 4 weeks, my new diary appears to be up to the job. hip hip hooray!

its a marvelous thing to see after quite the few weeks, Our Gladys slowly but surely taking shape. she could without a doubt have taken shape a lot less slowly however i can't help but marvel when looking back, really 7 weeks is not long at all to turn an 'old dear' of a trailer into a vintage eclectic pop~store

its a marvelous thing on the brink of turning another calendar year older, i am gearing myself up to 'keeping fit'. now keeping fit is an odd old thing. for indeed i do not see myself as someone who sits still for long periods of time, however being a crafter, i do indeed in-between my pottling endless hours, sit still. so starting next week, the very week of my 44th birthday i am going 'from crafty butt to 5k'. it is also known around the web as 'from couch to 5k' but for me, i have given it a new name as that is my intention. i have no plans to run a 5k at the end of it all, however my plan is, and its one filled with high hopes... (big big high hopes for in my case, 'keeping fit with intention' is not my forte). i plan to see myself one year from now, on the brink of turning 45, feeling healthier and fitter (with no crafty butt in sight), then i did on the brink of turning 44

Tif 

Spring time at The Square!

You might need to click on the image for a closer look!
 We are off to Bendigo tomorrow after work/school to take part in another wonderful market at The Square.
  Make sure that you drop in and say hi if you are in the area
  Enjoy your weekend!
Leah

granny chic, specs & little doggies...

yesterday was a day earmarked for getting a lot of nitty gritty stuff done. however as is the way of late, Mr Procrastinator arrived for a visit around mid morning and tempted me from my path of earmarked 'to-dos' and led me to dabble with a pile of vintage crocheted squares and the little flower babies i happened upon last week.

if i was ever asked by anyone what is my fabby fav thing to do, i would respond, without hesitation nor pause to ponder, my fabby fav thing to do is stitch old lace and linens together. be it a quick happy five minutes or more labour intensive and thought requiring moments where there needs to be some rhyme or reason to the patching and placing. either way i am happy in my world.

little flowers strung along the bottom edge doing a brilliant 'dingle dangly' job of things

if perhaps you have always wished to dabble in such a pursuit but are unsure of how to get started. the fear of chopping into your vintage beauties without a plan has left you unable to 'start a stitching' then you will find plenty of wisdom and inspiration on this thrilling pastime in our Granny Chic book, due to be released in old blighty on October 25th. next month no less! this is particularly thrilling for Rachelle and myself, to see our combined crafty cogs and thrifty thoughts in print is rather a wondrous feeling. aside from patching and piecing old fabrics and lace, there is wealth of blurb on this and that, all manner of granny chic goodness is rambled on about, amongst pages filled with visual inspiration and recipes for the crafty secondhand nest.

little olive not convinced we need yet another lace panel at the windows of mossy shed. however she does note how kindly of me to leave her a viewing space

in the meantime, i have arisen today with two things on my mind. one is the left-over list of nitty gritty involving a large silver curvaceous gal called Gladys and t'other? 

well t'other is causing me to fret. for today is 'd-day' for my spectacles. after months of knowing most of the world is a blur (which isn't a bad thing some days) i have agreed with my dr to take the plunge and go for 3 in 1 vision in the way of new spectacles. she explained to me that certain areas of the lens will remain blurry, along the side edges. i have pondered this greatly and all i can keep on thinking about is, when i do a merry dance around my kitchen each evening to make dinner, i do that merry dance with a little pesky doggie not 5 inches off the ground. its a dance we have mastered over 3 years, a dance which involves waltzing from stove, to sink, to fridge, to island and it is done with no mishaps what so ever. quite possibly, many a fly on the wall has witnessed it whilst waiting for leftovers and told their friends, "tis a beautiful thing to see, poetry in motion without a doubt". and now what if little olive gets caught in my blurry bit of glasses vision and a terrible series of unfortunate events could happen in a split second. 

little olive 'summing up nicely' how yesterday was for the majority of the day

so tonight, the first night with '3 in 1 specs' on my nose, we will face our fears and dance our daily waltz around the kitchen, whilst wisely making salad for dinner ~ Tif

i like you today ...

a few weeks back i volunteered my man to be my fleamarket buddy. obviously he was thrilled by this and so the day 'crack of dawned' for us to set out on our fleamarket expedition. i put him in charge of surveying stalls, noting set ups and folks ways of displaying. on the car ride i explained what attracted me to one stall as opposed to another and he did a very good job at nodding at my wisdom. on the car ride home he proved to me he had done his job by relaying all his visual findings, including agree wholeheartedly the layout of a stall and how the wares are presented made a difference. i issued a gold sticky star and decided right there and then there was great potential for us to see our days out together if he continued to be my fleamarket buddy in this manner. yes i thought to myself 'i like you today'...

i had hesitated before volunteering my man for one reason and one reason only. if he came with me, then he would see what i was buying and this might not be wise at all, not at all. so along with my wisdom on this and that, i also prepped him for knowing i was intent on finding forsaken souls for Gladys. i marveled at his ability to nod in agreement in everything i found and do a brilliant job at carrying things for me, not a mention of 'crappity crap' or 'really Tif?' followed by laughter, left his lips. so another gold sticky star was bequeathed.

one of the finds of our fleamarket moment together, was a small cream mat, embroidered with lovely self coloured stitching, of course i said this was perfect for Gladys out loud to my man, but inside i was thinking "i don't think so, this is one to keep, surely upon all surelies" and so i did. i ferreted it away on arrival back at the shed and pondered my next move

its been the longest time since i stitched a 'just say it like it is' wall hanging and after several days i took out my little found friend and set to work. the cream floral design was so peachy and after adding my words i was overtaken with a need to add colour to the florals and so i did. following the guide of the hands which had worked this piece many years before me, i filled in the blanks and left some of my own...

if perhaps upon seeing this, you may feel the urge to do a spot of embroidery for a wall hanging to brighten up an empty space in your nest, then it is really quite simple. i do not use anything other than a regular pencil borrowed from a clan member and several coloured threads which please me at the time. in my dottie angel book (published by UPPERCASE) you will find a whole chapter on 'just say it like it is' sayings, including a little recipe on making your own. if you do not have a vintage cloth or doily suitable for your needs, fret not, do as i have done many times before, patch some of your fabby fav fabrics together and then embroidery on top. 

when all is said and done, pop it on the spare bit of wall and admire your handiwork.

here is a brilliantly brilliant example of how its done, Sara and her lovely crafty buddies had a dottie angel crafty day, this was their second one this summer, (here is the first one they held earlier) in which they made their own 'just say it like it is' wall hangings. both days looked to be so peachy perfect and i am so delighted my dottie angel book inspired them to feel a little crafty!

i think upon reflecting on the ramble up above, it is quite true to say, thrifty and crafty things are always peachier with a buddy or two

wishing buddy weekends all round dearest readers ~ Tif 

Christmas School Projects Are Done - Come See Us!

The bells are ringing for CHRISTMAS SCHOOL at the Cherry Pit.  This is the pillow we will be making and it is simply beautiful!  All 7 projects are done and ready for your viewing.  Give us a call at 865-453-4062.

Another Birthday

Hello, I have bit a bit slack with my blogging, I thought I'd share this pic from a few weeks ago.  Jack turned 9 while he was on his first school camp. This was my first attempt at a Lego cake!
 Have a wonderful weekend,
♥  Leah

thrifted loot...

yesterday upon returning from an impromptu visit to the thrift store on the way back from soccer drop off, i felt like a pirate.
a pirate with his thrifted loot no less.

thrifted loot as follows...

lace window panel and a perfectly 'granny' birdie figurine complete with pearlized finish

two embroidery hoops and a pile of doilies

a gasp worthy pair of vintage plastic flowers and huge curtain ready to be chopped up to make the fourth and final fireside cushion (little olive was particularly excited by this find)

an abundance of crochet thread in the most peachiest of granny chic colours

a pleasant surprise upon arriving home, this little dearie had several crocheted babies hiding inside

yes indeedy, it feels good to be back on the thrifting trail again... it may be a lonesome one at times without my thrifting buddy of the old days, but that is 'a-okay' with me

Tif  

glorious gladys... part one

once upon a time, many moons ago, in far off climes, several state lines away, lived Gladys. a glorious airstream trailer who spent her days travelling the highway along the Californian coastline. her silvery beauty and curvaceous body received many an admiring glance from passer~bys. she was loved by a family who spent their summer hols taking her to places and spaces.

then one day, quite suddenly out of the blue, a large truck arrived and towed her away. no time for sad farewells or thank yous for the good times and memories. all she had known forever and a day was no longer. Gladys found herself left in a field amongst others who appeared to be a little the worse for wear. she noted they also appeared to have not gone on any jolly trips in the longest time as there was grass knee high around their wheels. as all trailers can only do when unhitched, she stayed put and she waited. 

it wasn't long before another family arrived, this time there were to be no jolly trips along the highway but she was 'a-okay' with this, for it appeared the family were going to live within her all day every day. this was rather comforting for Gladys and so she settled into her new life of stationary living, watching the small beings grow into medium and then large beings to then slowly but surely head out into the world on their own.

once again, a day like the day which happened 'oh so long ago' came around. her cupboards were emptied and so was her heart. the door banged shut, leaving her behind and then silence. after years of laughter and tears played out within her, the silence was deafening. Gladys stayed quiet and patiently waited for the next chapter in her life to begin. alas and alack for Gladys, it took several years and a lot of neglect for it to begin again. for although the family had loved her greatly, they had not cared for her in the way she required. the holes and the dings on her silvery body took their toll and the rain from up above, found a way in below.

it took a kind man with a kind voice to see her potential. he towed her back to his place, set her up out front and pondered what needed to be done. it wasn't an easy decision, one he did not take lightly but if she was going to be rescued despite being beyond restoring he would have to be the one to do it. day and night he worked on tearing out Gladys's inners, her heart and soul, along with the memories of years gone by were removed, leaving just a shell of her former glory and a rather sad looking airstream trailer. no light or warmth was left, Gladys felt cold. he patched and he pieced the majority of the holes and painted her inner walls beige and laid a rather unattractive green wooden floor and placed an ad online for Gladys to find a forever home.

meanwhile, several hours drive south of Gladys and her sad ways, Tif and her clan moved to mossy shed and so began the search for an airstream trailer. with a budget rather on the low side, Tif set her sights at airstreams without inners and in doing so, stumbled across Gladys in her brown and green state. upon close inspection it appeared Gladys was still glorious, she just needed a bit of tender loving care to shine again. for several years, Gladys once again found herself waiting patiently, this time at the bottom of Tif's backyard on a bed of moss. slowly but surely sinking a little lower as each year passed. in the summer of 2011 Tif and her lad's of 2 could no longer bear to see Gladys waiting patiently for her moment to shine and they set to with sheets of metal, a rivet gun, several cans of blue paint and some faux kitschy flooring tiles. the lads moved in one end and Tif moved in the other for summer days to be spent nicely and wisely. Gladys for the first time in the longest time, felt loved.

then one month ago, Tif had a 'bonkers but could be quite brilliant' plan. a plan which really was a master plan for it involved much planning and doing. the plan worthy of the title 'master plan' resulted in Gladys once again being moved to new views and new adventures. once in situ, Tif along with her Man (a necessary requirement for most of the master plan to actually take place), set about transforming Gladys into something rather splendid and most suited to an old gal like Gladys, who (when Tif stepped back to admire just the other day, noted) quite obviously still has many years left to give of being glorious...