The Vintage Magpie

Walking in the rain ..

 

We knew the weather forecast for Saturday was rain, but we really needed to just get somewhere and walk.  So we packed a picnic regardless, and set off for Dartmoor with raincoats and wellies in the boot of the car.  And here is where we stopped - Hembury Woods.

The rain seemed to get heavier just as we stepped out of the car, but we were determined none the less!  And as we walked through the woods, the trees sheltered us, and the surroundings were just beautiful.  So green and lush in the rain.

 
 

The kids loved it.   Getting wet, listening to the birds, and tramping in mud!

At one point we all stopped, closed our eyes and just listened with the raindrops on our faces. Magical.

 But we did eat the picnic in the car :)

Lots of trips out as its half term this week.  So rain or shine we shall be enjoying some freedom!

Have a great week everyone xx
  

WanTEd : LOviNG HomE FoR OlD FoX

Foxy looking old timer looking for loving home. 

Bertie has an idea of where he would like to live.   He has taken rather a fancy to the cottage in this print.  I told him I had taken rather a fancy to it too, but that's not quite enough to make it happen. 

He said he wouldn't mind somewhere slightly smaller seeing as he is a little unsteady on his legs these days, and did not have a current lady friend to accommodate.

I said I wouldn't mind somewhere slightly smaller either, so long as it looked just like the cottage in the print and had a garden just like it too.  Again, I told him that's still not quite enough to make it happen.

He said he quite liked sitting on the suitcase and staring at the picture for large amounts of time anyhow.

I said I quite liked doing that too, although I would not attempt to sit on the suitcase whilst doing it.

He shifted around a bit, after saying that sitting in the same position too long made his old limbs stiff, and I admired his black tip on the end of his tail, and his mighty fine polka dot tie.

He said he liked to do his best to look presentable, even in his dotage, and that the black tip on his tail came from his mother's side.

 

I said I didn't think it mattered where he lived so long as he was loved.

He cleared his throat, whilst looking down shyly at his slightly worn paws, and whispered..

'.. that is what I'm hoping for '....

Bertie is handmade by me from my own design.  He is made from 100% pure German mohair with the kindest looking amber German glass eyes.  He is filled with polycotton to give him a more huggable appeal, and is filled with steel shot and sand for weight and texture.  His mohair has been aged and distressed by me to give him a time worn appearance, along with his polka dot tie. 

He is one of my new smaller designs so he when standing me measures 11 inches from the top of his ear to his toe, although he cannot stand unaided.

BERTIE IS A COLLECTORS BEAR AND NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 14

Bertie's adoption fee is £115.00 plus his travel fare to his new home.  If you would like to adopt Bertie please email us here. 

SOLD, thank you x

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND EVERYONE xxx

Flagging

It's fair to say that I am not a sun worshipper.  I used to be, in my twenties I could sit out in it all day, but now I run for shade.  And the heat here over the past couple of days has been a little too hot for my liking. 

Florence on the other hand can usually be found flat on her back in the garden soaking up the sunshine.  But not yesterday.  Yesterday it proved too hot for her too, and this is where I found her late afternoon.  Happily pushing out the z's, and avoiding the sunrays.

If you could just turn the heat down a few notches we'd be a lot happier.  Thank you.

Playing

Ohh.... I have not been well girl so apologies for the absence.  I have battled with a chest infection and am now hopefully out of the woods.  My house however, looks remarkably like a bomb has gone off several times. 

Anyway, in between all the illness misery last week was jam packed full of birthdays.... my lovely friend Mags turned 40, my eldest daughter turned 11 and my husband.. well he caught up with me!

As it was a special birthday I set to making my friend a keepsake gift.  Totally inspired by the wonderous work of Viv, I found a little craft box in our local craft store and set to making it a memory keeper.  I painted it with off white emulsion paint first and then delved into my scraps box for some inspiration.

And then I had a go at flower printing for her birthday card, as explained by Alys Fowler on the Edible Garden.  I took a beautiful pansy head from out of the garden, placed it under a scrap of linen and the bashed it hard with a rolling pin! 

and out came the print of the flower on the other side... magic!  

It was great carving out some time to make something different. 

I am trying to catch up with all my emails this week, as last week was a total washout, so I apologise if I haven't replied to you, and will be doing so gradually this week.

Enjoy the sunshine everyone xx

Thrifting Happiness!

 

Apologies for the absence, I am struggling with a shocking cold and feeling rather sorry for myself.  So inbetween rustling up nursing batches of chicken noodle soup, I dusted myself down and took some photos of my latest thrifing goodness.  I found this leather chair at the reclaimation yard and instantly fell in love with her.  She is a little battered and bruised but has had quite a previous life, but that's the way I like it!  Anyway, I plan to patch her up, maybe with some floral patchwork - I'm not sure yet, but right now I'm happy just to let her sit in my studio and offer some comfort and respite to passers by!

My little red suitcase, perfect for bears or books or just for display, and ....

Isn't she wonderful?  A lovely friend tipped me off about this ol' gal being in a local junk shop.  She's in full working order, has a wonderful 'ting' as the drawer flies open and even has old plastic money inside, a shilling and such like.  Well, how could I resist?

So I have had quite a successful run of thrifting lately, and I STILL havent made it to one boot sale yet... I can' t believe it... maybe this weekend.  Yes, I think I shall definitely make it to a boot sale this weekend!!

Have a great week everyone xx

A Fine Boy

Its been six weeks since our babies left.  I say 'our' really I mean Florence and Woody's babies, but you know what I mean.

And one day this week whilst walking to school we bumped into the beautiful Winston.  One of the little boys.  Oh my.  Can you believe how handsome he is?

Lovely, gorgeous, bearded beautiful boy.

My heart stopped.  Literally.  And I wished with all my heart that we had kept him.

And then I was told what he had been up to that very morning.

He had eaten through his new mother's plastic greenhouse, and helped himself to all her fledgling lettuces, strewning them across then lawn and then stamping them through the kitchen.

And then I took another breath, chuckled to myself, and thanked god our dogs are all grown up (ish) !!!!

Have a good weekend everyone xx

First Visit

James is expecting his first visit from the Tooth Ferry tonight.

He tells me (according to his friends) the going rate for the first tooth is £2 now.

I told him that the credit crunch has hit everyone.

:)

BeRtiE

Meet Bertie.  He's my new design smaller fox, and is waiting patitently in the studio to be taken to the Bear Fair on Sunday.

We are busy, busy, busy.  New designs flying out of the sewing machine.  The sun is shining and all is good.

Whilst sewing I am thinking about my garden alot... how I wish I had a bigger garden.  I am addicted to Alys Fowler's Edible Garden programme, which is on tonight (yipee!)  BBC2 8pm I think,  and would love my garden to look like hers... truth be told there's not much going on in my garden at the moment, but I'm trying and I'm desperately in search of a greenhouse.  I loved Alys' idea of making a greenhouse out of old stained glass windows, I might get myself down the reclaimation yard this afternoon and start planning!

A Simple Thanks

Recently a lovely lady I know who has a studio next to mine was sorting through a stash of stuff and gave my three little ones a bunch of fun bits and pieces that she no longer needed.

Some ready dressed peg people, 3 packs of bats and balls, and some hama beads and some art supplies.  Simple stuff to play with.  And they did .. and they still are!

So, as a simple but heartfelt thank you, they made her some of the finest shortbread known to man...

And here, my friends, is the recipe.  I have searched for a good shortbread recipe for some time, and this one (from Tana Ramsey), well... it takes the biscuit.. if you'll excuse the pun!

Here we go :

100g/4oz plain flour

50g/2oz cornflour

50g/2oz caster sugar

100g/4oz butter

Preheat your oven to 160C

Sift the flour and cornflour into the bowl and add your sugar and butter (we cut ours into small pieces to make it easier).  Rub the butter into the flour until it becomes crumbly and lumpy.

Tip the mixture into a greased 7 or 8 inch sponge tin, and flatten it down with the back of a spoon.

Bake for 25 minutes until the shortbread is just slightly browned.

Remove from the oven and prick with a fork and cut into pieces.  Sprinkle with caster sugar, and then leave it in the tin until cooled.

Hand it over to someone you love.

Couldn't be simpler!

Have a great week everyone xx

The Spring Fair!

Well, last Friday came and went in a blur and I had no time to post any pictures of the lil' guys who came with me to the fair!  So, without further ado, may I introduce you to the ones that I managed to get photos of at the show, although I wish I had got my camera out earlier as some had been sold before I had the chance to take their photos!  Anyway, meet Sid, the Old Fox.  Sid is a wiley ol' devil, and never misses his cigar on a Friday.  Sid found a wonderful new home on Saturday with the lovely Claire, so we were very happy.

Violet, Doris and Emily had a wonderful time at the show... and were mostly well behaved!  Violet (my secret favourite) found a happy home with Niki and Doris went off with a lovely lady too.  Emily is still looking for a new home.  She is a little fickle, and tends to fall in love with someone new every week, but she is a sweet old soul with a very loving nature ;) 

This is Alfie, my little circus panda.  He loved to ride the circus elephant, but prefers to rest up on a less bumpy ride in his dotage.  Alfie also came home with us, tired and a little over emotional :0

And this is Margot.  Margot has joined the choir, and never misses her Tuesday morning choir practice!  I made her little dress out of a piece of vintage feed sack material, and she has a little vintage 'choir' badge on the right hand side of her dress which you cannot see from this picture.  Oh, and check out the scales... they were my little charity shop find last week... 1940s original Salter scales... I'm in love with them!

and the usual crew joined in as well!

I was rubbish at taking photos as I didn't really get the chance to leave my stall... but I did manage to get a few snaps of the immense gorgeousness that was all around me.

Jane kills me everytime.   The last show I bought my little dog on wheels from her, and this time... well.. I had to have the little red cart on wheels too.  She is a very naughty girl tempting me all the time, I don't know how I came home without the pram and the bear too!

Ahhh.  A wonderful day....

Hello to everyone I met on Saturday, some new and some familiar... it was great to see you all.   

If you are able to offer a home to any of my orphans that came home, please email us here where we can give you some more information on them.  Emily's adoption fee is £95 plus travel fare, Alfie's adoption fee is £135 plus travel fare and Margot's is £135.00 plus travel fare. 

This week I shall be hard at work replenishing stock as I have another show nearer to home coming up in two weeks time.

No rest for the wicked, eh?

Have a great week everyone xx