The Vintage Magpie

Christmas Anyone?

I had to pinch myself a few times yesterday, as I spent most of the morning taking some Christmas photographs :o

I know.  Really .... I think its something like 150 days away... lol!!

and getting this foxy guy ready for this travels to his new home!

Now I have to try and shake that Christmas thought from my head !!

xx

Sweet Peas

We had our first harvest of sweet peas this weekend...

The smell is divine.  So much sweeter when you have grown them yourself!!

Have a great week everyone xx

To MeNd THe HEarT..

Sweet little brown bear..

a little worn around the edges.

but nothing a bit of love won't fix.

and maybe a warm vest for his little bare chest  :)

This little brown bear is in need of a new home.  I have not named this bear, but if you would like to adopt him and give him a new name I can provide him with a bespoke name tag!

He is made from 100% pure german chocolate brown mohair, and filled woodwool, sand and plastic pellets for weight and texture.  He has beautiful black glass eyes.  His appearance has been distressed to give him a time worn appeal but he has been made by me from my own design.  ALthough shown standing he cannot stand unaided (due to wobbly legs!) and he measures 11 inches from top to toe.

His adoption fee is £125.00 plus travel fare.

If you would like to adopt this sweet brown bear, please email us here, where we will be waiting!

ADOPTED, thank you x

Have a great weekend everyone! xx

A Ripping Good Read !!

Remember I told you that we went to Agatha Christie's house, and I had never read one of her books...

Thank you for all your recommendations, I can't wait to make my way through all of them over the summer.

And a lovely friend has lent me a wonderfully old edition of my first one...

Murder On The Orient Express....

And I am really loving it!

If you want me I'll be in the garden with my book... (I wish!)...

Summer in a jar...

 

We have been skipping and twirling round the kitchen having made our first EVER batch of jam over the weekend!

Having never made jam before, and faced with £8 worth of freshly picked raspberries and tayberries (a cross between a raspberry and a strawberry)  from the local farm's Pick Your Own... I was slightly nervous!

and without a great deal of time, so after reading recipe after different recipe on how to make jam, I took a large gulp of wine and plummed for the rather basic looking microwave recipe on the side of the jam sugar packet!

and it has proved a great success!  We've had jam on everything all weekend!

So, if you are short of time or never made jam before... this recipe is just the ticket!

RECIPE:

800g (1 3/4lb) fresh raspberries or strawberries

1kg of jam sugar

Knob of butter

Method : 

Warm your clean  jam jars in a warm oven for about 4 - 5 minutes.

Throw the fruit into a large bowl (that will fit in your microwave) and crush your fruit with potato masher.

Cover with plate and microwave on High for 7 minutes

Stir in the sugar and butter and microwave again on High for 15 minutes, stirring the mixture half way through.  The mixture must come to a boil for 4 MINUTES during this time.

Be careful now as jam is VERY HOT !!

Pot and cover, and enjoy your taste of summer over the coming months!

Have a great week everyone !!

x

EdWarD and BerTiE

  

Here he is!   Sweet little Edward.  And yesterday, he was adopted from my studio so I cannot put him up for adoption on the blog as he has already found a home!

But  I had enough time in the studio this week to get Bertie finished!  I am in love with this little bear. 

  

He has such a knowing face and beautiful big glass eyes. He is made from a fusty olive coloured piece of German mohair.  He is 14 inches tall from the tip of his head to his toes and is the biggest size bear I have made.

 

His head is filled with woodwool for firmness and the rest of his body is filled with steel shot for weight and plastic pellets for texture, so he is very soft and cuddly, but has a good weight to him.

   

He has been distressed in parts to give him a time worn appeal :)

Such a gorgeous little bear, I love him dearly...

But alas, he is itching to go to a new home.

So Bertie is up for adoption!  His adoption fee is £145.00 plus travel fare.  He promises to be on his absolute best behaviour upon arrival :)

BERTIE IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 14 DUE TO SMALL PARTS.

If you would like to adopt beautiful Bertie, please email us here.

ADOPTED, thank you x

Have a great weekend everyone! xx

Bashful...

This little guy is bashful, and needs a little more coaxing out of his shell to let me take some photographs of him.

I have taken a while to do his finishing touches, so as he could stay in the studio with me a little longer.  I think he is my favourite bear so far, and I am struggling to part with him!

See you tomorrow, when shall hopefull have some more photos! xx

My Little Garden

Finally I feel as if my little garden is flourishing in all this summer sunshine we've been given of late.

The suspense of waiting for flowers to bloom has is over, and the flowers are filling up our little courtyard, giving me a little space to find peace and quiet every day :)

Time to breathe and welcome the visitors for a while ...

My dad grew lots of geranium cuttings for me which I have nurtured like babies for what seems like forever, and the joy of them blossoming (as all you gardeners out there will know) is just wonderful!

I have rummaging down the reclaimation yard for interesting (and cheap!) containers for my babies... my herb garden is growing in an old tea chest and my runner beans are running away with themselves in a home made wooden container which I rescued and repainted!

and my tomatoes, corgettes, cucumbers, peppers, chillis and strawberries are all growing in this old wardrobe which I rescued from the reclaimation yard, drilled some holes in the bottom, lined and painted with some shed paint!!  It's working wonders!

I've salvaged several 'shabby' (lol) wirework containers from a local allotment site shop.

A good friend who has an allotment there tipped me off about them and I picked them up for next to nothing ...

along with several old wooden pallets for £1 each which I want to knock up into more planters :)

 

this climbing rose is in her third year now, and the scent is just incredible.

first year for this beautiful clematis... I can't wait to see her spread across the wall.

beautiful pink spires...

and my sweet peas have finally blossomed!

Third year for this beautiful geranium..

and this little beauty is my pride and joy!! I rescued her from a skip... an old singer sewing machine cast iron stand.  The sewing machine was gone but I just had to have the stand as a plant holder!!  The lettuce is growing in an old champagne box that was given to me by a friend, and I am constantly amazed that as I cut away at it it comes back within days like magic !!

All the plants I have have either been given to me as cuttings or I have bought from car boot sales or summer fetes cheap as chips.  I can't tell the pleasure just this little corner of flowers gives me... frustrated gardener that I am!  Now all I need is for my tomatoes and strawberries to ripen,

and my corgettes and cucumbers to grow (they are flowering) .  

I'm also nervously waiting for some flowers I grew from seed to blossom... lupins, poppies and stocks... oh I can't wait...I love to listen to the gardening programme on a Sunday morning on Radio 4, where they are always reminding me that gardeners have to be patient.  It never was one of my strong points :(

My other weekly indulgences are Gardener's World on a Friday night with a glass of wine in my hand and knitting by my side ;) and I sorely miss Alys Fowler's Edible Garden programme. 

So, this week I shall be pottering in my little space as often as I can snatch the time... waiting for and willing my lupins, stocks and poppies to flippin well get on with it !!!

Next year I am making a note to start earlier!!!

The Loveliest House in the World...

Last week we managed to take a break whilst the children were at school and went off to visit this house... which according to it's previous owner, Agatha Christie, was 'the loveliest house in the world'.

It is called Greenway, and it is set along side the beautiful river Dart, and surrounded by 33 acres of gardens.  It was absolutely breathtaking.

It was Agatha's holiday home, and apparently she didn't write much here, but used it as a retreat when she had finished her novels from 1938 to 1959.  Then she sold it to her daughter and son-in-law who lived there until 2004 when they died and it was then passed on to the National Trust, who then spent a few million pounds restoring it.

The house was enchanting... really quite homely for such a big estate.  Not one of those houses where you would be frightened to sit down... it was full of old chairs and sofas, and pictures of the family, right down to  a pile of old 1930s straw hats at the door!

Unfortunately we went on the only day it managed to rain last week, but we still managed a stroll around part of the beautiful gardens.

and were invited to take tea under the shade of a tree with an eccentric english artist!  To take time and appreciate the ritual of taking tea, and share a conversation with her...

well, I didn't need to be asked twice!

Then we were invited to sketch a drawing to be left of a washing line for all to see.... this is Mr F's....

and mine of my beloved little Florence !!

The rain just made everything look more lush and glorious..

It was a truly lovely day.

And to my shame, I realised that I have never actually read a book by Agatha Christie... :o

I have, of course, watched countless tv series of them from Inspector Poirot to Miss Marple, and loved them - although I must admit being more partial to Marple than Poirot... I don't know why.

So, I wonder ... how many of you have read any of her books... and which one should I start with???? !!

Have a great week everyone xx

MOtHeR and BaBY

It's been a long time since I made a mother and baby rabbit, and the baby's have turned out so cute!!

 

Meet Winnie and her little baby Rose.   Winnie is a wonderful mother, although she has to be rather strict as Rose is a rather wilful child ;)  Fast asleep on the ribbons, she has had a rather busy day running her mother ragged, and eating us out of bread and peanut butter :0

Both mother and baby are made from 100% mohair and filled with soft polycotton fibre.  Rose is made from a scrap of vintage feedsack material and wears a vintage ribbon..  Winnie wears a vintage ribbon and handknitted cardigan.  Winnie is 12 inches tall from tip of ear to toe andand baby Rose is 8 inches tall.   Both are looking for someone to take good care of them, although unfortunately although they love to play they are not suitable for children under 3 due to small parts. 

Winnie and Rose are looking for a new home.  Their adoption fee is £48.00 plus travel fare.  If you would like to adopt Winnie and Rose please email us here.

ADOPTED, thank you x

And we also have Daisy and baby Flo.  Daisy is a very gentle mother, loving and kind and tends to Flo's every whim :)  She is a little tired today however as  Flo is a little bit of a handful being that she would rather sleep all day and play all night.. here she has fallen asleep against the books during the photoshoot ;) and we are all rather grateful.

 

Both mother and baby are made from 100% mohair and filled with soft polycotton fibre.  Flo is made from a scrap of vintage feedsack material and wears a vintage ribbon..  Daisy wears a  ribbon and handknitted cardigan.  Daisy is 12 inches tall from tip of ear to toe and baby Flo is 8 inches from tip of ear to toe.  Both are looking for someone to take good care of them, although unfortunately although they love to play they are not suitable for children under 3 due to small parts. 

Daisy and Flo are looking for a new home.  Their adoption fee is £48.00 plus travel fare.  If you would like to adopt them please email us here.

ADOPTED, thank you x

Have a wonderful weekend everyone xx