The Vintage Magpie

Narnia

Come with me..  I want to show you some of the Devon countryside in Winter!

We have been lucky enough to stay in one of Ashcombe Cottages for a couple of days to relax and unwind in time for Christmas.. and it truly was like being stowed away in Narnia .. just magical....

Can you see the Cider Barn where we stayed?  ... over there in the far field.. the pink cottage in the distance.

and this was the view from my bedroom window!!!

and this was the view from the lounge.

how magical is that?  The snow was freshly fallen, and about 4-5 inches deep here.  The cottages are all situated in Ashcombe, which is just so beautiful... we must come and see it again in the summer.

The kids were beside themselves!   Snowball fights ...

sledging..

some celebrating

lots of hot chocolates

and lots of snuggling up by the real log fire.

 

What a way to start your Christmas! 

Well, I'm about to wrap my  last few presents to put under the Christmas tree, lock the door, get the fire going and the some mulled wine on the stove!

Happy Christmas Everyone, may all your wishes come true !!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Party

Hello again!  Gosh this party seems like weeks ago, but just before and certainly straight after we were all struck down by a terrible fluey virus, and I am only just delicately resurfacing!  A whole week and I still feel groggy.  So apologies for the unannounced absence!

Lauren's tenth birthday party was postponed by a day as she was poorly, so we were lucky it was at my studio and no rearrangements other than party goers had to be made!

I had made up all the packs several nights before, so each girl could decorate their own notebook, with pretty papers, paint, stickers and the like!

The girls seemed to have a great time personalising their notebooks

and working out new ways with the paper cutters !

The little party bag houses and the owl cake wrappers all came from this wonderful site, Go Make Me, where you buy the PDF and you can then go make them yourself... so gorgeous! 

And then we played some party games, pass the parcel and charades!

oldies but goodies.

And soon after all this we were struck down with the virus and what with that the the deluge of snow we have been blessed with everything has ground to a halt!

So now, in between naps (!) we are starting up again, feverishly wrapping and writing! 

Hope all your Christmas plans are coming together!

xxxx

 

A Paint Reveal !!

Finally I have a finished paint project to show you !!  Last week my poor old side cabinet looked  very sorry for itself like the above...  I bought it in a charity shop about 2 years ago, and have always wanted to paint it ... and finally got round to it last week!

and here she is... all beautiful for Christmas!!

I used the Annie Sloane paint (marvellous) in Paris Grey.  Just lovely.

and then I had fun decorating it for the season!

my own Christmas corner...

with all my favourite things.. including the Christmas cake that Lauren has made at Brownies.. such a shame I'm the only one that likes it in this house :) !!

my  beautiful Christmas frame that I won from Michele at Cowboys and Custard a good few years ago..

my favourite picture of my mum, and a beautiful tin heart to hang from my new knobs!!

This whole project took literally a couple of hours with the magic wand that is Annie Sloan paint.

I know what I'm asking Santa for this year... more colours!!

and on to the up and coming weekend we have a party to attend to!  Lauren has asked to have a 'workshop party' at my studio so we are all gathering round a table and decorating notebooks!  More next week!

Have a great weekend :) xxxx

All Grown Up...

Do you remember this little girl from the beginning of this year... when my Jack Russell Florence had babies...

Well look ...

She's all grown up!

What a gorgeous girl... oh how I wish we'd kept her!

x

Ready and waiting....

There are some new little guys ready and waiting in my Etsy shop..

Do you have a stocking to fill?

 

Grab yourself a mince pie, pop over and have a peek ! xx

Winter Wonderland

On Friday just gone I got the kids ready for school, got out the door to start walking .. and then told them to come back in as they were'nt going to school at all ... we were getting on the train to London to go to Winter Wonderland!

I must admit keeping this secret has been pure hell for me, as I am no good at it at all!  I don't know how I kept it so long!

It was enormous, with cabins and stalls and rides all over the place.

and the atmosphere when it got dark was wonderful!

 

the kids had an absolute ball...

and so, in fact, did the adults!!

Only problem was it was so cold what was still hanging on had dropped off by the time we left :o

A good dose of Christmas spirit!

Have a great week.x

Oh, PS.... we bumped into one of Florence's puppies last week... pictures to follow ... you won't believe how much she's grown!

PPS.  More bears and bunnies will be going into my Etsy shop over the next couple of days ready for immediate deliveries - stay tuned!!

x

The Shop Is Open!

My little Etsy shop is finally up and open, and is hustling and bustling with the little lady pictured above and some of her friends... all looking for homes and stockings for Christmas!

I also have my new range of cards in stock!

If you get a chance go over and take a peek... just click on the Etsy Shop on the top left hand side...

We have had our first sprinkling of snow over the last couple of days and are hoping for a whole lot more this weekend.  I have a big surprise planned for my little ones, so I'm hoping that the trains are still running tomorrow..!!

Have a wonderful weekend !

xx

Teddy Bear Times

I am very chuffed to have one of my bears featured in the December edition of Teddy Bear Times magazine.

What an honour!

I am working on my Etsy shop to get a group of little bears and bunnies ready to be sent out for Christmas to fill some Christmas stockings!  I also have some cards with my bears pictured on them!  We will all hopefully be ready by Friday!

See you then x