The Vintage Magpie

The mother of invention....

What is it they say that is the mother of invention???  I can't quite remember, but I know in this house ... it's desperation or total lack of funds :o

I've been after a shelf for my favourite cookery books for a while.  When asked what I wanted for my birthday, I replied with an excited ... 'ooh I'd really like a vintage shelf for my cookery books'. ... which was met by a frown and a flat refusal on the basis that I must be mad.   I was met with the same raised eyebrow exasperation and silence when I asked for more paint for my birthday too... :(

So.... after ponding my shelfless position for a while I came up with the perfect solution ... and used one of the wooden fruit boxes I have to display them instead.

LOL!

What do you think?!

Have a good week!  xx

 

A LiTtle SprinKle of LoVe ...

Bea is a real gentle soul, very shy but falls in love at the drop of a hat.

Bea has been adopted, thank you x

 

She has her eye on ...

Billy.  Billy is a true gentleman.  He loves riding horses through the countryside and fishing for trout.  He is also rather partial to Radio 4.

 Agnes is a little on the cheeky side.  She never stops talking.  She has a love for anything pink.  She also loves beautiful roses and bars of chocolate, and is expecting a deluge of both on Valentines Day... hopefully from this guy...

 Archie.  Archie is a true romantic.  He is an old soul with a big soft heart.  He will do anything for anybody.  He loves to play cards and drinks hot milk with a sprinkle of cinamon on cold evenings.

Flo is very sweet and quite bossy.  She is a girl that knows what she wants and usually gets it.  She has an adorable twinkle in her eye and a spring in her step, and a wandering eye for this guy...

 
The gorgeous Frank.  Frank is a ladies man.  He just loves the ladies.  And he also loves sailing in boats and riverside picnics that include a pork pie or three :)

So as you can see, love is in the air!

All these sweet hunnies are looking for someone to give their heart to on Valentines Day.  If you would like to offer them a home, they are ready and waiting in my little Etsy shop.

If you would like to adopt a pair of rabbits then there is a special Valentine's price of £75 for the pair instead of £80.  Oh, and travel fees for a pair of rabbits would be £7 in the UK and £9 for the rest of the world.  If you do purchase a pair of rabbits I will refund the difference that you are owed straight back to you once they are paid for, I'm not quite sure how else to do this on Etsy!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone xx

 

Back in the game...

Remember Bobby? 

Well here he is after a little TLC.   I stuffed him, darned him and gave him fresh foot and paw pads... oh and put bells back in his ears.. and darned them, sympathetically, as I wanted to retain as much of the original Bobby as possible.

He's reportedly feeling much better, fully refreshed, full of beans and totally... back in the game!

So now that he is happy, I have just enough time to put some finishing touches to some little valentines rabbits that will be looking for someone to love on Valentines Day!

three handsome boys ...

and three beautiful girls. 

I am having trouble keeping them apart at the moment, there must be something in air!

See you tomorrow xx

Lil' Rabbit

You know how it is with those who have been waiting a lifetime for someone to treasure them  ..

those with young tender hearts that have never been broken

 

there is no fear - and they fall quickly and deeply, surrendering themselves entirely to the one the one that stole their heart ..

could that be you?

This lil' vintage valentine is looking for someone to steal her heart away.

She is waiting patiently, in my Etsy shop, crossing her little fingers and toes xxx.

ADOPTED - THANK YOU xxx

 

 

Really ... ?

so soon??? 

I can't believe my miniature iris have bloomed already in my windowboxes, especially considering the frosty nights we are still having.

Has anyone else seen signs of Spring already?

And since we are moving through January at such a pace, I am just putting the finishing touches to my first little Valentine's rabbit...

this sweet lil' girl will be looking for someone to love her tomorrow... :)

See you then

xx

Oh my ...

these are good!

Lauren and James had a party at school last Monday.  The school was officially 100 years old so they partied all day, and had to make some treats to take in for the food.  So we thought we'd make something other than the usual cupcakes we make and I stumbled across this recipe:

Anglesey Cakes

Makes 12:

225g unsalted butter

110g caster sugar

350g self-raising flour

1/2 tsp salt

6tbsps raspberry jam

1 tbsp icing sugar

 

Preheat your oven to 180C/375F/Gas 4.  

Cream together the butter and sugar, and gradually work in the flour and salt ...

at lightening speed ...

Bring the mixture together to form a firm dough (we added a little milk to get ours to stay together a bit more) and turn onto a lightly floured surface.

Roll out to around a 6mm thickness, and using a 5cm cutter cut out 2 shapes per biscuit.  Cut a hole in the middle of the top biscuit and arrange on a baking sheet.

Bake for about 10 mins (literally, as they cook really quick), until just golden.  Allow to cool, spread whole biscuit with jam, and your top and sprinke with icing sugar.

Sit down with a steaming mug of tea, earplugs in, a good magazine in front of you and enjoy!!

xx

Lil' CReaM BeAr

   

My first lil' bear of the year has to be this little guy.  He is so cute!

I have made him a little trouser suit to match his ruff, and I have distressed it to look like he's been knocking about in it for years!

He is a whisker under 6 inches tall from head to paw when standing, and he can stand on his own unaided - clever boy ;)

His made from a very soft viscose/mohair, and filled with sand, steel shot and woodwool for weight and texture.  He is also five way jointed so he can sit down, turn his head and, on a good day, perform a number of tricks!

He is newly made by me but has been distressed to give him his well loved appearance.

He is looking for a new home... if you would like to adopt him please visit my little Etsy shop where he will be waiting :)

ADOPTED - Thank you xx

HE IS NOT INTENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 12 DUE TO SMALL PARTS.

Have a great weekend everyone xx

Please make it stop...

This is typical of me.  Leaving my tax return to the last minute... oh I hate it so.  So, after an hour or so of number crunching until my head was splitting open, I reverted to something much easier on the eye... a little break, I thought, was in order.  I am oh so good at distracting myself from what I really should be doing.... So I wallowed in the new Sarah Raven catalogue, and started a wish list.  Ha ha.  I wonder what the tax man would think about that?

Anyway.  It's so so dull I couldn't help it.  Just me and the dawg... so bored...

she wanted a walk... and I desperately wanted to order some dahlias....

someone make it stop....!!

 

x

 

.. and Mend..

Meet Bobby...

I know :o  ... but please, if you feel the need to gasp at his predicament (as I did) please do so quietly - although currently full of holes... he still has ears!! :o

Bobby is staying with us for a while, as he needs a bit of attention. He belongs to a friend of my neighbour, who asked me to take a look at him as she would like to get him 'sorted out' a little as a gift to her friend.  He has been adored so much, for so long, that he needs a 'little' bit of restoration after having had the stuffing knocked out of him somewhat!  I bet he has more than a few stories to tell. 

Oh that face... and squashed nose.. so cute!

So, here is my first 'Mend' of the year!  Truth be told, I'm not quite sure where to start!

I will post some before and after pictures once he is fully 'rested'!!!

x

Make do ...

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to, when possible, 'make do' rather than buy something new.  So, when I found myself with a beautiful new heather plant that my Dad bought me, my first thought was to run out and buy a beautiful metal plant pot with hearts cut out of it that I have had my eye on.  But then I made myself stop for a moment to see if I could possibly 'make do' instead of 'rush out and buy'.   So here's my make do plant pot... a piece of hessian tied around the pot with a piece of twine.  And I found a beautiful old photograph of my grandmother, which I tucked in the string... she loved heathers.

So, there is my first 'make do' of the year.

Someone who is not so good at the 'making do'.  The new 'cheaper' cat food did not go down well at all :o.  Making do is definitely NOT on her agenda.

Oh well.

Tune in on Wednesday for my first 'Mend' of the year !!!!

Have a great week xx