tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61878516389747538942024-02-08T04:10:09.232-08:00Our Seaside SanctuaryTesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-79225034276507278302013-06-16T13:32:00.001-07:002013-06-16T13:33:45.142-07:00My little veg patch<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought I would do a post about my tiny little veg patch! I definitely do not have green thumbs and more or less do not know what I am doing when it comes to gardening. Our flat came with a tiny little front garden, which I think is really meant to be more ornamental than anything else. All the other front gardens on our street just have stones and maybe a bay tree - so this is perhaps not the done thing.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, Theo built the little raised bed for me, using some scaffolding boards from Brighton Wood Recycling Centre. I was really surprised how reasonably priced they were - I think we got everything we needed for about 30 quid. We also stained it a light blue colour - nautical blue for the seaside and also something to weatherproof it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bought some seedlings (lettuces, cabbages, rosemary, sage, lavendar, nasturtiums, leeks, thyme, coriander) and also planted some seeds (radishes, baby leeks, spring onions, carrots). I used a planting plan from the River Cottage Veg Patch book which is a really great book for basic info. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amazingly everything seems to be thriving! Perhaps with the exception of my rosemary which doesn't look quite as healthy as everything else. Anyway, the first pic is from week 1 and the second pic is from week 4 - really satisfying! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so pleased that we've managed to make good use of an otherwise wasted space. I used the first of my produce last night by putting some coriander in my stir fry - absolutely delicious!</span> <br />
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Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-50223880253455854962013-05-30T10:22:00.002-07:002013-05-30T10:22:46.601-07:001000 Cranes blouse<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently stumbled across the most incredible fabric shop - and, amazingly, it's within easy driving distance of where I live (could be dangerous). It's called the <a href="http://www.eternalmaker.com/" target="_blank">Eternal Maker </a>- in West Sussex - and they stock lots of Japanese imported fabric as well as literally zillions of other designers as well. It's like a big warehouse on an industrial estate, so you'd have to know it was there to find it. Luckily they also sell things from their website, a service which I recently tested and to my delight they delivered everything super quickly.</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I recently discovered Rashida Coleman-Hale and her lovely fabric designs. Specifically, I came across this washi tape design, but unfortunately I seem to be a little too late on this one, as I can't seem to source it anywhere. If anyone is able to help me I would love you forever! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, her newer designs are also just as lovely including this beautiful crane print, which I fell in love with. I bought 1 metre and made this little blouse. It's similar to the <a href="http://ourseasidesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/simple-polka-dot-blouse.html" target="_blank">polka dot blouse</a> I recently blogged - I thought simple was best as the fabric design really speaks for itself. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More rubbishy instagram pics of myself I'm afraid. I'm thinking maybe I should invest in a tripod so I can use the self timer and get some better photos! </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm pretty happy with how this has turned out, although I may not cut the neck quite as wide next time I make this top - it falls off the shoulder a little more than intended. This was really a practice run for a top from this beautiful Nani Iro fabric, which I also managed to find at the Eternal Maker as well, having previously only found a tiny remnant (I made <a href="http://ourseasidesanctuary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/diy-zippered-pouches.html" target="_blank">this leather pouch</a> from it). I feel almost too scared to cut into it!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-13907525849837684852013-05-29T06:14:00.002-07:002013-05-29T06:14:20.547-07:00Simple polka dot blouse<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I came across some lovely silk/cotton blend fabric in <a href="http://dittofabrics.co.uk/" target="_blank">Ditto in Brighton</a>, with a gorgeous polka dot pattern. I found it hard to resist and bought some to make this blouse from. I drafted the pattern myself, but it was really straightforward, as there are no darts or anything, so it's just a t shirt shaped pattern. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used French seams for this, which is probably my favourite seam finish - so clean and easy. It does take a bit longer, but I really like the results you get. I made my own bias binding to finish the neck and sleeves. I recently learnt to make my own continuous bias binding which was a revelation to me! So much quicker than sewing endless strips together one by one - I should have known there was a trick...anyway I used <a href="http://www.sew4home.com/tips-resources/sewing-tips-tricks/how-make-continuous-bias-binding" target="_blank">this tutorial </a>if anyone is interested. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here's a crappy instagram pic of me wearing it. I need to find a better way of taking photos of myself! </span></div>
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Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-31882434108858054842013-05-29T06:06:00.002-07:002013-05-29T06:06:52.052-07:00DIY zippered pouches<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's my sister in law's birthday on Saturday and I wanted to give her a really nice gift, but unfortunately I don't have a lot to spend. So I thought I'd root around the supplies I already have and make her something. A little while ago, I bought some gorgeous Nani Iro double gauze, imported from Japan. It was the most beautiful print, I just couldn't resist. But sadly they only had a small remnant - far from enough to make a top. I have since sourced some more which is winging its way to me, but we'll save that for another time. But what I did have was just enough for this project. I also had some leather stashed away (I've long wondered whether I'd ever find a use for it!). Anyway, I stumbled across this <a href="http://youandmie.com/2012/12/20/faux-leather-accent-foldover-clutch/" target="_blank">gorgeous tutorial for a leather pouch </a>and thought I'd give it a go - here's what happened!</span><div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The leather was easier than I thought to work with. I put a leather needle in my machine and it actually went through quite easily. You can't really pin it though, so I used paperclips which worked fine. To make the toggles I used a leather punch to make holes in the patches, which also seemed to go surprisingly well. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By the time I'd finished that, I was on a bit of a roll, and had another scrap of fabric that I wanted to put to good use, so I made a simple zippered pouch that is probably about the right size for a pencil case. She loves drawing, so hopefully it will be a good place for her to stow all her pencils. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't wait to give it to her - I hope she likes it! </span><br />
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Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-41345193085753388282013-05-29T05:53:00.000-07:002013-05-29T05:53:31.252-07:00Triangles quilt<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so....drumroll please....I have completed my first proper patchwork quilt! It was a labour of love and took me aaaages and is also far from perfect. However, I am very pleased with it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was inspired by <a href="http://www.redpepperquilts.com/2009/07/finished-quilt-hooray.html" target="_blank">this beautiful quilt</a> which looks far more perfect than mine! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Part of the beauty of this for me is that the quilt front is pieced from fabric scraps that I've been hoarding for the past 15 years or so - so it's really meaningful for me to be able to see them every day, and that I've finally managed to find a project that is able to use up all the little tiny pieces. I knew I'd find a use for them one day! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The back is made from an old duvet cover - I love the print and didn't want to throw it away! So it's been re-fashioned. I did buy a few little bits of fabric to finish off the back - including a lovely bit of Liberty print (Mitsi I think it's called - a Japanese flower print). </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The binding was an absolute delight to do. I had been dreading it, until I found <a href="http://mypoppet.com.au/2013/03/triangle-quiltalong-binding.html" target="_blank">this great tutorial </a>which walks you through step by step. I decided to finish the back binding edge by hand, and I'm glad I did as it has given a really clean finish. I then read lots of information on blogs about whether to put it in the dryer or not. In the end I decided I would put it in the dryer, and it's given it that lovely crinkled look, which is what I was after. I used a bamboo batting. </span><br />
<br />Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-36146134573613364102013-05-01T13:17:00.000-07:002013-05-01T13:17:30.399-07:00yellow sunshine dress<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have just been camping in Spain which was gorgeous - anyone in the UK will understand how lovely this was given that we have had such a cold and endless Winter. So I was really excited about it and made a new yellow sun dress for the occasion. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got the fabric from the <a href="http://www.clothhouse.com/home.php" target="_blank">Cloth House</a> in London, an absolutely beautiful shop - if you have never been you should definitely try and pay a visit. There are actually 2 of them really close together on Berwick Street. One is more beautiful than the other and is 100% stacked full of temptation. It's pretty expensive as well, but as soon as you get through the door you will be unable to get away without buying at least something. There are even videos on the wbsite so you can get a little taster of what it's like. No 47 is like a dream...Anyway, I fell in love with this yellow fabric which has tiny pink polka dots on it (you can't see that in the pictures).</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also tried out horsehair braid for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised (check out Gertie's great post on the stuff <a href="http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/06/magic-of-horsehair-braid-little.html" target="_blank">here</a>). It stiffens the hem, so it keeps the skirt held a bit more rigid along the bottom edge than it would be without it. Definitely a technique to try out again in the future! </span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-15922248565124165532013-05-01T13:00:00.003-07:002013-05-01T13:08:46.192-07:00DIY liberty baby outfit<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love <a href="http://www.junkaholique.com/" target="_blank">Junkaholique</a> - it's such a gorgeous blog, filled with loads of inspiration and many Liberty fabrics! She's so creative, I love checking out what she has been up to to give me ideas for my own projects. My friend has recently had a baby of her own, so I took inspiration from Artemis's gorgeous <a href="http://www.junkaholique.com/2012/06/diy-baby-part-1.html" target="_blank">DIY baby stuff</a> to make a little gift for my friend. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the result - I used some leftover <a href="http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/product/Liberty//Mitsi-C-Tana-Lawn-Liberty-Art-Fabrics/56684" target="_blank">Mitsi</a> fabric to make a patch pockets, and made some matching bias binding to go around the neck and to use as a drawstring. I drew out my own pattern, so I hope it fits! </span><br />
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<br />Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-65873008606298215672013-03-31T08:27:00.001-07:002013-05-01T13:05:35.813-07:00Easter cookies<span style="color: purple; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I made some white chocolate and pecan cookies (from the Hummingbird cookbook), as it's Easter and all. I really like the recipe. You have to roll the dough out into a sausage shape and then leave it to firm up in the freezer. After an hour or so, you chop it up into discs which means your cookies end up relatively uniform in size and shape.</span> <br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had this really sweet striped tissue paper which came as packaging from Selfridges, so I sewed it up into a little bag and punched a hole for a bow. I also printed out a little sticker. I'm going to give it to Theo when he gets back from work - hope he enjoys it! White chocolate and pecans are two of his favourite things, so I'm thinking that it will be a winning recipe...</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In other news, I've been doing tons of sewing recently. I need to take some photos so I can write about them on here, it's taking me ages to get round to it!</span> <br />
Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-29786337336273418892013-01-05T07:55:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:05:53.675-07:00Weekend cupcakes<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today my new Kitchenaid got its first outing - very exciting! Theo had to work today so I thought I'd potter about and make some cupcakes. It was really nice to use an electric mixer rather than do it by hand, and it seemed to make the whole process a bit tidier too. Sometimes it creates so much mess! I just love the way cupcakes look, they're so pretty. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And finally, here is a gratuitous picture of one of my lovely kittens too. He is 18 months old, but he's enormous (6kg - and still growing!). He still behaves like a kitten though. Happy weekend to you all, hope you're having fun. </span><br />
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Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-67316875995621844132013-01-02T05:23:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:06:12.650-07:00Wiggle dress<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am an avid follower of <a href="http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/">Gertie's new blog for better sewing</a> - she makes gorgeous retro clothes that fit really well and generally look amazing. She also quite recently published a <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gerties-Book-Better-Sewing-Couture-style/dp/1584799919" target="_blank">book</a> with really lovely patterns, including one for an incredible wiggle dress which I fell completely in love with and couldn't resist buying the book! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I need to dress quite smartly for work, but I also find that shop-bought dresses tend not to fit me - they are often tight over the hips and loose at the waist. Not a good look! So I thought I'd make one instead, and I'm really happy with how it has turned out. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did a pattern making course a few years ago and have become obsessed with fit! So I can't help but make quite a few toiles before I'm happy to start on the final garment. Doing that also gives me confidence to buy more expensive fabric which will generally give a much nicer finish than something synthetic. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went to Soho in London to buy this fabric and bought a wool/cashmere tweed to use, which has such richness of colour which I unfortunately wasn't able to capture in these photos. The weave of the fabric means that it sometimes appears different colours in different lights. It's a really deep forest green - I love it! I was quite cautious when I bought it, so I made sure I had a little extra just in case. In the end, there was enough left over for me to also make a pencil skirt. I've worn both the dress and the skirt endlessly, so it was definitely a good investment to splash out a bit on the fabric. What have your experiences been with using better quality fabrics?</span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-9196202193364398382013-01-01T01:57:00.000-08:002013-01-01T01:57:34.924-08:00Holiday in Wales<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just wanted to share some pics of a recent camping holiday in Wales. We stayed in a yurt which was amazing! It had a bath in it which had hot running water. This turned out to be necessary since it was November and even snowed at one point. There was also a hot outdoor shower which I braved even though it was so cold outside! We are usually quite hardy campers and spend many nights a year under canvas, but it was nice to enjoy a little bit of luxury. The yurt was near Abergavenny in Wales, which is a stunning place. Do you have any favourite camping spots?</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also spotted this castle from the road - it's Raglan Castle - and it looked gorgeous so we stopped to have a look around. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One day we'd like to build a little woodland retreat somewhere remote so that we can escape from the hustle and bustle of life in a city. </span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-37745826958332970432012-12-31T05:50:00.001-08:002013-05-01T13:06:34.301-07:00Book storage<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we finally moved into our first flat as owners, we wanted to make the space as open and bright as possible, so we promptly removed several walls from around the house. This suits us much better, as Theo (an avid cook) can be in the kitchen while I'm in the living room and we can chit chat easily. Our last flat had a tiny little galley kitchen which closed you off from the rest of the flat, so we wanted to avoid that happening again! </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing that we didn't think through though was that with far fewer walls comes less potential storage spaces. There wasn't anywhere to put cupboards / tables / anything really! We thought long and hard about the best way to combat this and came up with the idea of floor to ceiling book cases along the hallway. I love the way these look anyway, and it would also give us loads of storage for books and other stuff. However, we also knew that hiring a carpenter to help us would cost far too much for our budget! So as usual we decided to tackle the job ourselves (well, Theo definitely took the lead...I think I probably got in the way...)</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zwKtAljQpPw/UOGXKh2a_MI/AAAAAAAAAMw/4mj71qELtGI/s1600/IMG_2961-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zwKtAljQpPw/UOGXKh2a_MI/AAAAAAAAAMw/4mj71qELtGI/s320/IMG_2961-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We measured the space and then spent hours poring over the Ikea website to try and work out a configuration of shelving that would fit into the space and that wouldn't end up costing too much. We ended up using about 5 of their Billy bookcases (you can also buy extender shelves to get them right up to the ceiling) as well as a couple of their CD towers and a couple of other types as well. After many hours of assembling them (yes it got a bit tedious!), Theo then set to work fitting them all. We screwed them all to the wall and to each other using an intricate system of clamps and swearing... </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We wanted to try and avoid them looking too much like they came from Ikea, so I bought some thin strips of wood from B&Q and tacked them to the shelf fronts, as well as adding some skirting board on to the bottoms. I think this makes them look a bit more built in. I've given the fronts an undercoat of emulsion and I think we will paint them in a gloss white when we find the time. What do you think?</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can also see one of my cats by the chair in the bottom one. He's a bit hard to photograph as he fidgets so much! Happy new year to all of you :) </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-90566790873978729332012-12-31T05:23:00.001-08:002013-05-01T13:06:44.558-07:00DIY kitchen<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Those of you who have been reading this blog from the start will know that we bought an ex display kitchen from ebay (who would have thought it possible?) and that Theo installed it all himself. It has been an emotional journey! We started with this:</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and then went through this rather frightening stage:</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and finally ended up with this lovely space (theo is amazing) I did the tiling myself and although it's not perfect, it's quite satisfying to know that I did it!</span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have just bought the bright blue Kitchenaid mixer after many months of saving. It makes me happy just looking at it! Can you recommend any good baking projects that I could try? </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can also see some floor to ceiling bookcases in the background which was another DIY project (I'll do a full post about those soon). </span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-60138766737158496512012-12-27T03:21:00.001-08:002012-12-27T03:21:28.897-08:00Handmade Christmas<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year we were invited to my brother's house for Christmas, and I was asked to arrange the table so that it looked festive. This got me very excited! I went for a purple theme but in the end it was pretty non-traditional. I bought some purple checked fabric for a table cloth, and then scattered silver stars across the table to make sure that it was still festive. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also made place names by filling little jars with purple sweets and adding a name tag to each one. I made Christmas crackers using some beautiful paper from paperchase, and some cracker snaps from ebay. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also stencilled some purple fabric using white fabric paint, and made napkins to match. This process took a very long time, especially given the interest of my two cats...</span><br />
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<br />Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-9353149874494429892012-12-09T11:29:00.002-08:002013-05-01T13:06:53.514-07:00Wedding dress<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, well it has been a really long time since I posted on this blog! But a lot has happened since then. One of the major projects I undertook this year was making my sister in law's wedding dress. It took almost a year to design from scratch and make. </span><br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made the bodice using steel corsetry bones - my first time deviating from the horrible plastic boning you usually get in haberdasheries. It was absolutely lovely to use, and as it moves in all directions, you get a much more natural shape with it that really follows the curves of the body. We bought all the fabric on Goldhawk Road in London, including the lace. I cut out all the lace motifs individually and sewed them onto the dress, along with some white bridal sequins that gave the dress a gorgeous shimmer in the light. She also wanted the traditional little white buttons down the back, so I added those over the top of a zip for added security. It was my first time making a bridal gown, so we had to go to some wedding dress shops so that I could sneak a look at the construction. In the end, this dress had about 7 layers to it to get the shape we wanted, including two layers of gathered tulle to puff out the fishtail. She looked really lovely in it, and most importantly, really happy! </span><br />
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Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-19572515670941198042011-06-05T11:10:00.000-07:002013-05-01T13:06:58.481-07:00New floor<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We decided to stain our floorboards and seal them with hard wax oil. The whole process took much longer than anticipated. Although our floorboards are new, we thought we should sand them off slightly anyway, especially after all the trodden in dirt from the work we've been doing. We hired a floor sander from HSS as well as an edge sander (which was terrible, and broke twice - in the end we had to use a palm sander that we already had, which wasn't the best tool for the job). Anyway, we got there eventually. The wax oil is currently drying and we are confined to the bedroom/bathroom until it's dry!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are some before/after pics. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before:</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SQCHMTcz9ik/TevGi5-ng1I/AAAAAAAAAJw/v7NwcduUwwg/s1600/CIMG1502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SQCHMTcz9ik/TevGi5-ng1I/AAAAAAAAAJw/v7NwcduUwwg/s320/CIMG1502.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-67476629359880852612011-06-05T11:04:00.000-07:002013-05-01T13:07:02.999-07:00Kitchen progress<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">So after all our hard work taking out the walls to expand the kitchen, we had to try and fit our units into the space! This took some doing, and we ended up having to buy a new slimmer fridge as the old one just would not fit. Anyway here are some pics.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Here's the kitchen in bits in the living room before installing:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">In progress...</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DvypFnhGrGE/TevEieDETbI/AAAAAAAAAJg/dlvKIvLSKZ4/s1600/CIMG1487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DvypFnhGrGE/TevEieDETbI/AAAAAAAAAJg/dlvKIvLSKZ4/s320/CIMG1487.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Finally managed to get everything in despite walls that are far from flat. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1vzjb8mpFbU/TevEsMhbAFI/AAAAAAAAAJk/bCgZ_ZKfMaA/s1600/CIMG1495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1vzjb8mpFbU/TevEsMhbAFI/AAAAAAAAAJk/bCgZ_ZKfMaA/s320/CIMG1495.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">And I got to try my hand at tiling for the first time:</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ewBBoQKpz48/TevE2IB3wrI/AAAAAAAAAJo/m8n6HGCE9SQ/s1600/CIMG1497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ewBBoQKpz48/TevE2IB3wrI/AAAAAAAAAJo/m8n6HGCE9SQ/s320/CIMG1497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-44929415414652739762011-04-25T12:51:00.000-07:002013-05-01T13:07:07.752-07:00Our progress so far<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At long last we got the keys to our new flat on Friday! Before we moved in, substantial damp work had been done to the property, so when we walked through the front door it looked a complete mess...but as it's been a long bank holiday weekend, we've managed to get quite a bit done already. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the bedroom before and a progress shot to show where we're up to now...</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TT4eFmLjaZ8/TbXPhN64iLI/AAAAAAAAAJE/-KCaROYtxjU/s1600/CIMG1448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TT4eFmLjaZ8/TbXPhN64iLI/AAAAAAAAAJE/-KCaROYtxjU/s320/CIMG1448.JPG" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-knRinbfGtPE/TbXPnWvfZVI/AAAAAAAAAJI/bKze-ohFwPE/s1600/CIMG1481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-knRinbfGtPE/TbXPnWvfZVI/AAAAAAAAAJI/bKze-ohFwPE/s320/CIMG1481.JPG" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We painted all the walls white and have laid new floors, and it's looking much brighter already. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the hallway all the boards needed to be replaced, which we're halfway through doing:</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KDasrofRwXs/TbXP6RbqDaI/AAAAAAAAAJM/eq1ggDaARgA/s1600/CIMG1452.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KDasrofRwXs/TbXP6RbqDaI/AAAAAAAAAJM/eq1ggDaARgA/s320/CIMG1452.JPG" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v7ox0_TuDaI/TbXQALJI1AI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/BCtRhJbH9BU/s1600/CIMG1478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v7ox0_TuDaI/TbXQALJI1AI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/BCtRhJbH9BU/s320/CIMG1478.JPG" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the biggest job of all has been to rip out the kitchen and some walls to open up the space - we'll be installing a new kitchen in the near future, which we bought on ebay for a snip! Can't wait to have it all installed. The lovely Theo will be taking on the job - good job he knows how...</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_l0UGXPxvBY/TbXQcEShXMI/AAAAAAAAAJU/JV50_TK9Zmo/s1600/CIMG1466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_l0UGXPxvBY/TbXQcEShXMI/AAAAAAAAAJU/JV50_TK9Zmo/s320/CIMG1466.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0UHwPSUuTc/TbXQhRcDFwI/AAAAAAAAAJY/kiAWJAAEvps/s1600/CIMG1477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0UHwPSUuTc/TbXQhRcDFwI/AAAAAAAAAJY/kiAWJAAEvps/s320/CIMG1477.JPG" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Theo and I both have the next week off work, so hopefully we'll get lots more done over the next few days. </span></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-51550967539380186092010-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:07:23.952-07:00Hotel Love<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">On holiday in St Barths I came across the stunning hotel La Banane. I am particularly in love with the tiled floor, although I'd probably only consider this if I was living in a hot country. Also really like the modern take on the 4 poster bed...</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmf6BWy0I/AAAAAAAAAIw/5jbfqBqhPss/s1600/Tropical-Modern-Architecture-La-Banane-Hotel-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmf6BWy0I/AAAAAAAAAIw/5jbfqBqhPss/s320/Tropical-Modern-Architecture-La-Banane-Hotel-12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmhWZFSUI/AAAAAAAAAI0/px6W57JOsA4/s1600/PITER09BANANE1145_hi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmhWZFSUI/AAAAAAAAAI0/px6W57JOsA4/s320/PITER09BANANE1145_hi.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmid9GsSI/AAAAAAAAAI4/TzmXZ78ejCI/s1600/PITER09BANANE0965_hi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmid9GsSI/AAAAAAAAAI4/TzmXZ78ejCI/s320/PITER09BANANE0965_hi.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmjsgfVBI/AAAAAAAAAI8/hhRFmiBDJqc/s1600/PITER09BANANE0401_hi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TTnmjsgfVBI/AAAAAAAAAI8/hhRFmiBDJqc/s320/PITER09BANANE0401_hi.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-5829347872215721032010-12-28T12:04:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:07:23.953-07:00The Dandelions Armchair...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">My mum has just received the armchair back from the upholsterers, and it looks absolutely amazing! So pleased with it - it will take pride of place in our new living room. Can't wait to get it home. At the moment I've only seen this picture of it and not the real thing, but I am really pleased with it. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRJb-sDzU-I/AAAAAAAAAIo/6q0Su4yiuVE/s1600/P1000047-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRJb-sDzU-I/AAAAAAAAAIo/6q0Su4yiuVE/s320/P1000047-1.jpg" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">As previously mentioned, the fabric is Dandelion Clocks by Sanderson and is everywhere at the moment (including the wallpaper in Hollyoaks...not very happy about that!)</span></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-64209048469290481632010-12-27T10:37:00.000-08:002010-12-27T10:37:00.231-08:00Granny Square blanket<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">I came across the following at <a href="http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/2010/01/question-is.html">Dottie Angel's blog</a>, which is absolutely mouth watering. Definitely on my to-do list. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRJFuiiE2PI/AAAAAAAAAIc/fz6-pBeAMoU/s1600/4138943561_c9af5d1168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRJFuiiE2PI/AAAAAAAAAIc/fz6-pBeAMoU/s320/4138943561_c9af5d1168.jpg" width="240" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">She got the pattern for this from <a href="http://www.yvestown.com/archive/2009/11/how-to-crochet-a-blanket-part-1.html">the Yvestown Blog</a> - and here is the original!</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRJF4NyoUuI/AAAAAAAAAIg/t_klLGMYyQU/s1600/crochet_blanket04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRJF4NyoUuI/AAAAAAAAAIg/t_klLGMYyQU/s320/crochet_blanket04.jpg" width="214" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">I don't know how to crochet, but here is my reason and inspiration to learn! The pattern is <a href="http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/copenhagen-pillow">here</a>. Looks like a great way to use up my yarn stash... </span></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-75186951754782129152010-12-24T07:28:00.000-08:002010-12-24T07:28:00.669-08:00Wallpaper - paint by numbers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">I came across this </span></span><a href="http://paint-by-numbers.co.uk/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">paint-by-numbers wallpaper</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"> today. The perfect way to get your decor to perfectly match your furniture! It's £40 a roll which is much cheaper than I would have guessed. I love the top one - might buy a roll to use for covering furniture. There's a brilliant Sunday Times article on how to wallpaper a chest of drawers </span></span><a href="http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/interiors/article1086178.ece"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">. And below are some inspiring pictures of a small Ikea set of drawers which have been decorated with patterned paper. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRIZSQ-EoSI/AAAAAAAAAII/evrfvhaYrkM/s1600/Gerbera-%2528half-painted%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRIZSQ-EoSI/AAAAAAAAAII/evrfvhaYrkM/s320/Gerbera-%2528half-painted%2529.jpg" width="248" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRIZU5jO_oI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/wTB3on1GuYE/s1600/pineapple-rollx2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRIZU5jO_oI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/wTB3on1GuYE/s320/pineapple-rollx2.jpg" width="264" /></span></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">And below are some inspiring pictures of a small Ikea set of drawers from </span></span><a href="http://shinedotdesign.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-12-06T21%3A48%3A00%2B01%3A00&max-results=7"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Shine Design</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"> which have been decorated with patterned paper. I have some of these drawers myself which are plain wood at the moment and it would be nice to do something creative with them. Stay tuned! </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRIaSl5cFXI/AAAAAAAAAIY/VZbnL36RSWg/s1600/retrokasse2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TRIaSl5cFXI/AAAAAAAAAIY/VZbnL36RSWg/s320/retrokasse2.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Anyway today is Christmas Eve so I will be signing off for a couple of days to enjoy Christmas - hope you all have a lovely break and come back soon! </span></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-47372014112822483492010-12-23T12:58:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:07:23.951-07:00Book storage<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">As I mentioned, we've got lots of books that will need to be stored. We've got a couple of big Ikea Expedit bookshelves which I really love, but I'm not sure they will fit into the new living room configuration. I may have to have a look at <a href="http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/">Ikea Hacker</a> for some ideas, but Theo may well be getting out his tool kit to create something custom that will fit the space. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TREkk12shII/AAAAAAAAAH8/Hp5dzZFzQOY/s1600/Emmas+Blogg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TREkk12shII/AAAAAAAAAH8/Hp5dzZFzQOY/s320/Emmas+Blogg.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TREklaBXZeI/AAAAAAAAAIA/pUQ4N4wfoPA/s1600/Pablo+Zuloaga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TREklaBXZeI/AAAAAAAAAIA/pUQ4N4wfoPA/s320/Pablo+Zuloaga.jpg" width="268" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">And another happy picture that I just like:</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TREk2tY3VlI/AAAAAAAAAIE/TetdM2EjEng/s1600/SCN_0143.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TREk2tY3VlI/AAAAAAAAAIE/TetdM2EjEng/s320/SCN_0143.jpg" width="251" /></span></span></a></div>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-65897071269192596162010-12-22T03:56:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:07:40.837-07:00DIY: Knitted goodies<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Again, not totally house-related, but I wanted to share with you this little project I did for my cousin who has just had a baby boy. They're moving up to Scotland too, so he will be cold and will require little knitted things to keep him cosy! </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9E8zx8a4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/rjEkxqPkitA/s1600/CIMG1252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9E8zx8a4I/AAAAAAAAAHw/rjEkxqPkitA/s320/CIMG1252.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9FJFQ0H0I/AAAAAAAAAH0/oxOWE7lYtgM/s1600/CIMG1253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9FJFQ0H0I/AAAAAAAAAH0/oxOWE7lYtgM/s320/CIMG1253.JPG" width="320" /></span></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">The socks at the top are available as a free pattern </span></span><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/flakey-baby-socks"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">. And the shoe pattern is also free, </span></span><a href="http://calistayoo.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-version-of-babystvler.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">I packed both gifts in a box from Paperchase, and cut away a section on the top to stamp the baby's name. I used my lovely little red typewriter to type a label for the box. Hope they liked it! </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9GzntMLTI/AAAAAAAAAH4/YCZvvSf_l3E/s1600/CIMG1255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9GzntMLTI/AAAAAAAAAH4/YCZvvSf_l3E/s320/CIMG1255.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</span></span>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6187851638974753894.post-60742577976135557942010-12-21T03:52:00.000-08:002013-05-01T13:07:23.954-07:00More Danish design<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">One last foray into the incredible world of Danish blogs (seriously, there are loads. Google struggles somewhat with the translation!), and this time it's </span></span><a href="http://resignert.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">Resignert</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">.</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9EC1SjBwI/AAAAAAAAAHk/LmE0HjM5g4s/s1600/960x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9EC1SjBwI/AAAAAAAAAHk/LmE0HjM5g4s/s320/960x.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9EDKKIBnI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Ld189FA8pZ8/s1600/fredag+051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9EDKKIBnI/AAAAAAAAAHo/Ld189FA8pZ8/s320/fredag+051.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9EDQcdXEI/AAAAAAAAAHs/4__zd3IoooM/s1600/ny5651x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9uN8vfU56O8/TQ9EDQcdXEI/AAAAAAAAAHs/4__zd3IoooM/s320/ny5651x.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>Tesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01894175864856643398noreply@blogger.com0