Charity Shop Shopping With Marc ….. Plus a Couple Of Other Bits and Pieces

As I said yesterday Portobello Road and Notting Hill are not really the stomping ground for the charity shop connoisseur or poundshop aficionado, however Evesham has plenty enough to fill a Saturday afternoon, even for Marc and I.

It seemed as if all the charity shops had put all their Christmas bits and pieces out this weekend when I had been out really looking a few weeks back with little luck.  Marc and I spent a very happy time rifling through the 10p and 20p baskets.  He would fertle first and then I would go through them again, just in case he’d missed something.

We found enough little wooden figures to almost fill my Home Sweet Home “thingy” in the kitchen, it was put together especially for Iris and Bertie. I am sure they will love and be fascinated by it when they come round, it’s making another memory, I hope.

I think our best considered purchase was this copper Arts and Crafts angel for just £2.00.  It has something missing from its hands, but I don’t think it will take long for inspiration to kick in and a substitute found (if it’s really needs it???)  I love it so much that it won’t be packed away after Christmas, it’s definitely going to find a permanent home on my shelves all year round.

These two framed cross stitch pictures are beautifully done and appear to have some age to them judging from the frames and at just 50p each, they also found a home with me, as did Santa, part of Marc’s haul for around 25p I think.

Other little treasures were also found and when we got home spaces on my festive shelves were excitedly filled in with more than the odd flounce and flurry …..

……. and each will hold a very special memory of Marc and my first proper Christmas shopping expedition together.

Oh, I almost forgot, we also found a nativity set, with a few spare animals but minus Baby Jesus for £1.50. Well, we soon made a baby using one of the wooden figures above, wrapped in kitchen roll and placed in a coloured in match box.  It’s now under the Christmas tree awaiting Bertie’s next visit, I think we’re assured of an awe and wonder moment or two.

On Sunday we went up to Crafter Companion up at The Valley just outside Evesham, I have to say we were quite restrained.  I loved these sewing dies, inspired by an example on the shelf, but why on earth didn’t I take a picture of the card as a reference. Lesson learned and thank goodness for a Google search

https://www.crafterscompanion.co.uk/gallery/signature-collection-by-sara-davies/sara-signature-sew-lovely.html

In Marc’s honour and visit, I also went all vegetarian, I didn’t really miss the meat, but I think I may have tried a little too hard, even for Marc  when it came to our Saturday morning bacon butties …….hmmmmmm.

And finally ……. when we get together Marc and I love watching YouTube films of people going round Poundland/Home Bargains/Primark etc. and then going through their haul ……. I think now Marc has a brand new shiny phone (that’s a whole other story but please don’t ask as we are both still traumatised by our EE experience)  we should invest in a phone stick thing and produce one of our own!!!!!!!! Now that would go viral, but probably for all the wrong reasons ……….

Christmas Has Come Early To The Towers

What can I say?  Christmas came early to The Towers in the guise of Marc bearing gifts  ……… one very overwhelming gift in particular ……..

………. a Scan N Cut machine.  What on earth do you say when someone gives you something soooooooooooooooooo wonderful?

However, knowing Marc, seeing me gradually master the machine and start using it on projects will bring him an awful lot of pleasure and it is another adventure we can share.   I admit to being a little nervous, but there is really isn’t a lot that can go wrong.  Once we had unboxed it, we put on YouTube and followed a couple of tutorials ….. I “think” I can just about “weld” now, a concept which before we had a go terrified me.

I have registered with the Brother Canvas Workspace so that I can work on projects via my computer with a larger screen and a few extra buttons which  I think will give me more confidence at this stage as I am more computer literate than I am Scan N Cut literate, if you know what I mean.

When not Scan n Cutting Marc and I also hit the charity shops and Crafters Companion.  Marc might live in central London but  where he is it is sadly lacking in charity shops, and the likes of Poundland, Home Bargains and B and M.  We also hit Crafters Companion up at The Valley, just outside Evesham. Needless to say we talked non stop, swopping so many ideas. Sorry, I could kick myself, but no photos as they just got in the way of our excitement and talking!!!   But tomorrow I have a couple of our festive charity shop buys to share.

Iris’s Keyrings

I found this keyring set in Asda, I think it only cost £1.49 which was a real  bargain, and although it said “football keyrings” I immediately I had Iris lined up for a festive job.

The pack contained 6 plastic cases, six footballer templates (of which I made several more templates, just in case little one wasn’t happy with anything she’d done), plus six chains and rings to hold keys.

They were a resounding success, with Iris reproducing all the most important people in her life.  I love Granddad Ken, especially his beard, accompanied by Granny Denise above.

I left Iris to it,  she knew exactly what she was doing, and to be honest any “adult interference” from me would just have spoilt the innocence of each creation.

She even managed to captured Auntie Lu Lu’s propensity for a flowery top and glasses perfectly!

And as for Mummy and Daddy, what can I say?  Once everyone was done, they were all carefully wrapped by Iris in tissue paper and put in their own box with a special message (Nanny’s job) and have now been safely squirrelled away for Iris to give at Christmas. I doubt there will be a dry eye in the house, money just can’t buy presents like this.

Objects Of Desire

Lucy (my daughter) and I  often say we both need another house to put all the furniture that we see and love but which just wouldn’t fit or suit the flat/house we live in. It might also be an idea to turn a blind eye to all such delights and stop visiting charity shops and antiques centres all together, but I don’t think that will ever happen. 

So today I bring you a few objects of my desire …….

My jaw dropped when I saw this 60’s/70’s sideboard …… OMG did I want it!

……. as well as the cabinet above …… it would make the most fantastic cocktail cabinet.  I love anything from 50’s and 60’s and some 70’s, the more kitsch the better. My brother in law has a small bungalow back in Wolverhampton which is 60/70s in style and every time I go my mind has a terrible habit of wandering as to how I would furnish and decorate it to suit the period.

But then, I also like a bit of Gothic, this was the second time I’d gravitated towards this mirror at Bonds near Stratford Upon Avon ….. and then I saw and remembered the price tag of around £485 ….. dream on lady!

I also spotted this coat …… believe me, when I finally hit a size 12 by the summer it would at least get a try on, and then I would see Lucy’s nose wrinkle and  think perhaps I should leave it where it is ….. at least for a while!!!!!

And finally this dresser/dressing table in Forces Support shop in Evesham. I guess it’s probably Edwardian and sadly I had to make do with opening all the drawers and side cabinets and then just stroking it, sighing that it was never meant to be ……

It was a steal at only £145 but it would have to be in the right house to bring out all its quirky beauty.  Not everyone’s cup of tea I know, but definitely mine.  I am not sure about wanting one house to fill with my weird and wonderful desires, I think I need a whole terrace of them.

My Mums Monkey Christmas Cards for 2018

I hate to leave making these cards too late as they almost always prove to be more time consuming than I first anticipated, mainly due to my constant fiddle farting, adding more and more detail,  but this year they were relatively quick to put together, it was just coming up with a theme that first flummoxed me.

I wracked my brain for previous themes from years past but just drew a blank. Thank goodness for Pinterest which gave me the idea for sprouts and then my mind ran riot.

A photo shoot was then called including cocktail sprouts on sticks and a bottle of Chateau Neuf de Sprout – “Potent and Wind Inducing – traditionally trodden on ancient anthills by Les Bruxellois”!

Before ordering a whole set of the same picture from Bonus Print I added the text  in Publisher using SNF Felicity Font (The Silhouette Design Store) and then saved in jpeg form, hopefully to save time when making the cards.

Also to save time and use up existing materials I found a pack of printed blank cards I got from The Works last year. All the patterns seemed to go pretty well with the picture.

I began by matting and layering the picture. first on red and then silver mirror card.

Swiftly followed by a liberal sprinkling of  translucent micro glitter on the fur on the hats and round the edges of the cocktail glasses …….

…… and then, some Ranger Glossy Accents on the sprouts for even more texture …… so over the top!

So that’s The Boyz done for another year.  However, in my Pinterest search I found another idea which will be perfect for next year (if we are all still going), so I will get the pictures shot and in the bag while everyone is still in their festive garb and The Towers is looking suitably festive!  What am I like?

Snowman Chocolate Snowball Jar Favours.

This is what I finally did with the mini mason jar glasses I found in Home Bargains for 39p each.

I made them for Bertie’s nursery autumn fayre.

I started on the lids first ……..

…… using a blue, punched, card circle with a wooden snowflake which I coloured white with a flat back gem in the centre.

 

Next came a small matching tag and sticker to go on the bottom of the jar. The nursery has a wild area that they call “the meadow” where the children are taken to play and for stories etc. which seemed very apt.

The self adhesive snowmen (pack of 6 for 69p from Home Bargains) proved to be a little too tall for the tag I had in mind, but I think I just about got away with trimming the bottom off them to keep the tags more in proportion to the jar. 

A little faux stitching and doodling followed.

The two tags were then tied together with a length of red and white twine and then tied round the neck of the jar.

I filled each jar with one pack (90g) of Cadbury chocolate footballs that I also found in Home Bargains for just 39p, well within sell by date, the usual price is around 99p, so I got me a real festive bargain.

I reckon I put the jars together for just a little over 88p each, including the scraps of paper, twine and snowflakes which isn’t too shabby if you want to sell them for around £1.25 - £1.50.