Re-use, Re-cycle & Re-invent...

Restored draws - daffodils & snowdrops

Re-invent an old set of draws with a fresh lick of paint and vintage style accessories...

My husband found this unwanted set of draws on the side of the road and brought them home so that we could give them a new lease of life..

First we painted the draws antique white... 

then sanded down the edges to give a shabby chic style...

We decided to keep the top natural by sanding it down and rubbing it over with some Danish Oil...

Red Decorative Knobs - Anthropologie

Pink Spotted Knobs - John Lewis

To finish we added some stylish knobs... 

I miss-matched mine to give a quirky vintage look...

So... be thrifty and have a go at recycling your old and unwanted household items... 

by turning them into new and desirable pieces for your home...

Decorative Door Stops...

 Vintage hot water bottles - 

Various secondhand shops

Alongside bringing a vintage edge to your home decoration, stone hot water bottles make stylish and effective doorstops...

I picked these up from my local secondhand shops... keep your eyes open for them at car boot sales too!..

Going Dottie...

Following on from my birthday blog... 

you might remember... 

that I was given the wonderful 'Dottie Angel, The Suitcase Series' book as a gift from my friends at work...

How well they know me :)

Since receiving this lovely book I have been pouring over the pages daily... 

Each as beautifully illustrated and full of craft inspiration as the next...

The book is part biography and part musings of the lovely Tiff... and of course lots of crafty inspirations...

So far the Dottie Angel book has given me lots of ideas for my own craft projects... 

One of my favourite being the 'Blankie how to'...

I couldn't wait to get started making a mini blankie for myself...

Using my size 4 crochet hook I have started to crochet the squares that will make up my blanket...

I began by chaining the length I wanted my finished square...

I then simply worked a half treble crochet into each stitch, chaining a couple for turning...

At the moment I am still working on my squares when I get a bit of spare time... 

Cant wait to show you the end result! Hope it looks as lovely as Tiff's!..

Take a look at Tiff's blog... Dottie Angel...

for an abundance of crafty inspirations...

I Love...

 Decorative Boxes -
Tynemouth Market, Tyne & Wear

I love these decorative stacking boxes... covered with pretty pastel vintage style paper...

Decoupage your own using vintage wall papers, secondhand pages from books or even old maps...

Love To Visit... Ray Stitch...

 Ray Stitch - Angel, London

Last weekend I paid a visit to the enchanting sewing shop, 'Ray Stitch'...

Tucked away on Essex Road, stands this gorgeous little shop...
boasting a beautiful selection of fabrics, ribbons & yarns amongst other crafty bits and bobs...

Ray Stitch is a modern day haberdashery shop with a twist...

Not only do they sell all the things you need when starting a new craft project... they also have their own delicious coffee and sandwich bar, and in the basement, a fantastic space to hold craft nights and workshops!..

Designer cotton print fabrics...

A Jewel in the heart of Angel Islington...
and a must visit for keen crafters!..
I could have easily spent my afternoon in this lovely little shop...

Take a look at their website - Ray Stitch
 for more information on their crafty products and current workshops and classes...

I love the look of the look of their 'Creative Applique & Machine Embroidery Class'... Will definitely have to book myself in!..

Ray Stitch - Tuesday to Saturday 8.30am until 6.30pm
Sunday 11am until 5pm

99 Essex Road
London

Victoria Sponge...

As you may know from my birthday blog post, I recently received the 'The Great British Bake Off' cook book as a Birthday gift from my parents...

A gorgeous baking book, full of different recipes, with clear and beautifully illustrated step by step photos...

...also plenty of hints and tips on perfect baking from Mary Berry...

I couldn't wait to pick out a recipe and get started...

I decided on the traditional Victoria Sandwich...

... I was really happy with the end result and my family all enjoyed helping me eat it :)

Liebster Blog Award... Share Some Blog Love...

 

I would like to say a great big thank you to four great girls, from four of my favourite blogs...

Jeany, Meanyjar

Melissa, Your Handmade Home

Sally, Lavender Attic

Louise, Crafty Guider

...for awarding me with the Liebster Bog Award!..

The 'Liebster Blog Award' is a badge of approval presented to favourite blogs with under 200 followers... 

Liebster meaning beloved/dearest...

So... with great pride I will be displaying the 'Liebster' badge on my blog...

 

So... as I have been awarded I can now go on to reveal my top 5 blogs...

The Rules:

• Show thanks to the bloggers who awarded you by linking back to their blogs...
• Post your top 5 blogs and let them know by leaving a comment on their blogs...
• Post the award on your blog!..

Besides the lovely Meanyjar, Your Handmade Home, Lavender Attic and Crafty Guider...

Who's blogs do I absolutely lovvveee?..

It was a very hard job making my choices as there are so many blogs out there which I follow and love...
...but... now I'm done, and here they are...

Lemons For Lemonade...

I love Emma's beautiful blog, full of stitching, crocheting and crafty thoughts, not to mention her gorgeous photography skills!..

Sew Ray Me...

Enchanting patchwork and quilting crafts and a love of buttons like me :)...

Flora & Purl...

A 30 something working mum with a love for gardening, knitting and needle craft. I love her cool and quirky craft blog...

Crafted By Carley...

A new blog love of mine. The crafty adventures of a British girl, living in Dusseldorf... 

Tilly Mint Boutique...

My fellow advent swap blogger. Sarah is a very talented crafter, sharing very similar interests to myself!..

Enjoy!..

Happy Birthday To Me...

 This Wednesday I celebrated my 28th Birthday... 

Yes... another year and another year older...

I had a lovely day... and received some gorgeous birthday gifts...

...including these three lovely books...

Cute & Easy Crochet -  Nicki Trench

I have had my eye on this little crochet book for a while... so was really pleased when my lovely husband surprised me with it on my birthday...

 

35 different crochet patterns... cant wait to get started!.. I think ill have a go at the crochet bunting first...

Dottie Angel - Tif Fussell

My great friends at work gave me the 'Dottie Angel, The Suitcase Series' book...

As you can probably imagine, I was a bit over excited when I opened my gift :) 

I love the ramblings of Tif Fussell on her Dottie Angel blog... So this was a perfect gift...

The Great British Bake Off - Linda Collister

...and last but not least...

My brilliant parents bought me 'The Great British Bake Off' cookery book... 

...and what a fantastic book it is... packed full of different recipies and each page beautifully illustrated...

I have already made the delicious Victoria sponge cake!...

These books are so brilliant that they definitely deserve their own individual blog posts... 

So keep an eye on the blog!..

Thank you to my husband, parents, sister, grandparents and friends for the lovely cards and gifts they gave me!.. I had a great day!..

Twelfth Night...

 Its 'Twelfth Night'... 

and Christmas is officially over :( 

However I am managing to keep that Christmasy feeling with this delicious Christmas cake and sloe gin...

A handmade gift to me from my mam...

 For my gorgeous Christmas Cake my mam used Delia's Classic Christmas Cake recipe...

I love cherries so she added a few extra to my cake... and topped it with a marzipan layer decorated with stars...

...and to make the sloe gin...

Recipe (per bottle):

500g sloes – pricked /squeezed

250g sugar

Bottle of gin

Glass bottle

1. Prick the sloe berries lightly and put all the ingredients inside your bottle.

2. Shake the bottle each day for first 2weeks until the sugar dissolves, then leave to rest.

3. After 4-8 weeks filter using muslin to remove sediment.

So... I'm off to enjoy my gifts :)

I would love to hear your thoughts on the recipes...

So why not leave a comment below... alternatively you can tweet or fb me...

Happy New Year... from daffodils & snowdrops...

I would like to wish all my lovely blog readers a Happy New Year... 

and all the best for 2012... 

 Daffodil & Snowdrop Mugs - Emma Bridgewater

A fantastic Christmas gift to me from my parents!.. Love them!!!

Christmas Catch Up...

After a lovely Christmas break I'm back and thought I'd start with a Christmas catch up post...

So... as you all know this Christmas I took part in the Advent Swap organised by 

Hookin With Laa Laa... 

My partner was the lovely Sarah from 

Tilly Mint Boutique... 

On the run up to Christmas I have been blogging about each advent gift I received and what I sent in return...

For Christmas day we both sent each other a larger handmade gift to open...

 I received this gorgeous hand felted scarf from Sarah...

I love the colour, a great gift to keep me warm over the Christmas break...

 ...and I gave to Sarah...

 A cushion cover, handmade with cream and pink striped fabrics... I decorated the cushion with a hand drawn pattern...

I hope you like it!..

Thank you Sarah for all your time and thought that you have put into the advent swap!.. 

I have loved doing the swap and really enjoyed opening my advent gifts each day!.. 

I definitely think we were a good match :)

 

...and a big thank you to Lynda from Hooking With Laa Laa for arranging the swap!..

 

Pop over to Tilly Mint Boutique to see Sarah's Advent Posts...