Caravans and cosies.

Looking back over my posts I thought I'd already introduced you to Daisy the Caravan and as I hadn't here she is!

She isn't in her final resting place as yet and in fact I've not done anything to her since we got her apart from taking the curtains down. She is a 4 berth although it is more for 2 people if you like to spread out a bit. There is an awning that goes with it so that will make it a bit bigger.

I did make a teacosy for when there is a teapot!

The fabric is linen, the other bits are scraps of cotton and the path is painted with various shades of grey to look like stepping stones. Wouldn't it be great if real caravans could have such fancy doors.

A washing line with brightly coloured clothing and two little daisies growing through the grass.

This other cosy was one I made a while ago now. It is made from a woolen blanket and I love the bright spotiness.....

I would love to own a spotty teapot like this.  Winter and summer tea cosies. The wooly one is quite thick but I misjudged the linen wadding so it is a bit thin.

You may remember that I said no more monkeys.......well I shouldn't have. I was given a pile of socks by dd and as they are so nice they magically turned into some little monkeys.

Here is big sister Rosie and various sizes of her brothers and sisters. They will all be going into my Etsy shop soon.

Next week I want be able to do a post as I will be away from the computer for a few days.
In the meantime here are the party links;

http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.highlandsockies.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/caravans-and-cosies.html
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.handymancraftywoman.com/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.co.uk/
http://lovingthiscrazylife-melissa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/its-piece-o-cake-linky-party-15.html

Cushions, table and crochet.



I'm sitting in Daisy testing out the wireless connection for the computer and it is working so visitors will be pleased about that!

Following on from the green patchwork quilt  here I had 2 squares left over so this week they have been made up into 2 cushions to match and they are destined for Daisy to liven up the interior a bit.

Of course the white patch in the middle looked like it could do with a Quirky House to finish it off!

The backs are calico fabric and my favourite and quickest envelope style back.

I didn't have a proper cushion to put into one of them so it is a sort of filling from something else that I had so that was squished in (not as fat and plumpy but does the job) Daisy looks more cheery all ready! Why do caravans nearly always have beige/brown interiors. I'm itiching to paint everything white but need to get myself into a mind set to do it as I know I will get half way through and think, why on earth didn't I listen to Head Honcho when he said it looks OK as it is. (but once again what does he know, he's looking at it through a blokes eyes..... sorry if any blokes are reading! :0D )

We had a joint project this week. HH put aside some bits that he thought I might be interested in from the shed

I did have a photo of all the bits, well, in bits but it seems to have disapeared....anyway...the bottom and leg are from a lampstand and the top is from an old table which HH dismantled. He had to insert a rod down the leg as it was the only way to keep the table top on, so the top does have a nut on it (no, not me ;0p)  which I hope wont spoil it to much.

2 coats of primer and 2 top coats later. Now I have to think what to do with it......HH is no help, he says your on your own there as he's done his bit! Maybe decoupage/painted something/mosaic.....who knows.....if you have any good ideas do let me know.

It is good as a prop table instead of my freezer tho

The kettle (ebay of course!) matches the quilt/cushions perfectly. There was a lush looking pink one but I wasn't allowed that one :0(  so you can see a sort of greeny theme going on here for Daisy......but of course it might all change :0D

Did a bit more crocheting which I hope to finish for next week.

Told you the table made a good prop!!

Party Links;
http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sew%20darn%20crafty
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://www.kammyskorner.com/
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com
http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.co.uk/

Rag dolls & a makeover


Wow, hasn't the week whizzed past. Although it has been mostly very soggy and miserable (the weather that is).

Now what has an old rag doll and an older box got to do with each other?

The box originally had apricots in it and came from Turkey many moons ago.
I blogged about my rag dolls last year which is here in this post. Well as Morag has had her dress on for the last 15 odd years and her baby has grown up and left home she decided that it was time to call in the team for a makeover!

Here are her new shoes...which were painted on (always looking for the easy way, me!) Unfortunately the paint did run a bit which I wasn't expecting, anyway I oversewed the outlines with some black thread and put a little group of beads on the front and a 'button'to do them up with.

Now this is where the box comes in. When browsing the internet I've seen a few boxes used as props, which I thought was a brilliant idea. So this one was painted cream and a page from an old atlas was stuck in the back. Morag now has something to read while she watches life go by!

                                                     Back view.

I cut her arms down a bit as they were quite long. She has had a hair cut and the jacket is made from an old cardi of mine, with some added bling. Morag wanted to keep her underclothes and petticoat and as they were in good repair, I agreed.

Here she is in my bedroom with some of her teddy friends......

.....and her best friend in the world, Rag Doll. Here they are having a good ole chat. Rag Doll is so delicate that she can't be handled that much as I'm afraid another seam will come undone, but she looks happy enough with Morag!

ohhh nearly forgot....here are some Japanese crochet flowers that I'm making....long way to go yet tho, so that's for another post!

Party links for the week:
http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sew%20darn%20craft
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://www.kammyskorner.com/
http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/
http://www.handymancraftywoman.com/
http://lovingthiscrazylife-melissa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/its-piece-o-cake-linky-party-13.html

A bunch of red roses.

This post is a bit earlier this week due to no computer tomorrow.
Getting carried along with making paper roses I made 3 reddy pink ones.
I re-dipped the 3 yellow ones that I showed before here in some red paint so they are now an orangey red colour and match the reddy-pink ones.

Here is the other side of the vase showing the pink ones.  The greenery is 2 pieces of paper with a wire glued inbetween. Needing no water or looking after, just how I like it!

They now reside on my bedside table, which used to be plain pine and just how they were bought from the shop in the sale (of course!), lived with it for a year and then got my act together and got the wardrobes painted at the same time. It took 1coat of primer and about 3 topcoats! I just waxed the top and knobs with some coloured wax we've had in the shed for about 25 years!

Also finished the bathroom off at long last. Adding tiles along the wall where the radiator is as the heat kept curling the wallpaper up. Son said, 'why have bird cages in the bathroom'? I said 'why not, makes a change'!

Anyway we like it, so that's that :0D

Here are this weeks linky parties;
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sew%20darn%20crafty
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.co.uk/
http://thediydreamer.blogspot.co.uk/
http://ambassadorcrochet.com/
http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/
http://lovingthiscrazylife-melissa.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/its-piece-o-cake-linky-party-12.html
http://theivycottageblog.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.craftionary.net/2012/06/friday-fun-party-and-features-216.html

Sillouettes of children and plant hammocks.



Hello there, fellow bloggers.

Today I want to show you something that was made over 20 years ago! (I do like to go at a leisurely pace!) The idea came about when my son's teacher made a black silhouette of his head and I thought it was kind of neat. Sooooo I did three more and put them in little frames which really didn't enhance them very nicely. They were then put away and forgotten about. A couple of months ago they were re-discovered and as I had a narrow frame (charity shop bargain) which matches my new wallpaper, my local framer cut a mount for them.

It is a bit difficult to get a good piccy without the reflection in (should have done it before I put the glass in, silly me). The poppy picture is actually a tile which one of my dd bought for me as she knew I would love it.....and I do, very much.

In the 'old' days before wizardery computing these were done the old fashioned way. Putting a child behind a lamp and shining the shadow on the wall and then threatening said child to move if they dare!! :0D I'm glad that I've fallen back in love with them again (the pictures, not the children cos I never fell out of love with them!)

What else have I been upto. Well, thinking about the polytunnel and not much ground left to plant stuff in I looked skywards. Having just emptied 2 of those plastic things that oranges come in and was looking at a wall that had a load of moss on it, why not combine the two and came up with these;

Neat huh! Inside are more strawberry plants with some compost. Slugs can't get at these (unless they are Ninja slugs!) I also strung up a couple of flower pots with some strawberry plants in. Moneysaving or what? Wonder how long they will last.

Close up;

 They look like plant hammocks :0D

On the crafting side, I've been making some more roses, this time a reddy pink. They arn't finished yet so maybe next week.
 http://www.flamingotoes.com
http://topstotreasures.blogspot.co.uk/
http://sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.co.uk/
http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sew%20darn%20crafty
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://ambassadorcrochet.com/
/lovingthiscrazylife
michellestastycreations 
craftionary

Roses are red......

But not today mine are yellow! I have been messing around with paper to fashion some roses with. (lots of different tutorials on Youtube)

As you can see I need to practise lots more as the middle is not right and I havn't got the petals spaced out evenly.

The greenery is real so am going to figure out how to make some from paper.

Here they are with some real roses! Makes a bigger boquet and they compliment the real ones nicely, in fact Head Honcho had to look twice! The lady who makes paper roses in US www.mymommymakesroses.com charges upto $90 for one rose....will have to up my game a bit! :0D

The other thing I've been fiddling with and also need some more practise with is Fluffy Florence.

Here she is eating the daisies in the garden. (yes, she is a sheep if you can;t figure out what she is :0P ) You can't see her feet as Florence is knee deep in grass. I saw this tutorial on here and as I've got some fluffy black and white wool left over from my dancing bunnies the next step was a flock of sheep!

I will link up to these parties;
http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.co.uk/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sew%20darn%20crafty
 http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/sundae-scoop-link-party-31/
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
michellestastycreations.blogspot
http://prettyshabbyuk.blogspot.co.uk/
friday-fun-party-and-features-

4 little monkeys and how does your garden grow.

Hello fellow bloggers. A day earlier this week as I have sciatica or something and laid up on the sofa for awhile so thought I would show you what's been going on in our little cottage this week.

Not much crafting going on as the weather has been glorious have been out in the garden. Doesn't it lift the spirits sooo much to have a bit of sun and warmth, although it got so hot today I had to come back into the house!

Here are some more little cheeky monkeys that have been made.

                   All sold.
At last the sock pile has gone! (apart from some baby sock bits) These will be the last probably for quite a while. The little blue stripey one is more the same blue as the monkey on the left. They have their little hats and scarfs on even tho we are in the middle of a heat wave, but they look super cute in them. If you would like to purchase one, just email me at the above address.

Now onto the garden. This was the before picture of the veggie garden and here it is now.

The seeds were put in this week so nowt to show yet! Hope they do come up, it's quite a windy spot but we had some good stuff last year. There are runner beans and peas this year as well as other stuff, although the carrots arn't in yet. We had loads last year, they were lovely.

It is quite a large patch, but I've put in some willow whips to act as a wind barrier. These will make the veg patch smaller when they bush out a bit. On the left hand side is a fedge. (a hedge and fence combination) The willows were put in last year and this year were bent over and woven into each other so they will eventually make a dense hedge. This year the rest of the plot had willows stuck into the ground. Next year when they get roots they too will be woven.

Onto the poly tunnel. It is nearly finished, just need the doors fitting. It is like a sauna in there!

It looks a bit empty but the left hand side is full up! At the end are some strawberries, to foil the slugs they are on a bench thingy and an old planter.

Looking up the other way. We got some chicken manure pellets and boy do they make the tunnel whiff! But hope they will soon break down and go into the soil to enrich it. Hope that it will be full of lush plants in the near future. There is a couple of cherry trees in there (my favourite)

So head honcho has been pretty busy, but he knows what keeps me happy, a bit of dirt and manure :0D
Also nearly finished is the summer house. But more of that on another blog.

I will be posting on these link parties
sixsistersstuff
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.co.uk/
spot.co.uk/search/label/sew darn crafty
http://www.handymancraftywoman.com/
http://handmadeharbour.blogspot.co.uk/
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/knick-of-time-tuesday-36-vintagestyle.htm
http://carolynshomework.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/
michellestastycreations

Finished green patchwork quilt and crochet coat hangers.

Hello there everybody. This week I have to show the actual finished...yes, finished patchwork quilt. Go me. It's funny how I couldn't wait to get it all done and dusted and then it's hmmm I really miss having that on my lap stitching away at it!
Without further ado here it is;

Taken outside on a breezy, sunny day (yep, I did say sunny!) It's about the same size as my red quilt which fits a double bed but doesn't have much of an overhang.

Purists look away now, cos as you can see it's rather wonky, but after doing the whole lot by hand my eyes were begining to cross! I was going to leave the green sashing plain, but added the circles which made it all come together very nicely. Before I wasn't liking it much but now I do.

Wrapped around my shy model who said it was nice and cosy! This is a medium weight quilt. Am now thinking what quilt to make next, after me thinking never again. :0D I gave it a quick wash and a cool iron on the reverse side which is a plain white sheet.

I also did some crocheting, which was quite easy to do, but I thought very effective and pretty.

The top one was crochet with cotton from Penny's cotton club (no relation to me!) http://planetpenny.co.uk/ and the bottom one was crochet with odds and ends of acrylic that was in my stash of yarn.

My jacket and coat have never looked so posh! Arn't they so pretty with the flowers dangling down. The pattern can be found on this lady's blog marmaladerose. I found 2 hangers made from wood (one slightly bigger than the other) hiding in my wardrobe. I will have to have a root through the families cupboards and see if I can find some more so I can crochet some pretty flowers to hide the boring wood!

This blog will be joining up with these link parties;
handmadeharbour
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
watchoutmarthaparty
http://sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.co.uk/

Teeny Tiny Chappies/fancy pins and lemon curd.

It's been a funny old week here in my little cottage, yes, I'm talking about the weather. (well we are famous for yakking on about it!) We did get some sunny spells but the wind had a big chill in it and not good for us fair weather gardeners so planting the seeds is still on hold as today is grim, I can hear the wind whistling through the door.....so lets crank up the fire, pull up a chair and have a looksee at what I've been upto this week.

These two incy, wincy monkeys (yes back to them again) were made from cut-up left over baby socks, they have been in a bag for over a year and I was going to throw them out but thought I might be able to get a couple more tinies out of them, and here they are.

Little Joey and Petronella. They are currently residing on my dresser with the jugs and other bits.

It so that you can see the scale of them a bit better. I did say they were small!

Not to be out photographed here is their mate, diddy Charlie Cherry a sweet little thing with his big ears and floppy hat! (Why do monkey's legs always look so large in photos? I try taking them at different angles but the legs always look like they are out of proportion to the body)
For some reason he looks a bit worried, maybe its because he's sitting ontop of my cold freezer :0D

Here is a picture of some pins that I made to go on top of the cactus pincushions in last weeks blog post.

 They are very easy to make if you want to jazz up your pincushion a bit. I used some long quilting pins and some heart pins that were free in a mag. sometime ago. Just put a tiny bit of glue on the stick and thread the beading through and hey presto! (I had to hand a broken pearl and a blue necklace with some bits of metal coloured spacers) I'm sure you could add charms and other items as well.

Last but not least, my other make of the week is some lemon curd. I found 2 lemons that I had forgotten about so had to make something with them before they went off.

Yummy on a piece of toast. I had used spreading 'butter' before, but I did have some proper butter so this time I used that and it's set better. I also used 2 duck eggs which were very orangey in colour (lady opposite keeps ducks and gives me some whenever she has too many) which added an extra lemony colour.  Unlike the ones in the shop that are full of colours,/preservatives etc.

I used the dish over hot water method, as you dont get horrible burnt bits in it and also no cleaning of a yukky saucepan and you can go away and do other jobs just stirring now and then. I have also tried doing this in a microwave and it tastes metally for some reason, it must do something to the acid in the lemons.....I guess? The saucepan way is quicker but for the above reasons slower is sometimes better!

If you are interested in the recipe its;
Grated rind and juice of 2 large lemons
8 oz sugar
2 eggs
4 oz butter

Put saucepan of water on to boil, and then turn down to a simmer, and put a heat proof dish ontop into which put the sugar/butter/lemon bits and wait for the sugar to dissolve and butter to melt...it takes some time so dont get impatient! When thats all melted add the very,very well beaten eggs. (when I crack them open I take out the attached stringy bit)
Give it a jolly good stir when you pour the egg in so it mixes together well. Leave it to do its thing giving a good stir now and again. It will be ready when the back of the spoon gets a good coat of mixture on it. Pour into sterilized jam jars and leave overnight to set. Just in time for breakfast!

(Even tho the eggs are given a good beating I find that there are some small white eggy bits do sometimes appear in the mixture. If anybody knows why this happens I would love to know. I just fish them out, it doesnt affect the taste at all and really I'm just being pernickity!)

I will be adding to these linky parties
http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://www.homemakeronadime.com/
http://sistersofthewildwest.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com
handymancraftywoman
michellestastycreations
thewellcraftedhome.
http://my-crowded-kitchen.blogspot.co.uk/
sixsistersstuff

2 Cheeky Chappies and a field of cacti.

Another week has flown past and here is my Sunday update of some things that have been made here in my little Highland Cottage.

There hasn't been a post with any monkeys in lately so can't have that!
Here are 2 little sock monkeys that are so bright and cheerful and very cute.

 Bright red/orange Oswald and his little friend, Bluey. These are made with kiddies socks and have felt eyes so are more little kiddie friendly than my larger ones which have button eyes.

Although we have had a severe shortage of the sun, look what I have been growing.....a field of cacti!!

Good job they need neither the sun or water so stress free growing. :0D
I have learnt how to make pin toppers (if that's what they are called) to fancy up a pin cushion. I didn't think to take a seperate photo so you can't see them to well. But basically it's an extra long pin and then glue beads from various broken necklaces and I have to say it looks very effective.
Head Honcho made a little tray for them to stand in so they look like they're from a garden centre!

I'm still plodding on with hand quilting my quilt as I've added an extra pattern to the sashing.

Let's hope we will have some good weather very soon, or my seeds will start to sprout in the packet.  I've made some green covers out of some water bottles (didnt have any clear ones so I hope that's OK) for some lettuces that are in desperate need to go in the ground as they have outgrown their container. But at the moment the wind is very chilly and it doesn't make me want to leave the warmth to go out and dig. (I'm a very fair weather gardener!)

Here are the linky parties that I will be adding to over the week.
handmade Monday
http://www.flamingotoes.com/
http://www.niftythriftythings.com/
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/sew%20darn%20crafty
http://www.twiggstudios.com/2012/05/sunday-show-off-linky-party.html
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/
http://www.craftjunkietoo.com/search/label/T.G.I.F.%20Linky%20Party
martha-monday-link-up-party
coastal charm
sassysites.blogspot.co.uk/
http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.co.uk/
http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.co.uk/