Tweedy Christmas

Oooh, I just have to share this, it's absolutely precious! All these yummy tweedy decorations are made by my blogging friend Alison from Tweed Thoughts - wouldn't you love to have this Christmas pudding hanging from your tree? I definitely would!

And the birds! All of them!

A gorgeous soft cushion, perhaps?

Not hanging from the tree, of course...

A croft house tweedy pouch?

For the phone? Or the camera?

Or a sweet little stocking?

The choice is yours! 

Have a happy month of December!

Easter 2012 - Decoration

One more Easter post - this is how we decorated our home - our first Easter in our new house (well, the house is not really new, but it is our new home)!

Front door - I bought the Bunny Wreath years ago, it's from Gisela Graham and I love it.

My little book nook on the staircase - I made the crochet stool cover at the end of last year.

Top of the stairs - some pretty handmade cards & glass Easter eggs.

Another picture of my decorated book nook!

Mini bird - handmade by me.

Easter cockerel - handmade by my boy, a few years ago (with a little help from Mummy...)!

Pink bird - handmade by me.

Red bird - handmade by my little girl, a few years ago (with a little help from Mummy as well...)!

Dining room centrepiece.

I love decorating our house!

Owls

Houses, owls... whatever comes in handy... :). I made this door hanger the other day after being inspired by a similar one from Rice (no longer available, I'm afraid, I can only link you to their page in general), owned by my dear SIL - she got it as a present some time ago. I'd always admired it and then it dawned on me I could make one myself! Sooo, another ta-dah!

I found an old wooden hoop in my Christmas ornaments box, wrapped some Liberty Tana Lawn around it, made a pretty little felt owl (I checked Etsy for some general owl inspiration, but no particular seller), added some felt flowers and satin ribbons and buttons and wooden beads, and out came one sweet owl door hanger!

My boy was rather impressed with the little blue owl and politely asked if I could make one for him as well, pretty please thank you very much Mummy dearest. Why, of course I could. In the end he decided for a white one, as he's a big Harry Potter fan and we came to the conclusion (after a very serious mother and son talk) that I could make him his very own Hedwig. I'm afraid the breed is not quite correct but my Harry is happy and if he's happy I'm happy!

Hedwig's background is another one of my 'masterpieces'. Later!

Miniature Crafting

I love making things. I particularly like making little things that I can put in my pocket (I don't really, I just like the idea that I could do that if I wanted). When I saw this gorgeous felt Christmas tree on Julia's blog I immediately had to make one for myself. As I didn't have any thick felt at hand I decided to make a favourite - a miniature! I love it so much!!!

The next miniature craft is a Granny Square. Remember my post about Granny Squares? Well of course, I had to make a mini one as well. It took a while but again, I absolutely loved the result.

Last but not least, a miniature rosary. I got this tiny little cross several years ago when my husband and I made a pilgrimage to Assisi, Italy (the birthplace of St. Francis & St. Clare). I used to wear it on a delicate gold chain and later transformed it into a little rosary. Sweet, isn't it?

To give you an idea of the actual size of these miniatures, here they are on the palm of my hand:

Which one is your favourite?

Three Things

- a very pretty and colourful Oilily cross-body bag. Great for dull rainy days.

- a sweet little door plaque, found at a craft store

- my brand-new Cath Kidston gadget case, shipped directly from the UK!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Another One...

Well, what can I say? When I'm obsessed with something then I'm REALLY obsessed with that. This time it's Liberty fabric and these famous Boden circles. I've just rejuvenated an old straw bag. This morning (yes, my darlings, I actually found the time to do it this morning!) I did it again. Oops!
Here's the 'before' picture:

I bought this bag about ten years ago. In Britain, of course. It's from Accessorize. The last time I wore it was... nine years ago. I took it to the maternity hospital with me when I gave birth to my boy. I could never bring myself to give it away - I bought it in Britain, for heaven's sake!

This is the 'after' picture:

Isn't it just adorable? (I know, I know...)

Rejuvenating The Old

I found some time to do a bit of crafting over the weekend again. I came across this little crate at the local supermarket - apparently it used to house cherries - and I immediately saw potential in it. I took it home, let my imagination flow for a few days and...

...this is what came out. I'd had this hydrangea wrapping paper for a while (I adore hydrangeas!) and I thought it would look really pretty on a box of some kind. It turned out I was right!

My second project involved an old straw bag from Rice. I got it on sale several years ago and it was really pretty to start with. The colours of the flowers faded considerably, though, and the bag served as a book stand in our bedroom...

Then I fell in love with this beauty from the latest Boden catalogue. I didn't order the tunic as it was quite expensive but I kept thinking about what I could embelish with these gorgeous circles. And then I got the most fabulous idea...

...ta-da! I used some Liberty fabric for the circles and then sewed wooden beads round each one. I'm very happy with the result...

... I absolutely adore my new straw bag!

Easter Decoration

Welcome into my home! Let me give you a few peeks at our Easter decoration...

The felt chicks were hand-made by my son (the blue one), my daughter (the red one) and me (the pink one). I cut the shapes and helped the children with the sewing but basically it was their work.Aren't they adorable? The cycling hen was a gift from friends who knew exactly what I liked...
(Plus can you spot the stained glass door... I sincerely apologise for that...)

And what I like is the London-based designer Gisela Graham! She's the brain behind all these decorations (apart from the felt chicks, of course). The above wreath was absolutely too lovely to pass in the shop. I got it last year. Still love it.

This hen lives on the window sill in our bedroom. Not just at Easter. I tend to forget to put it away once the Easter period is over (at Pentecost)...

And the bunnies? Could you have left them lying in a shop? Abandoned? I couldn't.

Deck the Halls...

...with all sorts of bits and bobs from all around: with pretty Christmas fairies and trees from Gisela Graham, with colourful fabric Christmas trees from Rice, with beautiful gift bags from Caspari,

with lovely fragrant Christmas candles from Portmeirion,

with Christmas angels from Andrea Fontebasso, and last but not least, with my precious Christmas angels, who are now 'all grown-up' (well, they're eight and five respectively...).

We're decorating our Christmas tree tomorrow, on Christmas Eve, and we're putting up the Nativity as well; we've got some lovely 'vintage' figures which belonged to my Mum's family. I promise to post a picture of both!

P.S.: If you're interested in my three-month-bloggiversary Christmas giveaway, check yesterday's blog entry!