Playing with paint

 I've been busy working on some wholesale orders, getting the B&B rooms ready as it's that time again already and also trying to build stock for online. It's hard to not get caught up in a restrictive mind set that because time is so limited, it must be used sensibly and that everything we make must have a "value". After a good talking to from a really good friend I've decided to have one day (or at least evening!) a week to just play at anything creative. I'm desperate to try fabric designing and we have fun and exciting plans for over the summer :) until then, I've had a wee play with some printing blocks we picked up on our honeymoon in Dubai (4years ago!!) xx

The Painted House Patterned Rollers

Oh my goodness..... Have you tried these patterned paint rollers from The Painted House? They are amazing! You can use them on walls, paper, fabric (which I can't wait to try out).
Originally, I had planned to paint our back hallway with the Tussock roller, but with all of the "real life" that the area undergoes.....wet children in dirty waterproofs, husband in welly boots, 2 year old with dirty hands etc I'd be constantly worrying about if I could clean without the pattern wiping off.
I opted for 3 square panels of pattern instead, which gave me the perfect opportunity to have a play with my latest obsession for Annie Sloan paints ;)

After having a wee play mixing Provence with Old white, and Empires Silk with Old White to get the colours I needed (I wanted them to tie in with the colours in our kitchen as the hall leads into the kitchen).
I masked off 3 squares with Frog Tape (amazing stuff that stops your paint bleeding under the edges like normal masking tape).

And the finished hallway....

First play with Annie Sloan paint

My husband and I have very different taste....I used to think that he would like to furnish an entire room in one hit by opening the Next catalogue and buying the entire range (plus co ordinating soft furnishings!) Whereas I'm a lot more eclectic and love old preloved items which look like they have history.
Well....it's taken 4 years of marriage....but I've finally worn him down to the point that not only is he coming around to my way of thinking but he's willingly helping me make them over :)
I've seen so many fab makeovers on Pinterest with Annie Sloan Chalk paint so was desperate to give it a try and see what all the hype was was about.  I was lucky to get a gorgeous chest of drawers from our local Facebook free ads, it's a fantastic size and really solid. My husband is super practical and great at wood work, so he fixed the bases on a couple of the drawers and removed the hardware which we kept and reused as it was.
I didn't get a proper before pic...

but as you can see it was pretty old school, and although there was nothing majorly wrong with it, it definitely would not have suited our house.....
A couple of quick coats of Annie Sloan Old White and I absolutely love it!!!

The paint really was as easy and lovely to use as people rave on.  My husband sanded back the top and pedestal - the wood isn't perfect but it has a warm homely worn look to it. I didn't want to go to mad with the distressing as this was my first attempt and I didn't want to over do it so just rubbed over all the edges and natural "wear areas" with some fine grade steel wool.
Now we just have to manoeuvre it upstairs to our bedroom!

A Trip to Sleat, Floraidh and Ragamuffin on the Isle of Skye

I needed to take this little collection down to the beautiful little boutique Floraidh, in Isle Ornsay, Sleat. So accompanied by my friend Angela and my little munchkin, Chlo, we used the excuse for lunch and a day trip.

 

If you've never visited this part of Skye before, you have to put it on your list of places to go, the landscape and scenery is breathtaking and there is a lovely feel to the place.  My husband and I got married in Duisdale a couple of years ago and our wedding photo's were taken right next to Floraidh so this is just a peak at the view.

 

 When visiting Sleat, you will have to go down to Armadale and pop into Ragamuffin.  Now, I know I'm biased as I used to work here but it is quite possibly the best shop....EVER. 

I love the colours and the beautiful and quirky outfits, here's a quick snap of some of the displays.  There was also a gorgeous raspberry/chocolate one in the window but there were customers standing by it and they might have thought it a little odd if I started photographing them!

 

I know it's a bit cheesy to take photo's of yourself in the mirror......BUT....I fell in love with this Annie Glue scarf and thought I'd drop a few unsubtle hints to my husband about how it looks like it was made for me.... ;)

I'm also loving the new changing rooms - these are a new addition since I worked here and they are FABULOUS!  

Obviously I should be wearing a Jellycat on my head or something for a proper Ragamuffin photo....

 

Of course.... Chlo was delightfully happy trying on hats until I whipped out the camera!

After saying hello to the girls in Rags, we had to have lunch from the Pasta Shed. Made me very sad I'm not working down here anymore!

Then a visit over to Skyelark and Grumpy George's where I saw the most beautiful embellished Harris Tweed cushion handmade by the shop owner, Serena.  I wish I'd taken a quick snap so that I could have shown you all!

EEEK! First post in over 6 months!! :(

Oh my goodness...how embarrassing, I didn't realise it was quite so long since my last blog post!
When I upgraded my phone for some reason I couldn't link my blog to it, although Facebook, email and Twitter were no problem so (out of sheer laziness!) I've been concentrating my efforts on them.......
I will start being a better blogger!

Feedback

Ok...I don't normally big myself up too much but I was feeling very sorry for myself after a trip to the dentist :( and that evening when i checked into facebook I had all of this lovely feedback!  Cheered me up so much - all of my customers this year have been so great!

 

Alana Clark: Received my parcel from you yesterday, thank you so much, they are all lovely. Big decision now of what one to keep for myself. Thank you so much and have a lovely xmas x

Kim Thomas: Received my items today and I love them. Thank you very much :) x

Kelly Harland: Just to let you know I received my purses yesterday! WOW!! They are amazing! Thankyou so much. X

Nicola McAllister: Oh my...I just got my tweed purse with bird on it and pink dog coin purse and WOW I am amazed at the quality and beauty of these items!!! THANK YOU so much Jennifer

Suz Clark: Received my purse yesterday, absolutely love it. Thank you!

Shaleena Patel: hi, just wanted to say thank you for the purse which arrived today and which was a fab surprise when i got home from work. and this time i'm keeping this one for myself. thank you so much again - it's gorgeous. x x x x

Catriona MacKenzie: Hi, Jen - love my decorations (& the cute wee bag they're in). Will post a pic when they finally make it to the tree. Getting laminate laid next week so it's going to be cutting it fine for getting in Christmas mode!

Marina Slater: Love the purse, I waited till my birthday to open it, thank you it's beautiful x

Christmas Fairs and busy, busy, busy!!

I have turned into the worst blogger ever!!  
A combination of the Munchkin now being mobile (and into EVERYTHING!!!) and being super busy sewing up some lovely things has meant my computer time has been limited.
I can't describe the pleasure I get or how honoured I feel (cheesy I know) knowing that people will be excited about giving things that I have made, as presents this Christmas!
Here are a couple of my latest sales....... x

Keeping up to date!

To keep up to date with the latest news and sneak peaks of what's being made pop over to facebook!

Laughing with Angels......

While browsing around Blogland with my cup of coffee this morning, I stumbled upon this beautiful blog Laughing with Angels

 Filled with gorgeous pictures of beautiful blooms and inspiration, just what's needed on such a chilly dull morning!

These roses look like my David Austin Eglantyne, unfortunately mine did not do so well this year.  They've been in a container since we moved here and I really need to plant them out.

Sigh......please can we have summer back!

I actually love Autumn but we're in need of some beautiful crisp clear skies to be able to appreciate the gorgeous colour and light that it brings....... soon hopefully!

Bluergh

I have totally lost my voice - much to the amusement and delight of my family!  We've all had various coughs and colds over the past couple of weeks, I'm sure the kids just bounce germs around on their return to school!

Anyway...... more exciting news....... I''ve just purchased a gorgeous vintage Singer Sewing machine (this isn't my one - mines still in it's box!) A sign of how ill I must be....I've not managed to take it out of it's box yet - will photograph it once I get going.

I love my brother sewing machine, it's a great workhorse and great for free embroidery but it struggles with so many layers of tweed.  That's hopefully where this baby will come into it's own - will let you know. It's so pretty!! x

Scottish Smallholder and Growers Festival

I am really excited to be taking part in the first ever Scottish Smallholder and Growers Festival in Forfar on September the 30th.

I will be having a craft stand so if you are in the area I would love to see you!

I'm afraid my Smallholdings knowledge is pretty  non-existant...... pig = pork..... chickens = eggs.... but my sister, who has bred horses for years, has really been getting into it.  Planting veg, making chutneys, lots of fresh eggs.

This year she has kept her firsts pigs

which have just gone off to the slaughterhouse and we're really looking forward to the pork return! It's been great for the children to have such a real, hands on experience with where their food comes from.

There will be lots of demonstrations, presentations and of course competitions and I'm really looking forward to seeing what makes a prize pig!

It looks like a fun, informative and educational day out for all of the family and I challenge anyone not to be inspired to eat more locally produced fare by the time they leave!

Bad Blogger!

I am such a bad blogger - it's been ages since I last posted!

I'm blaming my lack of posts on my mischievious wee baby - at 10 months she's into everything and the spare minutes I used to have for blogging are now a distant memory!!

Anyway... note to self...... Must Do Better!

Couple of commisions I've recently finished......

Purse Give Away

Click to go straight to my FB page!

Bad blogger.....

Sorry for the lack of posts/pics - I have been busy I promise! I'm working on some lovely purses but as you can imagine with all the credit card slots, compartments and zip pockets the insides take a bit of time!
In other news we've been working on the house, sorting the "guest" room (ie dumping ground/storage space for all things baby) and it's now looking very pretty. Managed to find some silk in my stash that went quite well with the wallpaper so we've some nice (but very tame and subtle for me) cushions in there.
We've also had a bathroom replaced...... one word.... DISASTER. We're now battling a leaky shower and I think the only thing that we've not had a problem with is the sink :o( the old suite had been there for 20+yrs and it had less problems lol. Anyway....We'll get there!

Craft Fair and Catch Up....

Eeeek, I'm falling behind with keeping up to date!

Since my last post we've had the Vintage Fair in Inverness and I've had a busy few days with Etsy orders and a couple of custom orders which is always nice!

Badges, hair clips and wallets

My wee helper peeking over!

 

 

I only took a couple of pics at the beginning of the fair (and they didn't turn out that great!) the weather was horrendous in Inverness so the fair was unfortunately quiet but I met some lovely people and have had a leap of Facebook likes and orders since so it was definitely worth travelling through fo, and it's always lovely to meet up with other like minded people!

Pretty, Pretty, Washi Tape...

all mine.....

Vintage and Retro purchases

Gorgeous J and G Meakin coffee set

Chinese Rose storage pot

Palissy ware pin dish

Oooooh pretty!

Very girly!

Ian and I went for a rummage around our local antiques market.  It's a combination of antiques, bric a brac, salvage and "stuff"...... you could spend hours hunting through everything and I kept saying to Ian ...... "ooooh we could paint that" and "how cool would that be done like..." but he is much more sensible and practical than me!  He pointed out that we don't have endless amounts of space.... and suggested most of my purchases might be suitable for my cabin lol. These little delights will find their right place in our home very soon!

Paper wishes

Papaver Designs

This is a beautiful blog full of beautiful inspiration!

Click on the pic to pop over to see the Wednesday Wonder tutorials.  I am so delighted that I will be receiving a jar of these wee beauties :o)

Studio.....

We now have carpet...... just need furniture (and a kettle) and I might never leave the studio!

2 years (cotton anniversary)

Yummy cupcakes with cotton flags

Paper heart garland