Tuesday

Another ATC Card Swap ..


Sherry had received my ATC cards
yesterday , so here is what i made for her .
The " theme`s " were Oriental and
Black and white .

Oriental , because i thought it would
challenge Sherry - as i have not seen
her create anything on this . And Black and white
being a challenge for me . Black is a colour i rarely
use - but i think i did pretty well on it !
I included a butterfly - as she adores them , for the
meaning of freedom and hope .













I`m still waiting for mine from Sherry -
I can`t wait to see what she created !!

Monday

Flora And Fauna ...



I`ve been busy this weekend making
more Owls . With Willow being my prototype ,
to see how he looked , and i was happy
with the result -
These are 2 new OOAK Owls .


" FLORA " 4.5 " high
Made from a vintage pillow case material




Felt , vintage buttons , with thread
eyelashes !






With her name on a piece of
pink seam binding sewn on her back .








" FAUNA " 4.25 " high
Again from a vintage piilow case ,
felt and buttons .










With a named seam binding tag








I am adding these to my shop
Would you like to give one of
these a new home ??



Friday

" Our Home Nest " Hanging Doily




My latest creation -
" Our Home Nest "

I decided to use one of my vintage
crochet doily`s , although sometimes
it is hard to use them ! Other than staying
in a box , and getting out to admire them
now and then . The time had come to use one .



Hand made nest - with raffia - 1.5"

- 2 teeny half eggs - 1/2 inch big !

and one that i coloured for contrast sat on a feather .

Bunch of vintage millenery flowers , and Our

Home stamped on a piece of ribbon .







The back has been given strength with a
card and music paper piece . And you can see
the palest blue colour more , of the doily .




With fabric flower petals , vintage buttons
and seam binding .









Wishing everyone in their nest
A happy weekend !!

Thursday

Fabric Doily Flowers ...


I`m stil having a run on creating , after
having what i call a dry spell ! So i`m making the
most of it ! I came up with these - fabric doily flowers ..

This one is border anglaise fabric , petals , vintage
music paper and a millenery flower




The 2 below , are small doily`s edged with a gold

stamp pad , music paper , fabric petals

and various embellishments . The butterfly one has

sold already ! But the other 2 are available

in my shop !


















Tuesday

My Postcard Swap !



Now Sherry has received my postcard -
i can show you what we sent each other !
" Time For Tea "
Which i showed a peak photo of the clock ,
and it totally threw her off the guess scent ! LOL
With handmade cupcakes , and a teapot . Along with
some Yorkshire teabags and a herbal one with cinnamon
in - as i don`t like the taste ! And not that i palmed you
off with that one Sherry !! But i knew you liked it , and i
couldn`t just throw it away !!





Here are my goodies - this gorgeous
collaged postcard - which looks sealed with gel medium.
And will help to keep it dust free ! With a bird on-
no less ! Oh and a butterfly ( in joke ! )
My own little masterpiece which is in
my studio to glance at !







AND 2 packs of Laura Ashley notelets !!
Being a big fan , Sherry saw these and thought of me .
Two design styles i have not seen here in the UK !
I was more than happy to receive these and
can i choose a favourite ? That`s a difficult question !!







I Love them all !!
Thank-you !!

Monday

Personal Correspondance


I am always on the lookout for old postcards ,
and i was lucky to find these last week .
In the age of e-mail today , i often wonder
how we would cope without it . Think of it as a lost limb ?
Once we have used it , you miss it more , when you
cannot access it ? If you were told you could not use
it , would you think about it all the time ?
Granted , i am grateful today for e-mail , i know i
couldn`t live without it ! But there`s
nothing more heart warming , than receiving a
hand written letter from a loved one or a friend .
That is why , i am always fascinated by written words,
in days gone by. When they knew how to write poetically ,
with some words we do not use anymore and the writing
with pen and ink . Written on postards that are not produced
in the way they are now , and some penned with " racey "
emotions of a loved one missed .

I bought some for the front verses ,
and the others for the writing , which i could read
on the back ! Some words were not legible to me , so
i`ve done my best to show you !!






Christmas 1916 , to a Miss G Roberts.

My friend is me

whom i have fancied cold in early days of converse -

But whose hold upon my heart strings few to links of gold .




My dearest ,

how do you like this one , but it`s not so pretty

as the ones you sent me .

can i come and help you after work tonight , carry your

--------- ? for you ,

goodnight my dearest

Annie

Saturday

Meet Willow ...

Here is a new addition to my nest !
I love all birds , and here`s the latest i
have taken under my wing !
I would like you all to meet Willow !



Oh dear - i think he is a little shy ....
Come on , turn around Willow -
so all the lovely people can see you ...




Ta Da !

Isn`t he cute !! ?




With vintage button eyes and felt beak ..






And little felt feet !




Made from this vintage sheet i found .

I fell in love with it straightaway , the pattern

and the colours are gorgeous !

And i finally took the plunge of cutting into it !!













More will be added to my flock soon

available to buy !!

My In The Pink Contribution ...

I can finally show you , what piece i
have created for Jo Anne`s
In The Pink Collaborative Book .
As she had emailed me last night ,
and i was relieved to hear that she had
received it , after having problems with
other peoples work going " missing " in the
post !! Or rather , being taken out of their
packaging and just the empty envelope being delivered !
Some people have no morals these days !!
We had to create something , with pink in ,
and no surprises to some - mine includes birds !
It`s not a colour i usually work with , however ,
i totally enjoyed creating this piece !
Thankyou so much Jo Anne , for coming up
with this brilliant idea of yours . And i cannot wait
to see the final book with all the participants
creations in !








Friday

For My Cousins ...

Today , i spent a few hours with my cousin ,
who i had not seen for many years . We chatted
about the " old times " and had a laugh about things
we remembered from relatives , travel
and life in general . In doing so , i found out , that his sister
reads my blog ! When i had no idea that she did do !
So - i would like to say HELLO !
And many thanks for reading , although we do
not keep in touch as much as we should do .
I hope you`re all doing well !
I know you will not be expecting this - both of you
but here`s a little personal message for you both !
And hope it gives you a chuckle to brighten your day !




















Let me know you have seen this !!

Thursday

Rhonda`s First Swap

One of my best friends through blogging is
Rhonda . She has posted about a french themed
book swap ! How cool is this !! ?? Mind you -
she just loves anything to do with Paris
itself , so it was no surprise to me that this would
be her first swap that she is hosting !!
Please take a look on her blog , if you`re
interested at all in participating -
The more the merrier !!!

Check it out HERE






I have been busy again with blog banners .
Sweet Marilyn got in touch , as a present to herself
to celebrate her 50th post , i created this for her !
She was a delight and easy to work with ,
and her blog is HERE







And a springy banner for Tammy ,

including some of her own nature photo`s .

Wednesday

My Love Of Children`s Books ..



ABOUT THE AUTHOR (1926-) Joan Walsh Anglund became successful with her first book, A Friend Is Someone Who Likes You, in 1958. She's been making books featuring these same round-faced mouthless characters ever since, and her popularity continues to grow. There's something ineffably sweet about her creations, which are based in large part on people and places in her own life-- particularly on her children Joy and Todd. She is a perennial favorite and a popular choice for gift books. She seems to strike a nerve and her images of childhood have an innocence and purity that people respond to with a rush of nostalgia. Older copies of her books are usually preferred by those who want their nostalgia to be real, right down to the feel the book, and the out-of-print Brave Cowboy is perhaps the most sought-after title . She lives in Connecticut .




Although i do not remember these books,
I have grown to love them , and these
are what i have so far , finding yesterday the pink
covered titled " Love is a special way of feeling "






It`s not the fact i am trying to relive my childhood .
Although it recalls your own experiences sometimes
of other books and toys played with .
It is the beautifully illustrated pages , the simplistic
meaning of her written words . A small book , which
you can read in a few minutes , relate to and
they make you think of the things you take for granted .
Like this ...
Love is found in unexpected places ....
It is there in the quiet moment
when we first discover
a beautiful thing .....
When we watch a bird
soar high against
a pale blue sky .....














Doing a little research myself , i found too , that
she had created some porcelain 5 " mini plates for Avon
back in 1986/7 , ad has sold over 45 million copies
of her 80 published books .


These are my books now , which i will treasure ,
and be on the lookout for more of her work
to add to my collection .

Monday

Busy Bee Me ....





It`s spring cleaning time here in
miss Magpie`s nest . It`s one of those
necessary things we all have to do !
And with banners to create , my lack of
employment , creative ideas buzzing around - my nest
needs re arranging and feathering back to some
sort of norm for me .
So i will be back in a few days time ...
xxxxxx

Sunday

Trish`s Banner !









Here is the banner that i created for Trish


HERE



which she won from my 200 th post giveaway .

Which seems ages ago now to me , but

it is finally up at last , after her having problems

with her computer !!



Thank- you so much Trish !!!



Enjoy !!!

Saturday

My New Purchase !




Being thrifty , and reusing items is what i
love most . But sometimes you have to
buy new . A few weeks ago , in a craft magazine
i buy , there i saw an advert for a new line of
designer craft items from Laura Ashley .
They were due for release at the end of march ,
and i HAD to get my hands on some !
I simply love all that Laura Ashley designs .
I have wallpaper in my craft room , amoungst
some of her range , and hunt down old design books.
I was so excited when i found a usual supplier
i buy from , had them in stock !
There is the Tradtional - which i went for -
and Contemporary range .
Just a few scans of my favourite papers !







Like my bird wallpaper - but a different colourway .
















And these fabric brads !!







If you want to see the full range ,
i found it here and scroll down a little
to view all what`s on offer !





Have a fab weekend everyone !!





Friday

Postcard Swap ...

Earlier this week , Sherry and i finished deciding the
final details on doing a postcard size swap. I had it in
mind to decorate how you wished , no theme -
anything goes !!
I created mine on Wednesday evening , and i loved
every minute ! It was an easy piece for me to do ,
and it turned out that way for her too ! As we
both had finished at the same time , and we will be
posting them out this Monday !
So here`s a peak at what i have made for you Sherry !
Thankyou so much for taking part in
my first postcard swap !!
I hope you love my creation !!








Wednesday

In progress And A Finished Project ...

Yesterday and today , we have been finishing our decorating.
A few final touches before we have the carpet fitted !
The main wall going into the kitchen done !



My new light fitting ...
Lights on ..




Lights off !








And the same switches in our home ..







It has been over 2 years getting to this stage !

As we have had a new banister on the stairs

and landing fitted , in glass with a wooden handrail .

It took 9 months to find someone who would custom

make us one , how we wanted it , and at the right price !

So there will be a great sigh of relief once this is finished !

In between decorating , i managed to finish a collage .

Done on a vintage book cover .



Sister`s Remembrance






using vintage music paper , doily ,

buttons , wax seal


Vintage dictionary words , an egg

encased in wire on feathers .




And a cute little inprint foot charm !









This will be available in my shop this weekend .
Anyway - must get back to the decorating !!