A Great Find ....... For me ......

I couldn`t believe my luck yesterday when i came across this book !! .......

A Holly Hobbie annual -- Wow i thought ! I HAVE to get this !! I have just a few items in the range , and i`m so glad i came across this gem of a find for myself as old childrens annuals are getting harder to find , or they are too expensive for me to buy .......

This one ... I am not tempted at the moment to cut up as it`s too cute to use it !!

Here`s just a few inside images for you ........

Bird Box File .........

Here`s just s standard boring box file that i had , and decided to alter it .........














I mixed my own colour of acrylic paint ....... And painted all the outside and back , missing the front opening flap ...........

















Then stuck a free wallpaper sample on the front with fabric binding around the edges ..........

It`s from Laura Ashley ..... Summer Palace . It was one of my options to put on my wall in my new craft room .... But i chose a different bird themed paper for it eventually ...........




And here`s the finished box file ..........










All ready and will store all my bird themed items !

Our Little Visitor .......

How can i have forgotten to put this little bird on here ! ??

This is a little visitor we had while we were away . While we were sat out , a tiny Robin came to say " Hello " to us ! Everytime we were there ..... he was .... being nosey ! He looked like a baby Robin , as his red chest wasn`t that bright and still had what i call baby fluff on him ..... Or it may be the time of year that it dulls abit ... I`m not so sure !

Ok ..... i know the photo`s only okay to me , and you may have to squint to see him ....
But i hope you can spot him ! ..........


He was so cute to me , i wanted to take him home to be in my back garden ! !

A Bit Of a Change .......

Because i`m not feeling like crafting at the moment .... i thought i`d have a go at the new addition to blogger ...... videos .....

Here`s one of my favourite tunes from D J Tiesto .......

Untitled Childrens Bookcover .......

I`ve decided to have a go at doing a small childrens themed book . Since i got a few old books with cute images inside .... This is what i came up with so far ......

Holes are punched in at the left hand side , ready for me to bind it all ..... As i am hopefully doing the rest on thick watercolour paper , where as the cover is on card board .

There is something missing ..... the title to go on the front . But i`ve not come up with anything yet ! I do know that i have " artists block " right now .... Since i had the bad news today , that i have no job to go back to .... after just being on holiday for the past 2 weeks !


Maybe i`ll get my artful mojo back soon .......

Still here ... But Decorating My New Craft Room ...

Thought i`d better do a post update on my craft room decorating .. ...


It`s nearly finished ! Yipee !
I have 3 more pieces of my bird wallpaper to put on tomorrow .. Then i`m done !

It`s been a long slog getting here .... having to wait for the roof plaster to dry out .. painting 4 coats of white emulsion on the ceiling ... Yes 4 ... you read it right ! Then totally gutting it out and renewing the skirting boards . I finally got to do the best bit of papering . .. and i could see the progress on it the past few days .... Why does it always take you longer than you think to do something like this ?

I have been taking photos of it`s progress , and i hope to post some soon when everything is in place ... before i get to go in ... and make a mess of it all .. Hmmm .... I wonder how long it will keep tidy ? !

I am going furniture shopping tomorrow as well . I`ve decided to make my own desk , as well as some storage for all my supplies .... Think i`ll need loads of that !


It will be nice to have my own room ... And not to clutter up the downstairs back room , where i am at the moment . My partner is very patient , and understanding until now . But with all my collecting and creating .. it`s getting out of hand , and things are creeping into other rooms ! So i think he`ll be glad when it`s all done !


While i`m here ....... My dear friend Renee , is trying to get a host swap started soon .....
On Marie Antoinette theme , if anyone reading this is interested ??

If so .... Please click on her blog link ... And leave her a comment please ..... It would be great if even just a few people took part ... ....


Thanks !!!

" Homing Song " ..... Bird Collage ......

Back in the swing of crafting again .......



I have finished this bird collage tonight ........



Made on a piece of cardbard , new wrapping paper and tissue paper ........

I may have to redo the finished collage picture , in natural daylight though as it`s not as bright as i`d like !!















Vintage sheet music , text and doily .... from Amy ....











And the missing card from Amy`s swap package .........

The Farmhouse At Shieldhall ........ And Castle Visits ...

Here`s the lovely farm house in Northumberland , near Kirkhale , called Shieldhall , where we stayed , set in a courtyard with out buildings made into bedrooms for people to stay ..... Very rural setting , but gorgeous scenery ........

Our room on the end with a bench to sit out .......

Three other bedrooms . .. With a workshop on the left hand side , as the owner was a carpenter .....

Our view sat on the bench ........

Our bedroom .......

This was on the lawn part outside our window ...... but i`m not sure what it`s called !! It looked like some sort of grinder machine with a handle on the side ......

Inside the farmhouse , there were vintage items everywhere ! I didn`t know where to look first ...... All totally gorgeous .....

These were on our breakfast tables both mornings ......

Old bottles , watches , chains , spoons , thimbles , wine labels ..... all in silver .......

A statue on top of an old oak dresser ........

While away ... we always try to visit places of interest , like castles .......

This is Alnwick Castle ...... The best one i have visited this year !

The walk up to the castle .........

There were some birds of prey inside ......

This is Willow ... A south African owl ... Which you could stroke ... He was so soft ... and very cute ! ....

Various views from inside the grounds of the castle .......

The Buy I Sadly Missed ........

These are some clogs , as we call them here , that i DIDN`T buy !!

I saw them in the shop window , went inside , getting all excited , as i`d never seen any of this design before ...... . only to be told , they hadn`t my size in !
Needless to say .... I was a little disappointed .......

But next post is what i did buy ......

As Promised ....... More Holiday Buys ......

Here`s some of the goodies that i came across on my travels while in Northumberland ....

Tin Things ........

A small bird watering can ........

Two bucket container with handle ..........

Small decoupage " bucket " , not big enough for a waste basket ! Just to store things in ! .....

A painted wooden hook ........

Funky floral pair of scissors !

An egg tin ......

And never am i one to pass on anything to do with bags ... whether paper , material ..... these were too good to pass on buying ! .......

The same design as the little note book i got a few weeks back ......

A large floral shopper bag .......

Paper gift bag . .. With gorgeous pearl handles .....

Amy`s Swap Package Received !!

Here`s my package ! ....... The bird collage swap i did with Amy , along with other supplies as well . I did receive it on Tuesday , but was going away for a few days ... But here are the awesome goodies i got !

Just remembered to take a photo before opening them all ! ......

LOADS of bird images , doilies , playing cards , bird stamps.......

The collage !! .... Birds of a feather blog together ! ..... I love this Amy ;o) It will be going up in my craft room ...... And it`s made on a vintage shoe box !!

Vintage German glass birds..... WOW ! ......

One for me to decorate myself ! Love the colour purple ..........

Vintage cards and an Artist Trading card as well ! .........

More cute bird cards ...... . One is missing ... as i`m on with another bird collage .....

All these were in this gorgeous bird themed tin , which Amy had altered herself ! The little bird on the house is so cute ! .....

... Yes even more birds ! ..... 2 vintage pink feathered variety ! I finally have some and in a decorated basket too ! ... Along with some egg soaps , I got them so her kids wouldn`t have a go at eating them ! .......

The side of the basket with a beaded flower on .....

Thanks to Amy for taking part in my first swap ...... I really enjoyed making the collage and collecting the goodies for her ......

We already have another one organised later in the year .......