dottie angel

a jolly good read...

2012-01-31T14:05:00.000-08:00

if perchance you are looking for a jolly good read today then may i suggest the latest issue of 91magazine

and if you happen to turn to page 62 you'll find a spiffy feature about our Mossy Shed and a nice little write up about my book.

i am quite the fan of 91magazine, the articles are beautiful and i even find myself enjoying the ads which is nice i think, sometimes ads just do not sit right amongst the pages, but not in this magazine, no sirree! they fit peachy perfect, hurrah hooray.

yes indeedy, it is the perfect read with a cup of tea on a winter's afternoon.

many thank you kindlies to Caroline and indeed Chloe for inviting me to be part of such a spiffy publication

her mother hen heart has been put through the mill by her chickie peas today ~ Tif

fabby fabric from a silly old suitcase...

2012-01-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

oh golly gosh, nothing quite like a piece of fabby vintage fabric to get my creative soul feeling a little crafty and that is exactly what happened when a wonderful parcel full of peachy goodness arrived on my doorstep a few weeks back.

lovely Maartje from silly old suitcase blog had a give away, a very generous give away where upon several of us won! when i heard the news i was pretty giddy with the anticipation of what my little prize would be. for just one look at Maartje's world with her crafty vintage talent has my little heart beating faster. on a side note here, if perhaps you are amidst the blearghy winter feeling where every thing around appears a little dreary and drab, may i suggest you visit Maartje and her 'silly old suitcase', to me it is a 'light box' blog, one that is bound to lift your spirits and you are left feeling like a little ray of sunshine has been to visit. such colour and such prettiness abounds from every photo you come away ready to fend of Mr Deary and Mr Drab with a "be gone dull guys! i do not have time for your depressing ways, no sirree, i am filled with happy sunny colourful thoughts thanks to Maartje and her little old suitcase filled with happy things"

and so my package of goodies arrived before Christmas, where upon i hung several dingly danglies around the shed made by Maarje's own fair crafty hands and then i sat and hugged the other part of the parcel, for it contained a length of vintage fabric like no other i had seen before. a fabric worthy of a long hug, my very fabby fav type of vintage fabric...

ugly pretty no less!!

with a shed full of gleeful decorations and clan, i wisely placed my new love where i would see her daily, reminding me of things to come when the shed was cleared of decorations and clan. so i waited and whilst i waited i pondered, for such was her ugly pretty beauty i knew i needed to do her justice.

roll on to January, i was in full on shed clearing mode and along with the crappity crap things like cleaning out drawers, recycling and thrifting, i interspersed it with jolly things, like re-covering our old IKEA couch with a pair of wonderful vintage Sanderson curtains found on Ebay, which had also been biding its time waiting for a quiet moment. once the loose cover was miraculously made, i realized my couch was no longer a couch, but a settee, for a settee sounded so much grander and Sanderson fabric is grand in my books. i dared to wonder if the handcrafted gods were on my side, after all i had managed to make a slip cover out of 2 curtains surely they were...

and they were, for unfolding my lovely bit of 'silly old suitcase' fabric i discovered there was enough to make 3 spiffy back cushions for my newly Sanderson-ed settee.

oh joy, oh happy day, when once again i stood back to see the completed transformation of IKEA couch into a settee of vintage Sanderson goodness along with some ugly pretty cushions worthy of a joyful tear or two

how marvellous i think to myself every night whilst sitting upon our settee, that i was lucky enough to win such an amazing piece of fabric and my hope is Maartje will see just how suited it is to living in our Mossy Shed. thank you kindly Maartje, for your lovely fabric, your wonderful happy blog, for cheering up the cold winter months and indeed your silly old suitcase filled with crafty vintage goodness

once again she finds herself waiting in anticipation of Mr Postie and what he carries in his Van ~ Tif

thrilling friday's instant images...

2012-01-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

yesterday i got waylaid in my studio, dabbling with Miss Ethel and the epiphany i had before Christmas and stored away in a little drawer in my brain labelled

'little drawer of epiphanies worthy of returning to'

like all crafting epiphanies one never knows till one attempts them. then after some attempting has been done, only then can one step back and assess the situation.

"is it pants, or is it peachy?"

today however is friday!

hurrah hooray, thrilling friday and with it my 'instant images' post. yes indeedy, it comes as no surprise Ivor Ipad and myself, having found ourselves after several months of living near each other, are in the throws of a love affair. Ivor Ipad apart from being rather attractive, has many qualities about him i admire, but none more so then his 'instagram' button. so i thought it might be nice, a sort of nice thing to do on a friday, sort of thing, to show some of the instant images Ivor Ipad and myself have taken together.

perhaps i may have a story behind them to tell, perhaps i may not.

perhaps i may only show one, perhaps i may show more.

perhaps they may be blurry, perhaps they may not.

who knows and who really truly cares.

all i know is, Ivor Ipad is the bees knees with his little button of instant imagery

attempting a roundie crocheted cushion with the help of Little Olive the other evening

a snippet of hand embroidery hanging around Mossy Shed

oilcloth bunting from my Aunt Hetty, braving the snow

Little Olive & Used Dog tired out from listening to me marvelling at the joyous vintage Sanderson fabric found on Ebay

during my manic January clearout, our bedroom was treated to a shuffle around, resulting in this corner where once our bed was placed

a snippet of store goodies i am working on for february

a woodland gathering inside of Mossy Shed where it is warm for little critters feet in winter

i do hope your weekend is peachy and not pants in the least, yes, only peachy weekends all round

Tif

things i like today...

2012-01-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

in no particular order

thing one: my lads back in school

thing two: listening to Noah and the Whale whilst painting 3 coats of glossy white on doors in the shed

thing three: a postcard from Bernina to Panini regaling thrifty finds of goodness

thing four: snippets of black in fabrics around the shed

detail of a smocked roundie cushion i made, who despite my best intentions became a smocked oval cushion who mocks me, reminding me, roundie cushions are still out of my reach

a lovely black fabric, new but vintage inspired, doing a peachy job of keeping derrieres comfy on a chair

a single panel bought on Ebay over 5 years ago & rediscovered in my manic clearing of cupboards & drawers this past month

despite her frayed & tattered self, she has now found a friend to hang out with who does not see her imperfections but only her worldly pretty charm

thing five: Miss Ethel, now resplendent in her new studio home upstairs

thing six: braids growing nicely & choosing to ignore the extra growth of gray hairs

thing seven: lovely folks who stop by to say lovely hellos on my facebook page

thing eight: a peachy book review by tres spiffy Amanda, which really truly made my morning

thing nine: just thinking of a thrift store jolly and 'a plotting & a planning' it

thing ten: my critters, always my critters

Tif

a dar~ing, clue~ing, hint~ing kind of day...

2012-01-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

today i have donned my businessy nitty gritty cap

so i may tackle my businessy nitty gritty stuff with authority.

i thought my cap rather bedraggled

leaving me no choice but to perk it up

by wearing a bright green floral frock & cardi avec elbow fabric patches.

so far i have dibbled and dabbled upon Colin the computer for near on two hours,

all the time dingly dangling the carrot of a 'gold sticky star' so i may stay focused.

do you like clues?

hints?

possible snippets of something interesting?

i have no idea if monday is such a day for such things,

but whilst wearing my businessy nitty gritty cap

i am overcome with throwing caution to the wind,

gathering up my authority on such matters as 'hints and clues'

and saying

"why yes it is Tif, it is the only day of the week worthy of such matters"...

how daring, how clue~ing, and yes, how hint~ing can one get?

Tif

scuppered by a snow storm...

2012-01-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

yes indeedy,

we have been scuppered by a snow storm

but the grand news is,

we have power and heat again,

hurrah hooray!

here's just a smidgen of pics

showing the wintery views from Mossy Shed

these past few days...

i will be back on monday, all thawed out and ready to go

(not that i'm going anywhere in particular, but as in a 'hey ho lets go' sort of way)

wishing you a spiffy and warm weekend

(unless you are in exotic climes such as Australia, then perhaps it is a little too warm and you maybe wishing for a cooler weekend, if so, then i do wish you a spiffy and cooler weekend)

Tif

a goat, a bernina & a panini...

2012-01-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

i got a goat for christmas! not just any old ordinary goat but an exotic goat.

i know him to be exotic for he lives in foreign climes. it warms my heart to think of my goat living out there in the big wide world with nice folks in their bit of yard, helping them daily with things goats are good at helping with.

my goat is named PIP'S FRIEND and one day when i have another goat in my own back yard she will be called PIP and i will be able to say "do not be lonely PIP, for you have a friend living in foreign climes and perhaps you may care to skype with your friend so you feel a little better".

of course it may be possible that they will not understand each other, having been bought up in different countries with different languages, but then again, i wonder if goats the world over speak only one language and therefore communication is not a problemo

i told my man, this was a grand gift indeed. how thoughtful that he should know how much i wished for a goat of my own and yet at this moment in time am unable to give my goat a home in our yard. however now, he has told me i am able to say i have a goat, he just happens to live elsewhere a bit like some of my clan. this kind gesture has greatly made up for the 'panini maker' incident of 2008, i think he felt rather relieved upon knowing this fact.

whilst we are on the subject of Paninis i do have some thrilling news to share, 'the thrifty crafty tales of Bernina & Panini' sort of thrilling news which has me most giddy.

the beginning of this new shiny year was the start of many things, one of which, a new blog called

'postcards from across a pond'

based upon the friendships of old. the lovely handwritten postcards sent between two friends telling little tales of this and that. and so it came to be, my lovely friend Bernina (who was gifted a bernina sewing machine for her 40th) and me, Panini (who was gifted a panini maker for her 40th) decided to share our thrifty crafty tales in the way of postcards sent across the pond.

a spiffy example of the thrilling postcards written between Bernina & Panini...

we hope you will enjoy reading the rambling postcards sent between two eclectic women of a certain age, separated by a pond but brought together in the spirit of friendship & by the love of all things granny.

'tis a huge dump of snow outside her window, telling her its best to stay in and wallpaper ~ Tif

buttons, twitterings, books and a bit of instants...

2012-01-16T10:30:00.000-08:00

since the shed's contents of bods has halved and all is quiet, i have used the opportunity to sort things in my head and my shed. this has been most brilliant, for many things within my head have been nagging me for months, little things i wished to do but never seemed to find the time nor the energy for, at the end of last year. so i did the best thing i could at the time, i made a note of those things and waited patiently for a new spiffy year. for me a new spiffy year is all i need to find a bit of motivation. whilst i've been pulling out cupboards and drawers, manically shredding and donating, i have also been twiddling in cyber land.

buttons

hurrah hooray is all i can say, for my new blog buttons.

my dandy friend Marjan did a peachy job indeed. i said "oh can you do this and can you do that" and voila! she could because she can. thank you Marjan you are the bees knees

books

yes indeedy after floundering around the place and being quite honestly pants at the whole facebook thing, i have finally pulled up my facebook knee socks and with it, a dottie angel page is up and running.

facebook page

this will be where i tell nitty gritty businessy things like 'today i put this in the store window' or 'today i really like this peachy find or folk'. i have no doubt it will be sporadic in its postings because i have not found a pesky passing gnome to help me just yet. but none the less, if you so like to know such things then please do hop over and find me

instants

it has only taken me nearly 4 months to figure out i could have an instant photo album.

it took Our #1 to come home for the holidays for me to see the light. i live in a PC world through and through but in the summer i rebelled and trust me, it truly was a rebellion. i took my piggy bank along with my rebellion and bought an ipad. upon arriving home with rebellion product in hand i pondered what to do next. the pondering took 4 months and my daughter to assist. now i have music playing all day long in the shed and best of all, something which has me inspired like i have not been in a long time, the ability to take instant snapshots.

and last but not least

twitterings

yes indeedy, whilst pulling up my facebook knee socks, i also pulled up my twittering ones too.

twitter page

i find wearing them both at the same time, the layered look, works rather well for me. i have high hopes they will not fall down from the weight of two pairs of socks at the same time. the elastic seems in pretty good nick and so things are looking bright in that department.

i'm not a brillantly witty nor super chatty twitterer. some days i am better than others, some days the inner voice gets to talk and others i just link to a snapshot or blog post.

its been good to have a break, so many things i feel like i have started to sort which means over the coming weeks i will have that feeling of being less overwhelmed and more in control and for me, that is the best way to start a fresh shiny new year

Tif :)

a good man...

2012-01-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

at christmas our clan lost a good man.

he was my man's father and my children's grandfather and he passed away from cancer. the past few months, it had been unbearable for him and so there was somewhat a relief to know his pain and suffering was over. but that initial feeling is quickly replaced by the realization that a constant in your life is gone forever. a feeling that doesn't ever really go away.

he was an ordinary man who did many extra ordinary things. he loved the outdoors more than any other person i have ever met. this week my clan celebrated the many moments we have shared in this wonderful world with him and said our final goodbyes to a good man whom we knew quite simply as 'Papa'.

happy shiny year

2012-01-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

wishing

you

brilliantly

for

2012

Tif

(back to rambling on the 16th Jan)

on the 12th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

12 joyful things to note and reflect on

(skill level : easy peasy)

ingredient

pencil and paper

recipe

simply scribble down 12 joyful thoughts

and if things seem a little sad, try to see a silver lining of joy

joyful thing one:

mossy shed is filled with joyful decorations in anticipation of the arrival of my folks today, Our #2 on saturday and Our #1 on sunday. to have my clan altogether for christmas has me giddy beyond giddy. has been so many months since i saw them last, this past week i have not dared think about my girls coming home, for when i do, i well up inside and feel my mothering heart beating. come the 25th we will celebrate christmas, on the 26th we will celebrate Our #1 turning 20 and on the 27th we will celebrate Our #3 turning 16. yes, it is quite true to say, there are many reasons to be in celebratory mood in our shed over the coming days.

joyful thing two:

starting my cadbury's chocolate advent calender on the 10th of december and finishing it all by the 12th. i have always wished to do such a thing, and felt being aged 43 it was high time i did such a risque thing in my life. it was two whole days of pure guilty joyfulness and i plan to do the same again next year.

joyful thing three:

despite my children's grandfather (my man's father) being so terribly poorly over the past few months, with the devastating affects of cancer, this christmas we will be celebrating all the wonderful years and times shared with him and indeed be joyful of those memories. i struggled to find this silver lining, but after the sadness which has engulfed our lives since september, it was important to look for it, i hope you don't mind.

joyful thing four:

having a small pesky doggie with a fondness for thrifted crochet and linens

joyful thing five:

i know this will be the year i look back on when old and crinkly in my rocking chair and marvel at how an indie publisher and crafter collaborated upon a book and how many folks embraced the results. leaving me thankful and joyful.

joyful thing six:

despite my sweet Used Dog not being granted a 'clean bill of health' i am so joyful to be told we have bought her more time on this earth. for now my constant canine companion is feeling perky and happy after several tough weeks. i do not know how long we have left together, the future is not ours to know. but what i do know is, every day i have my friend by my side will be a joyful day until we come to say our goodbyes.

joyful thing seven:

thinking ahead to the new year and my resolution. this past year's resolutions have gone rather well and so i am optimistic for next years. that being said, i have aimed high and i fear it may be 'pie in the sky' high, but i must try and try i will.

joyful thing eight:

after refusing to shop for groceries in Target because it just didn't feel right, i broke down on tuesday evening and ventured into the food aisles where upon i discovered the most peachiest shortbread cookies with itty bitty chocolate chips in. having eaten half the container yesterday i fear i am too weak in the willpower department (please see joyful thing two) to not succumb to their alluring charms in the cupboard. it is not a good sign when you wake up the next day at 6:30am and within a few minutes wonder to yourself when is an appropriately okay time to have another cookie.

joyful thing nine:

whilst wondering about cookie eating appropriate time, a crafting epiphany hit me this morning, like a little lighting bolt out of the blue, the cogs started turning and i realized seeing january looming and a half empty shed again, isn't looking quite so bleak after all.

joyful thing ten:

attempting to make a star cookie tree on christmas eve with high hopes it will not crumble or fall apart and more importantly not take on an orangey hue

joyful thing eleven:

taking a little time off until mid january and using that time wisely to make things, to twiddle with things and to figure some things out. yes making, twiddling and figuring will be a wise way to spend time over the coming weeks.

joyful thing twelve:

may your days be merry and bright whatever you celebrate this time of year, may they be shared with loved ones, including the four legged kind and ones with wings too and may your coming new year be the peachiest of them all

she is wishing the 'happiest of happies' to you all ~ Tif

on the 11th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-14T10:09:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a joyful branch

(skill level : easy peasy lemon squeezy)

yesterday i mentioned Eline and her peachy crafty book filled with inspiring things to do and make. some very simple, others requiring a bit more time. one page really caught my eye for there was a branch hanging with a little bit of yarny goodness wrapped around it in a few spots and a couple of dingly dangly goodies. i was smitten with this branch and so whilst doing my joyful decorating around our shed, i had no choice but to make a 'dottie angel' joyful branch for us. well for me actually. for my love for my joyful branch is so great, i have told my clan i am willing to share, (because i was bought up properly and told sharing is good), but deep down inside, i do not wish to share its peachiness and i am secretly claiming it all to myself...

"shall we get on Tif" i hear you say,

"quite right too", say i

ingredients:

* a nice chunky branch,

(i found mine in the yard where a tree had come down, i went out with my trusty saw followed by my chickens and came back in the shed, victorious with mossy branch in hand)

* strips of fabric

* lace

* ric rac, hardy twine or narrow lace

* mod podge (just a smidgen needed)

* needle and thread

* dingly danglies from you box of glee

* felt or fabric birdies (optional)

recipe:

1: if your branch is mossy or damp, allow him to dry out. once dry start wrapping him with strips of fabric. you may wish to do different colours, you may also wish to not cover him completely but leave a bit of his bark showing. (i, once again used my peachy Liberty fabric from my fabby friend Rachelle) to keep things in place you could use a smidgen of mod podge on the ends of the fabric strips or you could do a little bit of natty stitching with your needle and thread. (like i did, cause i do like myself a bit of natty stitching)

2: when you have fully clothed your branch and it is most pleasing to your crafty eye, perhaps you may care to add a little bit of lace here and there, or perhaps not. i shall leave that up to you and your branch to decide.

3: next, cut a length of your hardy twine, ric rac or narrow lace which is befitting to how low you wish your branch of joyfulness to hang. tie either end securely to the ends of your fabric wrapped branch, i am thinking 'boy scout securely' here, for things may get a little weighty.

4: hang your branch in an easy to reach place for dingly dangling thus avoiding tired arms and vertigo. if you are wishing to add felt or fabric birdies, now is the time to stitch them in place. then start adding your gleeful dingly danglies whilst singing this song...

"oh joyful branch

oh joyful branch

how branchy is your joyfulness

oh joyful branch

how joyful is your branchiness"

and repeat until you have finished hanging your dingly dangly goodness

5: hang your joyful branch in a place where maximum joyfulness can be appreciated. step back, feel the rush of love for your joyful branch, think to yourself how clever your little branch of joyfulness is, for indeed, it is not just for the gleeful season, with a bit of swapping out of some dingly danglies, this joyful branch can be enjoyed all year round

can it really be we are at the eve of 'day 12 of joyfulness' already ~ Tif

on the 10th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

three crafty souls of joyfulness

(skill level : all levels)

for the 10th day i thought it might be quite jolly to share three crafty souls who are most peachy. each of them very different in their own styles, each of them most gifted in their talents and each of them with books filled with crafty goodness.
most worthy of a wish list or two.

crafty soul number one:

Janet Clare

i have known the lovely Janet Clare for quite the while and i have been delighted to see over the past few years how her talents have been recognized and she travels all over old blighty teaching and showing her quilts. Janet has had a book inside of her for some time and i am most happy this is the year she managed to make that book a reality. i love that Janet not only wrote a book full of wonderful projects but in the back, she gives the nitty gritty on how she crafts, many templates and also brilliant close up photos of embroidery stitches and appliqueing. if you love quilting and applique and love a bit of nostalgia mixed in, then this book would be right up your street

Freya & Fred

~ a week full of quilts for a girl and her dog ~

projects from monday through to sunday

*****************************************

crafty soul number two:

Eline Pellinkhof

Eline is really a wonderful crafty soul and her book truly captures her love for making and crafting. i have to tell you, i fell in love with the world of Eline when i came across her 'cross stitched' wall art. i gasped thee gasp and needed to know more. Eline's crafty book is written in dutch, however i spent quite the while studying in details the pictures and came away totally inspired (inspiration from one such project is day 12 of joyfulness). i am tres delighted to say Eline's book has been so well received they will be printing an english version in June 2012, "hurrah hooray" is what i say. best of all, the projects may appear winter based, but with a tweak of colour and a twist of fabric they could easily be adapted for any time of the year

Eline's Winter Huis

~ homedecoraties om zelf te maken ~

(home decorations you can make yourself)

(as told to me by Terry Translator)

53 projects and recipes

**************************************************

crafty soul number three:

Pip Lincolne

Pip and i share a love of the three C's. crafting, crocheting and clogs. i think it true to say we also share a love of crafting for the pure joy of it. i'm a huge admirer of Pip and her crafty soul, she inspires crafters across the globe with her happy joyful crafty soul, generous spirit and i admire anyone who says they do not care what others may think of what they make or the colours that they choose. i think at times when i am fretting about my yarn colour choices i need to channel my inner Pip and fret not. Pip has quite a few books out and i believe more on the go. her recent one when i saw the cover just made me smile, it made my little crafty soul warm up and wish to get busy. that is what i love about Pip and her books. they make me feel its okay to have a love affair with stickyback plastic and twigs. yes, this is the book for you, if you love happy, jolly crafting.

Make Hey!

~ while the sun shines ~

25 crafty projects and recipes

and there we have it, three perfectly peachy crafty souls for a bit of joyfulness on day 10 ~ Tif

on the 9th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a little string of joyfulness

(skill level : easy peasy lemon squeezy)

its no secret, i'm a big fan of little strings around our shed. some are more exotic than others, when that is the case i call them garlands. if you perchance would like to make something more exotic than this here strings i have for today, you may wish to take a little looky over here and over here (you have no idea how long it took me to track down that last link... yes like most things, my archives are a little jumbly bumbly)

this is not rocket science crafting, in fact truth be told, most of the 12 days of joyfulness have not been, but that is a-okay with me, for this time of year i do believe easy peasy things to craft, are the way to go and there is nothing more easy peasy than these little strings of joyfulness.

ingredients:

* string

* hook

* paper doilies

* (failing paper doilies,) paper coasters

* (failing paper coasters,) scrapbooking card

* (failing scrapbooking card) old christmas cards

* scissors

* hole punch

* gleeful sparklies from your box of glee

* cup of tea

* five minutes peace

* perhaps a small being or two for help

(which may void the 'five minutes peace' bit)

recipe:

1: if you have some vintage paper doilies or paper coasters in your stash, yipee! if not, then cut some circles out of your scrapbooking paper or christmas cards. i actually don't have any scrapbooking paper but i have noted upon pottling around our local craft store that there is a wealth of fabby papers and some would be most suited to this little string.

2: punch hole in top of each circle

3: start a chain with your hook and string, (if you cannot chain, do not fret, i'll suggest something in a mo.) here you need to decide if you wish things to be even or a little odd in their placement. i decided i wished not to be 'a little odd' today which makes a change. after you have chained a while, add your first circle by slip stitching through the punched hole and continue upon your chain-y way for as long as you wish your little string of joyfulness to be.

if you do not chain, then just cut a length of string to your liking, then cut little short strings and attach to your circles (a bit like a gift tag tie) and then attach to your long string.

4: repeat step 3 for your sparkly gleeful ornaments, with a bit of luck they already have nice little bits for attaching to your chained string

5: hang up your little strings of joyfulness wherever you think needs a bit of joy

tuesday is day 10 of joyfulness ~ Tif

on the 8th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a handy dandy side table

(skill level : easy peasy)

question: when is a stool not a stool?

answer: when it is a 'handy dandy' side table

yes indeedy, if like me, your coffee table has been commandeered into holding a christmas tree and you have a shed load of clan for the joyful season, it is quite possible you maybe lying awake at night fretting as to where folks will put down their little plates of nibbles or indeed their little tipple of sherry.

fret not my dearest readers! for fretting has been banned. instead, find a passing wooden stool, perhaps one that has lurked unloved for sometime under a pile of crappity crap and make it feel loved and joyful again. for after all 'tis the season of goodwill towards all men and i do feel stools should be included.

ingredients:

* one or more stools with flat wooden tops

* paint if you wish (or leave as-is)

* stickyback plastic (yipee!) or wallpaper

* mod podge

* vintage or self printed decals

recipe:

1: look at your stool, decide if it requires a coat of jolly paint, if so, prepare with a bit of sanding and several coats of glossy paint with your handy dandy paint brush. twiddle your thumbs whilst waiting.

2: for the little top, you can use either stickyback plastic (yipee!) like me or wallpaper. (i have been looking for an excuse to use more faux wood stickyback plastic ever since this table got the treatment.) on the reverse of your plastic paper or wallpaper, place your stool upside down and draw around it. cut out your circle and test it on the top of your stool. it may need a spot of trimming or you could wait and do it a bit later.

3: peel the backing off and carefully place your stickyback plastic on top your stool. if using wallpaper, paste the back of your circle of paper with mod podge and carefully press in place. smooth out all bubbles and keep pressing firmly so everything is nicely adhered. trim now if need be, but do be careful as the paper will be very easily torn at this point. if using wallpaper and mod podge wait for it to dry. more thumb twiddling i'm afraid.

4: add your decals if you so wish (please see 'day 6 of joyfulness' for decal ideas) according to the instructions of your decal paper. press firmly and wait to dry.

5: now your stool has become a handy dandy side table it is most important to protect it, for others will not realize just how special your little stool table is and may plonk a wet bottomed glass down without a second thought. so i would suggest you do several coats of mod podge waiting patiently for each coat to dry. i did wonder if mod podge would go over stickyback plastic nicely and i have to say, it did quite the peachy job. i also know from past experience, when it goes over wallpaper it turns to an almost oilcloth look, especially if you use the 'hard coat' mod podge

6. place your handy dandy side table/tables somewhere handy, and when the time comes this joyful season and you have folks with nibbles and drinks in hand, whip out your spiffy side tables and their handy dandiness with a flourish and a 'voila'!

gosh, already day 9 of joyfulness is nearly upon us ~ Tif

on the 7th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-10T11:24:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a happy happy twig of glee

(skill level : easy peasy lemon squeezy)

oh yes indeedy! there is nothing more happy then a few twigs of glee doing their thing on your sideboard at joyful season. i must say i have mine in our little front hallway, on the side with a large mirror behind it, thus doubling the gleefulness of my twigs and causing quite a bit of sparkly-ness with the reflection. however i could not achieve a photo in this bit of hallway so i carried my 'happy happy branch of glee' upstairs, most carefully, to get some photos for you to see.

last year, i did a similar happy twig thingy , i loved my branch a whole lot, perhaps more than is healthy to love a few twigs, but i could not help myself for it made me happy. my branch last year was inspired by the fabby december issue of Country Living (UK edition) which my mother kindly sent from across the pond. i recall pouring over that issue and marveling at all the joyfulness which lay within its pages. on one page in particular, a branch sat in a large container and looked perfectly peachy to me and thus i was inspired to make one for myself.

this year, i felt a need to make one again, for such is its peachiness (and easy peasy-ness) i could not resist.

ingredients:

* large jar or container

* florists dry foam

* piece of lace or fabric

* dressmaking pins

* thread or yarn, and needle

* cream coloured yarn

* a spiffy twiggy branch or three

* gleeful dingly danglies from your box

recipe :

1: wrap your jar or container in lace or fabric, pin in place and stitch with a happy coloured yarn or thread.

2: cut and place your foam inside your container or jar (mine held green olives in its former life) so it fits snuggly. push your twigs into the foam and try to arrange in a way such as they have a nice bit of twigginess going on, for dingly dangling things on the branches.

3: to cover the top where you may see the foam, stuff some yarn balls made from your creamy coloured yarn. i have noted small beings or elderly folks are very handy at making yarn balls this time of year.

4: attach your gleeful dingle danglies with bits of thread and place where others may admire your 'happy happy twigs of glee'

and just a thought, you could paint your twigs if you would rather, painted white may look most spiffy indeed.

inspiration:

december 2010 issue of Country Living (UK edition)

tomorrow day 8 of joyfulness with a bit of stickyback plastic, oh yes! she's a little giddy ~ Tif

on the 6th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

handy dandy decal jars and their little painted interior coats

(skill level : medium peasy)

(i am wondering if this how-to should come with 'an addiction' warning)

i have said medium peasy not because these jars are tres tricky but more because they take a little bit of time to do and the decal side of things can be fiddly. this past summer whilst visiting my soul sister Debbie in old blighty, i found myself loitering in her laundry space, after pottling all around her shed to see what was what. upon the side in her laundry space was several old jars, each one containing an interior coat of paint. immediately i needed to do a closer inspection. upon inspection i inquired as to what she was doing. Debbie then told me she was waiting for them to dry, and that was it. our conversation was distracted by other things and i never did find out what she was going to do with her little painted jars. however such was their loveliness and the quality of 'milky glass' which came from having an interior coat of paint, i thought it might be grand to try it myself. and so i did, and i liked it, and then i had to decal them, because i am a decal addict and cannot help myself.

ingredients:

for the jar

* glass jars saved from the brink of recycling, clean and with no labels on

* household paint, i chose white, you can choose whatever you so please

* newspaper to catch the messes

* kitchen paper towel to help if you get in a real mess like i did

for the decals

* vintage decals

(can be found on Etsy and Ebay)

* decal paper to make your own

(can be found here)

* digital images to make your decal

(can be found on Etsy and most sellers are happy for you to use your images on handcrafted items, just read their small print to make sure)

* spray varnish

* scissors

* bowl with warm water

* kitchen paper towel for dabbing decals

recipe:

1: take one clean jar and carefully pour a large dollop of paint into the inside bottom of your jar, try to avoid spilling any on the edges, if you do, wipe it off with a damp kitchen paper towel. start tipping your jar towards you whilst rotating it. keep looking inside your jar so you can direct the paint to where you wish it to go. when you have covered all the sides, set it aside for a few hours, then return to your little jar and tipping it up again, rotate to keep the paint moving. this keeps the paint from settling down the bottom to dry

2: it may take several days to dry and do keep checking the sides have stayed covered in paint. do not fret, you will not have to set your alarm in the night to wake every couple of hours to turn your little jar. it will make it through the night, just be sure the first day to keep the paint moving

3: when your little painted jar is dry you have two options,

option one: leave as-is, stick in some fake flowers or a fake candle, you know the sort that has a little battery in, to give the illusion there is a real candle in there

option two: to decal! oh yes, 'to decal or not to decal' that is the question and every time i choose to decal!

if you go with vintage decals, then just follow the instructions, add your decal, wait for it to dry and then voila! easy peasy lemon squeezy

4: or you could make your own decals. either use your own image or find a peachy one for very little cost like i did from this fabby seller. i had no idea there was such a wealth of collage images available, as soon as i discovered this vintage joyful postcard, i was gripped by the need to make decals. once you have found an image you like, take your decal paper and follow the instructions for printing and be sure to seal your printed image with whatever the instructions on your decal paper tell you.

5: patiently wait a few hours for everything to dry, then cut out your decal, soak for around 45 seconds and after removing the backing paper, stick it onto your little painted jar. smooth down with the kitchen paper towel making sure no air bubbles get trapped. step back, feel a little giddy, look around your shed, find another willing victim to be decaled

6: place your little painted, decaled jars in a cluster, do not pay attention to others who may query a need for empty jam jars filled with paint to clutter up the place. no ignore such comments and just rejoice in the joy of knowing what a glass jar saved from the brink of recycling, can bring to a crafty soul.

inspiration:

my soul sister Debbie and her handy dandy little painted jars found lurking in her laundry space.

the 7th day is on saturday! gosh blimey, a saturday blogging, unheard of in the shed ~ Tif

on the 5th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a merry little mobile of glee

(skill level : easy peasy)

yes indeedy, we are back to dingly dangly again today! this is easy peasy and i think most suited to dingly dangling any little happy things, does not have to be just for the joyful season, no indeedy, afterwards you may swap out your gleeful dingly danglies and add some other pretties. a merry mobile for all seasons and one most suited for 'small beings' to make, how spiffy!

ingredients:

* two sticks, twigs, or bamboo canes of equal length

* twine, string or yarn

* strips of fabrics to your liking

* crochet cotton and hook

(or just yarn or string to make the hanging part)

* thread and needle

* mod podge (not necessary)

* a button or two (if you so wish)

* dingly danglies from your box of glee

recipe:

1: take your two sticks and holding them in a cross shape, wrap with your yarn or string several times to secure. once again, channeling your inner boy scout might come in handy here. once secure and not wibbly wobbly, tie off your string and cut.

2: wrap the crossed twigs with your strips of fabric, you could use different colours, use a bit of mod podge to keep in place or use a needle and thread just to secure ends.

3: next you can either use lengths of yarn or string, or you may wish to crochet a chain for the hangy part. you will require two equal length strings a bit longer than the length of your sticks, be sure to leave extra either end for tying. when you have tied your strings to the ends of your sticks, (crossing them over in the middle), you will need another length to tie at the crossover part, keeping it altogether nicely, which will become the bit you hang your merry mobile from. you may wish to stitch a button or two on, if so, then do so

4: hang your merry looking 'sticks and string' up at a convenient level for 'blinging'. rustle around in your gleeful box and start attaching little strings to your sweeties and tie onto your mobile sticks. once again we must think about balance here so it all stays nice and level. i have made mine very symmetrical to challenge myself, for usually i am quite higgedly piggedly with my placement of things, however you are welcome to be higgedly piggedly and i do think you could even be quite 'clustery' as well.

5: find a suitable place for your merry little mobile of glee, i went for above the table for when the light next to it is switched on, the glee of my little merry mobile becomes most sparkly and this year, i am really liking a touch of sparkle mixed in with the joyfulness

you will need paint at the ready for joyful day number 6 tomorrow ~ Tif

on the 4th day of joyfulness...

2011-12-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a perfectly patched and pieced pillow-cover

(skill level : medium peasy

but could be easy peasy if you go for the tres basic version)

i do like myself a new pillow cover however its an odd thing, cos here they call it a pillow and over the pond a cushion, i have often found this particular difference in our language a tricky one, do i say pillow or do i say cushion? for the purpose of today though, we will have to go with pillow because it goes nicely with 'perfectly patched and pieced' and i do like a bit of 'nicely'.

envelope back pillow-covers are by far the easiest way of making a cover i believe and if you make it out of one long piece of patched fabric, even more so. you could make this little 'how-to' even more easy peasy, by using one fabric, forgetting about the buttons and loops and literally cut to shape, sew up two sides and voila! it also might be a little noticeable that i have not used obvious 'gleeful' colours, for the very reason i wished to enjoy my new pillow-cover for longer than a few weeks. you could however choose some smashing gleeful fabrics and even go so far as to applique a bit of 'JOY' across the front. i shall leave that entirely up to you.

and just a note, i work in inches, i know that is not the norm for most, so just do what you need to do in cms and ignore my inches.

ingredients:

* fabrics of spiffiness,

my fabrics are a mixture of a vintage table runner, a bottom i chopped of an old ikea blind i had customized once, a lovely bit of liberty (red floral) from my fabby friend Rachelle, of which has been the bases for all my gleeful fabric choices this year, a rather nice laura ashley number and a rather nice black floral one with a spriggy design which reminds me of the frocks i wore in the early 80's. recently i have been attracted to fabrics with black backgrounds and as these are thin on the ground in the vintage department i have gone shopping here

* one pillow insert (cushion pad) of the size you wish to make

* a trusty machine and thread

* a trusty iron and board

* a button or two

* pins and scissors

* something to make little button loops with

* piece of paper and pencil for scribbling notes if need be

recipe:

1. measure your pillow insert, you will need to make a piece of fabric which measures the same height as your pillow, plus 1 inch for seam allowance and then a bit more than 2 and a half times the width of your pillow. write down your measurements less you forget. this is where you can just cut one large piece of fabric or gather together a few favorites and start cutting strips of different widths and stitch together. be sure to press the seams nicely.

you may also wish to have a little think about the position of your fabrics as to when they are wrapped around your pillow insert, basically thinking about where the blocks of fabrics will lay, for want of a better way of saying it.

2. when you have made the correct sized rectangle of fabric for your pillow insert, press and fold in the two short ends and pin. stitch in place with your trusty sewing machine. if you are wishing to add buttons to your finished cover, now is a grand time to add loops. cut the correct length of your loopy bit to fit your button, pin and stitch in place as you hem the shorter ends

3. lay your fabric right side facing up. take one end and fold towards the center of your rectangle, going past the center point. if you have loops, you will need to fold this piece inwards first. then bring over the other end and fold on top. with a tape measure you will need to check you have the exact width of your pillow insert. if it is too small or too wide, then readjust your fabric accordingly. if happy, then pin in place along the top and bottom raw edges and stitch leaving an half inch seam allowance. you may wish to go back over the raw edges with zig zag stitch, but you do not have to.

4. carefully snip your corners before turning right sides out. press with your trusty iron and then attach your button or buttons in the right place for your loops

5. place your pillow insert in your new perfectly 'patched and pieced' pillow-cover and do a bit of plumping

6. find a most fitting place for it to feel at home, make a cup of tea, find another seat opposite your spiffy pillow, sit down and admire your bit of handcrafted goodness

inspiration:

my lovely bit of liberty red floral fabric from my fabby friend Rachelle and a desire to use it in a pillow cover

she is thinking thursday would be a jolly good day for day 5 of joyfulness ~ Tif

on the 3rd day of joyfulness...

2011-12-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a jumbly bumbly cluster of glee

(skill level : easy peasy with a hint of lemon squeezy)

yes indeedy, another easy peasy one, after all it is the beginning of the week and we would not wish to over do things. as the gleeful season descends upon our nests, i do think hanging little clusters in a jumbly bumbly manner can be most enjoyable. favourite old ornaments from times gone by, mixed in with new ones and a dash of eclecticness in the way of a little happy forsaken soul or two may be just the thing to cheer one up.

this little cluster is called a 'jumbly bumbly' one because quite frankly that is what it is. yes, it is nothing more than a 'jumbly bumbly of things' hung on strings, which in turn has made me joyful.

ingredients:

* ornaments, forsaken little souls, knick knacks,

(anything you can string and dingle dangle in a jumbly bumbly sort of way)

* yarn, crochet cotton, bakers twine, any thread to dingle dangle things from,

(but does need to have a little strength to it)

* scissors

* needle

* crochet hook

* button

* cup hook

recipe:

1. lay out your little collection of goodies and start tying long strings on them.

2. holding one ornament and its string in your hand, start adding others to your cluster, making sure they lay nicely on top of each other, when you have a nice bunch hanging together and all gaps appear to have been filled in. take all the strings you hold in your hand and knot them together at the top.

3. using more of your string and tucking in the ends at the top, wrap around to keep in place. use your needle and thread to secure your stringy knot and then snip the tail end of your string, carefully avoiding any other strings in the process.

4. i used Mr Hook to crochet a chain, this is not necessary but does give a bit of strength to the whole thing. figure out how long you require your cluster of jumbly bumbly to hang and make a string befitting to that length (remember it is likely to stretch a little, once the chained string takes the weight of the cluster). again use your needle threaded onto one end to attach it securely to your cluster or you could just do some nifty knotting using your boy scout skills.

5. with needle and string, add a button, i also added a felted snowflake, you could add more than one button or indeed go totally joyful and add a bow! gosh yes, some folks do like bows this time of year and this maybe just the moment to introduce one.

6. screw a cup hook into the ceiling (can you tell i live in the US where the ceilings are easy to make a hole in!) if a hole in your ceiling is a no-no then may i suggest dingly dangling your cluster from a little door knob on a cupboard

7. as always, step back and admire your joyful efforts and then wonder to yourself if a 'jumbly bumbly cluster' made on a larger scale, might look rather spiffy and joyful hanging on the front door instead of the usual wreath this gleeful season.

day 4 of joyfulness tomorrow ~ Tif

on the 2nd day of joyfulness...

2011-12-04T15:55:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

happy hangers of joyfulness

(skill level : easy peasy lemon squeezy)

ah yes, there will be quite a lot of dingly dangly and clustering going on over the next few days, for i do like myself some dingly dangly clustery goodness. this little 'how-to' is as easy peasy as 1,2,3, yes sometimes those are the besty type of all

i do think 'small beings' would greatly enjoy making them. especially if they have taken time to make their own handmade decorations, this would be the perfect way to display their 'joyful' handiwork, perhaps pinned above their beds so they may gaze upon their happy hanger before falling asleep.

ingredients:

* a wooden hanger

(or one who happens to have a coat of crochet)

* fabric strips in happy colours

* bit of lace

* mod podge or needle and thread

* dingly dangly ornaments from your gleeful box

(or handmade lovelies made by 'small beings')

recipe:

1. take your wooden hanger and with strips of fabric start wrapping around the wood. you can keep things in place by using a bit of mod podge on the ends of your strips, or you can use a needle and thread to do a few quick stitches. add a bit of lace to the proceedings, if you so feel inclined.

if your wooden hanger has a coat of crochet already, you may wish to wrap a bit of fabric around its metal hook, this is easily secured with a knot around the base of the hook

2. start dingly danglying ornaments from your box of glee, you may have to think about balance here, no good hanging a very giant dingly dangly on one side unless you have another to balance it out. this way your hanger will stay straight and things won't fall off one end the moment you hang it up.

3. once your hanger is filled with joyful ornaments, take a look around your nest for a lonely bit of wall, put a pin in it and hang your little hanger of joy, step back, decide if it needs a friend, if so keep on making more.

and voila! easy peasy lemon squeezy

inspiration :

from a love of covered wooden hangers and needing an excuse to pin them to the wall

day 3 of joyfulness coming monday ~ Tif

on the 1st day of joyfulness...

2011-12-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

dottie angel shared with me

a 'terribly nice' table runner

(skill level : medium peasy plus a little bit)

gosh how i love the english language, how can something be terribly nice ?! it is the same as saying 'horribly lovely', however it is most fitting for our 1st day of joyfulness, for 'terribly nice' sounds so proper and there is nothing quite so proper than a table runner. i did not think i was the table runner sort, however an old english church pew has come to live with us and i do not think one can have a church pew without having a table runner.

(slippery slope Tif, slippery slope)

now before we begin may i just say several things.

first thing:

i forgot some ingredients yesterday, please add to your list * cushion pad * yarn * decorative stickers ... it is highly likely i have forgotten other bits and bobs but it will surely be in your boxes of glee and stashes of crafty goodness. also i forgot to mention in the course of the '12 days of joyfulness' you may indeed see some dodgy artificial lite photos, even a bit of blurriness here and there. (gasp, shock and a bit of horror) yes indeedy, due to the time of year and the time of day (or night) i have been beavering away, i have left my fretting ways behind and relied upon artificial lighting, and by doing so, it all became far more joyful to work on.

second thing:

today's 'how-to' is the most tricky dicky one of all, the rest i promise will not take as long nor require quite so much thought. i have offered this for day one not to make you fret and pack up your box of glee, muttering and weeping, but because i wish you to have more time to work on it. also more to the point, it is the getting started bit that takes the longest, once you are on the right track and know where you are going it will become most joyful i assure you

third thing:

my table runner is tres lacey, i do understand lace is not every ones cup of tea, so before you think about this not being for you and your craftiness, think about swapping out the lace for pieces of fabric which would be most spiffy me thinks

so with all that being said, here we go...

ingredients:

* several old lace table runners, an old net curtain or a length of linen if you prefer

* embroidery floss

* old napkins and other embroidered pieces which can be cut up

* lengths of narrow lace, ribbon or ric rac (trimmings basically)

* a trusty sewing machine and thread in different colours

* pins and scissors

* a joyful disposition

recipe:

* start by figuring out the rough length you wish your 'terribly nice' runner to be. you may wish to make it so long it drapes over the edges of your table, you may wish to make it so wide it runs all the way to the sides. if this is the case, really i think you are now working on a 'terribly nice' table cloth, which is 'a-okay' with me, but may take you till next gleeful season to finish.

* once you have figured the size out, you are going to make your bottom layer (a bit wider than the size you wish for), by laying out overlapping lengths old lace table runners, pieces of a net curtain, and wide strips of lace or indeed just one piece of linen. do not be fretting about 'even ends' to your table runner nor fraying edges. once happy, pin in place and with the help of your trusty sewing machine stitch the pieces together with self coloured thread

* now the base of your table runner has been constructed we are going to be applying some nice layers of patched pieces 'a top'. this is where you will have to be brave and just start chopping and seeing where it leads you. place your chopped pieces down on your bottom layer and rearrange into a pleasing order and pin. stand back and ponder, if you are happy then start stitching them down with your trusty machine, this time you may wish to use some coloured thread. you may also wish to add some more layers of lace on this layer.

* the next layer is the detail layer, you may wish to add little doilies or embroidered pieces to certain sparse areas, also lengths of lace, embroidered ribbon or ric rac even. just keep on patching and piecing, always stepping back to ponder and see the 'whole picture'. continue stitching in place and layering as and where you please (remember it is about what you like and not worrying about what others may think). do not get caught up in trying to make everything straight and even, if you step back and see you stitched something down and no longer like it, then patch over it with something you do like.

* now to the 'cherry on the cake' bit. taking some happy coloured embroidery thread add a bit of hand stitched detailing. perhaps a row of cross stitching, a little bit of running stitch or even our beloved french knots. does not have to be fancy, just a bit of decoration 'tis all.

* if you wish to make this more suited to the season than mine, i would suggest appliqueing some appropriate wording like 'JOY' or 'PEACE' to your 'terribly nice' table runner, if not then hoppity skip this step

* the final step is to fold under the two longest sides of your runner and pin. then add a length of trimming or lace along the shorter ends (once again pin in place). with your trusty sewing machine, stitch around the whole outside edge of the runner. by the time you have done this and with all the layers built up and stitched in place, your spiffy 'terribly nice' table runner will have a 'quilted' effect

* place your table runner upon your table. perhaps add a few tea lights to its spiffiness, for that added bit of sparkliness. wait for admiring comments from your clan, do not tolerate those that push it aside so their laptop will fit better on the table. then again perhaps you should... better pushed aside, than find a laptop upon those peachy french knots

inspiration:

a church pew

(a slippery slope)

she'll be back with the 2nd day of joyfulness on sunday ~ Tif

crafty joyful gleeful mojo...

2011-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

every year the gleeful season comes around and i am gripped...

gripped by my love of this season and gripped by the fear of having lost my crafty joyful gleeful mojo.

i like to think i am not alone in this gripping state i find myself in. once the mixed feeling of love and fear has got me in its grip i spend several days in a blur, a blur of blankness, where my crafty cogs won't turn and my crafty senses all but abandon me. upon which i climb the ladder to our attic space, bring down my box of gleeful goodness and usually within the piles of joy, i find my crafty joyful gleeful mojo waiting patiently for me.

however this year, upon opening up my little gleeful box, and doing a bit of a frantic dig around, i could not find my little mojo. alas and alack, i had misplaced him, for he was nowhere to be found. i wandered aimlessly from shed room to shed room, mourning my lost gleeful mojo.

"oh where for art thou little mojo of gleefulness?" i weeped.

i shared my woefulness with my lads of three, who stared back blankly at me.

i shared my fretfulness with Used Dog (in her cone of shame) and Little Olive,

who did not stare back blankly but offered some very practical and sound advice as only critters can do. they told me to not fret at the missing mojo, to do what one can only do at such times as these. to pull up my joyful gleeful crafty knee socks, to rustle around in the kitchen drawer of ever growing piles of crappity crap for my little elf cap and to embrace my inner glee!

oh such wise wise critters, indeed such is their wisdom, i am thinking of offering up Used Dog (in her cone of shame) and Little Olive to our local 'living nativity' which must be starting some time soon. i am quite sure they would qualify for the three wise men roles. although obviously there is only two of them, so maybe they could take a friend along. i am now racking my brains for another wise critter within our shed. i think i would pick Linus the cat. for he is wise and has nice whiskers. however Used Dog would have to stand between Linus and Little Olive to avoid any 'argie bargie' which might go on between them. i am also thinking they may have trouble carrying their incense, myrrh and gold, so i would have to rustle up a little something to carry their gifts around their necks.

gosh, do you know, having just asked Linus the cat who is sitting on my lap as i tippity type this ramble about whether he felt this was a role he would like to play. he has stumped me with his wiseness. he tells me that although we say there were three wise men, apparently it does not say that in the bible. it just says 'wise men' who bought three gifts. therefore we assume there were three wise men, one for each gift. in fact according to wise Linus the cat. there could have been more wise men or less, and therefore he is going with less and says because of that, there is no need for him to go along and stand near Little Olive. well that seems fair enough, so now i am back to just two wise critters to offer up to our local city 'living nativity' upon the wisdom, our cat Linus has to offer.

i fear i have gotten off the crafty joyful gleeful track, but do not fear, i am back on it! and with knee socks pulled up good and proper, elf cap securely pinned on with nice looking bobby pins in turquoise no less, found in old blighty this past summer and with it, my crafty cogs have turned...

yes indeedy! starting tomorrow, i have '12 days of joyfulness' here on my shiny place, you can call me crazy, you can call me nutso, you can call me Al, but that's what one has to do when a mojo is lost, fly by the seat of one's crafty pants.

here's a list of ingredients required for the coming 12 days:

fabric (vintage or new) * embroidery thread * lace * wooden clothes hanger * strips of old fabric scraps * gleeful ornaments, whatever is in your own box of glee will be fine, perhaps some with a bit of sparkle too * old jam jars * sticks, twigs and a branch from the yard * an old stool with a flat wooden top * sticky back plastic (oh yes indeedy!) * mod podge * vintage decals or stickers * household paint in white * paper coasters or paper doilies (itty bitty ones) * old book pages * linen napkin (creamy white sort) * cream cotton embroidery thread * a trusty sewing machine (not necessary but would greatly speed things up if one were used) * and last but not least, a doily or two

each day i will be sure to least the ingredients necessary to complete the project. do not fret, most things can be made from what you may have already lying around your sheds or indeed within your box of glee. you can change out things to your own liking, own colour choices and indeed improvise if you do not have the exact ingredient i list. yes, after my fretting of late (breaking my new years resolution of 'fret less' for about the 50th time so far this year) i am now banning all fretting for the next 12 days. yes, no fretting allowed.

most things will be easy peasy, a few i would put at medium peasy. some things i think small beings and little critters could easily do themselves (although where knots are required it might be tricky for little fingers and paws). where i have been inspired by someone or something i will be sure to point out and that is that!

hurrah hooray, 12 days of joyfulness starts tomorrow

she is delighted to say, Used Dog is feeling most perky and we have high hopes for the results next week ~ Tif

one little bird studio and giving thanks...

2011-11-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

i do like Leanda, i like her a whole lot.

and as i thought perhaps we are getting to that time of year when you may be making wish lists, or thinking of another to gift to, it would be a perfectly perfect time to introduce you to Leanda.

one little bird studio has the most peachiest of prints and one little bird studio belongs to Leanda.

i marvel at her wonderful work, how time after time she comes up with images i would happily hang on my shed's wall in a heart beat. yes i marvel at how gifted Leanda is with her designs.

recently she has produced some prints which made my granny retro heart skip a beat. especially this spiffy number. so much so, it is now hanging on our shed's wall. the most beautiful midnight blue background truly makes me happy alongside of the wonderful pops of bright colours.

whilst i was waiting for my 'home sweet home' print to wing its way to my door step (which may i add, it did so very safely in the sturdiest of cardboard mailers i have ever come across, my kitchen scissors were no match for its sturdiness, thats how sturdy it was!)... well as i was waiting, Leanda only went and popped her 2012 calendars into her shop.

gosh, see, take a look at this one in all its mustardy glory

now does that not make your granny retro heart skip a beat all over again.

surely if ever there was a person who does not do calendars, and they happened upon Leanda's 2012 calendar print, i am without doubt they would be converted into being a calendar loving folk. how do i know such a thing? what proof do i have? well i don't really, but none the less, i'm a believer and i stick by what i say, and that is, the 2012 calendar from one little bird studio, is quite the most peachiest calendar i have laid eyes on.

i do think showing you the wonderful printed world of Leanda, is a lovely note to end on, for tomorrow it is Thanksgiving, my favourite American holiday, and so i will be taking a week off until December 1st when i will return for the joyful gleeful season!

hip hip hooray!

so for now, i will leave you with saying "thank you" for the kindness you have shown me and my constant canine companions this week, for all the offers of fingers, paws and fins crossing over the coming few weeks. and indeed for all your wonderfulness over the past year, from the incredible embracing of my book, to your continuing wish to visit me here on my shiny place and being most generous with your comments on my crafting, time and time again.

you have truly filled my heart with such a brilliant feeling of warmth,

and are such an important part of my world.

so once again, i can only say it the best way i know how.

"thank you kindly dearest readers, you are the bees knees to me"

she is wishing you a wonderful happy thanksgiving in the USA and is wishing everyone else an happy week too ~ Tif

update on Used Dog...

2011-11-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

it has been many years since i wrote a christmas wish list

but this year i have one,

it is quite simple and i am only asking for one thing:

1. a clean bill of health for my constant canine companion

i have high hopes it will not be too much to ask for.

last night, Used Dog came home.

she made it through the operation which turned out to be a tricky dicky one,

leaving her with several layers of stitches and 30 plus staples in her side.

but still her little eyes shined brightly

and her tail wagged when she knew she was home.

('cos that's what doggies do best, even on bad days)

we lay side by side in the lounge all night long.

just me and my secondhand dog.

now some may call me insane, but i think not.

for my dog has been by my side through good and bad for over 11 years,

so at a time in her life when perhaps she is not feeling the bees knees,

i think it perfectly sane for me to lay next to her,

so she need not be afraid.

the next few weeks her side will slowly mend,

the staples will be removed

and the long wait will be over.

we will know if our Used Dog,

despite the doctor's concerns,

has a clean bill of health

and a few more happy doggie years left on this earth

so i must take a moment to thank you all so kindly,

for all the fingers and paws crossing you have been doing

on behalf of our Used Dog

and may i be so bold and ask if perhaps

you may care to continue to do a bit more 'crossing'

until we know she has a clean bill of health.

i know it may be tres tricky to go about your daily lives

with crossed fingers and paws,

but even just a little 'quick crossing'

every now and then would be spiffy.

and tonight,

when Used Dog comes home to the shed again,

after another day at hospital

and we lay in the dark,

just her, me and my florence nightingale cap.

i will be sure to tell her of your kindness

whilst i administer half hourly doses of ear stroking.

she will be back tomorrow with the peachy 'one little bird' to share ~ Tif

a long day at mossy shed...

2011-11-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

today Used Dog is in hospital for an operation.

we have told her to be brave

we have told her "we love you Used Dog"

and now all we can do is keep our fingers and paws crossed

(a little tricky for a little critter with limbs on the short side)

and wait patiently for Used Dog to come back home to mossy shed so we can feel whole again

~ Tif and Little Olive

round and round...

2011-11-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

'tis no secret, i am partial to a stool or two in our mossy shed. i appear unable to say no to little waifs and strays of stools i come across in my daily travels. however there is one stool i hold dear, above all the other little stools within our nest. now of course i know it is terribly wrong to have favorites but i cannot help myself. for the stool in question has been there all my life...

(i am quite sure i have told this story before but as it is buried deep with in the rambling archives of this here blog, i'm just going to repeat myself rather than try to find it as i fear it could take all day to unearth it)

as a small child i would sit on a stool at my mother's dressing table every sunday evening. where upon i would don what can only be described as a shower cap attached to a long flexible tube which in turn was attached to a box which was attached by a cord to a plug in the wall.

my mother would switch it on, the cap would inflate and hot air would start to dry my tresses. after half an hour, my mother would remove my head from the hairdryer of sorts and say "voila", where upon i would sit there silently praying that this time my hair would come out poker straight and gloriously shiny. upon opening my eyes, every sunday the vision reflected in the mirror, told me once again, my prayer had not been answered and thus a week of going to school with kinked, fuzzy, cow licky hair proceeded until the following sunday when i started praying again...

despite the horrors of my childhood hair-do i still look back fondly on those moments, and i am quite sure that is mainly to do with the stool upon which my derriere sat. for it was a glorious tulip stool and its fine form, is to me, one of the best a stool can have.

nearly 14 years ago, my mother kindly entrusted the tulip stool to me. in the years that followed it has had many little coats of various grandness, some quite dubious, like fake fur, or lilac sateen, but still it never felt unloved. recently, (and when i say recently i mean the past 10 days), i got itching to be stitching it a new little jacket.

inspired by lovely folksy round cushions, i took one large doily and started going 'round and round' with strips of lace, fabric and one embroidered vintage doily for the middle.

i spent many many happy moments with embroidery floss in hand. i then went a little nutso on the french knots which are my fabby fav thing to do. they are so peachy, you do one and it looks just right, and so you do another and before you know it, there are many little knots doing a brilliant job of looking spiffy.

after which i took my large decorated folksy doily and appliqued it like a cap 'on top' my stool.

i am most happy with my lovely folksy stool

however i must confess, i was not happy with my man when he came in from running around a soccer pitch for 2 hours in the rain last night and promptly sat his derriere down upon my fine and roundy stool! it took all my willpower to remain quiet, i took deep breathes followed by recalling my 'labouring' breathing exercises, for fear of what was happening to my french knots under the soggy soccer gear. i thought i had it under control, i really did, i channeled my inner kindness with all my might, thinking of the long day at the office he had had, and how i needed him to fix a lamp for me and all those other good things he does for me daily but alas, no! my french knots and their fate was too much to bear. i could not get past 2 minutes before i burst and had to ask him to find another stool to plonk down on... any stool, any dumptie just get off my french knots hoppity quick 'pretty please'

she has 3 lads haircuts and one 'constant canine companion' bath lined up for her thrilling saturday morning ~ Tif

footynote: a little message for Katie (Bob) i have tried to send you several emails today, alas they keep on bouncing back to me, not sure why. could you please email me again with your email address so i can respond to you. many thanks :)

a bit of tartan, some good fortune, perhaps a smidgen of snow and a little thanks...

2011-11-17T09:56:00.000-08:00

for the past two days i have been wearing my elf cap upon my bonce. alas and alack, i have not been wearing my Paddington Bear pyjamas despite the temptation of their flannelly goodness and the crappity crap dreary weather. they are not quite like the ones he wears, for if i recall (and we all know how iffy that can be) he wore pinstriped ones, or perhaps that was my own Paddington Bear, now i am thinking he wore ones with flowers on. well mine are tartan and i like to think if Paddington had gone across the border into Scotland he would have liked a pair of tartan pj's to remind him of his travels.

mine are made from Stewart tartan no less.

"how could you possibly know such a thing Tif?" i hear you inquire.

well dearest reader, first off may i congratulate you on your inquiry, i think it is always important to be inquisitive of such matters.

well as luck would have it, many many moons ago in my late teens i lived in Edinburgh for several years and worked a day job at a Barrow which stocked buttons and ribbons, and many of those ribbons were tartan. and being what my job was, i was often called upon by inquiring tourists to name a tartan or two. oh yes those long ago days of cutting ribbon and counting out buttons all come flooding back when i stumble across a tartan or two.

'weather bug' has informed me that it is going to snow, he appears to be a little iffy as to the details and when i try to pin point him down he becomes quite vague. 'weather bug' is an app, he lives on my cell phone, i have reached the 21st century, i have a phone that does things other than dial a number. i am struggling with the other things it does but luckily for me, i live with teenage lads :)

so i have a handy dandy 'weather bug' who appears to change his mind hourly and now i have a 'fortune cookie' app too! never has life been so thrilling to get out of bed at 6:30am for the school run than when one has a fortune cookie waiting for you. i just tap its little shell and out pops my fortune for the day. two days ago when my phone rang causing me to panic as it rarely rings and being one of those smart phones you press things without wishing to, just trying to get it out of your bag. well all i was trying to do was answer my phone, a perfectly innocent thing to do, but instead i pressed the 'button tile' to my fortune cookie, which is okay normally because it would just show me my fortune again for that day, reminding me less i had forgotten. however in my need to get back to where i wished to be, i double tapped it. gosh, do you know, my fortune cookie got cross with me. it actually told me off. it said something along the lines of

"do not be greedy, one fortune a day, come back tomorrow".

after which i was quite upset for there appeared no where on the screen i could tap out a message to my fortune cookie explaining the tres terrible mistake, telling him, i was not intentionally being greedy and to please forgive me so i could go about my day without feeling wretched. but no, nowhere and so i was left with that feeling of having done something wrong. the power of what appears to be a harmless little app...

but today is not the day for talking tartan pj's and fortune cookies, although can i just say, if 'weather bug' gets it right and snow comes a tumbling from the sky, i'll be donning my flannel pj's faster than my lads can shout "snow day, no school".

today is the perfect day for me to say "thank you kindly". it was so spiffy to see so many of you at my 'joyful' shop update, you kindly spent your hard earned pennies which resulted in not only me wearing an elf cap but also my peachy friend Laurie. she came by on tuesday to help me and i must say her 'elf cap' was far prettier than mine. i am thinking i need to 'dottie angel' mine up a bit.

also, before my shop update, so many many kind folks have been coming to my little shop and buying the book. you have taken time to write me fabby feedback upon your purchases and also to send me emails with how much you love the book. this is wonderful to know...

so with a week to go till thanksgiving, i truly am most thankful for your kindness, your custom and your lovely comments you continue to share with me. i've said it before and i will say it again, you are the bees knees for sure.

she notes, it is one month tomorrow and her girls are home for the holidays ~ Tif

a 'joyful' update today...

2011-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

i am not here today, i am over here,

hanging things in clusters in my shop window.

how nice, clusters throughout the day.

i am thinking if one saw every day in clusters

it would make things quite nice.

i'll do a cluster of laundry and then craft,

another cluster of feeding the clan, then craft

and so forth...

yes i do like myself a cluster or two

she has rediscovered her love of paddington bear pyjamas now winter is upon her, and thinks a cluster of pj's in flannel would be grand too ~ Tif

'thing' friday...

2011-11-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

thing one:

it is tres gloomy in the shed today, i know this to be true for just now i saw from the kitchen, that the family room looked tres dull and marched in there to pull back the curtains, only to discover i had already done so earlier. this tells me two things (within 'thing one'). it is tres gloomy and my ability to recall what i did ten minutes earlier is on rocky grounds

thing two:

a chance comment by a peachy reader reminded me of my lost 'little happy monkey' tray. i had two, one for display and one for use. a little while ago i lost my 'one for use'. i do not recall taking him out of the shed for a walk. i tried without vain to recall my last movements within my shed with my little tray, but alas and alack, the old recall cogs just will not turn. it has been over 5 weeks since i last saw my little tray. just thinking about him somewhere lost in our shed makes me sad... looking out and seeing perhaps me walking past, thinking i would spy him and gather him up and then no, i just walk on by, unable to spy him amongst the piles

thing three:

this sunday, when the weather will be at an all time 'gloomy low' i will be at the Assemble shop, beavering away with lovely dearies. i think this is a fine and dandy way to pass a gloomy day and i am actually rather giddy about it

thing four:

my rippley blanket is complete and i am most happy indeed. despite the fretting of colours, i do believe it turned out 'a-okay'. i know i am happy with it, because i have feelings of not wishing it to be shared with my clan members. this is a sign of me liking it very mucho. here is a few things you may wish to know if you are interested in what i did. if you are not, then you are welcome to skippity skip this bit. i do not mind one little bit.

* i used chunky yarn,

* i made my own chunky yarn for some colours by doubling and tripling strands of yarn together

* i did a basic chevron pattern i learnt off YouTube

* i used a Mr Hook size 7

* i did four rows of each colour in double crochet (triple crochet UK)

* there was method to the madness of the colour placing

1 row of cream

1 row of colour

1 row of cream

2 rows of colour

1 row of cream

3 rows of colour

1 row of cream

4 rows of colour

1 row of cream

* i have discovered that when i add a healthy dose of cream to my crocheting it always appears to pull it together.

* i finished off my rippley blanket with an edge, the edge consists of

1 row of single crochet

1 row of picot crochet

and there you have it, you can make it any size you like. mine is perfectly sized for one large being and one small being to share. as i do not have a small being in my shed, i am debating allowing a little critter to snuggle in next to me. but no large beings. no they can have the other pile of blankets i have made over the years which are now looking rather loved. this will be my very own exclusive Tif's blanket...

i am wondering now if i need to put a note pinned on it, reminding others they may look but not touch. then again, that would make me seem like a meanie, so perhaps i'll just hide it somewhere so others cannot find it. but what if i did that and then my recall cogs do not turn and i lose my lovely blanket along with my lovely 'monkey tray'? would that serve me right for being a meanie and not sharing? oh my goodness, i am now left with a quandary within my brain of what to do here...

thing five:

i don't have one, i did but its fallen into a black hole in my brain, due to anxiety coming on through fretting about the safety of my blanket. i'm sure it was super thrilling and really interesting, but once again, alas and alack, we will never know.

she is wishing you a happy dandy weekend with recall skills in tippity top condition ~ Tif

a 'small being'...

2011-11-10T10:12:00.000-08:00

i do not have any 'small beings' lying around my shed.

i have plenty of 'little critters' and 'large beings' but that would not do.

as luck would have it,

i found myself a perfectly perfect 'small being' on tuesday,

courtesy of a fine friend and her shed.

photo credited to fine friend

gosh darn it, after going cold turkey for 3 months, she has broken down and is back on 'chocolate spread on white toast' again ~ Tif

willy nilly...

2011-11-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

this week is all about getting photos done for my joyful shop update

(please look to the right if you do not know about this and wish to know more)

(please do not look to the right if you do already know about my joyful update, or indeed, do not wish to know)

yesterday as i took a breather, i looked around me at the piles of handcrafted goodness and little forsaken souls alongside of knick knacks, all waiting patiently for their moment to shine.

they all looked so peachy just hanging around, twiddling their thumbs, so i snapped them right there and then with Frankly Frank's help.

here's just a few of those snaps.

no particular order,

just a willy nilly collection of what i saw

she has found a rather lovely 'small being' and on thursday will be sure to share ~ Tif

giddy...

2011-11-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

i awoke with a giddy feeling today,

as i ate my breakfast i pondered all the reasons for giddiness within my day. after which i went out, upon returning i had promptly forgotten all but one of the reasons to feel giddy. i think that is the story of my life these days. if i do not make a note of things, they vanish into the little black hole in my head, never to be seen or heard of again.

whilst hoping for a bit of giddiness recall to happen, i waited for a break in the rain clouds, so i could photograph my one remaining reason for giddiness today.

'perfectly peachy pinnies'

for the joyful shop update

they make my inner granny soul giddy with a wave of nostalgia for days gone by. the time when one donned a pinny in the morning and took it off last thing at night. yes i like to think my 'perfectly peachy pinnies' would be most suited for any 'granny loving' soul worth her 'granny loving salt', spending her day happily wearing them.

there is a front, a back and best of all, they are reversible, thus two pinnies in one, just like my granny wore.

tomorrow we are off to my adopted auntie and her little grey cottage for bonfire night, this of course is the perfect reason to wake up all over again with giddiness...

she is wishing you a weekend of giddy ~ Tif

footynote: hurrah hooray! one giddy reason has been retrieved from the black hole. yes yes, how could i forget, i am all giddy over my new knitted wrist warmers which turned up in my mail box a few days back! do you see them in the photo, well they are handmade by the lovely Jane and her spiffy ancient knitting machine... i wonder what his name is, i imagine him to be quite the sturdy fellow and quite hard work some days when he is playing up. the stitches are itty bitty and there are 24,716 of them, in my one pair of gloves. can you imagine that many stitches in one pair of gloves? not me, because i am crappity crap at knitting itty bitty stitches. plus i suffer from 'second sock syndrome' so even if i wished to make some, i would only ever have one hand warm at a time. no, much better i wear a lovely pair that Jane made, that way i have two warm hands at the same time... i am looking forward to a whole nesting season with these sweeties on my hands without a doubt.

a 'Joyful' update...

2011-11-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

hurrah hooray for a 'joyful' shop update.

i have never done one of these before,

hard to believe but its true.

so i have thrown caution to the wind

and quite likely my sanity alongside it,

and this year i am doing one.

there will be over 40 handcrafted goodies

going into my little store on

monday 14th november.

i will list things in clusters,

because i do like a cluster this time of year.

the clusters will be listed throughout the day

and into the evening.

my hope is,

this will mean where ever you may live

upon this round and peachy earth of ours,

you will be able to stop by for a ganders.

if you do decide to stop by

may i suggest you bring along your rose coloured specs.

then you will also be able to

enjoy the vast array of home baked goodies

(which will look edible but i cannot promise they are)

and a favorite tipple or two.

do not fret if you forget them,

i have several pairs to loan out

so you may enjoy the refreshments

alongside the peachy joyful decorations hanging above your head.

there will be old favorites like

sunshine sacks, apron wraps

and wall hangings.

there will be new sweeties like

perfectly peachy pinnies and

lappity lap blankets

and when they are gone

(or perhaps i should say 'if they are gone')

alas and alack, that will be it for this joyful season,
as my adopted auntie and i will be taking a little rest...

she is looking forward to seeing you there and will be sure to have her reindeer antlers on so you can spot her ~ Tif

questions & answers...

2011-11-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

1. Tif, how is your crochet coming along?

well thank you kindly for asking, despite starting off with what i felt a dodgy combination of colours, i am thrilled to see things are not as pants in the 'colour combo' department as i first thought.

2. Tif, have you paced yourself this time whilst dabbling with Mr Hook?

actually i have dearest reader, i have indeed! this time i have just dabbled short spurts of dabbling and thus far, the blanket is progressing, Mr Hook is feeling loved and my wrists are feeling dandy.

3. Tif, when are you going to continue with the three c's, the anticipation of your words of wisdom on clog wearing is causing me to be distracted at work and home?

do not fear nor fret dear reader, i do plan to pick up where i left off in the next week or so and with that bit of information i hope your distracted ways will mend themselves.

4. Tif, you mention you have been beavering on a joyful shop update but have yet to announce the day of said update?

ah yes, tomorrow i will be doing a bit of rambling about this very subject, as tomorrow is wednesday and i do think it lends itself nicely to such important businessy busy things such as rambling on about shop updates. in my rambling will be the date of my joyful shop update and other nitty gritty details which maybe of interest (or not as the case maybe for some)

...and glory hung at mossy shed windows in the shape of flannel floral curtains

5. Tif, was that you i spied over on Holly's peachy blog Decor8 this morning, whilst having my morning cuppa?

gosh, yes it was... i must tell you i was most fortunate to meet Holly whilst doing what i was doing in Minnesota in september. if you recall Janine and myself went to The Creative Connection to sell our wares and launch the book. Holly very kindly invited me to do a book interview upon her peachy place, i do hope you will take the time to read it, because way, way on down, once you get through my rambling answers you will see at the bottom, where i list my blessings of the internet, you are amongst them dearest readers. for i have said it before and i say it again today, i would not being doing what i am doing without you by my side and for that, i am truly thankful

she is also thanking Holly most kindly for asking her some very nitty gritty questions and being most peachy about the book ~ Tif

a bit of bobbing...

2011-10-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

willing victims hanging around the back yard

i awoke on halloween with a interesting question churning in my little cogs...

"do chickie peas like to play bobbing apples"

autumnal mushrooms making nice little resting spots for passing pesky gnomes

and it would appear,

like most things i find with my fine feathered friends,

they do indeed enjoy a party game or two

"i think i see one"

"me first, no me first"

"i spy with my little eye"

and there is always one who tries to cheat...

she is wishing you a bit of spook and a lot of chocolate ~ Tif

the demise of Mr Shark...

2011-10-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

warning: this post contains photos not for the fainthearted

on tuesday, there i was, me, my flannel fabric and Mr Shark (my trusty iron) in the lounge, this is beginning to sound like something out of Cluedo... i appear to have spread all around our shed now and not one room is spared from 'my beavering'. by our side on the rug, Used Dog and Little Olive in mid morning slumber. yes, a typical day in the shed until Mr Shark did a 'putt', then a 'splutter', followed by a little letting off of 'steam' and then it was all over. i gasped, how could this be... i twiddled with his bits, i fiddled with his cord but alas and alack, his little light had gone out.

so tragic, so young

i spent the rest of the day in a shocked daze, i worried if my wish for flannel and nubbly curtains, and a joyful shop update, had all been too much. then i wondered if his history of steroid taking which had led to his hunky silver weighty good looks had been the cause of his early demise. every now and then i returned to the scene of the tragedy, more twiddling and fiddling to no avail.

later that evening when the surgeon had returned from his desk job and coaching soccer he performed surgery. i fretted too many hours had past for a miracle to happen. eventually i could take it no more and had to look away, seeing Mr Shark, a good and faithful friend, an important tool of my trade having a brutal surgery procedure carried out on my kitchen counter was all a little too much.

early on in the surgery, when i still had high hopes

after what seemed an age and one where i began to doubt the surgeons qualifications, after all i do not recall when seeing medical procedures being performed on telly, the surgeon stopping every now and then to take a mouthful of orange dinner. the surgeon put down his utensils and tools, his dinner finished and Mr Shark looking the worse for wear and he announced there was no hope. he then proceeded to start opening up another part of Mr Shark.

i pointed out was this necessary as obviously he was 'dearly departed' from my life. apparently i was told, yes it was because how interesting to see how it all works...

i turned away

and so my beavering ground to a halt leaving me with no alternative but to find a new friend, despite my grieving heart.

last night i went to the store where i found Miss Winnie, not to be mistaken for Miss Winer. for she does not wine about things, no sirree, she is the sort who pulls up her knees socks and gets on with things.

having inspected all the box had to say in the store, it would appear with this iron i now have in my life a winner!

"top rated by leading independent publication"

are the very words printed on her box, i did question who is the leading independent publication and thought it a little odd they were not willing to have the actual name of their publication printed on the box, but i chose to ignore this and only saw "top rated" which in turn meant "winner" and so Miss Winnie it is.

paying respect to a trusty weighty iron with hunky silvery good looks

having not actually taken my new iron out of her box with respect for Mr Shark laid out on the dining room table, i am keeping my fingers and toes crossed later today (when a fitting amount of time has passed since Mr Shark's demise), i will find out if she lives up to the box she came in, and is indeed worthy of the name Miss Winnie

there appears to be a lot of hand-stitched 'joy' going on in the shed, despite feeling unjoyful about Mr Shark ~ Tif

three thrilling things...

2011-10-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

to add an element of thrillingness to an otherwise frill-less week...

early morning in the shed, nesting mode well and truly in gear

thrilling thing one: every day this week i am removing one unmarked pyrex dish from the freezer, due to the length of time it has been in there, it is impossible to know what the contents are. this has added a mystery to dinner time and an air of thrillingness as to what we will be eating. all dishes contain something different, however i note they all share one thing in common, the colour orange

thrilling thing two: my nesting instincts have kicked into 'high nesting mode' and i am beavering away on making winter window coverings. i am using nubbly fabric found on ebay, which any granny worth their granny salt, would be proud to hang at their windows, and flannel. yes flannel, like you find at the fabric store to make soft and cozy things for small beings. to me the thought of hanging flannel curtains has me in a current state of giddiness which in turn has led to an element of thrillingness with the whole project

a nubbly little number most suited for granny curtains

a flannel fabric to make windows feel cozy and loved

thrilling thing three: over the past few weeks me and my adopted auntie have been beavering away on dottie angel goodies. i noted she has done a much better job at staying on track, where as i have gone off the rails most days with things like flannel curtains distracting me. however when i am not de-railed, i am thrilled to be thinking of the 'one and only' tres grand shop update i am planning in november... in time for my fabby fav time of year, the gleeful season.

she is torn between completing second flannel curtain or stitching the 'epiphany' for the shop update which hopped into her little cogs this morning ~ Tif

the three C's... day four

2011-10-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

crafting and crocheting: (notes)

note one: on saturday a whole new world of crocheting opened up to me, after looking through my little loved pile of Japanese craft books i stumbled across a lovely scarf pattern. it reminded me how every year i see lovely crocheted scarves in the stores (namely anthropologie) and wish i could make one for myself. this appeared out of my reach until i sat in my PJ's, yarn and Mr Hook in hand, and discovered i may not beable to follow the written crochet word, but i can read patterns using symbols. the best thing of all, these symbols are universal, therefore does not matter what language the book is printed in, i can attempt the pattern if it is written in symbols...

oh happy joyous crocheting moment

note two: in november i am teaching a two part sunday workshop at the fine and dandy Assemble Gallery and

Studio, i am tres thrilled to be doing so and my hope is you may wish to join me. all nitty gritty can be found here

********************************************

EXCLUSIVE WORKSHOP Vintage Lappity-Lap Blanket with dottie angel

Piece, sew and embroider a small blanket with the one and only Tif Fussell (aka dottie angel) in this two session workshop exclusive! A bit by the artist: “Using the age old idea of taking loved and used fabrics to make something new again, we will be ‘piecing and layering’ fabrics to create a ‘lappity lap’ blanket adding finishing touches of hand-knotting, appliquéd patches or doilies and embroidery. The finished result being a lovely reminder of traditions gone by and a rather spiffy bit of handcrafted goodness for your home, or to gift to another.”

Students must have previous sewing machine experience and the ability to do a running stitch by hand. A materials list will be provided upon registration. Seats are very limited, so don’t miss the fun!

Date: Sunday, November 13th AND Sunday, November 20th

Time: 1pm – 4pm

****************************************

note three: i marvel at the mysterious ways the handcrafted Gods move. there i was on monday in my shed, rambling on about 'dumpties' and there was lovely Sophie in hers on tuesday, trying to locate a lost crafty mojo. off out the house she pops hoping to find it and she does! in the recycling centre no less. gosh what are the chances of two spiffy dumpties being found on the brink of no return. Sophie has done a peachy job of 'dumptie number one' and she tells me 'dumptie number two' is asking for a crocheted hat. never have i seen such marvelous finds, and how fitting to find 'dumpties' at the dump

note four: the three C's and the thrillingness that it is, will continue next week due to there not being enough days this week to fit in all the thrilling thoughts...

she notes it is friday, she notes the 'hurrah horray its friday' feeling coming on, and she wishes you a peachy one ~ Tif

the three C's... day three

2011-10-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

crocheting: (a blankie)

this whole post has been written with a song playing in my head, you know that little voice in your head that sings like a true singer, where to you, you sound like the bees knees. my little voice is singing "reunited and it feels so good, reunited cause you understood" it then goes on to make up a few words and then just go on repeating itself over and over.

this little singing voice of mine appeared last week, in the yarn aisle. choosing to spend my time wisely admiring balls of yarn rather than stand on the soccer sidelines in the cold, it just popped up from nowhere. it was inevitable i would find myself in this aisle as earlier in the day i had been hit by the nesting bug which always hits around this time of year, despite my protests. and with thoughts of nesting, comes thoughts of yarny blankets.

so i stood there channeling my inner Ingrid, i hoped some of her peachy talent for combining colours would rub off on me if i thought really really hard, but it was a tres sorry sight for yarny colours which stood before me in the 'chunky' section. oh woe is me i thought... i pottled around the corner, down another aisle, back again due to another yarny buyer not budging, quite obviously intent on her own project. down the next aisle and back around until i have frequented 3 aisles of double sided shelves of yarny goodness. my inner Ingrid found many peachy colours but alas and alack they were all in different weights. as i stood with despair in my crafty soul and my little singing voice going on and on, another little voice popped up. actually two. one from the other yarny buyer wishing to get past, and the other from another part of my little head...

first voice "excuse me please" to which i stepped aside.

second voice "surely Tif, if you combined several strands of the same yarn, you can make one chunky strand" to which i did a little jump (not a big one cause i had my clog boots on and i did not wish to land on the toes of the yarny buyer who was passing on by) and then i said a little 'eureka' to myself. i said this because i have always wished to find a moment worthy of such a word. i was never able to say this in science at school due to spending most of my science lessons sat outside the classroom in the corridor to stop the teacher weeping at my pants science skills in the labs.

yarn being admired upon arrival home at mossy shed

so i went on my merry way, picking up sport weight (requiring three skeins to make a chunky strand), worsted weight (requiring two skeins to make a chunky strand) and just good old chunky (requiring one skein to make a chunky strand). then it dawned on me, not sure if this was another little voice or not, but the dawning made me note, yes this was a fine and dandy way to go about making chunky yarn for a blankie but it was also a very costly way. as i pondered, it appeared

buy yarn and save your sanity

do not buy yarn and go insane

i was left with little choice quite obviously i would be a fool to ignore the handcrafted gods and their words of wisdom...

yarn waiting to be admired by lads of two, with very little hope

on arrival home at the shed, i put my yarn in a little bundle so i may admire it, after which i fretted if my inner Ingrid had let me down, if the colour combination was tres terrible. i decided to not listen to my fretting ways and start my blankie. after a while, i put my yarn in a basket so my lads of two may admire it when passing by... noting not much admiring was going on, i gave up with the nicely positioned pretty yarn basket (fearing Little Olive would be most admiring) and proceeded with my blankie.

proceeding with blankie despite fretting about colour choices

with the help of Dorothy (again where would i be without Dorothy) i am now busy beavering away on a ripply striped blankie.

perfectly sized for one who is wishing to nest alone, but could fit a little critter or small being in next to them quite snuggly if need be... and all the time as i beaver away spending quality time with Dr Hook and yarn, my little inner singing voice is keeping me company along with my sanity

another attempt at being admired by lads of two, attempt failed just like before

she is noting already friday is hovering close by ~ Tif

the three C's... day two

2011-10-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

crafting: (the Blue Peter way)

last week nesting took over, i had been in denial due to a non existent Spring and a three week Summer. funny how it never goes along the lines of Autumn not existing and a three week Winter. always the other way round.

it was leaving me restless, my denialing ways...

so after a good old talking to myself, i pulled up my nesting knee socks and got to grips with making the shed more cozy in the hope of putting my restlessness to rest. (that's quite a spiffy last few words, i have practiced saying it very quickly over and over and it is quite the tongue twister)

once my 'dumpties' had made an appearance in our little loungey corner it was inevitable a table of sorts would be required for important things like crochet and cups of tea. i knew this would be coming and therefore over the past few weeks have been keeping my beady eye out in the thrift store, wishing to stumble across a granny coffee table with fab curvy legs. a coat of glossy paint and Voila, the perfect coffee table.

however my beady eye spied many contenders, but none matching up to what my little mind envisaged.

back in the shed this Saturday i huffed and puffed our old IKEA table from out in the garage to inside. i am quite sure now i have said that, and what with the poor cupboard lurking in my garage you may be thinking my garage is a treasure trove of lost souls! our IKEA coffee table came with us in our move to Mossy Shed, and she has done a spiffy job for many a year, but like most things IKEA, the years and the dings become all a little too much. why is it an old piece of furniture only looks better with age and more dings, but an IKEA piece just starts to kind of look sad and a bit pants. (you don't have to answer that, i think i know why).

as this sad table sat there looking at moi and i looking at it, a 'Blue Peter' light bulb moment happened within my cogs. after a few moments of rustling around, i found what i was looking for...

several weeks back whilst loitering in the hardware store in all those aisles which appear to have stood still in time, i came across stickyback plastic in faux wood. well my little heart raced at such a find, i promptly paid for two rolls and rushed home to find a willing victim, but alas there was none to be found... until Saturday that is.

my childhood memories came flooding back, oh why oh why did my mother not have sticky back plastic hanging around our home? oh why oh why had i not saved up all the lids and packaging so i could craft a dolls house 'Blue Peter' style. i sat week after week watching as the presenters would show what they did and then lift out the finished article with a flourish and a "here's one i made earlier" voila moment.

roll on many moons and i have at last dabbled with stickyback plastic and cannot believe i have waited so long, for it is perhaps the most spiffiest easy peasy fix i have ever done. yes it took a little bit of concentration, the sort where one's tongue sticks out a little to aid the fine art of concentrating and yes indeed, some may even say, calling this post 'crafting' is a bit dubious. for layering two lengths of sticky back plastic on an IKEA table and calling it crafting is pushing it, but i do not care, no i do not, such is my love for my newly fauxed coffee table in our nesty corner.

next up, to make our fauxed table feel most loved, an old round tea tray i am thinking, given an easy peasy new coat. yes that is well worth thinking about...

she has been distracted by grannies, a good distraction leading to new things ~ Tif

the three C's... day one

2011-10-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

crafting: (a 'dumptie')

now some folks may think i have lost my tiny mind and i am 'a-okay' with that, for Mr Spell Checker has mocked me and Darren Dictionary has informed me in his very knowledgeable voice, that the word 'dumptie' does not exist.

but how can that be, for 'dumptie' is such a spiffy word, it surely should exist

'dumptie' (pronounced dump-tee)

ever since i stumbled upon a 'dumptie' last week i have wished to fill my shed with them, i have of course used great willpower and only crafted three so far.

two in my studio which in turn is our winter lounge corner

the first 'dumptie' i crafted last week, this unexpected happening had me positively giddy with thoughts of further 'dumptie' making

not wishing my first 'dumptie' to be lonely, i made him a friend

and one in our family room, an elongated 'dumptie' if you please

a little 'lumpy bumpy' but some of the best things in life have a little lumpy bumpy-ness to them

this elongated 'dumptie' waiting for two bods who like each other to share, reminds me greatly of one i saw a while ago on sfgirlbybay, originally the bench came from Anthropologie. through some clever detective work (whilst wearing a deer stalker hat) i found the image pinned on Victoria's spiffy pin board. (not bad eh for a monday morning).

mine was crafted from my long midcentury bench, i made a peachy fitted cover from a fabby sandersons fabric and then using two large cushion inners i made a long cushion cover from a thrift store fabric find and a piece of quilting fabric. i did debate going to the store and buying a piece of inner that would be the exact fit but then my little crafty cogs turned and i declared the two cushion inners in my cupboard upstairs would be equally, if not better than. yes perhaps they do look a little 'lumpy bumpy' but i quite like 'lumpy bumpy'. if you do not, and that is perfectly alright, perhaps wrapping the two cushion inners in wadding may help with said 'lumpy bumpy-ness'

i am thinking any lone stool and any lone cushion could easily no longer be lonely if we spent our days wisely in our own sheds, pairing them all up. it could be as easy as finding one little wooden stool and one little round cushion you already have and introducing themselves to each other (or square, i have nothing against squaries so do not leave them out).

it could also be a case of, the need to add a 'dumptie' to you life, is the perfect excuse to go on a thrifty jolly. searching for a little stool or perhaps a small side table with legs looking like they could do with being chopped down. then bringing home your spiffy find, giving it a lick of paint and then spending a few happy hours stitching it a cushion top to make it feel loved.

after which i am quite sure, you will be having to check regularly on your 'dumptie' and its condition staying maximum 'dumptie-ness' for if my 'dumpties' are anything to go by, they will attract a lot of attention from clan members and their derrieres.

do check regularly upon the health and safety of your 'dumptie'

and so i think it only fitting, as the word 'dumptie' is of a greatness level with any other word i know like 'peachy' and 'spiffy' and 'crappity crap' that those who have a dottie angel book in their possession may wish to add a little note to the back pages in the fine and dandy section, 'a dottie angel dictionary'. i am thinking you may be able to pencil it in or scribbling it on another little piece of paper and sticking it in might be rather nice.

dumptie

a spiffy little seat made for pondering

in between pottlings around and about

your abode

she is still beavering away with Miss Ethel, whilst sweating in her thermal vest, due to much beavering ~ Tif

constant canine companions...

2011-10-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

hurrah hooray, 'tis friday,

once again it has whizzed on round.

i have never lost that feeling of 'yippee its friday'!

it goes way way on back to my school days...

next week is quite thrilling,

for it is all about the three C's.

crafting, crochet and clogs.

for now though,

it is all about my constant canine companions,

who have done a spiffy job of keeping me company

whilst my man is in old blighty.

yes i am thinking quite honestly

there cannot be anything better

then a constant canine companion or two

especially this week...

she is wishing you a peachy weekend filled with lots of C's ~ Tif
footynote: oooh! lets play spot the difference. after all it is friday...
what is the difference between photo #2 and photo #3, apart from the obvious shape of the picture.
gold sticky stars up for grabs :)

blankets on the brain...

2011-10-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

i have several drawers in my little brain

and within them are stored many things to ponder.

they are labelled and they are quite a nice set of drawers.

i would not say until the other day they are painted glossy custard yellow,

but now they are.

for if i cannot achieve a custard yellow cupboard in reality

i can at least have one in my imagination.

one little drawer is labelled 'crafty must makes'

and a few weeks back i opened it.

from out of that little drawer in its fine and dandy coat of glossy yellow

leapt 'fabric lappity lap blankets'

"ah yes" i thought to myself,

"of course that is where i popped you well over a year ago to keep you safe"

for the first time in yonks i feel like i can stop still,

open these drawers and see what lurks within,

waiting for their moments to shine...

'tis a good feeling.

over the coming weeks with high hopes,

myself and Miss Ethel,

my adopted auntie and her Mr Bill,

and a pile of vintage and used fabrics

we will be beavering away on 'lappity lap' blankets.

two sizes of course!

one for little critters and small beings

and one for medium beings who perhaps care to share with another,

or perhaps not.

and then when we are all beavered out,

i will hang them in my shop window in a cluster,

for in my little drawer marked 'crafty must makes',

alongside the scribbled note saying "lappity lap blankets"

was a side note saying

"Tif, hang in a cluster, for a cluster of lappity lap blankets

truly will make your crafty heart beat a little faster"

a 'lappity lap' blanket, this one will live at Mossy Shed for she stole my crafty heart

she has dallied in the yarn aisle whilst her #4 kicked a ball around the soccer pitch with a coach who appears to have lost his watch ~ Tif

crimes committed...

2011-10-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

it would appear two crimes have been committed of late in the shed, one i am guilty of and the other not.

crime number one:

Colin the computer is feeling under the weather, i noted two days ago. thankfully despite my frustration, i fell short of tearing my hair out due to quite liking my hair at the moment and also being most happy my braids now reach over the top of my bonce and are almost touching my ears the 'tother side, which really is most spiffy. i cannot believe how in a few short months my wrappity wrap braidy hairdo is coming along a treat. but i digress, and this not 'a-okay' for we are talking crimes here and this is most serious.

i blame myself for Colin's sorry ways, i foolishly upon bringing 'Lappity' laptop into my life, felt it would be safe to allow Colin into the public domain of the shed. oh the fool that i am...

totally unrelated snapshots of a 'dumptie' made by placing a round cushion on top a stool

i charged Our #4 guilty of crimes committed against Colin, he protested his innocence but i think he looked shifty in the eyes when he pleaded 'not guilty'. in the meantime i was left with no alternative but to ask my man to clean up Colin's act and restore his spiffy ways back to their original spiffiness and with a bit of luck, all the crappity crap now clouding his vision will be gone...

crime number two:

i committed this crime last week with a can of custard yellow paint and a poor unsuspecting cupboard in my studio. after three coats on one side of poor unsuspecting cupboard it dawned on me it was not my destiny to own a glossy custard yellow cupboard. such is my restless ways at the moment i needed instant gratification with my painting ways and that was not happening. in a need to cover up my terrible crime, i rustled around my paint cupboard and found some glossy grey. i attempted to cover my tracks and when i stepped back i noted i had failed, for the poor unsuspecting cupboard looked pants in grey.

this in turn led to me dragging my victim out to the garage, covering it in a bedsheet in the hope of no one noticing. where upon i adopted an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude whilst pondering what i would do without my trusty cupboard to hold all my spiffy 'bits and bobs' with which i craft with. i found my next victim upstairs, she has been a faithful little soul for the past 15 years since my folks passed her onto us, holding my granny undies and cotton hankies most trustfully.

after much huffing and puffing to get her downstairs, i pondered her fate. some pondering later i declared greeny turquoise would suit her lovely shape.

as it tippity type this little ramble today, i am most delighted with my newly painted cupboard and her glossy coat, however everytime i look at her i feel guilt, guilt for the poor unsuspecting cupboard now left out in the cold garage and recalling the crime i committed with a can of custard yellow paint in a moment of madness.

after a long period of separation (causing anxiety) she is reunited with Mr Hook ~ Tif

a ramble of sorts whilst recapping...

2011-10-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

hooray it is friday!

i am tres giddy because that means a brand new shiny week is waiting to happen in just a day or so. i am gearing up for said shiny week by cleaning our shed and shuffling things around. i can not clean a shed without shuffling, it makes the cleaning so much more thrilling when you plot and plan the movement of furniture and knick knacks.

then monday will roll around and shiny week will begin and in turn my sanity will be saved...

in the meantime, how about a little recap of last friday's book launch.

photos by bees knees Lola

oh so many fine and dandy folks dilly dallied our way, it was a most spiffy event and i was most fortunate to meet some of you
("hello hello", said whilst waving to you).
new friends and old friends came out to support the book and Janine and myself were tres delighted.

the peachy Andie and Emily of Assemble Shop are the bees knees without a doubt.

and best of all, yes quite honestly the best thing of all,

a small being with a little critter came to visit

("hello small being Gráinne and little critter Sugar Cookie" said whilst doing an extra grande wave to you)

Janine put together a little video of the evening, 'cause she is pretty spiffy that way.

dottie angel book launch from UPPERCASE gallery on Vimeo.

i on the other hand, was complete pants and did not take any photos after a failed attempt at capturing the window display and so have relied upon others to allow me to share...

so thank you kindly Lola and Melanie, cheers my dears for your fabby sharing selves

*a nice little write up from Melanie of inward facing girl

*lola's lovely post on her book launch visit with me

she will be back on monday, with crafty creative cap firmly bobby pinned on her bounce, a la Diana Dearie style (another big wave) ~ Tif
footynote: photos today kindly shared by Lola Nova, who is also the bees knees, actually everyone who came to the book launch is the bees knees, but especially 'bees knees-ness' goes to Lola

footynote note: oh crikey, now i am fretting someone somewhere is thinking "Tif didn't wave at me" or "Tif forgot to say i was the bees knees" and this will never do. so just to set the record straight, i think you are all the bees knees and i have said this whilst waving "hello hello" to everybody this morning. yes, that is much better now...

yesterday...

2011-10-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

yesterday Little Olive sat in her suitcase staring at her twiddly bits attached to her blankie.

i sat at the kitchen knook table staring out the window at the arrival of Mr Autumn.

i noted to Little Olive that we were indeed a right old pair of old pants together.

for it was the 3rd of October and so far there was no sign of our dynamic keep fit regime starting.

we had prepped and planned for the first of the month and now 3 days into the month, nothing.

not a single ounce of 'keep fitting' going on between us.

she quite rightly pointed out it was mainly my fault.

i quite rightly pointed out, indeed it was, however i had a fine and dandy excuse.

to which she looked at me with the look of

"oh yes, and what would that be Tif?"

to which i replied

"Little Olive, as much as i wish to keep fit with the passion of a marathon runner, alas and alack, i cannot.

for the colour yellow is weighing heavily on my mind, distracting me nicely from matters of the heart and such is its distracting ways, it also appears good at distracting me from keeping fit"

i then proceeded to jolly Little Olive up with a hearty lively debate of the colour yellow, does one think a cupboard in my studio would benefit from a lick of its lovely sunny self and what were her thoughts on it.

where upon Little Olive proceeded with her usual trick of "if i can't see her, surely she can't see me", in the high hopes i would fizzle off and talk to some other poor unsuspecting critter in the shed

she is thinking Little Olive may not be volunteering to come to the paint store this morning ~ Tif

a big day...

2011-09-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

hurrah hooray! i cannot believe we are already at the official book launch day... it has been a whole year since Janine, Glen and little Finley came to stay at Mossy Shed and now they are back in Seattle for our book launch.

in a matter of hours i will be catching the bus to the big city, where upon i will meet up with Janine and her little clan, and the lovely Lola Nova, my most fine and dandy buddy from Portland. she is in my 'nice folks' section of the book because quite frankly she is very nice to know.

then together we will sally forth to The Assemble Gallery and have a spiffy old time of things this evening.

i think today would be a most fitting time for me to say perhaps the biggest "thanking your kindly" i have ever needed to say...

from the lovely peachy comments here, to the incredible amount of fabby mails in my inbox, to the twittering words tweeted, to the kind facebook messages, i have truly been overwhelmed by the response to the book. i feel most humbled to know so many folks have found the book to be inspiring, unique and totally dottie angel.

these past weeks for my family across the pond, well, it has been a crappity crap few weeks filled with emotions and sadness, and there are many more to come. so late last night into the wee early hours my man and i sat, and we talked and we talked with heavy hearts and heavy heads. he then told me, "no matter what Tif, tomorrow is your day, it is your moment and nothing will overshadow this, you have waited patiently for half a lifetime to have a little moment to shine and you deserve it."

and so dearest readers, i shall do just as he says, i will take 'my day', i will wear my cloggy sandals with pride as i step on the bus, 'little lucky bunny' safely tucked in my bag and head to meet my friends and my lovely blog readers to share this moment with them...

and i wish to share with you also, for those that cannot be here, be it my family across the pond, my lovely girls so far away and you, my dearest readers. thank you kindly for making me feel like i have inspired you to be a little crafty, to look at your stash piles of yarny fabric goodness and to feel itching to get stitching, for if that is one thing i am proud of, is knowing others too have become as addicted to crafting as me due to my little book and this here little blog i like to call home...

yes, today more than any other day, she is truly thanking you kindly, each and every one of you...

Tif

intermingling with Hubert...

2011-09-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

yesterday as i sat on the floor, Used Dog deep in slumber close by, Little Olive upon my lap chewing her bone and me 'a pondering and a plotting' my next crafty move, the word 'intermingle' popped into my little brain.

where it came from i have no idea, i have never used nor thought of this spiffy word before. after several moments of thinking about nothing but this new and exotic word i decided it must be a sign. a sign from the thrifty gods. yes yes, with no doubt at all, they were sending me a sign.

i realized in this one word 'intermingle' was a whole message, the message being

"Tif, go forth to the thrift store and intermingle with other thrifty souls"

i protested a little, i know perhaps that sounds very unlike me, but we have reached the time of year when for two whole months my thrift store is taken over by halloween and the need for every man and his dog to find a costume of such. thus resulting in much loved shelves and rows, once filled with spiffy secondhand goodness, now filled with crappity crap mass produced wares.

however, 'intermingle' would not let me be, all through homework, all through dinner, all through whatever else i was 'all throughing' (Mr Spell Checker isn't happy) 'intermingle' kept on calling my name.

so i had no choice, i could not lie in bed listening to this word the secondhand gods had sent as a sign. this would have been a terrible faux pas, for the gods may chose to never bless me again with their thrifting good luck.

upon entering my thriftstore door, i turned to the left as is always my way and that was the moment Hubert and i found each other. on the shelves of knick knacks, right by the door, all else faded away except for a white bright light highlighting Hubert and his little fleabitten soul.

on close inspection Hubert has been knocked around a bit, he does not wear his 46 years well. i know his age, not because he told me, for alas Hubert has not spoken in many a long time, but because someone at some point decided to write it on his derriere, of course they could have been making it up, but i like to believe he is quite the old boy. i noted his crazed and craggy fur, i noted his terribly broken leg, still showing the scars of a badly patched job... but most of all, i noted his dignified look as i gazed into his little black eyes

when Hubert and i returned home to a dark and quiet shed, such is my life living with 'lads of three' who are out and about most evenings, i bathed him and then i found him a perfect little spot, one i had created only a few days before. i like to call them vignettes, my man has taken to calling them 'Tif's shrines' as in "ah, i see another shrine to your handcrafted and thrifty finds, has popped up whilst i turned my back". no matter. what matters is, i am thankful i was given a sign, so old Hubert can look forward to many happy days of 'intermingling' at mossy shed.

she is thinking how perfectly lovely of Victoria to encourage folks to dilly dally my way this friday ~ Tif

big things and little strings...

2011-09-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

last week all became a little tricky dicky

and so on friday i went to spend quality time with

my adopted auntie

at her little gray cottage by a babbling brook

where we spent many happy moments

stringing little strings of happy

whilst Miss Mina looked on

i think it quite true to say,

one of the besty best things to have happened to me of late is adopting my auntie.

i would highly recommend it...

she is delighted to say, the mountain has become a mole hill and she is nearly at the top ~ Tif

mr and mrs monkey...

2011-09-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

rescued from the shelves of despair, mr and mrs monkey have found true happiness in their twilight years. mr monkey having no sense of smell is unawares of mrs monkey's need to wear her 'eau de toilette' on the heavy side. and most peachy indeed is mrs monkey, being very hard of hearing, is not kept awake at night by mr monkey's tres terrible snoring. one might think an old monkey may not snore when his nose is a fabric button, but think again because he does.

this lovely little tea tray celebrates mr and mrs monkey's fondness for each other and quite frankly, makes me smile. big enough to enjoy tea for two or indeed perfectly suited to be hung on the wall as a reminder of what makes us happy in life.

if you think mr and mrs monkey would be most suited to spend life in your peachy nest, then you can find them sitting in my shop window, waiting patiently for their forever home.

she is off to visit her adopted auntie in her little gray cottage tomorrow ~ Tif

note taking again...

2011-09-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

oh how i love myself some notes...

bee day notes:

note one: it occurred to me, half way through yesterday, the Queen does birthday portraits every year, so why can't i, after all i had my new birthday frock on.

note two: my 'lads of three' did not let me down! to think they plotted and planned without Our #1 and #2 around made me feel super spiffy inside. along with handmade cards (the bestest kind to receive) i was given three lovely books of which i will show on an up and coming thrilling 'book week' (to be announced, i like that and so i had to write it, "to be announced"), two bars of cadbury's caramel and EVIL'O', a glowing pesky daxie. my lads have noted on many an occasion that OLIVE spelt backwards says 'evilo' and so this seemed most fitting for a life size daxie now glowing in the corner of our lounge

note three: EVIL'O' looks a little chilly to me :)

crafty notes:

note one: in between a mammoth amount of chin wagging with clan members far far away i did get a little crafty yesterday, not enough for my liking but enough to feel like i am making headway. for this sunday i am heading to Seattle to install (doesn't that sound professional and like i know what i am doing, gosh what a spiffy little word) a 'dottie angel' vignette (please see booky notes below for install reasons)

note two: i wish for a cluster of goodness and i need to get my crafty granny pants on and not dilly dally about the place, for dilly dallying is banned this week. i think i may put up signs around the shed stating this. i do not think i have ever banned anything in our shed before, however, time is not on my side and dilly dallying therefore will be banned

booky notes:

note one: hurrah hooray, for 'tis tres exciting. Janine and myself are having a book launch in Seattle and you are all invited! in my heart of hearts, i wish you could all be there but alas and alack i know this is not possible. however there maybe one or two of you peachy readers who do live near by, who are not doing much on September 30th, between 6 and 9pm and fancy a bit of dilly dallying at the lovely Assemble Gallery and Studio. (the dilly dallying ban will have been lifted by then)

how grand it would be for you to come and join us, small beings and little critters most welcome. actually i do not know about the little critter bit, so perhaps if you have a mousey who likes to go out and about in your pocket i am thinking that might be okay. or a hedgehog like Basil, but not so sure about larger critters, so best leave them at home. but small and big beings all welcome. my 'lads of three' will be there, i have mentioned to my man he may want to read my book as he might be asked a tricky question like "have you read the book?" his response was "i live in your dolified world Tif, i think i'll be okay"

i think he has a point...

she is thanking you most kindly for the peachy well wishes yesterday and will be back tomorrow with a little monkey busy businessy stuff ~ Tif

43...

2011-09-20T11:27:00.000-07:00

i did not plan on turning 43 today, no sirree.

i planned on staying 42 for another year and then turning 44 next year.

to me it seemed a perfectly perfect cunning plan.

however it would appear my 'lads of three' have other plans...

whilst i wait for their return to the shed this afternoon,

i shall spend my happy day wisely doing what i like to do best...

feeling a little crafty.

Tif

creatively connected...

2011-09-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

hurrah hooray! i made it to Minnesota on wednesday on my 'owny oh', and made it all the way back again yesterday. we had the most spiffiest of times, me, Janine and Jessie, my two creative connection buddies. all three of us wore our rose coloured spectacles...

me, Janine and Jessie with our rose coloured specs firmly in place

so many many creative folks and so much connecting going on, it was quite the sight to behold. as i thought might be the case, i was so busy being a busy bee, 'frankly frank' hardly got a moment to do his thing, but thank goodness Janine was a little bit more 'altogether' and has put up a lovely slide show of just some of the event. so please do have a looky, you can click on it and make it larger. you'll be able to spot our stall and even if we did say it ourselves we were pretty chuffed with how it looked. each day we started tres early and ended tres late, sleeping very little as our cogs kept on turning through the night.

me taken by Janine Vangool (a most spiffy publisher of whom i am so proud of)

i am so thankful to all of you who stopped by our stall, who said "hello Tif", who bought me gifts and just made me feel so welcome. i am truly humbled by the kindness you showed me, the huge enthusiasm for the book and i am without doubt, quite positively sure, these past few days will stay with me forever.

she is busy beavering away, for her little creative cogs are riding high from being surrounded by so much crafty goodness ~ Tif

the creative connection...

2011-09-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

on the one hand, i am not cut out for a life where you jet off to foreign climes, meet a gazillion new faces and hob nob. but on the other hand, an itty bitty bit inside of me sees past Mr Doubter and Mr Scaredy Pants and sees the bit where it is simply quite thrilling to be travelling to do a market place stall, sit amongst other fine authors and best of all, meet peachy folks such as yourselves, dearest readers.

so with that in mind, i sallied forth to the drugstore yesterday to buy me a bottle of nail polish in an attempt to freshen up my appearance. my eyes alighted upon the perfect granny coral orange polish right at the back of the shelf. as i was riding high, on a roll, i heeded my adopted auntie and soul sister's wise words and stood bedazzled in the make up aisle. after much indecision due to major bedazzlement, i targeted a green eyeliner as the little bit of miracle to make me look tres peachy on the long days and nights ahead.

once home, i discovered the clumpy coral nail polish was not only the colour a granny would love but was also as old as a granny. my toe nails had looked better before with the two month old chipped teal they had been sporting prior to my meddling. application of the green eyeliner left me with no doubt it was more suited to a halloween event and not an author book signing.

and so it is dearest readers, come tomorrow early morning, i shall sally forth 'as is' with a case full of dottie angel wares (just room for 4 pairs of granny knickers), my exciting travel assemble of layered florals and pinstripes topped off with cardi and handstitched elbow patches and 'a heart and a head' full of high hopes for the coming five days. i have informed Mr Doubter and Mr Scaredy Pants there is no room at the Inn where i am going...

if you are heading to The Creative Connection, she would love for you to say "hello Tif" and will do her utmost with Frankly Frank's help, to bring home some photos to share ~ Tif

random things to note...

2011-09-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

random thing one:

i am guilty of using the word 'spiffy' too many times, i need to curtail my usage for fear of 'spiffy overload' which is not good, just the thought of it and what it may cause is fearful enough

random thing two:

despite saying i would not twiddle, i could not help myself and thus proceeded to do a little itty bitty twiddling with Gladys, therefore i am thinking i may be forgiven, because it was so itty bitty it really doesn't count.

random thing three:

a little jealousy can be a good thing sometimes, especially in the case of Danielle Krysa the peachy Jealous Curator no less. i am most delighted to see she will be running a fabby camp this October in Palm Springs. i have never been to Palm Springs, but my thrifty senses tell me it is full of granny goodness to be found. i noted Danielle's camp would be well suited to me except the bit about pilates, however i noted this was optional. as my dabbling with yoga and tai chi was pretty pants i can only imagine how i would be at pilates. the rest of the blurb is well worth a noting. so yes, i am a little jealous of those who will be going

random thing four:

i have finished reading my book, i read it from back to front to add an element of surprise. surprisingly i noted it read equally as well backwards... not sure what this says about the book but i like to think it adds an element of uniqueness to the whole thing

random thing five:

cellar door magazine is a spiffy magazine (just one spiffy today) i was most happy when they ran a little article on mossy shed. this may be my first printed article in a magazine which says 'by Tif Fussell'

random thing six:

shop window was filled last week, thank you kindly to those who dropped by. i will be adding more things when i return after my trip to Minnesota

random thing seven:

am testing out my market stall set up today with my adopted auntie. she has kindly agreed to come by and give me words of wisdom on the stall, me fretting about traveling alone next week and indeed doing a better job at pulling up my knee socks

random thing eight:

my doorbell went yesterday morning and a Brit was on my doorstep. i noted she may have been sent from above, even though she said she have moved in 4 houses down. i am hoping she did not notice my frightfully birds nest plaited hair-do, going on 3 days worth and deranged look in my eye due to lack of sleep the night before when Mr Lurgy visited Our #4. i am also hoping i did not scare her off with my huge enthusiasm at having a fellow Brit in the neighbourhood.

random thing nine:

a bear took a bath in my next door neighbours pond two days ago

random thing ten:

i cannot say the word 'skipping' in a normal voice, i tried all morning whilst doing the washing up. it is not possible to say it without actually a skippity skip tone to my voice. interesting, very interesting, i wonder what other words are like that

random thing eleven:

nope its gone, my mind has gone blank, the cogs have stopped turning, yep this is as good as it will ever get for today.

she is wishing you the most agreeable weekend ~ Tif

snippets of...

2011-09-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

ah yes, 'tis been a while for sure. but today we have 'snippets of...' but just like always, before the snippets, there must be a ramble. of course you could just scroll on down and skip the ramble, quite understandable and i will forgive if you do. for those that are not skipping, then here's the blurb...

(the word 'skipping' is a most spiffy word i think)

yesterday i practiced the 'fine art of avoidance', some days i think i could get a degree in this form of fine art.

there i was sitting staring at a 'pressing' blank word document, Colin the Computer was so kindly holding up for me, when the little voice inside my head piped up

"do not put off till tomorrow, what you can do today"

wise words indeed i thought as i stared blankly at my screen. then another little voice butted in reminding me of the little spiffy can of paint my magical paint man had mixed for me. the most perfectly perfect greeny aqua colour, the exact match of our kitchen chair.

the first little voice pointed out this was not what it meant, the second little voice said, surely these wise words apply to anything, including a little pot of paint and a laundry room cupboard waiting patiently.

i then proceeded to ponder how it is, i see my laundry room as a luxury space. is it because i am a Brit and until moving stateside always had my w. machine in the kitchen? i think perhaps it is, and so therefore i love my little laundry space with quite a passion. however i do not love dirty laundry with any passion, but as this is part and parcel of the life i lead then how spiffy to have a small space to do it in. when we first moved in, the little space was filled with old Formica cupboards, i removed some doors and painted others.

as i was practicing the fine art of avoidance, it seemed only fitting i listened to little voice number two and switched off little voice number one. whereupon i spent a happy half hour freshening up the laundry room cupboard. upon which i noted afterwards, it needed a new curtain, so i took some of the fabby nylon tablecloth i found in the thrift store a few weeks back and made one. after which i noted my little laundry space needed a clean, so i did. and then after all that, i felt such a love for my little laundry room i invited 'frankly frank' in to record my afternoon efforts.

so today i have

snippets of... a laundry room

thrilling stuff!

and the besty best snippet of all

Bingo Bee...

she now finds herself one day later staring at a blank word doc, kindly held up by Colin the Computer, more pressing than the day before and this time she has no choice but to listen to voice number one ~ Tif

our gladys, you are the bees knees...

2011-09-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

one fine day three years ago, Gladys came to live at the bottom of our yard. she had no inners, holes in her roof and sides, a coat of dodgy brown paint inside her shell and a floor of forest green plywood. she came with many things i wish she did not, but one thing she came with was potential, and that was all i needed to know one day she would have a little moment to shine.

Gladys has patiently sat waiting for that moment, through rain, hail, snow and sun, she has bided her time. slowly growing a coat of green on her silvery good looks and sinking gradually into the moss below... never complaining, just looking back at me every day as i look at her through my kitchen back door. i knew things had reached an all time low for Gladys when my man took to storing the chicken straw in her inners.

then one fine and dandy day this summer a miracle happened. Our #3 said "when are we going to do up Gladys? i would help you know" and then Our #4 piped in with a "yes, we can put a telly in her" and that was all i needed to be stirred into action. i replied with a "if you help me then you can claim her inner space as your own"

and so began many hours filled with sheets of metal, piles of rivets, pots of duck egg blue paint and a pile of faux flooring tiles. i must tell you it was rather nice 'me and my lads of three' spending quality time together until the moment we stepped back late this past monday evening and saw Our Gladys beginning to shine.

of course it was at that moment i was overcome with a need to claim Gladys back for myself, for now she was so peachy looking. i could not help myself... so as my boys placed the couch one end of her, to see if telly watching in Gladys would be grand, i asked in a little 'pretty please' voice, if i may claim a little corner for myself. they sighed, knowing it would be impossible to keep me out. of course my lads could have said "no, on your bike mother" but i am delighted to report they did no such thing. for perhaps a little voice inside their heads mentioned the clean undies and the hot orange meals which miraculously appear everyday.

they gave me one end, the perfect end with a handy dandy shelf above the clock for forsaken thrifted souls to spend quality time. i have many dreams for my little end such as pasting a few pictures and papers on the wall and perhaps a rug for underfoot.

yes indeed, i wish to 'twiddle' with Gladys like i have never wished to twiddle with anything before, but it must wait, for i need to turn my attention to something more pressing over the coming days. but in between said pressing moments i can be found with a nice cuppa tea, in Our Gladys, looking back at Mossy Shed and yes, why not, counting my chickens because that is what i have become. an obsessive mother hen who counts her chickens every ten minutes and as always, her blessings.

she is stitching for The Creative Connection and doing more counting, this time counting out her clean undies ~ Tif

dottie angel

a jolly good read...

fabby fabric from a silly old suitcase...

thrilling friday's instant images...

things i like today...

a dar~ing, clue~ing, hint~ing kind of day...

scuppered by a snow storm...

a goat, a bernina & a panini...

buttons, twitterings, books and a bit of instants...

a good man...

happy shiny year

on the 12th day of joyfulness...

on the 11th day of joyfulness...

on the 10th day of joyfulness...

on the 9th day of joyfulness...

on the 8th day of joyfulness...

on the 7th day of joyfulness...

on the 6th day of joyfulness...

on the 5th day of joyfulness...

on the 4th day of joyfulness...

on the 3rd day of joyfulness...

on the 2nd day of joyfulness...

on the 1st day of joyfulness...

crafty joyful gleeful mojo...

one little bird studio and giving thanks...

update on Used Dog...

a long day at mossy shed...

round and round...

a bit of tartan, some good fortune, perhaps a smidgen of snow and a little thanks...

a 'joyful' update today...

'thing' friday...

a 'small being'...

willy nilly...

giddy...

a 'Joyful' update...

questions & answers...

a bit of bobbing...

the demise of Mr Shark...

three thrilling things...

the three C's... day four

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the three C's... day three

the three C's... day two

the three C's... day one

constant canine companions...

blankets on the brain...

crimes committed...

a ramble of sorts whilst recapping...

yesterday...

a big day...

intermingling with Hubert...

big things and little strings...

mr and mrs monkey...

note taking again...

43...

creatively connected...

the creative connection...

random things to note...

snippets of...

our gladys, you are the bees knees...

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