book week... day five

today i am busying myself with busy things around the shed,

and ignoring the glass jars and their need for woolly jackets.

for in three days Janine and her little clan are coming to stay.

part of being an artist in the suitcase series

means the lovely Janine and her little clan

pack up their suitcases and come for a visit!

hence the name 'suitcase series'...

here in mossy shed,

we are getting a little exciteable about the whole thing,

especially little olive and used dog.

however, i am thinking of giving each of my clan members

a note card with 'do not dos' written upon it,

1. do not bicker

2. do not leave wet puddles upon the bathroom floor

3. do not pick your nose unless it is in private

and while we are at it,

4. do not sniff, blow your nose

5. do not leave a trail of crappity crap

6. do not ignore me so i have to repeat myself 5 times

before you are spurred into action

7. do not do anything other than marvel at my orange meals

and the list goes on,

anyone living with a clan of aging children and a man

will know exactly what i am talking about...

however i have decided not to write my 'do not dos'

no sirree, i am going to throw caution to the wind

and trust my clan will rise to the occasion

showing their 'best shiny' sides for 4 whole days.

i fear this could be a moment

for clinging onto 'high hopes' like never before

now to book number five of book week,

and it's a goodie!

hooray hurrah!

my soul sister kindly gave me Orla Kiely's book for my birthday,

we share a mutual love of Orla and all her goodness.

so it was with great excitement i received this wonderful book,

okay so i was totally giddy, for i am a huge Orla nut!

the book is everything it promises to be

and a whole lot more,

page after page of Orla's world is revealed

in all it's colorful, patterned, retro glory

she tells about the early days, how she got started.

she talks about her creative process,

her inspirations, resulting in her stunning patterns

and how the scale and rhythm along with the color,

all play a part in creating her wonderful range

of clothing, bags and soft furnishings.

right at the back of the book is a little chapter on blogs,

where Orla talks about blogs being an endless source

of amazement and inspiration for her.

seeing how others interpret her patterns and color

within their own homes is wonderful.

this is the bit when i got super giddy,

a little lightheaded even and Miss Ethel felt the same.

for in the back of Orla's lovely book

is none other than mossy shed and Miss Ethel.

now of course many of you will be seeing once again

there is irony when it comes to Tif and her tales.

for indeed this would be the very wallpaper i am in love with,

still am to this day,

but alas the love affair came to an end within the shed.

i can actually hardly bare to mention it

so i have said that last paragraph in a whisper.

but not to worry, for upstairs in mossy shed

Orla's patterny wonders still continue to grace our walls

i have high hopes,

if ever Orla happened to be passing by the shed one day,

perhaps she may indeed knock upon our door

and despite gasping 'thee gasp'

at seeing our walls without blossoms,

she will be most happy to see the upstairs bit of the shed,

thus immediately forgiving me

and my wicked wallpaper stripping ways

if there is one book

to recommend for your wish list this holiday season

then Orla Kiely's book would be it,

not because of Miss Ethel, nor mossy shed,

but because it is a tres peachy read

and indeed totally Orla

she is thinking tomorrow would be a peachy day indeed for a grand give away ~ Tif

a big day...

today is a big day,

it is full of big things,

big mountains of laundry,

big hair due to crappity crap weather,

big piles of fabric waiting to be crafted

and probably thee 'biggest thing' to happen to me, in many a year.

indeed my 'big thing' is so big for my little world

that i shaved my pasty pins in honor of its bigness.

i think right there tells how big of a thing it truly is.

for my pasty pins, with the lack of summer

have bypassed all attempts at looking lovely and golden,

and gone into premature hibernation.

i have spoken to my pasty pins this morning,

told them this will not do,

that Fall may appear to be all around

but we must do our best to maintain some level of 'pasty pins' pride.

once i had divulged to my pasty pins the bigness of the day,

they realized it was time to shape up.

and so dearest readers, with my smoothy pasty pins

i am most delighted to share my 'big peachy news' with you today.

"Tif, for crying out loud, could you just get on with it,

we have pea soup on the stove, homework to be finished

and indeed our own pasty pins to sort along with the laundry"

you say quite exasperated with moi.

quite right too! i have rambled enough

so without further ado,

my big news, ney terribly peachy bigger than big news

is...

myself, my pasty pins and dottie angel are to be published!

i am trying to recall if i have ever had such a big thing happen to moi.

obviously i have had my share of grandness in parts.

i do recall a moment aged 12 on stage with my drama club,

then there was the time i played in the girl's brigade marching band in the Royal Albert Hall.

myself being the proud cymbal player.

and of course the moments my babies were born.

but a book!

now that is quite a different kettle of fish to get my head around...

indeed as i tippity type, my pasty pins are shaking somewhat!

and not just an ordinary book at that,

but an extraordinary book

made possible by the extraordinary talents of Janine Vangool

some of you may already know about UPPERCASE,

a wonderful magazine for the creative and the curious.

the likes of which i had never seen before,

until my soul sister Debbie gifted me a subscription...

and that dearest readers led to a 'happening of the utmost kind'.

Janine, the creative wonder behind UPPERCASE

also dabbles in publishing and designing books,

the type of books you wish 'to have and to hold'

and only ever lend to a friend when they have signed on the dotted line,

agreeing to treat it with the care and respect it so deserves.

one of these books is The Suitcase Series, Volume One

featuring the wonderful world of Camilla Engman.

when i read Camilla's book i could see firsthand

to be an artist in The Suitcase Series is a wonderful thing indeed.

for the book captures in glorious detail

the lives of artists and designers from around the world,

as Janine says herself, the books in this series are precious souvenirs of a creative journey

shared between the artist and the reader.

and so it is with great excitement and may i say a few tears of joy,

dottie angel will be the next artist in The Suitcase Series,

to be published in early summer 2011!!

the book is available for pre-order alongside three other wonderful books to be released over the coming months

the elegant cockroach

work/life 2

a collection a day

all four books are being offered as a book bundle from UPPERCASE

i have mentioned the book to

Miss Ethel my trusty sewing machine

Carlos my camera,

Mr Hook,

the chickens in the yard,

little olive and Used dog,

the kitty cats,

speedy with his shell

and indeed

mousey and his cousin mousey under the stairs.

they have all looked back at me and my pasty pins, in silence...

i am taking their silence as a sign of how big this moment is in our lives we share together,

they are at a loss for words.

to see their ordinary lives living in suburbia with a slightly nutty woman

of an uncertain age,

who walks a crafty path each day

whilst dreaming of living dottie angel's life,

being made into a book

is a little too much for them to take in, after all it is only the begining of the week.

she is wondering if samuel whiskers in the attic wishes to be informed ~ Tif