granny chic, rachelle and the country living fair...

yes indeedy! my fabby book writing buddy Rachelle is packing up her little vintage suitcase, filling her mode of transport to the brim with books, granny chic finery and her partner in crime, 'the lovely Tracy' and heading to the Country Living Fair in Harrogate this week.

i am so proud of all the hard work she has been doing over the past weeks in the name of Granny Chic and our book... preparing goodies for the Granny Chic stall and prepping for her class on how to make Liberty wrapped baubles (not just for christmas but for any day of the year) which she will be demo-ing in the theatre every single day at 2:00pm, sharp as a whistle.

yes indeedy, just looking at the few snaps on her instagram feed (some of which i have kindly borrowed to share here) has my granny chic knees all weak and my crafty heart pitter pattering... surely if ever there was a stall worthy of a ganders at a fair such as this, t'would be this one for sure. if you are looking to purchase our Granny Chic book, Rachelle will have some and of course, if you already have one but fancy a bit of scribble in it then be all means hoppity skippity along to her fabby stall where upon she will get out her most spiffy of markers to do a spot of scribbling on a page or two, specially for you.

now i know the Country Living Fair is tres large and its easy to get lost or sidetracked or pushed out the way by another more intent shopper, but do not let that distract you from your path, no sirree! keep focused, head down, and move steadily like a salmon up stream, determinedly pottling towards all that is granny chic and goodly. you will find Our Rachelle alongside her fine right hand buddy Our Tracy, on stand M5 in the first hall. please do stop by, say hello, give my fine and dandy granny chic companions a hug or two and take in the wonder of Granny Chic via Rachelle's perfectly peachy surroundings she has created so brilliantly!

wishing i could tread the path with you, but i'll be there in spirit and will certainly be dressing in my best Granny Chic finery across the pond, in support of the besty book writing buddy i could ever have wished for

Tif 

footynote:

all photos in today's post belong to Rachelle from Ted and Agnes, if you wish to see more then may i suggest you visit here and do like i do most days when visiting, be inspired...

yesterday...

i noted yesterday,

between a movie and a meal

that perhaps the time had come

to retire my springified plastic flowers

in favour of something a little more fitting

to the coming joyful jolly season.

this made me a little sad

as i do like my springified plastic flowers

however upon closer inspection,

my sadness turned to joy

for indeed, 

such were the colours of my plastic pretties

they are most suited to

a joyful jolly bit of jolly~ness

after the movie and meal

but before the game of

3 card brag,

i found a willing jar victim

and a rather pretty scrap

of vintage lace.

several moments later,

along with several lengths of thread

and a cup or two of dried rice

my 'nearly retired but stopped in the nick of time' flowers

were doing a rather spiffy job

of bringing some seasonal cheer

to our fireplace

Tif

giving thanks...

Tif

wordless wednesday...

Tif

a 'jolly joyful' garland recipe...

goodness me! the joyful season is almost upon us!

this year my cunning plan is to do just a few jolly things around the shed, plonk the tree up (this time in front of a window by popular demand of clan members, year after year) and be done.

i do like a jolly crafty make or two this time of year and i particularly like ones of the 'easy peasy' variety. the sort you can do alongside of your little critters and small beings.

a little critter taking the job of pom pom 'looker afterer' very seriously, and quite rightly so, 'tis a job of the utmost importance

this little recipe is an adaption of the 'quirky and jolly' string recipe in our Granny Chic book. perfectly suited to a windy rainy afternoon, cuppa in hand, and little paws and small fingers enjoying 'feeling a little crafty'.

and just a note before i begin. just a thought, my 'jolly joyful' garland colours were inspired by my mexico trip, however you may wish to go with a full on joyful time of year colour theme or you can go like me, a little bit more eclectic. after the joyful season is over, consider removing the bling which points to recent festivities and replace with doodahs (word courtesy of my adopted auntie) more suited to a shiny fresh new year.

so with that all being said, a year round 'jolly joyful' garland recipe may commence...

ingredients

* yarn 

(in jolly colours of your choosing)

* pom pom making kit, various sizes 

(can be the shop bought ones or old fashioned cardboard homemade ones)

* embroidery threads 

(for stringing bling and doodahs)

* joyful bling from your joyful box bought down from the attic once a year

* anything else you wish to dingle dangle

(fake flowers, scraps of fabric, doilies etc)

recipe

* make as many pom poms as you care to make, if you have a specific place you will be hanging your 'jolly joyful' garland, perhaps the mantel piece or in a window then you may have to add or subtract once you start stringing together. be sure when making your pom poms you leave nice long tails from the yarn thread you used to secure your pom pom nicely so it does not fall apart on your 'voila! i made a pom pom' moment.

* one by one, tie your pom poms together using the string tails. leave a nice healthy gap between the pom poms. i myself prefer some closer than others, however you may prefer even gaps. now i have "mind the gap" voice from the london underground in my ears. so yes, heed that advice "mind the gap" so you have the perfect sized gaps you like and which are pleasing to your crafty heart. once done, this becomes the basis of your garland

note the nice healthy gap between pom poms, perfectly suited for a bit of festive bling to dingle dangle

* hang your pom pom string up where it will be doing its job, hang it securely so when you step back to admire after the next few steps, it does not do a sigh and then fall to the ground under the weight of all that festive bling. gather together your other bits of joyful bling and start to hang between the gaps of the pom poms. this maybe a brilliant time to have small beings help out. they are very good at random and eclectic bling hanging. you will have to be on hand to hold them up if need be, some little beings being unable to reach if the garland is hung up high. and this would never do.

continue blinging until you can bling no more...

* step back, admire your 'jolly joyful' garland and note how when the evening approaches, the hatches are battened down and its rather horrid outside, 'tis nothing but jolly and joyful inside thanks to some pom poms, a few crafty moments and box full of bling

Tif

footynote: 

all photos taken on dreary day, with lights on and frankly frank a little off colour (do you like how i blame frankly frank and not myself for the slightly pants photos! ha! good job he can't talk) but trust me, this jolly joyful garland is well worthy of a crafty moment or two

wordless wednesday...

instant moments...

golly gosh, i could hardly believe it when i realized this morn, its nearly a whole year since i started seeing snippets through the eyes of ivor ipad and his instagram button. a whole year of instant moments within our shed and my head. i must confess at times having quite the addiction to it and other times, not so. i am pondering to myself as to whether or not, after the year is complete if i will continue my love affair with ivor and his button of instantness...

found this old glossy brown mirror on saturday's jolly. thoughts of painting it have crossed my mind, but in the end, i just popped some pretty flowers along the top and left it 'as-is' for now (do not think you are going bonkers if you cannot see the flowers, they are in fact not in situ in this instant pic, so fear not, you are still sane)

a beautiful mexican top, hanging in the shed to remind me of our travels and inspire a crafty moment or two

yesterday's jolly yarn dash made with my man, now sits resplendent in a basket waiting for the 'off'. fortunately my man has not discovered my suitcase full of yarny goodness and therefore willingly took the trip with me rather than announce "surely Tif, we are overflowing with yarn in the shed" 

started the long old sort out of my studio for 'new year fresh old start' sort of thing.  it started off very spiffingly and then i got sidetracked and rather bored and went off the whole idea of sorting and shuffling. may have to wait till Our #1 comes home at christmas and takes pity on me and sorts it all for me

whilst dullness set in with sorting out the studio, i went off and dabbled with the creative thoughts in my head

with the nights drawing in, i have started nesting within the shed, found a short string of fairy lights and several feathered friends feeling a little chilly from being outside all summer long. a nice bit of twinkling does wonders for the long dark evenings

as i pondered my thought of 'to continue or not to continue instant pics' out loud this morn, little olive mentioned how very interesting my ponderings were and indeed, she too has been pondering thoughts of her own. 

some serious pondering going on

when i inquired as to what her pondering ways were about, a pesky grin crossed her face, followed by her thinking thought or two. after she had told me, finishing off in a flurry of tail wagging and skippity skipping from one illegal parked place to another. she told me i was only the second being to know of her thoughts, the first being Used Dog, who apparently felt it an interesting thought but not sure if a wise one.

used dog feels a little overwhelmed by all the serious pondering going on in little olive's head of late

however, i found myself agreeing, saying it was indeed quite a rather splendid thought to ponder and i for one would take great joy in following her instant moments on instagram in the new year. for nothing makes my day quite so jolly then a little pesky doggie doing what she does best... 

little olive trying to persuade me, her own instant moments account on instagram would be quite a jolly thing to see

point proven

Tif 

a bit more...

baja inspiration for the creative soul

this sunday

Tif

responsibilities of the utmost kind

today, i am going on a tippity top secret thrifty jolly mission. i have dingle dangled my top secret thrifty jolly mission like a little carrot, in front of me, all week long. 'tis done the trick, and this morning i awoke with a spring in my step and a little light shining brightly where i polished my aura at yoga therapy yesterday. i note the sun is shining, its brass monkeys outside, but that is 'a-okay' for i have a drawer full of winter thrifted and handmade scarves and mittens waiting to be worn. 

i have not had a drawer of such like before, more a scattering of 'here and there' scarves and mittens, but recently i was taken with the need to collect all my woolies in one place. once, a long while ago, many moons, but not so many that it was another decade, i stayed at my soul sister's house in old blighty and i noted upon leaving for a jolly trip one day, she opened a drawer of her nicely painted sideboard, by the front door and an array of beautiful coloured scarves and gloves shone from within. i marvelled at this drawer, i marvelled at how lovely it was to keep all your pretty accessories for winter in one place and most of all i marvelled at how terribly grown up it must feel to have such a drawer. i wondered to myself would there ever be a time when i was grown up enough to have such a drawer of delights.

this past week, whilst wandering and wondering around lost, i chanced upon the image in my cogs of 'the drawer of grown-up-ness' again. i pondered my moves in this direction, wondering if i was ready for such responsibility. i thought, well yes its all very well having such a drawer in existence but with it comes an obligation. an obligation to ones woolies and whatnots, to maintain a routine of returning their loveliness each and everytime to whence they belonged.

the chosen set of drawers, once was an old pine dressing table gifted to me on my 13th birthday. a little while back i chopped off the top half, replaced the handles, painted it glossy white and wallpapered the top. over 30 years on from that birthday, this little fellow is going strong with his new found responsibilities of the utmost kind

i continued the pondering of the enormity of the responsibility to my woollies whilst having my one afternoon cuppa and one afternoon cookie (free of anything remotely allergy inducing but full of cardboard it would seem) and decided after a pep talk, i could indeed own such a drawer and indeed, even more so, take on the responsibility of it. after all, 'twas not so long ago i was responsible for children and critters galore and despite the dwindling numbers within our shed and my head, i still rise every day and meet my responsibilities. in fact, it would no doubt do me good to have an added responsibility of such a nature. no food or watering required, just a nice comfy place to be kept safe and returned to, after jolly thrifty outtings and numerous grocery store visits, which seems to be the norm for now.

used dog coming to inspect the proceeding half way through, before more scarves and mittens were added from various hiding places around the shed

so there we have it, today as i dress for a chill in the air and a skip in my heart and pottle off up the hill, through the valley and over yonder to thrifty heaven i will don a thrifted woolie little number from my grown-up drawer of delights... quite possibly the green twirly whirly one and upon my return, (with high hopes of thrifty jolly mission accomplished so christmas will be sorted in one fell swoop) i will place my 'woolie lovely', back safely in the little set of drawers dragged down the stairs with our #3 (who was on a pit stop between classes on weds and kindly lent a hand) and marvel at how far i have come, how very terribly grown up i am now aged 44 and a little bit, with a drawer of responsibility and think to myself, actually its not half as bad or scary as i thought it would be, being a little grown up for a change.

Tif

lost & found...

i went to Baja, Mexico,

lost

i came back to mossy shed,

found...

then i promptly lost myself,

again

darn, drat and double bother

Tif