a right family banner...

i had a moment of crafting madness yesterday...it all came about when i realized my walls lack any family photos. i seem to almost have an aversion to displaying the residents of our shed and i do not know why... perhaps it is my fear of the 'school photo' look, that has kept me from doing so.

in our last house i had a nice collection going up the staircase, featuring black and white shots taken on a trip to San Diego when the kids were little...we travelled along the coastal highway up to San Francisco, for two weeks we lived like gypsies and it felt so good.

every time i see these photos they conjure up a time for me that tugs at my heart strings, where does the time go and where have these babies gone. they stand before me now, on the verge of spreading their wings and it makes my little heart ache to know my nest will change over the next few years...

so armed with the photos, a thrift store bed sheet, a few scraps of lace, a cup of tea and Miss Ethel, i set to work with making a 'family banner'...

very simple really,

1. take some photos.

2. cut fabric large enough to leave a border around the photos.

3. wash and dry fabric pieces so you get a nice frayed edge.

4. place photo on fabric and stitch around edge with sewing machine, leaving threads for a 'crafty look'.

5. after sewing all the photos down, add some lace and doily bits for added detail.

6. lay your photos on the floor, rearranging until you get a pleasing display.

7. one by one attach to a long length of lace or ribbon with the sewing machine.

8. hang on a wall and feel your heart swell.

she's wondering if it will ever warm up ~ Tif

what she really wants...

nellie knows what she wants and what she wants is 'chickens in the backyard' but alas nellie doesn't have a backyard to call her own. she lives in the city in a high rise block and dreams of life on the farm. on the weekends nellie discards her conservative office clothing and dons her apron skirt along with a sweet cardi, headscarf and bashed up biker boots. she pulls her patchwork vintage drapes over the window to shut out the world, settles herself down on a midcentury modern couch and watches re-runs of 'little house on the prairie'...some may say nellie is a dreamer, but nellie just shrugs her shoulders and says "at least i know what i want"

this sweet apron skirt is upcycled from

a cotton thriftstore slip (dyed a pretty soft tealy seafoam color)

an antique traycloth

a thrifted cotton blouse

an antique collar

a vintage lace doily

a button

scraps of fabric

and

vintage lace

you can find nellie in my little store

she's wishing you a lovely spring weekend (ever hopeful) ~ Tif

thrifty thursdays...

hurrah...it's the start of a regular feature on my little 'space'.

thrifty thursdays is where i will show you the evidence of my thrifting from the night before.

i am thinking this might be quite interesting because quite often as i wander the aisles of my local thrift store i glance at other carts (i am quite sure we all do that and then wishing we hadn't if we see something we really wanted for ourselves). more often than not i am thinking "oooh, well they must be an ebay seller" or "ummm, are you quite sure you want that" and in turn they gaze upon my little 'haul' and are quite possibly thinking "what a load of old crap" but of course i like to think they are admiring looks with a hint of envy

anyhow we will soon see...as i show you my haul from week to week, you can judge for yourselves dear readers.

there are two lines that come to mind

"oh Tif, that's just totally grand, what a steal"

or

"oh Tif, that's total tat, what were you thinking"

so i shall leave it up to you, my discerning readers...

1. a lovely chinese robe which i added a bit of lace to...

2. a patchwork quilt not unlike ones in japanese craft magazines, that quite honestly made my heart skip a beat

3. a sweet little plate, perfect for tea and biscuits, and perfect for my vivant store

4. a head scarf from Liberty's of London...enough said

i am thinking it might be interesting to film a 'thrifting' excursion and pop it on YouTube...our #1 and our #2 however are thinking NOT, as our #1 commented to my 'brain storm' of an idea late last night

"oh no mum you can't do that, you'll end up getting loads of hits but not for the right reasons, you'll be one of those YouTube people that are ridiculed"

and then our #2 added "and of course do you really want the world to see the 'real you' in your bi-focals"

she's thinking it over, whilst you decide if it's a load of 'tat' or 'treasure' ~ Tif