Tea and Crumpets

Well my friends I am leaving the frenchy and sophie blog. I am beginning a new adventure with a new name and a new blog so please come and join me at Tea and Crumpets. Hope to see you there!

www.teaandcrumpetsdesign.blogspot.com

Christmas craft sale

Ok so a very quick post, but I just wanted to fill you in on my craft sale. So it was a lot of fun and I actually sold quite a few items which was very exciting. I still have sooo much left over but I'm actually a little excited that I get to keep a few of my own items :)

Here I am at my table.


These little lavender pouches turned out so well and their so quick to make!


The stencil pillows worked well with the subtle Christmas motifs.

Deck the halls

A rather strange question but have you tried using freezer paper to create stencils?
If your answer is no then I highly recommend that you do! Last night I turned my kitchen into a small production line and created some adorable Christmas cushions using freezer paper (my new favourite thing).


Just use an exacto knife to cut out your silhouette, you then place the freezer paper stencil (waxy side) onto fabric and iron it on. The waxy coating sticks onto your fabric ensuring that the stencil does not move.. awesome! you then peal off the stencil when the paint has dried. The best part is that you can reuse your stencil multiple times and it will continue to stick to the fabric. Don't you just love cheap crafting materials!?


So this time my excuse for my lack of blogging is my preparation for a Christmas craft show! which is now in 5 days. I have been busy creating a range of items using all kinds of materials, wood, clay, fabric, card stock.... I love variety!



I pressed vintage lace into clay to create texture on little bird and heart decorations.


wrapping wreaths in fabric


Christmas tags that I almost want to hang on a tree not a present. Just choose some fabulous papers and cover pre cut tags using lots of modge podge then top it off with a loop of ribbon.

And while we are on the subject of trees... we went and chopped down our tree last night :) I just absolutely love Christmas!

Just kidding this one was a little on the small side



Here she is all ready to be lovingly decorated, with handmade ornaments of course!
If you don't have your tree yet I hope this inspires you to go get one and fill your home with the beauty of Christmas.
Happy crafting, have a wonderful day
xxx

Cutest coffee sleeve around

I am aware that this is going to sound every confident, however I do think that I may have just made one of the cutest coffee sleeves around. I am having so much fun creating items for my Christmas craft show. They have a fabulous tutorial for making coffee sleeves on The cottage Mama's blog, so go ahead and try your own. Copy and paste the link for the tutorial.

http://thecottagehome.blogspot.com/2010/02/reusable-coffee-sleeve-tutorial.html

The Ladies In Gold

Just a quick post...
I have been working on some Christmas decorations, I had so much fun creating them and I have to say that I am very pleased by the outcome. So without further ado may I introduce,The Ladies In Gold


I like to think that these are the ladies of Christmas's past, if only they could talk, I wonder what stories they could share?



I would love to know what you think, so leave me a comment if you have a minute. Hoping that you are having a truly wonderful day :)

In love with vintage christmas!!

OK so here I am ready to report on the vintage Christmas show...
I think that I will mainly let the photos speak for themselves


On arrival I saw the magical twinkle lights glowing in the frosty evening light, I was soooo excited :)


Before even entering the Barn there were treasures to be found outside

There was an atmosphere of enchantment all around


creative and quirky Christmas decorations galore


I was having myself a very jolly old time


What an awesome idea, an old drawer on legs


You always need a Scrooge... right???


There were little presents popping out from all directions


My wonderful friend Karen and I had a fabulous time


So will you be on the naughty or nice list??

A small tribute to some fabulous blogs

Ah it's been an age since I have blogged again! I'm so sorry, life just seems to be flying by, it's Monday and the next thing you know it's Saturday... do you know what I mean??

So, what to share....
OK so firstly I came across an absolutely fabulous blog last night which just gave me so much inspiration and is truly awesome! you just have to take a look, trust me if you like sewing, crafts, clothing basically anything cute then you will just love it. It has some wonderful tutorials which I just can not wait to try out and of course I will share my finished products with you.

http://www.thecottagehome.blogspot.com/

Here is a little sneak peak of one of the cottage mama's creations

How quirky!

Next up... I am so excited for tomorrow because Molly Mo's and vintage triffles are having their annual holiday treasures show. These lovely ladies sell all kinds of vintage treasures and handcrafted items, if you live in Oregon it will most defiantly be worth a visit! you can find out all the information at:
http://vintagetrifles.blogspot.com/
or
http://www.mollymos03.blogspot.com/


After talking about everyone Else's creations I guess I should share some more of my own with you :)


Ever wondered what to do with an old sweater with holes in it? well I made this cushion using my husbands old holey cashmere sweater, and added a little vintage lace to finish it off.


What a fabulous way to recycle and get something new without spending a penny. Whilst sewing the cushion and feeling productive I decided to make another to complete the mini collection. For the second cushion I used linen for the main body and then cut out a head silhouette in felt and appliqued it on, soooo simple yet so sweet.


A little snap of a laptop sleeve I made for my shiny new apple mac :)


An old clipboard which I covered in modge podge and then covered with some vintage wallpaper which I bought at a vintage fair and then finish it off with another coat of modge podge on top. It's an extremely easy project which you should defiantly try at home!


And lastly completely random but I just have to share this photo of my Grandfather and his wife with you. I just think it's a wonderful photograph.

Sewing machines and Mary Kay

So firstly here is my adorable new sewing machine, it is sooo cute to look at and sews the most beautiful straight stitch. I bought it from my super nice neighbours who enjoy collecting sewing machines and fixing them up.

OK so I have some big news.... I have joined Mary Kay and have become an independent beauty consultant. I had my debut party last night and it was a lot of fun! I borrowed some vintage cake stands from my wonderful friend Karen to display my product and I had a lot of fun putting it all together.

I joined Mary Kay because I thought it would be an awesome way to make more friends, have fun and make some money of course ;-) so watch this space and I will let you know what happens....

Well I just got back from a country cottage craft and vintage sale and snapped up some precious little treasures so I will take some pictures and share with you tomorrow.
Have a great weekend
xxx

These are a few of my favourite things

It has been a beautiful week the sun has been shining and I have had 3 glorious days off. I thought that I would share with you a few of my favourite things which I have both crafted and found, around my house both old and new.

Firstly here is my tree branch. This is a very simple idea and is most definitely one of my favourite things.

I found the tree branch at my parent in-laws yard. I covered styrofoam ball forms (which you can purchase from and craft store) with strips of fabric and wrapped them until they were completely covered, added a loop of ribbon and as easy as that I had my own customised baubles. From the branches also hangs a tiny bird house, a small metal bird which was a thoughtful gift from my mother in-law and last but not least some wooden letters...

I like to make things personal and sentimental so I bought some plain wooden letters from a craft store of both my husband and I's first initial. I then soaked some old newspaper in tea drenched water to give a vintage appearance, tore it up into little pieces and used it to cover the letters.


Next up is my outdoor table center piece

You quite literally find an old boot and put a plant in it, a great way to recycle and a wonderful garden accessory.

I found this little beauty about a month ago in a salvage yard in the UK and brought it over in my hand luggage! I have not yet decided where to put it on the wall but I know that when I do find it the perfect location that it is going to make a fantastically unique hook.


Well I hope that I have inspired you to think outside the boring box of mass produced overpriced commercial items! make your home unique and personal and fill it with love and happiness.


I could not resist sharing my cute little pumpkins with you one more time.
Hope you have a great day xxx

Bonjour French fancy

So I guess the positive side of having no Internet at home means that you get to escape from the house for a little while and enjoy a little coffee time at your local coffee house. I am sitting in French Press an adorable little coffee house decor ed with sophisticated Eiffel towers and little memories of Europe, O home land how I miss you already!..... anyway there is one coveted table here at the coffee shop which sits in front of a cosy fire and guess what today is my lucky day

Here I am writing to you all sitting in front of the cosy fire drinking some delicious coffee :)

While I'm in the french mood listening to the quirky french music playing in here I thought I'd find a few french etsy treasures. I discovered an adorable little shop 'analogue people' take a look at this beautiful scarf which can be found at http://www.etsy.com/listing/57682236/brand-new-screenprinted-jersey-long



Secondly this tote is to die for and for $19 I want to buy one myself!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/56310371/vintage-carema-screenprinted-canvas-tote


And lastly, this fabulous pocket watch which I think would look beautiful on a side table or hanging off an aged shelf

http://www.etsy.com/listing/56903521/mechanical-steampunk-silver-pocket-watch

I'm back!

Well incase you were wondering yes I am still alive! I am appalled at how long it has been since I last blogged. I sincerely apologize!
So… I am back in Oregon now and fully in the swing of a 5-day workweek… how depressing! Unfortunately I do not have Internet again at the moment but I promise to make every effort to blog at least once a week from now on.

Well fall is in the air and it is beautiful. I just started putting up a few seasonal touches to bring a little fall indoors.





At the moment I am around my girlfriends house and just came across the cutest coasters and thought that I would share a few of the quotes from them with you…
“ When it came to fish and men, her motto was catch and release”

“Who needs Mr. Right? I’m looking for Mr. Right NOW!”

And my favorite…
“She knew how to please a man, but most days she chose not to.”

Well I just inherited a huge pile of scrumptious fabric from my lovely neighbor so I will definitely get some sewing in this week and share the progress with you. I Hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend and I will post again very soon ;-)
Xx

Sold Sold and Sold :)

Firstly a thank you to my lovely readers Danielle and Kelli and your kind messages to me on my last post :)

Good news on the sale, it went well and I sold quite a number of items! Isn't it such a wonderful feeling when people want to buy your creations, when they get excited about what you have made, when you get to meet your customer face to face and see your creations journeying to a new home.

Here is a picture of my table at the sale


A few days after my sale a customer sent me a photograph of the bunting she had bought from me displayed in her kitchen!
How cute