Thursday 26 January 2012

Granny Chic!



Today I had a day off work so, as usual, I had a million tedious jobs to do. However, in between those I managed to squeeze in a bit of chazza shopping whilst dropping off some donations. I didn't find many treasures but did pick up this cute little tan & grey tartan pencil skirt which will go perfectly with a mustard cardigan I found the other day. Granny chic at it's best and perfectly fitting for carrying on the Burns Night theme! 



As I'm sure you've heard me say before I am a self confessed handknit-aholic! I adore, and spend most of my life searching for, handknitted jumpers, cardigans, leg warmers, wrist warmers and knee length socks to name but a few. My favourite find so far in 2012 has to be this cute little peach jumper. I found it in a charity shop for just £1 in their January sale and I've pretty much lived in it ever since. It's a perfect length to wear with leggings or jeans and isn't too oversized. I love it!


Stay tuned for more granny chic finds!

Loll
x




Monday 23 January 2012

Monday's Thought of The Day



I'm feeling very philosophical today after hearing what one of the more elderly male volunteers said to me at work this morning. He said that throughout his life he attempted to learn or simply do a variety of different things and he looks back now and regrets never seeing any of them through.

This struck a chord with me because I'm exactly the same! I have tried to learn or do so many things in the last 20 odd years and I either got bored and wanted a new challenge or other things got in the way.

After hearing those simple words it made me determined to DO things this year without letting anything else get in the way!







First on the list is to carry on learning to play the flute & the acoustic guitar. I started, as usual, to learn both and even invested in this smaller size cream painted guitar to learn on before going on to my precious leaf decorated electro acoustic full size guitar. I know it's going to mean a sacrifice to my lovely long nails but I'm determined this time. With the flute I went on a free lesson at the Worcester Music Festival a few years ago and was told to practice making noise through the mouthpiece. As soon as I can do that I can take lessons to learn to play the whole thing. This year I'm going to do it!




Second on my list is to do more (and learn new techniques for) weaving. This year I am determined to have more free time to enjoy my creative side and this is the one thing I've wanted to be able to do more of for a while now. I think I'll be adding a table top loom to my birthday wish list this year!


Thirdly, I recently discovered the magic of old cameras and lomography. I have three different types of cameras on the go at the moment and I'm super excited to see what the photos will turn out like. This year (and hopefully for many years to come!) I want to learn more about exposure and lighting effects to be able to create magic with my trusty Olympus Trip, Agfa Optima 1a and Rolleicord cameras!


Fourth on my list is to give crocheting another try. I'd like a hobby which is easy to carry and can be done indoors in front of an open fire and as I failed so miserably at my first attempt it makes me even more determined to conquer it this time. I think it's time to scour the charity shops for a nice old crochet hook and then I'm away!




My life change for 2012 is going to be to read more books and watch less tv. Of course there will always be time for American Pickers, Home & Away and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is! I managed to rescue a rather battered copy of the complete Lord of The Rings from work, before it was thrown in the bin, and I'm intent on reading it cover to cover before the end of the year. I've seen the films but I've always preferred to read the book to hear the story how it was supposed to be told when it was written. 

So the moral of todays thought of the day is that life is short and if you really want to do something (however small!) you should give it a proper go!

luv

Loll
x

    





Sunday 8 January 2012

Thrifty Tricks for 2012! - No 1.


THRIFTY TRICK
NO 1.


I can't remember where I got the idea from but I thought I'd share it with you anyways. It may be too late as I know most of you will have cleared away all your Christmas things.

This tip is a way to recycle your Christmas cards without just putting them in the green bin! All you need is either some old fashioned pinking sheers or a pair of decorative effect edging scissors which you can buy in any good craft shop. As shown below:


Then you need your cards from this Christmas.........


........choose the nicest and most festive bits from the card fronts and cut them out into gift tag sized pieces.....then......hey presto! You're left with some beautiful sturdy gift tags for wrapping next year's Christmas pressies!





If you like you can punch a hole in the tag and thread through any left over ribbon from your gift wrapping or you could just use some nice hessian string or coloured wool.

If it is too late and you've thrown away your cards you can keep this in mind for next Christmas. As we all know it'll come around again much quicker than we would like it to!

Stay tuned for more thrifty tricks for 2012!

Loll
x  

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Christmas Time!


Happy New Year!




We had a lovely Christmas this year and I thought I'd share some of my fave pressies with you all.





I got an abundance of earrings (which I'm not complaining about!). Tom bought me these lovely vintage owl earrings with orange gemstone tummys.



This cute little vintage mirror came in a little velvet pouch and will be perfect to keep in my handbag.





I kind of chose this soap myself as we were out Christmas shopping and I picked this up with a load of things we were buying for other people. I completely forgot about it and then it turned up in my stocking. Yay! I love the vintage style wrapping and the soap inside is a scrummy butterscotch flavour which makes you almost want to eat it! It's almost too cute to open.






The main thing on my list this year was CDs and I got a great selection together with the Lion King DVD boxset and the Harry Potter DVD boxset (all 8 films!) so I was super chuffed! I've been after the Lion King DVD for years so was so excited when they re-released it in a boxset!




This year I decided to condense my crazy long list of textile related hobbies down to a few select ones. One I intend to stick with is weaving so was super happy to get this book from the inlaws. Now on the hunt for a nice cheap second hand table top loom. I always love an excuse to search for things on eBay! 






In 2011 I started a new obsession with vintage old and interesting cameras. Partly to use and some just because they look pretty. These two beats are definitely to use and I've already managed to take a few snaps on this beautiful 1962 Agfa Optima camera. It was the first automatic camera in the world. Considering it's age it's in amazing condition!

That's all for now folks but I'll be keeping you posted on vintage event news and general goings on in Toadstool land in 2012!

Loll
x