Nothing beats a bit of retail therapy

Having been working very hard all week on orders, doing the school run, after school activities, and all those domestic chores we so love, I decided to indulge in a spot of retail therapy this morning.

I needed to go to Hobbycraft anyway and whilst there I spotted lots of Easter goodies so I bought some fab ribbon and one of those papier mache decorated Easter eggs. The ribbon was only 49p each and the egg not even £1.50 - bargain!

When I got home 2 of my online purchases had arrived - a little plastic doll which I got off Etsy and my ladybird book called Tasseltip buys a present, both of which cost pennies. All in all I did quite well for not that much money. I've still got the spend urge but will have to refrain for now as I've got too much work to do!

Here come the gals

I started making these sweet little gals ages ago, with a view to making loads of different ones , then selling them on the website. As you can see I've only got round to making 2. Not a great start, but I will start again in ernest as they are such fun to make.

They are another take on the 'good old' days. I did used to have a dolly peg lady but can't find her anywhere. I wonder how and when they were invented. I would like to imagine that they were a good way of making a new toy with what scraps of fabric you had left over, along with using the humble dolly peg.

I might well research the origins of the dolly peg lady...............

I like the old fashioned dolly pegs - I sell them on the website and they are so popular. Many use them for their original purpose, others use them just as decoration.

I have a penchant for collecting so many different things, but yet as a child I was forever throwing perfectly good things away. My parents used to have to regularly check the bin and salvage many an item. Some of which they've kept today and given back to me - how bizarre!

One foot in the past

I wonder if all of today's gadgets, books, clothes and general bits and bobs will have the same attraction in another 30-40 yrs time.........

I recently purchased an old sweet tin - Nuttal's Mintoes which sits proudly in the kitchen. You can imagine it sitting there all those years ago with the other sweet tins in a traditional sweet shop. I wonder what happened to those tins..........

Some people may think you can label any old rubbish as vintage - and that may be true but I think it's great that so many of us collect items from the past. Modern life today is all about disposable and if it doesn't work or we don't like it, it gets binned.

The love of a good book

Why is it that when you are young, you never really appreciate how great books can be. I love all the old books which I had as a child and unfortunately they all went long ago. I think they were put in the loft (which as we all know is the 1st stage to either being binned or put in a charity bag). As a consequence I am now buying all the old annuals, Enid Blyton classics as well as old ladybird books. They are such a blast from the past, and it suits my love for anything nostalgic.

The Rilloby Fair Mystery is one I did read as a child. The book (pictured) is one I found in a chairty shop so was really pleased to get it. To quote "It's a wonderful story - the kind you simply can't put down till you've read to the very last page. Yes - it's a real honest-to-goodness Enid Blyton book!"

As much as I love children's books - having spent lots of time in the children section of Borders with my 2, you can't beat some of the old timeless treasures, heh ho.

Quiet House

Well, the boys are now back at school and the house seems so quiet (pleasing though!) I can crack on with catching up on outstanding orders and completing my many projects.

One that I have finished is my little cubby hole shelf which I've painted white, added some cowboy fabric to the back of some of the storage holes and had lots of fun adding all (well some of them) my bits and bobs. My husband thinks it's cheap 'tat'. My 7 year old who aspires to being an artist and taking over The Blueberry Patch when I 'die' thinks it looks great. The 9 year old wasn't too impressed. Unfortunately the photo hasn't come out quite as clearly as I would have liked. Oh well, looks like something else I've got to get up to speed with. Happy Pancake Day.............

Hello to all - a new blogger has arrived!

After much consideration, I have finally plucked up the courage and momentum to join the blogging community. I have read so many lovely blogs and find them so inspirational and warm, I hope that in some small way I'll be able to make others smile at the trials and tribulations of my life.

My husband thinks I've already got too much to do with running the business, looking after our 2 boys and doing all that is required with them! He also thinks that I'll never have enough to 'waffle' about - that's a joke, he doesn't have a clue!

I've got loads to share with everybody, but will have to save that for tomorrow. As usual I've gone head-long into getting the blog set-up but not read the guides or help sections. Probably best if I get that done so at least I can pretend I know what I'm doing!

TTFN!