Pyrex Love

I have found a fantastic website that you need to check out. It is completely devoted to Pyrex!

All images sourced from www.pyrexlove.com

Pyrex Love has loads of fantastic images of different Pyrex. It is a great reference for different patterns and colours out there. I love Pyrex very much, almost as much as Tupperware. This website has made me want to expand my very, very slim collection. Another addition to the Christmas list?
xx

Christmas Style Inspiration: Deco Glamour

For a more grown up Christmas style why not try Art Deco Glamour.

A modern twist to Deco glamour - Found HERE

A gold table with lots of volume - Found HERE

Make impact in the entrance hall - Found HERE

Gold and Bronze as festive warmth - Found HERE

I love this style! It still has those festive gold tones but by incorporating black you add a mature edge. When bringing this style into your own home combine colours of gold, silver, bronze and black. Try to pick items that have that art deco style of simple and stylish forms. Here are a few suggestion of perfect items for your style on etsy.

1920s Christmas card enclosures - £28

Bookend leaping deers - £17

Black and gold stockings - £19.50

Big bucks but big impact - £175

Art deco candle sticks - £14

xx

Advent Calender Inspiration

It is the 21st of November and only 9 days until the Advent Calender season is upon us. I am a big kid, at 26 years old I still have an advent calender! I just love the count-down to Christmas, all the anticipation and the lovely treat I get every morning to go with my coffee. I have a paper calender which I have used every year for as long as I can remember, but I can never resist buying a chocolate one. With the first of December rapidly approaching us I thought I would give you some inspiration on some fantastic alternative calenders out there - after all there is lots of eating taking place as it is, I probably don't need that chocolate every morning.....I realise I don't sound very convinced.

I love having a calender I can bring out every year, it is my little tradition. With that in mind, I have found some really lovely reusable advent calenders. You can fill them with whatever takes your fancy - chocolates, boiled sweets, candy canes, a Christmas activity to be completed....

Line up the houses - Found HERE - £89.95

Hang up some rusty buckets - Found HERE - £28.99

Warm up the walls with felt - Found HERE - £34.99

A beautiful house full of treasures - Found HERE - £60

And if you want some inspiration for alternative fillings or non-chocolate calenders, why not give one of these a try.

Calender with a kick - Found HERE - £149.95

Colour me in - Found HERE - £5.99

Nail it - Found HERE - Currently Out of Stock but gorgeous

Decorate day by day - Found HERE - £12

I think this is a great selection with something for everyone. I wander if I could have a third or forth calender this year.....
xx

Before and After: Edging

This seems like quite a common problem for a lot of furniture - the veneer edging around your table gets caught and snaps off. I recently purchased a sewing box that had this problem. Sometimes, if you had the snapped pieces, you stick everything back on and consolidate any lifting sections, but my sewing box had pretty much all its edging missing. What to do?

Luckily, in the majority of DIY shops you can buy wood edging. I found it in the aisle along with the sheets of laminate wood and it came in a coil in lots of different colours. If the sewing box was an antique then I would have forked out for proper thin strips of veneer, but the wood edging in the DIY shop is ideal for this mid-century piece of furniture. The great thing about this edging is that it comes with an adhesive strip on the back. All you need to do is run over the front surface with a hot iron and the adhesive will melt and adhere to the surface.

I started by measuring the length of the strip and cut it to size using a sharp scalpel. I also had to make my strips a bit thinner. I removed all the old edging and removed any adhesive that remained on the surface. I held the strip of edging on the surface of the box and ran over with a hot iron. Once all the edges were applied I used a very fine file to neaten the edges. I then coloured the edging using some Liquid Gold (a wood cleaner and restorer) and a thin layer of beeswax which matched up the colour perfectly to the original surface.

I am very pleased with the results! It is such a simple process, so there is no excuses for having missing edges on your tables. And it goes to show it is worth the effort as I managed to sell this lovely box on its second outing at a market in Bristol. Success!
xx

Gift Ideas: The Photographer

In the build up to Christmas I have decided to start a new feature - Gift Ideas. I love giving gifts, even more than receiving them. I always think long and hard about the perfect thing to give someone, but it can be very difficult to find inspiration. So I thought I would offer some to you during your Christmas present shopping. I have 5 different personalities to help with your gift finding, which I will cover over the weeks. The Photographer, the Baker, the Caffeine Addict, the Book-Worm and the Unexpected Guest. I will be using items you can buy in my own shop as well as other treasures across the Internet.

For today we have....

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

These presents are aimed at the creative individual. Look for the person who is always snapping pictures on their phone at parties. They may be artistic, constantly drawing or writing. Or look for that individual who has a hugely busy life - constantly visiting new places. These presents are for them.

Camera . 35mm Film . Picture Frame . Camera Strap

The great thing about these gift suggestions is that you could buy everything for a really special Christmas, or just buy one or two items depending on your budget. And how would I wrap these presents? Each part wrapped up individually, placed inside a funky camera bag with a big bow placed on the outside.

Perfect. Wouldn't mind this one myself.
xx

New Item Friday

I am late. I have had one of those days where everything seems to take ages and you keep getting interrupted through out the day. However I have managed to go for a run, clean the house, have lunch with the grandparents, catch up on the phone with my mum, mother-in-law and sister, label and pack items for a market on Sunday, sort out the bags for the markets, photograph and list 3 items on etsy and cook dinner! I think I might be Super Woman!

Ok, enough bragging, I'll have a really un-productive day tomorrow. But especially for you today we have 3 lovely new items.

This Sunday I will be at 2 markets! No, I am not splitting myself in half, I will be attending Retrolex in Bristol and my folks will be at Bath Racecourse for their monthly flea market. So if you are in Bath or Bristol this Sunday please come and visit us.
xx

A Little Bit of Pumpkin Left

I can feel Autumn coming to an end as the evenings are getting very cold and frosty. We even put up a Christmas tree at work today! In all fairness it is huge tree so requires a team to put together and sting with lights. We need as much time as possible ahead of the December events. With the last of Autumn I decided to use the last of my pumpkin. I had a small amount of pumpkin left over from my glut of pumpkin 3 ways, and in my house nothing goes to waste. I roasted the pumpkin, pureed it and made Pumpkin Cookies.

I got the recipe from one of my favourite food blogs Vanilla Sugar. I have to say I cheated a little, I didn't have any cream cheese to make the frosting so just used nutella straight from the jar! They were so yummy! You should definitely add nutella and walnuts though as they had some bitterness and some crunch. I think these would actually make great whoopee pies as they have a lovely cake consistency.

Perfect with a hot cup of tea or coffee on a cold dreary morning. Definitely worth giving a try!
xx