I Have Been Playing With My Friends ♥ ....

Let me introduce you to my lovely pal, he is rather cute, and certainly has a twinkle in his eye, I asked him to put in a good word to Santa, as I would really like as my Christmas present fingers crossed, though he did give me a little wink ;)





Yes it was the big turn on ;) Christmas lights that is, a lovely evening had by all.

Daddy Poppins proving how big and strong he is, though I could see he was struggling ;) by holding not one, but two children at once.





Whilst we waited for our lovely furry friends to make their spectacular entrance, I mooched.


The shoe shop.








The Shabby Chic Shop.








The Wedding shop.





I can never go into one of my favourite shops without coming out with a little treat, I have got to know the owner quite well over the years, she knows what floats my boat as it were, and always pops pretties on one side for me, if I can't get to the shop.








My little treat, I love these Candles and have enjoyed the sent of them for quite some years, my favourites have been, Coffee Galore, Chocolate Truffle, Vanilla And Honey, Powder Puff, Mmmmmm I love them. So when I saw this little fella, thought I would treat myself :)




He smells lovely.

I scooted past the Kitchen shop, too depressing, thinking of my own half finished one awaiting me at home ;)





So it was a lovely evening had by all, certainly has us in the Christmas mood. On our way back to the car couldn't resist a little photograph of a lovely little home that caught my eye, if it is yours, tis beautiful :)





Merry Christmas, Ho! Ho! Ho! :)

The Day Jenny Gave Me Goose Bumps....

I do love a good swap, not the wife swap kind of thing, but the crafty handmade kind of thing. So when I saw the lovely Paper Bag Swap Over At The contented blog I knew was one I wanted to be involved in. You had to gather some of your crafty ingredients, send over to your swap partner and then they made something, hopefully pretty in my case ;) and send back.

Well I was partnered with the lovely and VERY talented, incredibly, incredibly talented Jenny Flower Now came the GULP, I assured Jenny that I am a little simple maker, and struggle with the intricate stuff, Jenny was so kind and knew that whatever I made for her would be sent from the heart.


Here is what Jenny sent me, I have been crafting with her chosen ingredients, am almost there and nearly ready to send her pretties back to her.





I struggled a little with the velvet, so have handmade a little item with that, I have even sewn my first sequins. I really hope you like your items, somehow I think you know how I felt about receiving your pretty parcel.

Here are the ingredients I gathered for Jenny to work her magic on, and boy did she work her crafty magic on what I sent her.





Well would you like a little looky at what beautiful, so very very beautiful items Jenny sent back.


I almost fell over when I spied the gorgeous keyring.





And look how she has included the pretty buttons I sent her.


The front.





The back.





If you like that, then you are so going to like her cute little hanging owl she made for me, again using the buttons, fabric and felt I sent in such a wonderful way. He has even got sweet little bells.





The beautiful embroidery on the back.





It gets better :)


A glorious fabric jewellery pouch.





With the little buttons handsewn on for good measure.





Something very pretty inside.





Mmmmm gorgeous.





So perfectly neat and tidy.





Maybe you should be sitting down by now ;)


I could not keep this little zipped bag away from your pretty eyes. Isn't it delightful, I cannot really put it into words how I feel about this bag. I am going to use it as a little clutch bag when I go out, I need to share Jenny's remarkable work with everyone I know.








And the back








Sew neat.





And a beautiful pretty lining.





And inside the bag was the most beautiful ceramic floral candle stick, it takes pride of place on my little dressing table, I love that it shall always remind me of her pretty swap :)





I was a little flushed by now, yet there was something else wrapped up all prettily, awaiting me at the bottom of the parcel.


Oh my oh my oh my, words cannot do the pretty hand quilted, and embroidered dressing table mat justice, so I hope my photographs do.














Pure beauty I thought.

There was chocolates too ;)





So now you see why Jenny gave me goosebumps :)


Thank you so much Jenny, you know how I feel, so won't waffle on. What is so special about your swap is I know some of the prettiness about the crafts I like, may not be your cup of tea, we can't all like the same can we, how boring would that be, though you have made for me the most perfect items I could ever have wished to own. Your parcel has restored my faith in how grateful I am to be part of this community. I have been having Bloggy wobbles again and thought that maybe I don't belong in this Bloggy world, and thought my Blog had run it's course.

I have met some wonderful friends through Blogging, you have all been supportive when I have my moments. I am so glad I have this special place to come to, away from RL troubles, though you know I do sometimes share with you ;) There is something quite therapeutic and special about sharing your thoughts to people that you don't know in RL as it were, does anyone else feel that.


Thank you Bloggers for being there when I sometimes need you :)

Handmade And Thrifted....

I am doing my best to make, buy handmade, or thrift Christmas presents this year. I really do think there is something quite special about the handmade thing, even a little handmade card given, touches me.





Although I adore shopping, proper, new shop shopping gets me in a tizz, especially at Christmas. I get hot, hungry and a little moody so much prefer browsing junk shops and CSs to see if there is anything my family or friends would like. I shall probably offend, but in my olde age I am learning sometimes you have to stop worrying about what other people shall think so much, like I do, and do what you feel is right in your heart.

What was certainly right in my heart was purchasing Fleur's delightfully handpainted wooden personalised pencil cases, with a set of sweet wooden coloured pencils. I HAD to buy them for my children, though of course it is Santa who delivers them ;)


How could I not resist.





Fleur also puts the sweetest original vintage images on them. One for Master Poppins.





One for Miss. Poppins.





They really are the cutest things, and so lovely to have their names exquisitely handpainted at the top. Thank you Fleur for hand painting them so beautifully, a couple of very special gifts.


I also HAD to have one of these delightful handmade crocheted necklets made by The Scrappy Parrot although I did play the one for you, one for me game, I love so much. I bought one for my lovely Sister, who lives in Cyprus, and I bought one for me. The money I paid for the one for my Sister went to a worthy charity so even more special I thought. My Sister's has been sent, so here is a little photograph of mine.





Isn't The Scrappy Parrot clever, it really is the sweetest thing, and commissioned especially for me, extra special :) Look at the cute crocheted flower.





Thank you The Scrappy Parrot, I adore it and know my Sister shall adore hers too.


Well I have also found some thrifted presents.


Lovely books for the children.





I especially love this 1970s one, a little present from my children to me.





Look at the back cover.





Would you like to know why this book has a special place in my heart, well about two years ago I thrifted this 1970s book.





The back.





I love the fact that now I have my special Mum book too :)


I also found a gorgeous book for a £1.00 that looks perfectly brand new, and would make a lovely gift.





I know exactly who is getting these thrifted, yet brand new rubber gloves for Christmas, and is going to go down a treat I know it. It is Mr. Father-In-Law, he always wears black rubber gloves to wash up, anyone that knows me, would know that I couldn't think of anything worse. When I am at the in laws' lovely home, and he is wearing his favourite gloves, he always come up to me with his scary black gloves on and makes me scream.


Well I thought he could do with a new pair.





Far prettier don't you think.


For a little child I saw a beautiful Rexinter Toy elephant with its original £9.99 price on, being sold for £1.00. Yes a couple of his little stitches had come undone, but I thought he was lovely, so took him home with me.

Well, I stitched him up, gave him a little ribbon and think he is now as good as new.





I also found some 5p Christmas decorations.





And some wonderful 30p each handmade Christmas cards, they are so wonderfully handmade, felt a little guilty buying them at the cheap price.





Mmmmm now who could I give this cute £1.50 brooch to.





Of course, I do see things in the new shops I like for presents too.


I couldn't resist these Christmas toys, Master P shall love his new pals. TK Maxx, so quite reasonable.





Pretty twine from M&S.





Pretty fabric, present for me, Mmmmm maybe.





Well I do so enjoy buying thrifted and handmade presents. I only hope at the Christmas fair I am doing, the lovely ladies and maybe some gents like to buy handmade as presents too. Tis not about the money for me this handmade malarkey, it is the pleasure, hopefully, someone gets by receiving something handmade with love by me.


Right I should really unwrap my anniversary present.





Didn't even manage to pull the CK Christmas crackers last year, they were for decoration purposes only, well you can be guaranteed that they are going be pulled this year.






So pleased your giveaway treats got to you alright Ticking Stripes it was a pure pleasure sending your pretties and glad you and your DD like them :)


Happy Christmas shopping if you are doing any.

Handmade Extravaganza

Well there has been many a handmade pretty exchanging hands here and I thought you may like to have a little looky.


Firstly, I really enjoyed doing a little swap with Lisa at Knitty, Vintage and Rosy My lovely friend took a shine to a vintage paisley fabric cushion I had made, and I offered to make up a couple of pretties in the same fabric and suggested we do a little swap. Well, I adore the Romantic Homes magazine and Lisa kindly offered to send me one. Brilliant :) So I happily got on with making some pretties to send over to Lisa.
What a beautiful parcel I received from a lovely bloggy friend.


Not one





Not two





But three beautiful Romantic Homes magazines.





I adore these sweet little magazines and they take pride of place on my coffee table, and are a special treat :)


Not only did I receive these, but lovely Lisa also sent some adorable heart shaped vintage buttons. In fact the sweetest, prettiest little buttons I have ever seen. These shall be used in a VERY special project indeedy.





Some lovely, and very me, baby pink polka dot fabric.





Some beautiful embroidery threads.





The cutest vintage ribbon.





And an ever so sweet crocheted mat, all in my favourite colours, I love it and the pretty colours are a joy to look at.





Ohooo what pretty, pretty colours.





And then when you turn it over, you are treated to some cute cherry fabric.





Thank you so much Lisa, I thoroughly enjoyed doing my first international swap, it was brilliant fun and thank you for sending me some wonderful treats :)Would you like a little looky at what I sent Lisa.

Knowing Lisa loved the pretty fabric, I made her a pretty covered clothes hanger for her favourite pretty dress, and cute little brooch that the lovely Gem inspired me to make.





I love making lavender pillows and thought Lisa may like one made out of the same lovely fabric.





I also decorated the edges with some hand sewn vintage buttons taken from my favourite buttons tin :)





A couple of Christmas handmade pretties





And gathered some little treats for Lisa.





So, a lovely swap and I am so happy that Lisa likes everything. Knitty, Vintage and Rosy is a beautiful blog, do have a little looky.


As you know from here I received some beautiful handmade treats for the family from the lovely Karen , who asked if we could do a little swap.

Here is what I had handmade for Karen. A Christmas Rag Heart using pretty Christmas, and gingham fabrics, and some lovely lace kindly given to me from the lovely Elaine at the SC Cafe.





Being a Christmas heart, I popped a little cinnamon stick in through the pretty Ribbon given to me from the lovely TG from the SC Cafe, who has a Yummy website selling pretties.





I also wanted to send a little something for Karen's charming son. So, what do you think little boys love, cowboys I thought, and a little boy always likes to see his special initial on things :)





And the yummy back





I am so glad you liked your little pretties Karen, it again was a lovely swap :)


I have also received some adorable pretties from bloggy friends, we all decided to make a little something for each other.


I received a gorgeous handmade Stanley from kind Mel Mel





And a cute little handkerchief, perfect for a little crafting project.





Thank you Mel Mel.


From the lovely Rachael I was given the prettiest fabric strawberry.





I had given Rachael one of my pretty Rag hearts as a little gift and Rachael as a thank you kindly made a very pretty handmade corsage.





It is very pretty. I adore corsages and have many, really I think maybe 25 or so. I was very inspired by many Carrie Bradshaw wore in the famous HBO series, and also the bigger the better for me. Do you remember the corsage dress Carrie wore in one the opening credits, a vintage one I gather, and it was shortened by the wonderful Patricia Field, I adored the clothes in that programme, Carrie's more than anyone's, my, what I would give to have a closet like hers.

Anyone here queue up for their Jimmy Choo's ;)



Photograph courtesy of HBO


I enjoy making them too, and can be seen fiddling with fabrics making different ones. Here are a couple of my favorites I made a little while ago.





Of course there has to be heart inspired ones too ;)





And now for the very special lady that is Lesley look what a beautiful gift Lesley made for me, a sweet and ever so Mary Poppins pretty eye mask. I love it, she hangs on my bedpost looking all wistful, and I smile everytime I see her :)





A little thank you gift too from Lesley as a thank you for finding her a little something Lesley wanted from a shop.


The most adorable crocheted floral brooch, using the finest mohair. I love it and isn't lovely Lesley clever, it really makes me smile when I wear a pretty that someone has handmade for me, I get a certain glow about me :)





So thank you girlies for all your lovely handmade gifts, I forgot to take pretty photographs of what I made, but Lesley, Rachael and Mel all recieved a handmade personalised hand towel using pretty pink fabric and lace and a little Parisian lavender pillow.

I hope they liked their handmade gifts.


Right, I really should be crafting for the Fair, I really don't want to be crafting at midnight the night before the fair like I was for the Summer one, Ohooo that twas stressful.I have purchsed some pretty fabric so I should really get on and do something with it, I can't look at it forever can I ;) I am making some simple doorstops to sell, lightly fragranced which are very pretty. Ohooo dear, I do wonder if all my hand made pretties are rather simple in their making, I really don't have the motivation for the intricate stuff.

Good luck to you all doing craft fairs, I only have experience of the Summer one I did. The hearts and bunting were a real favourite, and I know there are some lovely ladies looking forward to browsing at my little table at the fair. But, also you never know what could happen, one can make £100.00 or one could make a £1.00. We shall see, as long as I go with a smile and come back with a smile I shall be happy :)

A couple more photographs of some pretties I have made.

Do you remember the clothes sent to me by the lovely Heather to repurpose into something pretty and sell to make a little money for a worthy charity.

Well here they are before





And after, pretty reversible bunting, two lavender hearts and a cute Alice band.



I love that you can reverse the bunting, depending on the look you want.





Thank you so much Elaine for buying the pretties, and thank you for helping out a worthy charity too :)


I have also made some sweet personalised Christmas stockings, they were given as a gift to two adorable little children.





Well I hope you have been a little inspired to make something handmade, tis always so special I think to make and and receive handmade :)


Thought I would also show you two little items thrifted for Master and Miss. Poppins. If you have ever thought that thrifting clothes or shoes wasn't for you, honestly, some items are brand new with tags, being sold for pennies. I was so happy to find these for my children.

Brand new trendy baseball shoes for Master Poppins and some pretty brand new leather Marabar heart slippers for Miss. Poppins.





Always worth a looky in the CS when you walk past, you know I am a fan, and have found some wonderful, wonderful things.

Wrapping and Unwrapping....

Well, I have been wrapping and unwrapping here at the Poppins household. I don't think a day goes by where I haven't wrapped or unwrapped a pretty. I have wrapped and sent off the giveaway parcel for Ticking Stripes Wrapped a little something for Karen and wrapped a couple of pretties that have been kindly purchased from my little Blogshop


Karen asked so nicely if we could do a little swap, as she fell in love, well alright that may be a little strong, she liked very much, the little Rag Hearts I have been making and wanted me to make her a Christmas one in exchange for a couple of her pretties. I know I loved the bean bags Karen made, and was going to get going one day to have a little go at making some for Master. P, though Karen kindly offered to help me out and make them for me. Now isn't that kind :)

So I have been unwrapping too. Norty Karen didn't only send me the gorgeous bean bags for Master Poppins but also a beautiful doll's quilt for Miss. Poppins and the most adorable Hummel handmade card for me.








Isn't the Peter Rabbit fabric gorgeous on the beautifully handmade quilt.





It is quilted and backed in a beautiful pink polka dot.





And perfect for Rosy, Miss. Poppins' favourite doll, I don't know whether Karen has had a sneaky look at the dimensions of Rosy as she is rather a tall toddler sized doll, but the little quilt is perfect for her and keeps her nice and warm next to Miss. Poppins' bed





Now for the cute bean bags, I had mentioned to Karen that my son loves all things fire related, loves Fireman Sam and engines and ladders. At 3 I am amazed how he knows exactly what he wants to be when he grows up, a firefighter. I am 36 and am yet to know what I want to be when i grow up ;)

Look at the wonderful fabric Karen made them up in, perfect for him.





Karen kindly made two more up in CK Stanley, aren't they cute.





Thank you so much Karen, very, very kind of you. Karen has set up a little shop River's Patch where she has some lovely handmade treats on offer.


Well there is only so much wrapping and unwrapping I can take in one post :)

So, so much more to come :)


Mmmmm, now I wonder what do you prefer, wrapping or unwrapping ;)

Birthdays, Anniversaries, Pretties And Chapel Chairs....

Well, we have had birthdays.





Thank you so much Coco Rose for the heads up on where I could find the pretty bunting Birthday Banner. As soon as I saw the banner two days before Miss. Poppins' Birthday, I HAD to have it. I can happily say there were 8 candles blown out ;)


I do wonder and maybe you could help me out on this, but I do wonder if I am the only one that sees something on a lovely blog and HAS to have it, even jumping up right there and then, grabbing coat and child and running, no, sprinting to the shops to find the said item, Mmmmm maybe tis only me that does that ;)

The birthday party with friends was lovely, thank you so much Lesley for all your help, and thank you for the cutest presents for Miss. Poppins, the handmade fabric initial is adorable.





Everyone seemed to like their party boxes, well I should hope so ;) I was up gone midnight the night before the party, stuffing those little hearts ;)








We also loved decorating the house with pretty Bunting the bunting is so sweet, a lovely bunting, and I would recommend it to all you bunting lovers.


Also, do you play the one for you, one for me game when you are out shopping for Birthday treats for friends and family. Well it was my adorable Sister-In-Laws birthday, Mr. Poppins' sister, and wanted to get her something special. She has an adorable home, it used to be a guest house, so has 8, I think, bedrooms, though she would happily admit many of them are a work in progress ;) And loves the CB CS thing so hopefully chose a couple of pretties she would like. Also has three boys so deserves a little girliness I thought :)


Well, now is when the game begins.


One for you.





One for me.





One for you.





One for me.





Please say you play that game too :)


I also saw in the lovely shop, where actually a couple of my handmade pretties are for sale, some cute paper chains, very similar to the CK ones. They did do a Christmas style too, but I think these are more me.





Cute Caroline Zoob cards.





Pretty ribbon for the Rag Hearts I make. I wanted some special ribbon for a Christmas Rag Heart I am making for a fellow lovely blogger.





It has been our wedding anniversary too. Ten years, which is Tin I believe. Whilst in the pretty shop I saw a little tin like metal on top of a cute pencil ;)





Mmmmm I recognise this.





I knew he would love it, LOL, well I KNEW I would love it, and it has been on my wish list for a while, have been saving the pennies.


Our day itself had me in a little mood I am afraid to say, long story and won't bore you with the details, but the little present from Mr. Poppins is yet to be unwrapped, any guesses what you think is hidden inside the CK wrapping.





I am yet to wrap his little gifts, so think we shall find some special our time and unwrap our little presents.


Alright, so the heart notelet's and holder may not be that useful to him, but as he loves freshly ground coffee, hopefully the mug shall be. I saw the reduced Emma Bridgewater whilst browsing an Antiques and Collectibles centre, they have new pretties in there for sale too.





Ohooo dear, I am playing that one for you one for me game again.





And as the Emma Bridgewater was reduced couldn't help but treat the children for Christmas.


Master Poppins.





Miss. Poppins.





They are so cute :)


Talking of cute, whilst at the Antiques and Collectibles centre I found some adorable Circa 1900 Chapel Chairs that have been on my wish list for maybe 2 years.

I have never found any a, at the right price, or b, at the right price ;) So, imagine my delight when we were browsing and we saw two sets of 6 chairs, in good condition, and with a little negotiation of course, we thought was reasonably priced.

I did have a dilemma, do I, apologies, we, go for the dark or light wood. Ohoooo I am normally very good at making a decision, though I suppose waiting 2 years and then having 2 beautiful sets available did have me in a quandary.

I loved the character that was within the darker ones.








Though the lighter ones may go with our decor in the kitchen diner better.







Anyway after a nights sleep, much thinking, and some wonderful help on the SC Cafe, I, apologies, we, came to a decision.

Edited to say I thought I had made a decision, and now keep changing my mind, any inspiration on why I should plum for the Dark or the Light gratefully received :)


Whilst we were there may a pretty took my eye, would you like a little browse.























And my favourite, an antique Baby Daisy hoover :)





Well I really should go and unwrap Mr. Poppins Anniversary present, and wrap his of course. I hope he likes them, I know I do ;)

* DRUM ROLL *....

The presents have been unwrapped, party food has been eaten, the candles have been blown out and a Giveway winner has been choosen.

Yes, I was having a Mummy moment and Miss. Poppins blew out 9 candles rather than her true age of 8, talk about making her grow up before her years, Ohooo well she didn't notice, and is good practice for me for cake number 2 at her party with her friends ;)





Can you sneak a peek at which tin we choose.





Ohooo I think I shall have one of Miss. Poppins' Birthday mice.





There, thats better, ooops only one left ;)





Miss. Poppins asked her new Birthday dolly to help her choose a winner, and the winner is



















Well done Ticking Stripes I look forward to sending you your pretties :)

Thank you all for leaving lovely comments and for entering the Giveaway, I wish you could have all won :)

Pomanders And Pretty Pretties....

Thank you for your lovely comments on the Shoes They really are a jazzy little number, a sweet wedding anniversary gift from Mr. Poppins and are really girly. Yes, I had a little topple when I slipped them on in the shop but soon remembered how to walk in sky scraper heels, they used to be my best friend BC, before children ;) and like riding a bike, felt like we have now become super pals once again :)


I have really been enjoying making sweet Orange Pomanders. The lovely Lalabibaby inspired me to make them and I enjoyed thinking of things to hang on the pretty twine. I have seen similar pomanders selling for so much more in Shabby Chic shops than I hope to sell mine for at the Christmas fair, I may even pop a couple in my little blogshop, I hope you like them too.






I have used some pretty bay leaves, kindly sent by the lovely Lalabibaby some festive chillies from here and sweet smelling cinnamon sticks. I think the burt orange polka dot ribbon looks perfect too.








Now I do love my lavender so thought it would be a nice change to use some different scents, so these are infused with a hint of Mandarin, Clove and Cinnamon, and is a perfect scent for getting me in the Christmas mood :)





Talking of Christmas do you like the sweet vintagy Christmas decorations I found in a CS, I have been looking for some for yonks so was delighted to find my little selection. I spent a fiver, which could possibly buy one or two of the new shop bought decorations that are on sale, so very good value I thought.


My favorite :)





Love the pretty colours.





Childhood memories of these.





Now I adore the little sparkly snowflakes, I thought of hanging these in the window with pretty ribbon.





So sparkly :)





Also for my fiver some pretty ribbon and a little gift for the Giveaway some sweet little snowflake candles in their own special box. I was tempted to keep them but need to share the prettiness with you all :) Please do feel free to enter the Giveaway a name shall be picked from the pretty tin tomorrow after the Birthday candles have been blown out by Miss. Poppins, her birthday too :)





Well I couldn't only go into only one CS now could I, here is what else I bought.


A cheeky and cheerful 1975 Jackie Annual, the first one ever published, so quite nice to have I thought, was 50p. Also helps that I have seen one selling for over£40.00 ;)





My children love reading these old Disney books found in Jumble Sales and CSs.





So was delighted when we saw these.






One aspect I love about Christmas is reading and watching all things Christmas themed. I can never find the children's Christmas books, can you, I don't know where they disappear to. I love Richard Scarry's books so was chuffed to find the Christmas book for 50p.





Best £1.00 I have EVER spent on Master. Poppins.





Well now you can imagine my little smile when I found a pretty with me on the cover ;)





Sweet little buttons, 10p for 10.





I fell in love with a cute Royal Selangor mirror and brush set for Master Poppins, in perfect condition looked like an unwanted gift.





Was £3.80 which for me I really have to think about for a CS purchase.





It really is clean as a whistle. I remember Miss. Poppins being given a little Royal Selangor pewter egg cup for her christening, so thought I would have a little gander, you can see how much the brush and mirror retail for here


A couple of pretties for the Giveaway very me, but hope they are very you too :)





And a couple of sweet floraly pillowcases.






Well, do you think you have seen your quota of Mary Poppins pretties, would like to see some more, Ohooo my arm is so easily twisted.

I had a lovely visit form a very special SC Cafe friend, Elaine and look what delights Elaine bought with her, I was very overwhelmed with her special, thoughtful, generous and pretty gifts.
Well look what delights for the children.





Now I think this was for Miss. Poppins, I hope she doesn't mind sharing it with me, and as it is her birthday on bonfire night, and has a lovely little pile of pretties to open I reckon she won't mind if i borrow it ;)





How sweet.





Look at her pile of presents, not once has she asked to open any, wouldn't catch me being so coy when I was 7 ;)





Would you like a little peek, hopefully tonight won't be the night when she asks to look at my Blog ;)

We have somehow choosen presents for her that are on the Top Twelve list for Christmas so have done well really well the get them. Yes alright I love her present off Mummy and Daddy too ;)





The Go Go Hamster from Grandma and Grandad though did prove a little difficult to find, I am glad to say though is all wrapped up now waiting :)

I was treated by Elaine too. Elaine knows I love decoupaging HOME letters so very, very kindly handed me these.





How thoughtful to hand me this little book too.








A lovely Catalogue for inspiration.





Adorable, and Ohooo so pretty pair of curtains and the perfect length to hide my modern looking washing machine I thought, and also fabulous for Christmas crafting.





A gorgeous lacey tablecloth, a delightful and very Christmas inspiring pair of pillowcases, I thought would make lovely Christmas stockings, and a pretty fabric sample from LA.





Thank you so much Elaine, so very kind of you. I sent Elaine off with one of my pretty rag hearts and a packet of ginger heart biscuits to hang on the Christmas tree.


Talking of Rag Hearts, I am going to be sending a couple on their way to the shop that sells some of my pretties and I have made one I was thinking of listing in my blogshop, they really are very sweet, quite time consuming but I love choosing the pretty fabric to make each one, as of course no two shall ever be the same. I have used lovely Rosali, a little CK, a dash of vintage and pretty ribbon to make the one here all prettily tied onto galvanised strong wire.




The pretty pink inspired fabrics.





I adore the check wired ribbon too.





Looking pretty.





One more pretty to keep you going, a little treat off my mum :)

Any guesses what you think it is.





Now do you know ;)





It is so pretty and look forward to wearing it on Miss. Poppins birthday. She is going to the cinema with some friends to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox, anyone seen it, and then some pizza. So we shall have our hands full, though I do have a blogger friend who is helping me out :)


If it is anyone elses birthday, Happy Birthday and have a good one :)

Have You Got Your Christmas Shoes Yet....

Moi Wants Not Needs....

Do you ever buy something that you really don't need, but you REALLY REALLY want. Mmmmm, I do. And wanting and not needing is what made me, well Mr. Poppins actually ;) purchase this little number.




Pretty nice looking huh :)


Well it gets better.






A lovely Ribbon watch :)


Now, which pretty ribbon do I choose, Mmmmm





Nice.





Or.





My favorite, I think ;)





Well it is a very cheery little number, very girly and for a girl who loves ribbons the perfect treat.


Talking of treats, I found a pretty brooch for the Giveaway there shall be more pretties ;)

Ohooo la la ;) lucky you if you get picked from the pretty tin





Good luck :)

GIVEAWAY....

Well, as mentioned, I wanted to do a little Giveaway to say thank you for your lovely comments. So what shall I be giving away dear friends. Well, if you like all things pink, vintage, pretty, handmade, and sent with love then this is the Giveaway for you.

International friends are welcome too. I shall gather some pretties for you, and as Miss. Poppins loves to choose, it shall be her who picks a winner from the pretty tin, on her birthday, November the 5th. Now which tin do you think we should use.








To enter all you have to do is comment and say hello, go on you can do it, and good luck :)


Talking of pretties and to get you in the mood for pretty parcels, I have wrapped and sent off my little swap to Lisa We thought it would be a nice idea to do a little pretty swap. I hope Lisa likes her pretties, I really enjoyed getting a little parcel together for her and handmaking some pretties for her too.




No pretty peeking now. Especially you Lisa ;)


Ohooo if you get a minute please spare a thought for TM

Good luck for the Giveaway :)

It Is A Heart Thing....

Special Master. Poppins has a heart condition. He had a successful ballooning to stretch the faulty valve when he was three months old, he is doing really well and his cardiologist doesn't need to see him for three years :)

Is it any wonder I have a thing for hearts, I feel my son has been given a very special one and we were so lucky to have found out so early.

I think many of my makes are heart inspired. I thought you may like to see one of my hearty makes, a little Rag Heart, very pretty and Shabby Chic I thought. And as with all my heart makes, has special meaning to me.





Do you have a favorite inspired pretty that you like to make.

Happy making

Merci Beaucoup....

Thank you so much dear Blog friends for your very interesting, articulate and thought provoking comments on my last post. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a message, I am truly touched that you can share your precious thoughts with me :)

Well I hope you are enjoying your Sunday. It is a little crazy here, wondering when this home of ours shall ever get finished. Yet no doors on the attic bedrooms, so even the pleasant purring of my sewing machine always has an overtone of children's background noise. Is it any wonder I sew into the night, listening to calm and moving classical music. Do you listen to music when you sew, or am I a little strange that when I create I love to be moved by my surroundings and sometimes feel like I am dancing along with the music, whilst creating something pretty.


Well I wonder what you are all up to, I have been playing with buttons and threads. Think I need to get out more ;)


I am loving playing with my new thrifted vintage threads.





Mmmmm, I wonder which is my favourite ;)





So, my little thank you from me to you :)





Any favourites in there :)

Is My Blog My Life....

I am very interested in the subject talked about in Holly's post, titled Is your life all about Blog Content.

I have been thinking about this subject myself, and I know it crops up every now and again. I have bloggy wobbles occasionally and it is then that I wonder what is it all about, why do I blog, why did I set up my little blog, is my blog really what I want it to be etc etc. How much of my life is in my blog.

Well I know why I set up my blog. On a more personal level I think losing little Joshua affected me and I was in a lot of emotional pain and needed an outlet where I could escape and enter a pretty world. Also the builders were in and I wanted to chart the wonderful transformation of our building site of a home into this magnificent Shabby chic Family home. Well that hasn't quite happened, the 8 week building project is now nearly into it's second year ;)

I soon found a new love, crafting, and love to share all that I have learned and I love to learn off you too. Where it gets a little blurry for me, is the real life stuff, sometimes you all truly feel like my friends and I sometimes want to share the important stuff, but something holds me back. Is that a good thing.

How much do you actually share, more or less than you would like. Life isn't all a bunch of roses however much I would like it to be. It is like the old saying a problem shared....

Is my life my blog content, well I would say yes a little snippet of it is, but as for the real life stuff I don't even think we have even scraped the tip of the iceberg ;)

Of course one element of blogging I love is sending and receiving pretty parcels :)

I purchased a pretty little handmade heart off the lovely Beki .

I can spot anything with a Daisy on it from 100 paces so fell in love.





Norty Beki also sent a couple of cheer up treats too, and the prettiest fabric.





Thank you Beki, I hope the post doesn't delay your little parcel.


I also adored the sweet handpainted coaster I saw in Lajoni's Place Again, in my favourite flower. I had to purchase it. It is beautifully handpainted and shall be treasured. Thank you Lajoni





It is Miss. Poppins' birthday in a couple of weeks and I fell in love with Caroline's pretty fairy lavender cushions. I thought one would be lovely for Miss. Poppins. And norty Caroline too sent a couple of sweet extras. Thank you Caroline, the pillow is so sweet :)





And what a treat when I opened up my lovely bay leaves from the very kind Lalabibaby who makes the most delightful hanging pomanders and offered to send me some of her bay leaves so I can make my own. Thank you so much Lala :)




And some lovely items of clothing from the lovely Heather who has been kindly sending some sweet items of clothing to fellow bloggy friends for them to repurpose in to something pretty and offer for sale. Any money raised shall be going to a very worthy charity. Thank you Heather for the sweetest items.






So, although I struggle to sometimes get the real stuff out there with you all, I happily share what I can, and am so touched by the kindness and generosity of my Bloggy friends that sometimes words are not needed, a little ;) a little ((((( MaryP ))))) is all that it takes for me to know that you understand :)

X

Come To My Party....

Would you like to come to my CK party, you are all invited. Thank you for helping me organise it Lissy Lou I understand there are many more having the CK party too :)

I found you all in my bloggy address book....





There shall be bunting....





Pretty tins busting with sweeties....





Choose your favourite drinking vessel....





Why don't you bring an overnight bag....





Choose your own pretty pillowcase....





There shall be some reading....





And we could pick some pretty flowers....





Of course there shall be food but first you may like to wash your hands....





And then dry them with a soft fluffy towel....





Once we have had a bite to eat and a nice cup of tea....





We could write some pretty poetry to send to someone we love....





There shall be candlelight....





What lovely wrapping paper....





Hungry again....





More tea....





Ohooo look I have found some more pretty writing material....





A little midnight snack perhaps....





Time flies when you are having fun, was loving seeing you all, I hope you like your party bag....





Ohooo hang on whose going to help with the washing up ;)....





Thanks for coming and look forward to coming to yours :)

Fabulous idea Lissy Lou :)


Post in honour of Ms....




Happy Partying

X

Well Didn't We Have A Lovely Time....

Sometimes you can actually have a good experience when you were thinking it may be quite the opposite. Normally when I visit Mr. Ikea with the family I would say divorce gets mentioned at least 50 times, the children make a run for the children's department with me lagging behind them, people get tired and people get hungry, namely me on the hungry one ;)

So when we visited a couple of weeks ago I was expecting some raised voices and moaning husbands and yet had a lovely, lovely calm, peacful, happy experience. Everything fitted into the car, even me, after all my Diam bars.

We met a couple of friends, had a little chat, and then walked round very calmly with my list in hand ready for the shouting to begin. Well, a couple of pretties took my eye on the way round. I wonder if any of you lovely bloggers have the same pretties I liked in your homes.

Master. Poppins loved the groovy highchair.





And the sweet Ladybird





I loved


Ms. Jennylund





Ms. Klippan





Mr. Poppins quite liked the Paul Smithesque chair.





I wish I could pick this kitchen up and bring it home with me. We have the chairs at home, though are yet to take them out of their cardboard homes. So is nice to see them looking pretty, only wish it was in my kitchen too.











Very pretty








I do love the little children set ups they have.








I fell in love at Ikea





With a beautiful Alvine Rug that is, has gone on my christmas wish list. I wonder how Santa shall hide that one from me ;)

So what did I come home with. Well I bought some threads, I have heard the Ikea ones are quite good. A lovely funky throw from the bargain corner for £4.00, some pretty spotty napkins.

Lovely christmas paper bags





A little Billy bookcase for my crafty little things, some crafting essentials and not a tea lignt in sight ;)


I have worked out what helped make for a pleasant little Ikea outing, THE LIST. I don't normally have a list, and that is when I come home with things I didn't really need but thought I needed. With my list you see, I knew what I wanted and didn't buy anything that was not on the list. So Mr.Poppins was happy and happily so was I.

Though there were two little things that were on my list that they didn't have so I shall have to go back, please remind me to take a list :)

X

Here Come The Girls....

Seems a gal loves to shop ;) I bumped into her and her and bought....





AND





AND a couple of treats for Grandma








AND





There was a little something too I was toying over, Mmmmm think I shall have to go back for that ;)


Come on gals I want to looky at what you bought :)


Happy Shopping

X

New Friends....

I would so love it if you could take the time to welcome a sweet and very crafty friend of mine who is new to Blogland. I know she would love it if you could pop over and say hello . Look what pretties she made for my children. How sweet of her. And truth is she only got the vintage sewing machine out a couple of weeks ago. My, this gal learns quickly :)


Her handmade pretty for gorgeous Master. Poppins. I think he is supposed to be scary but I think he is cute and pretty ;)





And for my precious Miss. Poppins my friend has made her the cutest of hair accessories. Some of you may know why they are especially cute ;)





Welcome lovely crafty friend :)


I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone of you for leaving me lovely comments. I have to apologise that I don't get to leave comments with all of you as often as I would like. I hope you don't mind, I shall do my best to pull my finger out. I have a little giveaway coming up to say thank you :)


One thing that is taking up my time as you may know is making pretties. I wonder if I am a slow, average or fast worker. Well you can cross off the fast ;) Maybe I need to jiggy it all up a little. With having a young family, for me, I only really get to craft a little here, a little there. Get bored easily, am a little lazy, likes to read, ummm, errrrr, magazines ;) So I probably don't help myself really.

One thing I wanted to do to take up my time was make some pretties for the little blogshop I have. Please feel free to have a little looky.








Right I have some pretty bunting to be getting on with, Ohooo how I love bunting :)

Happy Blogging :)

X

I ♥ Fabric....

You know I really can't believe how in love I have become with fabric. I can hardly believe it myself. I mean handbags, yes, pretty shoes, yes, a new shiny pink lipstick, Ohooo yes, Wispa Gold's, so yes, pretty writing paper, alright yes, new housey pretties, yes yes, but fabric, really. Isn't it all a little, I don't know old for me. I am in my thirties shan't say which half ;) And thought loving fabric was for when I got a little older and sitting by the warm fire with a little crochet blanket on my knee would take great pride in darning my dear husbands socks or embroidering a little smock dress for one of my grandchildren :)


Well it seems the love has come early. I almost jump with joy when the I hear the postman coming up the path, thinking he may have with him some of my newly bought fabric. Ohooo I hope a couple of you can relate to that feeling of excitement.

Ohooo how high I jumped when my new fabric came.

I am so in love with the pretty Micheal Miller one.





And not only that but some pretty fabric treats from my lovely friend too.





One pretty I enjoyed making with some new Christmas fabric was a little Christmas Tree, and yes a teeny tiny sprinkling of lavender went in too. I really should experiment with some more Christmas smells, Lavender is a favourite of mine, so I guess I tend to use it more. I would love to know what smells and fragrances you like at Christmas, I quite like orange and Cinnamon.

Talking of pretty fabric, my lovely swap supplies arrived from the very lovely JennyFlower for the Paper Bag Swap At Contented Blog I am really looking forward to making something for Jenny, we are having a jolly olde time emailing one another. Jenny was a little nervous that I may be a little scared of her fabric she was going to send, as she had probably gathered from my blog, I am a pretty pink kinda gal. Ohooo Jenny you couldn't be more wrong, I love it and how thoughtful that you have chosen a wonderful selection of beautiful autumnal colours.


Would you like to see what Jenny sent me.

The most gorgeous handmade pretty pink fabric bag, and look at the delightful corsages. I was asked that If I wanted to, I was welcome to keep the little bag for myself. Ummmm yes. I LOVE it. Thank you Jenny.








And look what was inside, and all mine to play with and make something lovely for Jenny and then send it back to her.





I have even got some real posh velvet, I have never worked with velvet before so that shall be fun. I already have one or two ideas of pretties that shall be made for Jenny. I hope she shall be happy with them, Jenny is a very talented crafter and makes beautiful items. So I shall do my best to bring a smile to her face :)

Would you like to know what I sent to Jenny, well of course there was a little pink in there.





Good luck Jenny. Hope you didn't faint with all that pink and girlyness ;)


I am also looking forward to sending a little swap off to lovely Lisa We have been doing a little chatting as it were and thought it would be lovely to do a little handmade and thrifted swap. It is my first international swap so I am very excited. :)


Happy fabric playing :)

X

Christmas Heart....

Is it really too early to hang up a sweet little handmade Christmas lavender heart. Really, really is it. She is very cute, teeny weeny and smells so sweet.





I mean she is not too Christmasy, well, unless you turn her over.





Maybe it is a little early. So I shall pop her in my little Christmas hamper of handmade goodies to keep ready for sale.

I am really enjoying making some decorations for the School Christmas Fair. I like to keep things simple in the Poppins house, time is always at a premium so thought I would stick to little hearts, etc. I also couldn't do a fair without offering some of my Christmas bunting for sale.

If you are making some lovely decorations for Christmas I would love to know what you enjoy making :)

The Sun is smiling :)

X