Not Much Stitching . . . but . . .

Good Wednesday Afternoon dear friends & readers

There has been not much stitching g0ing on here at my funny ol' Threadbear Life of late  ... (or none actually)

.  .  .  but .  .  .

as well as signs of spring popping up at last  .  .  .  there have been other things going on 

I have always admired these painted Agee Jars that I see on the web & in some stores but their prices are enough to frighten me off

Likewise, the cost of proper actual Glass Paint was rather scarey & offputting

So I thought I might have an attempt using my trusty test pots

Amulet on the left & Pale Rose on the right

I found the paint went onto the glassware really easily & I gave them 2 coats

The only thing you need to remember is they are decorative & should probably not be washed ... although I think a wipe-over would not do them any harm

When dry I lightly sanded the wording on the jars to make it stand out

These little potted baby's tears plants had sat over winter sloowwly growing so it was time to plant them up into other containers

After painting & planting the old kettle in this post here, I decided to try a "baby version" using this old op-shop aluminium teapot 

I drilled a single hole in the bottom for drainage & when planted, I "doiley-fied" it with a tiny crochet doiley

As the lid had a small steam hole in it, I attached it to the pot with some bakers twine . . . I think its rather cute

Also these vintage china cups & one polka dot coffee mug got some baby's tears planted in them

These are all going for sale in the Cottage.

I was given a box full of - well ...  junk really.  

 Inside were a few old books, a couple of them had their covers missing, so I thought I might try my hand at some book bundles . . .

Once again, I have seen these done before but at huge prices & I didn't think they would be too difficult

I have to admit, I really enjoyed the whole process of putting these together.

I found some images on good old Uncle Google which I printed off & then parisiene essence dyed

Remember to always tear the edges of your paper, not cut with scissors as this leaves a blunt edge.

The tatty spines of the books I covered with some old pages & some music pages ... modern day music pages, once again made to look "antique" by spraying with a cold parisiene essence mixture

I also sanded the spines & edges of the books, when the glue was dry.

All bound together with some lace & a couple of charms or a key

These make great bookends or just look very vintage-chic sitting by themselves

My Mr doesn't understand the whole concept of book bundles & wonders why you don't actually get to read them ??!!

These little four-legged creatures above are the reason there has been no stitching done of late

Circumstances at the farm have changed & I have been called upon to help quite a bit recently.

I am hoping this will not be for too much longer.

Now I must confess we have started some bad habits in our house & one of them was allowing little Miss Pippi to sleep in her basket on the table.

It was just easier when she was unwell & since then, I have never not yet re-trained her 

(Oh I will.... I promise !!!!)

When she is not lying horizontal in her basket  (which she is rapidly outgrowing)  then she likes to sit & watch me prepare the meals in the kitchen

 I chat away to her as I do this & she watches every move I make & looks at me as if to say "oh really, is that right??"

However, fat Black - who has always been more of a couch cat, has decided the table is quite a nice place to sit beside Mum & "supervise" her when she crafts . . .

. . . perhaps "help her" with her book bundles

Come summer . . . we I have some serious retraining to do !!!!

I thought I would share this delightful photo of my grandson Alec that I took recently

He is now 4 months old & is such a bundle of joy ... he is also going quite blonde like both of his parents are.

After winter I have been closing my Cottage for one day a week (a Monday) & I try to get out to visit my wee grandson each Monday.

His little face certainly lights up my day.

Thanks so very much for visiting today dear friends & readers,

I hope the rest of the week is kind to you all

with much love & friendship,

Julie, Fat Black & Miss Pippi

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