welcome to my blog!!!!

Thank you for dropping by....i will be blogging about my life in Devon by the sea-side, decorating my 1926 home, vintage treasure hunting from auctions, charity shops , recycling centres and the good old british car booty!! One mans rubbish is another mans treasure! baking, sewing, painting and probably the weather!!!! enjoy!
claireljinks@hotmail.com


Wednesday 27 February 2013

Monday 25 February 2013

Learning to Crochet

Have been practicing my crochet this week...
Collars are a nice easy project for the beginner....
They only took me a few hours to complete.....
And they are very economical..
I purchased this ball of 100% cotton from The Factory Shop for £1.50 ....
And there is enough yarn to easily make two collars if not three...just right for practicing....
I downloaded and printed out this pattern off the Internet...
Here is the address if you want to have a go....
Made a gray one in some odd wool I had lying around....I love the red button....
My daughter now wants me to make her a few and some for my grandaughters x x x. And I think I will be wearing a few!
Had a purple chintz moment to accompany my crochet exploits and brighten up a cold wintry day x.

Thursday 21 February 2013

The Last Leg.

The Poppy tablecloth saga is entering the end game..........
Three corners down and its only taken a year and 2 months.......
It has truly become a labour of love.......
Mother bought the table cloth and transfers as a Christmas present and said have a go at this......
I toddled off to the sewing shop and bought the threads and have been hooked ever since.....
There have been weeks where my hands wouldn't even hold the needle (carpal tunnel) and its sat all forlorn, but  never forgotten. It has been put down in favour of new projects such as learning to crochet...
but I have always returned with renewed enthusiasm.....


Today I got out the last corner transfer......


Ironed .......
And peeled the transfer off.......

And here it is........


Another few weeks......or months work , hands willing......
And I will have a lovely Poppy tablecloth, every stitch made with love...lots of people have asked if its worth it....all that time and effort...and I say Yes!!!!!.......x x x

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Table Makeover

I have been in bed with the flu, the whole household has had a very nasty virus, so I havn't had much chance to get things done, here is what I managed to get done before I retired to bed feeling very sorry for myself....
Here is a before picture of a piece of junk my husband brought home from the auctions.....I thought it was awful....
A horrible orange pine unit....before I decorated we just put our toiletries on the large window shelf in the bathroom, but now I want to tidy up a bit ...thought I had nothing to loose with trying to perk this piece up...
Cracked out the old faithful...the chalk paint....
Couple of coats, a sand and a coat of wax and its all ready to go and doesn't look too bad....





Fits in with the rest of the decor.....untill something better turns up....

Thursday 14 February 2013

Valentines...Black Rose




Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines day....I received dark red roses and thought some  black china would go wonderfully with them x

Monday 11 February 2013

A place for everything..and everything in its place

 A  few years ago I saw this beautiful hand embroidered table runner on Etsy...I posted it on my Facebook page, as I do many beautiful things that catch my eye..... and my mother bought it as a surprise for me.....
 I loved the delicate embroidery , the bees buzzing around the beautiful pink flowers...but it forever lived in my cupboard. I did not want to use it over my tablecloths as I did not want it to get stained....but...at last I have found a home for it...and here it it is....




 That we bought from a local auction for £1 ..I will say that again ONE POUND! It took a but of huffing and puffing by people to get it into the house...but it was well worth the effort.....
 One of my tea cup lamps that my daughter made me sits atop of it too....
 It's so lovely having a piano in the house again, I love listening to my husband play, and my grandchildren tinkling away.....and I love looking at my pretty runner on top of it...need a few more knick-knacks too...
I now have to find a home for this amazing hand crocheted doily I got for Christmas.....
 Its quite a large one.....
 Such beautiful colours...and its sooooooooo pretty ..I don't want to to live in the textile cupboard for years, it should be on display so I can ohh and ahh over it....
I hope I find a place for it soon x

Friday 8 February 2013

Say goodbye ...say hello....


I said goodbye to this  beautiful part set of Royal Albert Masquerade this week....


 I have a penchant for black china...its so dramatic and even though its vintage can look very contemporary in a modern setting....I have numerous black patterns ranging from Victorian to to the 40's....
 This beautiful set is off to Scotland, I hope its happy and is well loved in its new home x x x
 

And this week I said hello to this beautiful Colclough trio.....
 A gift from a beloved Aunty.......I think its one of the prettiest patterns that I have....
 I asked my youngest daughter Poppy (16) if she like my latest tea cup and her eyes lit up and she said "ooooh ooooh...is that mine?...I think its MY tea cup mother....Let's make a cup of tea.........." as she took it from my hands......I think I will have to share it!
Have a good weekend everybody x x x x I shall be using my new tea cup all weekend x