I really can’t believe that six months has gone by since my last blog. As well as attending fairs and running my Etsy shop, I have been busy in the garden and enjoying a few Cornish breaks. Here are my monthly highlights ...
Read More
Welcome to my first blog of 2023. Spring is fast approaching, the season of “new beginnings", and it is the perfect time to plan ahead for the busy warmer months. In March I like to make a “to do” list of jobs in the garden and start to fill up my calendar with vintage treasure hunting trips and holidays to Cornwall. I also book my spring and summer fairs - this year I’ll be selling at a mixture of virtual and live fairs. My upcoming fairs are:-Saturday 18th March - virtual instagram fair with @thewealdenbazaarSaturday 1st April - Spring Vintage Market at Penshurst, KentSunday 11th June - Summer Vintage Fair at Chiddingstone Castle, Kent I will be showcasing a beautiful selection of handmade and vintage homewares, gifts and accessories. I always...
Read More
My last blog was only 3 months ago but so much seems to have happened since then...
Read More
Well it definitely has been a long hot summer - especially here in Kent! The season started off with the wonderful Platinum Jubilee celebrations. I must admit to being a royal fan. I love the history and traditions of the monarchy and have acquired quite a collection of coronation and jubilee mugs dating back to Queen Victoria! To mark the occasion I added corgi print cushions and Union Jack dog collars to the “Vintage Dawn” range. Then this month we had our own family celebrations. My son Danny married his long time girlfriend Emma on a a beautiful sunny day at a Georgian mansion house in East Sussex. I am lucky enough to have been both mother of the bride and mother of the groom and both times I have felt...
Read More
Hello and welcome to my first blog of 2022. Marvellous May is upon us and the gardens are suddenly full of colour, the days are becoming warmer and it is time once again to find my flip flops! Spring always puts me in the mood to have a good sort out, re-think and plan ahead. During lockdown my business had to adapt. Fairs were cancelled and the local craft shop I supply had to close.My on-line Etsy shop suddenly became my sole selling outlet. At fairs I would always offer a selection of vintage homewares for sale along side my handmade designs. I had a good stock of these items so I decided to start adding vintage pieces to my Etsy shop. This proved to be very successful and I now...
Read More
I have finally wrapped the last present, I’ve delivered all my cards and I’ve made the traditional Christmas tree cake with my eldest grandson (who is 4). So today I can really enjoy the magical day that is Christmas Eve! If you read my blog last year (thank you for sticking with me!) you will know that today is my favourite day of the year. The calm before the whirlwind of Christmas Day. The day for opening those special biscuits, lighting a scented candle and sitting down in front of a wonderful Christmas film. I like “White Christmas” or “Love Actually”. If you’re hosting Christmas you will also be madly chopping veg and preparing the feasting table. I’m lucky enough to be going with all my family to my brother’s this...
Read More
I always think the change in the seasons from Summer to Autumn happens very quickly. Sometimes September can be kind by allowing us a final flurry of warm summery days. The children return to school in crisp new uniform, often not needing coats. However as October beckons the damp morning mists arrive, the trees start to relinquish their rusty leaves, the nights draw in and my heating goes on! The perfect time to enjoy cosy evenings in with hot chocolate and scented candles.The last colour in my garden is now fading. The beautiful hydrangea blooms are drying and turning the most wonderful shades of champagne pink and pistachio green. Now is the perfect time to cut a few to preserve indoors for floral arrangements. My vegetable patch suddenly looks bare as “all is...
Read More
It’s funny how it feels that Summer only really starts when the schools break up although it officially begins on 21st June!As a child I would look forward with excited anticipation to those six weeks of school holidays. Sometime in August our family would set off on our annual holiday to Cornwall. The car would be jam-packed with “essentials” and my brother and I would be squashed on the back seat amongst enough food and drink to sustain us throughout the nine hour journey (there weren't so many motorways or dual carriageways back then). My Mum originated from a small Cornish village near St Austell so we often stayed with my Auntie, Uncle and cousins who lived there. We spent most of our days with them exploring the local golden...
Read More
Today is Easter Sunday and I would like to wish you all a very Happy Easter! Here in Kent ("The Garden Of England") it is a lovely Spring day. The birds are twittering, my Spring bulbs are in full bloom and there are fresh green shoots appearing on all the neatly pruned shrubs and climbers. Last month we also had a few warm sunny days so I left my sewing machine to spend some time tidying up the garden and decided to create a new raised bed area for fruit and vegetables. After talking the idea over with my husband, he promptly produced an original site plan of our plot (from when our house was built in 2000), a ruler and pencil and started to draw out the proposed beds to...
Read More
As this is my first blog of 2021 I would like to start by wishing you all a very Happy New Year!January seems to have flown by - the month for new resolutions and a good sort out! Lockdown has continued and so I have been busy indoors rearranging my sewing room and sorting through my vintage fabric stash! This always gives me inspiration for new designs and products. I came across some beautiful sailing themed fabric that I purchased when in Cornwall last year and am now planning a range of seascape inspired cushions in beautiful hues of cobalt blues, sandy yellows and sea glass greens. Watch this space!I have also added a new section to my Etsy shop - “Vintage Toys”. I have aways loved old toys especially...
Read More