Cosy January Wishlist

H  & M cushion  /  Primark Throw  /   Asda hot water bottle  /  Homebase House lamp  /  Newlook photo frame  /  Mug Cake book  /  Sainsbury's mug

It is definitely starting to feel a bit more like winter round here I don't know about you but everyone I know seems to be coming down with something nasty... including myself! The best remedy I can think of is to stay at home snuggled up cosy and warm.  These are my winter picks for staying warm all winter long, and on a budget too.

Sammy xxx


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H's Vintage Homeware

Hello there, today I have a little sneak peek at my new abode for you and also some Vintage treasures for you to take a look at.  We all know by now I am sure that I love Vintage clothing and this extends to my home wares and luckily I have parents who never like to throw away anything good and also a some great little charity shops around me which I can delve into.

Today's treats though have come by way of my parents and I love every little story behind them and so I thought I would share them with you.

I guess I should start with the title picture.  This little beauty of a coffee table used to be in our living room when I was growing up and when one of my oldest friends popped around for a visit the other week, she remembered it, so it must be good.  I love the style and those legs, just perfect 1970's style.  It goes really well with my modern rug and sofa too.

Next up are these curtains, which I know full well are not to everyone's taste and usually Orange is not a colour I go for.  But these curtains just have something about them and have been hanging around even longer than the coffee table I think.  They started in my parents house before I was born, then into the house I grew up in, my brother had them at his first house for a while and now they are with me.  My mum thinks she got the fabric from a market as she didn't have long enough curtains for the longer windows.  So handmade also.  I have been waiting to get my own place to have these for years.

Who doesn't love a bit of crockery and having your own place means you get to keep it all for yourself.  I have been given plates, bowls and all sorts, but these soup bowls are just ace.  Obviously the blue ones need not much introduction as I would clearly love them for their colour.  I also remember using the Owl bowls when I was growing up, no wonder I love owls so much.

Lastly and by no means least, this fabric is in fact a bedspread. My mum said she used to have it on her bed when she was at home and so it has done its time.  I love the pattern and colour obviously, but mostly I love that it's something that my mum used and that I will now use.

I love that Vintage has a story and it's even better when you know that story and have a connection with it.  Brings the comforts of your childhood into your new home.  Don't get me wrong there is always a place for a little Ikea and Tiger - who doesn't love them, but knowing that something has lasted this long and will continue to last, is brilliant.

What do you have that reminds you of your childhood?  Do you have things that keep getting passed around the family? I would love to hear more.

Hope your all having a great day!

H

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Love it: Sammy's March Wishlist

1. Urban Sofa  2. West Elm Mug  3. Urban Jewellery Box  4. Liberty Print Vans. 5. Tiger Wire Basket  6. Paperchase Pinapple  7. Face and Edges Pillow  8. MilaDo Bracelet  9. Wilko House Shelves  10. Accessorize Shopper.

There is so much on my wishlist right now it is literally bursting with homewares and accessories I just had to share my spring inspirations with you. I am craving new trainers and I just adore these Vans which combine two of my fave things, Alice in Wonderland and Liberty fabric! This Jewellery box from Urban is just beautiful, it would make my collection look like a shop display. Whilst I was on their website I also found a yummy new sofa too, I might be on the lookout for something similar very soon. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend

Sammy xxx

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Make it: Chest of Drawers Update with Trinca Ferro

Spring is truly on the way and with spring comes sunshine, with sunshine often comes the realisation that your house is looking a little dull around the edges.  I do hope that's not just me that notices all those little dusty shelves as soon as the sun starts shining?  I had started some redecoration in our bedroom last year but stopped because I lost inspiration, so I was delighted when Trinca Ferro got in touch with us about their range of decorative handles.

This is a 'before' picture of my chest of drawers that I started updating last year. You can see I added some wall paper samples and sticky back paper to some of the drawers that had surface damage but I hadn't been able to decide what to do next.

As soon as I saw that range of handles on the Trinca Ferro website my creative juices started flowing, the colours and textures were just what I needed to kick-start my plans for this area of my room.

Aqua Flower , White with Gold Lines , Aqua and Gold , Gold Metal , Purple Glass , S Letter , Aqua Twist , Pink Flower 

I really enjoyed searching through the site and found some beautiful handles for my chest of drawers. I loved so many of the designs that I ended up choosing eight different styles to bring in different colours and textures.

I was so excited when they arrived, the quality is lovely and the handles looked amazing on the drawers. They finished off the look of the drawers and pulled together the new design of the chest really well.  

It meant that I was able to pull together a few pieces from elsewhere in my home to create a functional but pretty side table area. I am so happy with this little space, it makes me want to spend time in here now.

Another little update was this shower caddy that I spray painted to co-ordinate with the space. I hang it on the side of the chest to hold my phone when its charging and my kindle, hair bobbles etc. I think it makes a handy little addition.

 Which areas of your home could use a crafty little makeover? Anything you have started, but lost inspiration for? Sometimes it just takes a little spark to get a project to take shape.

Sammy xxx


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Friday Favourite: Iconic IKEA

1. LAPPLJUNG RUTA rug  2. SOCKER vase  3. MOPPE mini drawers  

4. LAPPLJUNG RUTA cushion  5. EIVOR throw  6. RASKOG trolley  

7. LINNMON table top  8. KASSETT storage boxes  9. ALEX drawer units

Last week Steve and I both had a Friday off work, this is rare - so we celebrated with a trip to Milton Keynes, more directly IKEA!  Oh the life of us married folk, so glamorous.  We were headed there in particular as I had saved enough money to buy all the components of my new desk (sadly this is super exciting to me).  There is so much Ikea goodness floating around the interwebs at the moment and I couldn't resist some of the more popular and iconic IKEA pieces for our home.

This is what we bought.

Can you see a theme ?? I chose the ALEX drawer units and the LENNMON table tops for my desk.  I bought four of the drawer units and two tops in different sizes to replace the two mis-matched desks in my craft room. As soon as my room is back to normal I will take some new photos and share it with you guys.

We had a lovely day, we put Music on in the car as we drove to Milton Keynes and sang along at the top of our voices all the way there and back, I love hearing my Steve sing, he used to be in a band before we knew each other, he has a lovely voice. 

Hope you all have a lovely weekend, I am spending mine sorting out all the bits into my new desk, what are you guys up to?

Sammy xxx

Sammy's Bedroom Makeover Moodboard

I hope you all had a really lovely bank holiday weekend, I spent yesterday sorting out and de-cluttering our bedroom because I have been planning a mini makeover.  When we moved in to our house five years ago, It was pretty well decorated so we just moved our furniture in and left it.  I obviously share my bedroom with my husband Steve so I have to bear him in mind when I am thinking about refreshing our room. I am also trying to save money for a very exciting trip next year so I am trying to makeover our space on a budget. Now that I have tidied up, it is much easier to see what changes I can make. I have been pinning some ideas to a Pinterest board so that I could make a mood board to work from and here it is...

 I have chosen colours that compliment the already neutral paint job/ wallpaper in our room, as I don't really want to be stripping wallpaper because as I said  it's pretty neutral. My favourite colour is purple and a few months ago we bought new bedding in shades of purple so I knew I wanted to include that in my scheme. The addition I am most excited about is the aqua/ turquoise shade. It fits in really well into the existing scheme, but will give it a lift and is not too girlie for Steve. 

 I will be able to give you a few updates as bits get done and a few before and afters. I hope you liked the little sneak peak into my plans for the next few weekends. 

What did you get up to over the bank holiday weekend?? 

Sammy xxx

Who's Who: For All We Know

This month our who's who is about Sarah from for all we know, who we met at the Craft Candy Launch back in March.

Her work is very lovely and she has some amazing prints - H especially loves the Hot gossip pattern!

Who are you?

Sarah Haines, designer, producer, artist, maker and project manager!

What do you do?

I develop eco-conscious homewares and graphic art prints.  I love up cycling and often work with second hand ceramics to create new decorative pieces or re-purposed products. This could be a second hand pre-loved plate which is decorated with my designs and kiln fired in Stoke-on-Trent to make a decorative plate.  Or a pretty vintage plate or cup which has been re-purposed into a bird-feeder or a clock!

How did you start?

I've always been interested in making and creating artwork since a child.  I went to art college, then onto a degree in Interior Design, however after a few years it was clear I had better chances of staying employed if I switched my talents and design knowledge to a career in project management.  Even when my day job didn't allow for creativity I continued to create, draw, print, photograph for my own pleasure.  A couple of years ago I was made redundant from a busy Project Management role and I decided to take the opportunity to spend more time on what I loved.  Being creative.  I felt it was time to start braving it, and go alone for a while.

What's Next?

Now that would be telling!  All I can say is fingers-crossed, hopefully I should get some freelance work which will help pay my bills whilst my creative projects continue in the background.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?

That's a tricky one.  Perhaps, be good and do your bookkeeping on a daily basis?  Boring but true.  Would I listen? No!

We think Sarah has some pretty sound advice, some which I am sure we all wish we listen to.  Her prints are amazing and I think some definite birthday present ideas I think.

For more about for all we know:

Visit the Shop:
  w http://www.forallweknow.co.uk/

  Follow them:
  t https://twitter.com/#!/fawk_tweets

  Like their page:  
  f  https://www.facebook.com/forallweknow.co.uk

H & Sammy

Love it: Wilko's New Homewares

 1.Storage boxes  /  2.Mercury Vase  /  3.Lamp Shade  /  4.Chevron Bedding  /   5.WoodenAmpersand  /   6.Table Lamp  /  7.Lace Bowl  /  8.Faceted Vase  /  9.Camera Print

Spring is well on it's way and spring means one thing, Spring cleaning and with spring cleaning comes a yearning to buy new goodies to place around my newly sparkling home. As I was wondering around Wilkinson's the other day buying some storage boxes for the shop I spotted the new batch of home-wears and found my self grabbing a basket (oops!) Here are my pick of their surprisingly stylish accessories.

So will I see you in Wilkinson's this weekend?

Have a good one 

Sammy xxx