Woohoo!!!

....what a great time we had at the MK Handmade and Vintage Fair over the weekend. It was a total riot with Suzy keeping us all laughing, Sharon looking after us all and the lovely Di and Katie joining in the fun! It was perfectly organised by Jacqui and, although the sunshine kept some people away, we all enjoyed ourselves and look forward to next time - see you there.......

Save the Date!!!.....

.....don't forget Milton Keynes Handmade and Vintage Fair is on this weekend, 26th/27th May, just outside John Lewis. Bigger than ever I believe with 106 stands at the last count! And it's being covered by BBC Homes and Antiques magazine - fame at last! It really is the best place for unique and affordable gifts and homewares.

I will be there with lots of gorgeous furniture including many of the things featured here on the blog. You might like to check out the I Love My Home page on Facebook too - go to the 'Current Stock' photo album for lots of images.

So, be there if you can, these events always have a lovely atmosphere and Milton Keynes has never been so busy - the figures were off the chart in March! I'll be in front of the Mothercare store - do come and say hello!

'Birds' letter rack or wall pocket.....

...I painted this little letter rack or wall pocket (you could use it for all sorts of things, I guess) in ASCP Old White and used a combination of sweet bird images which I printed in an 'antiqued' tone. Then I made a small label for the top using a Graphics Fairy frame....

......the French motto: 'a chaque oiseau son nid est beau' means that to every bird his nest is beautiful, a sentiment that has echoes with I Love My Home. Our homes are our refuges from the rest of the world and it makes sense to me to create beautiful, comfortable and useable spaces in which to live.....

Laurel wreath box....

.....okay, sometimes things just don't go to plan and here's one of those things: 

I'd seen lots of examples of images transferred with ink markers and thought I'd try it. So I took this pretty little painted box and used one of my favourite Graphics Fairy images, the laurel wreath. I transferred the image by just taping the print to the top and rubbing over the back of the print so that the ink from the printing would give me guide on the surface and then got my new, specially purchased pen and started work....

...it all seemed to be going well but just wouldn't dry, two days later and it was still wet so I sprayed it with clear lacquer which dried perfectly....except over the image! In desperation I tried to wipe the whole surface clean and ended up with a slightly smudged and rather faded look which, all things considered, is a pretty good outcome - it could have been so much worse!

....so, what have I learned? Either the paint or the ink was wrong somehow. I'll try again using Annie Sloane chalk paint which should be much more absorbent and I'll go looking for a pen that is definitely permanent on all surfaces! 

People often ask me where I learned the techniques I use - did I go on courses or read books? No, I just make it up as I go along and make lots of mistakes - the best way to learn!

My walk to work....

......I recently started working in London part time, helping out my husband. This, of course, as well as being a therapist, counsellor, artist, furniture restorer, vintage dealer, housewife, mother to two very demanding furbabies etc. etc. In other words: typical woman. But I digress, if I get off the Tube one stop early I can walk though Green Park and St James's Park, past Buckingham Palace and the Guardsmen to the office. Not a bad walk to start the day eh?

On the way I sometimes bump into these guys....

.....now, if you're in the States maybe this may not seem very exciting, but this is very exotic in the UK. The pelicans have been a feature in St James's Park for years and are very beautiful. The funny thing is that squirrels are two-a-penny in the UK but all the tourists bypass the pelicans and are entranced by the squirrels! They are particularly bold in the park and will run up your leg or jump onto your hand or into your pocket for food (the squirrels, not the tourists....although some are very friendly...)

so I thought I'd share these pictures with you because I think the pelicans are lovely with the most delightful expressions. OK there is an urban myth (I think) that they occasionally snap up a pigeon or two in their beaks but I think we can afford to lose a pigeon here or there....ooh, contentious!

'Produits de la Ferme' storage crate.....

..... boy, I love a freebie! I asked a market trader if I could have a couple of his old wooden crates and he was grateful to get rid of them as he didn't want to take them home and dispose of them himself, so everyone was happy! I painted this one in a homemade mix of ASCP Old White with a dash of Chateau Grey and them printed some lettering (mirror image) in Caslon Antique font.......

 ....here you can see I'm halfway through the old Modpodge transfer technique..... 

 ......more of the same.....

......and here's the finished product! My Produits de la Ferme (Farm Produce) vegetable crate, shown here in some uncharacteristic sunshine, after the wettest April in years......

What do you think?

'Birdie Cabinet' re-do......

.......oops, I did it again. Apologies to Britney. I meant to take a 'before' shot of this little cabinet but I forgot, and if I'm honest, it was sooo horrible I wasn't sure I could rescue it. Now you know that means it was REALLY horrible because I'll take on most lost causes. The door was all dented and had been covered in some ghastly canvas type fabric and then varnished just to make it really hard to remove.

Anyway, just look at her now! I fixed as much of the damage on the door as I could and then decided to use this lovely vintage style graphic from Karen at the Graphics Fairy (of course) to camouflage the surface. (My husband said it was 'an inspired choice' - d'you think I've 'turned' him to the dark side of vintage?) I put a layer of matte Modpodge over the top to seal it and rubbed over some dilute paint to soften the details and make it a bit blurry. Then I waxed it with a mixture of clear wax all over and antique brown wax on the edges and distressed it slightly..... et voila!

So now I'm calling this my 'Birdie Cabinet' and hoping that other people like it too as I will put it into my retail space soon and then, if it's still around, it will go to the next Milton Keynes Handmade and Vintage Fair 26th/27th May - BTW, did I mention that the fair has been featured in BBC Homes and Antiques Magazine? We're all v excited!

...'Louis' style cabinet, before and after.....

...I finally remembered to take a 'before' photo of this piece! Now, one of my friends liked this the way it was and said I should leave it (no pun intended) but I like to go with my gut and finish things the way that I would like them if I was keeping them for myself so this had to go.....

...and so did this, the top of the cabinet.....

...BTW inside one of the drawers was this lovely old label (perhaps the most attractive part of the whole thing so far)...

...so I went with a classic French finish which showed off the lovely original handles...

...I finished it in a slightly aged, crackle glaze...

...and distressed it a little bit...

...what do you think? like it?...

...around the house....

.....you know it's my 'thing' to have things which are useful AND beautiful - I don't see why the two have to be mutually exclusive - however, sometimes just beautiful is just perfect.  Here are a couple of corners of my house which always please me.....you like?

 I'm not actually religious but I've always admired religious iconography...

...these books area set of natural history volumes from 1910 with some fabulous prints and some quite outrageously non-PC content but they look wonderfully old and shabby. I have some other lovely old books and I'll get round to posting about them some time, they really are beautiful.

How much do I owe the Graphics Fairy?.....

.....so I started looking around the house and thinking 'so just how much influence has Karen from the Graphics Fairy had on me and my work?' the results were a little scary.....

 .....okay so a few cute cushions are nothing to be ashamed of........

.....and we all need somewhere to store our kitchen stuff, it might as well look nice too (it's the image on the base box in this case from Karen)........

....likewise this one......

.......now, in my defence, this one isn't from Karen but, once the idea took hold I started having a little fun, and this one houses a lot of my DIY furniture refinishing stuff......

.....for this one I used a frame from Karen and made up my own words (and I MEAN 'made up' 'cos I don't think this is actually 'spice box' in French exactly but then very few actual French people drop in for a quick cafe creme with me so it doesn't really matter) anyway I digress, I use this for all my spices and herbs and essences and so on in the kitchen and I love it........

So, you get the picture. I owe Karen a lot - or would if she wasn't so generous with her images

and this is probably just the tip of the iceberg if I keep looking around, so Thanks Karen!

ps. none of these boxes cost anything to acquire either, I was just cheeky enough to ask if I could have them and kind people said yes. The man who gave me the original incarnation of the spice box even unloaded his Christmas display from it in the shop for me and still smiled and wouldn't let me pay for it.....there are some nice people out there!

Paris Chest: before and after.......

Now I happen to like this lovely old chest as it it but it wouldn't close properly and was missing part of it's latching mechanism. Also I am going to put it into my retail space to sell and not everyone likes things as old and distressed as me.....by which I don't mean I'm old and distressed....although thinking about it......anyway, moving on......here is the finished article:

refinished and with a personalised address (if you happen to live at 38 Avenue des Champs Elysee, Paris VIIIe). I fixed the closing issue and made a new latch and I love it. However, I can't keep it so into the shop it must go......another of my 'babies' goes out into the world! Take care everyone.....

Biscotti Mani Cotti.....

....I have turned into a 'biscotti monster' now I know how easy these little delights are to make. They're also very impressive to give as gifts, perfect for Easter. As I'm Coeliac I make mine gluten free, but they are very low fat and dairy free so I tell myself they are as healthy as possible.....yeah right, especially if you dip them in melted chocolate (you don't HAVE to do that, I'm just sayin'.....)

Thanks go to joyofbaking.com for the recipe, have a happy and peaceful Easter  xx

Related Recipes You May Like Chocolate Almond Biscotti Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti Chocolate Biscotti with Cranberries Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti  Gingerbread Biscotti Cappuccino Biscotti

Almond Biscotti: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Toast almonds for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.  Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.   In a small bowl lightly beat the eggs and extracts together.   In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat until blended (about 30 seconds). Gradually add the egg mixture and beat until a dough forms, adding almonds about halfway through. On a lightly floured surface roll dough into a log about 14 inches (35 cm) long and 3 - 4 inches (8 - 10 cm) wide. Transfer log to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, or until firm to the touch (log will spread during baking). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Transfer log to a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut log into slices 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick on the diagonal.   Arrange evenly on baking sheet.  Bake 10 minutes, turn slices over, and bake another 10 minutes or until firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Note: Can substitute hazelnuts or walnuts for the almonds. If desired, add 1 tablespoon (5 grams) of orange or lemon zest to the egg mixture. To dip in melted chocolate - Melt 3 ounces (85 grams) of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon (5 grams) vegetable shortening or butter in a small metal bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Dip one end of each biscotti in the melted chocolate and let dry on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Makes about 28 biscotti. Almond Biscotti: 1 cup (145 grams) blanched whole almonds 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Read more:http://www.joyofbaking.com/biscotti/AlmondBiscotti.html#ixzz1r9bGdTKE