Baker's twine, ric rac and new buttons...

I've been playing with new Easter bunting for a few weeks now and getting frustrated with ribbon and string...of course, Baker's twine is the answer, and I was delighted to find The Ribbon Girl, who sell it in loads of colours.

Ok, the photo isn't as beautiful as Saskia's (Join my Joy, Rope of life) but how lovely are these colours?!

Better than that, I ordered on Tuesday afternoon, and my lovely parcel was on my doorstep on Wednesday morning, very beautifully wrapped! I also ordered some ric rac and buttons in specific colours I find harder to get hold of (as if I need any more buttons!!) and they too arrived packaged in little bags like sweeties.... 

Thank you ladies!(I'll definitely be back for some more treats)

After a trip to the cinema (boys watched purile film, Cleggy and I had lunch...it's the future!), and the obligatory mooch round John Lewis,  I decided that the bird table 'needed' brightening up (photos tomorrow). 

Whilst playing I caught a glimpse of Foxy Loxy staking out our lady hens

(another rubbish picture!)

...then when I went to put all the chickens to bed I found the Lady Orpingtons in Gladys/Muriels area and vice versa.Do not know HOW they managed this!

Muriel was in and out of the main coop - clearly thinking 'this is more like it'!!

Tomorrow is the day we let all our girls live together as one big happy family....what fun. I will of course provide photographic evidence of any shenanigans! fee x

sharing the love...

Yesterday I was thrilled to hear from Charis at o&c photography, who had bought one of my Love Blocks and used it as a prop for a little set of photos called 'love'. 
 Of course I then spent (literally) hours looking at all their wonderful wedding pictures...didn't help with the flickr addiction!!

This one is my absolute favourite (serious camera envy!)

Camera love
Originally uploaded by o&c Photography

Here are the others in the set...

 

  
They even made a picture from the free tag I popped in their package...
 

It absolutley made my day - how lovely to see the things you've made be used in a totally creative way by someone else!

Thanks again Charis and Owen, 

fee x

Just a great big family day out...

Yesterday was just as it should be...a winter walk with lots of family.

 We had a valuable reminder that people with small children arrive late (an hour?!) and also that very small people walk very slowly (brrrrrr!!).

Sonny (is he calling one of us a loser?)

Dunham Massey is the perfect place for 
such a gathering... 


flat walks,beautiful historic buildings and (best of all) a great child friendly cafe. 

little baby Mabel slept through the whole thing

Geordie Boy found a stick that he's keeping until he's 7 (we could do with some more sticks!!)

Alfie, looking very old compared to the others...

eskimo baby Luca

wish this was our drive!

I'm on a hunt to find wooly tights 
in this exact colour!

We missed our big and little boys Gaz (at work) and Kenzie (out with friends) but a lovely day was had by all.
Finished off with a family watch of the all time classic 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
Doesn't get any better than that...fee x 

Lots of new keyrings and a rescue chicken update

I haven't done any Chipper Nelly keyrings for a while but found myself inspired to make loads today.

I give you Three Queens (don't worry, have learnt my lesson about tags!)

some more 70's classics...

and some faries to watch over you...

.

There are 8 faries altogether (the other four are diet, friend, good man and pouty face)

I also made some fresh new bunting for the kitchen

which I like....especially the yellow bird....

but fear Cleggy won't! (has a slight aversion to yellow)

Now, I did spend quite a while with the chickens today - the new girls feathers are really coming in, but it was hard to photograph them as they kept pecking my toes through my Uggs! 

The beginning of each feather is like a straw tube and looks spikey. When Delilahs came through (she had been over mated at the farm!) they were bright blue and looked like slug pellets.
 
Anyway, Gladys and Muriels are 
also a bit of a strange purple colour but are coming through thick and fast.

Notice Muriel is still choosing to wear her comb as a fringe!!

(or maybe a Victorian bonnet?)

I know this isn't the best picture of the girls but it's the clearest of their new feathers.


Perhaps I should make them a little 'feather fairy' tag for their coop key...
"she'll make sure they are as beautiful as the other ladies!"
fee x


ps while looking for information about chicken feathers I came across this link:

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/835932-jesus-seen-in-chickens-feathers

  
 It would make me chuckle if I saw Jesus in our chickens feathers - but you know noone would believe me!

Inspiring photographs and fighting a new addiction....flickr!

Finding out how flickr really works (the shutters have been down for a good few years) has developed into an/other addiction.

 I started off uploading some general holiday photographs (for my family) moved on to looking at other peoples pictures and even joining some groups! 

The list of groups I 'belong' to reflects the bizzare variety in my life - everything from "freedom fighters" (for sharing wonderful photos of rescue hens enjoying their freedom), "requium for a red box" (where I can share my love of the red phone box), "shutter sisters" (share your best/interesting images) plus everything inbetween.

It's been a steep learning curve - it didn't take long to realise that tagging a picture of my boys 'boys' would attract all the wrong kind of interest (doh! so naive). 

Mind you - it did take me quite a while to appreciate that changing said tag to "swings" only served to attract a different type of attention!!

Anyway, apart from being a great source of inspiration (you were so right JH) I have rekindled a love for photography that I didn't think I had room for in my life (I dont!)

Here are a couple of images from my favourite photographers:

This one is from Lucia and mapp

Follow this link 

...to see her beautiful photostream.

I struggled to pick a favourite from Steve Mckenzie's photostream but had to go with the heart for Valentines day...

I Heart Polaroids
Originally uploaded by mckenziemedia

I don't often yearn (who am I kidding...) but I would love to be 22 and studying photography!!!

It's raining hearts (365/351)
Originally uploaded by JenniPenni

You can also buy jenni's images here on Etsy 

Finally my first Etsy swapper 

Keri-Anne who is sharing her 

fairground series 1 with me in 

exchange for some shabby bunting.

K - A's Etsy shop

Thanks Keri-Anne - I can't wait to get my pictures! fee x

(happy valentines day Cleggy - I love you)

Happy 1st Anniversary Nelly and Gaz!

I can't believe it's a whole year since my beautiful little sister and the thoroughly wonderful Gaz got married.

Here is a shamelessly indulgent photo montage of my favourite images:

 

 

Have a lovely day you two....fee x