Birthday Part 2: colour

What a lovely week in blogland. Anita's Paris party  was a tour de force - I didn't actually GO to Paris you understand (more's the pity) it was a blog hop (realise in my excitement I didn't mention that!) although I did spend an inordinate amount of time on Jet2's website looking at flights the following day!

My Mum enjoyed looking at the photo of her and Dad on my Paris post  - and especially loved reading all the nice comments. I made some new blogging pals too (hello! hope you've come back)

Anyway - I now have a backlog of posts to write (including a long overdue giveaway to celebrate 200 followers - which I'm in the middle of planning) but first please indulge me in sharing the last of my birthday treats - the colourful bit! Thanks also for appreciation of the vintage neutrals - Cleggy is indeed chief wrapper and conspirator, and he too makes lots of friends along the way!       

So, you know that beauuuuutiful adorned case in birthday part 1? well it wasn't alone.

There was another...this time a TRUNK, covered in all my favourite 'for•the•hall•one•day' wallpapers from Pip Studio. It was a stroke of genius - they were all samples so (almost) free! I did wonder where all my velvet turquoise ribbon had gone though....

The inside was covered in old maps (another favourite) and the inside of the lid in my favourite images including some more family pictures
         

(that top left is my favourite of my Mum as a girl - 

in her buttoned up cardy!)

see the Eiffel Tower there Anita???
Here's the trunk beforehand (thanks Cleggy!)

 Here it is in all it's glory - I love it:

       
Inside all the colourful tissue (also from my workshop!) were packets of special coffee beans (I'm a picky addict) which I'm working my way through.

On the train journey to London last week I crocheted some bunting for the kitchen - and it coincidently matches the case perfectly - which is why it's in all the photos!

...and here it is at the kitchen window

My siblings also know me well (I reckon I'm the easiest in the family to buy for!). Family Bryce-Kisby bought this wonderful book by Pip Lincolne (Nelly and I both LO♥E meetmeatmikes.com)

ace pictures!

I want to make BOTH these dresses...

And family Bryce-Yang bought the most delicious collection of special chocolates - all inside a vintage tin. A winning combo (with special coffee and a really good sewing book!)

And as if that wasn't enough treats, my BFF Jane (she ofof teawagontales.blogspot.co.uk) made me a blanket of gorgeousness. One of our favourite things to do in the summer (should we have one) is to take our gang of boys on their bikes to the local park, whereupon they eat chips and play cops and robbers (or whatever it is they play these days) and we crochet on our rugs. This is my new 'crochet and chips' rug:

            So that's it - birthday show and tell over. 

...however...

amidst all the Jubilee celebrations The Granny also had a birthday. She spent it at a wedding on the beach in Cornwall
(not hers)

 but we celebrated on her return. 

We made her a new home sign for the gate leading to her house
(new friends - she lives beneath us in her Garden Granny flat!)

The heart surround is painted in the same colour as our front door - using acrylic paint. It felt a bit wrong to actually paint a victorian brick...who am I kidding? It was fun!
Both the heart and the sign are finished in outdoor mod podge.

We (siblings) also bought her a climbing rose for outside her front door - I'll save that picture for when the flowers are in bloom. And a crate full of her favourite red geraniums for under this sign. Unfortunately the week of rain we've had since has knocked the majority of petals off but here's a photo anyway, in case that's as good as they ever look!

I don't think you can beat a red geranium!

fee x