i dont read them..i frame them

so last week we went to the sunny seaside town of eastbourne to watch some tennis..my David loves the tennis..i love being by the seaside..so we both get something out of the day away..but this time i scored big time in a local charity shop when i spotted a big pile of old comics...most of them are old warlord comics but some of them were so visually brilliant that they are mine forever and I'm gonna frame them..i don't read them i just love the colors and the illustrations and the graphics...the other ones will be in my etsy soon...they are perfect for collages or scrap books..or if your just like me..for a frame...what you think ?...

recognition

so this little post is just to send out a massive thanks from little me to holly from decor8 blog who a few days ago featured my 2 etsy shops...and what a nice feeling it gave me..i read decor 8 every day..and use it as a guide to whats new and whats happening out there in the big colorful world..and me being part of her daily visual treats made my heart go boom boom boom...thanks holly..you rocked my world...oh and thanks for buying yourself a little something from me..hope you like them...

i have actually made something that sells

so for a while now i have been making things that just don't seem to sell..and whilst that's a shame..ill cope with it as i live by the rule that the right person has not seen them yet...and when that person does..the stuff i make will sell..i hope, but i have actually made a few things recently that sold almost as soon as i put them on the shop floor..these colourful quilts that i made for my friends shop carry me home are simply a big soft bright square of fun and they are lots of fun to make..

now please don't confuse me with someone who follows any traditional quilting rules...coz i don't, and frankly i don't know what those rules actually are..i just know that as long as they keep selling..i will keep making them..and i might even get a few listed in etsy..

in love with an old maid

so i returned to London to be greeted by a fab parcel of goodness that i had bought from etsy...that place is dangerous to me...my mentality is that one day in the not too distant future i will have a massive house that i can decorate with all the goodies i buy...and these amazing cards from a game called old maid will feature prominently somewhere in my crib..as the cool kids call it....i got them from the loveliest supplies shop called sweet kate just look at the illustrations, just look at the names...but what i liked the best was how they were packaged with a brilliant little vintage ticket as a nice feature...and he shop is full of excellent things....i know its a shop ill be buying from again soon...for my big massive imaginary house....

i want to move home....

so i never ever thought i would want to leave London and return home to the north of England...but i do...and after a few days there, that i have just returned from, the feeling is stronger than ever...

i miss my family..especially my niece who i adore..and the fun we had this last few days was the best ever...just look at us star jumping...i have never laughed so much doing such a silly thing...

you should all run out now and try and capture that moment when it looks like your floating...how i never broke an ankle ill never know....

and just look at the scenery that is around every corner...I'm from a town on the west coast of cumbria..which is so far north west England that its nearly Scotland...and its just a short ride away from the lake district...one of the most amazingly lovely places you could ever wish to visit.....

London is amazing..but I'm tired of it..its too expensive and too busy...and i wish for the option of just popping in on my niece and telling her to 1, 2, 3, jump.

its all childs play

so you knew i helped out in my friends children's shop, right ?...well i do and last week we created what i think can be called the best window display we have ever done..and its to celebrate 3 years since the shop threw open its doors.. so we decided on a storybook theme and got some vintage kids books and gently stuck them all over the walls and floor,(we will be re-using these in other projects soon)

we then stacked books and used them to display products from the shop..and we strung up a washing line to display some clothes....and viola..the best window display ever in the world ever..or so we think...makes me want to cover a wall in my house with old books...what do you think ?

divas and ledgends

so this is just a quick post to document for my own amusement the fact that the last few weeks since i got back from Florida seems to have been spent watching some divas and legends perform in concert...first it was Celine Dion who performed at the gigantic O2 arena in front of 20.000 screaming fans...well my David was screaming...i was just politely applauding,..she was very brilliant but it all seemed so fake and posed...and she punched the air at the end of every song as if to say..I'm skinny and amazing and you cant sing like me.
and a few days ago i went to see Liza Minnelli perform at a relatively small theatre in London to an audience that consisted of posh people and many well groomed gay couples...and a few celebrities, oh and some Saudi prince who i watched dancing like an idiot in his special box...and i can honestly say from the moment she appeared silhouetted against a white backdrop till the moment she took her final bow wearing a sparkly red number, it was one of the most amazing things i have ever been to..i feel privileged to have been there..it was like watching history on stage..and i loved every bit of it...

my feet

so i just thought you would all like to see my big fat hairy feet..OK maybe you will be more interested in the patterns around them..i was just looking through my holiday pics and made this collage to show you..everywhere in Disney it seemed that the carpets and tiles under my feet were overly detailed and stupidly colourful..in a good way though...look..

and even the wallpaper in the hotel i stayed in was richly detailed..can you spot the certain hidden Disney logo ?...not so well hidden really..but just an indication of how well thought out every detail is...i so wanna go back...oh i am..at Christmas..I'm already counting down the days....

talented friends

so i have written about my friend Becky before and this weekend i visited her in her studio and again was blown away by her work..she is still working with vintage flags and old bus destination signs..but she is now printing a cross stitch pattern onto the flags and then applying the cross stitch which gives the finished cushion 3 distinct layers..quite lovely and very tactile and if you want to buy me one i will accept it happily..see beckys website to see many more fantastic images of her work..

lego loveliness

so there i was in Lego world...a massive shop in downtown Disney in Florida...did i mention i have just been on holiday ?..i was looking for a gift and getting some air conditioned cool air before going out into the stupidly hot heat...when i saw this whole wall covered in little Lego men...there must have been thousands of them and they were all different...look how brilliant it is..I'm not really a Lego fan but i would have such fun building this...not sure where it would live though ?

im back and not ready to start work

so I'm back..and i have had a fab Holiday in sunny Walt Disney world in lovely sunny Florida. id like to say i did every ride in every park and watched every parade and saw every show there was to see, but seen as i have been quite a few times i actually had most fun splashing about in the hotel pool after breakfast and making sure i was back in my room to watch the Ellen show...i so wish she was on over her,,we do get her show but weeks after its been on in the states...i want it the same day you get it...

the weather was incredible and a suntan of some description was achieved. food...oh the food..I'm so built for American food,and the portion sizes suit me in every way...and with the current exchange rate..its so cheap for us Brits to visit America..it was bargains at every turn...
but now suppose its back to crafting and thrifting and seeing what mark i can make on the world...or maybe ill just look through my thousands of pictures...unlike many blogs who when they go on holiday report on cool shops they found...not me...all my pics are of me and mickey mouse or me with a silly hat on...i so want to live in America..but until that day happens..and I'm confident it will one day...you all have a magical day...x

im going on holiday....

so tomorrow I'm off for a well deserved 12 night holiday,...i work so hard all year long...my hours are taking its toll and I'm ready for a break....yeah whatever...we all know I'm a lazy bugger who does very little and is lucky enough to have an amazing David who whisks him away on fancy jaunts to far off places...if i can recommend anything to you all...its get a David like mine...they are brilliant...can you guess where we are going ?...see you all in 2 weeks...I'm scared i will go Internet and blog cold turkey...but a certain big eared friend will help me cope....

nice and new and old

so just a quick post about 2 new lovely things in stevensstuff, a lovely cup and saucer and a lovely plate..they are both lovely..but i already told you that......

strange but lovely london

so sometimes as i have said in the past i hate London...but sometimes it just makes me stop and stare...and this happened a couple of days ago when i was walking through Trafalgar square on my way home...now i have walked past this many times and thought it looked interesting, but today it just looked amazing..it was the sunny bright conditions mixed with a bright blue sky that just made this sculpture, called model for a hotel really come alive...this is on a plinth in Trafalgar square where every year a different artist gets the chance to display a creation...not sure who this is by but i really like it and how it contrasts with the old buildings and monuments around it...

i have been a crafting

so I'm normally a lazy bugger who does not do much at all and does it all with a smile...but the last week or so has seen me making some lovely stuff...if i say so myself, and these pillows are the result of the work in progress i showed you last week..made from many different leathers and placed together in a mosaic style, they create a unique design that is one of a kind...they are 10 inches square and for sale in my shop now..


and i also made in the same style these coasters,..i dont really ever see ones i would want to use in my house...and this usually results in circular stains on many surfaces..but these ones not only stop these stains, but they look really different and unusual...and i like that, they are also here for sale..