Let the sun shine

Being absent for so long has meant I didn't get a chance to join in on the general smugness emanating from the UK on the surprisingly glorious weather we have been having lately. Haven't we had some wonderful sunny days?

Mr Crafty and I had a lovely picnic in Dulwich park which meant this year's first outing for the picnic hamper.

And we feasted on leftovers from our family Easter meal - yum.

When the sun comes out in London everyone's spirits soar. Suddenly our city which can seem a little grey and claustrophobic at times seems like the most wonderful place on earth full of green spaces in which to stretch out and take in the blue skies. I am trying to bottle the feeling while the sunny days are with us as there is one thing you can be sure of in the UK and that is that it won't last!

A very Regal affair

As the daughter of a staunch Republican, raised to question the role of the Royals in our lives, I guess I should have kept all the shenanigans associated with the Royal Wedding at arm's length. But hey, any excuse for a party and if that party involves cupcakes and afternoon tea then I am sorry Dad, I am there!

Mr Crafty and I headed down to Bognor Regis (suitably Royal in title even if the most famous (apocryphal) Royal comment about this British seaside resort was not particularly complimentary) for a Royal Wedding celebration/house warming. Our valiant friends had literally moved in the day before but the bunting was up and everyone made a massive effort to assemble a fabulous spread.

I contributed cupcakes, homemade heart-shaped jammie dodgers and freshly baked scones. Mr Crafty made some very more-ish mini quiches.

Flags made using the template on Patchwork Harmony

I loved the fact that all over the UK people were following suit and hanging out the bunting. We spent the day in the company of close friends but others were at street parties finally getting to know their neighbours (including I might add my Republican father albeit slightly reluctantly). Either way, at a time of domestic recession and terrible natural disasters and unrest internationally I think everyone really valued the opportunity for some bonding time and a good old fashioned knees-up. The dress was lovely, the couple in question looked very happy and I for one whole-heartedly enjoyed toasting their future happiness with umpteen glasses of Pimms. Sorry Dad!

Our Parker Knoll wingback in its new clothes

We bought two Parker Knoll wingbacks for £10 from eBay - bargain. My intention was to reupholster them immediately. 4.5 years later and one is finally done!

Stupidly I didn't take a before shot and the other one is currently in progress and stripped back to its bones but I am sure you can imagine a dated and shabby wingback with no problems.

It now looks like this:




The upholstery job isn't perfect but as a first attempt with no prior knowledge or experience I am pretty pleased with it. I basically removed the staples (no small task) and took all the pieces of fabric off, labelled them so I knew what order they went in, used them as patterns to cut pieces from the new fabric and then stapled it all back on in reverse order - simple no? Actually it was relatively simple but very time consuming and no small task. I also used metal back tacking rather than trying to sew the back on which saved a bit of effort but is quite hard to use if you want it to look perfectly smooth (mine doesn't). I also made all the piping using an online tutorial which I now can't find but there are quite a few versions on google. Oh and I painted the feet white to match the white piping.

I now need to assemble the energy to finish number two! I have another lovely Graham and Green Gypsy Caravan cushion waiting to take up residence on it once it is finished.

Where did that year go?

Contrary to appearances I didn't fall down a big hole! I can't believe a year has gone by since I last posted. I have had a fair amount to deal with in the real world and somehow the days just turned into months so to those of you that are still with me - thank you!!!!

My time"away" has not been unproductive and I have plenty of projects to share with you shortly. In the meantime I would like to take this opportunity to introduce two rather special new members of the family. Meet Milly and Jeff who fill our days with much laughter:

More later but it sure feels nice to be back!

Project Updates

Just a quick update on a couple of projects. Remember my plan to decorate a blank wall in the kitchen with plates. Well this is how the wall looks now:

The sampler was hand made by my sister in law as a wedding present. The words are a lovely pagan marriage blessing and she stitched it in green and yellow, our wedding colours. We bought the original Bird's Custard advert from a car boot sale in West Sussex and the print is from the Keep Calm Gallery.

Also, ages ago I posted about my beautiful freecycle chairs. I found a remnant of Designer's Guild fabric on eBay and they now look at lot smarter:

Really pleased with both transformations!

Desk Before and After

Sorry I have been a bit quiet of late - frustratingly life keeps getting in the way of blogging! I have been a busy bee despite my silence and have quite a few projects stacked up to tell you all about.

I am going to kick off with the desk found in my parents' garage which you may remember from an earlier post. It used to look like this:



With a bit of love and attention it now looks like this:


Along with my lovely Karin Akkeson 'Tomorrow Something Wonderful Will Happen' print and repro Eames DSW chair (both recent purchases) the desk is part of a new workspace in our sitting room which has given us a home for all the bills and papers that used to sit in piles on the floor:


Another before and after to follow very soon...

Marrakech Express

I am just back from a wonderful week in Marrakech. I have always wanted to visit Morocco and with the British weather reaching an all time low in February, Mr Crafty and I decided it was time for a spur of the moment trip.

The city is as wonderful and crazy as everyone says it is but boy do those Moroccans know how to make things look beautiful. There are jewel like colours everywhere and even the most ordinary of homes are made extraordinary with the use of beautiful mosaic tiles and decorative tassels galore.

One of my favourite places was the Majorelle Gardens which was created by Jacques Majorelle, a French Painter, and was latterly owned by Yves Saint Laurent. The garden sings with colour and is a oasis of peace in a frantic city. The cafe also serves a dreamy orange blossom ice-cream.

The fountain at the Majorelle Gardens

One of the many beautiful avenues at the Majorelle Gardens

We were lucky enough to stay in the wonderful Riad Zolah which was our sanctuary from the busy streets when we needed it.

The courtyard at the Riad Zolah with it's rose petal filled marble pool

Our lovely room complete with complimentary babouches (leather slippers)

But no trip to Morocco would be complete without trying some haggling in the labyrinthine souks:

These pictures don't begin to convey the magic, colour and chaos but I got a little reticent about taking too many photos for fear of making myself a target for the very persistent shopkeepers. We did come home with some booty though:

The one thing I really wanted to bring back with me was a pouffe. I have been admiring the ones from Graham and Green for a while but was always put off by the price tag. We got this lovely leather one for a quarter of the price and if our haggling had been better we could have probably bartered it down even more.

These tassels were everywhere and I couldn't resist bringing a pair back to bring a bit of the 1001 Nights to our South East London sitting room.

When we move to our "forever house" (which is where we hope our next move will take us whenever the time comes) I am definitely going back to Marrakech for some serious interiors shopping!