Magpie Monday - On the tiles and in my drawers

There are a few characteristics I think you need to be a successful second-hand shopper.

One of the most important ones to me is foresight - long foresight!  When you see something in a charity shop or at a boot sale, you need to be able to think how you can use it and incorporate it into your home - if not now, at some point in the future.  You need to seize the moment and grab it while you can, because chances are it won't be there the next day, the next week and certainly not the next month.

You need patience.  Things on your 'want list' don't always turn up straight away, and equally you may buy something that waits in the shadows for some time before it can fully shine.

It also helps if you have an understanding other half/plenty of storage space/no desire for an uncluttered house, but we wont dwell on those points.

Take my box of old tiles I bought.  About 4 years ago, I spotted a box of beautiful ceramic tiles hiding in a crate under a table in the Red Cross shop.  They were priced at 50p each, but I asked if I could take the whole box.  I got them for £10, pretty good because there were two designs, some border tiles and certainly way more than 20 individual tiles.

I couldn't find a use for them in our house at the time, so they sat biding their time in the shed.  When we recently moved house I knew instantly that they'd be perfect for the living room hearth, so when we re-decorated I asked the old man to take out the existing tiles from the fireplace.

I've never seen him move so quick, and he'd got them out before I had chance to take a picture, but here they are chucked in our garden awaiting a new fate.

There was nothing particularly wrong with them, they were just plain old utilitarian quarry tiles, and certainly nothing special to look at.

Unlike these:

He's done a fantastic job, and the 'new' tiles totally transform the whole room.  They look like they were meant to be.  It makes me happy that they have been given a new life and will be enjoyed for many years to come.

We still have the other design, and I'm hoping after this successful mission, I can persuade him indoors to make a splash back for the bathroom sink.

Oh, I promised you a look inside my drawers too didn't I?

Well (adopts husky M&S voice), these are not just any drawers...

Not only are they special because I managed to get them for the knock-down price of a tenner on eBay, they are special because they do this:

I am not one to worship at the alter of HD, and don't like the over-riding feature in a room to be the telly.  In our previous house the TV was kept hidden away in original built-in cupboards, and we really found it was a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'.  We switched on the telly much less, because it wasn't in your face, so I was on the hunt for a TV cabinet.

To be honest, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind.  I wanted a white painted one, or one I could paint myself, but when this came up I thought it was so unusual I put a bid in.  Now I guess I'll have to re-think what other furniture we'll get, because I can't paint this!

What second-hand gems have you found?  What do you think are the traits needed for great charity shopping?

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Christmas Craft Kits

If you've been reading the blog these past few months, you'll know I've loved attending School of Craft's sewing lessons.

I've re-kindled my love affair with my machine and realised how relaxing hand sewing can be.  I've stitched and made gifts that I'd have never have thought possible, so I want to say a HUGE thanks to Jo for this.

My last School of Craft event was a few weeks ago, when I went to one of their 'Crafternoons'.  What a lovely way to spend a Saturday!  In a nice hotel, with lots of lovely new friends, chatting, munching cake, drinking coffee and making Christmas decorations.

We each chose one of the new, specially designed kits, and set to.  The beautifully packaged boxes contain everything you need for each project - right down to the pins and a needle.  So if you're a new sewer, or looking for something you can pop in your bag and do on the go, these are perfect.  The materials used are natural fibres and excellent quality.

At the Crafternoon, I chose the little padded hanging hearts. They were simple to make and have a lovely rustic homemade feel about them.  The kit contains enough material, thread and padding to make five hearts (of course, I'm know for my tightness when cutting out, so I managed to squeeze six out!)

I heart hearts

Since I had the pattern, once back home, I raided my cupboards, and have made more.  I'm stitching some blue ones without hangers to pop in a glass jar in the bedroom.

and some diddy pink ones for Ruby's tree

I also bought a Christmas bunting kit, which I've yet to do, and Jo kindly sent me a stocking kit for me to review here.  I loved making the stockings.  Her template designs are perfect - I can never seem to draw a decent stocking!  The toe detail with contrasting fabric really makes them special.

Look at my stockings!

Because I'm slightly OCD about decorating the tree, I've made colour co-ordinated ones for our living room!

The kits probably take about 2 hours to complete, and as it's hand stitching, it's perfect for doing in front of weekend trashy TV!

The kits are available to buy in the We are Bedford pop-up shop, and online at School of Craft's new Folksy shop for £12.50 each.  They are great value, as literally the only thing you need to supply yourself is a pair of scissors.

Grab while you can - the kits were featured in The Telegraph magazine this weekend, which is an amazing achievement - well done Jo! x

Featured in a proper newspaper -how cool is that?

Disclosure: I was sent one kit to review free of charge, however I've purchased two more myself and am a regular customer.

Extreme Housewifery

So they reckon that an average housewife is worth over £30,000 if they were paid a professional wage for all the tasks they carry out... Childcare; cleaning; laundry; cooking and grocery shopping all add up if you were to pay an outsider to do these roles.  Add to that, the PA role shopping around for car insurance, taking messages; waiting in for deliveries; trips to the dry cleaners and organising holidays...the list is endless.

Well, I say we need danger money too!

Fortunately I haven't been as unlucky as the poor soul who recently died following a freak accident, after tripping over and landing on the knives in the cutlery basket of the open dishwasher.  This made my blood run cold when I read about it, and it has convinced me to make sure all my cutlery is pointing downwards in the dishwasher!

Still, this past month, I have managed to:

• nearly knock out my front teeth and (I suspect) break my nose after the hose came off the end of the vacuum cleaner and the metal pipe flicked up and whacked me full on in the face.  For days on end I'd wake up and rush to the mirror to check my teeth hadn't started going black.  My nose still hurts now nearly 4 weeks later.

• suffer agony when I accidentally squirted dishwasher rinse aid in my eye whilst opening the sachet.  Even after pouring water to flush it out of my eye for about half an hour, I was convinced I was going to go blind.

• no sooner had my eye recovered that I suffered a freak laundry accident.  Pulling one end of a pair of my tights out of the wash bin, it suddenly came loose flicking back directly into my open eye and whacking me on the eyeball!

Seriously, this housework lark is fraught with danger - be careful out there!

What's the weirdest household injury you've suffered?

Sponsored post.

Angel Wings Pillowcase Pyjamas

I've recently become quite addicted to following Domestic Goddesque's pillowcase PJ tutorial, making PJ trousers out of old pillowcase - go check it out, it's fabulously easy and you can knock up a pair of pj trousers for your little one in about half an hour - 1 hour.

I do a lot of charity shop buying, so it's great to finally have another use for all the pretty, but lonely single pillowcases I've accumulated ( there's also Domestic Goddesque's pillowcase skirt tutorial, and a dress tutorial on Red Ted Art).  

After making the pyjama trousers. I've been using some of the leftover fabric to applique onto a plain T Shirt to make a co-ordinating top. But this time, I wanted to do something a little bit different, so I came up with the angel wings PJs.

Perhaps a little pair of horns and a trident would be more appropriate, but I'm hoping some of the angelic vibe will rub off on Ruby - particularly at bedtime!

First, make your trousers as per the tutorial linked above.

You should be left with a piece of fabric which looks something like this:

I'm very tight frugal with my fabric, and try to get as much out of it as possible.  Draw a basic angel wing template on paper (keep it simple as you'll be machine zig-zagging around it!).

Choose a plain T Shirt, that's a good fit for your child, to turn into your PJ top.  Judge the size of your wings by placing your paper template against the shoulder/back area of the T Shirt.

Next, you'll need some Bondaweb.  This can be bought quite reasonably by the 1/4 metre from haberdashery stores.  Transfer your design onto the smooth, paper side of the Bondaweb. Flip the template over so you have a 2nd wing in reverse.

Roughly cut out each shape leaving a cm or two all the way around.  Place your shape with your drawing side uppermost, onto the WRONG side of your fabric.  Hold a hot iron onto the paper for about 20 seconds, until it has fully bonded.

Now cut out accurately around the outline.  Peel off the paper backing and place onto your T Shirt (remember, these are wings, so you're ironing these on the back of the T Shirt!).

When you're happy with the positioning, again press with a hot iron for 20 seconds or so until the fabric is fully adhered to the T Shirt.

Set your sewing machine to a short, close zig-zag setting and stitch all the way around the outline.  Once that is complete, you can go back and add detail.

That leftover piece of fabric was bugging me, and looking at it I thought it would make a perfect pyjama case.

Now Ruby has a pair of angel wing PJs and their own little pouch, perfect for overnight stays! And if you decide to make these as a gift, they'll be ready wrapped!

I think these would look so pretty made from a crisp, white cotton pillowcase, with a bright contrasting stitch to applique the wings on.  What do you think?

Pop over to Red Ted Art to see more Angel craftiness!

Magpie Monday - Chicken in a Bucket

Not much thrifting for me this week I'm afraid.

We've been working hell for leather to get the house decorated for Christmas - not decorated as in 'hang up a few baubles and holly' more the 'ripping wallpaper down, re-painting and sanding floors' kind of decorating.

Yesterday we grabbed a few hours off, and after the vile chicken I bought for Sunday dinner from the local supermarket the other week, we decided to drive to the next village and go to the posh supermarket in search of a poulet who hadn't been pumped full of water and goodness knows what else.

A quaint, Georgian market village, much like Midsomer without the crime rate, there was clearly a hullabaloo going on there as we arrived.  The supermarket car park was full, and part of it had been sectioned off to accommodate a Christmas fete of some sort.

Every member of the population here seems to be in either the WI or the Lions, so there were plenty of mulled wine and home-baked cakes on offer.  The scouts were roasting their nuts, and the Morris dancers jangling their bells.

Never to miss an opportunity to sniff out a bric-a-brac possibility, we ambled over, and sure enough there was a local charity stand selling all manner of wares.

Under the table I spotted a wooden bucket, which the stall-holder authoritatively told me was for putting my Christmas tree in.  For 50p I couldn't refuse it.

I may beg to differ.  It might well be planted up with spring bulbs and then hold host to some herbs in the summer.  For now I'm deciding whether to paint it or leave it au naturel.  What do you think?


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Win a family ticket to London Dungeons

It doesn't seem five minutes since the last half term and before we know it the kid's will be breaking up for Christmas.

If you're looking for a fun day out, or things to do in London to reward the kids for trailing around the sales, why not treat them to a trip with a spooky insight into 1,000 years of London's darkest history.

One of the top London attractions, this has surely got to be on most kids to-do list.

Find out about the Great Fire of London; the plague; Jack the Ripper and loads more in the most terrifying history lesson you'll ever experience!

You can win a family entrance ticket for 2 adults and 2 children right here.  The ticket is also valid for Blackpool, York or Edinburgh if you cannot get to London.

To enter, simply leave me a comment below to let me know you wish to enter.  Please remember to leave a method of contact.

You can gain an extra entry by tweeting "I'm entering @missielizzieb's blog competition to win a family ticket to the London dungeons here: http://bit.ly/vpTNze  Mwah ha ha."  Leave a separate comment to say you have done so.

The winner will be drawn at random after the closing date of Wednesday 30th November 2011 at 7pm.  UK entrants only.

Sponsored Post: We received a complimentary ticket for hosting this competition and the prize is fulfilled by London Dungeon's PR company.

Sylvanian Families have sucked us in!

A lovely PR lady contacted me to see if we'd like to review some of the best selling ranges of Sylvanian Families sets of the year.

Launched in 1985 these little critters passed my by as a child so I wasn't entirely sure what we were letting ourselves in for.

A very clever piece of PR has taken myself and Ruby by the hand and sucked us into a vortex, where we spend our days happily skipping around Sylvania pretending to be little fuzzy mammals, dressing up and playing house.  I'm not sure there's any escape.

We were sent the motorcycle and sidecar, complete with George and Mildred raccoon who go on lovely raccoon OAP day-trips. George wears his vintage helmet and goggles, while Mildred wraps up under her shawl, giving directions to George, who presumably is too stuck in his ways to invest in a sat-nav.

The biggest thing to happen in (the real world) 2011 was of course the Royal Wedding, so it's no surprise that  the Wedding Celebration Set did very well.  The whole party is here including bridesmaids and pageboys, all ready for a Sylvanian wedding breakfast.

I loved the fact that the press release suggested using William and Catherine Balmoral bunnies as wedding cake toppers.  If I do ever manage to persuade Ruby's Daddy to tie the knot, I suspect she'd like nothing more than a Sylvanian themed wedding.  We'd hold it in the Regency Hotel, and she'd presumably have me and Grandad arriving on the motorcycle and sidecar.  I do fear however, that this would have Daddy running for the hills...

It is very easy to lose yourself in the world of Sylvanian Families.  The attention to detail on all the figures and accessories is incredible and the play sets literally cover every aspect of life in Sylvania you could possibly imagine.

Check out Flair Plc's website for more inspiration. Also available from major toy retailers.

Now, if you'll excuse me, George is taking me for a day trip on the bike so I must away...

Sponsored post: We were sent the two sets to sample free of charge, however all views expressed are my own and I expect to see Flair Plc's profits soar if Ruby's Christmas list is anything to go by.