Ok I haven’t gone and rented some flash expensive london shop space in order of opening some awesome vintage boutique… Seriously I cannot afford that! But I have gone and started up my own little vintage Etsy store, and guess what? It’s actually going kind of well! I’m getting to do what I love while actually earning some money. I wouldn’t call it a wage but being a mum of three, every penny helps.
The vintage store, which I’ve named Chic Collective by the way, is ideal for me. If you read this blog you will know I love vintage, I’m forever on the lookout for wonderful vintage finds and I’m a bit of bargain hunter/shopaholic. This means that what I buy can now become stock. I get all the pleasure of searching out that stock doing what I do best… Shopping and bargain hunting only this time on a guilt free basis!
What’s more I’m still busy refurbishing vintage furniture and other odds and ends. In all honesty the dinning room has been largely taken over with vintage pieces of furniture in need of tlc. The plan is that my little online store which is mainly selling beautiful vintage jewellery right now will also provide me with an outlet to share and sell my refurbishments. This will be news to my kids ears as they have commented that our home is starting to resemble a DIY/Furniture store.
So here’s a few off my favourites on sale over at Chic Collective right now.
Spode Tea Set, Powder Blue Miniature Tea Cup & Saucer, Queen Anne Milk Jug And Sugar Bowl, Lucite Clear Bangle & Translucent Rootbeer Bakerlite Bangle.
Doir Signed Bow Brooch, Two Early Plastic Bangles, Rare Candy Bakelite Bangle, Rare Wide Lucite Bangle.
Siam Sterling Brooch And Clip On Earrings, Green Marbled Bakelite Vanity Set, Set Of Two Thin Vintage Pink Pens, 1920s-1930s Finger Curl Clips.
I started the shop at the end of June and already have over 300 fantastic Vintage products on display with others being added daily. I’m even giving a free gift with every order to celebrate the opening of Chic Collective throughout August 2013.
What’s more I’m planning a competition right here on the blog for a voucher for my store so keep your eyes peeled on here and of course over on twitter.
So, if you love vintage then why not check out my Etsy Store Chic Collective I post world wide and have a fabulous selection and not not forgetting the Sale section that currently has offers 50% of or more.
So, for some time now I’ve been on the receiving end of a little cyber bullying. You may see this as strange as this blogger hasn’t been blogging like she once did however, this hasn’t stopped my stalking cyber bully… Oh no! This sad individual makes it their mission to comment on every post I write, whether on here or my long running blog ‘A boy with Aspergers’ At first I thought it was your average Internet nut job with nothing better to do, but soon I realised that it was more than that! This fruit the loop was actually calling me by my name and while abusing me and taking the total piss out of anything I’d written they would also throw in a little remark related to something other than that of my writing but my parenting, kids, home life and whatever else took their fancy.
This person was actually targeting me! Writing on both blogs and then messaging me from a fake Facebook account. Was this someone I bloody knew?
None of the sickly nasty comments left were ever published (other than one or two that slipped through the net) well you’d have thought that would deter them! They would have no idea if I was evening getting them let alone reading them before trashing them! But no! This person just kept banging on about my talentless self and get this… My “Fucked Up” kids.
Did I feel downhearted about it? I mean did I truly feel bullied as such. Listen I’ve read some nasty stuff and although it may slightly annoying me its never bothered me all that much. However, when this person started referring to my recent spout of depression, it got me wondering.. “Just how messed up is this person?” I wasn’t scared even though they claimed to know where I lived and how they were going to rearrange that face of mine I was just getting a little hacked off with the nutter and started wondering who the hell this prat was!
Then over the past few weeks the messed up stalking cyber bully got a little sloppy. A number of things they wrote referred to certain blogging events, certain dates that when I looked in my diary showed that I was attending some kind of PR event or another on such day. Looking back through past messages some of what they wrote suddenly helped the lightbulb in my head go ping.
No, I still didn’t no who it was, and yes I guess whoever it is is sat reading this now! What I was now 100% on was this person only knew me through the world of blogging… This person was actually a Mummy Blogger! Can I be sure? Yes I’m 100% and wouldn’t be writing this if I wasn’t! Put it this way. This person knew things about me and my whereabouts that I hadn’t wrote or tweeted about. Events I hadn’t made it too or upcoming events I was planing on attending that only those invited would no about.This sicko mentioned Britmums at least twice and referred to my tots100 ranking considerable amounts of times… I don’t no anyone but mummy bloggers to discuss the working of the tots100 rankings… do you?
Lately, I’ve been getting back on my feet. I never thought I’d see the day when I blogged so little. My page rank and states mean nothing and I find it hard to see how I spent so much time on the blog without going a little braking mad a long time ago. But one thing I have missed is the tight knit blogging community that no matter how much time I’ve hide away always bring a smile to my face when I return. To think that within that community their is one person, someone who has made it their mission to continuously try to chip away at me is a part of that makes me wonder… Who really can we put our trust in when online. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met loads of bloggers who I would now call a friend but it does highlight the fact that behind a smile could lay evil, that or an individual with such low self esteem and confidence that behind closed doors out steps a cyber nutter out to get the world.
Whoever you are, you can once more comment telling me I’m a talentless tramp with a mentally ill head case son… A mum who could do with some parenting lessons and a care plan too! You can once more trail through this post and highlight any spelling or grammar mistakes (god you know you love doing that) You can even enlist your ten facts on why I should drop dead just like you have done for the past few weeks and yes, I’ll promise you I will read them… How’s that? But what I will tell you is that when I do I’ll only be thinking off you and how sad and lonely you must be! I’ll continue to simply feel sorry for you and that I’d that.
Cyber Bully Can I even call you that? Sad lonely nobody? Now isn’t that a catch?
So my friends in the world of blogging, beware there is a cyber nut about.
As its been nice and sunny, yet a little windy I thought I’d share this fab craft idea I discovered
Over at ‘Little fingers big art’ A blog very worth a visit.
Just a quick one to share a cute little Easter craft the children have been engaging in.
What you’ll need..
Various Size Pom-Poms
Egg Template (or make your own from card)
Card
Tacky Glue
Hole Punch
Thick & Thin Ribbon
Scissors
Pencil
Eraser/Rubber
The children loved this activity. Both Alice who is 10 and the toddler of 3 enjoyed the craft equally. Yes, it can get a little messy, especially when your a toddler, but nothing a little soapy water cannot fix.
Its simple, take a pencil and some card and draw around your egg template. Do this for how ever many egg decorations you want to make. Now cut this out and then rub away any visible pencil marks with an eraser (you may have to create the egg shapes for smaller children as I did for the toddler).
Next step is to use a hole punch to make a hole at the top of each egg.
Now take some really sloppy tacky white glue and begin to work section by section. Spread glue and then layer Pom-Poms on top side by side.
Push the Pom-Poms as close together as you can, filling any gaps with smaller Pom-Poms. Once completely covered, leave to dry.
Once the egg has dried, tread through your thick ribbon and tie into a knot ready for hanging.
You can turn the egg over on the reverse side and decorate in the same way so both sides are completely covered. Completely optional, it may depend on how patient the children are being and their overall level of engagement by this stage.
If your not doing both sides then now is the time to place your thin ribbon around the centre of your egg, finishing off with a pretty bow.
These can also be decorated with other materials such as sequins and gems, felt or paint… Let their imaginations run wild.
All thats left to do is to hang and proudly display… These look great hung from natural tree brunches that have been placed in a soiled pot. They even look great hanging at the window so passers by can admire. I have a bus stop outside my window so the children’s decorations have been admired by many (even the bus drivers lol).
Below are instructions for your very own leaf bowl, perfect for holding your favourite scented pot-pourri.
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Materials:
Craft store leaf garland, Mod Podge (matte finish), Foam Brush, Balloon, Scissors, Mixing bowl
*Tip: try to find thin, paper-like leaves for your garland. The thinner the leaves, the better they will mold to the shape of your balloon. Also, avoid any plastic-coated leaves.
How To:
1. Begin by snipping the leaves off the strand of garland. Leave about 1/8″ at the base.
2. Carefully rip the entire plastic stem (and all the veins!) off of the faux leaves (See image above). This will help the leaves mold to the shape of the balloon.
3. Fill up your balloon to size. We stuck ours inside a mixing bowl to keep it in place.
4. With your mod podge in a cup near by, gently apply a…
Yes, that’s right I did just say that you could win yourselves a necklace made from recycled skateboards!
The person behind this funky idea is Nat and she own’s this unique brand called Thrashion. Nat takes a skateboard deck that has been ridden, treasured then thrashed and turns it into a totally funky unique one of a kind piece of jewellery.
Nat has been making Jewellery and Homewares from thrashed skateboards since 2007 and from what I can gather she’s a real one of a kind, As it seems that there is no other brand like her’s across the whole of Europe!
Nat’s designs feature the original graphics on the board, no paint is added whatsoever, just a clear coat of varnish to preserve the piece.
Thrashion obtains their skateboard decks from various sources, such as pro skaters, friends, skateparks, shops and various skate companies. Boards are donated in their original state and Thrashion do all they can to keep waste to a minimum while constantly coming up with new ideas and designs along the way.
Thrashion have received Donations from Pro skaters such as the likes of ‘Matt Pritchard’ in the past. He loves the brand so much that the man himself was even spotted wearing on of the brands dog tags in a interview posted on youtube…
I love how every piece is a one of a kind! There’s no chance you’re gonna bump into a friend and spot your necklace around their neck (that is unless they borrowed it and have failed to return it).
For me, this is not only a great environmentally friendly idea, that produces cool quirky fashion pieces, but also an art form in itself. Its my opinion that Nat is a very talented artist.
I remember back in the 80’s and early 90’s when my little brother used to ride up and down our street on his skateboard. He actually had a few over the years that I can remember! These always displayed some really funky colourful design that never failed to make him look totally cool and impress all his friends. To think that those skate boards could now potentially be made into his big sisters pendent does make me smile. The fact I was never allowed to go near it let alone touch it, because I quote “I don’t understand Skateboards” admittedly makes me chuckle! Why? Because I may not “Understand Skateboards” but I do understand Jewellery!
I’ve actually never seen anything quite like Thrashion before. Its a great idea that takes upcycling to whole another level. I have to hold my hand up and say “Yes, I do rather like it!”
Thrashion has a site full off unique and interesting statement pieces of jewellery! I’m loving the little heart pendents with the skull graphics. These have to be my favourite! With no two pieces the same, and new skateboards being donated all the time, its a must to check back on their website from time to time for new and exciting pieces. Plus, if they don’t have what your looking for the option of a custom made piece is always an option.
Orders come delivered packaged in cute little cupboard boxes, padded out with paper shreds. All packaging is again 100% recycled to keep the green element within the brand.
The necklace I have to give away here on the blog today has a real funky pendent that is mostly made up of the colours greens, yellows and reds. This doughnut style pendent Has a beautiful shine and is totally smooth finish. Despite its size, it rather lightweight, making it really easy to wear. The pendent measures approximately 6 cms in diameter with a 3 cms opening,
and is supplied on a long length of military issue ball chain which can be cut to size if required.
The prize is certain to make a huge fashion statement amongst friends, family and even work colleagues
So if you want to win this little piece of art that was crafted in a little garage down in cornwall, then just do the following…
Compulsory Action….
Give me one of your greenest tips. It could be a great little upcycle project to that’s kept the land fields free from overload, or maybe a small change you’ve started to engage in to do your but for the environment! Whatever it is just leave a comment along with a valid email address or twitter handle (so, I can contact you if your the lucky winner).
Additional Entries
Additional entries can be gain by doing any of the following. Please not an additional comment must be left for each.
Tweet: “I want to win a Trashion necklace with @Clairelouise82 and @_Thrashion” then comment with the URL to your tweet or additionally your twitter handle.
Like the mummy of many talents new Facebook page. Comment to let me know who you are
Pin this competition on pinterest and then comment with your pins URL
Subscribe to this blog by email (button in located in the sidebar) comment to let me know you have with the same email add.
Competition will close on the 25th April 2012 at 11:59pm. Open to those in the UK only.
T&C… Winners will be drawn at random from all valid entries submitted. Competition open to all those in the UK only. Winners must leave either an email address or twitter handle with their comments so that I can easily contact them in the event that they win. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the winning notification or another winner will be drawn in their place.
Today I had planned this fun activity for the Minimen and myself, however, Mr 1 fell asleep and Mr 4 was in a mood, and although Mr 1 did wake up in time to stomp on some bunnies and Mr 4’s curiosity got the better of him, and he did glue some bunny tails on, I did most of the work myself.
1. Gather your materials
coloured paper or cardboard
paint
scissors
pom poms
string
hole punch
2. Cut out a simple bunny shape
3. Paint a pattern on your bunnies. I used a skewer to make small spots and stripes and the end of a fat pencil to make large spots.
4. Glue the pom poms on.
5. Using the hole punch, punch out a hole from each ear.
Me and the children have had a great deal of fun making fab little egg puppets.
You may be thinking ‘What is this crazy lady talking about, who makes puppets out of eggs?’
These are actually made from Polystyrene eggs so there won’t be any messy accidents involved (well, if you don’t include the gloppy mod podge and paint mixture, that is)!
The puppets are great to make with kids. There are endless possibilities when creating these. With the magic of their imagination these puppets can be created in a variety of designs! This is a real great alternative to traditional Easter crafts and one we’ve enjoyed immensely.
To make these you will need…
Polystyrene eggs, 1 per puppet Make as many as you desire. (PoundLand 12pk)
Pink acrylic paint
White acrylic paint
Black paint
Deco Art pens or markers (black & red)
Glitter
Mod podge
Sticky eyes (Baker Ross ltd)
White bow embellishment
Glue dot
Sticks (i’ve used some long white lolly sticks, which are ideal as they don’t have sharp points)
Any other items you want to jazz up your puppets (beads for earrings, bows as hair accessories etc)
I’m going to simply demonstrate how to create a rather basic egg puppet. You can jazz these up how you wish, change the colour of the hair and skin with different paints etc.
First I took one of my sticks and pieced the centre bottom of the egg (the flattest end).
Then I painted the egg in pink paint. I mixed around 4 parts white to 2 parts pink to create the desired shade for my puppets skin tone. The stick also makes the process much easier and less messy which is why I’d advise inserting your sticks into your eggs as a first step. Give egg two thin coats being careful to avoid drips.
Once dry (within 20 minutes) I was then ready to apply my puppets hair. For this I mixed some mod podge gloss, some dark blue course glitter and black paint. (I roughly used 3 parts glue to 6 parts paint) this is to ensure the mixture remained black and didn’t turn grey.
I them painted the mixture onto my egg to create the hair of my puppet. The added glue makes the mixture dry really glossy and the glitter not only gives it subtle hints of sparkle but a good course texture too.
I left to dry for a least an hour before using a red deco art paint pen to add my puppets mouth.
The nose was added with a black deco pen which I also used to outline the lips.
One of the final details was the eyes in which I used sticky eyes that I got from baker Ross (excellent as they have so many designs to add character to your puppets).
I left it for a while to ensure the paint was properly set before giving my entire egg puppet a coat of mod podge. Sometimes traces of paint end up on your brush once mod podge is applied, however this isn’t a problem so don’t worry about it.
Lastly, add a glue dot to the head where the hair parts and securing a white bow embellishment in place.
And that’s it! You can make allsorts of great egg puppets. These include people, animals, princesses and kings… Make plain old simple ones like that above or fancy ones like some of these below…
MR Duck:
Made with yellow paint, sponge, sticky eyes and feathers
MR Alien (Glow in the dark egg puppet)
Made simply using Green & black paint, glow in the dark paint, Yellow Deco pen, sticky eyes and a piece of fur.
Then all that’s left to do is have fun playing with your egg puppets. We have a great little puppet studio, the perfect place to put on a show.
Harley gets Mickey in on the action
And finally here’s a super quick round up off some other great Easter Crafts for kids I’ve found online…
Right at the top we have the ever fabulous Naturestore with her fab Easter Potato Printing
One of my all time favourite blogs for fun kids activity and crafts, ‘Mummy Mummy Mum‘ shows us how to make funky, dingy little hats for our eggs.
Over on the Blog ‘Me and My Shadow‘ you can find out how to create the most simplistic, yet super cute bunny cards.
Domestic Goddess demonstrates how to put together a cute fluffy bunny wreath…
While Mama Owl shares some great ideas from tissue paper eggs to the most delicious looking Easter cake.
I love Easter, Spring is in the air and Daffodils can be seen sprouting from the ground beside that of the Bluebells. Its the day you’re technically allowed to scoff our faces with chocolate and not feel so guilty about doing so!
However, lets be honest, it isn’t the healthiest tradition is it? And as a woman, I always beat myself up a little following the Easter Binge. Nonetheless, there are many other cute gift ideas that can be given at Easter, ones that don’t actually involve any chocolate at all! Whats more, you can actually craft many of these gifts yourselves making them that bit more personalised and special.
I made a cute Easter basket that I filled with decorated eggs and then shared here on the blog last year.
Today I’m creating an Easter basket of a different kind! One a bit different from the norm. I guess you could call it a bag, though its Easter themed all the same.
So here it is!
A very cute Box bag decorated with spring and Easter in mind, then filled with cute little treats for my daughter.
To make your own its really very simple, all you’re need is…
Other items include gifts to place in your box bag. I’ve filled mine with little bits like bath lotions and bubbles, mini nail polishes and bangles.
First paint the sides of your box in pink paint. Also paint the edging of the box. Leave to dry and then apply a second coat.
Cut off the boxes paper handles and discard.
Next cut you’re decorative A4 paper in half (I’ve used a nice sheet of pastel Polkadot paper in A4 size). Now line it up to the top edge of the box, roughly trim excess paper but be careful not to trim too short. Once you have applied the paper we can then trim of any remaining excess. To apply the paper, paste on a coat of mod podge gloss and apply the paper to the boxes front. Add a second coat of mod podge over the top and leave for 30 minutes to dry. Don’t worry about applying the paper over the holes that housed the paper handles, this is fine, we will address this later.
Once dry repeat the entire process on the opposite side of your box.
Once you have papered both sides of the box and it is dry, hard and shiny, trim off any excess paper to make your box tidy.
Now take one off the jam jar covers. You should have two identical paper covers, one for either side of your box (mine has this cute birdie in the centre and came in an assortment of jar preserving labels from dotcomgiftshop). In the same way you applied your paper to your box (glue both on the surface and over the top off the paper) repeat for both sides and leave for half an hour to dry.
Once this has completely dried use the point of a thin paint brush to push through the paper and expose the holes for the handles. As the inner section of the box has not yet been covered these are easily located. Do this for all four of your holes.
Now cut some yellow felt and lay it at the bottom of the box. Repeat for the two larger inner sides only this time secure with a few glue dots on each.
At this stage don’t worry about the remaining two sides (smaller inner sides)
Now take a sharp pointed craft tool, the point of a sharp pair of scissors or even a sharp pencil to push through the exposed holes penetrating the felt lining on the inner section of the box.
Now you will need to cut 2 white pieces of string (mine is from Ikea). Cut these to a size that suits. I’ve opted for short handles. Simply thread the string through the holes so one piece goes from one side of the box to the other (as the original handles were before removing). Do this for both pieces only on one piece, tread through one hole and before treading through the opposite side, tread on your little cute birdie tag so the decorative side is seen when it lays flat against your box. Tie all the ends of the string so the handles are secure. Make sure the string attached to your little birdie tag is on the piece of string you’ve tied off to ensure it doesn’t move around the handle freely.
Lastly cut your yellow tissue paper and use to bulk out the inner sections of the box while also covering the remaining sides. This will also keep your surprise gifts cushioned and ever so slightly concealed from little wondering eye.
Spode Tea Set, Powder Blue Miniature Tea Cup & Saucer, Queen Anne Milk Jug And Sugar Bowl, Lucite Clear Bangle & Translucent Rootbeer Bakerlite Bangle.
Doir Signed Bow Brooch, Two Early Plastic Bangles, Rare Candy Bakelite Bangle, Rare Wide Lucite Bangle.
Siam Sterling Brooch And Clip On Earrings, Green Marbled Bakelite Vanity Set, Set Of Two Thin Vintage Pink Pens, 1920s-1930s Finger Curl Clips. 
Mummy Of Many Talents 