buttons, twitterings, books and a bit of instants...

since the shed's contents of bods has halved and all is quiet, i have used the opportunity to sort things in my head and my shed. this has been most brilliant, for many things within my head have been nagging me for months, little things i wished to do but never seemed to find the time nor the energy for, at the end of last year. so i did the best thing i could at the time, i made a note of those things and waited patiently for a new spiffy year. for me a new spiffy year is all i need to find a bit of motivation. whilst i've been pulling out cupboards and drawers, manically shredding and donating, i have also been twiddling in cyber land.

buttons

hurrah hooray is all i can say, for my new blog buttons.

my dandy friend Marjan did a peachy job indeed. i said "oh can you do this and can you do that" and voila! she could because she can. thank you Marjan you are the bees knees

books

yes indeedy after floundering around the place and being quite honestly pants at the whole facebook thing, i have finally pulled up my facebook knee socks and with it, a dottie angel page is up and running.

facebook page

this will be where i tell nitty gritty businessy things like 'today i put this in the store window' or 'today i really like this peachy find or folk'. i have no doubt it will be sporadic in its postings because i have not found a pesky passing gnome to help me just yet. but none the less, if you so like to know such things then please do hop over and find me

instants

it has only taken me nearly 4 months to figure out i could have an instant photo album. 

it took Our #1 to come home for the holidays for me to see the light. i live in a PC world through and through but in the summer i rebelled and trust me, it truly was a rebellion. i took my piggy bank along with my rebellion and bought an ipad. upon arriving home with rebellion product in hand i pondered what to do next. the pondering took 4 months and my daughter to assist. now i have music playing all day long in the shed and best of all, something which has me inspired like i have not been in a long time, the ability to take instant snapshots. 

and last but not least

twitterings

yes indeedy, whilst pulling up my facebook knee socks, i also pulled up my twittering ones too.

twitter page

 i find wearing them both at the same time, the layered look, works rather well for me. i have high hopes they will not fall down from the weight of two pairs of socks at the same time. the elastic seems in pretty good nick and so things are looking bright in that department.

i'm not a brillantly witty nor super chatty twitterer. some days i am better than others, some days the inner voice gets to talk and others i just link to a snapshot or blog post.

its been good to have a break, so many things i feel like i have started to sort which means over the coming weeks i will have that feeling of being less overwhelmed and more in control and for me, that is the best way to start a fresh shiny new year

Tif :)

happy shiny year

wishing

you

a

brilliantly

for

2012

Tif

(back to rambling on the 16th Jan)

one little bird studio and giving thanks...

i do like Leanda, i like her a whole lot.

and as i thought perhaps we are getting to that time of year when you may be making wish lists, or thinking of another to gift to, it would be a perfectly perfect time to introduce you to Leanda.

one little bird studio has the most peachiest of prints and one little bird studio belongs to Leanda. 

i marvel at her wonderful work, how time after time she comes up with images i would happily hang on my shed's wall in a heart beat. yes i marvel at how gifted Leanda is with her designs.

recently she has produced some prints which made my granny retro heart skip a beat. especially this spiffy number. so much so, it is now hanging on our shed's wall. the most beautiful midnight blue background truly makes me happy alongside of the wonderful pops of bright colours.

whilst i was waiting for my 'home sweet home' print to wing its way to my door step (which may i add, it did so very safely in the sturdiest of cardboard mailers i have ever come across, my kitchen scissors were no match for its sturdiness, thats how sturdy it was!)... well as i was waiting, Leanda only went and popped her 2012 calendars into her shop.

gosh, see, take a look at this one in all its mustardy glory

now does that not make your granny retro heart skip a beat all over again. 

surely if ever there was a person who does not do calendars, and they happened upon Leanda's 2012 calendar print, i am without doubt they would be converted into being a calendar loving folk. how do i know such a thing? what proof do i have? well i don't really, but none the less, i'm a believer and i stick by what i say, and that is, the 2012 calendar from one little bird studio, is quite the most peachiest calendar i have laid eyes on.

i do think showing you the wonderful printed world of Leanda, is a lovely note to end on, for tomorrow it is Thanksgiving, my favourite American holiday, and so i will be taking a week off until December 1st when i will return for the joyful gleeful season!

hip hip hooray!

so for now, i will leave you with saying "thank you" for the kindness you have shown me and my constant canine companions this week, for all the offers of fingers, paws and fins crossing over the coming few weeks. and indeed for all your wonderfulness over the past year, from the incredible embracing of my book, to your continuing wish to visit me here on my shiny place and being most generous with your comments on my crafting, time and time again. 

you have truly filled my heart with such a brilliant feeling of warmth, 

and are such an important part of my world.

so once again, i can only say it the best way i know how.

"thank you kindly dearest readers, you are the bees knees to me"

she is wishing you a wonderful happy thanksgiving in the USA and is wishing everyone else an happy week too ~ Tif

a bit of tartan, some good fortune, perhaps a smidgen of snow and a little thanks...

for the past two days i have been wearing my elf cap upon my bonce. alas and alack, i have not been wearing my Paddington Bear pyjamas despite the temptation of their flannelly goodness and the crappity crap dreary weather. they are not quite like the ones he wears, for if i recall (and we all know how iffy that can be) he wore pinstriped ones, or perhaps that was my own Paddington Bear, now i am thinking he wore ones with flowers on. well mine are tartan and i like to think if Paddington had gone across the border into Scotland he would have liked a pair of tartan pj's to remind him of his travels.

mine are made from Stewart tartan no less.

"how could you possibly know such a thing Tif?" i hear you inquire.

well dearest reader, first off may i congratulate you on your inquiry, i think it is always important to be inquisitive of such matters.

well as luck would have it, many many moons ago in my late teens i lived in Edinburgh for several years and worked a day job at a Barrow which stocked buttons and ribbons, and many of those ribbons were tartan. and being what my job was, i was often called upon by inquiring tourists to name a tartan or two. oh yes those  long ago days of cutting ribbon and counting out buttons all come flooding back when i stumble across a tartan or two.

'weather bug' has informed me that it is going to snow, he appears to be a little iffy as to the details and when i try to pin point him down he becomes quite vague. 'weather bug' is an app, he lives on my cell phone, i have reached the 21st century, i have a phone that does things other than dial a number. i am struggling with the other things it does but luckily for me, i live with teenage lads :)

so i have a handy dandy 'weather bug' who appears to change his mind hourly and now i have a 'fortune cookie' app too! never has life been so thrilling to get out of bed at 6:30am for the school run than when one has a fortune cookie waiting for you. i just tap its little shell and out pops my fortune for the day. two days ago when my phone rang causing me to panic as it rarely rings and being one of those smart phones you press things without wishing to, just trying to get it out of your bag. well all i was trying to do was answer my phone, a perfectly innocent thing to do, but instead i pressed the 'button tile' to my fortune cookie, which is okay normally because it would just show me my fortune again for that day, reminding me less i had forgotten. however in my need to get back to where i wished to be, i double tapped it. gosh, do you know, my fortune cookie got cross with me. it actually told me off. it said something along the lines of 

"do not be greedy, one fortune a day, come back tomorrow".

after which i was quite upset for there appeared no where on the screen i could tap out a message to my fortune cookie explaining the tres terrible mistake, telling him, i was not intentionally being greedy and to please forgive me so i could go about my day without feeling wretched. but no, nowhere and so i was left with that feeling of having done something wrong. the power of what appears to be a harmless little app...

but today is not the day for talking tartan pj's and fortune cookies, although can i just say, if 'weather bug' gets it right and snow comes a tumbling from the sky, i'll be donning my flannel pj's faster than my lads can shout "snow day, no school".

today is the perfect day for me to say "thank you kindly". it was so spiffy to see so many of you at my 'joyful' shop update, you kindly spent your hard earned pennies which resulted in not only me wearing an elf cap but also my peachy friend Laurie. she came by on tuesday to help me and i must say her 'elf cap' was far prettier than mine. i am thinking i need to 'dottie angel' mine up a bit.

also, before my shop update, so many many kind folks have been coming to my little shop and buying the book. you have taken time to write me fabby feedback upon your purchases and also to send me emails with how much you love the book. this is wonderful to know...

so with a week to go till thanksgiving, i truly am most thankful for your kindness, your custom and your lovely comments you continue to share with me. i've said it before and i will say it again, you are the bees knees for sure.

she notes, it is one month tomorrow and her girls are home for the holidays ~ Tif

'thing' friday...

thing one:

it is tres gloomy in the shed today, i know this to be true for just now i saw from the kitchen, that the family room looked tres dull and marched in there to pull back the curtains, only to discover i had already done so earlier. this tells me two things (within 'thing one'). it is tres gloomy and my ability to recall what i did ten minutes earlier is on rocky grounds

thing two:

a chance comment by a peachy reader reminded me of my lost 'little happy monkey' tray. i had two, one for display and one for use. a little while ago i lost my 'one for use'. i do not recall taking him out of the shed for a walk. i tried without vain to recall my last movements within my shed with my little tray, but alas and alack, the old recall cogs just will not turn. it has been over 5 weeks since i last saw my little tray. just thinking about him somewhere lost in our shed makes me sad... looking out and seeing perhaps me walking past, thinking i would spy him and gather him up and then no, i just walk on by, unable to spy him amongst the piles

thing three:

this sunday, when the weather will be at an all time 'gloomy low' i will be at the Assemble shop, beavering away with lovely dearies. i think this is a fine and dandy way to pass a gloomy day and i am actually rather giddy about it

thing four:

my rippley blanket is complete and i am most happy indeed. despite the fretting of colours, i do believe it turned out 'a-okay'. i know i am happy with it, because i have feelings of not wishing it to be shared with my clan members. this is a sign of me liking it very mucho. here is a few things you may wish to know if you are interested in what i did. if you are not, then you are welcome to skippity skip this bit. i do not mind one little bit.

* i used chunky yarn, 

* i made my own chunky yarn for some colours by doubling and tripling strands of yarn together

* i did a basic chevron pattern i learnt off YouTube

* i used a Mr Hook size 7

* i did four rows of each colour in double crochet (triple crochet UK)

* there was method to the madness of the colour placing

1 row of cream

1 row of colour

1 row of cream

2 rows of colour

1 row of cream

3 rows of colour

1 row of cream

4 rows of colour

1 row of cream

* i have discovered that when i add a healthy dose of cream to my crocheting it always appears to pull it together.

* i finished off my rippley blanket with an edge, the edge consists of

1 row of single crochet

1 row of picot crochet

and there you have it, you can make it any size you like. mine is perfectly sized for one large being and one small being to share. as i do not have a small being in my shed, i am debating allowing a little critter to snuggle in next to me. but no large beings. no they can have the other pile of blankets i have made over the years which are now looking rather loved. this will be my very own exclusive Tif's blanket... 

i am wondering now if i need to put a note pinned on it, reminding others they may look but not touch. then again, that would make me seem like a meanie, so perhaps i'll just hide it somewhere so others cannot find it. but what if i did that and then my recall cogs do not turn and i lose my lovely blanket along with my lovely 'monkey tray'? would that serve me right for being a meanie and not sharing? oh my goodness, i am now left with a quandary within my brain of what to do here...

thing five:

i don't have one, i did but its fallen into a black hole in my brain, due to anxiety coming on through fretting about the safety of my blanket. i'm sure it was super thrilling and really interesting, but once again, alas and alack, we will never know.

she is wishing you a happy dandy weekend with recall skills in tippity top condition ~ Tif 

willy nilly...

this week is all about getting photos done for my joyful shop update

(please look to the right if you do not know about this and wish to know more)

(please do not look to the right if you do already know about my joyful update, or indeed, do not wish to know)

yesterday as i took a breather, i looked around me at the piles of handcrafted goodness and little forsaken souls alongside of knick knacks, all waiting patiently for their moment to shine.

they all looked so peachy just hanging around, twiddling their thumbs, so i snapped them right there and then with Frankly Frank's help. 

here's just a few of those snaps. 

no particular order, 

just a willy nilly collection of what i saw

she has found a rather lovely 'small being' and on thursday will be sure to share ~ Tif 

questions & answers...

1. Tif, how is your crochet coming along?

well thank you kindly for asking, despite starting off with what i felt a dodgy combination of colours, i am thrilled to see things are not as pants in the 'colour combo' department as i first thought.

2. Tif, have you paced yourself this time whilst dabbling with Mr Hook?

actually i have dearest reader, i have indeed! this time i have just dabbled short spurts of dabbling and thus far, the blanket is progressing, Mr Hook is feeling loved and my wrists are feeling dandy.

3. Tif, when are you going to continue with the three c's, the anticipation of your words of wisdom on clog wearing is causing me to be distracted at work and home?

do not fear nor fret dear reader, i do plan to pick up where i left off in the next week or so and with that bit of information i hope your distracted ways will mend themselves.

4. Tif, you mention you have been beavering on a joyful shop update but have yet to announce the day of said update?

ah yes, tomorrow i will be doing a bit of rambling about this very subject, as tomorrow is wednesday and i do think it lends itself nicely to such important businessy busy things such as rambling on about shop updates. in my rambling will be the date of my joyful shop update and other nitty gritty details which maybe of interest (or not as the case maybe for some)

...and glory hung at mossy shed windows in the shape of flannel floral curtains

5. Tif, was that you i spied over on Holly's peachy blog Decor8 this morning, whilst having my morning cuppa?

gosh, yes it was... i must tell you i was most fortunate to meet Holly whilst doing what i was doing in Minnesota in september. if you recall Janine and myself went to The Creative Connection to sell our wares and launch the book. Holly very kindly invited me to do a book interview upon her peachy place, i do hope you will take the time to read it, because way, way on down, once you get through my rambling answers you will see at the bottom, where i list my blessings of the internet, you are amongst them dearest readers. for i have said it before and i say it again today, i would not being doing what i am doing without you by my side and for that, i am truly thankful

she is also thanking Holly most kindly for asking her some very nitty gritty questions and being most peachy about the book ~ Tif

a bit of bobbing...

willing victims hanging around the back yard

i awoke on halloween with a interesting question churning in my little cogs...

"do chickie peas like to play bobbing apples"

autumnal mushrooms making nice little resting spots for passing pesky gnomes

and it would appear, 

like most things i find with my fine feathered friends,

they do indeed enjoy a party game or two

"i think i see one"

"me first, no me first"

"i spy with my little eye"

and there is always one who tries to cheat...

she is wishing you a bit of spook and a lot of chocolate ~ Tif

the demise of Mr Shark...

warning: this post contains photos not for the fainthearted

on tuesday, there i was, me, my flannel fabric and Mr Shark (my trusty iron) in the lounge, this is beginning to sound like something out of Cluedo... i appear to have spread all around our shed now and not one room is spared from 'my beavering'. by our side on the rug, Used Dog and Little Olive in mid morning slumber. yes, a typical day in the shed until Mr Shark did a 'putt', then a 'splutter', followed by a little letting off of 'steam' and then it was all over. i gasped, how could this be... i twiddled with his bits, i fiddled with his cord but alas and alack, his little light had gone out. 

so tragic, so young

i spent the rest of the day in a shocked daze, i worried if my wish for flannel and nubbly curtains, and a joyful shop update, had all been too much. then i wondered if his history of steroid taking which had led to his hunky silver weighty good looks had been the cause of his early demise. every now and then i returned to the scene of the tragedy, more twiddling and fiddling to no avail.

later that evening when the surgeon had returned from his desk job and coaching soccer he performed surgery. i fretted too many hours had past for a miracle to happen. eventually i could take it no more and had to look away, seeing Mr Shark, a good and faithful friend, an important tool of my trade having a brutal surgery procedure carried out on my kitchen counter was all a little too much. 

early on in the surgery, when i still had high hopes

after what seemed an age and one where i began to doubt the surgeons qualifications, after all i do not recall when seeing medical procedures being performed on telly, the surgeon stopping every now and then to take a mouthful of orange dinner. the surgeon put down his utensils and tools, his dinner finished and Mr Shark looking the worse for wear and he announced there was no hope. he then proceeded to start opening up another part of Mr Shark.

i pointed out was this necessary as obviously he was 'dearly departed' from my life. apparently i was told, yes it was because how interesting to see how it all works...

i turned away

and so my beavering ground to a halt leaving me with no alternative but to find a new friend, despite my grieving heart. 

last night i went to the store where i found Miss Winnie, not to be mistaken for Miss Winer. for she does not wine about things, no sirree, she is the sort who pulls up her knees socks and gets on with things.

having inspected all the box had to say in the store, it would appear with this iron i now have in my life a winner! 

"top rated by leading independent publication" 

are the very words printed on her box, i did question who is the leading independent publication and thought it a little odd they were not willing to have the actual name of their publication printed on the box, but i chose to ignore this and only saw "top rated" which in turn meant "winner" and so Miss Winnie it is.

paying respect to a trusty weighty iron with hunky silvery good looks

 having not actually taken my new iron out of her box with respect for Mr Shark laid out on the dining room table, i am keeping my fingers and toes crossed later today (when a fitting amount of time has passed since Mr Shark's demise), i will find out if she lives up to the box she came in, and is indeed worthy of the name Miss Winnie

there appears to be a lot of hand-stitched 'joy' going on in the shed, despite feeling unjoyful about Mr Shark ~ Tif

three thrilling things...

to add an element of thrillingness to an otherwise frill-less week...

early morning in the shed, nesting mode well and truly in gear

thrilling thing one: every day this week i am removing one unmarked pyrex dish from the freezer, due to the length of time it has been in there, it is impossible to know what the contents are. this has added a mystery to dinner time and an air of thrillingness as to what we will be eating. all dishes contain something different, however i note they all share one thing in common, the colour orange

thrilling thing two: my nesting instincts have kicked into 'high nesting mode' and i am beavering away on making winter window coverings. i am using nubbly fabric found on ebay, which any granny worth their granny salt, would be proud to hang at their windows, and flannel. yes flannel, like you find at the fabric store to make soft and cozy things for small beings. to me the thought of hanging flannel curtains has me in a current state of giddiness which in turn has led to an element of thrillingness with the whole project

a nubbly little number most suited for granny curtains

a flannel fabric to make windows feel cozy and loved

thrilling thing three: over the past few weeks me and my adopted auntie have been beavering away on dottie angel goodies. i noted she has done a much better job at staying on track, where as i have gone off the rails most days with things like flannel curtains distracting me. however when i am not de-railed, i am thrilled to be thinking of the 'one and only' tres grand shop update i am planning in november... in time for my fabby fav time of year, the gleeful season. 

she is torn between completing second flannel curtain or stitching the 'epiphany' for the shop update which hopped into her little cogs this morning ~ Tif 

crimes committed...

it would appear two crimes have been committed of late in the shed, one i am guilty of and the other not.

crime number one:

Colin the computer is feeling under the weather, i noted two days ago. thankfully despite my frustration, i fell short of tearing my hair out due to quite liking my hair at the moment and also being most happy my braids now reach over the top of my bonce and are almost touching my ears the 'tother side, which really is most spiffy. i cannot believe how in a few short months my wrappity wrap braidy hairdo is coming along a treat. but i digress, and this not 'a-okay' for we are talking crimes here and this is most serious.

i blame myself for Colin's sorry ways, i foolishly upon bringing 'Lappity' laptop into my life, felt it would be safe to allow Colin into the public domain of the shed. oh the fool that i am...

totally unrelated snapshots of a 'dumptie' made by placing a round cushion on top a stool

i charged Our #4 guilty of crimes committed against Colin, he protested his innocence but i think he looked shifty in the eyes when he pleaded 'not guilty'. in the meantime i was left with no alternative but to ask my man to clean up Colin's act and restore his spiffy ways back to their original spiffiness and with a bit of luck, all the crappity crap now clouding his vision will be gone...

crime number two:

i committed this crime last week with a can of custard yellow paint and a poor unsuspecting cupboard in my studio. after three coats on one side of poor unsuspecting cupboard it dawned on me it was not my destiny to own a glossy custard yellow cupboard. such is my restless ways at the moment i needed instant gratification with my painting ways and that was not happening. in a need to cover up my terrible crime, i rustled around my paint cupboard and found some glossy grey. i attempted to cover my tracks and when i stepped back i noted i had failed, for the poor unsuspecting cupboard looked pants in grey.

this in turn led to me dragging my victim out to the garage, covering it in a bedsheet in the hope of no one noticing. where upon i adopted an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude whilst pondering what i would do without my trusty cupboard to hold all my spiffy 'bits and bobs' with which i craft with. i found my next victim upstairs, she has been a faithful little soul for the past 15 years since my folks passed her onto us, holding my granny undies and cotton hankies most trustfully.

after much huffing and puffing to get her downstairs, i pondered her fate. some pondering later i declared greeny turquoise would suit her lovely shape.

as it tippity type this little ramble today, i am most delighted with my newly painted cupboard and her glossy coat, however everytime i look at her i feel guilt, guilt for the poor unsuspecting cupboard now left out in the cold garage and recalling the crime i committed with a can of custard yellow paint in a moment of madness.

after a long period of separation (causing anxiety) she is reunited with Mr Hook ~ Tif