Happy New Year wishes from Krishenka

May all your troubles last as long as your resolutions :)

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What Keeps me Out of Mischief

  Loved making these gift tag sachets in silk and vintage lace. The labels were given to me by a lovely girlfriend (lucky me)

 Another cow made, no name for her yet. Any suggestions?

  A few upcycled keys

Painted bottles with labels prited from The Graphics Fairy

 Mulled Wine Sachets

Made this to wear on my next night out.

Nest week myself and two girlfriends are doing the Christmas fair and I am just about done, I think!!!

Introducing Miss Marguerite

I received a package the other day to create a cow called Miss Marguerite, who when finished is a mere 60cm tall, sporting her new dress, blouse, baggy pants and leggings so I have been a tad occupied with making her up, have to say the head was the worst part but after that it was  all pretty much plain sailing. She is heading back home next week and I am hoping  she will enjoy her new life and family in Paris. Time to have a tidy up and decide what my next project will be.

Happy Sunday

French Vintage Keys Upcycled + Worldwide Giveaway

I have had these keys for sometime and said to myself, "One day I will do something with them" well that was a few days ago, and as I had put them somewhere safe it took me almost 2 days to find the little blighters. I have used white organza, lace, button, small flowers cord, printed some French labels and a few more bits, and I can see a few becoming presents for some friends who love old keys. As for the beer bottles I decided to have a go at painting them, then distressed them and put on a French label, think they would be good for decoration and maybe a candle would work too. 

So I thought I would  offer one of my readers a key of their choice. Just leave a number from one to eight as to which one you would like and a  random name will be drawn via Raffleopter.

Open worldwide and the more times you enter the more chances you will have of winning.

Good Luck 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

October in the Tarn - Chez Nous

It has been an amazing month here in the Tarn as normally the fire would be on by mid September, this year though we are seem to be having an extended summer (yay) and still plenty of flowers blooming away in the garden. I am making the most of it as next week not only the temperature is going to drop, but the clocks go back and it's going to be dark by 6pm.  

Dug out a new path to cut down on weeding

so far so good

Jan Knibbs Atelier19 Cheltenham - Award Winning Designer

I had the pleasure of meeting Jan two weeks ago when my girlfriend and I popped into her shop in my old hometown of Cheltenham. I took a few photo's but some did not turn out as I had hoped, still the two I got were good enough to use to show you her fabulous work. A truly charming lady with immense talent, and when I discovered her on Etsy well I could not resisit showing of her work. In her own words below I agree with all she has said and I am hoping that my girlfriend takes her wedding dress in and lets Jan loose on it.  You can see more of Jan's creations here, just follow the link which will take you into her shop... Atelier19Cheltenham enjoy.

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I have always been a complete magpie and hoarder and collected vintage clothing, lace and anything sparkly from a very early age. I love all forms of surface embellishment and have specialised in Embroidery all my adult life, constantly learning new couture skills to add to my repertoire of skills . I now combine all these techniques often incorporating vintage treasures which has become my signature style. i will basically make anything from a pair of earrings to a wedding dress as long as I can add some embroidery to it and have won many awards including the British Bridal Awards and the Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery in recognition of my skills.

I devote the utmost care and attention to detail to all my creations, making each piece a unique, one-off work of art that will be treasured for years to come. They appeal to fashion aficionados and collectors of fine craftwork and indeed anyone looking for something distinctive to make them stand out from the crowd. My creative flair, imagination and fine craftsmanship lend everything I create an air of fantasy and romance.

a-pair-of-delicately-embroidered-white wedding shoes

a-cream-satin-and-gold-lace-floral embroidered necklace

These beauties were in the shop window display, are they not just gorgeous

Another beautiful display

The detail on this is stunning

New window display entitled "When Doves Cry"

Chinese Silk Embroidery Rescue

Well what would you say if you found your girlfriend was sending this to reject heaven? I am guessing you would say "well in that case can I have it please"?  and so it came home with me and it is totally gorgeous, seemingly it came from China and it looks hand embroidered on silk. The details are just equisite, children flying kites, carrying a large carp, to many to mention so I will let you feast your eyes. I am now looking to find the right place to hang this little beauty. Lucky me

Beach Thistles (In the Hoop Embroidery)

I wanted to try out some ITH embroidery applique and came across PixieWillowPatterns on Etsy  where I found this lovely  applique design  for Beach Thistles. I made these into lavender sachets but you could make them into hand warmers if filled with crushed walnuts or flax. You can let your imagination go wild re which fabrics to use,  I choose to use wool, muslin, silk and cotton and added a couple of seed pearls on the leaf stems. Really easy to make and a delight to stitch.  

Happy Camping

 This made me laugh out loud.

For sale: Beautiful Hobby Siesta 555 Motorhome. 2013. 5-berth. Only 13,000 miles. Excellent condition. £31k ono.

It’s a fantastic van, perfect layout for a family of 4, but please read on before you buy as I want you to be sure this is something you really want. We bought it a few months ago and, as you’re about to read, discovered the motorhome life is not for us....

Basically, it will suit anyone who hasn't tried motorhoming yet and is in need of a really stressful, totally exhausting holiday experience.

Yes, you too can have a try at driving non-stop at pitifully slow speeds with the stench of a chemical toilet wafting constantly under your nose. It will do 70-80mph comfortably and if you do decide to go above 55mph you have the added entertainment value of watching the fuel needle as it moves quickly downwards while reminding you that your holiday money is fast being whittled away on diesel.

This is described elsewhere as a ‘luxury’ motorhome although in order to really feel comfortable it will help if you’re not yet fully grown and have no history of claustrophobia. Our three-year-old found it perfect.

The ingenious 'Sleep-no-More' compartments which were introduced to motorhomes in the 1970's mean you get to spend the whole night trying to get some kip. The mattresses are as soft and fluffy as our patio and, if you keep the windows closed, you can experience 'a cheap high' due to the distinct lack of oxygen.

Wait, there's more... one of the truly great things about motorhoming is you get to spend every single spare minute of your holiday packing, unpacking and repacking boxes so that everything fits... and then do it all again when you realise you left your keys, your daughter’s crayons or your wife’s shoes in the bottom box. Bizarrely, most motorhomers think this is fun. Yay!

Oh, and you'll never be bored... there's always something to fix. Whether it's the window or skylight you left open before getting on the auto-route, the door handle that your children like to swing on, or any of the million-and-one crappy little plastic fixings that were put there with the specific intention of having you contact the manufacturer for a replacement at a stupidly high price.

As you’ll see from the pictures, it has a lovely shower room/toilet and a fitted ‘kitchen’. Our daughter has a 2-foot high wooden dolls house which has a similar sized kitchen but don't let floor space put you off - this comes complete with a sink in which you can fit a whole coffee mug and a hob on which you can practice the forgotten art of 'one-pot-cooking'. The oven is immaculate as it hasn't been used – we weren't able to find an item of food that would fit.

The shower looks great doesn’t it? And if you have the physique of a broom handle it will serve you perfectly. I’ll tell you about the toilet in a minute.

Driving this thing is a one-of-a-kind experience. Have you ever driven a cement mixer? I's very similar. It is also a chiropractor’s dream. After a few hundred miles you’ll soon notice you’ve developed a painful stoop from ducking every time you drive under a bridge, hoping and praying you don’t lose your bedroom.

But of course, the biggest advantage of a motorhome is the freedom it brings and this is where they really come into their own. After driving for twelve hours to make your ferry booking, you can simply pull over in your exhausted, weary state… and sleep in a noisy, shitty service station. Come on, what could be better? Erm, a hotel?

Finally, there's the toilet. Is this a joke? Are motorhome designers and manufacturers secretly pissing themselves having pulled off the prank of the century? For those who haven't experienced one of these creations this is the process...

The chemical toilet basically provides the means to not only relieve yourself without using public conveniences but also to perform Gillian Mackeith-style health checks on every traveller in the motorhome.

Yes, if you're the not-so-democratically-elected 'emptier' of this disgusting device (as is every man) you get to see, smell and even TASTE (unfortunately for me, I found 'splash backs' at the disposal points to be quite common) the faecal deposits of your entire family. It can only be described as a very shitty job.

So... on that note, if you'd like to try motorhoming and have a go at spending your next holiday in a luxurious but very smelly, slow-moving, cramped box on wheels, pm me (Rob).
Happy trucking

Chinoiserie Wristlet Giveaway - Worldwide

I have been meaning to do a giveaway for sometime now and I hope you approve of my choice.   It's a Chinoserie style wristlet in a medium weight linen, beige background with black, grey and white floral print and a gorgeous bow front.  Coffee coloured lining in cotton.

Measures 23cm x 13cm  (9" x 5").

 So how can you win this you ask? well simple really using Rafflecopter below,  this giveaway is world wide. Good luck everyone.

a Rafflecopter giveaway