27 April 2013

Photo an Hour 2

Hello lovelies

Have you had a nice day?

I'm glad to report I'm finally on the mend (hurrah!), and decided to take a photo (or seven) an hour today to celebrate the fact my day didn't solely consist of "blow nose", "blow nose", "complain about blowing nose" etc. 

7.30: Getting dressed. 
I decided to break out my new Paperchase Badges and my Easter Cardigan, despite the fact it definitely wasn't warm enough today for a thin cardigan today. Should've worn my cable knit



Admittedly, the badges sort of gave the impression that my right boob was really angry, but I'm OK with that.

8.30: Breakfast. 
It's not very often I have toast for breakfast (in my topsy-turvy life bread is a treat but cheesecake is a necessity), but this morning I had two slices of awesome oaty wholegrainy toast- one with lemon curd and one with an awesome peach & raspberry jam courtesy of Tom's Mum. And some orange juice, because Vitamin C is currently my bff. 


9.30: Vintage/Craft Fair.
My Mum and I walked along to the Town Hall for a good nose around the vintage/craft fair thingy going on there today. There were so many hilarious magazines and advertisements going back as far as the 1940s and still in mint condition; I couldn't resist capturing a few with my blurry phone camera.  




Because the men of 1956 loved nothing more than a woman doing magic tricks

You hear that other books about cats? You should be written like this. 

I have officially fallen in love with this font. 
I snapped up this gorgeous vintage stationery box (without the stationery in it) for 1 English Pound; it's the perfect place to keep my extensive collection of chalkboard pens. 




I might have also bought a few bits and pieces for my 30,000 views giveaway; but y'all will have to wait and see about those. 

10.30: Second hand shopping
We spotted a gorgeous pop-up shop directly opposite the Town Hall, mostly selling second hand children's clothes, and went inside for a good rummage. Every time my Mum and I go charity shopping she's able to spot anything from Monsoon a mile off. I, on the other hand, am always magnetically drawn to last season's H&M. I picked up a really sweet t-shirt dress I have yet to try on; but it looks big enough to fit a roast dinner belly, which is my main consideration when purchasing new clothes. 



11.30: Being Supportive
I introduced my Mum to Anchor & Apron, a relatively new shop in the Needlemakers in Lewes, owned by my crafty friend Jayne. Being the caring and supportive person that I am, I selflessly purchased a gorgeous pink and blue herringbone-patterned blanket by Tweedmill to assist Jayne in her business venture. It's also got tassles on it, and was marked down in their sale- triple win. 


Image from Anchor & Apron's Facebook page
Look how inviting it is! (Image from Anchor & Apron's Facebook page)

12.30: Coffee Break
And the perfect opportunity to break out my cow milk jug.



1.30: Lunch
Not too shabby for a bunch of leftovers, even if I do say so myself. 


Baked sweet potatoes with fried onion, peppers and mushrooms, feta cheese, rocket, and balsamic vinegar.

2.30: Crafty time
I got stuck into some cross-stitch, whilst my Mum covered shoe boxes in wrapping paper and ribbons (no prizes for guessing where my love of cutting and sticking comes from!)




3.30: Pottering
Drooling over the gorgeous bits and pieces Mum's handed over to me from her own craft stash. My parents are in the process of "downsizing"; which essentially means every visit is accompanied by several carrier bags full of stuff for me. Yippee!


Stunning wooden cotton reels and a beautiful button tin

And covering my new chair with my even newer blanket. I might actually hold off on the upholstery for a while after all. 



4.30: More cross-stitch
Whilst watching my first ever episode of The Voice on iplayer. Will.I.Am really is one special little guy isn't he? I certainly won't be watching another one. 



5.30: Rain
The weather took a sudden turn for the worse which resulted in Tom and I legging it to the washing line to try and rescue our newly-dried washing before it got hit by the grapefruit sized dollops of rain. There are few things that make me giggle more than frantically gathering the washing in when it's raining- I feel like I'm on a (really rubbish) game show. 



6.30: Cake Break
A cup of hot elderflower cordial in my excellent anchor mug from Alice, and a hefty wedge of lemon drizzle and blueberry cake to keep me going until dinner time. 



I plan to spend my evening making a medley of leftover chinese food resemble some sort of stirfry, and watching Shameless. How about you? 

Katie xxx

P.S. My first Photo an Hour post from November 2012

The Chair Project

So, are you ready for the big reveal of the new project I mentioned on Monday

After you were all so helpful with my dilemma of armchair vs. treehouse I decided to go for the sensible option and buy an armchair. I had every intention to spend my hard saved pennies on the beautiful Armchair of Dreams, but in the end I just couldn't do it. I mean, £450 is a LOT of money to spend on anything, but especially something that I'll probably ruin within two years thanks to my weirdly boney backside. I've already managed to single-arsedly DESTROY 80% of our massive sofa by plonking myself down then not moving for six hours. I blame back-to-back re-runs of Location, Location, Location.

I also woke up one morning and realised that, whilst I loved the Armchair of Dreams, what I really wanted was an armchair as bright as the sun. The grown-up blue-and-cream colour scheme was never really going to work for me, because it would've matched my tablelamp shade; thereby breaking my golden rule about nothing in our house being allowed to match. I figure that if something's worth doing, it's worth doing it in a combination of colours that makes your eyeballs bleed. 

For a while, I was lusting after this lump of dandelion gorgeousness, but it still cost more money than I was really willing to spend. I searched all over the internet like an upholstery-obsessed Sherlock Holmes for other chairs of yellowy fabulousness, but couldn't find anything that looked comfortable and cost less than our house. Then I had a brainwave; I would simply buy any old chair I liked the look of, and reupholster it myself. 

And then I found THIS on Gumtree:


1970's vintage really large square denim chair, chrome feet, from Saddlers Wells Brighton Picture 1


The advert said:
"LARGE ORIGINAL 70'S SQUARE CHAIR, WAS ORIGINALLY IN THE SADDLERS WELLS THEATER LONDON FOYER, BUT I OBTAINED & COVERED IN A STRONG DENIM FABRIC. IT HAS SOLID REAL CHROME FEET & IS A STURDY CHAIR U CAN CURL UP IN."


To be honest, it was partly ALL THE CAPITAL LETTERS that sucked me in. I mean, BOY, was the seller EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHAIR. And after Alice and I spotted a denim Smeg fridge at the Ideal Home Show, we realised that Cowboy Ranch Chic is apparently the look for Summer 2013...


1970's vintage really large square denim chair, chrome feet, from Saddlers Wells Brighton Picture 2
I nicked these photos from the Gumtree ad; so the room is not from my house (of course- the walls are painted white! Eurgh!)



There's only one drawback to my plan: I've never actually upholstered anything before. With the exception of a really old chaise longue a girlfriend and I bought off Gumtree when we first moved to Brighton. And my "upholstering" meant stapling layer upon layer of faux leopard fur onto it to cover all the broken wooden slats we'd never gotten round to fixing. We were sick of warning guests to sit down really carefully so they didn't get splinters in their bum, but it ended up just as uncomfortable as before, with the added bonus that it made it appear as if we'd hunted and skinned a large mangy cat.

However, I'm certainly not one to let little things like "skills" and "experience" get in the way of buying 8m of neon yellow upholstery fabric and borrowing Fran's staple gun.  

I haven't actually found a fabric I want to use yet, so I might end up with something covered in narwhals, but I'm off on the hunt today so wish me luck! In the meantime, I'm going to be sitting in my new denim chair, with pretend spurs stuck on my boots, trying to lasso things off my bookcase with a skipping rope. 

Katie xxx

26 April 2013

Don't forget to...

I like to think I'm very much a glass-half-full (of hot chocolate) kind of girl, but I'm on day SIX of this cold now and I. Just. Don't. Understand. Where. All. The. Snot. Is. Coming. From. 

Seriously.

My face is like the gunge tank from Get Your Own Back. 

I've used so many tissues in the past few days, I feel like I'm personally waging war on the Amazon. Because I've blown my nose on at least half a rainforest's amount of trees, like a super phlegmy homage to Fern Gulley.

I'm not looking for sympathy (but thank you all for your sweet comments and suggestions about vitamin-C-packed goodies! I'm sure I read something saying lemon drizzle cake has healing properties...); I just wanted to let you all know why it's been quieter here in Hook, Line & Sink Her Land this week than I would've liked it to be. It's amazing how the whole "not being able to breathe" thing has worn me out! 

This weekend is going to be a laid back affair of copious tea and crafting with friends (so, pretty much like ALL my weekends, really), and there's one thing I'll certainly be remembering to do (beyond packing sixteen boxes of tissues any time I leave the house), and that's:


This is my interpretation (read: total rip off) of this incredibly sweet print by Kerry Layton available at Papermash


Yes, the camera is really wonky; but I think that adds to the homespun vibe. Plus it's not as if I can't redo it if the jaunty angles really start to bug me. The camera took a matter of minutes, but I wanted to make sure I kept in the lines for the "smile" text; so that took longer. Neat colouring in is HARD. 

Hope you all have utterly brilliant weekends!

Katie xxx

23 April 2013

First Vlog (and a drinking game)

I thought I'd try something a little bit different today. And when better to try my hand face at a video blog (or "vlog" for those people too lazy to say two words) then when suffering from a hideous cold that makes my face puff out to resemble hamster cheeks?! The answer is, of course, "Never"....



As promised, you can visit the fabulous Kezzie here - please do pop over and say hello! 

And, if you need a new drinking game, how about taking a shot every time I say the word "amazing"? You'll probably pass out before the end of the video...

Katie xxx

P.s. Having re-watched this a lot during editing, I noticed when I said "vlog" I both looked and sounded like the woman Richmond in the IT Crowd gets set up with by Jen at her dinner party. Should've done some finger quotes!

Healthy Eating

I am determined to kick this cold as fast as I possibly can, so I've been filling up on all the goodness I can think of. Today's breakfast/lunch combo added up to 7 portions of fruit and vegetables- that's got to be a good start, right?



I got thinking about the leftover mint we had in the fridge from last week's dinner involving Jamie's French peas (my new favourite style of pea), and how it must surely be better than mint tea bags.


Fresh mint tea- putting mint teabags to shame since forever.

I even drank my hot cordial out of a rather fungi mug* which I found at the back of the work kitchen cupboard...



And let's not forget all the medicinal M&Ms I've been scoffing this afternoon. This cold hasn't got a chance.

Katie xxx 

* I may well spend my afternoon knitting myself an award for "lamest pun on the blog to date"

22 April 2013

Under the Weather

Hello lovelies

How you doin'?

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today due to the combination of a nasty cold and a very woolly head, which has essentially transformed me into an uber-snotty Shaun the Sheep. 

I went into work early this morning to finish off some projects (covering my keyboard, desk, and stapler in lovely, lovely germs in the process), but gave in mid morning and headed home for orange juice, tissues, blankets, and naps on the sofa. 

At least there's a silver lining that I've got this smiley little face to keep me company:


Front made from Chevrons Golden
(currently on sale- go, go, go!)

I'd been wanting to make an anthropomorphic cloud cushion for ages after spotting one on French Blossom; but I had to wait until I found the right fabric. When my fabric order from M is for Make arrived on Saturday it seemed like the perfect opportunity to get stitching. 


Back made from Flying Geese Shade
(which is even more on sale! Quick!)

The rest of my order also included lots of Scandinavian patterned fabrics; yellows, soft blues, greens and creams in triangles, chevrons, and woodland patterns. I'm planning to use them all in one large project which will hopefully be revealed later this week- as long as we can fit the other part I need in our car! After what happened with the chest of drawers I'm a little concerned... 

In my opinion, there are definitely not enough clouds with eyelashes in the world. What do you think?



Katie xxx

20 April 2013

Oooooh

You know what this means!!



GIVEAWAY TIME. 

Or it will be when I've found some excellent prizes.... *looks about frantically* How does a half-eaten bowl of Jordan's Country Crisp (raspberry flavour), a un-darned holey sock (purple, size L), and two bunches of dead flowers sound?

Ok, ok- I'll keep looking....

Katie xxx

19 April 2013

Five Things Friday

The weekend is upon us! Let's all breath a collective sigh of relief. 

Here are five things that have recently been warming my cockles.

1. The Great British Sewing Bee
Every crafty person I follow on twitter has been gushing over this. I was sceptical at first, but I don't really know why now. Admittedly, I'm mostly watching it because I have a big ol' Girl Crush on Claudia Winkleman (who DOESN'T?!) but it's also inspired to get out my sewing machine and whip up something pretty. That something pretty will probably be a pile of cushions and blankets instead of a beautifully made skirt; but it's the stitching that counts, right? 


Any woman that cleans her teeth with a credit card is OK in my book.


Fran's recent post about her favourite online fabric shops couldn't have come at a more opportune moment, albeit a dangerous one- between fabric shopping and Paperchase my bank account is in danger of looking rather sunburnt. I'm hoping I'll be able to bribe our bank manager with a wonkily-stitched cushion, perhaps adorned with "This is better than money. Promise." in alphabet badges...

2. Free (electronic) wallpaper
After the brilliant Oh Deer collective provided me with the inspiration I needed for my Aztec pillowcase, I was having another snoop about on their website and discovered they have FREE downloadable wallpapers for one's electronic gadgety things. My phone is now sporting this gem, and there's plenty of others to choose from too.



3. Growing Up
I'm not usually one for matchy-matchy homewares. My taste is more a mish-mash of eclectic old stuff, with a bit of Lego and sprinkles thrown in for good measure. However, I think I'm finally getting more sophisticated in my decor choices in my old age, and our bathroom is now boasting a matching soap dish for our recently updated toothbrush holder. Ta da!



I love that the soap looks like it's trying to row to freedom. 

4. Granny chic
In the most recent episode of the Great British Sewing Bee, I couldn't stop looking at Ann's fantastically cheery granny square scarf:




I think I need to make this my new crochet project. A woolly scarf may not be the perfect craft to start as we're coming into summer, but at least it'll be a good distraction so I don't do things that are bad for me. Like biting my nails and hoovering. 

5. Fancy knees
Tom bought me some of these awesome Henry Holland star tights for my birthday. I have yet to break them out for fear of instant snags, but I'm sure the perfect starry-thighed opportunity is just round the corner. 


Reverse Star
Sadly, the shapely legs do not come with the tights

Have you found anything fancy recently?

Katie xxx

18 April 2013

Confession

I have a confession to make. You know that anonymous Princess in yesterday's story? Well, she was ME!!!



Now I've totally let that cat out of the bag* about that one, I might as well share the stuff I bought with you....

The first thing I grabbed with glee was this excellent ampersand stamp. It's not listed on the Paperchase website, but they have listed these Yes and No stamps from the same range.



I am intending to use this for many useful stamp-related things, and it's the perfect accompaniment to the ink pads Tom bought me for Christmas. 

initially ooohed, then ummed and ahhed a bit, over these Alphabet Badges. I was unsure whether to buy them because they cost £6.75. But then I figured out that, as the box included 2 of each letter, each badge only cost 12.5p; which is a pretty good deal really, right? 



I love the fact I'll be able to spell out words on all my clothes, and simply change the badges when I get bored. And I can pin them on our curtains/bedding/towels too! Actually, perhaps not towels... *ouch*

Finally, I bought one sheet of absolutely stunning wrapping paper, and used it to cover the remaining canvas from the ones my Mum gave me (I used the other one for my La Lune Painting). I'd seen some vast painted flower canvases online, but unfortunately couldn't try and replicate them myself because I can't paint for toffee. And I really love toffee- so don't go thinking I haven't tried!! 

What do you think?



I would never EVER spend £2.50 on one sheet of wrapping paper to wrap a present in. That's insanity, in my book (especially as most of my friends aren't as absurd as I am with carefully opening and then saving every slither of wrapping paper, and instead tear their presents open like a bear going at a bee's nest). But as art, I think £2.50 is pretty darn cheap. 

Katie xxx

* Side note: the author of this blog in no way condones keeping household pets in bags.

17 April 2013

The Princess and the Paperchase

Once upon a time there lived an girl called Katie an anonymous Princess. Said Princess had to spend her Wednesday attending a Team Building Day thingummy for work. 

The day itself was pretty average, but there were two Very Good things about it, and one Very Bad thing. The Princess decided to narrate the Very Good and Very Bad things as a Bad Thing sandwich, and these therefore compromised of; awesome cakes (including toffee muffins), a total lack of drinking water, and lots of free magazines. 


Artist's impression of what the Princess stack of free magazines may have looked like

Due to the Very Bad thing, the Princess spent most of the day feeling really thirsty. Her body did not feel tea, coffee, or juice were an acceptable alternative, because it was used to the Princess glugging at least 8 pints of regular water a day. 

Thanks to the Very Good things, the Princess had a belly full of toffee muffin and a ridiculously heavy bag of free magazines to lug back with her on the train. 

The Princess intended to buy a bottle of water on the way to the train station, because she was SO THIRSTY she was willing to part with 60-odd pence for something she could get at home for free. However, she didn't pass close to a shop on her way to the station and, due to lugging an incredibly heavy bag of magazines, decided against detouring to the nearest supermarket and hopped straight on the train home. 

"It's alright," the Princess said to herself (in her head- she's not one of those muttering-out-loud-on-the-train weirdos), "I will walk home at top speed with my bag of magazines and drink a pint of water the minute I get through the door. Despite the fact my mouth feels like the middle of the Sahara, I'm 85% sure I won't die of dehydration on the walk home."

The Princess set off from the station as fast as her legs could carry her, her entire being focused on the thought of a huge glass of water, and how refreshing it would feel to her parched throat. She hurried along, head down, clutching her bag of magaziney goodness. Halfway home, she crossed the High Street, and.... she felt her Stationery Senses tingle. 

The Princess looked up and saw that THE NEW PAPERCHASE SHOP HAD FINALLY OPENED. The Princess didn't even break stride as she spun a complete 180 and headed into the shop like a Princess on a Mission. 

Fifteen minutes later, she emerged, and headed for home. Yes, her arms were starting to shrivel from lack of moisturise, and her mouth was actually puckering as if she were sucking on a lemon (oh, if only she'd had some lemon juice to drink!) but she no longer cared; thanks to the bag that swung from her hand. 

The Princess made it home, but only just, before collapsing into a pile of dust. 

And the moral of the story? Should the anonymous Princess ever be lost in a desert, there's no way she would bother walking toward a perceived oasis; for fear that it would turn out to be a mirage. But, if she were to catch a glimpse of a hazy purple stationery shop wavering in the distance, she would crawl on hands and knees to see if it was real. 

Thankfully, the odds are much greater that the Princess will one day become lost in a dessert; and she's very well equipped to get out of that situation- thanks to rigorous training. 

14 April 2013

A Sunny Outlook

Hello lovelies!

Have you all had a nice weekend making the most of the sunshine? My retinas were practically in shock at just how bright everything was today. The unexpected Vitamin D seemed to supercharge me like a Duracell bunny; I spent today finishing off a projects left, right and centre, and started a few new ones too.  

I've framed two more things for the gallery wall on the stairs; a weeny fawn cross-stitch, and a card showing Lyndsey Smith's beautiful illustration of the Lewes Flea Market (featuring a watercolour version of yours truly). I still have to paint the frames, but I'm glad both pieces are now safely behind glass and protected from red wine stains. 





I drank the first (of many) pints of perry I'll be consuming this summer, slurping it icy cold straight from the fridge.



I cracked open the chocolates my brother's girlfriend brought me from Russia. I have no idea what the text says, but from the illustration I imagine it to be something along the lines of "Super Boozy Truffles: Perfect for tricking glamorous blondes into thinking your serenade on bended knee is spontaneous and charming".





I was able hang the washing outside for the second time this year, which meant being also being able to use my new bird pegs. They honestly do make hanging out washing more enjoyable! I reckon if I squinted and/or ate all the boozy Russian chocolates, I could pretend they were cartoon birds voluntarily holding our washing and I was Disney's Snow White. 



I made a box file to store some of my stationery, using a cereal box, wrapping paper, double-sided tape, and washi tape.



And I decided that our boring toothbrush mug needed sprucing up a bit.  



Yes, it was neon green, but that's just not exciting enough for me...


The best things about our new toothbrush holder are that it's easier to clean, takes up less space, and it less obtrusive than our old holder. Ok, all those things are a lie. But did our previous toothbrush holder have a Playmobil parrot on it? No it did not. 

The brushes are supported by the windows in the Captain's cabin. 



Nifty eh? 

Katie xxx