Ta-dah! Tuesday - And then I played the harpsichord and ordered new ribbons for my bonnet...

Ok, I didn't really, but I have been cross-stitching, which is basically a really good way to feel like you live in a Jane Austen novel. It's also a good method of developing a squint and an arthritic claw, but don't let that put you off. For some reason I have had the fear of counted cross-stitch charts and haven't done any since the age of about 10, when I would make my Mum and other female relatives bookmarks and dressing table mats using that binca fabric designed for kids.  Anyway, aside from the distinct possibility of becoming cross-eyed, I quite enjoyed my latest foray into ladylike pursuits.

The kit came free* on the imaginatively named Cross Stitcher magazine, and everything was included, although I did change the colour of her dress from lurid turquoise - which clashed with the pink - to purple, using my own thread. It claimed stitching time was 4 hours. Ha! I reckon it must have taken me twice that, which is a sobering reminder that perhaps I'm not quite ready to attempt their larger cushion charts, for which they give times of 40 and 62 hours respectively. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice some of the projects were - there was the inevitable cupcakery nonsense, but also a Mad Men inspired retro phone design, some Scandinavian style birds and sweet designs for little girls.

Mothers' Day Card

[I'm not sure my Mum is really a pink polka dots kinda gal, any more than I am, but I didn't have any aperture cards, and this one came with it. I guess with a kokeshi doll design you need to embrace the kawaii factor anyway.]

I have some more aida, graph paper and a book of motifs and alphabets, so I quite fancy working out my own design or slogan. Did you see this on HuffPost? I thought 13,000 stitches was what was required to create Joan Rivers, but apparently you can end up with Bruce Willis too.

A Good D'aida Die Hard

[photo and work by BriocheBun]

Amazing huh?
What have you been making? Link up any makes, bakes, finds and fripperies below.

Lakota x

*Speaking of freebies, I will have a post on those tomorrow.

Guest post from Lulastic - Home made Chalkboard Paint

Hi everyone - hope you're all set for a fantastic Jubilee long weekend. I'm chilling out for a few days with the family, so I've arranged a fab guest post to keep you entertained.

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Hello! I’m Lucy. I normally post over on Lulastic and the Hippyshake where I scribble about delving into bins for vintage treasures, crafting up old stuff and creating a house out of other people’s leftovers. I have a wild wee toddler called Ramona; a sweet chaos causer who mostly enjoys tipping up my paint/ poking around in my glue, picking out my stitches. I am dedicated to thrifting with all its subversive thrills and massively enjoy reading Lakota’s charity shop adventures. I am well happy to be on her blogdiggidy right now. Yahoo!

I just love the blogosphere. There is SO much creativity and imagination bouncing around, people making, thinking, doing, sharing. Frontiers being smashed to smithereens. I read a post this week that did this for me. It could easily have been about feminist motherhood, gentle parenting or global activism. But, actually, erm. It was about making your own coloured chalkboard paint.

Lemme say it again without hyperventilating: MAKING YOUR OWN COLOURED CHALKBOARD PAINT!

*skips about it total glee*

I have just recently found Ecoempire- another blog that makes my heart sing- and love what she did with the paint. I am working on an upcycled summin summin so have been playing around with the paint for that. But in the mean time I have whipped up a little jar of sweets for our pals who are taking us to Bruges tomorrow for a day trip. I love doing things with jars. Such a thrifty way to give gifts, with all the mountains of jars we get through (our own particular mound is primarily due to being such huge gherkin and lemon curd fans.Mmmm. Lemon cuuuuurd.)
Anyway, here you go. Prepare to have your minds completely condoogled with craft and DIY possibilities…

Yeah, for REAL. It is totes that simple.

I am yet to get through a whole tin of blackboard paint so I love that you can just make this up with little bits of paint you have in your cupboard. Someone somewhere also has an old tube of grout- so always ask around.

I also painted and superglued a little pig onto the top. I know that is a bit suggestive, giving a jar of sweets with a pig on the top but I didn’t mean in that way, promise. Although one of the recipients loves jelly sweets in an unfathomable way – puts away a whole packet for breakfast even.

I can’t confirm or deny but I think, THINK, this pig may be the one that turned me vegetarian when I was a kid.  We were travelling through Germany and stopped off for some sausages in a roadside cafe and they put a tiny plastic pig on my plate.  I was like “Er, what’s with the pig?” and as I asked the question it all fell into place, the thoughts I had been suppressing my whole childhood. That the beasts of the field end up in our bellies. Clinging to my plastic pig, I vowed meat would never again cross my lips. And it never has. (Apart from a brief period when I used to make salami sandwiches then take out the salami at the last minute so that the bread and butter still had meat juice on it.)

I did keep him, that momentous pig. And he looked just like this one.

Aaanyway. I can basically HEAR your minds whirring you crafty foxes-  do you reckon you might whip something up with this frontier bashing magical coloured chalkboard paint? Perhaps some of Lakota’s place mats?

Thanks for having me, a total pleasure to be read by you. (And if you’re ever in extra need of a whimsy craft fix or a gaze at a charity shop haul do pop over and say hi!)

Ta-dah! Tuesday - Rock n' Roll earrings How-to

In exchange for not complaining about all the second hand shizzle I cart home, I don't whinge about the all the guitars cluttering up my house. [I pretend I mind about this, but I don't really. Who doesn't like a boy with a guitar?]. Anyway, there are usually plectrums [guitar picks] everywhere as well, and whilst they can be plain and functional and boring, you can also get them with all kinds of  logos and pictures. I found these Sex Pistols God Save the Queen ones on eBay, and thought they'd be perfect for making earrings for the upcoming Jubilee! 

Cool, huh?

[Incidentally, speaking of Jubilee crap, go and read my latest eBay post. I research these things for YOU! There's also a Jubilee giveaway on my Facebook page. It includes the chance to see Prince Philip in his long-johns Harry in his pants]

I added red white and blue beads to the the pair above, which required eyepins and cutting nippers, but the instructions below are for a slightly more simple pair, as not everyone has all the equipment. It's pretty easy to do beaded stuff and use pins - I taught myself the very basic technique off the internet - but you would need proper round nose pliers too. 

If you want to make your own earrings, you'll need:

• Plectrums - I used these 'grave picker' skull ones from eBay
• Jump rings and earring wires
• pliers
• Blue tack
• A drawing pin, or old sewing machine needle and hammer, depending on the thickness of your plectrums.

[You could also probably use a small drill bit, but I'm all about the least equipment possible.]

1. The only vaguely tricky part of making these is making the hole for your jump ring to go through. Plectrums come in different weights and thicknesses so you'll need to assess which method will be best depending on what type you have. If possible, have a spare to practise on first, because they're prone to cracking. The Sex Pistols ones were thin enough to enough to pierce with a drawing pin, the skulls needed a bigger needle. Either way, don't try to go all the way through in one go because you'll probably break it. Make an indent - with your blue-tack underneath to keep the plectrum steady and so you don't ruin your table - then flip it over and continue on the other side. Keep alternating sides until you break through. An old sewing machine needle worked really well for me, and I just  whacked it with the hammer as though it was a nail.
2. Open a jump ring with pliers - jewellery ones are best, but any small enough will work at a push  - slide through the hole you made, and close again. 
3. Open another jump ring and slide one end through the first ring, the other through an earring wire. Close up again. Ta-dah!
4. Repeat for the matching one. Or just wear one, in edgy rock and roll fashion.

Perfect for the PTA

Slash and friends

I'd love you to link up if you have any makes, bakes, finds, or fabulous outfits worthy of a ta-dah! Please include a link to Ta-dah! Tuesday in your post, so others can join in. It would be great if you could find the time to visit some other participants too, if you don't already follow their blog.

Lakota x

I am also linking up with Liz's Jubilee Round Up.

Here's my favourite Rock and Roll nerd, Tim Minchin.

And there's more...

Hello, just a quickie to say we'll be back in the safer waters of vintage book finds tomorrow - I hadn't realised that post was going to be quite so contentious. Thanks for all your comments regarding Mollie Makes - especially the one from Jane Toft, editor of the magazine and not devoid of a sense of humour. Phew! [Obviously if they have a feature next month on how to model a wax effigy or crochet your own voodoo doll, then I'll retract that last statement]. Oh, and before we leave the subject, I just have to share my excitement that I have in fact found 'the crafting Paris Hilton';  aka Cairo Sheraton, the so-so socialite.

The chihuahua said 'Mollie Makes', the lack of pants said Penthouse...

Cairo Sheraton, made by Croshame available from Etsy

 {don't click if you'll be offended by a crocheted cooch!}

If I had to choose someone to make a voodoo doll in my image, I'd like it to be Croshame please. I've just discovered her blog and her work, which is all kinds of excellent. Crocheted scene from The Exorcist, anyone? 

Regan knew she shouldn't have eaten that felt asparagus for lunch...

Oh ok, she does fun food too. 

Ouch Cream - Aww.

Lakota x

Not Pinterested Part 1... Mollie Makes

Aah Pinterest...the website more addictive than watching the X Factor with your crack-pipe and a tube of Pringles. Like so many others in blogland, I'll admit to getting a teeny bit obsessed with this virtual pinboard which allows you to keep all your ideas and inspirations found online together. No need for bookmarks and favourites - just click on the image and you're taken straight to the original site. Not only that, but if you can't find anything to pin from your own browsing, you can follow other people's boards and spend your time frantically repinning what the 'tastemakers' have decreed is hip.

Yup. It's a time suck and I haven't created anything except an internet history

It's genius, but spend a while on there and it does start to feel like everyone's pining for and pinning the same things. And of course, while I like to pretend that I'm an arty type doing vital research for my er, art; the reality is that I've pinned several thousand craft projects I'm never likely to attempt, let alone complete, plus made the discovery of a zillion more bloggers who have obviously been created by an evil gene splice of Martha Stewart and Kirsty Allsopp.

Anyway, while I'm happily pinning away, I can't help but notice certain trends - the things people are pinning which I just fundamentally, completely and totally DO NOT GET. [Like burlap. More on that another time]. Hopefully you've accepted my misanthropic tendencies by now, so maybe you'll also see the need for  'Not Pinterested' - a place where I can put all the stuff I'm currently bored and/or enraged with, but that everyone else seems to love - my internet room 101. So, here's the first in a probably-not-that-occasional-and-actually-quite-frequent series. Enjoy!

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Do you ever get the feeling you're out of kilter with everyone else? I picked up a copy of Mollie Makes in Smiths recently, and instead of taking it home, reading it cover to cover and then blogging about how charming it was, I flicked through it, got infuriated with myself for even considering spending a FIVER on yet another issue, and wondered why I didn't understand the apparent obsession with crafting your five a day. I'm thrilled that stitchery is having its moment in the spotlight, really I am, but does the cover always have to be 'the hands' clutching some kind of fake food?  Every. Single. Month. We've had felt biscuits, fabric strawberries - the complete madness which was the crocheted jacket for your apple - and now patchwork bloody pears. The day I actually bought a magazine whose leading story was 

"Sweet and Juicy!...freshly crocheted vegetables" 

 with a handful of peas made from yarn on the cover was the day I realised things had gone too far. I could almost see my teenage self, clutching a copy of Kerrang and laughing. Whatever next, Needle felt this stunning radish brooch? Knit a hat for your lunchtime jacket potato?

Mu-um, the other kids in nursery get REAL food...

Veronica! Dinner!

I know why I'm supposed to like this magazine, and periodically, when I'm in a cosier mood, I do. Kind of. There's a bit of thrift oriented property porn, new ways to display second hand finds, and some lovely photography inside -  but so many of the makes seem designed to delight nine year olds.  I have never felt the urge to make myself a felt pet - despite the patterns for both hamsters and chihuahuas - but then I'm not the crafting Paris Hilton. Or maybe I'm just dead inside?

Reading the mag is pretty much like sitting down with the laptop and flicking between Etsy and the prettier blogs on my blogroll, only I can get those for nothing, and they don't come with innumerable ads for sewing classes. The 'free' gift sewing project seems designed to somehow justify the extortionate cover price - but how many more ways can there be to stifle an MP3 player? Poor Steve Jobs, feted as the saviour of modern design - I imagine he's looking down now wondering why he ever bothered to make the iPod without a jaunty Scandi-style fabric bird attached to it.

What do you think of Mollie Makes? Despite my sniping I'm pretty sure it will exert its pull on my purse strings again sometime. In fact, I'm working on my pattern for felt asparagus now. I see it as the Valentine's cover star for February. Can anyone crochet Hollandaise sauce? 

Lakota x

 
Feel free to follow me on Pinterest - I'll happily stalk you back! Oh, and those of you taking part in the swap, I'll be announcing partners in the next few days. Last chance to sign up!

Linking up to newly discovered FFS Friday

If I was a rich girl... How to make a £20 bangle

I decided to make this bangle as a statement about the vacuous trappings of wealth and celebrity versus the ever-shrinking disposable income of regular folk. Or was I condemning society's rapacious consumerism  with reference to disposable fast fashion accessories? Hmm, it might just have been that I fancied some new jewellery and had these cool disposable paper napkins. But the former sound a bit more 'St Martin's graduate'* so in honour of London Fashion Week and its fashion speak lets go with one of those.

You'll need:

• a cheapo wooden (or plastic) bangle
• mod-podge or other glue suitable for decoupage
• serviettes printed with mock bank notes** - you can find these on ebay
• A bristle paint brush

Cut the serviette into the individual notes and trim the white edges. They're 3 ply napkins and I pulled the back unprinted sheet off, but to be honest once gluey they became very flimsy so if I did it again I'd leave them whole. If you want more of a collaged look then cut the notes into strips. I used whole notes round the width of the bangle, then used strips to cover the inside and any parts which needed patching. 

Mod-podge the bangle rather than the serviette pieces,  then lay them on as carefully as you can, smoothing out as many ridges and bubbles as possible. When you've covered the bangle completely, do another coat of glue over the top and leave to dry for at least an hour. A further two or three coats of glue - again letting it dry properly between applications - should protect it sufficiently to be worn.

Ta-dah! You're so money, baby!

Two pints and a bag of salt n' vinegar please

Lakota x

* I'm so not. You could at least pretend to be surprised at this revelation

**If you want to get all art terrorist / The KLF about it you could use real money, but I'd recommend the napkins.

Linking up to:
Recycled Fashion

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Our Creative Spaces

Monkey business (and a giveaway)

I'm off to Ireland for a few days, so apropos of nothing and cos I haven't finished any proper posts yet, here's some sock monkeys. I have a half made sock zebra as well, but once I'd made a monkey for each boy and one for my niece I rather lost the will to live - or at least to continue fiddling with tiny pieces of inside out hosiery. 

First monkey. He has a wet head due to sweet loving from Boy2

Members of My Chemical Romance hang out at mine

They make quite good gifts for small children, although obviously don't use buttons for eyes if you're going to give one to a baby.

I've noticed I have some new followers too - hello! Anyway, to celebrate followers old and new, I'm having a quick giveaway to see who's paying attention. I have a copy of Stupid Sock Creatures to send to someone, so if you'd like to have a go at making aliens out of your old socks, you just need to be a follower of Faith Hope and Charity Shopping. [Either by Google Friend Connect, so I can see you - or if you're one of the whole 6 by Bloglovin' please let me know!]. Leave a comment under this post telling me about your worst ever making disaster - whether childhood Blue Peter trauma or cake wreck or crochet horror.

 I'll draw the winner when I get back on Sunday. Don't worry about retweeting or mentioning on blogs, but if you've literally just joined and this is the first post you've read, well you're welcome to enter too.

Wish me luck in Limerick!

Lakota x

Raiding Grandma's attic

I spent last weekend at my in-laws', and in addition to eating my own bodyweight in ginger creams and helping myself to books from their extensive collection, I was able to make the car heavier on the way home for another reason as well.  My mother in law Carole had been sorting out their attic, and found a load of crafting supplies belonging to my father in law's late mum. Would I like to take a look? Obviously I didn't need asking twice, and clambered eagerly up the wooden ladder to the loft (they live in the most gorgeous art deco house) where I found these.

Ooh, tins!

Grandma had been a keen maker of mosaic pictures and was obviously quite the magpie. In addition to  pieces of tile and broken pottery, the tins (and some less attractive dusty tupperware) were full to the brim with buttons, millefiore glass, shells, coloured fish tank type pebbles, broken jewellery, pieces of smashed headlight...basically anything pretty or sparkly.

Buttons, earrings and...shards of broken glass. Yay!

My husband found me an hour later, happily stirring through the contents with a stick. I don't know when I'm likely to make a mosaic (although I do love Parc Güell in Barcelona. Why think small eh?) one of the broken turquoise and silver clip-on earrings in the photo above has already become a ring. And look at the tins! Aren't they lovely?  

Quality Street tins like what they used to be

Under sea biscuit tin

One of my best friends lives in Moscow, I miss her

Broken earring re-purposed

Carole also has an extensive wardrobe, and very kindly gave me her favourite skirt from back in the 80s. I'll blog that later on, but suffice to say zebra print and lace feature prominently. [Yes, it looks better than it sounds].

Lakota x

PS. Have you seen my Facebook page? Or come and see me try - and usually fail - to condense my wittering into 140 characters on Twitter. I'd love it if you said hello.

Linking up to Flea Market Finds
Magpie Monday
Thrift Share Monday

Warning - attempt at craft post

Just a quick post this morning. As I have been on a cardmaking course recently I thought I'd link up to Handmade Thursday at White Lily Green and Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove and share a few I've made. Some are techniques I learned on the course, others are designs I've been making at home for a while.

Back row L-R: Peel off sticker painted with inks / engagement card with punched paper, scraps, embellishments / new baby card with Mulberry paper and stamps

Front row L-R - embossed and cut out candles / iris folded design / embossing and inking

Stamped and painted with inks

New baby card knitted with embroidery thread on cocktail sticks! No, I  don't have a life...

Origami fish cards - I've been making these fish since I was about 11!

Sorry about the photo quality

Home made cards are so much cheaper than all but the flimsiest of shop designs - it's not unusual to pay £3.00 for a 'hand-finished' card these days. And of course - hand finished can just mean that someone stuck a sequin onto each machine printed mass produced card. I was in Marylebone (wealthy area of London) recently and one shop was asking £6.00 for a similar hand crafted origami card! My version probably cost a maximum of 25p.

 It is nice to have a few hours of making things, but I am quite seriously the messiest worker ever - resembling a toddler let loose in a craft department. How do I end up with glitter on my face even when I haven't been using it? Is it just me?!

Lakota x

Handmade Thursdays

The Thrifty Groove

Creative Bloggers Party and Hop

Yes, another yarn about crochet...

I will keep it brief, but - yay! I made something which actually resembles the pattern! And has a use - there's a pin on the back. I didn't think I was a crochet flower kind of girl, but I actually quite like this. It might look quite nice on a cushion, don't you think?

Also, if you have any suggestions as to where my 4mm crochet hook has disappeared to, please lets have them. I'm thinking The Borrowers might have swiped it for a washing prop or something... I can see these being something which I'm forever having to re-purchase, like hair elastics. Good thing the charity shop has literally thousands, along with knitting needles. [They're under the counter though. Something for the weekend, Madam?]

Linking to Handmade Thursday at White Lily Green

Mother's Day delights

Hello and Happy Mother's Day to all with children, or who are just thinking of their own Mum today. My own delightful urchins made me some gorgeous flower cards, and treated me to a 'floating origami kit' (chosen by my 6 year old) and a subscription to Vintage Life magazine (suggested by their dad). I picked up a bag of vintage sheet music (dating from 1911 to 1927) this afternoon which was offered on Freegle - so maybe I can combine that with the origami instructions and make a swan out of the score to Swanee River.

I've been fluey this last week and in no state to trawl my usual thrifty haunts, but luckily I did manage to photograph a few buys which I haven't yet shared. Firstly is this adorable little vintage beaded bag, found in a charity shop in Streatham. I love the Deco style chevrons and the beautiful metallic beads.

The bag will match really well with this 1960s snake bracelet which I bought from Alfie's Antique Market in London. It cost me £8.00 (pretty good for a permanent antiques market - we're not talking boot sale prices here!) and I'd been looking for some snakey jewellery for a while.

Cleopatra...comin' atcha!

This little blackbird pie funnel is a boot sale buy however. I haven't made a pie recently, so he's posing outside in the garden! It's marked Midwinter England, and there's one for sale on Ebay at the moment with a buy it now price of £14.99. He cost me £2.00 and is very cute indeed.

Finally, here's what I made my mum for Mother's Day. Spring does appear to have sprung, so she may have to wait a while to wear it, but she had admired a similar one in blues and purples I'd made my mother in law for Christmas. I can really recommend this yarn - it's by Rico and is called Pom-Pon - and even an less than skilled  knitter like me can get great results. This scarf was made by casting on only 10 stitches, and it's all done in garter stitch - easy. I didn't make it too long, as my mother in law has found it's easiest to wear just folded over and pinned, as the pom-poms make it quite bulky.

I'm off to play boardgames with my boys now, hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend.

PS. I'd love you to follow my blog, I'm planning another international giveaway when I reach 150. And if you're interested on living a champagne lifestyle on  a lemonade budget - check out my latest post!

Linking up to

Frugalicious Fridays

Thrifty Adventures

 Vintage Thingie Thursday

 Flea Market Finds

The Pennyworthy Project

Debbiedoo's Newbie Pary
Thrift Share Monday
Magpie Monday
Twice Owned Tuesday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

Happy Hooking

I've been boring everyone with my determination to learn to crochet this year, and was very excited when my craft group finally gave in to my demands decided that we'd have a six week course in the noble art of hooking. Anyway, I thought you might like to see what I've been up to.

Good huh?! Who's for starfruit?

Oh alright. I didn't make the lovely fruit platter above, it was boy2's birthday present from my friend (and guest craft group teacher) Jessica. She's sharing all her expertise with us and how do I repay her? By producing the granny square of doom below. Actually I'm pretty pleased with it, considering it was my first go and we were using random odds and ends of yarn. Now I want to go and buy lots of lovely wool and make hundreds more in slightly more pleasing colours.

The eye of Sauron

 But how cool is crocheted play-food? Craps all over the plastic offerings of the Early Learning Centre from a great height. In the Yummy-Mummy shops of Kensington you'd play a fortune for that (as long as it came in a carbon-neutral organic basket, naturally). 

If you want to see what a crocheted BLT looks like - and why wouldn't you? - check out Jessica's blog 

A magpie's eye

As the great Patsy Stone once said, you can never have too many hats, gloves and shoes. Edina pointed out that she meant accessories, and I'm inclined to agree, although I'd go for jewellery, bags and possibly tights.

Apologies that I've been quiet the last week - March is always a hectic month for me. Just had smallest boy's birthday - a pirate cake of course - and every weekend has been busy. As I believe I've mentioned before, some bloggers clearly just never sleep (or possibly drug their children - do you use Medised?). Anyway,  back to business - here are my most recent thrifty accessory finds.

back - safety pin bracelet and zip corsage - home made

3rd row - charity shop brooches to be used in hair

2nd row - rings from museum shop and Ideal Home Show £1/£2 each

Front - Various earrings £1.95 a pair

Very Molly Ringwald.

Not sure what occasion calls for purple pansy earrings.

 But they are one of my favourite flowers.

I got love for you, if you were born in the 80's, the 80's...

These are great - the earring back has two strands attached so

it looks like the whole earring goes through your ear.

  

How does everyone feel about second-hand earrings? If you google, you'll discover a lot of hysteria on the subject, but I'm inclined to think that this comes from the same sort of people who are squeamish about second-hand clothes. Now I'm not a complete idiot, and did clean the pairs I've shown you thoroughly (boiling water if the material allows, and anti-bacterial spray), but given that the majority of blood-bourne pathogens only survive outside the body for a few hours, earrings that have probably sat in a charity shop/antique shop for weeks are highly unlikely to present any risk to your health. Also, my piercings are completely healed and have been for many years. That said, I wouldn't take any risks with getting a piercing and would only ever use brand new jewellery for the actual procedure.

A lovely beachy ring for the Summer, made of bits of shell and beads.

I got loads of these beaded rings, as they were only £1 each.

Hope some poor child in Bangladesh didn't make these [guilt]

Nail varnish by Nails inc.

I bought the rings from the Ideal Home Show - for once not coming home with some kind of 'miracle' cleaning product which sits in a cupboard, or a vicious 'multi bladed cutting solution'. I went with my Mum, and in addition to sampling lots of chocolate and booze, we entered all the competitions we could find. It's possible I may have won a front door worth £1,000 - but I don't know for sure. I had to roll six dice and spell the word 'SPRING' which I did first time (approx 1:66 chance), so whilst they seemed to suggest I was a definite winner, on reading the small print it appears I merely enter 'the winners draw'. I will do a post on my 'comping' exploits soon, but it will be more impressive if this win is confirmed. I really need a new front door too - mine is hideous and I hate it - so please keep your fingers crossed!

My remaining recent accessory finds are two pairs of shoes which I found in the Fara Charity Shop in Battersea. Prices are high for a charity shop, but they know their merchandise and were especially strong on footwear when I went in.

Versace shoes £20 - Fara

Ok, not £2, but Versace darling! How much new?

Jones the Bootmaker slingbacks - Fara

I have clothes to show too, but a) hate photographs of myself and b) only have time in the evening when there is no light. Until I resolve this dilemma, I shall remain faceless (aside from my ear, you've all seen that now - is there no mystery?).

XOXO. Gossip Girl.

Linked up to Thrifty Thursdays at Born Again Crafter.

Linking up to The Pennyworthy Project, Flea Market Finds .
Also the newbie party and Thrift Share Monday, along with Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays and Twice Owned Tuesdays