Secrets of a Butterfly

Sheepskin boots,vintage cards and tea cups

Most of us know how beautiful books by Ryland Peters & small are and how evocative their photography is. They produce address books and a limited range of notecards,some of which have proved easier to come by than others. i finally tracked some of the vintage flea market style ones that i've been after for ages,i bought them from a UK website shop Glint. They come in a very useful box and are in a set of 4, here are the other designs...

I treat myself to a new pair of Uggs this week from Love from Australia, in a caramel brown colour. They have ties that wrap around and i'm loving them.I should probably join an Ugg fan club if there is such a thing!

I'd like to recommend a group of 3 female singers and their sweet gentle music. They are called Aurevoir Simone and i've been listening to their album lately...you can hear it on their website.

I've been thinking about saving up for an ipod,and am looking at the new i pod touch,does anyone have one and have any feedback on it? please leave a comment, as i'm interested in how you've found it.its one thing reading reviews but nothing beats a friends recommendation does it.

I made a card today for a family friend Auntie Olive, she is an amazing person, very giving and very much a part of her church and singing in the choir, she has various health problems but somehow never complains and always has an open house and heart for others. She has been very kind to me over the years and never forgotten me during the years when i was too ill to be around. sometimes out of sight is out of mind for people i've discovered, even relatives that you would have thought would remember you,don't always! it can be an interesting experience, and one where you have to just realise that some people seem to have more of a brain wired for considering others feelings and thinking about them, and some don't. It turns out its not a personal thing against you, it just is the way it is.  Once i realised this i felt less upset by it.

I still find that sometimes i have to balance out how much i think about people and try not to 'give' too much. I have had to learn to allow room to 'recieve' too. We need to live both roles don't we. On  a small scale and on a big one too, like how much we let in the Universe to support us.It has to fill our cup before we can share anything with others....

That kind of leads me full circle back to Auntie Olive who is very much connected to her God and her faith sustains her from the inside. That ease of faith and feeling comfortable with life is very inspiring. Its something i couldnt relate to when i was younger, until i came to know God/Universal Source of Love, in my own way and through my own experience. Now i understand where she gets her Light and energy from and how she manages all she does even at 90 years old! She always seems to trust and know she's taken care of and doesnt seem to live with fear. Her face is always happy and she delights in life. So i wanted to make a special card for a special lady... i used some vintage wallpaper, and vintage lace. With some cream pressed flowers and i tried a new idea of a button closure with a ribbon loop.   thats all for now, keep in touch,kat xx

Welcome Veronica,my shabby chic bunny

We( that is Julie with Hortense, Jane with Miss matty and Rima with Frozen racoon and little blue bear) seem to be sharing are plush cuties after christmas so i thought i would join in,its a special bunny that Anna(thankyou honey) gave me She's called Veronica and is fromTiddly winks on etsy. It looks like her body used to be a bedspread and her ears have the most beautiful vintage rose pattern of cotton fabric. She is a shy bunny having travelled so far to join us, and has been pleased to find some other bunnies to make friends with. The little cotton rabbits are very welcoming as they know all too well what its like to come to a new place. I will keep you posted on any developments amongst the gang which is getting rather big now with all the latest additions!

I also want to say thankyou to Hazel of Blossom Hill for the adorabe felt bunny she gave me, he is just like my sweet rabbit that used to live with me called bailey,here is a little pic for you all to see the resemblance.. .Another sweet present that has found a beautful spot on my craft room shelf is the candle in a teacup that Julie so kindly gave me at christmas too.(thankyou so much J it matches the wallpaper!) You can see on the photo i have been collecting some pretty fabrics and its one of my wishes for the new year that i can get into using the sewing machine at last and make some things from fabric like my friend in Germany Jasna. Here are some of her handmade things which i got before christmas.. .This is how one came wrapped isnt it beautiful. ....this is what Jasna says about the inspiration that goes into her creating...

"The main themes of my work are light and love. All my handcrafted things have this character. I scoot the light from my dream world, the fantasy, the places where I am when I meditate or speak with nature, and I bring it into our hardened world. The people and the life today are very yang (I love the Oriental philosophy), so I make things that are yin.

I want to create an antidote to our busy lives, so my projects have the character of silence and calm, freedom and peace, softness, light, love and openness. A lot of people have lost these feelings. The best inspirations come from Croatia, my home country (I’m living in Germany), at the sea. There is no better place! My style is like "a day at the beach".

My name, Jasna, means clear,fresh, pure, and my second name, Marija, stands for love, softness and a feminine touch. This describes my style perfectly. It’s important for me to have my own style -- the Jasna style!! I’m just a beginner in sewing with the sewing machine, so my style is still developing."

Do check out her flickr pictures on the link above if you get a chance her home is beautifully decorated too,shabby chic at its most simple and best.

As a first step I have been making my little crafty space a bit more organised and inviting,there's too much in there really,in various boxes for various types of craft,jewelry,stamping,lace,ribbon,vintage images,canvases,all take up space which is fairly limited! The room itself used to take just a single bed and small cupboard so i think i've made quite good use of the space.I have the desk you can see which underneath i've stored boxes and i have a small sofa to the right of this. On the opposite side i have two narrow shelving units from ikea in white.Where would we be without Ikea!there just wouldnt be anything small enough or the right price otherwise would there. And i do like the scandinavian style and lightness. Here's a picture of the wall shelf re arranged, its the area without any clutter covering it at present ( : So its a good start and i'll share more with you again soon....love kat( and cuddles from Veronica)

Ps Anna's little boy Luigi is feeling more himself and has his bounce back,so was involved with everything Christmassy on the Day i'm pleased to say. you may remember i told you about him being ill with croup in an earlier post,thanks so much for all the supportive healing messages at that time. Much appreciated.

Cinderella shoes and vintage finds

Ok so strictly speaking Cinderella's shoes were made of glass,but hey, who'd want to wear glass shoes! so these i feel are for me anyway the next best thing and i feel just as good in them as Cinders must have in hers. I am not able to wear them all the time with my legs sometimes being weaker than others, but i can at least cope with the heel height which means so much since must heels these days seem to be always on the verge of 4 inches! well in French connection they are anyway. So these are by Solea and i got them in House of Fraser. they can also be found online atKurt geiger and ASOS. The second may do international shipping, im not sure. I love the dance quality of them and the silver colour.all beat up and vintagey. Who knows maybe one day i will get to learn to ballroom dance in them. Thats a thing i'd love to do but would take alot of energy.

I love Strictly come dancing, (known as Dancing with the stars in the States) its back on and i already seem to have my favourites, Alesha and Matthew, and Kelly and Brendan. I think Matt and Flavia look promising too. There are some very good pairing's this year. Hopefully a girl will win as the last twice its been a male celebrity. I wanted Louisa from Eastenders to win last year but was happy enough with Mark,as he's certainly the dishiest male celeb to have been on so far. The men this year dont seem as promising as the ladies, but time will tell.

Here's a pic of my latest Belle and Boo print(centre) and you can read about what inspired mandy to do this range of the little blonde haired girl,here  Belle and boo blog under the title Ava super princess. I got some sweet badges too which are just so cute(i seem to be using that word lately but it fits so well with so many things!) with a carousel horse on one. I love them,maybe it reminds me of the fun times being on them at the fair and picking the horse by what their name was. I also used to love the swinging chairs. They have a big version of them at an indoor mini theme park in my area. Big enough for adults to go on!

I thought i'd also show you this vintage tin i got from Louise its perfect for me with the butterfly on..I wonder what it had in originally, probably biscuits. I'm keeping sticky stuff in it for when i'm making up my collages, here's some of the vintage wallpaper i got through etsy.they did such gorgeous colour mixes and patterns in those days some of it is from the 1910's and 20's throught o the 40's and 50's its a pleasure to use and to recycle.  All the sellers i've used have been so so friendly. Its really like shopping at a massive craft fair or flea market. I have replaced my ebay browsing with etsy now,in the main. Luckily most of the papers got through before the postal strike. So i have enough supplies for my canvases. I'm aiming to get some on etsy soon. before all the christmas buying begins at least. I have started to collect a few bits myself as its always best to space out these things. It'll be so nice to send made cards too. Though i wont be able to choose between my cards and some i got from the store Next, with lop earred bunnies on, inside they say Hoppy Christmas, can you believe that! its so cute!

I won a little cotton rabbit but she hasnt arrived yet because of the strike. She's called Willow(cute would be a word that would fit in here well too!) and i'm just gona ask the Angels to look after her, for when she makes her journey and help her arrive here safe, the girls(her fellow little cotton bunnies) and i are looking forward to seeing her....and to my friend Jenny who's been pretty poorly lately, you're doing so well chick,i'm proud of you and hoping things will pick up again soon for you (hugs) love and butterfly wishes everyone Kat x