MERRY CHRISTMAS XXX

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a healthy and happy new year filled with love, light and laughter ♥♥♥

This weeks carboot loot...

I must admit to being somewhat of a carboot/charity shop/table top sale addict...I simply CANNOT drive past one without a little nosey about. I happened across a carboot sale today and found these treasures..

 Gorgeous vintage kids books from the 70/80's and my gavourite magazines...for 50p woohoo!

I also bought this dinky little box...which my daughter has (yet again) claimed. It is now her 'Cabinet of Curiousities' and is home to an eclectic selection of objects..and a new collection of dead bees! Yes...she is most definately taking after her mother!

I bought this 1950's bird cage last week and it will shortly be transformed into something magical and unexpected! I can't wait to start work on it! 

 but..yet again..it has been claimed by my daughter..I wil have to steal it back when she gets bored of it!

Well...got to run..we are attempting to have a bonfire and bbq although the wind has picked up quite a bit so I'm hoping I wont burn down the Orchard! Ive got marshmallows at the ready..

Take care and I hope you've had a fun Summer too.... Love from Lisa...the DoTtY BiRd xxxxx

Miss Ermentrude Mouse

May I introduce to you ...little Miss Ermentrude..complete with cheese...if you please!

She is quite a keen cook and always pays particular attention to the quality of her ingredients. She only steals cheese from the most 'well to do' houses in town. As you can see..she is already sniffing the air trying to find her next ingredient...tomatoes!

She takes great care to keep her kitchen neat and tidy and has to be super organised in her cooking. She lives in a little dresser with her 9 children. It's tad small for them but they find it very homely.

 She likes to place fresh flowers in the kitchen. It's a little indugence that she very much enjoys.

 Her children are quite shy but can always be lured out from their hiding places with an offering of cake. Christmas pudding is an all time favourite in the mouse household.

Miss Ermentrude has been most helpful in designing the apron for her friend Henrietta. Henreietta is new in town and did not have much in the way of clothes. Ermentrude believes one should always try to look ones best...even in the kitchen! She's an old fashioned sort!

Well, there you go....the story continues...

..at present, Henrietta has gone to live with friends in Tideford, Cornwall and Ermentrude is awaiting the arrival of more relatives (ooh there are so very many!!) in the near future. It is thought that Uncle Alan, a great Pirate and Master of the Seas is coming to stay soon. he is such a swash buckling man of a mouse!
 

To be continued....

(Miss Ermentrude and friends are made by me, Lisa..the dotty bird, in my little craft room in my little house, in little ol' Cornwall...if you would like to have a little mouse of your very own, please send me a message and 'll send you the details...thank you)

Today's make...

I got completely carried away making this little lady this afternoon...I spent hours sewing and modelling clay etc but she is all made up now and is such a help...gathering up all the little nests and eggs strewn about my craft room and getting them ready for me to sew! Such a clever little mouse!

Ermentrude helping out

 and here is some random clay objects I've been making...including cheese, beaks and eggs!

Air drying clay

Ermentrude in the making

I'll post a pic of the finished piece..mounted on her mouse trap with cheese as soon as it's all painted up! I was planning on making her to sell at my upcoming stall on Sunday...but I've grown quite attached to her already..so might have to try and make another one too!

Take Care...and keep crafting

Love Dotty 

xxx 

Quick update and giveaway tip off!

Hello folks...just a super quickie today!!

A fellow crafter and creator of beautiful creatures, Ms Deborah Darling is having a giveaway over on her blog page and facebook page. Please do go and say hello and check out her gorgeous creations.

The giveaway is for this lovely little chap, lovingly handmade by Deborah.

The winner will be chosen tomorrow...so don't dilly dally...go take a peek! Her blog site is here andher facebook is here.

I'll be back shortly to say a proper hello to ya'll ...gotta dash and put kiddies to bed..and make some more nests and eggs!

nighty night xx

Mad Hatters Tea Party!

Hello lovelies....hope you are all well!? We have had the most glorious few weeks of sunshine here in Cornwall...such a rare treat! It's been super baking hot but I've been hiding out in the shade and trying to do as little as possible! (not so easy with two little kids!!)

I had a stall with two fellow crafters at the Cowslip Studio Mad Hatters Tea Party Craft fair yesterday. I met so many fabulous artists and crafters and hopefully there will be some interesting collaborations to follow! This was the somewhat unusual hat I made!

Needless to say it drew quite a bit of attention.

The latest venture is a stall sharing crafty cooperative with two friends of mine, artist Chloe from Woolly Soup and  Ceramicist Sue Newell. We are collectively called 'Fox & Finch' and we are hoping to run a few stalls together. Unfortunately the sales yesterday were really poor, I'm not entirely sure why, but we had a fab day anyway!
Here are some snaps of our stall...

brooches by me..vases by Sue Newell

Our vintage case display

Pinch vases by Sue Newell

Bird Folk Dolls by Woolly Soup

I was also lucky enough to meet up with the lovely Kirsty Elson, Teresa of Willapark Designs, Emma Stead, Sian of Lancaster & Cornish to name but a few...so many wonderful stalls!
I was coveting this beautiful little cottage by Kirsty Elson...her little creations are just dreamy..

and I just LOVE the work of mixed media artist Teresa Dunne

 and finally I must mention the lovely folk at The Flower Mill, they kindly let me snap a few shots of my butterfly brooch in their gorgeous flowers! He looked so at home amongst them!

Phew...sorry for the photograph overload! There was just so much to see and I wanted to share it with you all! :)

Well, I'd better be off...got more nests to build! and butterfly wings to sew! (and tea to drink ...and rubbish tv to watch...ahem...and biscuit tins to raid)

Take care my lovelies xxxx

Love Dotty

Butterflies butterflies everywhere!

I have been a little butterfly obsessed lately..they are appearing on my cards, brooches and arty things all round.  As you can see.....

yikes!!

My new hand stamped packaging ♥

I've been tinkering around today with making an arty patchwork picture and I think I'll frame it in a box frame. I need to get a mount made for it..but I think it's rather pretty!

Yikes...I've got to dash...I'm off to dance...hope you are all well...so sorry I've been a terribly neglectful blogger lately..it's all busy busy busy here at dotty headquarters!

Take care my lovelies and I'll be round to visit all your lovely blogs soon xxxxx

It's so very nice to have mice!

Well hello there lovely bloggy folk...I'm feeling an awful lot better now...finally. Still suffering a bit from some allergy or other but sooooooo much better than last week! It's good to be back!

I must tell you about a most lovely little crafty swap I did with the fabulous blogger Miss Lazy Daisy Jones. I sent her a book that she was desperately seeking and a butterfly brooch and she sent me not one...but 3 beautiful little crocheted mice...and some crochet flowers...and ribbon...and fabric...and 2 bouncy balls for good measure! ! They are so very very lovely..the little boy mouse in the stripey jumper just makes my heart flutter! I'm a very lucky and very happy birdy indeed.

What a fab parcel to get in the post..I'm sure you'll agree!

It was packaged up so nicely I didn't want to ruin it!

Thank you thank you THANK YOU Miss Daisy ♥

Do go and say hi over on her page...it is a bright and cheerful place with lots of crafty goodness and retro beauties!

I feel very lucky to have met so many talented and lovely bloggers since I began blogging 2 years ago. ooh I'm having one of those emotional gushing moments but I have to say that I really really appreciate all your visits and comments and I love to read all your blogs too. It's like a whole other world that I live in...a wonderful place where people understand why I obsessively craft every given moment and why the junk that I buy from charity shops and carboot sales is so very important to me.

It's so lovely to have met you all.,..in a virtual world cyber spacey way! I'm sure we'd all have a lot to yap about over a cuppa if we met in the real world! ...and if you do find yourselves in my neck of the woods here in Cornwall do drop me a line..I'd love to say hi! :)

Well folks, I'm going to collapse into a heap now..been standing around at a craft fair all day and I'm cream crackered....the Craft fair didn't go well by the way..but met some very gorgeous craftsters..so all worth while!

so long and have a fab Sunday! xxx

Hibernating..

I haven't been around much lately as I've been feeling quite poorly for a while now. Unfortunately my crafting has temporarily ground to a halt....and I'm not a happy little bird when that happens :(

But... I have had a few lovely crafting projects over the past few months that I haven't shown you yet so I can show you those. But before all that..look at this beautiful little egg! It's a house sparrows and we found it half eaten on our garden bench...my mum nearly sat on it in fact! The nest belongs to a Goldfinch, I found it in the hedge a few months ago after the hedge cutter had brutally chopped it all down.

I've also been trying my hand at painting furniture, I started with this printers tray and I'm painting an old kitchen dresser..they are all unfinished...but I can't be ill forever right...!? So hopefully I will continue to glam them up in the near future.

I was busy making stock for Summer craft fairs, including these butterfly brooches, made with the most scrummy vintage fabric.

 and my most lovely new venture was into quilt making. I went on a day workshop a few weeks ago and it was soooo lovely! A whole day of just sewing and chatting and making something just for me :) it is also unfinished but I will get round to finishing off soon. The course was at the Liskeard Craft Box shop.. I thoroughly recommend it!

and is the the suspected culprit of my latest illness...I used to think they were so beautiful..I'm not such a fan now. There is a down side to living on a farm sometimes :(

Sorry this has been a bit of a 'poor me' post..I admit I am feeling rather sorry for myself lately. I'm glad to say that the Doctors may have found out why I've been feeling so exhausted and run down. I can't quite remember what the doctor said but it was something to do with having inflammation of the lungs and a few other infections...I am quite a little grotty bird at the moment. So this half deaf, wheezing, knackered little bird may not be around for a while..but don't forget about me..I'll be back. I will come and visit you lovely blogs when I get a chance later. 

Take Care my lovelies

Enjoy the Sun

xxxx