Nonnie

Shop Update

After various attempts, I've finally updated my little shop. The only way I could do it in the end was to delete the whole Nonnie Home page and create a new one. It then started behaving itself and put the pictures and text where I wanted them. It does mean though that the address is now slightly different in that there is no space between the Nonnie and the Home, so if you have a link to my shop on any of your pages I would really appreciate you updating it. Thank you.

I've also finally added items to my Etsy Shop again. I have to be honest that I haven't had a whole lot of luck with Etsy in the past but I'm going to give it another try. Do go and have a look. The Etsy shop will only feature items made by myself where as at Nonnie Home I hope to bring you some vintage items as well.

As I mentioned the other day, I'm planning on going in a slightly different direction with my work. I really want to create individual, and I hope, more special pieces. As I said I'm not a factory and I get no creative enjoyment from making large identical quantities of anything. From time to time I might make a pair of a particular design, but mostly each cushion, bag, strip of bunting or any other item will be unique. Each design may take me longer to make but to be honest I would rather take the time to make something that bit more special. That gives me so much more enjoyment. Hopefully my customers will be happier to know that they are buying a one off.

Just now there are only a few items in both the shop and etsy but I will slowly upload more over the next week. I have a number of items that need photographing again and I think I will have to wait until the weekend for daylight to do that. I'm going to Mum and Dad's so I will probably take some things with me as their house is just a much nicer background for photo shoots than mine!

Cupcakes and Cushions

I was up early on Saturday morning baking lemon fairy cakes for my dear little Hamish and his Mummy. I love the smell of freshly baked cakes. It was lovely to be pottering in my lovely little flat listening to radio 4 and looking forward to them arriving. Of course the cakes had to have candles for the Birthday boy.

We had a lovely day together, starting with a picnic lunch in the my living room, then a trip accross the road and through the gates into Kew Gardens. Hamish dropped straight to sleep as soon as he was in his push chair so Catherine and I took full advantage and headed for the lovely gift shop first as we knew we wouldn't stand much chance of a look once he was awake. Hamish likes shops as long as they contain toys, or unless it's John Lewis, which is somewhere he loves to go to with his Nanna! We both started a bit of Christmas shopping which made us both feel quite virtuous! Once outside again Hamish woke up again and had lots of fun running around, looking at the geese and ducks by the lake and helping Catherine and I to collect some beautiful leaves. We've both been inspired by this months Country Living so I now have leaves being pressed between pages of books at home and will be doing something creative with them in the coming weeks.

Yesterday I had a very relaxing day. The weather was so miserable it was a day to be inside. So I took myself into Richmond to the cinema to see Stardust. What a great film. I guess it is really aimed at children, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I returned home late afternoon, put on the lamps, made myself a hot chocolate and got out the sewing machine. I've started work on some new pieces and I'm going in a slightly new direction with my work. More details to follow but the general idea is that I'm going to be creating more 'one off' special pieces rather than working like a production line and selling a set range of items. Having given it a lot of thought, I'm not factory and don't want to compete with the likes of Laura Ashley. I've decided that I find it boring to create simple designs that I can replicate and make numerous amounts of. Even keeping it simple, it's difficult to compete on price with the high street chains, especially when selling at craft fairs.

I'm excited by this new direction and hope that it will allow me to be much more creative. In the next couple of weeks I'll be adding new pieces to both the little shop and my etsy shop so keep a look out for announcements. Obviously I'll also be testing these new items at the Christmas fairs in Bath and Bradford-on-Avon in December.

I hope the sun is shining on your Monday as it is on mine here in London. xx

The view from the sofa

As I sat curled up on the sofa last night I started to quite admire the view I could see. I've been working pretty hard in the last couple of weeks getting the flat starting to look something how I would like it. I'm starting to like what I see. I've got into a routine of lighting lots of tea lights and candles on the sideboard as soon as I get in at night. In the absense of a real fire it really makes the place so cosy and warm.

I've got a very special Birthday boy coming over tomorrow with his Mummy and later on(when he finishes work) his Daddy too. It was Hamish's second Birthday yesterday and stupidly I didn't book the day of work in time so missed out on the Birthday lunch they had with my Mum and Dad. So instead they're having a trip to Kew tomorrow. So tonight I'll be wrapping the Fireman Sam set and other goodies, baking fairy buns(with candles) and blowing up balloons! We're going to go into Kew Gardens which he will love as we can go to see the ducks and swans on the lake and there is tons of room for him to run around. I suspect my Sister will like the gift shop the best, which really is lovely. I spent ages in there the other week!

Sunday will be spent going to see Stardust and hopefully getting on with some sewing. I now have a nice long break until my next fair so plenty of time to get creative.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. See you next week. xx

A little bit of toast

If any of you of fans of the gorgeous clothes by Toast, then you should definitely check out their new homeware range. Lots of gorgeous, simple looking products. The colours are quite a departure from my usual colour schemes. Maybe I'm finally being influenced by the designs I have to work on in the day job which definitely tend towards the neutral colour palette. Here are a few that are going to be making their way onto my wishlist.

You can never have too many tea towels in my opinion. I love the simplicity of these. They'd look great with my Cornishware and red enamel collection.

What could be nicer for keeping feet snuggly during the coming winter months than this cosy hot water bottle cover.

I love candlelight in the winter evenings. This lantern would definitely create a welcoming glow.

Perfect for snuggling under in front of a good film.

It may be a practical product, but I think this washing up brush definitely beats the plastic versions any day.

If I decide I want a change from my roses and pink stipe bedding then I think this natural ticking stripe would be lovely.

A walk around the Gardens

Sorry it's taken me over a week to take you on a walk around Kew as promised last week. I've spent the last week off work and away from any computer due to the fact that I developed a really nasty inner ear infection which made me extremely sick and dizzy. I even had to cancel doing my second fair in Stow on Saturday. I felt very sorry for myself but luckily my lovely Mum and Dad came to the rescue on Thursday with home made soup, chicken casserole, cake and flowers. I'm still a little wobbly on and off, but back to work and hopefully normal again. I think what I need is a holiday! No chance of that unfortunately so instead I will remember my lovely walk around Kew Gardens over a week ago. Come along with me.

I hope you enjoyed the walk. I don't know about you but I'm rather tired now and in need of a good cup of tea. See you later in the week. x

What a cake!

Tomorrow I will be taking you on a lovely walk around Kew Gardens with me, but today I had to share with you the absolutely amazing cake my Sister made for my nephews 2nd Birthday party.

Isn't it just gorgeous?! The party was a joint one with three other little ones, and another Mum was supposed to make the cake and Catherine was just going to decorate it. But something went wrong with the cake so on Saturday it was decided that they would forget it and use all the little animals Catherine had make to decorate some fairy cakes. But my Sister being my Sister and not liking to do things by halves( sorry Catherine but you know it's true and we love you for it!) decided that she would make a cake so that the animals that she had spent all week making could be used properly. So I think the cake was made late on Saturday night and she had just finished decorating it when I arrived to help with preparations around 11.30 yesterday morning. The kitchen looked like a whirl wind had just swept through but I think you'll agree it was worth it. I'm not sure about the other children, but Hamish was certainly very impressed with his cake and he had a lovely party. His Birthday is not until a week on Thursday, and I suspect his Nana will be baking him another cake on the day, followed by one from Aunty Nonnie at the weekend after when he comes to visit, but I'm not sure any will be as fanastic as the one his Mummy made him.

Forgetting the photos.

I know I promised photos of Christmas decorations and new stock today but I have to be honest and admit I was a little hasty. I haven't actually photographed everything yet and it slipped my mind last night as I got engrossed in other things. So instead you've got photos of the rather lovely little still life Mum set up on her kitchen worktop last weekend before we went off to the village harvest lunch.

So last night I had a lovely time pottering around my flat. I will admit that I had a moment of sadness when I first walked in but I soon pulled myself together. Actuallly my sister came up with a very good idea the other evening. One thing about living alone that isn't so pleasant is coming home to a dark flat. Not so much walking into it but more the walking along the street and seeing the dark windows where normally there would be light shining out. So Catherine suggested I get a timer for one of my lamps. Set it to come on just before I know I usually get home and problem solved. A cosy looking window to greet me as I come down the street. Anyway, I'm digressing. Once I pulled myself together I had a lovely evening. While I was at Ikea the other week I bought myself lots of new tea light holders and tons of tea lights so I made the sitting room cosy with lots of twinkling light plus a couple of cosy lamps. I cooked myself a lovely chicken and vegetable stir fry then settled down to watch 'The Restaurant'. Oh how I love Raymond Blanc. He really is the classiest of all TV chefs. And as for his restaurant! I've decided it's my mission to find myself a man who will take me to Le Manoir! Well, you've got to set your sights high haven't you?

A number of people have suggested chocolate as a good treat for looking after myself and cheering myself up so I took their advice and enjoyed more than a few squares of Green and Blacks milk chocolate and almond while watching the poor contestents on The Restaurant being put through their paces in Le Manoirs busy kitchens. Feeling very content I then felt inspired to attack a huge pile of filing and magazine cuttings that has been threatening to collapse due to it's height for weeks now. I'd been dreading the filing task but actually got it down in about half and hour. I felt very virtuous so rewarded myself with more chocolate and another hour of cutting up lovely magazine clippings. I need some more scrap books for them to go in now. It really was a pleasure spending 'me' time in my lovely calm and cosy living room. I just have to get the rest of the flat looking as good but I definitely feel inspired.

I have a good weekend ahead of me. This evening I'm going to the cinema with a friend. There are so many films I want to see at the moment and to be honest I can't for the life of me remember which one we decided on so that will be a pleasant surprise later. Tomorrow I'm planning on a lot more pottering in the flat and some more sewing. I could do with just a little more stock for the fair next Saturday. At some point in the day I'm planning on using my Birthday present from my Sis and Brother-in-Law. They bought me a years membership to Kew Gardens meaning that I can go in when ever I want. I don't know why I've never bought it myself before given that the gates are about 50metres from my front door! I think I will go first thing in the morning before it gets crowded. Then again, I could go first thing and later in the day. I can treat Kew Gardens like my own back garden from now on! Sunday I'll be over in Buckinghamshire at my Sisters. It's my gorgeous little nephews 2nd Birthday in a couple of weeks and he's having a joint party with 3 other little ones on Sunday. I can hardly believe it's been two years since he was born. He's totally adorable, talking really well and so funny and sweet. It always brightens up my day to spend time with him.

Next week I will bring you Christmas decoration pictures as well as hopefully some autumnal scenes from Kew. Wishing you all a lovely weekend and thank you to all of you who continue to send me such lovely words of support at what has been a really difficult few months. I'm getting through it and you ladies are making the process so much easier. xxxxx

News of the fair at last!

Sorry for my absence over the last few days, especially if you were wondering how the fair went on Saturday. Unfortunately I came down with a really nasty throat and chest infection that have had me in bed for the last three days. Not good timing as I felt really low anyway when I returned from the Cotswolds to my empty flat. Far from it being a relief to see the back of George, it has been really hard and I've missed him a lot. It seems that despite nine weeks passing, I wasn't quite as over the breakup as I thought I was. So it's been a tough few days and I have to admit to feeling more than a little bit sorry for myself. But I'm back at work today and the old cliche of time being a great healer really is true, as each day I feel just a little bit better about being on my own, and despite feeling poorly, I have managed to make a few little changes already in the flat that are seeing it looking a lot more pretty and girly.

So now to the fair. This is how my table looked when it was all set up. I definitely felt more confident this time and had a clearer idea how it was going to be although I had the inevitable feeling of not having enough with me when I first started which turned to thinking I had far too much as I tried to place the last few items. But all in all I was reasonably happy.

The day was a good one although unfortunately the rugby didn't really help. We had a busy morning but sadly it went very quiet from around 1.30. Now I find myself with a dilema. Obviously I very much want our lovely boys to beat France this Saturday but if they do, I think the final will probably clash with my next fair at Stow a week on Saturday. Hmmmm. As I had expected, the people of Chipping Norton were not yet really in the mood for Christmas so the fair was not quite as profitable as I would have hoped, but it wasn't bad, and it was a good practice for the fairs nearer Christmas. Also, I had really lovely people next to me which was nice as I was there on my own. If you're reading this Michelle, I definitely think you should start a blog of your own!

The picture at the top is of one of my new cushions. Tomorrow I'll show you some more of my new items including my Christmas decorations.

Shameless reminder

It's been a slightly crazy week. Sewing, sewing, sewing, working, working, working, and stressing, stressing, stressing about the extremely imminent departure from my flat of my now very long time ex boyfriend.

But the sun is shining and tomorrow really feels like a fresh start. The start of my new life after George. And I'm starting it in a creative way. So a very shameless plug here to remind you that I will be in the Market Hall, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire from 10am tomorrow. If any of you are in the area do come and say hello. I would love to see a friendly face.

Wishing you all a lovely sunny, happy, relaxing weekend. xxxx

PS - I felt I just had to add a little extra note today having just read Gemma's latest post. All I can say is I couldn't have said it any better myself Gemma. Great post! Do go and have a read of what she has to say today and then go buy Jane's book too!

Monday Wish List

I've had a weekend of busy creating interupted only by a quick trip to Ikea for photo frames on Saturday and a delicious Sunday roast at my Sis and Brother-in-laws last night. This morning I realised I haven't taken any photos to show you all, so instead I have been browsing my favourite shop for pretty pictures of some lovely things I'm lusting after. All the items below are available on their website and I guess in their shop if you're lucky enough to be in Lincolnshire. Hope you enjoy and I'll hopefully have some of my own goodies to show you in the next few days.

I'm thinking a new purse could soon be in order.

I'm thinking this could be great for all the re-organising I have to do in the coming weeks.

I think this could be perfect for snuggling under on cold Autumn evenings.

This little shelf is just my style and I love the pretty jugs.

Another really cute way to get organised.

Have a lovely Monday. Xxx