Magpie Monday: Sanderson Wallpaper for £1

My local dump is a place of wonder and delight. It's true. Apart from having lots of different areas to help you seperate and recycle all your most random junk, they get all the decent stuff people have thrown away and allow you to buy it back from them. From one corrugated iron hut, it's a magnificent source of furniture that only needs a little upcycling, and all kinds of other great items. This time, I met a girl who had found a bunch of old board games like cluedo, incomplete, that she was going to use to do her wedding invitations and centrepieces (a cluedo wedding - how cool), and I got a big armful of stuff myself. So happy. 

For £3 total, I have got two rolls of Sanderson William Morris Wallpaper, so pretty (I know what I'm doing with it too - I will use it to line the inside of my new wardrobes which we have our bedroom redecorated in a few months time). Also a (new! unread?!) box set of Secret Seven books and a drawing instruction book for my daughter, two interesting old books from the 60s (one on vernacular architecture and one on anatomical drawing) which are in bad shape but I will probably use them for scrapbook or collage materials, a virtually untouched paper dolly book, and a very sweet glass bonbon dish with wheat ears on it.

Haul!

Keen on this sort of thing?

If you like thrifting and second hand lovliness you can find more over at Me & My Shadow Magpie Monday Link Up

Book Review: Little Sew & Sew

I have just been reading a beautifully inspiring craft book which I thought that I would share with you.

Little Sew and Sew by Christine Leech (Quadrille 2013) is a sewing and embroidery book with more than 30 projects in most of which are simple enough for beginners, and in any case, are described well with lovely illustrations and diagrams. I love the styling and fresh yet classic approach, it's just a lovely lovely book.

Christine is a busy busy woman, being an art director in the magazine industry as well as craft book author, and blogging her many makes over at Sew Yeah!

As I found this book at the library (love my library - it's all craft books and murder mystery here in the sticks) it will definately be on my Santa List. There are too many cute projects in the book, I can't do them all before they will want me to return it! I can't even decide which to start first, the Kissing Children Tote, the Alphabet Wall Hanging (sneak peak below right) or the Birdcage Tea Cosy. If you want to make someone something gorgeous for Christmas, take a look!

Here's the Amazon link. 

Note: I wasn't asked to do this review, I just did it because I LOVE the book. Thanks for reading and Happy Sewing X 

Motto Monday - Too many books?

Not so much a motto as a wry quote this week, from the fantastic Bookity. I was sent the 'BBC book list' recently (although where this list originates from, if not the BBC seems to be a matter of blogger debate!) and I was pleased to discover that I had read many of the list of classics. Until I found out that no-one I knew had read as many as me, then I just felt like a swot. Wooo there was an unwelcome feeling of nostalgia.Of course, my diet of classic literature was heavy during my school days because I was at home a lot (make of that what you will) and as I have no time at all now even for finishing a magazine, I guess that over time it will even out. Also, teenagers be warned - a lot of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte at a young age does give you, ahem, unrealistic romantic expectations! Because if there's one thing a 16 year old boy ISN'T, it's Mr Darcy! 

Literary Quote Brooch