its a wrap... hahaha! please excuse the pun, then again, its quite a good one, so please don't :)

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if perchance you have been lying awake at night, tossing and turning... fretting and fidgeting. thoughts of unsightly light cords dingly dangling in your nest, keeping you from a restful night. fret not any longer dearest reader, for help is at hand.

however, just a note, if perchance you do not lie awake at night with such thoughts whirring around your little cogs, then perhaps you may care not to read any further. this is 'a-okay' with me. it is also 'a-okay' with me if you would still like to read on despite not having had lost sleep over your light cords. all are welcome, one and all, all and one, sleep or no sleep...

and so, an easy peasy, lemon-y squeezy, solution to your sleepless nights, no medicine from over the counter required. just a nice healthy dose of DIY crafting during waking hours will surely set you right for bedtime when it next rolls around

if you have your matchsticks in place, then let us begin...

some cords are tres ugly, others not so, quite often we are left with very little choice, the lamp is the thing we  fall for and therefore the thing we think of first. take your newly found lamp home, dingle dangle it from the little corner you require lighting up, step back, admire its peachy ways, only to have your little heart sink. "well darn and dash it. how dare that tres ugly cord hang around for, distracting from the peachiness of my lovely lamp?!" no doubt you exclaim to yourself. and this in turns leads to pondering ways to disguise ugly light cord pronto. and when you can't, well we all know, the spiral affect will begin and hence you find yourself, tucked up in bed, sleep won't come because your cogs are filled with ugly light cords mocking you and poking you awake.

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a patchwork affair

* take various fabrics of your choosing and cut into strips of not more than 3/4 of an inch wide. think small patterns so they show, big patterns just won't be noticed.

* hang your cord up from a hook to make it easier, rather than lying it on a table and get all messy and in a state which may lead you to not feeling calm and collected in your DIY crafty moment.

* carefully with a small paint brush and some mod podge (or any other fabric glue) cover around 6 inches of your cord with a light coating of glue, starting right at the top, near the bulb-y bit. 

* take your first strip and do a nice carefully neat wrappy bit and then making sure you have the fabric strip at a slight angle continue wrapping around and down the cord. you must keep it at an angle, if not you will go around and around the same piece and end up with a large fabric doughnut at the top of your cord and still the ugly cord doing what it does best, distracting from your peachy lamp.

* when you have finished one strip, be sure to give a little extra glue to the end and then start the next piece, stopping to add glue every now and then to your cord as you travel down it

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a stitched affair

this is a nice woven cord, but you could use it on a regular cord also. i found this lovely bright red cord, rushed home, hung it up and then alas and alack, realized its amount of redness just was not working well. however i did wish for a dash of red and so a few feet down the cord i wrapped some vintage cream curtain lining and did a whole load of natty stitching in different coloured thread. it took a little while and several cuppas but this made a most pleasing appearance in my books as it matched rather jauntily with the lampshade i had made... thus worthy of spent time and cuppas.

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a non patchwork affair

just like the patchwork number up above except done from all the same fabric. here i used my prized bit of fabric found in china town in San Francisco. i used the majority of it to make a 'good luck' frock and the left over scraps are being eeked out on various other projects like bags and cushions. this light cord was the generic black plastic sort which are standard when you buy a very generic clip on lamp. after my wrapping was done, i took a little bit of my vintage woven ribbon (also from San Francisco), i treasure above all other woven ribbons i own and made a handy dandy 'keeper of the cord in place thingy' to avoid being attacked by the cord dingly dangly-ing above my head

and voila! no more tossing and turning, no more fretting and fidgeting and no more blearghy looking light cords distracting from peachy lamps. yippee!

footynote: perhaps you are thinking some images are rather blurry and Tif's not up to scratch, indeed that maybe so, but i like to think 'tis blurry eyesight from lack of sleep due to pesky light cords and nothing to do with my pants photography today

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wordless wednesday...

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a 'hippity happity hoppity' easter = a 'safety first lucky happy' tablecloth

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i am tres giddy today, for we are having an easter part-tee tomorrow! i cannot recall the last time we did such a thing. i suspect it is many many moons ago and not the fact my recall skills are pants. we have it all planned out. in the morning, me and Our #4 will make easter nests, an easter cake and hand rolled marzipan eggs, no less! then late lunch we will meet up with my adopted auntie and her man at the local curry house for the lunchtime buffet. oh but that... that is just the beginning of our easter part-tee. post curry buffet, we will return to mossy shed, spend the afternoon wisely playing board games and card games and then, come tea time, with a flourish and a voila! i will make a nice pot of tea and bring out the cake, nests, marzipan eggs with thumb prints and the fabby red velvet cupcake cookies my adopted auntie prepared earlier that day in her own kitchen.

surely i say to myself, this is so worthy of a bit of giddiness, and surely i say to myself, this thrilling event of an easter part-tee... which by the way Our #3 did point out really does it count when you only have 2 guests at your party, which i promptly ignored, then a few mos later dropped into conversation 'red velvet cookies' and suddenly he was all about the easter part-tee. ha! i see where his alliance falls. not with his mother's baking, no sirree! but with his mother's adopted auntie's baking. i did not let this rain on my little part-tee parade, nope, i did not. 

and so i say to myself, surely this fabby occasion calls for a fabby spring cloth for the table...

you could make one too, too, too, we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo... no, no we are not, we are going to the curry house, not the zoo, stop this nonsense Tif and carry on with clear intention as to what you are rambling on about today.

quite right, (pulls up knee socks, does a bit of deep yogic breathing and steadies her wavering thoughts)

i am thinking, (cos i do a lot of that) you could make this tres grande, or tres petite. you could make it square, or you could make rectangular, you could also make it circular if you are wearing your clever clogs. you could take a measuring board and cutting tool, or you could grovel around on the carpet with a tape measure and scissors late at night like moi. you could serge or double fold the hems over or you could just like me, leave it raw and let it fray nicely, because after all, easy peasy is the name of the game

all things left wisely up to you as only you know best how you like things made.

basically all you need to have is a nice old mish mash of fabrics, all those pieces you have left from favourites you can't bear to part with. gather them all together and then start attaching them in strips. make sure they are sort of on the large size or this will take you more than an evening of grovelling around on the floor.

so to put it in a nutshell and make it easy to understand, looking at the photos i scattered throughout this most interesting and fascinating post, you will see, one of my strips was made from the tres bright and jolly retro orange flowers, on the right side of the cloth (kindly given to me by a dearie in old blighty, "hello hello"), and  the brown and blue mini floral (found at Joanns fabric store the other week). the other strip was made from the black floral (a vintage apron), a fat quarter of yellow florals (which i used the reverse for a faded look) and a bright pink paisley number (i believe also Joanns but don't quote me, as i really can't recall)

once you have your strips all measuring the same length, it just a question of stitching them together along the long sides. i also did do a bit of top stitching in a straight line along the seams just to keep those pesky raw edges underneath flat after a whirl in Miss Washer. (see photo #3)

after i had finished, i thought how nice it would be to keep going and make a lovely bed spread, or indeed a springified settee throw or perhaps a picnic blanket if i gave it a backing. oh yes i dreamed many dreams for 'my little 48" x 48" approximately sweetie' but t'was late, my knees and back were going 'yakkity yak' and also, i did not wish to drift from my path of 'cloth for easter part-tee'. so she stayed, just as she was, a perfectly patched little 'lucky happy' cloth, not just for easter but for any occasion requiring a bit of hippity happity hoppity...

now of course, some of you still awake may be noting, this little cloth is tres petite for our table, but i have a cunning plan, and my plan goes something like this. move the cloth to the middle of the table to add a dash of colour and springy-ness for the part-tee without folks being overwhelmed and attacked by too much fabric hanging around. because tablecloths can do that can't they? attack you and before you know it, you've jumped up to pass a lovely guest (one of the two you invited) a plate of easter nests, your frock gets tangled up with the hanging over the edge bit of the cloth and disaster strikes, cloth, table contents and yourself, all end up on the floor. hence my little cloth is a 'safety first' sort of tablecloth. 

give us a twirl little 'safety first, lucky happy' cloth....

'perfectly perfect for an easter part-tee' even if i do say so myself.

wishing you all a bit of 'hippty happity hoppity' this coming weekend, wherever, whatever you may be up to ~ Tif

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a gigantically ginormous pause...

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we interrupt this gigantically ginormous pause 

to announce normal rambling service will resume, 

come high or come low,

come rain or come shine, 

on monday 22nd april

with a most thrilling event

'nifty & nice' week!

till then, Tif is finishing off

the longest dance ever to take place

with Mr Lurgy

and doing her darnedest

to keep her little light flickering bright

despite it being switched to pilot mode

without her permission.

there can be only one culprit

and he goes by the name of

Mr Lurgy, the blighter...

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nifty & nice... #1

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do your stems feel a little top heavy?

are things weighing you down a little?

thinking you may need a helping hand?

good old vintage plastic knitting needles!

not only nifty

but extra extremely nice looking too

footynote:

* this nifty & nice idea came from my adopted auntie

* use only knitting needles you are not too bothered about 

as some can go a little squiffy below the soil

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nifty & nice... #2

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find an odd little shelf in the thrift store.

bring it home, hide it in a cupboard.

have an epiphany 3 months later.

drag little shelf out,

lop off its top

(with a bit of care and consideration.)

disguise dodgy treacle brown stain

with same paint as kitchen cupboards.

ask very nicely a little doggie

who lives in a suitcase

if she would care to move

from her little space

after 3 and a half years.

marvel at how quick

your little doggie 

is to take advantage of the move

and in turn

question if life living under an island

had not been quite so thrilling 

as you had thought...

shuffle shelf under island,

if not quite fitting,

do a bit more loping

and deny it was anything 

to do with your pants measuring.

and voila! some display shelves

for knickity knacks

and knackity knicks

'nifty and oh so nice'

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nifty & nice... #3 {wordless wednesday}

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nifty & nice... #4

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in my 'make kitchen ship shape, tippity top' again mode, i thought it rather grand to add some display storage due to all cupboards having doors. as we saw earlier in 'nifty & nice... #2' this was achieved under the island. i also achieved it opposite the island in the bit that is supposed to be a kitchen knook and house a table but our table is around the corner, thus leaving a wall free for a medley of free standing kitchen storage. (and now also little olive and her suitcase)

so i heaved and i hoed a very battered shelf from Gladys into our kitchen and plonked it 'a top' an old sideboard which has seen all four clan members through as babies and now resides as handy dandy storage for waifs and strays of china bits and bobs. i was tres delighted with the results. spent a happy few hours arranging my pyrex collection (other treasures) on view, after years of being kept in the dark. 

do note: little olive in her new little space, perfectly situated for surveying all that goes on at mossy shed
do not note: little olive's rolly polly pudding look, left over from winter...

the next day a little thought came to mind. "well yes it all looks most lovely but in a few more days it will be caked in a layer of dust and floating dog hair no doubt". i banished the little voice. several days later it piped up again. "gosh, doesn't that big old jumbly bumbly lot of clutter on those shelves do your minimalist head in". hush, be gone i cried....

3 days later i needed several pyrex bowls for dinner... darn, drat and double drat. that pesky voice was right, a layer of dust and other floaty around bits that happen to have past on by and plonked themselves in my bowls were laughing at me. now i had to clean the bowls before i could put the food in them. then again i could not, but i knew what i had seen and in all conscience could not do such a thing... the little voice could be heard loud and clear. "dust and jumbly bumbly clutter will be your undoing. it will send you to the funny farm within a month". this time i listened

so i pondered as it required rather a lot of pondering i felt. not able to return everything back to behind doors having shuffled other stuff into the 'behind doors' space, i was having to come up with some nifty thinking, yes this called for a cunning plan if ever a cunning plan was called for. and there it was, just as it always seems to be. something prompts something else and before you know it, you arrive at a tippity top solution you wish you had thought of in the first place, thus avoiding dust and jumbly bumbly things to have happened in the first place.

yes i needed some kind of doors (irony of it as it was the doors in the first place which prompted me to wish for an open shelving space) but i did not have any random doors lying around my shed. its just not a thing i collect... so fabric would have to do. 

after a little bit more thought, a bit of dabbling with Miss Ethel, some pinking shears, a piece of old curtain fabric and 2 springer rods later, i had myself 2 fabric doors.

 i did not hem the sides, i did not fret nor lie awake at night worrying one fabric door was wider than the other. no i did not. all i cared to see was the jumbly bumbly piles which had at first looked so delightful and in turn, became dust catchers and a dizzing array of clutter, had been 'abracadabra-ed' away by some rather natty looking fabric doors which i do believe any granny worth her granny chic salt would be proud to have in her kitchen.

gosh, not only nifty but extremely granny chic nice...

what's that little voice? "don't those curtains make it a little tricky dicky to remove bowls when you need them?" 

i'm not listening, not listening, fingers in ears, can't hear you....

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nifty & nice... #5

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Mr Spring is quite the tease these days.

flashing bits of himself here and there,

then disappearing again...

i imagine he's off, 

flashing someone else

however, i know

there will come a time

when he stops his flashing ways

and just gives us a bit of full exposure

i need to be ready,

i need to be ready indeedy!

being ready can be involve all manner of things,

for all manner of folks

i wish it involved having clean windows

inside and out

but alas after 5 years

and a gazillion fir trees

i do not have those.

my man did do his besty best last year

(i dared not voice it out loud)

but he was fighting a losing battle

from the beginning

however when Mr Spring comes around

for an extended stay 

i will not note the crappy film of dirt 

across the windows,

nor the need for fresh paint upon

the 'less than white' walls

after 5 years...

no sirree!

for i have a plan,

a plan where

i will distract myself

and any others that may happen

to be in the vicinity,

by pointing and saying

in quite a knowledgeable tone

(secret to folks thinking

you many know what you are talking about

and hence pay attention.

my clan are wise to it,

after all these years

but i'm hopeful

random passing strangers

will not be so)

"oh goodness, 

how marvelous and magnificent,

to see Mr Spring

and gosh, what a coincidence,

i just happened to be ready

with 2 very spiffy springy 

new cushion covers

upon the settee"

and of course

i have no doubt

those passing bods will exclaim.

"oh hurrah hooray, 

how extraordinarily nifty,

and may we be so bold

as to add,

quite simply, perfectly nice.

yes, Tif

without a doubt

nifty and nice!"

i might blush,

i might look at the ground

and not catch

any passing bods eyes

but inside 

i will feel a little happy,

just a tad

to know i was ready

for Mr Spring and his

full on exposure 

if perhaps you wish to be ready too,

if you live with high hopes

that Mr Spring will one day soon

expose himself in your direction

and need some springified cushions

in your springified nest

 you can find 

all you need to know

over here

to make similar

'patched and pieced'

cushions

or

your could be just like

little olive

forget the business of patching and piecing

and just find the nearest

handy dandy blanket 

and be

ready and waiting

to welcome 

Mr Spring

into your home

the best way you know how

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nifty & nice... #6 {wordless wednesday}

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nifty & nice... #7

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today's thrilling episode of 'nifty & nice' comes from Our #1 who does have a name. oh yes she does. i did not give birth 21 years ago and look down at the battered and bruised little miraculous being in my arms and declare " i love you more than life its self and if i never do anything ever again, other than this, this will be enough and we will call you 'Our #1' ". 

no, no i did not. i said all of the above minus the 'Our #1' and instead said 'Our Meggie-May' which in turn, as she grew wiser and older, turned into 'Our Meg'...

and so it comes to be, Our Meg now lives across the pond, many miles away in the heart of London, working for the most delightfully 'nifty & nice' Lisa Levis (nee Stickley) and in her spare moments she is doing quite a few spiffy things. one of those spiffy things is feathering a nest. on tres limited funds this is happening via secondhand and handcrafted goodness which of course, has delighted moi no end. (although truth be told i would so very muchly like to be near so we could pottle and create together, her first nest)

the other day (actually the other week but its taken me this long to tippity tap about it) Meg showed on the world wide web her nifty & nice crafty jars. immediately i wished to find a little glass jar victim of my own and then i thought, perhaps i am not alone, perhaps you too may care to do the same. so for today, here is a most nifty & nice way to treat your glass jars via Our Meg, 

(be them saved from the brink of recycling or indeed as Our Meg did, found for a quid).

yippee! take it away, Meg's photos....

take your glass jar, tape off the area you wish to keep clear, pop it on its head and with spray paint suitable for glass, give it a nice even coat. might need more than 1, best to have 2 lightweight coats then 1 drippy hippy one. patiently wait for the paint to dry. if you are not the patient sort, distract yourself by learning the alphabet backwards, making a daisy chain or indeed, playing 'catch a leafy' if its autumn in your neck of the globe

when dry, add nick~nacks and paddy whacks if need be. consider it a perfect place to store crafty supplies, or perhaps tea bags and sugar in the kitchen. or if you are keen on baths, how about bath salts? i would not know as i do not have bath salts, but i could keep my cotton wool pads in them instead i am thinking

but wait, there is more... glass bottles no longer required for condiments, may indeed be perfectly suited to the same treatment, resulting in a rather peachy flower vase for your rather kitschy fake flowers (be sure to remove all labels, sticky stuff and left over inners before commencing with the tape and spray paint)

oh yes, i think you will agree, well on the nifty side of things and rather nice to boot.

thank you kindly Our Meg for letting me 'show and tell' your crafty nest moment and also, just so folks know, these are Meg's photos, so if perchance you are a 'pinner' please credit her. thank you muchly

'over and out'

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wordless wednesday... Mister Muchly

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dear Mister Muchly...

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  welcome to mossy shed! goodness, how marvelous to think, on monday i did not know you, but now, by thursday, just a few days later, i know you very muchly. i must confess Mister Muchly when we bought you home in a little cardboard box around 8:32pm on tuesday night i was a little terrified. for you see Mister Muchly, its quite a responsibility to bring home a little critter and say 'i do' for the rest of that little critter's little life. Our #4 assured me though, that you were the one and in a way, i did like the fact 'a nearly 15 in a few days' lad who is hitting 6ft 2" felt a little piggie would make a good friend.

                     

Oh Mister Muchly, how i tossed and turned that night, thoughts of keeping you well and thoughts of keeping you alive ran through my little cogs...  could i, would i, could he, would he (more to the point) be up to the job. you seemed so little and so terribly afraid. your tiny beady eyes staring so intently at your new surroundings, and your teeny ears listening to all the strange sounds. the journey you had been on, i could only begin to imagine... the next morning, to my relief, you appeared a little more settled, your timothy hay was going down a treat, i told myself this was a jolly good sign and also, 'tis early days, these thing take time. and so i popped upon my facebook wall 

"welcome Mister Muchly to mossy shed... may all your squeaks be joyful ones, may your carefree days be most plentiful and may you enjoy bonding over game animating, homework, yard games and telly watching with Our #4"

   and right there and then, i promptly left mossy shed to run errands, only to return to find Our #4 and you, the besty best of buddies. oh joy of joys Mister Muchly! it would appear, you are all i hoped you would be and so much more and most of all, you are all he hoped you would be and so much more.

you proved to be most brilliant at observing and critiquing game animating

you were extremely talented at staying close by at all times

     you showed a marvelous aptitude for spanish spelling testing (and far more alert i might add than Our #4!)

you have an appreciation of staying warm and cozy whilst telly watching

    Mister Muchly, i could go on and on, however, to spare your blushes, can i just finish up by saying the thing i love most about you is, not only have you given Our #4 all that he wished for from a little critter and i am quite sure will continue to do so, and he in turn will give you all you could wish for from a carer and will continue to do so, but you so kindly are happy to be a 'he' even though you are 'she'. a sign of true friendship between a lad and his critter... 

and for that reason and 'oh so many more', i do love you muchly, Mister Muchly

   yours ever gratefully

Tif x

                       

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a born again gardener...

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proving miracles do indeedy happen...

hallelujah!

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