A picture says it all!

Here are two little visitors at my flea market day yesterday, Cassidy and her six month old prem baby brother. It was a wonderful day, the weather was beautiful, clear bule sky, a gentle whisper of wind, birds a-plenty, lovely company, good shopping, and satisfying food. Certainly a day to repeat and one I hope to do every last Saturday of the month.

Fabric swatches

I have 27 fabric swatches from a discontinued sample cards of "Raphia", Stuart Graham Furnishing fabrics. There are thirteen 15" x 9" pieces and fourteen 7.5" x 8" pieces. Some may require soaking to remove the paper border. These are varying shades of natural, tan, some with a pattern, others plain, great textures and all blend in together beautifully. These would be great to use for pin cushions, make-do's, covering notebooks, boxes, backgrounds for cards, miniaturists and general crafting.
Sale price; $20 includes postage for the entire 27 pieces.
SOLD
.

Vintage flowers

This is the start of my big flea market sale. I have these two baskets of vintage flowers for sale, some need a little reshaping but all still in great condition.I have used some to make brooches, one can be seen on the little pearl sprays but these are great to decorate hats, scarves, boxes etc. If you are interested, email me for details.

Greeting card Prints of antique paintings.

Since I was a little girl, many many years ago, I have collected cards, paper and stationery. I spent the weekend sorting through the many trunks and boxes and have put aside a few of these to sell.
Here are the first ones on offer.
These are beautiful greeting cards, prints of antique paintings, published by Alan Hutchison Ltd. Each card measure 3.5inches x 5.5 inches, and has the title and name of the original artist and year at the back.
First is a Still Life (detail) Simon Verelst (1644-1721) Rafael Valls Gallery.Three available.
Second, another Still Life (detail) Henriette ronner-Knip (1821-1909) Bridgeman Art Library-two available
Third is Goats in a Farmyard (detail)Edgar Hunt (1876-1955) Christie's Images -Two available
Fourth is Poultry and Doves (detail)Edgar Hunt (1876-1955) Christie's images One available
and Fifth is Poultry in the Garden of a Mansion (detail) Jacob Bogdani ((1660-1724) Christie's Images - Two available
All cards are blank inside and are $2 each plus postage.
All SOLD

New items for Shoppe

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard has a few new items, arn't these just too sweet!
The two bark-house shelves are wonderful for displaying, I love the barnstyle background on the one. The little metal bunny picks are just too cute, with their long stakes ending in a spring, these little bunnies bobble about with any movement. I love roosters and couldn't resist these two pieces, the little watering-can holds painted wooden stakes for your garden.

Bathed in Sunshine

Today my little corner was just bathed in sunshine.I love earthy colours, but shades of lavender and pink always make me cheerful. Its such a refreshing blend of nature,a touch of spring, a gentle summer. I feel a verse starting here;
"Oh give me a touch of the gentlest pink,
Mix in a splattering of lavender,
How refreshing of nature to serve such a drink
For the eye, with a stir in a blender."

Fabrics and Textures

Oh I just love fabrics,I cannot pass a fabric shop without going in and running my hand along the many rows. Its not that I need anymore, in fact on June 30th I am holding a big market to try and reduce some of my stock. I have just realised that I would never get though my whole collection in my lifetime and would rather give others the pleasure of owning a piece or two to use in their crafting. So 12 huge tubs are being sorted at the moment. Here is a picture of a small bundle of beautiful fabrics in shades of cream, the textures are wonderful, and as I am sorting, all sorts of ideas of what one can turn them into,comes to mind. This is not good as now I am sorting I think, should I put that in the sale bin or keep it a little longer, after all I have had most of it for well over twenty five years! Ahh well once I see the excitement on my guests faces, it will be worth sharing a little bit of my collection.

Nut pinkeep

I have made these little nut pinkeeps over the years, they make lovely gifts for someone who sews. Small and easy to attach to a sewing basket,these pinkeeps are easy to make, the hardest part is cracking the walnut shell in half.

For each pinkeep you need a half walnut shell, a bit of fabric, I like to use a velvet but they look equally cute with a cotton print, a little trim (lace, ricrac etc)stuffing, (polyfiber or my preference, old wool, sawdust,), some ribbon for hanging nut pinkeep, and hot glue gun and glue sticks. Pins to embellish. Sealer for nut, i like to use shellac flakes but a spray sealer is fine as well. This will just make sure no little insects get into the nut.
Seal your nutshell.
Cut your fabric about an 1" larger than the diameter of nutshell. Run a gathering stitch around egde of fabric using strong thread or double your thread. Pull up thread to so fabric fits inside rim of nutshell. Fasten off thread. Glue fabric to just inside nut shell, leaving a small opening for stufing. Stuff shell and fill up fabric until you have the shape required. Glue opening closed.Stitch gather lace or trim of choice around fabric edge. glue or stitch thin ribbon where lace and fabric join, leaving a long tail end to make loop for hanging. Knot ends of loop. Place pins in fabric to embellish and your little nutpinkeep is completed.

A gift to me.

I spoilt myself yesterday, I just couldn't go home without it. I have looked for a long time for a little metal table and chair, a little place to sit in the sun and enjoy my morning cuppa. The minute I saw this little twosome, I knew I had finally found it. This table/chair is metal hand painted in wonderful roses and tiny sprigs of flowers, its so cheerful and pretty. I love it!!
Here are some pictures to share with you on the deck outside my little log cabin shoppe.

Newsletter Archives

I have had a number of requests for my past newsletter, that is those written under Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.
So here they are. Let me know if any of the links don't work and I will try and sort it out. Enjoy and please feel free to make any of the patterns for your own personal use or to sell in small quantities.

Winter 2006
http://www.geocities.com/motherhubbardza/winternewsletter.html

Summer 2006
http://www.geocities.com/motherhubbardza/strawberrysummer.html

In Between Seasons 2006
http://www.geocities.com/motherhubbardza/inbetween.html

Autumn 2006
http://www.geocities.com/motherhubbardza/autumnMay2006.html

Mother's May 2007
http://www.geocities.com/motherhubbardza/May.html

Harvest 2006
http://www.geocities.com/whimsicalprims/harvest.html

Christmas at Home 2001
http://www.geocities.com/scallywagza/christmas.html

My Moggies

I love creating different things. Initially I started out making bears, and have added a number of different characters along the way. Here are my moggies from 2005. Hand painted faces and jointed heads, embroidered, fabric bodies, armatured legs and arms.

Kraft Packets

Today I got some new kraft packets in for my shop -sad thing is the lady who makes these is closing down. I loved her range of packets, her designs were so different and there is such a need for these here as no one else seems to have something similar.

As well as this lovely French country range, she had lavender, bugs, teddy bears, ethnic, botanical, shells and fairies.

A Whisper of Past.

Its June 4th already and I so wanted to get something on my blog from the start of the month, still, now is the time to do so without further procrastination.

I have being going through my "stuff "; collections of all sorts and one, which I could look through every day, if time allowed, is my old lace collection. What is it about old lacey items that pulls at my heart and gives me goose bumps everytime I open the old and well worn suitcase?

I picked out a few pieces to share with you, hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

A wonderful delicate collar, hand knitted gloves so fine, and a beautiful hanky.