Cupcakes

A bit of a quiet day in the shop today so it was nice to come home to pretty carrot cake cupcakes Erica made ~ and flowers :)

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

I'm off to tame a little of my wild garden tomorrow...I can't wait!

Roses and Things

Sorry for my absence! Once again I have been caught up facebooking and have failed to keep my blog up to date.

 Over the past few months I have had renewed interest in roses- growing them, having them in the home and photographing them. I have planted a couple more in the garden too. They are just so beautiful. I have planted many over the years but they have been shaded out and undernourished so I have been trying to be good and rejuvenate them by cutting back around them and feeding them. Fingers crossed that they will grow and thrive and I will be able to fill my home with them once again.

 I have also been playing shop,

 enjoying books,

 having a photography session at least once a week- which I love doing,

 making charms,

 making more charms,

 photographing charms,

and just enjoying life in the beautiful Autumn weather that we have been having.

I hope you're enjoying your Autumn and are getting to do some things that you really enjoy doing.

"Take time to smell the roses"

Ooops...life got busy!

Well the end of 2012 has come and gone and it won't be long and we will be at the end of the first month of 2013! 

Life has been busy but I am determined to make time for the little things...that are really the big things. More gardening, cooking and playing house. I love to do this but with running a business I tend to forget that I am allowed to have time to concentrate on home things. I have decided that I MUST make time everyday that I'm not at the shop to play house. Put the work things...charm orders and whatnot out of my head for those hours and have guilt free home time.

I AM definitely going to make the most of my time- even if it is just sitting with a cup of coffee enjoying the beautiful place in which we live : )

Jacaranda Flower Carpet

Well life has been a little crazy of late trying to organize the new shop and finishing up at the old one. I am feeling quite exhausted tonight but I did get to spend a little time in my garden today enjoying the flower carpet from the jacaranda tree. It was flower to flower along the paths- BEAUTIFUL! 

One month gone and moving on!

Hello at last! I have not been able to settle down and blog since discovering that my  little shop was under threat of closing : (  As most of you know, I only open four days a week...for a very good reason...there is more to life....family, home, my garden....life is too short to be chained to one thing. My lease was up for renewal and the owners were hoping for me to do six days. Now as you know, anyone who has ever run a small, mostly hobby oriented shop, it is impractical to have someone else work the other two days. So as I pondered about what direction I should take...take it online, close it completely, keep stocking some things and not others...I realized that I was definitely not ready to give up all the lovely things that have become my passion. Not to mention all the long talks, smiles, inspiration and friendship from my wonderful customers.

 Unsure of what to do...

in steps my cool calm and collected John and said , "Just relax and something will come your way."

*****

Now, I have some good news! I have a new shop to go to and I feel so incredibly lucky to have the opportunity that I have been given. The new shop is lovely. It will not be entirely white but when I saw it for the first time I was almost brought to tears. It is a Scandinavian style room in the top of a cuckoo clock shop at Cabarlah... run by two of the most lovely people you'll ever meet..2 minutes drive from home...and it already has a beautiful feel. 

I said to John, "I know you said that something would come along BUT did you think it could be THIS good!" He sure didn't!

To cut a long story short, I will be moving there sometime in November, ready for Christmas, and I AM HAPPY :)

You'll have to come and see it!

I can't wait!

White on White

Still loving white on white! Snapped this today- on my cupboard shelf. The beautiful white, fragrant flower is Viburnum burkwoodii. Such a simple flower.

Change, Spring and Pretty Things

 Hello blogland :)

There are so many things going on in my head at the moment that I'm finding that I am getting lost in the beauty of the onset of Spring and all the pretty little details that are a part of my world. Does that happen to you? Or is it just me?

There are big changes afoot for me. 

Some days I feel as if I want to embrace them and move on with gusto and some days...well, I don't want anything to change because there is so much good in where I already am in life.

Then, it all becomes too hard to think about and I just rest in the fact that everything will be how it should in the end.  I can breath again and go on as if nothing is about to happen. 

Whilst lying on my bed in the sun this afternoon there was a beautiful light coming through the window and the scarves on the little row of hooks on the bedroom wall looked so soft and pretty. Then I started to think how much detail is within the fabrics. Then of course I rummaged around and found my camera. A few...or should I say...thirty odd...photos later...voila!

The last collage reminded me so much of the colours in the jasmine photo I took the other day. Such a pretty palette. 

Anyhow, wish me luck for what lies ahead. I'm pretty sure I've made the decision but it will be the letting go of such a beautiful thing that will be the hardest.

A week full of beauty to you all,

Angela.

New Magazines

  I'm so excited! Look what turned up in my mail today. YAY! 

Such beautiful magazines jam packed full of inspiration. It's so wonderful to see some of my blog ladies (aka ladies that write the blogs that I frequent and so I feel like I know them) in print. Oh their photos are so pretty. I have only flicked through them so far but will have to find some time to have a good read of them.

 Other than that excitement, my day has been....cleaning, washing, gardening, eating, packaging, gardening, doing some photography, gardening and ...oh, did I mention...gardening! Yes, I have been doing a load of that. I was SUPPOSE to be making charms BUT it is starting to feel a bit like Spring and as you all know, there's no better place to be on a Spring-ish day than in the garden. Smiles, Angela.

Gathering Supplies

I don't know about you but one of the best things about creating things is the gathering of supplies and things that inspire.

 I currently have an obsession with seam binding and vintage ribbon. I don't mind using the seam binding when creating but I don't know if I can bare to use the vintage ribbon when it is an original whole roll! Oh the dilemma!~

I guess in time, when I acquire more, I may just be able to do it. As for now I am more than happy to just sit and look at it.I guess most people have this problem. What is it that you find hard to use?

Time to get down to business...

 Okay, it's time to get down to business and get back in my studio to create. I have been side stepping it these past couple of days. No more gardening, playing with photos, house working, cooking or anything else. Today is the day to hopefully replenish some of my charm supply in the shop that is sadly, although pleasingly, very low.

That's it...time to get going...after I have a shower and get dressed and tidy the living room....oh dear.

Have a creative day or at least a fruitful one in one way or another!

Smiles,

Angela.

A Lazy Sunday at Home

I have had a lazy Sunday at home....gathering flowers from the garden,

   

relaxing by the fire with my little Poppy,

and mucking around with photos...something that I spend way too much time doing these days....but it is, after all....my day off : )

Have a good week,

Angela.

Altering vintage things...

Another busy day but I have motivated myself at last to play with a few vintage items. I love to alter old things. To make them useful again.

I think however, I will leave the wooden shoe lasts as is because once they are surrounded by white they look so wonderful. These just arrived today. One of my many eBay purchases and I am so happy with them. They have just the right coloured wood and a few numbers and letters here and there....perfect :)

Vintage Violets

Although winter can be cold and a little demotivating, when I step into the garden and find my violets I am reminded that winter isn't that bad . 

 They are certainly a good aspect of winter and they look so beautiful in vintage bottles of the palest blue.

 So vintage, so feminine, so beautifully scented.

But now, I think I will go and sit outside in the sun while it is still about.

Stay warm,

Angela.

Winter Roses

My poor garden has suffered since opening the shop but I can always rely on the old tea roses to continue to flower most of the year including winter. They are so reliable, vigorous and they smell delicious!

I can always gather a posy...even if it is a small one : )

A Few Random Photos

 Just a few random photos today with some of the vintage things that my lovely friend Jo McMahon has given to me- thanks so much Jo!

 There's something so wonderful about the natural colours and textures.

And, I just love knowing that the piece of jute string is around 100 years old and the book in the background is the ripe old age of 230! Amazing!

Smiles,

Angela.

A Wet Winter's Day

It's a wet winter's day here at Chelsea Blue. There are still some Autumn leaves left on the trees. I am still in my pajamas at 10:30 am but I do have some pumpkin roasting in the oven to make some warm pumpkin soup. 

A perfect Sunday morning of lazing around. Now for some bacon and eggs...and a cappuccino with my darling husband. Erica is at the shop and my guess is Sam won't be seen for hours...he's a late night/ early morning gamer : )

Enjoy your Sunday.

A few snapshots...

 Hello!!!

I'm back and I have had such a wonderful week. It was so much fun exploring places we haven't been before or at least, for a very long time.

 We found quite a few old wares shops and most were packed full. Judging by some of the prices, I think many of the shop owners LOVE old things so much that they really don't want to part with any of it!

 I think I had an obsession with taking photos of old buildings so you can thank your lucky stars that I have only included a few....this time....

 So much history...

 so many interesting little shops. 

 Of course I had to bring a few little treats home. I'm loving hemp and leather jewellery at the moment.

 I found a lovely old ironstone bowl and an old French book too. 

I'm so glad we took the time out to go on our little trip. It was nice not having time restrictions... and the weather was perfect...

smiles,

Angela.