The Powder Room

I did find a few minutes today to list this pretty in my Etsy shop - this dusty pink /old rose colour is so difficult to photograph, I don't think the pics show how feminine and pretty the garland actually is - c'est la vie! I'm sure it will find a home in a girly boudoir anyhow :)

you can find The Powder Room here

I'm still here ...... and there too

Last week we finally made it back to the Loire valley to look around for a new area to move too - I can't believe it had been a whole year since our last visit! I've got some fabulous chateau pics to blog, but this week (and next too) I have my parents staying so I can't find the time to edit right now!

Anyways we based ourselves in Loches - a gorgeous little medieval town and home to Agnes Sorel - had a fab time and now we want to move asap!
I'll blog about it all v. soon!

Woven Web

Last week I was doing a Google search for garlands to see what other interpretations are out there. I clicked on one link that mentioned Bracknell (the town in England where we lived for 3 years) and saw this installation by artist Shane Waltener at South Hill Park (a great arts centre and a place I used to visit regularly). I didn't delve any further into the artist's website and went back to Google...

Anyhow, a few days ago I was visiting Artmind's blog and followed her post link to The Red Thread blog and saw a post about these totally fabulous crocheted cobwebs for a 2006 installation Auntie Peggy Has Departed - these turn out to be by my garland artist! Is it a small world or are all things connected?

My creative space today

Today I'm working on some customer pieces - a mirror garland and some garland and star pieces for someone to create their own unique garland :) On the table you can see some little birds that I glittered last night. One is for the mirror garland and the other I'll add to bunting for the shop. I hope to get a few boudoir mirrors cut later too.

To see other creative spaces today see Kootoyoo's blog here

I love pretty antique textiles ..

and if I'm browsing around a brocante or flea market I'm always looking for, amongst other things, old white hankies, doilies or embroidered textiles - condition doesn't really matter if there's something that appeals to me .. a little wear and tear can be fixed with a little well placed applique or millinery flower.

This antique french night cap (probably dates from around 1870 or earlier - thank you Serpentaires !) is in perfect condition - albeit unwashed and in need of a little pressing, and, as I need to declutter, I've put it up for sale in my Etsy - you can find it here

Moving back home

No not me! (I can see my sister reading that headline and having a hot flush) but my trinkets and treasures form The Vintage Bell Jar shop are being moved back to my PamelaAngus Etsy shop :)

Since opening the shop in January, my work in the glass shop has progressed to included mirrors and my garlands have become more embellished - I think the jewellery and vintage items can now sit better there than before (items from both shops use many of the same materials). What probably clinched my decision was recent Etsy shop upgrades to enable sellers to move stock around the shops and therefore hopefully the ability of making a diverse shop look more coherent. I'll try this until the new year anyhow :)

the ring above is available in my Etsy shop

Life's Simple Pleasures

Just when all the flowers are fading it was beautiful today to find some Hollyhocks still determined to look pretty!
Want to know just how much I've neglected the garden? (Aaron has been keeping on top of the strimming though) I went down to the bottom of the garden for the first time in months and discovered we have a Mirabelle Plum tree ladened with fruit! This is the first time in 5 years it's produced anything :)
btw we didn't get any peaches worth eating this year either - our main producer was heavily pruned back last year and I think we've killed the poor thing, or maybe it'll just sleep for a few years like the Mirabelle :)

A first glimpse of Fancies

I thought I'd share a little preview of some new pieces I'm planning - the photo shows one of a trio of Fancies or whimsies, opulent but fun 3d pieces (think Venetian mask balls, Baroque and Marie Antoinette) designed to be hung together either in natural sunlight or as I'd like to think - hanging from a large chandelier above a dining table.

The glasses are decorated with vintage and new glass beads, vintage buttons, vintage chandelier prisms, paper flowers, millinery flowers, ribbons and any other whimsical found objects that fit the bill (just like my garlands! :)

This is my project for today.

Hey! This place is a mess you lazy cow!

Summer is over! I can tell, apart from the the fact that it's September, there are other little signs - the hamlet is quiet of pesky kids all day (hurrah), the garden looks like something from the Munsters (I keep saying now that it's best to do one big tidy up starting in October!!) spiders the size of mice are popping up all over the house, the house painting chores are screaming out not to be left until the Spring ....and I'm sooooooo bored shaving my legs everyday (yay for winter woolly tights!!)

So today I'm going to do some 'autumn' cleaning. Our house seems to sleep in the summer, it gets very dark with the grape vine hanging over the windows downstairs unlike the winter where the sun reflecting off the snow throws loads of light in. I'll try not to get distracted every 5 mins by Etsy :) Oh yeah, and Aaron is away so I have to make my own coffee - tut - how am I supposed to get anything done if I have to make the tea too ?????

photo: Mario Testino for Vogue magazine

The Whisper

I know I said I've started using bright coloured glass again - I have honestly, it's just that I had this garland all ready to assemble weeks ago! so I thought I best finish up some old projects before I make a new mess ... and I do have some white garlands that will be listed for sale soon too, just so you know :)



The Whisper is available to buy online here