Dreams...

I love my job, being self employed and having my own cafe is something I dreamed about for about five years, and one thing, fortunately, I never realised was I would achieve this dream so young. I'm not knocking it, not at all, but I also didn't realise that once I'd achieved this dream, I'd want a new dream...

My first dream started like this:

I poured my dream into this little book and guess what? It came true! 

So, for a new dream... I've been thinking for a while I would love to have a glamping site (glamorous  camping site), I have no real set in stone plans for this dream... It's a dream! I may look back at this blog in years to come and cringe but hey a girl can dream. So I'm starting a new book... Inspired by my recent glamping trip and a rare feeling that I can achieve anything I put my mind to! 

My other dreams include: 

A sewing cafe / workshops
A vintage shop
A florist
To Take over our local hotel and turn it into a 1920s hotel complete with a gatsby style 'prohibition' bar
A full time blogger :) 
A vintage replica underwear / shoe / bag company 
A vintage interior design company / shop (including replica retro wallpaper) 

This is not about thinking the grass is always greener, just a desire to keep life fresh and interesting. Something to think about when your down, bored, unmotivated.  You don't just have to have one life. So keep dreaming... 

DIY: Duvet Cover

There are so many great bedding options on the market. However for my guest room / studio I had a had a really specific idea of what bedding I wanted, something ultra retro! I looked at vintage bedding online but didn't really want to pay over the odds for bedding that had probably already had its day! 

Then one day whilst scouring a vintage car boot sale on south bank in London with Becca (our eldest sister) I came across some brand new vintage flat sheets that were exactly the material I was looking for. There were two sheets and I didn't even know if they were double sheets but the fabric was ace so I thought I would be able to use it for something an they were only £5 a piece. Fortunately, when I got home I discovered that they were double sheets. Seen as I had two I thought if I simply sew them together leaving a gap at the bottom to get the duvet in I would have a brand new genuine retro double duvet cover!

I later decided to sew the sheet to a double white flat sheet so the underside is plain white as you don't see it anyway, this means I can have two sets!

1. I laid the sheets out flat one on top of the other and laid the duvet cover on top, I trimmed down the sheets a few inches on each side so the cover would be too baggy. I wasn't too specific with measuring, as long as you don't cut the thing in half there is quite a lot of room for error.
2 I don't have an over locker but ideally over lock the edges.
3. Tun in the edge that will be the bottom twice on each sheet and sew along. 
4.Finally sew right sides together leaving about a 1-1 1/2 meter gap at the bottom. 

This is a brilliant solution if you cant find the bedding you have in mind, try looking for fabric that is what you have in mind and ensuring that its wide enough make your own bedding. You could also make pillow cases to match or buy a couple of plain ones. 

I bought a couple of sets of plain orange pillowcase which are not a perfect match but I don't mind that mix matched look. 

Day Trip: Ryedale Folk Museum

On our drive back from our holiday to Whitby, we took the scenic route home and stopped by the Rydale Folk Museum. 

This is a lovely museum nestled in the beautiful village of Hutton-le-Hole, in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, the museum offers a unique glimpse of the past. For half a century they've conserved some of Ryedale’s most magnificent bits of heritage for future generations to enjoy.

The collections, spread over six acres, tell a story about a rural way of life from the Iron Age to the 1950s.

I love the shops the best, all the lovely packaging, old tin signs and the fact they were all independents, I wish high streets still looked like this. 

Garden revisited

I blogged a few months ago about starting our first garden and I'm glad to say its flourishing. 

We painted the shed and fence a lovely Cuprinol 'forget-me-not blue' and 'country cream', and it's brightened the place up lovely. I also painted the garden furniture to match, all inspired by a vintage parasol given to us by Mikes parents. 

(Mike, relaxing after all his hard digging)

I also had a lot of plastic plant pots and as you can see on a previous post we spray painted them as a cheaper option to buying all new pots and the effect is great. 

I've learnt a lot about what plants work best in what pots / hanging baskets etc and where the best place to put them around the yard and garden. 

We also have a beautiful fox glove coming up and flowers popping up all over. I think next year it will look a million times better as thing will have had a chance to get more established, such as all them climbers, I hope, will find their way (with a little help) up the wall, so I can string solar fairy lights through them. 

We have been sitting and eating out here whenever possible, really trying to make the most of it. 

I think our next garden investments will be a BBQ so we can cook outside more and I hope to do some good recipe blogs for outside meals. And an outside tap, all those plants take quite a bit of watering! 

DIY - Upcycled Office Chair

I inherited this rather boring office chair and it stood out like a sore thumb being so dark in my orange / yellow retro studio. So, I decided to cover the fabric of the chair with left over fabric from the curtains and spray the rest of the chair orange.

These chairs come apart really easily, there are a couple of screws on the back rest, and four screws on the base of the chair. The wheels simply slide off and I covered the middle part of the chair base as I didn't think it would spray paint very well.

I cut out fabric that would fit tightly over the cushion parts of the chair and stapled it in place.

On a dry, warm and calm day I laid out dust sheets to protect the ground. First I applied a primer. Use the spray paint according to the instructions on the can as they all vary. After 24 hours I applied the orange coat of paint. 

Finally once it was all dry I put it all back together again and I love how it looks, it perfectly matches and blends into the room.