10 on the 10th!

This is my first '10 on the 10th' ! The lovely Shimelle has some fab ideas but I never seem to actually get my act together before the deadline lol. I decided to unearth my great great Aunts jewellery box that came to me when my Grandad had to downsize many years ago & he knew as I was the family historian that I would take care of it. Its nothing special ..... well it is to me!
Marion was born in the late 1800s in Manchester. She spent her career as a very much loved girls school headmistress. Sadly her fiance was killed in WW1 as was her brother Norman and she apparently spent many years in a fruitless search for their graves. In her later life she was unfortunately  the victim of burglary & lost many precious things. But this little box managed to remain in her possession until her death in 1972!

GreatGreat Aunt Marions box - battered but well loved!

When opened the box reveals its hidden treasure.
 I have chosen 10 items to show in more detail

Marion was a great traveller & was lucky to go to many exotic places.
This bracelet shows the major towns of Switzerland with the scenes painted onto enamel

Marions beloved brother Norman who was awarded the Military Medal
 for bravery under enemy fire. He died at Ypres in 1917 aged 23.
This mourning necklace also has a picture on the reverse side of her father

This is a handmade beaded choker sadly now falling apart

One of the brooches in the box. I think this is marcasite? It catches the light beautifully

This piece & another similar one confused me at first but I think I've worked out that
these clip on either side of a collar on a blouse or cloak. Purely for decoration.

This is a mourning brooch made of the famous Whitby Jet.
It has been broken over the years but if i have enough money one day I hope to restore it.
This also held the same photos as the necklace above/

The coral necklace & earrings.
I wore this necklace often but it had tightened over the years so we had it restrung
& its much better. Theres no way I could wear the screw on earrings though!

The joker in the pack?
This necklace is made if golden cotton(?) crochet work & golden beads
but seems to have a 1960s feel to it!

Another mourning brooch - poor Marion :(
I've shown the other side of the necklace with the photo of her father
(my great x3 Grandfather) James Wilson b1853

Last but not least is little chap. My favourite I think. I dont know what he is made of or why she had him
in there but he adds a certain whimsy to the collection don't you think?

So thats my 10 on the 10th for August! Do you have a favourite?
Thanks for reading xx

Look what I made!!

WARNING the following photos are complete rubbish. Sorry. lol.

I have had this project in mind for ages & ages ..... and it finally came to fruition! I am lucky to be able to snaffle a few bits & pieces at work that would be thrown away after use ie promotional or seasonal material. I cannot bear waste. Therefore I have a stash of boxes, calendars, wrapping paper, gift bags etc in my craftroom waiting to be re-used/repurposed. Earlier this year I "rescued" the Tatty Ted hearts mobile that was hanging over the Carte Blanche valentine stock as I wanted to try & make a mobile for my 4yr old greatnieces new 'princess' bedroom at her new home.
After much swearing & gnashing of teeth today I finally got to finishing the mobile & Im really pleased with it :))

The large heart is the original valentine one that I covered with some pretty pink flowery paper and the smaller ones I have used the hearts I cut-out of the same Juicy Lucy calendar that was used for the Thankyou Teacher gifts a couple of weeks ago!

Sorry about the dreary photos but I was getting the pics done in a rush :(
I think Ella is going to absolutely love this in her Very Pink Bedroom. I hope so anyway!!

Thanks for looking xx

And the winner is .........

...... Jo Sowerby!! You are going to be in reciept of this fabulous book just as soon as you let me know your postal address :) Send me an email at hethpet@gmail.com.

Congratulations Jo & commiserations to all the others who entered the draw (my 8 year old did the draw for me!) 
xx

ETA visit Jo's blog curlyscrapbooker!! Sorry I didn't make it clear which Jo I meant lol ;-/

Pass The Book!

Ok so it really is time I let this fabulous book go on its way! I do hope the next recipient will be just as happy with this book as I have been to have it in my life. Some of it just wasn't "me" but other parts really spoke to me & revealed an awful lot about how I see myself and the world around me.

Inner Excavations by Liz Lamoreux started its journey around the world with Sian in her blog
From High In The Sky in January of this year and I am the 4th person to own it (albeit briefly). From Sian in Ireland its been to the South Coast of England and then over to the USA for two lucky readers before coming back over the pond to me in Shropshire!

Would you like to be the next reader/borrower? Let me know in the comments section below or send me an email at hethpet@gmail.com & I will add your name to the draw. I hope to make the draw on Wednesday 3rd August so that gives  you 7 days to enter :)

And yes I will post it to anywhere in the world!!

In my garden today......



..... I was idly re-reading parts of "Inner Excavations" before I 'Pass The Book'

on to the next lucky recipient. I decided to do a few quick snapshots of

 my garden in the beautiful sunshine we have today.

This is quite photo-heavy so please bear with me!!

 We have been waiting patiently for this lily plant to flower (its companion has bloomed ages ago!)

The hippo is a friend from long ago when I collected hippos in all shapes & sizes!!

 Fuchsias are so so pretty don't you think?

 This is a favourite corner of the garden and I put this photo

on picnic & used the 'cross process' effect

Also waiting patiently .....actually very impatiently......
for these tomatoes to ripen up!!

Flo having a dust bath!

This will soon be a rockery/desert garden with lots
 of stones & drought loving plants

The sunflower that mysteriously appeared ..... presumably a seed was dropped by a bird!

Flo taking it easy on the trampoline after all that hard work taking a dustbath

Jake rarely uses the trampoline as he has a phobia of spiders

 & other creatures so she is very safe on here!

I hope you enjoyed your tour ..... I did :)

Upcycled boxes :)

Hello!!
Its that time of year again when  parents Mums go through agonies trying to decide what present to buy for their little darlings' teacher to say thankyou for their hardwork & dedication. Its almost like an awards ceremony!! I should know. The shop I work in has seen many frazzled & frustrated Mums (Dads don't seem to partake in this particular pastime) desperately seeking inspiration for a suitable gift! We have the usual Thankyou Teacher cards & gifts that come in every year but some customers prefer to buy a piece of jewellery or a Willowtree figurine. Well I'm sorry but I don't agree with spending huge amounts of money for my childs teacher. I wouldn't want to do their job for all the tea in China ..... but it is their career choice & they get paid to do it. So why do some parents feel that they have to get such extravagant gifts? I really don't want to upset anyone by this post by-the-way.... but its something thats bugging me & I need to share :-0

Aaaaanyway ..... I had to come up with 4 gifts for Jake to give out. One for his teacher, one for his helper, one for the classroom assistant and one for the lady who runs the Breakfast Club. Phew!!
I had been given some old "Carte Blanche" gift boxes that had been 'written off' from work and decided to have a go at making them more personal.

the box on the right is the original 'old' box

 



 As the glue dried they began to look great but I made the mistake of trying one of the lids on too soon. I had to start again with that one! I am going to buy some special chocs to go in the boxes & probably put a little tag on too. I know the teachers will love these as a gift & they also get to use the box as a pencil/pen pot :) Result!

Do you spend loads on teachers gifts or are you a 'make do & mend' kinda gal like me?

If you are in the teaching profession have I put my foot in it?

I seriously would hate anyone to think I'm being less than grateful :(

THANKYOU TEACHERS xx

ETA oops I forgot to say the fairy hearts were cut from a Juicy Lucy calendar :)

Blooming marvelous!!!

Yesterday we held a fundraising "Blooming Great Tea Party" in aid of the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.

I haven't baked a cake in years.

Yesterday I baked 3 ...... and some biscuits!!!! I used Jackys Semolina Biscuits recipe for the first time and they were so lovely. Thanks Jacky but I cannot for the life of me find the recipe on your blog! can you post the link in the comments? Sorry :(

I also made a chocolate marble cake, a victoria sandwich cake and some fairy cakes made from the same recipe. Neil made a carrot cake and he & Jake had made some other cakes the day before when I was at work.
Phew!!! They looked good don't you think?

We also had fun decorating the garden with bunting & putting out picnic blankets & cushions. The charity send a party pack of balloons, invites, posters & little collection boxes to leave on the table for any contributions.

Such hard work!!!

                                                              

Love the shadows ;)

It was a long hard day but i really enjoyed it - especially realising how easy it is to bake a cake!!

Unfortunately Neil had to sleep off a migraine but being as most people didn't bother to turn up he

didn't miss a lot. I'm quite cross with a lot of those who said 'yes they were coming & really looking forward to it'. Including two girls from work!! Its a good job I've got a couple more days off to cool down otherwise I might say something I regret! My manager came after work & she took a lot of goodies back with her to take to work today as our Area Manager is due in & she always loves a cake lol. Between the guests that did come & those who sent donations with apologies for being unable to make it we raised £65 which is ok I suppose ....... but I was hoping for so much more :(

Oh well onwards & upwards as they say! Now where's my 'British stiff upper lip' gone?

ETA this is the recipe :)

6oz semolina

4 1/2 oz self raising flour

3 1/2 oz caster sugar

7 1/2 oz butter or margerine

mix all ingredients into a dough

roll out & cut into shapes

bake 180c/gas 4/350f for 10-15 mins

but watch oven as they can get overcooked!