A really, really long blog post

It's been a while since a posted (again) but only for good reasons.....too much socialising has kept me away from the computer. So I have a bit of a backlog of things to tell you, and little treasures to show you. A real mixture! I was really lucky to receive some lovely gifts, I made a couple of things that I'll show you, AND I did some shopping!

I know that posting about Easter gifts in mid June is awfully late, but these are photos that I took just days before our computer died. Just before the Easter weekend, a little package arrived from Mercedes (Liberty Biberty). It was so beautifully wrapped - there is definitely something awfully exciting about a "do not open until...." sign!It was so lovely to have a little gift arrive out of the blue, and when I opened it there were the most beautiful little Easter miniatures that Mercedes had made! They are so sweet! Aren't I lucky!
The rusty rabbits are now in the garden of the Shabby Cottage, and the little boys room has some very sweet bunny accessories! The little cushion and Country Bunny book are delightful and I love the little blackboard (it even has chalk) and the rusty "tin" items! Thank you Mercedes - they are lovely
I think my favourite item (is it ok to have favourites??) is this little table and potplant. Here they are in a corner of the bedroom. I had always meant to make a little stool or table for this corner, and this just fits beautifully. Such pretty colours. You can see one of Paris Minatures Laduree cupcakes there as well, on one of my vintage plates. And in the corner, on a tray made by Frederica, is another recent arrival at the shabby cottage....the little patchwork doll. I must admit I was blatently copying Flora when I bought this little doll. I saw it on her blog and just fell in love with her - thank you Flora for the link to Pamela's Etsy store.

Another gorgeous gift arrived in the mail a few days ago, this time from Norma, who recently came to visit! When I opened it, I was amazed to find that she had made a little beanbag for the little boy's room ....the fabric is gorgeous - covered in tiny stars. It looks so comfortable and now the cushions I made don't have to lie on the floor any more. Here is the beanbag in its new home.
And that wasn't all!! Norma had also gone to the trouble to make a selection of Biggles books - she had seen one of my posts mentioning that Biggles books were on my wishlist and had made some! I love the vintage covers and my little boy, Matthew, is most impressed. My daughter Ella says that her favourite thing in the Shabby Cottage is the beanbag. So thank you, Norma - you gift was a real hit! You are so kind.

I thought I would post a picture of the little presents I made for Norma when she came to visit. I made her a breakfast try in pink and green, and a little toiletry tray in similar colours. Norma chose a really lovely selection of plates to take home and I slipped in some New Zealand miniatures as well.

As far as other additions to the cottage go, I was really pleased to find these gorgeous vintage picnic boxes on Etsy. They are so lovely and have found a new home in the kitchen.
I was happy to have finally found an image of one of my favourite plates - it is by Royal Winton and has a picture of a caravan on it - I made a miniature version for the cottage!

Finally, I was reading through some of the blogs I follow a while ago and I found a wonderful blog post by Suzanna. What gorgeous things! Like her, I would like everything from this shop. Since they can't be had here (and I probably can't afford them either), then the next best thing is to make them in miniature. I really like these new sets - they are happy-looking.Goodness, you deserve a medal for reading all the way through this blog post. I've nearly finished now and I promise not to do such a long one again. The last thing I wanted to show you was this gorgeous plate set - my new favourite - aren't these just the picture of shabby chic!!