Out of Chaos Comes Lovelies + Giveaway

It's been a bit hectic here.  I've picked up some bits and pieces from my travels to show you all but I just haven't found the time to take pics and post about them.  It takes a lot of time and effort to take really dark, out of focus photos, dontcha know?

The past couple of weeks have been all about the Wee Man and his allergies.  But to be honest it normally is all about the Wee Man and his allergies.  I've had meeting after meeting with various people at the school.  Discussing this, that and everything in between.  He starts reception in September, so he will be moving from the safe bubble that is his nursery class to the big school and beyond.  He'll also be having lunch at school which is a whole minefield in itself.  I won't bore you with the details of it all, but needless to say it's been quite a stressful time.

We all had lunch at the school yesterday, so we could witness first hand what lunch time at the school is like.  Think sixty, four and five year olds eating lunch with very little adult supervision.  After the lunch, the Big Man declared that he wanted me to be at the school every lunch time to watch the Wee Man.  He was physically shaking with fear with wide starey eyes and everything.  Thankfully, I talked him down from the precipice he was tottering on.

Anyway, there's still a lot to discuss and do before the end of term, which is only a couple of weeks away.  So really, not feeling any big pressure or stress at all.  Nope, not me.  Stress free and emotionless me(!)

Anyway, in spite of all these goings ons, I've found great solace in shopping.  A girl's gotta shop and all that.  I've picked up a few lovelies on my travels this past week.  First up, a set of vintage playing cards.  I've seen some gorgeous ones floating around blog land and of course I wanted some also.  They're so pretty and I'm going to use them for some crafty thingie rather than play with them.  I'm not sure they would survive a game of Scabbie Queen or Snap in our house.  We do get rather excitable when playing cards.

They are illustrated with wild flowers from Western Australia.  They sure beat the native British dandelion.  They are a complete pack with their original plastic case, £1.

The Wee Man and I went to the dentist last week and of course we had to pop into the charity shops on the way.  There were very poor pickings on the day but at the very last charity shop we went into I found this delightful lovely.  I very nearly didn't pick it up as it is a far cry from my usual vintage bone china.  But when I did pick it up I couldn't put it back down.  A quick peek at the bottom and I realised they were Gisela Graham and not only that, they were brand new and still had their stickers on them.

It's a Gisela Graham Gingerbread man jug and plate, £1.99.  It's so cute, the Wee Man is enamoured with it as am I. The Big Man however did his rolley eye thing when he saw it.  It's perfect for Christmas Day dinner and I'm thinking of using it as the theme for the table this year.  But that's six months away and only one day.  It's too cute to use only once a year, so I'm on the hunt for the perfect display spot in my house.  Which is a lot harder than it sounds.  I think it'll look a wee bit out of place next to vintage tea cups and the like.

Giveaway

On Saturday we also made a visit to our local scrapstore.  It's a great place and I'll write a whole post dedicated to the Aladdin's cave that is our scrapstore.  But that's another day and another post.  One of the things I did pick up was a great knitting pattern book.

It's got lots of great children's knits in there.  Beautiful, whimsical knits that I would love to be able to make.  I picked it up thinking that one day I'd be good enough to attempt them, but in truth I think that will be many, many years from now.  I think it would be a shame for this book to get lost in my craft stash so I'd like to give it to someone who would make use of the patterns.

There are 12 patterns in all.

My favourite is the green Maid Marion jumper.  It's so cute with a little fringey frilly thing at the bottom.

If you would like the book, just leave a comment on this post and I'll pick a name out next week.  I'll give it until next Tuesday 12th July.  Good luck.

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