Friendship's Garden

I was rifling through my precious box of vintage greeting cards and ephemera and my hands fell upon this little gem that was once the lid of a perfume box. I have read the words many times before, but this time interpreted them differently ~ such a gentle sentiment that I thought describes the creative blogging world so perfectly...'Friendship's Garden'.

I definitely feel the need for Spring to arrive; there has been a glimmer of sunshine and I, like so many others it seems, have been moving furniture around to freshen up the house and deciding on new paint colours (white, cream, off white, ivory, with maybe a touch of duck egg blue ~ oh, and a bit more white!) Not much of a departure from what is already on the walls, but I need more light in the rooms ~ it feels like it has been dark for so long...In the winter it is perfect in an old house like ours to have darkness with candles and the fire for a warm glow, but at this time of year I want to banish the log basket, throw open the windows and let the light flood in. I want to look out of those windows and see colour in the garden again ~ am I asking too much too soon?

I crave fresh Spring~like florals and set out in earnest this week to complete a little collection of lovelies that I began to sew before Christmas! Last year I found a small piece of the most gorgeous 1930's floral print and vowed to use every last morceau...

The fabric features delicious little bouquets of flowers in my favourite colour palette of duck egg, pale pink & soft green with touches of white, and it has a washed out sort of 'laundered many times' feel with a slight crinkle that wouldn't budge with an iron, but of course this only adds to its charm...

For this large 'handbag' style lavender filled pillow, I used the floral with an old lace edged handkerchief and trimmed it with a glorious vintage opaline glass jewellery find, which would probably have been part of a necklace. The finishing touch is a drop that I made with 3 faceted glass beads ~ a white aurora, a pale pink and crystal clear. The last bit of heaven is an old French ribbon printed with a teeny floral in the same kind of soft faded colours.

I had this wonderful old painted, moulded glass button in my collection of treasures just waiting for the very moment it would find its rightful place in life again...I love it when you have special things kept, safe in the knowledge that with patience, you will find exactly the perfect fabric and trims for it, and it all comes together like a little family that were meant to be together...

More faded floral linen...I'm so predictable! I am naturally drawn to these soft, often bleached out shades because they are so gentle and easy to live with, they make me feel ~ well, happy! Especially when there is a frost outside like this morning and still need a blanket on the bed...

This little pillow has a feather inner ~ I have this sized pad made especially to my own requirements as I love miniature cushions piled up on beds and chairs and they are practically impossible to find in the shops. It measures just 12" x 6". I made the cover from an old damask cloth, trimmed it with lace and made my own corsage using vintage fabrics. I like the edges to have a frayed raggedy feel, it honestly takes ages to pull away individual threads to get the effect...

The little button in the centre is a Victorian French hand~painted enamel, my absolute favourite kind of button!

I told you there was a glimmer of sunshine ~ hope that this picture doesn't look too washed out, but I actually quite liked the fact that it looked bright and sunny and yes, positively Spring~like! This is one of my favourite old boxes, covered in a faded green fabric and a celluloid portrait panel in the centre ~ I think she looks a little like the Duchess of Devonshire?

Another favourite fabric covered box, a gift that was bought in Bruges. It is a bit fragile, but the bird motif is so adorable and I use it to keep these little lovelies in...

A set of French greeting cards with die cut, embossed scraps and ribbons c.1900. They are so beautiful and the colours fit in perfectly with everything that I love most...

Be still my beating heart...

Isn't this little one enchanting? I wonder if my gorgeous girl would agree to being dressed like this? 'Look what I found in the garden Mummy!'

This paper scrap is an old button card which has been hand~painted to match the buttons that were originally on it. It never ceases to amaze me how much careful attention to detail was given to tiny things ~ buttons used to be such an important design aspect of a garment before zips and velcro came along! I can't find any of the buttons that belonged to this card now, so I must have used them all, but I still love it...

An original watercolour of a strikingly elegant lady painted on a postcard, dated 1904. This is one of those special items that I couldn't ever part with because I think that she is so beautiful and I often wonder who she is...

...I've got at least a hundred of them, but top of the list is the arrival of a new season and with it blue skies, sunshine, flowers and light! My wish for you, is of course the same and to have a lovely weekend in 'Friendship's Garden'...

Until next time,
Ali x