A couple of weeks ago, one of my closest friends and blogger-extraordinaire Jenna from Glitter Daze blog came to stay with me and we has a fantastic time going on little trips, taking snaps for our blogs and getting stuck into craft projects so that we would have plenty of DIY tutorials
This week, when hubby had a half-day off work, I cooked us both a yummy soup for lunch. It’s definitely the time of year that I want to have something warm to eat at lunchtime (there was actually frost on the ground here this week!) so I looked up recipes for
Just a quick post this afternoon to share my photos from bonfire night as promised in last week’s post! The plan on ‘actual’ bonfire night was to build a small fire in the back garden and chill out with jacket potatoes for dinner, followed by a lot of playing with
I’ve received fantastic news that my little lifestyle blog has been honoured by REXLondon.com as one of their favourite blogs. They contacted me to let me know that I’d won this little award for my crafty sewing projects and that they had shared details of my blog on their ‘beautiful crafting blogs’ page.
Patient: “Doctor, doctor, I feel like a pair of curtains”, Doctor: “Pull yourself together”. So today I’m sharing my latest sewing achievement in my little vintage caravan project – I’ve made some curtains. And roman blinds too. The roman blinds came about by accident because I thought I’d ordered enough fabric
It’s Halloween today and I wanted to show off the cool pumpkin that hubby and I carved yesterday. Upon the recommendation of my friend-with-children, I bought this 3 piece pumpkin carving kit from The Factory Shop. It was already reduced to £1 when I bought it and that was a couple
Can you believe that it’s nearly Halloween? Have you got your costume sorted out and your treats ready for visitors? I recently wrote about decorating your home for autumn and how you can easily turn your decorations into a spooky Halloween decor with just a few changes – carve up those
Now that we’re heading towards the end of October, I think it’s okay for me to start talking about making cakes for your Halloween party! Even if you’re not having a Halloween party for the little ‘uns, maybe you can make these little cakes for the trick-or-treaters, or just make
This is a big moment for me – I’m sharing the first sewing project I’ve done in my little vintage caravan after starting the project to makeover the old retro van into my new sewing studio. I’m still quite far off finishing my ‘office’ but I’ve got a table and
Can you guess what I got up to this weekend? Does the title of this post kind of give it away? Yes, I had one of the most laughter-filled days ever on Saturday when I met up with my friends for a day filled with sausages, cider, glitz and bingo –
This week I’m getting involved with a bit of a blog challenge from lovely lifestyle blog La Vie Sophie – If you’ve not already checked out her blog, do it now! After meeting her at the Company blog awards earlier this year Sophie has inspired me with her gorgeous photographs
Earlier this month I challenged myself to use-up all the odds and ends of cosmetics and skincare products that I have on my dressing table rather than spending more money that I don’t have on the current ‘essential’ products. When I buy moisturiser, I know full well that I already have pots
Just a quick photo today of the lovely bunch of sunflowers that hubby brought home for us this weekend. These bright yellow sunflower heads bring a much-needed injection of sunshine into our retro living room for autumn now that the weather is turning grey. The flowers are arranged in our chunky Hornsea storage tub which
Let’s start with the real reason why I’m setting myself this challenge: I need to save money between now and Christmas (yes, I’ve peeped into the piggy-bank and there’s not enough in there to buy Christmas cards, let alone anything else!) and the best way to do this is to stop
If you’ve been following my interior design series for my mid-century modern living room over the past few months, you’ll know how keen I am on retro design and how I am trying to recreate a swish designer look on a budget – check out some of my previous articles
I recently bought some frames at a bargain price from The Range and wanted to make my own unique artwork for my bedroom. The frames were very large carved wooden frames in a lovely dark wood that I thought would go perfectly with my bed frame. I loved the frames, but
If you’re looking to create a welcoming, stylish and homely look in your living room, giving your home décor a retro twist is a great place to start. The versatility of the retro look means that you can make your interior design as subtle or as all-out as you want.
The phrase ‘vintage modern’ has been floating around the vernacular for the last few years, but what exactly does it mean? And how can you achieve the look in your own home?
First and foremost, I’d like to welcome all the lovely new visitors from Creative Crafting’s blog tour – I have been waiting for this day for a while now and I’m so pleased to be able to welcome you to my blog. While you’re here please have a good look around
Well it’s officially the summer holidays now and students up and down the country are waiting for their exam results. Whether they have just completed their A-Levels, college course or first year at university, they will undoubtedly be jittery about what the results-slip says, because it’ll confirm the path that
Amazing news has just been announced that the Duchess of Cambridge has gone into labour this morning! The whole of the UK are waiting for the news that the new heir to the throne has been born and I cannot wait to find out whether it is a boy or
When the sun comes out, my thoughts turn to the outside of my house. I love my garden, but don’t really like getting dirty – so I’m more than happy to sit outside and watch while hubby gets to work digging over the borders! But while I was sitting outside
One of the wonderful contributions to June’s Inspiration Challenge was the start of a story by writer Amanda Addison. You may remember that I shared an excerpt of the text in the Inspiration Challenge blog post which focused on projects inspired by beach huts and now I want to share
The ombre trend – two colours blending together – is everywhere this summer. It started with ombre hair, with many women choosing dark roots blending into blonde tips, and I love how this makes hair look naturally sunkissed for summer. Now the trend is being reflected in clothing, with the ‘dip dye’ effect appearing around the bottom
My hubby brought home a bunch of stunning orange roses for me last week. I’d never seen orange roses before and they coordinate perfectly with my retro living room design, so hubby gets extra brownie points for good taste! I totally forgot to take a photo of them when I
If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been running a series of articles on hen parties – and with the summer wedding season fast approaching, I’m glad to be able to bring you some top-tips from lots of my fellow bloggers. Ellen previously sharing her article on
Have you noticed that a lot of charity shops are now allocating a good portion of their display space to stocking vintage items? I’ve been in many charity shops recently that have dedicated a whole ‘department’ to vintage clothing, accessories and even retro homewares. Some shops that I’ve visited recently have
If you’ve got little ‘uns you’ll probably be relieved that half term is now over and they are back in school for the summer term, but with the school year nearly over, the kids are already getting ready for their summer holiday, planning weeks away at the grandparents’, or, if
Today is the launch of a brand new photography exhibition at the Morley College, Westminster in London and it features work by my wonderful photographer friend and blog contributor Claire Lacey of Lacey In Places. Here she shares her photographs on the subject of Man v Nature and discusses how she produced the
It’s the start of another month (lets hope it’ll continue to be a delightfully sunny one!), and here is this month’s update the on Inspiration Challenge from its new home at Cassiefairy HQ. Last month I took over the Inspiration Challenge from the lovely Lucy and with the help of my friend Meg,
I don’t know about you, but when my house is untidy, I just can’t relax. I don’t mean that my home has to be in über-clean condition, but if there’s mess covering my surfaces, my mind feels just as messy and I really want to tidy up before I can get started on
My new hen party series is well underway, with lovely blogger Ellen Avants sharing her ideas for personalising a hen party and Lacey in Places writing articles ideas for games and budget planning. Today I’m sharing my own experiences of my hen party and why it’s best to share..! Back when I celebrated my hen
This week I arrived home after a hard days work to find a massive box on my doorstep. The arrival of a parcel is always exciting and it was especially great today as this was a delivery of flowers from Debenhams. I am baffled how a bunch of flowers can be sent through
After last summer was a complete wash out, I am really looking forward to this summer with optimism. I am sure that anything the weather throws at us this year can’t be anywhere near as bad as the constant rain we all experienced in the UK last year. This resulted in
Have you noticed that pockets are everywhere this Spring/Summer? On a recent shopping trip down the high street I spotted pockets on almost every item of clothing and I’m loving the contrasting pocket look. Although I want to follow the trend, I’ve never been one to spend my hard-earned cash on
I am having a tough day. Not because my work has gone wrong. Not because anyone has been mean to me. And not because I’ve broken anything (which does generally speaking happen on a daily basis). Today has been a little bit more difficult than usual simply because I have no
If you love shoes the way that I love shoes, you’ll be experiencing the same dilemma that I am. As the shoe ‘collection’ grows and the wardrobe stays the same size, I’m struggling with finding places to stash my footwear. So that’s what this week’s Tuesday Shoesday is all about
I’ve been working on a little craft project especially for Mother’s Day and here’s my finished item, based on a tutorial that I saw on Pinterest. The original idea came from this image from Pretty Pastels and then I went looking for instructions on making a DIY version – which I
As we all know it’s National Pie Week in the UK this week (I hope you saw my blog post on my favourite pie recipes on Monday?) and I have some more good news to share with you… I’ve been working on a free recipe book to share all my Pieday
You may remember this blog post that I wrote when I found my first record box from the vintage vinyl fair at Southwold last year. I have never loved a record box, or any storage for that matter, “at first sight” but this time it was different. Because it was orange.
Having nearly finished my retro-inspired makeover of my living, I am now looking at the other rooms in my home to see which needs attention next, and my out-dated bathroom is definitely near the top of the list! I was discussing this with fellow blogger and my twitter friend Helen
Guest post by blogger Eva Stephen, author of fantastic interior decor articles for House to Home, DIY by Design and Mad About Pink. In our part of the world winter tends to get too long and depressing. We can’t wait for spring to come, sun to shine and butterflies to
I love this craft project to make a little trinket / paperweight for your loved-one for Valentines day. Yes, that’s right, you don’t have to buy this gift from a designer or craft fair – you can make it yourself at home! I found the DIY instructions for this super-cute gift
It’s that time of year again – Christmas came and went taking most of our bank balances with it and a year full of money-demanding events lies ahead. However, never fear – if you’ve been given the heady task of organising a hen party then you’ll be pleased to know that it
Back by popular demand, here’s Lacey in Places to share the story of how a holiday two years ago led to one of her most random purchases to date – the Quillow. Back in November 2010, I decided I needed was some winter sun. So where better to go that’s warm
Here’s a guest post treat for you all today – a craft project from my photographer friend Claire who blogs over at Lacey in Places. She’s going to share her experiences of lampshade making with you and give us a step-by-step tutorial on how to do it ourselves. Take it
Well, the UK weather forecasters have been predicting a deep-freeze for a while now, with a freakishly low-temperatured cold-front predicted to hit the country this week – and for once they actually got it right – it snowed! At least in some parts of the country that is. When I wake
When you think of interior design, does it evoke thoughts of spiritual health or improved decision-making? This is exactly what a peaceful home can provide. Applying the general principle of feng shui, you can invite positive energies into your life with the way that you arrange your living space, especially your
I hope you remember that, for most of last year, I have been working on the decor of my living-room of my new home, and although its taken ages (due to limited funds and time-consuming bargain hunting!), its nearing completion. Here’s the link to my mood board if you’d like
Last year was really a significant year for my blog – I started writing more, taking more photos, chatting to my readers and other lovely bloggers and have posted pretty-much every day for the whole year! I started to take myself more seriously with my blog writing and I dropped the
It’s finally New Years Eve and the time for making resolutions for the coming year has arrived. I’ve had a pretty awesome 2012 (the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee made it an extra special year) and I will be sad to see it go but I’m sure that 2013 can only be
I remember that not too long ago (well, in my lifetime at least) the January sales started on January 1st. We’d all have a proper week off over Christmas and the only thing you’d need to drag yourself out of the house for was a pint of milk and loaf
Happy Christmas eve everyone! The day has finally come where everything is done, you’ve finished all your work and you’re ready to enjoy the big day. I think I might actually prefer Christmas eve to Christmas day itself, but don’t tell it 😉 In our family we not only have traditions
I recently veered off my usual route home and stopped by a local farm shop called Maple farm. I was expecting to find yet another swish ‘farm’ shop with shelves full of £5 chutneys, freezers containing the local butcher’s joints and workers in branded uniforms. What I actually found however
I’m off to a fireworks display tonight and I always like to take something warming with me for dinner, whether it’s soup (try my carrot & coriander or red pepper & tomato soup recipes) or my favourite bonfire night dish; chilli con carne. So I’ve rustled up a lovely chilli
I am pleased to say that I’ve got another freebie for my retro living room design project – an armchair that was on its way from a vintage furniture shop to the dump. It didn’t exactly look like this when my hubby brought it home to me; it had a cream
At a record fair that I went to recently, I was browsing the music when the record boxes caught my eye – there were a couple of wooden orange ones, that I thought would be a lovely addition to my retro living room ‘theme’. Luckily, my sister-in-law knows about my penchant for
I confess that I’ve got nothing done this week. I’ve seriously just been glued to my TV watching every event I possibly can and have been loving every second! And then re-watching it again on the Olympic roundup every night until the early hours. I’m so pleased that I have
As you probably already know about me, I’m quite thrifty and I like to get a bargain but this one takes the biscuit – I got this lovely retro table completely free! I was pretty lucky with this one, as it was sat outside a house nearby (I was just
I had a bit of a result last week when I snapped up a load of reduced fruit, and although I’d bought a bit more than I could use, I had the idea in the back of my mind that I could have a go a freezing them. I love
Due to our recent house move, we’ve been in need of a little more storage and when my husband picked up an old, scuffed, dark wood bathroom cabinet I couldn’t really see the potential in it. Here’s how we made a manky cabinet into a vintage masterpiece!
Last night I watched the Channel 4 programme by artist Grayson Perry ‘In the Best Possible Taste’ in which he researches the British class system for his recent artwork: 6 tapestries titled The Vanity of Small Differences. Grayson believes that taste is directly influenced by our class and has created
I don’t think it’s too much of an overstatement when I say I love these lucky cats! My love of all things kitsch has been well documented over the years (I think it started when I was 16 and began to choose my own decor!) and I’ve been admiring these tacky plastic cats
If you’re looking for a professional writer to work with you to create some amazing content or practical DIYs for your brand, you’ve come to the right place!
The average person experiences up to 3,000 advertising messages per day, so the biggest risk for a business is to be lost within this barrage of marketing. But businesses too need to be certain that they are not adding to the problem of junk marketing themselves…
I’ve decided to join up to the WordPress Post-A-Day/Post-A-Week campaign and try to increase my blogging activity, both on my personal blog and the Cassiefairy blog. Here’s the link to The Daily Post blog so you can find out what this challenge is all about, and maybe get involved. The
I was absolutely thrilled to be asked by Creative Crafting Magazine to contribute an article on online promotion techniques following the masterclass I hosted on Creative Connections in honour of the network’s 2 birthday celebrations. I’m extremely excited to be able to bring you a sneak peek at the article
On Tuesday 30th August I was fortunate enough to see comedy rock star Tim Minchin‘s performance at Snape Maltings Concert Hall as part of their August prom celebrations. I say ‘fortunate’ for two reasons; firstly because the performance was amazing and will go down in history at Snape; and secondly because, as
I am pleased to report that my chat session on the Creative Connections network on Tuesday 19th Aug went swimmingly! Loads of crafty individuals gathered together on the network and in their chatroom to join the birthday celebrations of Creative Connections – the social network linked to Creative Crafting magazine.
One of my lovely wedding blogging friends recently spoke about the challenges and rewards of being self-employed (although it seems that the challenges often appear to outway the rewards at times!) You can sometimes feel like you’re the only one out there working from sunrise til sunset, but in reality
