White O'Morn Cottage

Introducing ...the kitchen! ....and the Nualas are in the house!

I don't know it you have ever noticed but I have never put up a picture of the cottage kitchen  - and for good reason too!

It was a bit of a mess, storeroom, workroom and unusable as a kitchen or for dining. But this weekend it was the setting for the inaugaral dinner!

My two lovely friends, Ruby and Nuala came to stay for the weekend and this motivated me to sort out the kitchen for once and for all. Here is the table set for our special dinner. I used the lovely Willow Pattern dishes I have collected for years. Ruby and Nuala cooked and I set the table and we had a fabulous meal and finished it off with a bit of line dancing in the living room!

More Sheet Music Paper Ideas for you...

                                                                   

I was lucky enough to be offered this lovely old sheet music on our recycle site jumbletown.ie. I have lots of great craft and repurposing ideas for it. So far I have used it as giftwrap for a gift for a friend. I also used it to line some drawers in the bedroom. Add a few drops of lavendar oil to give it a lovely scent and deter insects.

I also used it to decorate the deep windowsill of the bathroom in the cottage. These walls are 18 inches thick and they make for a real feature in each of the rooms. I will paste it down and clear varnish it as it is in a bathroom. Isn't it  pretty?

Teeda's Craft's

When my sister, Teeda, was home a few weeks ago she brought a selection of her beautiful beads for our craft night. This is what I produced from her fabulous stash. She took over knitting my cottage teacosy while giving me instructions. I loved the colours of these aqua beads and the silver filigree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course she brought me some of her own fabulous work in the form of this Swarovski pink snowflake hatpin. I'm one of the few people who uses a hatpin!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More hatpin beauties were bought by her on Ebay. These ones are vintage...wonderful!

                                                                             

They look so lovely in my swan hatpin cushionwith the rest of my vintage hat and scarf pins.

Vintage Irish Table Linen Gifts

 

 

There is nothing I love more than old Irish table linens. So when I got a call from my friend Cecil saying he had a bag of table linens that had belonged to his mother I knew I was in for a treat. This is only part of what was in it. (Cecil is the man who made me the lovely wooden items in an earlier post.) 

A Battenburg tray cloth

Hand crocheted doilies and tatted tray cloths

close up of same delicate beauties

This beauty has tiny shamrocks on. I'll be outlining them in emerald green for someone I know.

 

Adorable homemade baby pillowcase with skipping teddies embroidery. In pink and blue (must have been done before baby  was born!)                                                                         

A set of hand appliqued napkins with the tinyiest hand stitches I have ever seen. I have used macro setting as it was so neat I thought it was machined but...no...all hand done

  

And some hand painted traycloths. Most unusual.                     

       

...And this one is my favourite...  brand new French made waffle design vintage guest towel and the lilac/mauve colour is perfiect for the bathroom!                                                            

 Thank you Cecil. I love them and will put them to good use in  White O'Morn and share some with Angie in the Old Schoolhouse. Angie and I are the only people I know who actually use tray cloths...and it looks like I have hit the motherlode of tray cloths!

Here's one I accidently collected earlier!

I had just painted and hung a shelf unit and could not decide what to display on it. I decided I should collect old teapots from now on. But of course...when I gathered the ones I already had...it was filled!  Who knew I had a collection around me!

I finally finished my hand knitted tea cosy so what better place to show it off!  It is a replica of White O'Morn. Kimme has some gorgeous tea cosies on Irish Cottage Dreams and she is doing a PIF on there at the moment. You'll find it on my sidebar...Will you have a tea cosy? Ah ye' will go on..go on go on....

Tomorrow Angie and I are going to a huge fete in Celbridge to help sort the donations. We are sure to find lots of goodies for ourselves. We'll be showing and telling on here and Angie's blog  - The Old Schoolhouse..see sidebar for the link.                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the original!

Bling your watering can!

I spent today volunteering for St Raphael's John of God's annual fete in Celbridge County Kildare. It will be on on 6th July and I will be on one of the stalls that day.

But today it was sorting day..... Which means we were sorting out the donations left in by the public.

So - of course, I found treasure while I was sorting...lots of it. But this is probably my favourite...An old watering can, painted dark green and then decorated with pictures from magazines pasted on and varnished over. It's a bit bockety and battered but this only adds to it's rustic charm! I couldn't even wait to clean it up before taking a pic of it for you!                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What else did I find? Well.....an old fibreglass roses tray....

...a vintage doll and dish for Angie at The Old Schoolhouse, a leprechaun for Debby at Sanity-no longer an Option. A cottage plaque for Kimme at Irish Cottage Dreams (to help fuel the dream) and..and andand...more vintage treasures. It was really hard work sorting all day but great fun. They are a really lovely bunch of ladies (and Kevin) who do wonderful work for St. Raphael's centre for special needs people......and I am going back with Angie in tow next Monday!  

Also I am going to Leitrim with Angie for the weekend so will be missing for a few days. Check back soon for more details of goodies as yet to be found.

 

Green Gift Ideas

I always save pretty boxes from gifts and any tissue paper and ribbons and trims from any presents or anything I buy. When it comes time to do up a gift for someone else you have a stash to hand.Lace, trims and bows from old bras or knickers are also great to salvage and use on hand made cards and gifts. (...Here's one that was on me knickers earlier! :-) ...always keep a sense of humour - it makes everything so much more fun!

GIFT IDEA.... that is as green as can be... in your local charity shop you will find very pretty china cups and saucers. Wash them, polish them and pop a nightlight candle in, or a little pot pouri or a string of vintage pearls or beads(loads of these in charity shops for pennies ) do them up with your salvaged tissue, place in a saved gif box, wrap it in a scrap of fabric, or old wallpaper, tie it up with salvaged lace or ribbon. Make a handmade card or tag and you have a sweet little gift for a friend or sister. (These fine china cups are semi transparent and allow a lovely glow from the candle to shine through) fabric makes a great giftwrap. This small gift costs about 50c if you just count the money (and that went to charity) but cost much more in thought and effort. Just be sure to give it to someone of like mind..or they'll have you down as one cheap chick!                                                                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thrifting Trawl Today

Today I went into Dublin city centre with Paul to meet our handome son Chris for lunch. I,  of course, took the opportunity to do a little thrifting on the side (while the hubby and son did a bit of male bonding) .....I did invite them to come along but strangely enough they declined preferring to sit in the restaurant and talk!

Anyway here is my haul.

a lovely rustic wooden ice bucket

vintage rolling pin

two boxes of vintage soap

a pink glass set of perfume bottles and tray

Vintage flower  trug (I'll be painting it duck egg blue and swanning around the garden snipping roses and laying them gently into it)

A gorgeous hand painted cheerful duck. He will live in my cottage garden.

A blue/green sugar shaker.  mmm...

two vintage small pillows with sunflowers fabric..

a very old blue handpainted perfume bottle -

Vintage beaded choker...

Cut glass bonbon dish..

blue and white faded old plate...a keeper this one. A true faded beauty...(like meself!)

silver plated cake tongs...keeping to go with my duck egg blue 3 tiered cake plate

silver plated nut dish...

a blush pink nylon slip for my  vintage lingerie site ...

..and a piece of broiderie anglaise fabric for crafting...

total ...€24 euro which is about 30 dollars.

A room with a view

I'm back and missed you all. I am busy catching up on all yer' goings on. I am so relaxed that - if I was any more laid back ...I'd be horizontal!

I had spent a very busy morning spring cleaning the cottage (yes, I know it's June but I'm just catching up) After all the building work it was time to wash all the china as it had a thin coat of sawdust,  which - I'm sure is full of fibre and roughage and is good for the digestion but I just don't like it. So, I got knee deep up to the elbows in hot sudsy water and washed all of it in one go!

I was busily drying each piece and placing it on the table when.... I looked up and stopped in my tracks. ...Not for the first time ... I saw it as if for the first time...the view framed in the kitchen window. The peaceful vignette formed by nature in the background and gleaming vintage china in the foreground. I hope the novelty never wears off. I grabbed my camera to try to capture it...Did I get it? Do you get it?

I'll be checking out all your doings and leaving appropriate comments thereon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS. on a more sombre note. Please send your loving, healing thoughts, wishes or prayers (whatever works for you) to Angie's 23 year old nephew, Colm, who fell and broke his back while on holiday last week. Miracle needed. Do what you can. Thanks.

A Chestnut Mare named....Napoleon

Meet Napoleon. I woke up at the cottage last Monday to see this beautiful creature nibbling the grass in my overgrown weed field (or wildflower meadow in blogspeak)

My neighbour from up the mountain, Noel, had offered to put her on my land to tame the grass there.  She is ten years old and has had several foals. Her latest foal died and Noel thinks she needs a change of scenery and a  little spoiling. This is where I come in with treats like carrots, apples and oats. She eats them from my hand and is so friendly and I love having her. I call her Napoleon (huh?) ...after the horse in The Quiet Man.

I am still on holidays - I just got a chance at a computer to keep you informed of what a great time I was having! I'm off to Angie's house - The Old Schoolhouse for the weekend and Teeda is coming down too. What fun that will be!

Kimme and Patrick of Irish Cottage Dreams are staying at White O'Morn this weekend and are going to visit nearby Strokestown so I told them to get lots of pictures of it for Colleen as it is her family's home place.