Day Fifteen

Hello lovely people...

I hope a wonderful weekend was had. I can't believe what super glorious weather we're having here in the UK at the moment. I'm definately trying to make the most of it by either being outdoors or at least having the doors and windows open all day!

 

It was Mr Red Bird's birthday on friday....horay! What a great day to have a birthday, and with weather like this, you couldn't ask for more! Mr Red Bird was super pleased with his assortment of gifts from friends and family. He didn't do too badly at all if I say so myself. His main present from me was ordered all a bit too late and last minute which isn't good considering it needed to be made & then shipped over from NY. It finally arrived this morning & Mr Red Bird was over-the-moon when he saw the postman rock up to our front door. I just wanted to say a massive thankyou to Eunice of Hanga Bag for understanding my predicament and pulling out all the stops to get it made and delivered to me as soon as she could {you are truly wonderful}!! I'll get a pic of Mr Red Bird wearing his happy sack soon.

On sunday we went for a little bike ride along the canal path from Bath to Bradford Upon Avon with a few of our friends. It was a such a beautiful day stopping off for beers & lunch in the sun along the way. This is definately how I want all my Sunday's to be...



Can you believe how wonderful my man is... The day before his birthday he suprised me with this little gift. I had secretly had my eye on this 'Magical Menagerie' for months and months and was overjoyed when he gave it to me! I've made up the Kangeroo...I might make one every month, but I need to find some space to display them all.



Anil & Reema at High Elms Manor



Okay...so it was my friends wedding last week. I just wanted to share some quick snaps from the day...





N E W : S T O C K ...I  was thrilled when I got my package finally from Stacie Bloomfield of Gingiber Home & Nursery Decor. I placed an order with her for her fabulous animal illustration print cushions when I came across her quirky style on Etsy. They are even better and softer in real life and look great sat around the shop window in Charlie Boots, Bath. Come in for a look at our new stock from Rebekah & Stacie!



Day Ten

Hello..!

So, the last couple of days have been a little creative. I thought that as it's coming up to Easter, it would be nice to get into the spirit of things and make pretty our little shop window. We get a lot of passers by everyday and I thought this might not only brighten up our day's in the shop, but also customers! So, Charlie (From 'Charlie Boots') & I gathered at Sally's (from 'Bear Hands') on Tuesday evening for a little hands-on Easter Egg painting and creating! I must say, that I'd never done this before and was suprised at how hard it is to blow the egg contents out of the shell!! If anyone has any tips, it would definately be good to know for next year.

How we did it:

1) Wash and dry your egg.

2) Using a drawing pin, make a pin-sized hole in the top (smaller end) of the egg.

3) Make another hole in the base, but this time slightly bigger (as this is the end the ingredients will come out from).

4) Using a long dress pin or sewing needle, stir around inside the egg top and bottom. This will loosen the egg membrane so it will come out easier.

5) Grab a bowl. Blow into the hole at the top pretty hard until all the egg contents comes out.

(You may need to wiggle the needle around inside a bit more and possibly make the top/bottom holes ever so slightly bigger. You don't want to make them too big as you don't really want them to be visible.)

6) Let the empty eggshells dry for 48hrs. You can quicken the process by zapping for 5-10 seconds in the microwave until hot to touch. This will dry out shell and also toughen it up a little.

7) Yay..your eggs are ready to decorate! Use pens, paints, glitter, sequins, gold leaf or whatever takes your fancy.

Once the paint has dried, you can hang these babies anywhere you like. We've hung ours in a branch that's in our shop window. I used fishing wire to hang. Tie a knot in the wire and thread the knot through the hole in the top of the egg. I then put a little superglue over the hole to seal...and ta-da!

I'd love to see your creations! You can post me pics of your eggs to my facebook page, www.facebook.com/RedBirdMakes.



Day Eight

I was so pleased when the postie dropped this into me at the shop last week. This is a selction of cards and mirrors from the Bristol based, very talented artist & illustrator Rebekah Leigh Marshall. Aren't they just fabulous & a super blast of colour for Spring!! These items are now available to purchase in the shop, so pop in and say hello...

Mothers Day...I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and did their bit in showing their appreciation to their mum's this mother's day!


I had such a lovely weekend. Firstly Mr Red Bird and I caught up with an old friend of mine in St Albans, Issie and her 3 year old daughter Lauren. We were warmly greeted at the front door by a very over excited Lauren who couldn't quite wait for us to arrive! I couldn't quite believe that it had been 2 whole years since we last saw each other and her little baby girl was now a little lady..oh, how time flies. Thankyou, Issie and Lauren♥


Saturday Mr Red Bird & I went to a best friends fabulously colourful Indian wedding! It was truly wonderful & I must admit that I did get very teary seeing her walk down the isle. She looked stunning... I absolutely love the vibrancy of an Indian wedding with all the bright coloured Sari's and amazing jewellery, it really is a different thing from the traditional English wedding. Big love to Reema and Anil ♥

N E W : M A K E S >>> here are a couple of new necklaces I've made using reclaimed super bright yellow leather. One is a fun bunting necklace and the other is arrows on a long chain. These will soon be available in my etsy shop, but in the meantime why not take a look at the other fun things I make.

Day Two

It's turned out to be a glorious day here in Bristol after a grey start.
Not feeling entirely productive, but managed to get my little red Fiesta collected for scrap today to hopefully make room for mine & Mr Red Birds new 'little' (and I really mean little) Diatsu van which we shall hopefully be collecting tomorrow with any luck! It's been long awaited as 'old red' retired in November, and we've really missed her...

This is one my N E W : M A K E S for my online shop. I haven't yet put it up for sale, so you're lucky enough to have first look at this newly handcrafted baby! It's a cute clutch purse that I've made using a really fab silver/grey fabric I came across with a Hummingbird print on. I decided to line the inside with a shimmery gold jersey t-shirting, so not only is it super scrummy on the outside, but it's scrummy inside too! A cotton print tag just inside the opening and a tan leather zip pull are perfect finishing touches. This purse is perfect for for spring, saying goodbye to winter... Perhaps you've got a wedding coming up. Don't you think this purse would look wonderful for your bridesmaids to all have? Let me know if you have a question about custom orders/colours!

Day One

Okay, this is my first ever blog... I'm a little nervous & a bit unsure about how to start. So, as with all introductions of any kind, I feel it is good to say 'hi' & introduce myself! I'm Joe (short for Joanna, but I don't ever call myself this). That's me up there, blending really well into the 70's tartan armchair with my 70's tartan outfit...well, it was perfectly ok to dress your child like this back then...try pulling that one now and I think the clothes police would have something to say!

Then my sister came along when I was five! Here we are standing on the fountain at Trafalger Square, London! I have lots of fond memories of trips taken to London with my mum & dad.

...then there were three!! My youngest sister came along when I was 9. Here she is having a good old giggle while we all pose for my birthday photo, pretty cute eh!

Anyway, times have moved on a lot since then and we're all grown up. I still can't get over the fact that my youngest sister is the only one out of the 3 of us who is married to a great guy and has three gorgeous children!

Well, time to go for now.
I'll think of something good to add tommorrow...