Tag Archives: Nicky Grace Vintage Fabric & Goregous Things

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Icicles on the Summer house

Icicles on the Summer house

Icicles on the Summer house

These were the icicles we woke up to yesterday. I’d been calling them stalactites, partly because I’ve always loved that word but apparently stalactites are only the ones in caves and and the ice ones are just….icicles.

Icy fangs ?

Icy fangs ?

Ice PalaceMy son came home early evening yesterday and broke some of them off and made a little ice palace on the garden table. I thought they’d be gone this morning, blown down or melted but it’s still there. The longest one is 83 cm high !

icicles

This was just a bit of fun and my fingers are cold as I type, however there so many people and animals  in other parts of the country and on the continent who are suffering terribly and my heart goes out to them. A lot of them have had no electricity for days so I with my beloved electric blanket feel so blessed and lucky compared to the misery of so many.

On the news  last night there were pictures of a farmer literally digging his sheep out of the snow. It was so high you would never have known there were big animals below. One of the sheep had  given birth a few hours before but there was no happy ending. It’s shocking this bloody weather. Most people I know are fed up with it, it’s boring, grey, cold and there’s snow when there shouldn’t be but lots of people are suffering hardships that I can’t imagine. Well done to all the emergency services and other heros  who are working so hard to help the people in need. I hope it’s over for them soon.

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26/03/2013 · 7:55 pm
20/02/2013 · 7:24 pm

Encouraging comments on Face Book

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I’m just realizing that the amount of people that see my posts on Face Book

directly correlates to the amount of people who leave a comment.

flower cards 005 I get a few likes sometimes which is always nice and shows that people have seen the posts but it’s the interaction that counts, which means commenting about the post. The more comments the more people get to see it. I don’t know how Face Book works but comments seem to generate action.  I’m not very good at explaining things I don’t understand !

I’m a culprit myself. I’ll see something nice on someone’s page and press the ‘like’ button but not often comment because I can’t think what to say and whatever I do say sounds phoney or cheesy and it’s a bit cringe….. I don’t always want to comment anyway, I just want to ‘like’ and go. But now I realize that it’s the comments that make the Face Book world go round I shall make much more effort to do so.

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I’ve also noticed and been told by  social media expert Lindsay that if you don’t comment on people’s posts or they don’t comment on yours that Face Book now don’t show you those posts any more and not only is that a real shame but when you have a business (fan) page it’s  also detrimental. FB now want people to pay for posts  to reach more people which does work as I’ve tried it but I’d much rather deal in comments than £££.

To encourage such comments I’ll do little competitions sometimes on my page which is what I made these cards for. That was all a bit long winded wasn’t it. Never been good at explaining myself, sorry xx Press this !

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02/02/2013 · 2:10 pm

A lovely Selina Lake feature with a few of my things included.

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Prima Magazine (March) came out a couple of days ago and I thumbed manically through the pages as the stylist Selina Lake  had borrowed a vintage fabric patchwork throw and three cushions from me.

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Page 81-83 they’re on  !! I was quite exited standing in the magazine section of Tesco at 9pm, my new shopping time which is quite relaxing as it’s not busy and the crying  babies and fed up toddlers are all at home. I think that after about 9pm they should put out a few comfy chairs so that those so inclined could read the mags in comfort instead of leaning heavily on our trolley.

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I could quite happily  spend a whole day in Tescos. I usually spend about half an hour in the magazine section anyway and sometimes meet a friend upstairs at Costa for a nice uninterrupted hour or two of quality catch up time.

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Then back downstairs to meander round shopping leisurely, reading labels, peering at calorie contents, noticing how it’s all so expensive these days and wondering if my kids will notice that I’ve bought Tescos own brand of Special K. (They did and declared it inedible so I gave it to the birds)

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Then I’d go and buy a couple of news papers, go back up in the lift to Costa and  have a nice cake or two which I didn’t have with my friend as we’re fiendishly slimming (not)….

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Then I’d go back down and maybe browse through the ‘colds and flue’ isle wondering if it’s actually worth buying vitamins and then maybe saunter (wearilly, after those two cakes) around the electronic isle looking at phones and ipads.

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By this time I would hope that at least one of my children would have bothered  to phone me to enquire as to my whereabouts….but probably not.

If my local Tesco had a bed and breakfast area for tired shoppers, like a little rest stop with own brand sheets, cheap slippers and mini tubes of toothpaste for those of us who couldn’t face the inevitable job ahead of unpacking the shopping and putting it away then I’d book ahead. As long as I got tipple club card points.

My throw featured here was £140 but to celebrate it being in Prima it’s now the amazingly good value of £95. The cushion was £45 and is now £38.

Stylist Selina Lake  is launching her lovely new book ‘Pretty Pastel Style’ with a wonderful fair with fantastic designer maker stall holders. I went to her last one nearly a year ago and it was so beautiful and quite exiting. It’s in Kingston West London on Friday the 22nd March 2013 and everyone is welcome. There will I’m sure be lots of cake.

The photo here are by Sussie Bell

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Filed under Handmade, Magazine Features, My Etsy Shop, My home featured in Selina Lake's new book !!!, Vintage Fabric

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28/01/2013 · 5:14 pm

Colourful bowls of vintage flowers.

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I’ve been making some flower collages which I absolutely love doing. bowl of flowers 007

I was a florist for about 10 years during the eighties  in our family business which was a Dutch/continental flower shop in London so I’m no stranger to flower arranging.

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I’ve always loved hot, strong clashing colours and where as most of our customers preferred the safety of  elegant white bouquets  and arrangements, when they saw the wonderful, vibrant clashes of carefully selected orange, pink and red flowers flown in straight from the growers in Holland, they  gradually loved  those colour combinations too.

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This fabric is from the thirties and forties and I cut out the flowers by hand. It’s much warmer than working in a busy flower shop and I don’t get rose thorns in my hands.

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These pictures can be found in my on line shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/NickyGrace

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04/01/2013 · 4:02 pm

Resistance was futile

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lindor 001

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Why did I do it ???? At least I can concentrate on other things now. I won’t say how many I’ve just had but not feeling too well. It had to be done.

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03/01/2013 · 7:29 pm

Hampstead Heath on New Years Day 2013

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12/11/2012 · 9:25 am

My very first sale in my new Etsy shop ! So exiting

pin cushion

vintage fabric pin cushion

What a lovely surprise to wake up to. My little vintage fabric pin cushion with pink bobbles is going to America. I wish I could take it there myself.

Nicky Grace Etsy Shop

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16/10/2012 · 8:21 pm

A few nice pics

Huneysuckle

Honeysuckle

I’m missing my flowers in the garden as it gets colder so I thought I’d post a few on here. Just the orange ones as they’re my very fave.

mini bunting

three strands of mini vintage bunting

I’ve been making bunting for my Open House Sale in 10 days. I mainly make it in 2 meter strands which is £12.  Not bad eh.

Nasturtiums

The joy of orange nasturtiums from seed

sweetpeas

and bright pink sweet peas from seed

Autumn mini bunting

The blue and white florals were made by hand in France in the thirties. The  pinky purple rose fabric was also made by hand in the thirties but in America. It’s all so precious.

The blue and white polka dot is from a damaged fifties dress.

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Fabric Workshops for children at my next Pop Up 27th & 28th October 2012

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15/10/2012 · 11:35 am
14/10/2012 · 1:18 pm

Flat screen tv versus the fireplace

When we moved into our derelict Victorian wreck 12 years ago, I had the fireplace  knocked through in the front room. I left it as rough brick, painted it green, put our old grate in it and filled it with fairy lights. It was beautiful and I loved it. Roll on a few years and our very old telly in the corner lost the will to live and as I sadly put it in the front garden for the council to take away, my children started working on me to buy a big flat screen tv. I love telly as much as the next person but I hate big flat screen tvs. I think  they’re dominating,  aesthetically unpleasing   and a bit sinister. Anyway, it was 3 against me and I reluctantly gave in and bought the horrid thing. That was about 5 years ago and I’ve barely been in the front room since, literally.

Then I was chatting to a lovely marketing lady Chloe Goddard about decorating fireplaces at Christmas and how  I was making my mini vintage bunting in Autumn/Winter colours and how they’d look lovely edging the top of fireplaces  and she suggested I do a mock up and take a few photos.

That was just the push I needed so while my kids were all out I moved the hideous creature (flat screen tv) from the focal point of my living room and reclaimed my beautiful fireplace.  The creature is now on a shelf in the alcove behind a curtain and is no longer the undeserved  centerpiece of room and as a result the room feels welcoming, serene and cosy again.

Fireplace

Mini vintage bunting around the fireplace

Fireplace

Ceramic floral jugs, candles, mini vintage bunting and plants in the fireplace.

Fireplace

If you don’t want a fire but still want the focal point of your room to look lovely then just paint it with emulsion and put a few nice things in it.

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