What Katie Found

since you've been gone

2011-12-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Just another fleeting visit from me to let you know that the teacher training course has not entirely stolen my life!

I am still living back home with the 'rents, which means I have little space and have been living with only my essential belongings for the past four months. Myself and Steve are hoping to be getting a new home (finally!) in the new year, so fingers crossed!

I have been trying to find some time to improve my sewing skills to help me with my teaching, so am in the process of making the 1940's jacket that you can see above. I'm almost finished with just the floral lining to go. I am considering buying some more fabric tomorrow to make the amazing trousers that accompany it and maybe make a floral dress too.

I'm back in Leicester now until Boxing Day. Steve is at work and I should be getting on with writing lesson plans etc, but I cannot shake the urge to jump in my car and do the usual charity shop rounds!

Anyway, wishing you all a Merry Christmas! Keep your eyes peeled for more regular posts in the new year and new items in my Etsy shop :)

I just called to say I love you

2011-10-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

I thought I had better drop by, seeing as my last blog post was well over a month ago! So my life has temporarily been stolen by teacher training, and not only do I not have time to blog much at the moment, but my blog posts would not particularly be in keeping with the regularities normally expected on What Katie Found! I have to say though, I am loving my course, despite the work load (I have found time to write this little post between some marking and lesson planning!)

So this gives me an opportunity to share my latest ABC adventures - I am still trying my very best to make time to attend these with my little wicker hampers of crafts!

A few photographs from ABC in September...

Tomorrow night there is a very special ABC happening in Leicester in collaboration with Hatch (a Nottingham based group of creatives). Part of the evening will include some guerrilla gardening, so excited! All of my usual crafts will be for sale amongst other lovely things, such as vintage items and Steve's new zine :)

For more information on tomorrows event, view the Hatch website or the Facebook event page.

I will be back soon, I promise!

he can call me a flower if he wants to

2011-09-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

Dr Martens

ASOS (present from wonderful Steve)

H&M (via Oxfam)

I have been a big fan of florals for quite some time, but there does come a moment when you wonder if a healthy admiration of something borders on obsession! I have acquired these three beauties in the last three days, would I look completely deranged if I wore all three together, or just simply 'totally cool and so 1990s'?

Do you have a clothing or pattern obsession?

chocolate peanut butter torte

2011-09-01T04:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I thought I would bake for the first time in a while. While we were in Norfolk, we ate this AMAZING cake in a little cafe. It was this sort of layered brownie, caramel, peanut butter thing and it blew my mind! I never used to like peanut butter at all, but living with a peanut fiend for three years has swayed my taste buds.

I searched the internet for a recipe to duplicate this amazing cake, but couldn't quite find the right thing. But then I came across this chocolate peanut butter torte recipe. The recipe is from a blog called Annie's Eats, and once my torte was complete, I spent some time looking at her other creations. The blog is great, full of sweet and savory recipes and photographs that make you salivate! Definitely one to check out for all of you budding cooks out there.

The recipe involves Oreos, which form the base of the torte, somewhat like a cheesecake. My first attempt ended in disaster after I had placed the base of my spring form tin in the wrong end of the circular part, resulting in a very Oreo-y kitchen floor. So, it was off out again to buy replacement biscuits (and this was only step one!).

All in all though, the recipe was really easy, and pretty quick to make too - if you don't drop your ingredients like me! Do remember to allow for chilling time though, at least 4 hours but preferably over night.

As you can see, it went down well amongst my friends :)

cake stands

2011-08-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

I made tonnes of these cake stands about a year ago, sold a few to friends and at craft and vintage fairs, but today I unearthed these beauts while attempting to tidy up the house in preparation for inevitable house move.

So, they are looking for a new home. Trouble is, I'm not sure how they will travel so not keen to post. Collection from me in Leicester or Luton is ideal or I may be able to deliver.

Contact me if you are interested, and please tell all of your friends/colleagues/family etc!

pierrot clown

2011-08-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

Source: la-mignonette.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

I have loved Pierrot clowns since I was a little girl. My older sister had some wallpaper in her bedroom when she was little in early 1980s, and I keep searching eBay and vintage shops for a roll for myself, but so far no luck! I found this little trinket box for 50 pence at a car boot sale, the same one where my Dad found the 1960s dolls house. One day, it shall sit on my vintage dressing table (which I am yet to actually own!)

Norfolk

2011-08-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

We decided to take an impromptu trip to Norfolk for a couple of days last week. I called up a campsite and booked us in then off we went, car loaded with tent, food and cameras. We stayed near Blakeney, a part of Norfolk that I had not yet visited. It was really quaint and pretty, with a quay and lots of boats. On our first afternoon there, we had a delicious cream tea, sandwiches, scones, cakes and tea - nom! We ventured into Cromer, Sherringham, Morsten and Wells next the Sea during our stay - all of equal beauty. I really love Norfolk, there are lots of nice places to eat, cute little cafes and interesting shops - and the sights are always awe inspiring. Our campsite was nice, very small and basic but clean (very important!) and everyone was friendly. It bucketed it down on Thursday night, but it was actually quite nice being all snuggled up in layers of blankets and listening to the rain - until the time came to take the tent down and pack everything away! It was a really nice, relaxing break away - just what I needed.

Photographs courtesy of Steve Poxson, who also has a brand new blog showcasing his wide selection of vintage cameras - go and take a look!

hello, have we met?

2011-08-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

So I made another dress - all by myself and with no big mistakes! I even followed the pattern instructions for a change! This dress was made using the same pattern as my red floral one . What do you think of the fabric? It's from Ikea, it's pretty crazy. It has flowers, bananas, cocktails and er, lobsters on it! I really love Ikea fabric, if you've never thought of looking before, I thoroughly recommend giving it a try. I think that this dress pattern is slowly becoming a favourite. I might try a plain version next time.

I might wear it tomorrow night, I'm going to see Jimmy Eat World (cue nostalgic sixteen year old gig excitement!).

little orange fille

2011-08-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

headband Little Fille

dress Cow Vintage (Nottingham)

flip flops Accessorize

Here I am, proudly wearing the wonderful Little Fille bow headband that I won in the Wallpaper Rose blog giveaway about a week ago. (I also won a very pretty Wallpaper Rose necklace, but more on that very soon!)

This dress is the second and final item that I found on the sale rail at Cow, the first being the red skirt. I was a bit worried that it was a tad too orange, but I am embracing it's citrus colour due to the sudden change of weather - it is pleasantly hot! The dress was a bargain price of £5, and like the skirt, it fits really well.

I have nearly completed another dress, using the same pattern as I did here. Inserting the sleeves was really trying my patience last night and this morning, but I did it! Hooray! I need to take the dress in at the sides a couple of inches, make the belt and hem it, but then it will be finished - photographs to follow shortly!

all the leaves are brown...

2011-08-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

Autumn by whatkatiefound

...or they may as well be, judging by the terrible August weather we're having here in the UK. Today is so cold and it's been raining for a few hours. I even woke up with a cold today!

I am loving all of the Autumn/Winter clothes that are in shops at the moment, it's just a pity that I can't really buy anything at the moment! Everything everywhere is shades or orange, brown, yellow and burgundy - my current favourites! I'm very glad to be over my beige phase.

I know it may seem a bit depressing talking about the weather getting colder already, but Autumn is my favourite season, and I secretly can't wait to pull on some woolly tights, a big knitted cardigan and a cosy scarf :)

What's your favourite season?

what I wore

2011-08-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

top Threadless

cardigan H&M

skirt Cow vintage (Nottingham)

sandals Primark

This skirt is one of my recent thrifty finds - it was on one of the many sale rails at Cow in Nottingham a few weeks ago, and was only £3! I had almost given up hope rooting through what seemed like tonnes of unwearable garments, but this red and white skirt caught my eye. It's a perfect fit too! I am just struggling to find things to wear with it at the moment, I have too many brightly coloured, patterned (mainly floral) tops, and I have never really been able to pull off that whole 'clashing' look.

1993

2011-08-17T03:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my Mum found a bag full of my old school reports, cards I had made for them, letters I had written and newspaper cuttings etc. I loved riffling through it all, and there were some laughs shared based on the sheer wit of my writing circa 1995. I remember that I really loved writing letters, I still do to be honest, but am just terrible at finding the time to do it.

This school report from year two entertained me the most - especially the paragraph on my progress in History. "...has showed interest in looking at photographs and objects from the past" and "she enjoys listening to stories about the past and can talk about old pictures and photographs". I can't believe that at only 7 years old, I was already fascinated by days gone by! Isn't it strange how your character can be so apparent when you are so young?

All these things made me smile, I'm so glad that my parents have kept them all this time, they're wonderful :)

what katie's dad found

2011-08-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

We have just returned home - we've been visiting my family in Bedfordshire for the past few days. On Sunday, I was eager to get myself to a car boot sale, and my parents decided to come along too - they love a bargain as much, if not more than me. Myself and Steve lost my parents in the first row of stalls, and I said that I bet my Dad would have brought something completely random! This 1960's doll house bypassed my beady eye and was snapped up by my Dad for £1. Little did my Dad know, but I have wanted one of these for a few months now. I have seen a few at previous car boots for between £15 - £20, and logic has played its part - I have no room and no children and am definitely not in a position to buy things that are unnecessary! But £1? How could you say no? It's just amazing. My Dad, being so lovely, said that I could have it, so the doll house is now mine :)
(although currently in storage in their shed...)

I also found myself a few vintage dresses at the same car boot sale, some need a little altering, but I will be sharing those with you very soon!

Peter Pan collars

2011-08-12T11:39:00.000-07:00

There are now some brand new Peter Pan collars in my etsy shop!

£8.00 each.

fabric pin badges

2011-08-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

So I spent my Thursday morning watching This Morning and making all of these new vintage fabric pin badges :) I'm not sure yet whether I will be making these into packs as usual, or if I will be selling them individually when I hold stalls at fairs, I think that latter though.

Just to let you know that this is your last chance to use the 20% off discount code wewantsunshine in my shop, offer ends tomorrow evening. I added two fabric headbands today too!

sorbetto top

2011-08-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, I was wowed by lovely Marie's version of the Sorbetto top, which is a free download from Colette patterns. She has since made two more tops using this pattern - as far as I am aware - and I can completely understand the addiction!

I finally finished my top this afternoon, after I managed to buy some bias binding. I had never added bias binding to anything before, and was really worried that I would mess it up, but it was fine! Lots of pinning, sewing, repinning, more sewing....

So here is the finished garment :)

I used some of the recycled sheet that I previously used to experiment with making this dress. All in all, I am pretty pleased with the result - it is a little bit big though. I took the sides in a couple of centimeters when I started the top a few weeks ago, but really should have double checked before I sewed on the bias binding. Never mind, you've always got to expect some mistakes when you first try out a pattern haven't you?!

I have some plain navy blue cotton and beige bias binding a the ready so I can try out a second version soon. I have to say, for those of you who are new to sewing, this is a great pattern to try out!

making a house a home

2011-08-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

Source: leberpr.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: style-files.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: follyandglee.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: purlbee.com via Katie on Pinterest

I have recently become more obsessed with homewares than ever before. Certainly for the past few years, I have loved buying things for either my room at University, and then for mine and Steves current home, our first home together. We will soon be moving, and I'm starting to feel quite overwhelmed by it all. We have already started sifting though our belongings and making piles for the bin, recycling, charity shop, car boot sale and ebay. I have been ruthless in getting rid of anything that I wouldn't mind if I left behind. Surely there is nothing worse than packing and unpacking things that you don't even like or want anymore? There will most definitely be tears shed when we leave this place. But it's also exciting. There will be a new home, and then I hope, one day in the not too distant future, we will finally be able to own a property (although, judging by the current financial circumstance, that will probably be a long way off!). The photographs above were found on the delightful Pinterest, I have got into the habit of spending just a few minutes a day having a peruse through all of the wonderful and inspiring things. The home themed photographs above are all taken from my home sweet home board, and I feel that they sum up the aspirations I have for our home. One day :)

I think that these riots in London have made me all sentimental tonight. What a sad thing to be happening. I feel very lucky to be snuggled up on our sofa.

a new make

2011-08-06T12:55:00.000-07:00


hair bow - What Katie Found 'ink pot' necklace - What Katie Found dress - H&M belt - New Look floral pumps - Dorothy Perkins

As you can see from the above photographs, there is a new crafty addition to What Katie Found - although I'm not sure what to call them - head scarves? Hair bows?.. I have made three so far, and they are all reversible and made from vintage and recycled fabrics (as always!) I think I might have to keep the top one for myself though, I have fallen in love with it! I am hoping to list these in my Etsy shop sometime next week, so keep your eyes peeled!

Until then, you can receive 20% off your order when you enter the code wewantsunshine at the checkout - pop along to my shop to see what's on offer!

I have been doing too much shopping recently. I have used the excuse of buying 'work wear' far too many times, but the sales at the moment have just been so good! The above dress was only £3, I sort of wish I had just stocked up on them for that price because it is so comfortable. There are quite a few charity shop, vintage and high street items that I have recently purchased, and I'm sure that they will be making an appearance on here soon :)

How have you found the summer sales?

alternative bar crawl (august)

2011-08-06T11:47:00.000-07:00

I was so exited to hear that ABC (the alternative bar crawl) was returning to Leicester after a few months off. As you may already be aware from previous posts about the event, I always have an amazingly, brilliant time! If you are Leicester based, or East Midlands based, you should most definitely try to make it to the next one (which I hear will be in October).

Last night was no exception, and rated highly on the fun scale - this might have something to do with the cider I drank, although I think it was mainly due to fantastic company, brilliant music, wonderful artwork and yummy food and cakes.

We started out this 'art themed' ABC at LCB Depot in Leicester City Centre, where I had my first stall in which seems like ages! The ABC event coincided with the opening of the wonderful photographer Helen Saunders' exhibition, I'm not sure how long her work is being displayed, but pop by if you can! There was also a 'Pub Quiz' led by artist Yara El-Sharbini, which I may add, Steve and our friends won! Myself and my friend Ivona manned my stall so were away from the main quiz action, but ready to be called upon should they need our wisdom :) We won some gift vouchers for the New Walk Museum gift shop, which I was very excited about! Not really sure what you can purchase besides rulers, pens and postcards, but the free shopping experience will be superb none the less!

We then convoyed to Phoenix Square, where the launch of the Leicester Fringe Festival was taking place. We watched some great bands play, socialised and ate some food - I had a mozzarella, tomato and pesto panini and chips, nom.

Last port of call was The Great Central gallery for the launch of another art exhibition and more live music. Ivona and her boyfriend Dean were there selling some of their delicious cakes too, nom once again.

Is this art? (four staples in the wall)
This bugged me for ages. Having done a Fine Art degree where you are taught that you must take into account everything within a space when viewing an artwork. After much discussion, we decided that it had to be art.
What do you think?

So once again, I had an amazing evening, lots of interesting conversations with lovely people. It is so good to be so immersed in such a creative atmosphere.

vegan pancakes

2011-08-04T05:32:00.000-07:00

vegan pancakes with yogurt, banana, strawberries and linseed.

I have become totally obsessed by these over the past week or so. They are so quick and easy to make and really delicious. I have sort of made up my own recipe for them now, which consists of equal parts of oat milk and self raising flour (one cup of each makes approximately eight small pancakes), but the recipe that I found online can be found here. Today, I added a handful of oats to the mixture too, you could easily adapt this to whatever you fancy, adding nuts, seeds, sugar, fruit etc.

What's your favourite breakfast?

a stitch in time saves nine

2011-08-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I have been working too hard, or not hard enough, in terms of preparation for my teacher training course which starts in September. Above are two of the samples that I have made for my 'resource folder'. I still have tonnes more to make though, and no doubt they will be remade and remade because they won't meet my high standards! I just want to make sure that I start the course the most prepared I can be. Make sure I understand the three separate specifications, that I have read the books and practiced and tried to perfect my sewing knowledge and skills!
I have had a little break away from it all today though, because I have been focusing on getting prepared for the return of ABC (The Alternative Bar Crawl) in Leicester tomorrow evening. I am really excited about it, all the previous nights have been excellent. I again will be holding a stall, the first in quite a while, so I have spent the morning replenishing some stock (there has been copious amounts of drilling). The theme is art, and I really want to make something amazing to wear. I have a great idea, thanks to my wonderful sisters suggestion, but I'm not sure if I have time to get it made...

Here is all of the information for the event, if you're midlands based, you should definitely come along.

July

2011-07-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been really out of touch with my blog for the past few weeks, the pending teacher training course has had me focusing much of my time on reading, making notes, making textile samples etc. I have had a to do list as long as my arm (or quite possibly, my leg) for what seems like forever. However, I have dedicated a little bit of time this Sunday afternoon to share with you some of the things I have been up to, in between all of the work I've been doing!

I left my job as a teaching assistant in a primary school, and was given these beautiful flowers during the assembly on the last day of term. I was also very lucky to receive these two utterly amazing cards made by the children in the classes I supported in, how cute?

On the same day as the last day of term, we drove for three hours to the wonderful Latitude festival! As you can see, it was rather wet and muddy, but meant that we could release our inner child and splash in some puddles! There was a Mr Scruff tea tent (LOVE), and we came away with a box of the mint and chilli variety - I thoroughly recommend you get your hands on some. I must be getting old now though, because my back was aching sooo much! All future camping trips must first and foremost revolve around comfort.

We went to stay with our friends in Kent for a few days last week, and spent a day in London. I had some tickets for the London Eye for my birthday, so that was our first destination. There were fantastic views, but it was a very, very warm day, and oh my, those glass pods get humid! We also went to the Festival of Britain exhibition on the South Bank, full of 1950s memorabilia, textiles work, vintage advertising and bunting, how could I not have loved it?

If I had it my way, every single summer day would consist of a picnic for lunch, and a BBQ for dinner. We went for a picnic today at Bradgate Park in North Leicestershire. There were so many ladybirds, one of which decided to crawl along my toes like a staircase for rather a long time, as I lay down reading my book. The pudding above is my new favourite thing - berries (of any variety!), meringue and cream. Although in this case, I decided to try out some soya cream. It was ok, but I thought it had that lingering 'beany' taste like the milk, bleugh.

Talking of my book, here it is. I can't remember the last time that I read a novel. Usually I find something else that I should be doing or I can't just sit, relax and read. I had heard good things about One Day, so thought I would give it a try. I'm really picky about what I read, I don't really have the patience to carry on reading something that I have no interest in, but I must say, so far, this is being enjoyed very much! It's really nice to retreat to a book when you have so much going on at once.

I love my new flip flops! There were in the sale in Accessorize and I just couldn't resist. I have also been attempting to make more clothes - this top is almost complete, but I need to make/buy bias binding to finish it.

Phew.

Now I can attempt to get back into the routine of regular blog posts! :)

next stop, paperclip castle

2011-07-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry, couldn't resist yet another Boosh quote, and this one is a particular favourite of mine and my friend Tates!

You may remember me telling you how I will be starting a teaching training course in September? Well, today I began my search for stationary! I hear that folders are really quite important, and after asking Facebook approximately how many I would need for the duration, the response was 'tonnes', in one case, a friend told me she used twenty *gulp*.

But off I went into Leicester city centre today eyes wide and optimistic, to start the overwhelming search while taking in the factors of my purchases being a) good value for money and b) totally awesome. I am a nerd, I know, but I got all excited about buying stationary, it reminded me of the 'back to school' trip to town with my Mum at the end of every summer holiday, and how the main objective was to come away with the best pencil sharpener - one year I had one that was also a tiny fan in the shape of a flower!

the perfect pencil for a textiles teacher, I think it might just be!

and to think, I was going to buy boring old post it notes.

So this was probably the least exciting and most geeky blog post I have written to date, sorry about that!

Have you got any big changes happening in your life at the moment?

a wonderful wedding

2011-07-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the most wonderful wedding! It was such a beautiful day and I had so much fun - lots of talking, drinking, eating and dancing :) And I finally wore my handmade dress. Steve was the official photographer for the day, so once the posed photographs had been taken, I pinched him to take a few snaps of me in my dress!

These were taken at the Botanical Gardens in Oadby, Leicester, such a pretty place and a fantastic location for a photographer to shoot!

Are you off to any weddings this summer?

PS Have you seen the vintage greetings cards in my shop? Only £2.00 inc P&P if you're in the UK :)

deer little fawn giveaway winner

2011-07-21T03:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Sophie!

Thank you so much to all of you that entered the giveaway, keep your eyes peeled for another once I reach 400 followers :)

a mess of a dress

2011-07-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

So I started to make a second dress, this time entirely by myself. I began the bodice section a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday afternoon I sat and managed to get through quite a bit of the process. This dress is rather more messy than the beautiful floral one that I am oh so proud of. I unfortunately don't own an over locker so there are untidy edges, and seams aren't really pressed to perfection (I am the owner of quite a dodgy iron at the moment) and the zip is also very badly inserted...

I am seeing the making of this dress as a chance to try out a different pattern though, and to be honest, I think that it could look a lot worse! I had pattern pieces cut in all different sizes too (from a 12-18!), so a lot of problem solving had to take place when arm hole fastenings didn't fit like in the diagram and seams didn't match up at the sides!

This morning I added the elastic to the waistband, so now I need to hem the bottom and make a belt, and voila - it shall be complete! I would definitely use this pattern again, but would need to make some alterations to the arm holes as they are a bit tight.

Costs once again is well under £10. I can really see how making your own clothes can become quite addictive...

a little rag doll for a little girl

2011-07-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

I made this rag doll for the little girl that I supported for the whole of last year, I think it was well received :) I am getting the hang of this pattern after making two for my nieces last Christmas, I would like to produce a few more of these to sell in my shop, but always feel a bit worried about making things for children - are they any regulations you must follow to ensure that they are safe? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

2011-07-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

I discovered free hand machine embroidery.

I'm still here, although it feels like I haven't blogged for ages.

I have so much to show you, thrifty finds, an amazing giveaway that I won, photographs from my weekend at a festival, my latest dress making antics to name a few.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic, but now I have eight weeks ahead of me where I can finally get stuck into all of the things that I want/need to do, so What Katie Found will be back in full swing this week hooray!

Before I forget , have you entered my wonderful Deer Little Fawn giveaway yet? Entry closes tomorrow evening :)

Katies final adventures in dress making land

2011-07-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

So I have finally finished my dress making course, the past nine weeks have flown by! Tonight I started sewing together dress number two, which I will continue to blog the progress of over the next few weeks.

Dress number one however, is complete hooray! Lined, zip inserted, invisible hem, over locked, facings attached, belt made - the whole lot! I am really so proud of myself for making it so well, I absolutely adore it. I can't wait to wear it out of the house (it will be worn to a wedding next week, where I shall be feeling rather pleased to be wearing a handmade dress instead of something from the high street!) And to think, this dress cost me less than £10 to make (not including all the hours of labour though!)

I really hope that I can continue to get better and better at making garments now. I would love to hear what you all think of it!

Here come the photographs...

I will also take this opportunity to share my latest news with you. In September, I will be embarking on a teacher training course and will be specialising in Textiles :) I am really excited/scared/nervous all at the same time! It's going to be a very tough year ahead, but it's time for a new challenge!

Bring it on.

deer little fawn giveaway

2011-07-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

I am really excited to be able to present you with this utterly amazing and cute giveaway!

As my blog has incredibly recently reached over 300 followers and almost 600 of you follow me on twitter, I thought that a giveaway was well deserved to say a massive thank you for your continued reading!

I thought that it would be really great to be able to give away something handmade by one of the amazing crafters that I admire, and Beth of Deer Little Fawn immediately sprung to mind. Beth not only makes the most beautiful jewellery, but is also has a gift of finding the most wonderful thrifty items that you could ever feast your eyes upon! This is all showcased on her blog, alongside lots of pretty things that she photographs, outfit posts, the homewares and stationary that she lusts after and much much more! Her blog is definitely one of my favourite reads :)

just a few of Beths beautiful makes!

Before I reveal the item that Beth has very generously donated for this giveaway, here is a little more about this creative lady!

1.Who or what inspires you?

So many things! For the who, I'd say my two sisters and mother inspire me quite a lot because they are all very crafty and artistic. Also I find many bloggers inspiring it's great to see so many talented ladies (and gents) out there doing their thing. In general I'm inspired by people who do their own thing and don't worry about what others think they should be doing and people who have an unapologetic passion for their chosen subject. As for the what, a lot of my inspiration probably comes from my childhood, I grew up in the countryside and nature seems to be a reccuring theme in my crafts, also after spending many years around flea markets and antique shops (the family trade) I also get quite a lot of inspiration from old things and odd little trinkets.

2.What three things could you not live without?

I'll go with superficial things for this: a laptop (sad but true), a camera, and coffee/cake breaks ;)

3.You always have such beautiful photographs on your blog, what camera do you use?

Aw thanks! That's really nice of you to say. Well, I'm still working on my photography and I have so much to learn, but I get a lot of enjoyment out of taking photos and so for me that's the main thing, one of my aims for this year was to take more photographs and so far that's going well. I use a Nikon 40x DSLR which I bought second hand at the end of last year, it's my first DSLR and I'm still getting to grips with it, it's so much fun though. When I started my blog I used a Sony Cybershot t2, but it broke and now I'm hoping to get another smaller camera again as ideally I like having a camera in my bag at all times but with the bigger one it's not as possible for me.

4.Are there any crafts that you would like to try out?

There are so many, I flit from craft to craft often. I used to crochet a lot before the embroidery kicked in. I paint and draw a lot and other crafts I've had brief flings with in the past are metal jewellery work, stone setting and ceramics. I'd love to be able to knit but that's just not going to happen, I've accepted I'm not a knitter despite many (many!) attempts. I've always wanted to have a play around with using resin in crafts at some point and would also love to investigate some forms of print making. There's a pretty limitless list of crafts I would like to try out at some point.

5.How long do you pretty embroidered necklaces take to complete?

It depends and varies quite a lot. I don't use a pattern, so I start out by sketching up some tiny designs, this usually doesn't take me very long (and I often do them when out and about, I always carry a notebook so I can sketch ideas when they come to me). The actual embroidery can take anywhere between 15 mins for a simple design to an hour plus for the more detailed pieces. Then making them into necklaces can take quite a while as it's fiddly.

6.Can you describe your perfect day?

I don't think I've ever been asked this before so I had to have a think about it. Firstly it would be sunny and dry, but not too hot, (warm enough to sit outside but not so hot that I look rubbish all day, I don't do well in heat!) I'd wake up with no alarm (or annoying street noise), have a lazy coffee and breakfast, maybe a day out to somewhere pretty or fun with people I like spending time with, this would also have to include some kind of good snack indulgences.

7.What is your favourite thrifty find?

Oh wow, this is a hard one, a very large percentage of the things I own have been thrifted. I really can't pick from all the knicknack things. Close to the top would be my big yellow samsonite bag that I lug around often.

8.How would you describe your style in five words?I asked someone and they said "crafty, sassy, vintage, trendy, classic", which was nice! I'd question the trendy though, I'd probably replace that with "random".

9.Do you have any favourite places, blogs, shops or anything else that you could share with the readers of What Katie Found?

Some blogs I love off the top of my head are Bonita Bon Bons, The Littlest Polly, The Cookie Button, Pixie Mama, A Piece of Lisa, My Best Friend Jules, Nothing happens Unless We Dream, Little Owl lucky, One with the Birds, The Crimson Owl, .. I really could go on and on, but to sum up I'd highly recommend checking out all of the blogs I've got listed on my "Blog love" page.
If anyone's in or visiting Brighton then I'd recommend Angel Food Bakery (amazing cupcakes), Scoop and Crumb (icecream and sorbet), Lick (frozen yogurt).. Yay for sweet treat!

So here it is, the moment that you have all been waiting for, this is the super cute embroidered rabbit necklace that you, yes you, could be the proud wearer of!

To enter:

Please be a follow of both What Katie Found and Deer Little Fawn through either GFC, Twitter or Blog Lovin'.

For an extra entry, follow both What Katie Found and Deer Little Fawn on Twitter.

Then simply leave a comment on this post informing me of whether you are following our blogs/Twitter or both and remember to include your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you are the lucky winner :)

Entry closes on Wednesday 20th July 2011 at 9pm, and a winner will be chosen and notified the following day. Entry is open to international readers as well as to those of you in the UK.

See more splendid and pretty things in Deer Little Fawn's Etsy and Big Cartel shops.

my favourite veggie burgers

2011-07-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is a meal that we make quite often, because it is really simple, filling, tasty and I think rather healthy! This recipe is my own that I have adapted from one that I found online a couple of years ago.

Makes six large burgers

Ingredients

2 x 400g tins of chickpeas

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

salt and pepper

plain flour

some rolls of your choice (in this instance I used ciabatta)

These are the basic ingredients, but you could get really creative and add anything you like really, like herbs, spices or other vegetables. Yesterday, I decided on some nuts and seeds (sesame seeds, chopped hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds).

Directions

Roughly chop the onion and garlic and add to a large bowl. Add the drained chickpeas, and use a hand held food processor to blend until the mixture resembles a paste. (Note, you can use any food processor of your choice!) Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the mixture and any other ingredients that you want to keep whole (to add texture). Sprinkle some plain flour on a plate or on your work surface, then mould the mixture into the shape of burgers, making sure each side is covered in flour. Place the burgers into a hot frying pan with a drop of oil in it. Cook until each side is brown. The burgers do remain quite sloppy, but once cooked then should be easier to pick up without falling apart!

I put my burgers in a ciabatta roll layers between lettuce leaves, houmous and home made salsa. Steve made the salsa yesterday - tomatoes, orange pepper, basil, garlic and olive oil, but sometimes we add chilli instead of basil for more of a kick.

These are seriously so easy to make, and really yummy. I have made them for some carnivore friends before and they have gone down a storm! I would love to hear from you if you try these our yourself :)

Are you a vegetarian/vegan? Do you have a winning dish that wins over your meat eating friends?


I look so tired, cooking is an exhausting process.

vegan chocolate and raspberry cookies

2011-07-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling so bored today (I have no idea why, because I have a to do list as long as my arm of things I should be doing). This morning we went to a car boot sale (photographs and post of purchases later or tomorrow!) I made us some porridge with oat milk when we came home and ate it with banana, honey and flax seed. I was craving something that would be good for me, after last nights indulgent trip to TGI Fridays. However, I did get £20 of free food! They are celebrating their 25th birthday this weekend, so if you were born in 1986 and can prove it with some ID, the free food is yours (they take the £20 off the total)! I think the offer is on until tomorrow, so get yourself to your nearest restaurant if you are lucky enough to be born in that year! We were so tempted earlier to go back again...

So, onto the cookies! Steves parents went berry picking on Friday, and kindly gave us some strawberries and raspberries. I pondered what to use them for, something cakey of course. I googled vegan raspberry cookies, and up came a recipe that is originally from the Veganomicon book that I discovered a couple of weeks ago. They really should be like whoopie pies, but I discovered half way through that I had no icing sugar to make the frosting :(

I will go on and tell you about how yummy they are in a minute, but first here is the recipe and some photographs!

Note: 'c.' stands for cups, and canola oil to us UK residents is vegetable oil :)

Ingredients

The Cookies

1 c. raspberry preserves (I used a cup of fresh raspberries)
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
1 & 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (sifted if clumpy)
3 c. all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/4 t. salt

The Filling

1/4 c. vegan margarine (at room temp.)
1/4 c. vegan shortening (at room temp.)
2.5 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
3 T. soy milk
1 t. vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚c). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the raspberry preserves, sugar, canola oil, vanilla, and almond extract.

In a separate bowl sift together all the other cookie ingredients.

Add the dry to the wet in 3 batches, mixing well with a fork (or your hands) after each addition. When you get to the last batch, you may need to use your hands to work the batter into a soft and pliable dough.

(I used my hands to mix the dough, at first I thought it looked way too dry, but persevere!)

Roll the dough into walnut-size balls and then flatten them with your hands into 2 1/2 inch diameter disks. Place on your cookie sheet (they need to be only 1/2 inch apart because they don’t spread out when baking).

Bake 10 minutes.

While they are baking, make your filling. Place the margarine and shortening in a bowl or in your food processor. Beat or process until blended. Add your vanilla and soy milk and process/beat some more. Add in your cocoa powder and beat/process until combined. Start adding the powdered sugar in small batches, beating/processing after each bit until fully combined (that way it doesn't clump). Once all of it's been added, beat/process until thick and fluffy.

Remove cookies from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once your cookies are completely cooled, take a cookie and slather a generous helping of filling on the flat side. Take another cookie, and smoosh the two flat-sides of your cookies together. Repeat until all your cookies are gone. There should be EXACTLY the right amount of frosting to fill up your cookies, without running out and without having leftovers. Because I am awesome like that.

Makes about 18 cookie-sammiches.

Original recipe found here.

I have to say, these are some of the best cookies I have ever made - they are really thick and gooey inside, mmm! They are really rich though, I could only eat one, but Steve scoffed two! Another easy peasy vegan recipe and so tasty!

25% off what katie found

2011-07-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

For one day only - you can get a whopping 25% off my Etsy shop when you enter the code ONEDAYSALE at the checkout! The offer will end at 12 o'clock tonight (GMT).

On offer are doily necklaces, Scrabble jewellery, phone cases, vintage greeting cards, crocheted purses, keyrings, teacup candles and much more!

Katies adventures in dress making land part eight

2011-06-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

I had such a long day yesterday, what with having to stay at work a bit later for an open evening, and then driving straight to my dress making class until 9pm (luckily, my friend Vicky gave me a yummy cookie to give me a bit of a sugar rush!). I felt like I was moving in slow motion, I was not in a particularly productive mood. I have now inserted both sleeves in my dress though, although doing one took about an hour! I kept catching a small bit of the fabric, causing an overlap, everytime! Luckily, Janet saved the day! Typically, the second one was sewn in with no problems at all. I also pressed and stitched the wrap over vent at the back of the dress, but unfortunately ran out of time to hem it - that is Monday's job :)

Knowledge

Always tack sleeves and zips.
To always use the same (thickness) of thread on the top of the machine as the one in the bobbin case.

Mistakes

Sewing my tacks too big.
Having to re-stitch about 1" of my sleeve to the body of the dress three times.

I'm sorry that my dress making posts have been quite boring, and that it is taking me so long to make it! I am hoping to start a new dress next week, so there will be something new to look at :)

in honour of Gilbert

2011-06-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today one of our goldfish, Gilbert, died :(

I am seriously so sad. We brought Gilbert and George when we moved into this house together (incidentally, our first house). I really wanted an old fashioned spherical bowl, like the ones from Tom & Jerry cartoons! Poor little Gilbert was almost three years old, which quite frankly, is elderly for a goldfish. It is just not nice seeing an animal suffering, no matter how big or small. When we left for work this morning, Gilbert was not looking too peachy, and I knew that he would be gone by the time I returned home. I am so soppy, I actually feel sorry for George - he's in the bowl all by himself, I swear the pair of them used to play some sort of fish version of tag (or tig for those of you in Leicester). I know, that sounds crazy, like I'm some mad goldfish woman! Oh, it is just so sad when pets die.

This one's for you Gilbert! x

Time Lapse Fish Bowl from Steve Poxson on Vimeo.

Katies adventures in dress making land part seven

2011-06-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

Above are a few detailed photographs of how my dress is looking so far :) I arrived at the class really early yesterday, even before the tutor! I'm like the class nerd! I hand stitched the bottom of my zip which needed reinforcing and tacked the neckline before starting on slip stitching the zip to the lining. Janet started this off, and it looked so beautifully neat, this worried me! I have to say though, I am so proud of myself and my slip stitching skills - I think I have done really rather well (see photograph three above). I also attached the neck facing, amazingly the facing fit the neckline perfectly with no need for alteration. I am truly amazed at how well this dress making is going so far! Just a few more stages to go; attaching sleeves and hemming the bottom of the dress and the lining. Oh, and making a belt! I really hope that it looks good once it's all finished, I'm so excited about potentially wearing it!

Knowledge

How to use slip stitch to neatly hand sew the zip to the lining material.
Sewing a few mms in from the edge of the neckline, along the facing, helps to keep the facing from coming out onto the outside of the dress.

Mistakes

Overlapping a small section of the fabric of the neckline when sewing on the neck facing, having to unpick a few stitches and re-sew.

Here are a few more photographs of how the dress looks on, I'm a bit worried that it is too loose around the waist, and that maybe I should have sewn darts at the front. Hopefully the belt that I am going to make will make it look more fitted.

Laura Ashley dress

2011-06-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting up to date with all of these blog posts! This is the Laura Ashley dress that I briefly spoke about a couple weeks ago. I found it in a charity shop back in my hometown of Luton for £4. The dress is corduroy, so will probably remain in my wardrobe until the Autumn, which to be fair, is not really that far away! I was really 'uumming' and 'arrring' over this dress, mainly because of the colour - I don't own anything purple! I just don't really think that it suits me. It does seem to bring out the colour of my eyes (green), but in a sort of freaky Hallowe'en kind of way. Although, while looking at these photographs, I did notice how orange my hair looks - now this makes me happy :) I think that this would be a great dress to layer up when it gets cold; a t-shirt underneath, some woolly tights, a chunky scarf and some DMs (they are on my wishlist at the moment, I am desperate to buy either some boots or Mary Janes).

I seem to wear specific colours these days; green, yellow, orange, beige, navy blue, ochre, tan and muted pinks. Equally, I stay away from just as many; purple (as explained), black, grey, white and bright tones or pastel tones of anything, simply because after years of wearing any colour I wished, I have now realised which ones suit me better.

Do you tend to stick to the same colour palette?

what Katie made

2011-06-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

So here it is, finally! The first garment that I have ever made that a) fits me and b) is made well enough that I feel comfortable wearing it out of the house! I have to say, I am so proud of myself :) Seeing as I had attempted it once, and made many mistakes, the second attempt was much easier and quicker to construct! I thought that using cotton may be a problem as it's not stretchy (the top has no fastenings) but it fits really well. I have so far worn it twice since I made it just over a week ago, and I think it shall have many more outings! I really want to make lots now in different colours and patterns and experiment with altering the collar. The pattern was an old Prima one that I found in a charity shop in the Lake District for 50p - making the total cost way under £10. I have most certainly caught the dress making bug.

Katies adventures in dress making land part six

2011-06-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'm really glad I went along to the class last night, I really enjoyed it and feel that my dress is coming along really well! I've noticed that I have become more patient with my sewing and not getting too angry at myself when I do things wrong (which is often!). I think that it helps being away from the distractions of home, dedicating specific time for me to do something that I love, learning new skills and being around other sewers. It's like a little support network! It's really making me think that it would be so much fun to begin some sort of craft group.

Janet is really helpful and so nice! She made me a little bow tonight for the top I made (to er, cover up the small mistake that I made!). She was telling me about all the wedding dresses that she has made for people over the years, It would be so amazing to be that talented!

Knowledge

5/8 = 1 1/2 cm, now I finally understand what Janet means when she tells me to tack 'five eighths in'.
To use Woolite or similar to hand wash the finished garment - dip into cold water, do not scrunch up, and leave to drip dry on a hanger.
To use pinking shears to trim the edges of the lining to make it look neater (Note to self - I really need to buy myself some of those).

Mistakes

Starting to attach my zip without changing the foot to a zipper foot.
Also, not changing the thread from white to red (it's ok though, it was the invisible bit so no one will ever know!)
Getting my thumb caught on the machine needle - ouch!
Cutting off the excess thread at the start of my sewing when attaching the zip, when I should have tied it first because it wasn't reverse stitched - I was being too enthusiastic! I need to hand sew a couple of stitches over the top to make sure that it doesn't all come apart.
Not checking last weeks pinning of the back seam, this resulted in the two sides not matching up (the fabric must have slipped!), therefore lots of unpicking and doing again!

As promised, here are some photographs of how my dress is progressing! I was unable to try it on because there are tons of pins holding it all together at the moment, and I didn't fancy being a pin cushion!

new shop items

2011-06-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have finally got round to adding some new items to my Etsy shop! Here is a little preview of what's on offer...

Psssspt... Wallpaper Rose are hosting a HUGE giveaway over on their blog, there are tons of handmade things up for grabs, including one of my recycled map jigsaw puzzle badges (which are now in very limited supply!) Pop along and have a look!

Katies adventures in dress making land part five

2011-06-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

I'm really enjoying going to these dress making classes! It's such a shame that there are only about four weeks left. It's so good to have a tutor who is so skilled and who can direct you on what to do next.

Wednesday nights' class was very productive again. Janet suggested that I lined the shift dress that I am making, as it would hang better and stop it from sliding. Part of me thought "No way! I can not possibly line anything!", but I also thought that it would be really good to at least try to do it.

So off I went, attaching my pattern pieces to the lining and cutting them out.

I sewed darts into the lining and attached the back and front pattern pieces at the shoulders. I also attached my dress at the shoulders, had a fitting where Janet pinned the side seams, and then I sewed those too. I was so relieved that the dress fit me! I was so worried that I had cut the pattern pieces too small (it's a complicated business!). In fact, I had cut the dress patterns too big!

I still have quite a way to go, sew the side seams of the lining, attach the lining to the dress, insert the zip, attached the sleeves, attach the facing, make a belt and hem the dress... Phew! But, so far, so good :)

Knowledge

Insert pins the right way around, so that they are easier to remove from the fabric while you're running it through the sewing machine.
Make sure the fit around the bust is accurate so that the darts sit well.

Mistakes

Sewing one of the darts very badly! It was such a pain to unpick too, because it was on lining fabric, fiddly!
Cutting the pattern pieces too big (better to have more fabric than less though!).

Sorry that this post is way overdue, I did want to get some photographs of my dress to post too, but I am having some real problems with lighting on this dull and rainy Sunday afternoon in June! I'm back at the dress making class tomorrow evening, so I promise some photographs in Tuesdays post instead :)

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T04:31:00.000-07:00

My favourite photograph of me and my wonderful Dad :)

my vegan week part 5

2011-06-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Day five

Breakfast

A peach soya yogurt.

Lunch

A small salad (mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper and grated carrot), topped with houmous and linseed, a banana, a Nakd pecan pie bar (YUM!) and a bottle of water.

A homemade banana and raisin muffin when I arrived home from work.

Dinner

Red lentil casserole (with peppers, onions and tomatoes) with chopped vegetarian sausages.

It is Friday, and I feel completely and utterly exhausted - I fell asleep for two hours earlier this evening! Steve saved the day with dinner, because I am so tired, I couldn't be bothered to even think about what to eat for dinner, let alone cook anything! I was all ready for a cheesy pasta bake to be honest, something stodgy and filling. Steve came up with the recipe by himself, the sausages were made from a veggie sausage mix from Asda where you just add water and mould into shape. This was the first time we had tried them, and they were not too bad but lacked a bit of flavour. I wonder if you could just add some extra ingredients to the mix to make them more interesting, e.g. garlic, cheese, onions etc? Anyway, the meal was really yummy and was just what I needed! I'm now so glad I didn't cave and go for a dinner laden with dairy and/or wheat, this means I have made it five whole days dairy free,

WOO!

Now that I have achieved what I set out to do, I will not be posting my little food diary every day, but will keep you posted on new recipes and foods that I try that are dairy free. I think I will be returning to eating some dairy from now on, but will not be consuming as much as I was before this week, the soya stuff really is too good!

Thanks again for all of your helpful and inspiring comments and tweets :)

P.S. Sorry that my latest dress making post has not been published yet, it is still requiring some photographs which I am yet to sort out because I have been feeling so tired tonight :(

my vegan week part 4

2011-06-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Day four

Today has not been such a good day, I have had terrible stomach cramps for pretty much the entire day. Part of the reason behind a week long dairy free diet, was to see if this helped my digestion, but now it appears that bread is also a culprit! So that's one more thing I will now need to eat less of. This resulted in me not eating any lunch today, I didn't feel hungry and couldn't face it, I just wanted to curl up into a ball! The stomach cramps did ease off though, just in time to visit our friends for dinner :)

Breakfast

A bowl of bran flakes with vanilla soya milk (I know, an odd choice, I wouldn't recommend it) topped with linseed.

Lunch

Nothing :(

Oh wait, two cups of water.

A banana when I arrived home from work.

Dinner

Homemade (by my friend Ivona!) lentil curry with pitta bread (I braved eating some wheat!).

Followed by homemade (by me!) berry crumble with soya custard and soya ice cream, mmm!

A glass of water.

We had a really lovely evening tonight, our friends invited us round when I said I was being vegan for a week, saying that they had a vegan recipe that they were cooking for dinner one evening. I politely provided the pudding! A very simple crumble (substituting the butter for Pure Sunflower spread), with a choice of soya custard or soya ice cream (or both!)

I hadn't tried soya custard before, and I thought it was yummy! It was more runny and less sweet than Ambrosia custard, but that isn't a bad thing! The soya ice cream went down really well too! I have had it a few times before, and love it! It's definitely worth a try if you are yet to! I brought some from Sainsburys for about £2.00.

I'm really starting to get into this dairy free diet now, I wonder how long I can keep it up!

vegan banana muffins

2011-06-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Those if you that are already vegan will probably be familiar with this recipe, or an adaptation of it.

I have been making these muffins for about four years, they really are delicious, and in my opinion, tastier than cakes that are made with eggs :)

They are also incredibly easy to make!

Makes one dozen muffins

You will need:

3 ripe bananas

1/4 cup oil or melted margarine (I used Pure Sunflower spread, and didn't melt it as it is very soft and easy to mix)

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt (I used a pinch)

1 tsp. baking soda

Optional: Add a handful of walnuts, oats, raisins, chocolate chips, currants, coconut, or all of the above!

(I used raisins, oats and chopped up dairy-free chocolate)

1. Mash the bananas (overripe ones make the best bread). Add the oil/margarine and sugar, then mix well.

2. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together and add to the banana mixture. Mix until the flour is blended, but do not beat.

3. Pour into muffin cases or a bread tin and bake at 360°F (180°c) until a toothpick comes out clean (I bake for approximately 20 minutes).

Here are some snaps of the baking process!

place your muffin cases in a baking tray

add three bananas to a large mixing bowl

mash the bananas

add the margarine and sugar and mix well

sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the bowl

because I like to make different flavours using one batch, I divide the mixture into separate small bowls

add a handful of whatever you choose!

fill the muffin cases,

and after twenty minutes...

voila!

my vegan week part 3

2011-06-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Day three

Today I had a yummy lunch - lots and lots of salad! I really do love salad, such a vegetarian cliche as well, i.e. rabbit food.

I have noticed today that I have generally started to feel much better about myself, I seem to have a bit more energy since ditching the dairy three days ago. It will be interesting to see whether or not this remains to be true by the end of the week. I have also been feeling much more full than usual, and this is a real surprise to me! Normally after meals, I still feel hungry, but that's not happened at all yet this week.

I was lent a booked called Veganomicon by a friend, and had a look through it last night. It has some really tempting recipes in it, I think that I might just have to buy a copy for myself! I'm still not sure I could become a vegan full time though, but I'm still thinking about eating a vegan diet from Monday to Friday, giving myself a chance to nibble some cheese at the weekends!

Breakfast

Two slices of brown seeded toast with pure sunflower spread with (too much) marmite, and a glass of water.

I had to do some scraping, my lovely boyfriend made me breakfast, but hasn't mastered the marmite application process as he hates the stuff!

An apple at break.

I'm seriously obsessed with granny smith apples <3

Lunch

A big, fat salad (mixed lettuce leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, yellow pepper and grated carrot), topped with houmous and linseed, a soya yogurt, a banana and a bottle of water.

A homemade banana and oat muffin when I arrived home from work.

Dinner (yet to be eaten!)
Fajitas (peppers, onions, tomatoes, marinated tofu pieces in seeded wraps).

I'm off to my dress making class in about an hour, so Steve will be preparing the fajitas in time for when I get home - I can't wait, nom!
I have some more vegan banana muffins in the oven right now, and will be doing a post all about how to make them when I get home tonight (after eating the fajitas, obv).

Sorry that there are no photographs today, but to make up for it, here is a video that I think you will enjoy! Also, lots of thanks to everyone that has left comments or tweeted me with recipes and advice, it is much appreciated :)

Katies (additional) adventures in dress making land

2011-06-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

Janet, my dress making tutor, runs a course on Mondays as well as the Wednesday session that I attend. As it is nearing the end of term, she has allowed the classes to come to either or both sessions, which is great! So now, I will be doubling up on sewing time when I can!

I went along tonight (in the top I made! I will get some photographs posted very soon, I'm so proud of myself!). I decided to begin making the dress which I have had the pattern pieces cut out for for a while. It was a pretty productive class, I managed to over lock everything I needed to, attach interfacing to the facings and insert darts. I will be back again on Wednesday to stitch the shoulders together and then pin it all together and put it on the check the fit.

Knowledge

To not reverse stitch on thin cottons when inserting darts, as it may pull the fabric.
To sew darts from outside to inside.
That you can use similar shades of cotton when sewing/over locking if you do not have enough of one - twist them together and hold against the fabric to check if they match.
Not to attach neck facing pieces together until the garment is constructed, just in case it needs adjusting.

Mistakes

Cutting the wrong interfacing, oops!
Sewing one of the darts a bit wonky, and having to unpick it and do it again.
Not being able to curve the over locker very well (lovely Janet stepped in to save the day before I chopped off too much fabric!).

Here is just a little photograph to show you the darts that I sewed :) Hopefully after tomorrows class, I will have some more interesting photographs to show you all!

my vegan week part 2

2011-06-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Day two

Seeing as yesterday I was surprisingly full up all day, I decided on smaller meals for breakfast and lunch today. I used unsweetened soya milk in my porridge, and didn't really like it as much as the vanilla flavoured one (even though that was quite sweet). It has been suggested that I try rice milk instead, so I will be putting that on my next shopping list! The idea of being vegan on weekdays was also suggested to me, which I think is a very promising idea. I do currently have a bit of a craving for macaroni cheese though (here come the cheese cravings!), but I am, once again, full up after a big dinner.

Breakfast

Bowl of porridge made with unsweetened soya milk and topped with linseed, and a glass of water.

A mug of peppermint tea when I arrived at work.

A tomato at break (I know, it sounds odd, but that was the childrens' snack at playtime today!).

Lunch

Leftover spicy lentil casserole (I only ate half, really not much of a fan), soya yogurt, apple, banana and a bottle of water.

spicy lentil casserole

A homemade banana muffin and a glass of water on returning from work.

Dinner

Vegetable korma (cauliflower, carrot, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes and white onion).

I made the curry using a korma curry paste and coconut milk.

vegetable korma

I did prefer the curry tonight as opposed to last nights casserole, but I am finding these vegan dinners a struggle. We normally eat a lot of curries too, so it's probably all psychological! I have been kindly lent lots of cook books from various friends, so I am going to have a look through some later to try to discover some tastier things to eat! I might see if I can find another lentil casserole with perhaps tomatoes, chilli and peppers in it, in my head, this would be tasty!

my vegan week part 1

2011-06-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

Day one

I completely understand that I am very sad, but I have been so excited about doing this vegan diet for days; shopping for dairy free goods and perusing the health food shops and online has been enlightening. Finding savory recipes though, has been less fun. I have now made a meal plan for the week, but have had to dig though tons of things which either included ingredients that were hard to find and/or expensive, or that, to be quite frank, sounded disgusting!

This morning, I unusually leaped out of bed about half an hour earlier than usual to prepare my lunch and to make some porridge for breakfast.

So here is how I've stayed away from dairy today!

Breakfast

Bowl of porridge made with vanilla soya milk and topped with linseed, and a glass of water.

(The vanilla soya milk made it taste delicious, although was quite sweet.)

An apple and a mug of peppermint tea at break.

Lunch

Falafel, houmous, tomato and mixed lettuce leaves sandwich (on brown, seeded bread), a banana, raspberry soya yogurt and a homemade vegan banana and oat muffin. Oh, and a bottle of water!

A homemade banana and raisin muffin and a mug of chamomile tea on returning from work.

Dinner

Spicy lentil casserole (potato, carrot, parsnip, onion and red lentils) with rice, and a glass of water.

I am incredibly full up (probably all of those carbs from dinner!) To be honest, the meals that I have eaten today hasn't been largely different to what I would normally eat as a vegetarian. And so far, no cheese cravings!

Let's see if this gets harder as the week progresses! I wanted to share some photographs, but I am having some camera issues at the moment. Hopefully I will be able to post some later in the week :) The plan is to do a little write up everyday this week, so keep popping back to see whether I have accidentally/purposefully eaten something with dairy in it!

PS I finally found issue two of Mollie Makes today, yippee!

Laura Ashley

2011-06-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

There is a branch of Oxfam which I used to be in practically every day (when I worked in the area of Leicester that it is located), but I rarely get a chance to have a browse anymore. However, a few days ago I thought I would pop in as I was on my way to the post office (to post some What Katie Found sales - yippee!) And what did I find? This cute Laura Ashley top for a mere £2.99!

I love that it's polka dot, and I love the button fastenings on either side. I think that it would look a lot better worn with some high waisted trousers or a skirt though, annoyingly, I have neither of these.

I brought another Laura Ashley item when I was in Luton last weekend visiting my family, a purple corduroy dress (again with button fastenings at the side and at the shoulders) for £4. I had a little chat with the elderly lady working there about how I much prefer the old Laura Ashley prints and designs compared to modern ones. I'd almost forgotten that I had even purchased it, so I will have to get some photographs of that soon to share with you all!

I seem to have developed a skill for hunting out vintage Laura Ashley items recently, not a bad skill to have acquired if you ask me!

dairy free

2011-06-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already know, I'm a proud vegetarian (since circa 1996). I have often thought to myself that I would love to be disciplined enough to be a vegan, you see, vegetarianism isn't too much of a challenge seeing as I hate the smell, taste and texture of meat, however cutting out cheese? Now that might be a problem.

While we were in the Lake District last week, Steve said that he was thinking about cutting out all meat apart from fish (which he loves). I of course thought that this was a great idea! Steve is practically a vegetarian anyway, never eating meat at home. This prompted me to think a bit more about the whole vegan thing, and that it would be an interesting challenge for a set amount of time (Sorry, but I just don't think I could give up cheese forever!). Also, my diet lately has been really bad, I eat far too many cakes and biscuits (Although today not one sweet thing has passed my lips!) I feel like I have got myself into some really bad eating habits and I need to change that, I feel so unhealthy, bleugh!

So, it is decided, next week from Monday to Friday, I will be eating a vegan diet! I did want to do the entire week until Sunday, but we will be at a wedding on Saturday so chances are I will be eating nothing all day if I continue it! I will definitely be conscious of what I'm eating though, and try to stick to vegan food when I can :)

What I thought would be interesting, was if any one else wanted to join me, by either choosing a vegan or vegetarian diet for those five days next week. If you do, leave me a comment below to let me know! I am going to document all the recipes and foods that I try, so if you are taking on this challenge too, I can include you in my posts :)

Lastly, if anyone knows of any delicious vegan recipes or products (lunches, dinners, puddings or snacks!) please let me know! I have just been to the supermarket and stocked up on some dairy free treats, including chocolate rice milk and soya yogurts!

Katies adventures into dress making land part four

2011-06-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, a friend of a friend kindly gave me a big bag of fabric. One of the fabrics was quite a large piece of black and white stripey jersey, and I thought it would be perfect for attempting the top pattern, which I found in the charity shop in the Lake District last week. So, on Monday, I optimistically cut out the pattern pieces and fabric and began sewing. At the last stage, I realised my serious comprehension problem regarding pattern instructions. I read them over and over again, and still had no idea what to do! So, I decided to take it along to my dress making class, knowing that Janet would be able to tell me what to do at the drop of a hat!

And here it is, in its almost complete state!

Knowledge

how to insert a zip (I watched a demonstration, which Janet made look incredibly easy!)
To pin or tack the center markings (it makes matching pieces together much easier)

Mistakes

sewing together the wrong part of the collar, making it impossible to join together until I unpicked it and tried again.
making a bit of a mess when sewing the facing under the arm holes (this just needs to be hand stitched to neaten it up)

Not too many mistakes made yesterday, I even pinned the facing to the top correctly all by myself! The bottom of the top needs to be over locked and then hemmed, and then it's done! I really love the pattern, I want to buy some more fabric and make another one! This could turn out to be a classic :)

I had hoped to start my shift dress tonight, but again I was far too optimistic! If I get time this weekend, I might try to begin it myself at home (if I feel brave enough!) Here is a little snap of the fabric that I will be using...

Now if only I didn't have to go to work and I could stay home all day and sew instead*sigh*....

dapper

2011-06-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Boa (first name, David), tweeted me to ask whether I could make him a bow tie. He requested this recycled green floral fabric that I have previously used to make hair bows. I accepted the challenge willingly - I have wanted to attempt making a bow tie for a while, so this seemed like a good opportunity to give it a go. The process was quite simple, and I really enjoyed making it! Overall, I am pretty pleased with it, I think I might even make some more to sell in my shop, what do you think?

the first car boot of 2011...

2011-06-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have been going to car boot sales regularly for the past couple of months, since the farmers opened up their fields to be filled with second hand treasures, but today was our first selling experience of 2011. We picked today thinking that it was going to be a super hot day like it was on Friday and Saturday, but because of the wind, it was quite cold :( (but at least I didn't get sun burnt again!)

We did really quite well by the time we packed up at about 12:30, and we still have about five boxes worth of stuff for another one! A nice bit of money for our rainy day fund :)

Of course, being at a car boot sale for six hours meant that I couldn't possibly resist having a look around myself!

Here's what I found today...

flower lotto game (in excellent condition)
50p

sugar and flour shakers

£2.00

a little fawn

20p

I also brought two dresses, a plaid one from my friend Ivona for £1, and a mustard coloured one for £2 (both from H&M). I saw some amazing 1970s dining room chairs today too - I can't wait until I live in a house that we can fit a dining table in! I'm watching Come Dine With Me at the moment, and day dreaming about the day that I can host dinner parties for my friends and family, I love being a hostess :)

I hope that you've all had a splendid weekend? Did you come across any thrifty finds?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary

2011-06-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Take a look at my beautiful flowers!

I love flowers, but for years I just didn't understand why my female relatives loved them so much. I think it must somehow be linked to making your own home, there is something really poignant about having a vase of fresh flowers in your house.

My Mum kindly made this little arrangement for me (with some prompting from me "I want it to look like I've just picked some flowers out of a garden") For years, myself and my older sister have been telling my Mum that she should make a career out of flower arranging, and she is finally starting to take a step in that direction! I'm so proud of her, she has this cute little shed in their garden, full of wicker baskets, mutli coloured ribbons and brightly patterned wrapping papers. Steve took lots of photographs of some of her arrangements yesterday, while I made us all a kick-ass vegetarian lasagne for dinner :) It's a good job I disappeared to the kitchen too, because approximately half an hour in the shade in the garden, resulted in some sunburn, on the back of my neck. The sun always finds me :(

Before I go (and finish finding things around our home to sell at tomorrows car boot sale!), I would like to say a big hello to my new followers! Also, a belated thank you to the lovely Deer Little Fawn for featuring my wooden kite necklace on her blog last week, it honestly made my day!

And one more thank you to the equally lovely Ella Masters for posting an interview with me and reviewing some What Katie Found makes on her blog! There is a lot of blog love out there, and I really do appreciate all of the nice things you guys say, *shucks* :)

Oh, and one more thing! I did my first Twitter giveaway this week, and one lucky lady won a pack of my recycled bird book badges, so make sure you follow to be in with a chance of winning next time...

thrifty Lake District finds

2011-06-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

Myself and Steve celebrated our five year anniversary on Tuesday, and for my present, he booked a surprise trip to the Lake District! Neither of us had been there before, and I must say it was really nice and it was so good to get away for a couple of days and get some fresh air! It was a long drive though, 3 1/2 hours there and about 4 1/2 hours back (there was a vehicle fire on the M1 this afternoon, which meant that we were at a standstill for ages). Our car was so hot! We've all been waiting for summer to finally arrive, and I tell you what, that sun doesn't hang around does it?! My poor, fair and pasty skin didn't know what hit it! While we were there, we hopped on a little boat cruise (I get really too excited about boats!) I will share some of the photographs of our little adventure when we get the films developed, but until there, I wanted to show you some of the things I found in the charity shops up there in the North West :)

1930s embroidery stitches book £2.50

(originally five shillings!)

scallopped gold necklace

£2.00

floral throw for a single bed

£2.50

three patterns

50p each

I really love the patterns, the cape seems a bit out of my depth at the moment, but hopefully one day I can have a go at it! The dress/top pattern is exactly the sort of thing that I was thinking of making (I really want to attempt a top, not just dresses!), and the dress pattern can be altered to make nine different designs, nine! Now that's value for money!

I feel a bit like I'm on auto pilot when I go into charity shops now, I am always on the look out for the same things!
What section do you seem to gravitate to first when you're charity shop shopping, and what do you always seem to walk out with?

the 50p skirt

2011-05-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, myself and Steve went along to our local car boot sale, which was on a rather rainy, cold and windy morning. (I hear it's supposed to be summer right now, but you could have fooled me.) Apart from the small, cute collection of teacups that I managed to accumulate, and the vintage bedding which I used to make a dress, I also spotted this skirt amongst a huge pile of clothes. It was one of those double take situations, I saw the camel and navy blue striped combination, and in I dived! Not in a mood to ponder, due to the rain lapping down on my face, I handed over the 50 pence that the stall holder had asked for. And, I must say, I am very glad I did! I finally tried the skirt on this morning (it had been at the bottom of our washing bag since that very morn), I thought that it would be too small, but it's a pretty good fit! It's a great length too, I think it will look splendid with some sandals when the sunshine comes back :) Steve however, thinks it looks 'circus-y', which I don't think is a bad thing at all!

What has been your best bargain from a car boot sale? I think I would struggle to pick mine, maybe one day I will do a post of all of my favourites :)

cut copy create

2011-05-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

I was very lucky a few days ago, and won a Twitter competition that Cut Copy Create organised! I was very pleased, as I have been a bit of a secret fan of all of their old technology inspired goodies, from Polaroid and Lomography Cameras to cassette tapes and old typewriters (just a few of my favourite things!) for quite some time.

So what did I win, I hear you cry? It was these wonderful illustrated camera pin badges, which I decided to give to my boyfriend, as he is a photographer - and he loves them :) The illustrations are so cute!

(I might have to pinch one every now and again though to wear on my cardigan!)

You can find out more about Cut Copy Create by clicking on the following :)

Facebook , Twitter, Blog, Etsy.

Katies adventures into dress making land part 3

2011-05-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to say that yesterday evenings class was tons more productive than last weeks, and I came home with a smile on my face and feeling motivated, as opposed to last weeks' big grump!

My skirt is very near completion, with only the hem to be stitched and the buttons sewn on, hooray! I managed to sew my button holes very effectively (easy when you know how, I hope that I can transfer this skill to my own sewing machine now!) I also attached my waistband, and the gathers which I did at home on Tuesday night (first time!) stayed in place until the bitter end :) I'm going to finish those few little bits over the next two weeks, no class next week as it's half term. I also talked through my next pattern - a shift dress, with Janet, so I aim to make a start with that too.

Knowledge

how to sew button holes.
how to create 'tram line' i.e. tacking to mark the location for button holes (so much easier and effective than my first attempt with a ruler and tailors chalk, woobbbbly lines).
what sewing needles to buy - size 9 is apparently a good place to start.
Polish pins are the best so I am told, and ones from China can tend to pull your fabric.
to add 1 1/2cm for seam allowance on a pattern.

Mistakes

drawing woobbbbly lines to mark my button hole, I'm told that I am, in fact, NOT lopsided :)
missing a tiny section when sewing my waist band to my skirt, but I did resolve this very quickly :)
attempting to attach the bow waistband to the skirt so that it
would create a bow on one side, rather than in the middle, and finding out that it didn't quite work! The result? One side of the bow being about 2" longer than the other, oops!

So here are a few photographs to show you all how it's looking so far :)

I also wanted to quickly share another work in progress. I had a go at making a simple strapless dress with some recycled 1970s bedding (which, I must add, I love). I need to use a wider elastic and adjust the hip measurements though - a little bit too tight!

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts :)

Katie and Diana do London

2011-05-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Gin and Tonic drinking

Bethnal Green wandering

tube riding

BBQ eating

garden dancing

art viewing

cape wearing

Canary Wharf waiting

people meeting

friend hugging

Drop Dead Gorgeous watching

rucksack carrying

cake munching

Katies adventures into dress making land part 2

2011-05-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

Argh!

Yesterdays evening class was frustrating. The main aim of attending this dress making course was so that I could practice all of those things that I am not great at i.e button holes, zips etc. So far, all I have managed to do, are the things that I was fairly confident in doing anyway.

I am very sorry for the rant, but last night, I attempted to do some gathers on the waist of my skirt about four times. The thread kept snapping, and in the end, after 2 hours, I thought it best to pack away and just come home! I did get to do some over locking though, which I secretly love (I'm such a nerd). I have decided to sort out the gathers at home one evening, along with pressing the hem and adding wonder web (which I need to buy). Then hopefully next Wednesday I can finally get my button holes sewn, buttons sewn on and waistband added. And then - it shall be complete!! I also want to begin to make a dress, so I will be cutting out my pattern pieces ready for Wednesday too.

Knowledge

how to thread an over locker.
machine stitching the thread for gathering in smaller sections, to avoid the thread snapping (although, this still didn't exactly help me!)

Mistakes

Not connecting the three separate parts of my bow waistband correctly, therefore having to unpick some of the stitching and do it again.
Not tying the ends of the threads properly when attempting to create gathers, which resulted in them all 'disappearing' and then consequently, me getting very fed up (even the chocolate hob nob didn't help!)

This week has generally been a bit crazy, and I have eaten far too many cakes and biscuits. Sorry that there are no photographs to accompany this post, but hopefully I will make up for that next week when I head off to my class with high hopes and optimism!

P.S. I have created a 10% off discount code for my shop - click here to find it :)

cheap as chips

2011-05-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling rather generous at the moment, so I am offering you all 10% off your purchases from my Etsy shop when you enter the code CHEAPASCHIPS at the checkout :)

This discount is available to international buyers as well as those in the UK.

Offer ends at 9pm on Tuesday 24th May 2011.

crochet beauties now in my shop

2011-05-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

I came across this little collection of crocheted purses while on my travels this weekend. I absolutely love them! They remind me of my elderly next door neighbor from when I was a child, who recently passed away. She crocheted me a blanket when I was born, which I adored.
I have five of these beauties in total, with three already listed in my shop, and they're only £3 each :)

I have been experimenting with making some simple dresses today, which so far seem to be a success. I will find some time to get some photographs taken during the week - would love to hear your opinions! Also, thank you so much to those of you who left such wonderful comments about my handmade polka dot skirt! But right now, I would not take a good photograph. I'm sat in my pajamas watching James Bond (an old one, therefore a good one), and will soon be making a delicious paneer curry for dinner, yum! Not a bad Sunday so far, but such a shame that it will soon be Monday :(

I hope that you've all had a great weekend!

Katies adventures into dress making land

2011-05-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

So last night I began a dress making course. Although when I say began, really was gatecrashing a three term course with only 9 weeks remaining! Everyone else had been attending from the start, so had been given tutorials in how to do button holes, collars, cuffs, zips etc etc. Me, I was going in pretty much blind. Sure, I have given these things ago, but I lack serious confidence in these areas.

I must say first and foremost, that Janet, the tutor, and all of the other 'students' were so friendly and helpful. I was even brought a cup of tea and a biscuit!

I was rather optimistic about what I could achieve in my two hour session, which is nothing unusual (hence why I pack away unfinished projects to 'complete later' when I get bored or frustrated with them, and they never see the light of day again). I took along a skirt pattern from Sew Hip magazine; buttons, bow, enough detail for a challenge, but not too much that I end up throwing the sewing machine out of the window. I cut out all of my pattern pieces, although I need to do the waist band piece again as I clearly can't measure properly! At the weekend, I aim to buy some more fabric and get my pieces cut out ready for the second lesson, so I can spend the time getting my skirt constructed and then start another garment. Ambitious much?!

As I will be going to these classes for the next nine weeks (with a one week gap for half term), I thought I would make this into a little feature on What Katie Found, so pop back every Thursday for my sewing updates!

So here's a summary of week one...

Knowledge

'Pull' the edges of woven fabrics to create a straight edge.
Apparently Fenwicks sells the best interfacing you can get your hands on.
Cut out your fabric with the scissors flat against the table.

Mistakes

Dropping the tutors tailors chalk on the floor, and breaking it. Cringe.
Buying a fabric that will not only shrink if put in the washing machine, but will also fade.
Cutting the wrong size for my waistband.
Having some serious issues with accurate measuring.

Today, I woke up just aching to make something. Unfortunatley, I had to go to work first, but on my return home I began to cut out another skirt pattern (again from Sew Hip magazine). This one had no buttons or zippers, just a simple elasticated waistband. Overall, I am pretty pleased with myself :) I love the yellow polka dot fabric, but it's polyester (just like all those beautiful vintage 1980s dresses I always see, but can't stand to wear), and I'd much prefer it in cotton. I will definitely be buying some more fabric to attempt this pattern again. I need to chop off some of the elastic around the waistband too, as it's a bit too loose.

So here are a few photographs, please excuse my grumpy looking face, that's just how I look after intense concentration whilst sewing!

I LOVE the big bow (but I want to make it BIGGER).

So what do you think? I'm still not feeling that confident about my sewing abilities, but it's certainly a step in the right direction :)

crown and glory

2011-05-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail from Sophie, the founder of the wonderfully whimsical company,
Crown and Glory.

Crown and Glory began just over a year ago, in early 2010. Starting out by creating hand painted butterfly pieces, Sophie's shop has expanded enormously, now stocking a range including floral headdresses (made to measure), bird themed accessories and fabric headbands. The perfect place to find something beautiful to dress your head!

Sophie was suggesting that we did a product swap (seeing as we were both big fans of the others creations!), and how could I resist such an exciting offer? We talked about which items were our favourites, but it was all a surprise until we received our parcels!

Since I finally got my hands on my parcel on Wednesday afternoon, I've been itching to try out the beautiful hair slides and very cute teeny tiny swallow brooch that Sophie kindly sent me.

Flight Bobby Pin Set £7.00

Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Polka Dot Bobby Pins £2.00
I can't believe that the little polka dot bobby pins are only £2.oo for a pair (you can choose both blue, both pink or a mixture of the two).

Flock Brooch Free gift
I was also pleased as punch to receive the tiny swallow brooch, which is a free gift with every order from Crown and Glory. It is seriously cute, will definitely be adorning my cardigans from now on!

The Flight bobby pin set is so beautiful, I'm so glad that Sophie chose these for me. The vintage floral patterns on the swallow are definitely me! I rarely wear hair slides these days, for some reason I always seem to think that they make me look like a little girl, but these feel very 'grown up', and as Sophie said in her letter which she included in my parcel, Every bird lover deserves a flock of gorgeous swallows for their tresses. I absolutely adore them, and have already had some admiring comments from people :)

Sophie has kindly offered all What Katie Found readers 15% off their order when you enter whatkatiefound at the checkout, visit the Crown and Glory shop here, and you too can beautifully dress your tresses! :)

For more information about Crown and Glory, visit Facebook, Twitter and their wonderful blog.

shop update

2011-05-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of days I have been adding more items to my Etsy shop, all of the above (and more!) can now be found if you click here :) It's back to work tomorrow, so less time to procrastinate! I'm 'testing the water' with the vintage greeting cards. I've now got quite a selection of various (and sometimes quite frankly, random) cards, so if you can't find what you're looking for, just send me a message and I can let you know what others are available.

What has made my day today, is this wonderful review of some of my items over at Crown and Glory's blog. Sophie has taken some beautiful photographs and written many lovely things, so go and take a look! Sophie contacted me a couple of weeks ago about doing a swap of some of our products, so keep checking back to see my Crown and Glory review very soon (my parcel arrived on Saturday, but I was still asleep so I've had to wait until tomorrow to collect it from the post office!).

the thriftiest of them all

2011-05-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Outfit posts are a real rarity on my blog. I'm a bit 'awkward' and hate the idea of posing (99% of the time, the best photographs of me are when I'm a) not looking or b) in mid laughter).

However, as I was getting dressed this morning, I thought to myself that this outfit might be worth the pain of awkwardly posing, just so I could share some of my thrifty purchases with you!

The blue floral top is vintage Marks and Spencers, and was £1 from a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago. The blue denim culottes were also from a car boot sale last summer, and cost 20p. Unfortunately, my shoes ruin it all a little bit, because they are a brand new purchase from Asda (I am a bit weird about wearing second hand shoes though...)

A few people have asked me lately how I've been plaiting my hair. I think it's rather messy, and wish that I could do it better, but I have conjured up a little video (made from photographs) showing the process!

Here goes...

Right, I'm off to list some more items in my Etsy shop. Things are going quite well over there, I've had a number of buyers from Australia which is exciting! Trying to get as much of my do to list completed as possible today - back to work on Wednesday and me and Steve might go to the seaside tomorrow (fingers crossed for sunshine!)

I hope that you've all had a great bank holiday weekend, not long until the next one :)

the sewing table

2011-05-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

My best friend, Kate, came to stay with us last weekend (We went to see Russell Kane at The Playhouse in Nottingham last night, which I must add, was really good!) She brought along with her this beautiful sewing table. Her grandparents have just moved house, so have had to de-clutter, and Kate (very rightly) saw this, and thought I would love it. It's is just so wonderful, and in great condition too. I think it's probably a 1960's or 70s table, although I'm not too good at dating furniture so if anyone has any ideas please let me know!

I just need to find a place for it now...

painting faces

2011-04-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

Every summer for years, I have thought to myself "ah, face painting, that could be a fun way of making a few extra pennies!" So a couple of days ago, I finally did it - I brought myself a kit! I have been so excited, I kept looking out of the window all morning, waiting for the post man to arrive! Unfortunately, I have no children yet, so my boyfriend, Steve, has been my face painting guinea pig today! Painting someone's face is actually more difficult than I anticipated. For one, I haven't received the brushes yet, so I was using actual paint brushes! Secondly, Steve is a bit stubbly, and he kept flinching!

Not too bad though for my first attempt eh?! Always looking for faces to practice on now, and East Midlanders, please bear me in mind for any parties or fairs :)

Right, I really need to get my things ready for ABC, which is happening tomorrow night. I still have some jewelery and fabric collars to get made, yikes!

Hope that you all have a splendid day of work tomorrow UK people! Woo! And Will and Kate - I hope the sun shines for you :)

a little bit of sunshine

2011-04-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a few snaps from the past week. I did some baking with my Mum when we went down to Luton over the Easter weekend. I made a very delicious carrot cake, and I finally made some cheese and marmite pinwheels (I'm holding one in the last photo!)

Unfortunately, the sunshine seems to have disappeared today, it's actually quite cold! Me and Steve have been sorting out our house a bit today, boxing up things to take to the car boot sale (which we will do when we have a free weekend!) I've still got some items to list on eBay and on my Etsy shop, so should really get that done soon. I'm currently trying to 'save for a rainy day' :)

doodles

2011-04-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday evening, I was laying in bed, and had an urge to draw. Luckily for me, I now keep a sketchbook and a biro next to the bed (I love drawing in pen). That day, I had worn a jumpsuit.
Out. In. Public.
So, inspired by this brave move on my part, I started to doodle what I had worn that day. I have said this many, many times before - I'm no illustrator, but I do have good intentions to continue drawing and try to get better. I continued my little project for five days (I have become slack the past two), and each day, could NOT fit my shoes in the drawing!

I had a lovely Easter weekend, I hope that you all did too!

There will be another post full of stories of my adventures in the next couple of days :)

ahoy there

2011-04-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Until next Monday 24th April 2011 at 9pm, you can receive free shipping with all orders from my Etsy shop hoorah!

Just enter AHOYTHERE11 at the checkout to save yourself some pounds :)

mango

2011-04-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

I have wanted orange hair for a very long time now, but the only way to really achieve it would be to bleach my hair first, which I really don't want to do (not again anyway. I bleached my previously black hair about 3 years ago, and the condition of my hair has not been the best since). I tried using some orange semi permanent dyes, but they just didn't work. However, yesterday I came across this shade named Mango by L'Oreal. I am really rather pleased with the results - ideally I would love it to be much, much brighter though! It was just so nice to find an orange shade of hair dye at last, rather than the reddish purples that I always see, and that remind me of being a teenager!

Etsy

2011-04-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yippee!

I have finally got my Etsy shop stocked properly! These photographs are just a little taster of what's on offer :) Please pop by to take a look, I'm really proud of how my shop is looking, and I took all of the photographs myself (quite an achievement, as I normally rope my photographer boyfriend into doing it for me!)

It has literally taken me hours to list everything, so my to do list is not quite complete today. I'm hoping to find some time this evening to dye my hair - I've finally found an 'orangey' colour, so fingers crossed it will look beautiful!

Ooh, and I would just like to add, thank you lots and lots to all of you who have left such lovely messages about my makes, it is really appreciated! And also a big thank you to those of you who have nominated my blog for your blog awards. I do acknowledge them and feel very flattered indeed to be chosen!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, me and Steve are going to take a stroll into Leicester, hopefully visiting some charity shops, markets, fairs and galleries on route.

Fingers crossed for some sunshine :)

car boot loot

2011-04-17T12:04:00.000-07:00

Phew. Just listed twenty things on eBay, so then felt that it was ok to photograph some of my car boot finds and write a post! I haven't got any snaps of my clothing yet, as I'm hoping to get some photographs of me wearing them, hoping that that will look much better than them just being hung onto a hanger! Right, so off we go...some of these were found last weekend, and some today :)

floral planter - 10p

little deer - 50p
(and he has a family to join! I'm building up quite a deer army now... )

pink glass dish - 20p
I was really unsure what I would use this for, and then I thought "Ah huh! Sweets!" Because everyone has sweets in a bowl in their house right?...

teacup and saucer (and two matching side plates) - £1

a 1966 sewing and knitting magazine - 50p

love the photographs. love the adverts. love. love. love.

So, that's all for now! I will definitely get all of the clothing photographed and posted this week (I'm on half term now for two weeks, yippee!) I also have to make some plans, I need to make the most of having some time off, but not after a well deserved lie in tomorrow morning!

Hope that you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening, whatever you're up to (I sincerely hope that it involves eating tons of hot cross buns, yum!)

Curiosity Haus Craft and Design Fair

2011-04-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I held a stall at the Curiosity Haus Craft and Design Fair, and I am sad to say, it was rather disappointing as fairs go :( I did feel that the cost of the stall was a bit pricey, but took the risk as my last fair with them (which was at Sneinton Market in Nottingham), went pretty well. The sudden burst of sunshine was potentially the reason for the very slow amount of people stopping by. On the up side though, I did get to talk to lots of other very talented crafters, and even got to have a really good chin wag with a friend who I've not seen in ages! I also did a 'craft swap' with another stall holder - I exchanged some bunting for a completely amazing bracelet. It's gold, with a little gold disc hanging from it, which says 'going steady' with a silhouette of a boy and a girl. So random, and I LOVE it!

Oh, and here is a quick snap of me in one of the many new (second hand) items that I have acquired lately - a handmade blue and white polka dot shift dress, 99p from eBay! What an absolute bargain, and it fits perfectly :) My big bag of clothing for eBay is still sat here, I'm hoping to get some things listed this evening. I also went to a car boot sale this morning, and found some more treasures, so that's yet another post waiting to be written!

I hope you're all having a great weekend, and that it's sunny wherever you are!

2011-04-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two weeks since I last posted, and it has flown by! I'm sat here thinking I don't even know where to begin.

Well, I finally got rid of my cold, although annoyingly, I think it has come back for another round. Today was the last day of term for schools in Leicestershire, which means I now have 2 weeks and 3 days off work hooray! I really feel like I need a break too, this last week in particular has been really tough.

Tomorrow I will be having a stall at the Curiosity Haus Contemporary Craft and Design Fair, which is taking place at The Orange Tree in Nottingham from 12 - 5pm. So tonight I really need to sort out my stock and get everything packed. That is, after I have sat for a while. I feel that sitting on the sofa in front of the TV is essential for the foreseeable future.

So, if I now go back in time, I will attempt to recall what I have been up to lately. Probably the most exciting thing (not just recently, but ever), was that myself and my friend Tate went for an casting for Coach Trip in Birmingham on Wednesday! It was really good fun, and to just be asked for an interview was amazing. We don't know if we will get to be on the show yet, we will just have to wait and see :)

On returning from my interview, I came home to discover my parcel from the lovely Ella of Ruby Rae Love! If you've not yet seen Ella's beautiful jewellery, go and take a look - it is truly wonderful. If you remember, I also purchased my 'Firmin' ring from her a few weeks ago, and then couldn't resist buying some of these Navajo friendship bracelets (I will get some snaps of mine over the weekend!) Ella also very kindly sent me a free gift, which I will keep a secret for now until I get some photographs taken of it, but it is so cool! Felt very chuffed :)

I've also been buying some bargain dresses and other garments lately, via eBay and the car boot sale. Once again, I will get some photographs taken soon and write a separate post. I have one of those massive blue Ikea bags sat next to me right now, which is full of clothes to go on eBay or to the charity shops, so I really must find the motivation to get that done too. Phew.

But right now? I'm going to make a cup of tea, and maybe eat a hot cross bun (even though I have just scoffed a GU chocolate and cherry cookie).

More interesting posts coming soon, I promise!