Advent calendar 3

Welcome to the opening of door number three.

So, let me ask you this... What does one do with an empty Nutella jar (that is after one has stopped mourning the fact that it is, indeed, empty)?

Well, one possibility is of course to wrap it in hessian/burlap fabric, stamp a dragonfly (or something else) on it, wrap some string around it, place a tea light inside and voilà, a small votive that lets out a lovely warm light when lit (even if the dragonflies can't be seen very well when the candle is lit).

Now, these look quite nice in a group, so given that I first made them with Christmas presents in mind, I am now quite happy that my Nutella consumption is rather... ehm, impressive, as this has allowed me to make some to give away and still keep a few!

Now, let's get munching on that next jar, shall we? All of a sudden, I can think of quite a few friends who might just need some votives for Christmas...

Helena

Advent calendar 2

Today, we are letting this pomegranate hold the first of the four advent candles, resting - and might I say it looks like 'nesting' - on a part of some old scales hung above the dining table and filled with... yes, you guessed it, moss, some rose hip and other treasures from the forest.

Tomorrow, door number three will reveal... no, must not say too much! 

Well, I will give you this clue: 

Some truths about yours truly's Nutella consumption might be revealed...!

Wishing you all a restful Sunday!

Helena

Advent calendar 1

Ladies and gentlemen,

'Tis the season... they tell me...

I feel I have neglected you, dear blog readers, as my time has been 

demanded elsewhere for quite some time now...

So, I think 'tis the season for an Advent Calendar especially for you.

Behind the different doors in this calendar, 

you will find small Christmas ideas that are either recycled, 

inspired by nature or simply 'on a shoestring'...

Most of the photos will be new, but some "recycled" photos of previous 

years' favourites might appear as blog stocking fillers too...

First up are more "lollipops", as they seem to be my theme tune at the moment. This time I made mini trees (lollipop-shaped) out of moss and small twigs, stuck them in recycled sweet corn tins clad with decoupaged napkins, made sure they stayed in place by adding gravel from our drive, and finally covered the gravel with a layer of rice. I thought these might be used when laying the table for Christmas, perhaps with one tree by each plate...

As I am a big fan of carrying a particular theme a little further if possible, I made a star cushion to go with the red star theme, using an old inner cushion I already had, some white sheet fabric, and made the star and the piping from my old maternity trousers that were just the 'right' red. 

So, there we are. First door opened and more to come. Some doors may be small, some seen before, but I hope that somewhere along the way, behind one of the calendar flaps, you will find that one little idea that might inspire you this December. Welcome back tomorrow, to peer behind door number two!

All the best,

Helena

Ps. Please remember that all images look better (and not so strangely cropped) if you click on them.

Hannah Turner Ceramics

The Hedgerow Collection

Dear readers, today I would like to introduce you to a ceramicist whose lovely tableware, playful patterns and cheeky birds are bound to cheer up the gloomiest of November mornings. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Hannah Turner! (To view sharper images, please click on them.)

Owl Eggcup

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of playing around with some of Hannah's items for some lifestyle photos, and with characters as charming as these, I could sit back and watch as they practically styled the session themselves...!

Owl

Owl Creamer Jug

Owl Creamer Jug, Owl Tall Jug & Owl Teapot

Every item in Hannah's different collections has its own unique personality, SO full of character, and you may think I am losing it now, but I could have sworn I heard one of the owl eggcups scorn the other for dropping its egg...

Birds

    

Peacock Eggcup

Some of you may be surprised to find this rather commercial blog post in what is normally an "ad-free" blog. However, I thought some of you might be curious to see one of the things that has kept me busy in the past few weeks, and if this means drawing some extra interest to Hannah Turner's funky ceramics, well I am very happy to do so!

Birdlife Collection

Birds & Birdlife Tableware

Should you feel your bird nerve twitching at the sight of these beauties, 

you may browse Hannah's webshop 

here.

 

Birdlife Collection

Again I would like to thank all of you who visit The Swenglish Home and 

an extra warm thank you to those of you taking the time to leave such kind comments. 

You make my day!

Wishing you a great start to the new week!
Helena

Lollipop love...

To better view the larger photos in this post, please click on the photos.

***

 - It's very dead, isn't it? 

The man in the house nodded towards what used to be a delightful olive tree, but what had, for a long time, been a rather sad sight...

- A-hem...well...

Having for some time refused to accept the sad state of my beloved tree, I was trying to buy time, not sure where this conversation was going.

- Isn't it about time you bought a new olive tree, because that one is really not pretty...

This ought to be good news, as there was an actual suggestion for the introduction of another olive tree in the house, but as I was busy feeling quite defensive about the attack on my green friend's appearance and knowing fully well I would not be able to find a new one this time of the year, I was not singing and dancing.

- Don't throw it away! I have a plan...

Now, this is not the first time these words have crossed my lips, and they were met with no surprise, even if I think I may have caught, out of the corner of my eye, the man in the house rolling his eyes...

***

So, armed with a bag of fresh moss, I set to work... and now, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce my new friend, the Green Lollipop! 

(I used the "skeleton" of the old branches and twigs of the olive tree and simply stuffed it with moss. To "reinforce" the lollipop against attacks from various paper aeroplanes, I used some this green sewing thread, but most of it seemed to stay in place just with the help of the little twigs on the tree.)

On one of the side tables rests the result of another nature walk recently: a star made from fallen down twigs. Could I possibly be getting into the Christmas spirit already...???

The tea light holder on the other side table is still one of my favourites, even though I am sure it will not  appeal to everybody in its rusty, quirky glory: an old chimney cap (to protect birds from falling down the chimney) with a small votive dangling in a rusty chain..

Otherwise, nothing new in the dining area...

 Even the walnuts are last year's harvest...

The last image was captured from the car on my way to the forest. Beautiful old stone houses climbing the green hills... through my Swedish eyes a VERY English view indeed!

Wishing you a great start to the new week and hope you stay 

warm and safe from hurricanes and treacherous icy roads!

Helena

Remember me...?

(Lovely mini bird cage from a flea market in France for € 1 (!!) and a sweet 

little tea light holder from a sweet blog reader - thank you Claudia!)

Well, since I hardly remember myself... (!), or at least "whether I am coming or going" as the expression goes, I thought it would be about time I reminded myself, and those of you who might still be stopping by here, that I am still alive, even if ridiculously busy with this, that and the other...

A stroll in the rare, but oh so lovely, sunshine a few weeks ago, after a rainy week that made for some - shall we say - challenging terrain around the back of Lacock Abbey. But worry not, a stile a little further to the left (out of sight here) enabled us to not have to show off our swimming skills that day.

There is something so wonderful about skipping, strolling, or in any way moving across these great green farm fields, and to see the children take full advantage of the vast openness before them to run, run, run until they can run no longer, or until they stumble over a sleeping sheep - whichever comes first... We only use public footpaths, of course, and luckily there are a lot of them around here!

So what else have I been up to in the last few weeks, except skipping across green pastures, humming Sound of Music tunes? Well, a few very exciting things, of which two have involved my passion for styling an environment or image that is - hopefully - pleasing for the eye. In one case, it involved helping a client with some finishing touches in an already beautifully renovated and stunningly decorated old cottage. In the other case, I had the pleasure of working with some of the gorgeous and wonderfully cheeky bird personalities that characterise ceramicist Hannah Turner's decorative items and tableware.  Very soon, when Hannah's new collections are available in store  (and on her website), I will show you more of the photos from my chirpy day in the company of her funky ceramics!

Having no new vignettes to show you, I will, again, recycle some from last year. I feel these really capture well "who I am" at the moment. The colours, the materials, the shapes...

I just realised that perhaps that goes deeper than just my taste, 

perhaps it reflects quite literally who I am...? 

A little rusty, a little scruffy, a little round... ☺ 

 

But now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for... CHRISTMAS!

Drum roll.....

Norwegian interior styling, writer and photographer Franciska Munch-Johansen has just published her new book, Sanselig Jul (Christmas For All the Senses) and it a very beautiful compilation of her own photos and ideas and those of a number of bloggers. To find out where you can buy it if you are interested, click here.

To tempt you , here are some pages from the book (click to enlarge):

... a few photos from an - unusually snowy - England from yours truly...:

***

Mummy's Own is a lifestyle and inspiration site for Mums - created by Mums, aiming to offer inspiration through for example blog recommendations, recipes, fashion and articles about well-being. The ladies have just relaunched the blog in English, and a couple of weeks ago The Swenglish blog was their blog recommendation - thank you so much, Camilla!

More blog love has come my way through no other than the lovely Henrick Eriksson (with the informative and inspiring blog Kråks Stuga - formerly known as "Henricks Tankegångar"), whose styling skills,  knowledge of interior design trends (and much more!) make for very pleasant reading indeed! Thank you so much, Henrick, you made my day! Yes, I know, to some of you this may sound a little like a ping-pong game of reciprocated back-scratching, but I would happily have written this completely unprompted and I believe spreading some blog love is spreading good vibes, and good vibes are great fuel for the soul, whether blog related or not!

***

Phew, there we are. Are you still there? If you did not give up half way through what in the end became a very eclectic and very long blog post, then let me finish by wishing you a  lovely last few days of October!

All the best,

Helena

Seasonal certainties...

If in seasonal doubt...

... I can recommend a visit to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire (ca 30 min north of Bath)...

(For sharper images, please click on them.)

 ... because with colours like these...

... I think it is safe to say...

 .. that autumn is officially here!

***

With no new little decoration vignettes to offer, I will recycle yet another autumn display from last year, in the hope that my new readers may enjoy it as new and my old readers won't mind the repetition too much. So, with all my heart(s), here a celebration of the season in my own veggie ways...:

Wishing you a golden, sparkling and colourful week!
Helena