Mid Century Mod Madness

In honour of the very christmassy scenes outside I spent a lovely morning with a mulled wine (non alcaholic version in case you're worrying about my capacity for work) and a pile of the newly arrived cards. In no time I had cut out the decorations. It only takes a little glue or double sided tape and a length of  bakers twine to hang them with.

I just have to finish adding the little instruction sheet to the mini kraft envelope that is inside each card. Every pack of cards features one of each design - snowman, angel, 3 kings, nativity scene and santa - plus instructions for each and a length of bakers twine. Hopefully they will be in the shop by the end of the day.

Look out for a freeby giveaway of the cutest reindeer place cards coming soon!

Christmas comes early

Much excitment as our brave posty battled through a heavy old smattering of the winter white stuff to deliver 3 packages.

Package number one contained my new winter hat. If only I looked this good in it. It's jolly warm and a really comfy fit. Some people have suggested I look even more like the furry one with it on but I know they are only jealous.

River Island Trapper Hat at Asos.com

Package number two was my printed up mid century modern Christmas Cards. I'm very pleased with the folk from Moo. All is as it should be including no unwanted trademarks and the Folly and Glee logo on the back.

Ahhh but package number three...what could it be.....only a Dottie Angel pillow all the way from Tif as a part two to our recent vintage barkcloth fabric swap. He has settled in immediately making good friends with the Ercol and raises a smile every time I pass.

The attention to detail is inspiring as always. Thank you Tif.

Danish Modern Barkcloth Lamps

As promised two fully restored Danish Modern Lamps - one floor/standard lamp and one table lamp- made it into the shop today. Both are making noises about being allowed to stay. I am holding fast.....so far.

Design your own lampshade

I've been really lucky to receive several custom orders for lamp shades recently. The patchwork shades are perhaps the most fun because its always exciting to see which fabrics folk choose and discover how they will work together.

Take this one. The brief was for a lamp shade with a foliage/winter theme in reds, blues and greys. I hunted around the fabric shelves and these are the barkcloths selected.....

.....and here are those fabrics patchworked into a lampshade.

Its the same process for making a vintage lace shade but with more snuffling around in my lace and doily drawer plus some precious time with Little A the trusty button maker. Some of these fabrics are really old ie 1930s and they are torn and tired in places. Using them in patchwork shades is brilliant because you get to rescue all the good, still vibrant bits.

I'm not sure how many more custom shades I can fit it before Christmas  but if you have a sad floor/table lamp that is looking for a new partner or if the sprouts on your holiday table might look more inviting under a new ceiling pendant....get in touch. Below are the sizes I typically make for folk.

Just let me know what size you'd like and whether you'll be providing your own fabric or want me to source that for you. You are most welcome to peruse my Flick gallery of vintage barkcloths but be warned it's not always up to date....I may have new stock or be running low.

donnaflower.com

Lots of you ask me where do I find my vintage fabrics? Well its certainly getting harder but jumble sales are probably still my favourite hunting ground. For a more comfortable experience perhaps the best source of  vintage fabrics in the UK is DonnaFlower. Donna REALLY knows her stuff and has an ever changing stock from pretty much every era. Follow Donna's blog for regular updates on what's just arrived and events, open days etc.

My most favourite vintage barkcloth ever was bought from Donna yonks ago. I must take a close up when the sun is next shining but if you really want to know it's the yellow roses fabric hiding my veg and under sink unmentionables in the kichen.

Oh the places you will go

We are big fans of a certain cat in the  hat in this house. My favourite has always been "The places you will go." You know the one....

"Congratulations!Today is your day.You’re off to Great Places!You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

 And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go."

etc etc

Teenage boys don't seem to appreciate the wisdom of Seuss being read to them anymore (well they say they don't) ...so now I find myself reciting bits as I pack up FollyandGlee goodies. I just can't help thinking that they must be going somewhere lovely.


Imagine my delight when during a bleary eyed early morning Flickr browse I spied one of our first ever FollyandGlee vintage finds.... the chatrueuse and raspberry vintage eiderdown sitting pretty atop a bed of retro loveliness complete with knitted character!

But wait it gets better cos the lovely new owner teawagon has now created a backdrop for eiderdown and friends that is just outrageously gorgeous. A trio of 70s floral wallpapers in turquoise, blues and cream.

ooo......lucky lucky eiderdown. Please close your eyes now if you don't want to be tempted by a link to Teawagon's etsy shop. Can you resist?

Mid century mod Christmas cards

I wanted to do some Christmas Cards this year that served more than one purpose. Cards with cutouts to be turned into decorations seemed the ideal solution. Lurking at the far end of the bookself I've had an old envelope full of paper cut decorations for yonks.  I believe it originally came from a 1950s or 60s craft magazine in the US. Sadly I don't have the magazine just the cut outs.

I'm no expert on computer graphics so it has taken an age, frozen my wrist and provoked I must confess some foul language ....but I have redrawn and cleaned up my favourite 5 decorations - a nativity scene, the 3 kings, a snowman, an angel and of course Santa. They are at the printers as we speak and I'm really looking forward to seeing the results.

I plan to clean up one or two more for a freebie christmas giveaway (there are some ultra cute reindeer and a little tin soldier) but if you do like the look of these first 5 cards do let me know. I've only ordered enough for our family use but I'd be happy to do more or maybe post a pdf pattern? Any takers?

They will all come with their own instructions for assembly.

Folly and Glee in the Mossy Shed!

Apologies for the blogging silence. Life has thrown our little family an unexpected challenge but I'm sure we will emerge stronger for it. I just couldn't not let you know about the vintage barkcloth fabric swap I did with Tif though. 

I can't wait to show you the amazing barkcloth I received...it is all quite gorgeous and so very DottieAngel. Those of you who follow the goings on in the Mossy Shed will know just how quickly the most amazing delights appear. Well now there is some Folly and Glee goodness in there too.

DottieAngel

Just look at that cushion - are those two barkcloths soulmates or not? Thank you Tif for introducing them.

If you love the yellow graphic barkcloth I have good and bad news. The bad is that there is only enough left for a couple more shades. The good news.........I have just sourced the same fabric in a sunny yellow but with darker tones of orange and pink!

If you love the orange and yellow rose barkcloth (GORGEOUS) stay tuned as I have four shades of different sizes hitting the shop on Wednesday 24th November.