Strawberry LoVe....

I’m starting to wonder if I may have spoken a little to soon
in my last post, referring to summer....

summer? What summer? 

....that has been the question here for the last couple of days.
Not just has the sky been grey and the rain hasn't stopped in days 

but the temperature has dropped to an really uncomfortable level.

All that said it hasn't stopped us enjoying the beginning of 

the summer fruits season. 
If you have been following me on here for a while 

then you know what is for us, 

especially baby Paperdoll 

the one & only ....the ultimate fruit at this time of year.       

♥ ♥ StRaWbErRiEs ♥ ♥

We LoVe them
♥ fresh all natural  ♥  as yummy jam  ♥  

♥ with a dusting of icing sugar  ♥
 ♥ in true Wimbledon style served with cream  ♥  

♥ made into homemade extra thick & creamy ice-cream ♥

 ♥ ♥ as a classic Strawberry pie ♥ ♥

For most of my cooking and baking I’m not a set recipe kinda person.  

I’m more of a 

....these are the basic ingredients I need and then there are the little of
this & that ingredients to keep it interesting.  

This sweet shortcrust pastry was no exception, 

I used dark Muscovado sugar for this pastry. 
I have to admit that pastry baking isn't my favourite thing,

 you can imagine my delight when this one turned out much nice then I had hoped.

It had a lovely flaky crunch, 

the Muscovado sugar worked a treat with the layers upon layers 

of very sweet and super yummy strawberries from our market.
This pie got the thumbs up from the whole family.

On cold & grey days I need something warming and uplifting,
fluffy latte with a nice slice of fresh strawberry pie is just that thing.

And for the hopefully soon returning warmer days I have some 

extra thick & creamy homemade strawberry ice cream chilling in the freezer 

to keep us cool & refreshed.

Unfortunately my list of ....things to do ....places to go, 

hasn’t stopped growing,  

so I must run....
just time to wish you all a lovely week! 

XXXX

My summer so far....

Its such a wonderful time of year here in Berlin♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

whilst summer may not officially start until Sunday it has 

well & truly arrived here and the city is showing itself at it’s best.
Berlin really is a very green city with it’s seemingly endless amount of 

woods, public parks, gardens and green’s dotted all around.
Being spoilt by glorious sunshine 

we have made the most of the beautiful weather being out & about.
It may mean that my home is not up to royal standard 

....but lets be honest it’s rather unlikely that the Queen 

will pop by for a cuppa on her visit to Berlin next week, so I can sleep easy.
After all your children will always remember 

the fun, laughter & magic 

you shared not how perfectly sparkly clean there home was.

Even on rainy days like today I’m loving every minute of this summer.
I have to confess I quite like a bit of rain ever so often, 

especially after humid & sticky days.
I just LoVe LoVe LoVe that fresh smell it leaves behind.  

Rainy days are also the perfect excuse to get snuggled up 

watching the world go by outside and indulge in a sweet treat 

or two or in my case more like ten. 

☂ ☂ ☂

On the warm sunny days the air around my house 

is filled by the sweet perfume of the rose bushes in my garden.

As much as I love my roses in the garden 

I also love a few on my table.
Luckily for me the bushes are overflowing with blossoms 

so there are always a few I can spare for inside.

My new photography craze are raindrops

♥ ♥ I’m just LoVe fresh raindrops on beautiful blossoms ♥ ♥

I have also enjoyed what is for me a new food craze, 

goats cheese wrapped in beacon with a nice homemade pesto.  

Goats cheese & green pesto 

were an absolute NO NO for me until recently 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥go figure!   

A Victoria sponge was baked 

....my Dad just like me has a sweet tooth 

....after seeing a recipe for a Victoria sponge he hinted on numerous occasions 

that he wouldn’t say no to a slice or two, 

so on his birthday the paperdolls and I surprised him 

I had to improvise with the filling as I have been unable 

to find clotted or double cream over here, 

so I just used soft cheese and icing sugar and I have to say it was rather yummy.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥it was quite touching to see how a little gesture like baking a cake 

can bring so much joy.

Sun shining .....a picnic packed
we headed by ferry off to Peacock island a few Sundays back.

 Peacock island is a small island in the Havel river here in Berlin, 

it once served as the romantic hideaway for the Prussian King 

Friderick William II and his beloved mistress Wilhelmine Encke 

for whom he built the little white palace on the island.  

Today it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site open to the public for most of the year. 

With cars, smoking, loud music and dogs being prohibited on the island, 

it makes for a very tranquil place where you lose all sense of time. 

 The German author Theodor Fontane (1819-1998) perfectly described this island 

“An image from my childhood springs to mind like a fairytale: 

a palace, peacocks sitting up on a high branch or fanning out their tails, fountains, shady lawns, winding paths running in all directions,
but leading nowhere in particular …”. 

I couldn't have put it better myself,
it really has that magical fairytale feel about it. 

Even for us who have wild peacocks regularly visiting our garden 

this island still has magical appeal 

I never tire looking at these beautifully majestic creatures.

The intensity of the blue green & lustrous shimmer on the feathers is stunning,
yet another perfect colour combination by nature.  

It was a magical day filled with lots of fun & laughter.

Another place that we can cross off our “places to visit” list 

but I will not be surprised 

if we find ourselves back there before the summer is over.

A bag Tah-dah
I made the body of the bag early last year 

but when it came to the handles my ideas weren't working.
Getting a bit frustrated with it all, I put the bag handle-less away 

and as I was organising my new sewing room I stumbled across it again.

 Like so many times before with a problem project 

walking away from it helps me to refocus 

and the other day it made click and I had the perfect workable idea 

that I’m very happy with. 

SuRpRiSe SuRpRiSe

one project has led to another and with left over fabric scraps 

I started a little beach quilt lets just hope 

 I get it finished in time for our trips to the beach.

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend, 

remember to make the most of the magical moments this weekend!!

XXXX

The making of a Perfume shelf....

It started with a drab looking birdcage shelf I spotted in a shop,

it was painted in a dull grey/white, 

the look that passes as shabby chic these days ....so not me.  

No.... please.... don't get me wrong I love shabby but not 

that contrived stylised version 

of shabby that seems to be everywhere these days.
I love genuine shabby, the kind where you treasure hunt at 

flea markets & charity shops, rummage through local yard sales or

 find something abandoned by the roadside 

take it home and put your own spin to it. 

Recycling & up-cycling, is my kind of shabby, 

I always end up with something truly unique doing it this way.
When I bought this cage I had no idea what I needed it for
I just knew I did.
And yet I didn't know what this would become
I always know the colour it needed to be
GOLD....
....don’t ask me why.
I just did.
At first I tried gold leafing

but what a messy affair that turned out to be, 

with the gold leaf ending everywhere mostly my hands instead
of the fine metal bars and the finish didn't really rock my boat at all.  

Isn’t there a saying
“When at first you don’t succeed then try & try again” 

so true when it comes to creative experiments.

The second time I opted for gold spray paint, 

still messy but much easier to use
and covering the cage beautifully.  

I have to confess though at first I was a little disappointed 

or maybe unsure of the gold shade & matt
finish from the spray paint. 

When it comes to interiors

there isn't a box I can easily be fitted into style wise.   
I love clean none fussy simple lines just as much as 

sparkle & frills and this shelf needed a little of the latter.

As long as I can remember, I have always been mesmerised by 

layers upon layers of  fabric covered with sequins. 

Probably a love fostered by my many trips to the magical glittering world 

of the Circus & Theatre with my two great Aunts, as a young child. 

 

 By making these blossoms I could indulge that LoVe. 

They are sOoOoOo much fun 

even though cutting all the circles
is a bit of a tedious job. 

The circles get folded into quarters
before being stitched onto a felt base.

I don't have a set number nor colour combination of circles, 

I just play around with each blossom until I’m happy.

For the centre of the blossoms I wanted old fashion glamour, 

the kind that takes me back to those childhood trips
at Circus & Theatre.

I used sparkly “vintage” pieces.

I always salvage bits of sparkle from
old jewellery, clothing & shoes.

On this project I used a earring that was missing it’s partner, 

a ripped pearl necklace from my great Aunt 

that has given me these beautifully sparkly memories 

and some crystals & beads I have salvaged from some 

much loved old summer sandals.   

The leaves are made from a mix of different ribbons 

some vintage some new in a variety of greens 

with a couple of them having a few sparkly touches added as well.

I added two pretty chains
made from leftover glass pieces from our vintage chandelier.

And to finish the birdcage off I had two mirrored shelves 

cut from my local glazier.  He did such a great job.  

It looks practically perfect in every way now 

....I know its really silly
I get so excited over little details like that 

but it’s always those little details
that make something like this beautiful.

I have to giggle looking at my little “Perfume shelf” 

....it’s funny that this is what it has become. 

Whilst working on this I had no plan for what I would use it for.

Looking at it all finished however with it’s pretty
pink blossoms reminded me of a rose bush in our garden 

that fills the air with the most beautifully sweet smelling perfume. 

So I couldn't think of a better way  then to use this birdcage 

as a lovely way to display my perfumes.

I can't help but feel so very lucky to open my

 eyes to this every morning.

  Wishing you all a super rest of the week!

 XXXX