Happy Friday!

Oh and by the way you guys are just about the most amazing bunch of people I have ever come across. Seriously, to give that much thought and consideration to the question of a forum posed yesterday was invaluable to me. Each reason for and against was totally valid and had merit.

My dream for a forum is to create a place where like minded people can chat, swap recipes, photos, crafts etc. An extension of this website not a substitute. A community.

But they do take a lot of managing and I have seen conversations go awry on other spaces due to misunderstandings etc. I’m misunderstood all the time when I’m writing this blog so I understand that. There is also a reply function already in place within the comments section of each post and there’s the Facebook page.

So I’m torn.

And when I’m torn I wait and think, because through many trials and even more errors I’ve found that  wisdom comes in the waiting and the answer comes in the thinking. It’s a hard lesson for someone who likes to make snap decisions but worth it.

I can tell you that there IS filmed content on the way so anyone who wanted a bit more Cherry Telly will not be disappointed and anyone who wasn’t that keen on it may have to look away.

And I’m rounding off the week at home. More specifically at my brand new mantlepiece that my Dad made for me. I’ll go in to detail on the mantle another time but right now I just wanted to show you my pale Squash.

After all of the vibrancy of the Orange pumpkins used at Halloween I’m so relieved when I can just go back to my pale and interesting Squash.

The simplicity of it is calming especially when it is surrounded by lego strewn all over the floor and felt toy vegetables stuck down the arms of the sofa.

Two urns.

Cracked, chipped, picked up for pence at a local charity shop about five years ago and still going strong.

Simple, simple, simple. And not expensive either. You don’t have to have urns, you may have baskets or over-sized vases that are missing the flowers of the summertime. There are always tonnes of Squash left over at this time of year so grab them if you see them and use them.

And while I go back to pondering whether to move forward with a forum I’ll leave you with all my love and very best wishes for a fabulous weekend.

And if you live in the UK DO NOT pick up a glowing sparkler!

I love you and thank you so much for reading. See you Monday with one of the first posts that will get you in the mood and prepped for Christmas!

Cherry x

************************************************************

Pre-Order my book from Amazon

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

I believe I’m still holding out for an Indian Summer. I also believe I may be holding out for some time. It was COLD this morning. We put the fire on for the first time while the kids had their milk just to warm the room up a bit and all of us had our cosies on. This drop in temperature didn’t mean that it was grey and drizzly outside. On the contrary, as you can see the sun came up over the garden this morning and has yet to go away.

If Summer has indeed come to an end then I have to face this fact and turn my attention to the instinct that never fails to make an appearance at this time of year – nesting. I love to make the house all cosy and warm at this time of year, before the onset of the really cold weather, and before my thoughts turn to decorating for Halloween.

So before it all gets a bit orange and the house is invaded by Pumpkins I decorate using Dried Hydrangea heads.

I’m a huge fan of these flowers dried and prefer them to when they are out in the garden actually. The colours of the petals become more muted and chalky and depending on the variety you can achieve some beautiful tones.

These Hydrangea heads are from last year. So they’re durable too!

And when sitting in glass they are utterly charming and perfectly Autumnal.

I’ve taken the fresh flowers out of the mason jars and replaced them with more dried Hydrangeas and placed the jars in to the trug my Dad made.

I don’t have to worry about replacing the water, removing soggy petals from the floor or having to watch them die.

Low maintenance nesting. The best sort.

Lilac, pale green and putty are not shades that I would have ever associated with Autumn but I do now. In fact now I’ve been on the lookout I see them everywhere and appreciate not having to immediately fill the house with burnt oranges, chocolate shades and bright greens. I’ll do that anon.

But for now I’m happy with the paler shades. Brought to me for free from my garden and making the place all the more cosier.

Let the nesting commence.

Have a fantastic start to the week. I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x
************************************************************

Pre-Order my book from Amazon

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Would you like to see my new space?

Just outside of the Living Room sits this fabulous decking area. The house is quite high off the ground so this serves as a wonderful area to sit and look out over the garden. Especially at nighttime and early in the morning. I love those times of the day on the terrace.

This was the terrace in June.

I gave it a quick wash with the jet hose and brought the wood back to a bare state.

Doing this raised the grain of the wood so before painting it I rubbed it down smooth with sandpaper.

And then it was painted. I used Cuprinol, Garden Shades in ‘Country Cream‘. This shade matches the house perfectly and throws light in to the Living Room. With it being lighter in colour it also offers me the chance to decorate it with various tablecloths that I own and use my wee bistro set to sit and have tea.

I love its airiness. An airiness that I hope it will take right through all of the seasons. I can adorn the steps with Pumpkins when October arrives and light it when Christmas is upon us.

But for now I have pale blue and pink in pots and flowers I grew myself in vases.

I also grew the mint for the tea myself and have it sitting in a fabulous trough that I made with my Dad. I’ll have to upload the instructions here soon.

This space is an extension of the garden and of the house and calls out to be sat in.

Robert put a stair gate up to catch any wayward children and this means they get to enjoy it also. I throw blankets and cushions out on to it so that it becomes more of a soft play area for them and in the evening before their bed they scramble up on to my knee as I chill in the deckchair.

My favourite time on the terrace?

The evening.

In the soft light.

And the quiet.

As the sun descends behind the houses in the hamlet in which we live.

A little slice of heaven turning in for the night.

And throwing down the last rays of the setting sun before the door is locked and the curtains are closed.

Have a WONDERFUL week, folks. I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x
************************************************************

Pre-Order my book from Amazon

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

I’m back to pottering. With the drama of the last few months less acute and with the worry subsiding somewhat I’ve taken refuge, as my own sort of healing process, in pottering. This is what I do, it’s what I’ve always done even when trying to follow another life path, and it’s what I’m best and happiest at doing.

As someone who likes making house I think I’ve been trying to define my style over the last few years. My style depends on what house I’m in at the time as I think it’s futile to fight against the type of house you’re in. This means that my living aesthetic is constantly evolving and changing. As someone who likes knowing exactly where she is at any one time this fluidity can sometimes be a little disconcerting.

So I’m learning to love the difference and refusing to choose to live in any one decorative aesthetic -

Take these two corners in my house for instance -

This is one of the windowsills in the living room. Lavender, dried and beautiful, sitting in six mason jars.

* Tip *
If you have Lavender bushes then now is the time to harvest it and bring it inside for some Autumn colour and fragrance (don’t forget to leave a few flowers on the bush though as they may very well seed themselves down and create new bushes)

This corner is light, white, simple, clean and, to some, may seem stark. But I like the lack of complexity. I don’t feel harried and under pressure when I look over at that corner of the room.

This corner gives me pale, calming colour provided by the lavender and light bright glass provided by the windows and the mason jars.

I’ve snuck in some Tiffany blue and a photograph from my wedding that has a vintage style wash on it but that is all. And it suits me………

…As does this!

Here in my kitchen is a corner bursting forth with pinks and blooms. A simple place containing a cookbook and a jug I bought for £1. All the flowers are from my garden and last for DAYS!

I’m using the beauty of someones artistic expression (the book, opened at a page I love) in my home as well as borrowing from nature. The colour makes me feel vibrant and energetic in the same way that the lack of busyness in the lavender & mason corner adds serenity to a life that has occasional chaos in it.

I’m making my home work for me and it’s not costing the earth. Borne out of pottering, which acts as my own personal quiet meditation time, I find and create spaces.

I get equally as much from each corner and style, both serving different purposes. My home is working for me, not the other way around.

I guess this is a long-winded way of saying I refuse to choose a decorative style. I can’t be hemmed in as I love to work with the seasons and what is happening in my life at the time. This way breeds creativity, grows my imagination and allows freedom.

I just needed to be brave enough to admit it.

What do you prefer?

Do like the simple or the blooms?

The shabby or the chic?

Or both?

Thank you for the comments on my Dad’s trug, he was ever so pleased and we were ever so proud of him. I think we may have a cottage industry idea being born.

I love you, I wish you a great weekend and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the different corners.

Cherry x

************************************************************

Pre-Order my book from Amazon

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

This corner of the living room has been dedicated to dining. We have a room that could be turned in to an official dining room but after much pouring over magazines and chatting amongst ourselves we’ve decided to keep that other room as a Snug and have the dining table in here. Which is nice actually as it has given me a corner to work in and transform. Which is exactly what I’ve set about doing over the last few days.

Over the years I have gathered up all manner of pictures with flowers on them. In every other house that I’ve lived in these pictures have been spread out on walls over the house, never before hung together. These three paintings I picked up in Arundel at an indoor antique market. I think I paid about twenty quid for all three. I really liked the colours of the paintings themselves but I didn’t feel that dull frames did them any justice whatsoever.

So with a little help from my friend I re-painted the frames on Friday afternoon. You know, last Friday afternoon when I was meant to be on a mission to get all of my clutter cleared away. I do this a lot, I’m getting on with the business of tidying and it’s all going well when suddenly and without much warning I’m  inspired to start a project there and then. I can’t wait until I’ve finished tidying up, oh no that would be far too simple, it has to be done right now.

As you can see I also have a hard time fully preparing for the task at hand and am quite prepared to get the paint out on the carpet. My sister, who doesn’t even bother to hide her incredulity any more, takes a quick picture shakes her head and moves on. What she doesn’t know is that I am a master at doing these sorts of projects on the fly especially since the babies have come along. If you’ve got small kids you’ll know that you have a certain window in which you have to get things done. Hence the rather rushed job.

That was Friday.

On Saturday I finished painting the frames and yesterday I hung them.

I used my eye as opposed to a tape measure and spirit level because I knew that I was aiming for a certain disheveled feel.

Not out and out wonkiness but I wanted them to look like they’d been hanging there forever with various pictures added over time and still more to come.

Box canvases hung alongside frames.

Square, rectangle, small, medium and large.

I don’t feel like this corner is even half finished yet, hence entitling this post Dining Corner, Part 1. I’m not going to continue to add more floral pictures but I will be making curtains for this room (you can see the poles on the floor waiting if you look carefully) and there are a couple more pieces that I feel need to go on to the walls in this space.

But I’ve made a start and I like it. I like the windows on all sides and the chocolate box cottages across the street. I like the fact that after WEEKS of sorting I’m getting to decorate. And although admittedly I did indeed take time out from my de-cluttering on Friday to start work on this corner I got everything done that I said I would.

Eventually.

Well by ten p.m. last night actually!

Two days late, I think that’s pretty good going.

* yawn *

I love you and wish you the best week possible. Thank you so much for reading.

Before you go don’t forget to check out today’s BEHIND THE SCENES.

Cherry x
************************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

As I get older and as our kids grow I’m finding the excuse that “I’m just a naturally messy person” too stressful to live with to be honest. It’s becoming an absolute necessity to know where things are, to have it all sorted and organised and to be able to live and enjoy our home instead of becoming tense within it due to chaos.

I may perhaps be painting a dramatic picture as the truth is we’ve only just recently moved in and it’s like this for everyone but I know how things go and I want a fresh start. Life gets busy, I want to be in the garden when the sun is out and not sorting out piles of junk. Besides before I know it the Prosecco has been opened and another day has gone.

Oops! * hic *

Oh, and the pile is still there, staring at me, daring me to deal with it.

I’m sorry but I find that after a while all of those piles begin to bug me and then when I can’t find a letter with a date or appointment on it because it’s in one of those aforementioned piles it gets stressful and Robert the Husband feels the full force of my Bugged By Clutter state of mind.

Sorry, love.

Of course it’s his stuff too so either move it or loose it buddy because I’m on a mission!

So that’s what I’m doing for the rest of the day. But before today even really started I nipped out in to the garden. The twins were having their first bottle and Robert was getting his breakfast so I went out and cut some of my roses to bring inside. There’s something about the smell of the morning that is impossible to describe in any real detail you just know it when it hits you.

The sun was coming in through the back door and hit the roses that were on the worktop waiting to be put in to water.

It’s this moment that I wanted to capture through my photographs. This moment was free, it didn’t cost anything, it just was.

Soon they were cut and in water and this time around I decided to use a tin tea caddy from Fortnum & Mason. I stole this from my mother-in-law because I love the Fortnum’s shade of blue and this picture sums up why I decorate with very neutral light shades. Because I then get to add points of bright vivid colour to the rooms that can be changed on a whim according to what is in the garden, the local thrift store at the time or, as in the case of the tea caddy, other peoples houses!

This screams the month of June to me. The roses are out and although it’s tempting to leave them on the bushes because it makes the garden look lovely, roses are so expensive to buy from the florist that I’d much rather save the money and just cut my own.

This is Jubilee Celebration by David Austin and I’m pleased with it.

And I’m pleased with the tea caddy vase too. I think a caddy this size costs about twelve quid which is cheaper than a lot of vases. So not only does one get the tea but also a vase in that perfect shade of blue.

Have a fabulous weekend. Apparently it’s going to hit 91 degrees here in the next few days but I’m not sure if that’s just the radio talking rubbish. Robert, the kids and I are dissembling a greenhouse, filling the paddling pool for the kids for the first time, having a bar-b-q and I am going to try to get some colour on my legs because they are embarrassing and I’m terrible at applying fake tan.  I don’t want colour ANYWHERE else apart from my legs.

Oh, and we may head down to the beach.

OK,  now it’s your turn. Give me something to be jealous about! Tell me what your plans are but first of all check out today’s BEHIND THE SCENES!

I love you and thank you for reading.

Cherry x

************************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

As you know, if you’ve been reading me for any length of time, I like white things in my home. My walls are white, my soft furnishings are white and my ‘stuff’ is white. I decorate and collect in this way because I like the way white makes me feel. And that’s it. It’s that simple. I feel lighter and brighter and calmer and fresher when I’m surrounded by lightness, brightness and whiteness (or variations of it).

Of course I should explain that I use the whiteness as a canvas on which to add splashes of colour to.

Case in point : This marvelous hanging dresser that was here at the house when we arrived. Its beautiful mid-toned & hand crafted wood sits on the wall majestically and was screaming (in my head anyway) for my white stuff.

Here it was a few days after moving in and looking a bit chaotic. The Sainsbury’s reusable shopping bag was just not cutting the mustard, it needed sorting.

So bit by bit, as the boxes were unpacked, the white stuff made its way on to the shelves.

And yesterday I added a flourish of colour by cutting my first roses of the year. Both are David Austin, the pink being Alan Titchmarsh and the white being Claire Austin.

They sit in water in a teacup I bought for £1 at a market in Lyme Regis. It’s not an expensive way to live, its a creative, imaginative and resourceful way. I prefer seeing something I’ve grown, to something I’ve bought. I’m not in to spending particularly but I am into watching, learning and giving things a go myself.

If they can do it, so can I.

Nice little mantra that and I surprise myself when I forge on through and stand back to see that I completed a task.

This is my forth year of growing roses and I know what I’m doing now.
But before that?
Not. A. Clue.

Do it.

Whatever “it” is. Do it and never ever listen to anyone that says you can’t. In fact, use that negativity to spur you on and turn it around in to the most positive chapter of your life. If you want to grow roses go out and buy your first rose bush. Look up how to grow them on the internet and compliment anyone who grows roses that you have admired from afar. You never know, they may let you in to their secrets and before long you’ll be sharing your knowledge. Which means you’re giving back. Which makes your decision to put your doubts behind you and grow roses, the best decision you ever made.

You see how it goes. You don’t need me to tell you.

It’s about a big life. A life that is full of joy and not only full of panic and stress. It’s about getting your white stuff on to shelves if you want to and standing back when it’s finally done and loving what you see. Loving that the moving boxes are finally disappearing from the floor and loving that you can kick back with your kids knowing that you’ve done something you really wanted to do that day. That’s “big” enough for me.

Have a fantastic day. I’m on fire today as my ‘big’ life is getting bigger and my dreams are coming true. My kids are starting to scramble over me and fight for cuddles and snuggles from ME while laughing and I LOVE it. My dreams are made of moments like this. I feel so wanted and loved and I feel like a Mother.

I am complete.

And I don’t care how that sounds.

Don’t forget to check out today’s BEHIND THE SCENES!

I love you. See you tomorrow.

Cherry x
************************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Cherry

One thing I enjoy about decorating for a holiday or a celebration is when I bring the outside inside. Today is a case in point.

So, I’m starting with our white wooden table.

I’ve added a runner / table setting of sorts in the shape of two hemmed pieces of fabric. This fabric was left over from the apron I made recently so nothing is going to waste.

And then as a base for the table’s centerpiece I went outside and cut a few branches of the Corkscrew Hazel tree. I removed almost all of the Catkins, a few escaped me, and then I spray painted it white. I may be giving it a third coat as it looks a little grey to me and not quite white enough but it’s hard to get in to all the nooks with branches so curly. I have made Easter Trees and centerpieces from all manner of twigs and branches so you certainly don’t have to use Corkscrew Hazel you can use whatever. However, I needed to prune the thinner branches that were growing lower down the tree as they are not needed and can remove nutrients believe it or not so again nothing is going to waste here!

Mmmm, I think it needs another coat of paint. I want it ‘white’ white!!

Once the base for the table is in place (the Hazel) I can then set about adding colour and that is the fun bit. Currently the colour is coming from pastel shaded micro eggs which are WITHOUT DOUBT the cutest, best, and my current favourite, type of Easter Egg.

The great thing about having a neutral, almost blank, centerpiece is that you can add colour and then add even more colour. I’m doing that with flowers picked from the garden and I’m desperate for someone to tell me the variety…….anyone???? I didn’t grow them. Please, it’s like an itch I can’t scratch…….TELL MEEEEEE, I want to plant some more you see.

Told you I loved the ‘microness’ of the micro egg. Do you not love them? Are they not just didi and cute and small?

Come on, guys!!! If you tell me the name of these flowers I’ll give you a micro egg.

Deal????

Oh, and you can copy all of my table ideas for the whole of the build up to Easter.

DEAL??????

I love you. I love you as much as the smell of cut grass that I smelt for the first time this morning.

And that, my friends, is a whole lotta love.

Cherry x

Click here for my Easter Table Part Two

Click here for my Easter Table Part Three
************************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Promote your Page too

Feel free to add me to your links list. Here it is ! - http://www.cherrymenlove.com/

Facebook – Please feel free to join my page

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Good morning! It’s sunny here in West Sussex, sunny but very chilly. When I look out of the window I can imagine that it’s balmy and warm and then I see that the trees are bare and I know that the breeze is in no way cooling but freezing. But, BUT, the sun is out and that is good enough for me.

I’ve been going through a bit of a painting frenzy to be honest. Never one to pass up a bargain I saw some fantastic wooden frames in a charity shop near me and bought the lot for mere pence. Of course that means that I have to find the time to make them over but I’m getting there. Painting picture frames another colour is the most basic and classic up-cycling project there is and I never tire of it. And with my current penchant for white gloss it gives me a whole new world to conquer.

The first frame I’ve completed is my paint and print job that I mentioned the other day. I’ve hung it on the wall by the old gilt mirror that is also white gloss and the table that, you’ve guessed it, is wearing a jacket of white gloss too, you can see my Makeover Corner – Part One here.

This frame was ugly before and had dried pressed flowers in each one of the three windows. Not a great look let’s be honest.

But now it’s making a statement.

In tiny coloured print and wrapped in dots. Made by me on the computer.

I made it so that you have to go right up to it and stare hard to see what it says.

It sits on the wall and I face it when I walk out of my bedroom.

Robert the Husband will also see it and be reminded of its sentiments when he is kicked out of the bed for having a cold and keeping me awake with his snot induced snoring.

Nice!

I’m slowly working my way around the house. Changing corners here and there. I have a vision and bit by bit it’s coming alive around me.

I’ve always loved Spring. The emergence of yellow and green and the plans being made for Easter. I tune the radio in to Radio Four around this time of year and listen to The Archers and the afternoon play. Then in another couple of months as the weather heats up I’ll feel like I’m getting old before my time and make a brand new play list on Spotify that will remind myself I still have life in my bones and those bones love to dance and sing along loudly in the car.

This week has already seen the arrival of such fantastic news that I can hardly believe it and such devastatingly tragic news that I find myself very close to tears and wondering what it is all about.

All this and it’s only Wednesday.

The sad news made me question, as these events do, the fairness of it all and why some people get away with so much rottenness while others have things taken away from them. But I think that is the grief thinking those things.

It made me think about the moments that my friend will never have again and how her dreams won’t have the chance to come true in this life. It made me think about the ways in which I waste my time thinking about things I shouldn’t be thinking about and caring about things that are not worth the time of day.

I’m just lucky to still be here. To not have been taken at a moments notice with no warning. I have children and someone who loves me in my life and I have the nerve to ask for more.

Wow, I’m sorry, it’s just hard to get my head around all of this. How can I honour my friend and the simple things that she wanted from her own life such as a husband and children? How can I make my life count for something given that I still have a life?

I can raise my kids to know kindness and to be kind. To know love and be loving. To build them a safe home so that they will feel safe enough to leave it one day and be people in their own right.

That is how I can honour my friend.

I love you and I wish you a lovely day wherever you may be.

Cherry x
******************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

There is a corner at the end of the hall that doesn’t have an awful lot going on in it. It’s a lovely space with a window right there so the light that is thrown in is delicious. It needed something doing with it and I had two pieces that I’d had in mind for a makeover that I knew would be great for this nook that leads to my bedroom.

I’ve had this mirror for ages. It was in the hall way at my old house and has been hanging around this place waiting for me to do something with it.

I LOVE the size and shape of the mirror but I am just not a fan of gilt. I do however currently have an obsession with white gloss which is why the paintbrush headed straight for this baby and wouldn’t let it go.

It was the same story with this table. I’ve always loved the shape of it. It came from Robert’s granddad’s house when he passed away. It’s a lovely height, I’m a fan of its circular top but it was lost in my house in its current guise.

See? You’d never notice it there. Not good for such a nice piece of furniture.

Ahhhh, that’s better.

This corner is not complete but it’s getting there.

A few under/primer coats and then two more coats of All White full gloss by Farrow & Ball and this twosome had arrived looking clean, bright and white.

I am currently having lots of photos of the twins printed so I may put some of those up on the walls but I’m not sure. Part of me thinks that the colour added by two bunches of Tulips that my nieces brought me at the weekend are enough. So I’ll leave it until I’m sure.

I’m happy with the mirror though.

And I’m happy with the table.

I only had to buy the paint to complete this corner and by the looks of how much is left in the tin I could paint lots, lots more. Like I said I’m rather addicted to white gloss at the moment so dark, dismal furniture beware, I’m coming to getcha!

I love you and thank you so much for reading. My twins are currently ooozing snot and are very under the weather. We’re getting our first real glimpse of what it is like as a family when one person catches something….YOU ALL catch something. I skulked off to bed last night doped up on ibuprofen and had a really good nights sleep. I woke up this morning and it looks like it may have passed me by. THANK YOU GOD! All those years of eating two kiwi fruit a day seems to have paid off.

Go kiwis!

Cherry x
******************************************

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

Hence my flouncy, eiderdown and pillow strewn daybed. This daybed is one of my all time favourite pieces of furniture.

It goes outside in the Summer …….

Here we were last Summer. Sitting on it in the shade.

And here it was the Summer before. Minus small babies and getting ready for a night of Strawberries and Girlfriends.

It currently sits against the wall facing my bed. I needed a corner that would look after me should I have the time to pay it a visit. It took me a long while to realise the importance of looking after myself occasionally and although there is nothing I like better than a busy vibrant day at the end of some of those days I like to sit, stare upwards and think. Ohhhhhh, the luxury of thinking, how very delicious you are.

The daybed is made up of eiderdowns, spare pillows, odd blankets, a side table and a net canopy from Ikea that I threaded fairy lights through.

And of course there are the books.

And the comfort. Waiting patiently.

Then there’s the soft light. Enough to read with and enough to fall asleep with if that should happen. I can picture Robert lifting me off the daybed and in to my proper bed, dribbling and mumbling, every other night.

Peace under some netting. Simple things in a big life.

Books of all types, from my favourite Coffee Table type to new works of fiction that I got for Christmas.

Old and new. Informative and fantasy. Dreamworthy and practical.

I’m not sure how long I’ll keep my corner like this. Until it’s time for the daybed to take up residence in the garden again I suspect. So until then I’ll pop up when I can to be with books and myself for the odd five minutes at the end of the day.

To thumb the pages of the books that people have bought me and to be inspired by those from all over the world. To hold paper in my hand instead of a laptop and to dream of all I love to dream of.

I’ll also be with my hero. My Ralph. My ultimate inspiration and fellow dreamer. And the most perfect reason to make sure that I make time to get to this corner every now and again.

I love you and thank you so much for reading.

Cherry x

******************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Twitter – please feel free to follow me

We’ve hit this year running and already time is flying. Does it seem that way for you? The weather is warmer and wetter and has lost the pre-Christmas bite that was in the air for weeks.

I think it would be misleading to say that I’m starting a Spring Clean but I am starting something of a ‘sort out’. There are corners here there and everywhere that were hidden in the soft glow of fairy lights and tinsel. They have now risen to the surface and I’ll tell you…I can’t stand them.

Earlier in the day I decided I would bring something of a Spring touch inside, and for me that begins with flowers.

I bought roses and lilies at the supermarket. I trimmed the ends on a slant and removed the leaves right up to the top of the stem, leaving a few at the top.

I popped out in to the drizzle yesterday and cut a few slender branches from the Eucalyptus tree that sits towards the back of the house. The pale green of the younger branches sits nicely with the flowers and adds bulk.

Needless to say I couldn’t stop there and I began to potter. My dining room got a thorough seeing to yesterday. China came out of cupboards.

Cutlery was rubbed with a soft dry cloth and the laptop played music to dance around the room to in the background.

It felt good. Like the turning of a page, properly, in to the season they call Spring. Of course we’re not quite there yet but that doesn’t matter.

I fiddled.

And played.

And fiddled some more.

And then as I backed up to the corner of the room to take a picture my darling Anaïs thought I was leaving the room entirely and began to cry.

So I put the camera down and we had a cuddle.

In my nice new room.

*******************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Of course occasionally if my parents knew that the three of us needed some time out of the house we’d head off to grab a burger, or something equally exotic, and take a drive around the neighbourhood to see the light displays on other houses.

I can’t tell you how precious those times were.
We were never as quiet or calm as when we were in the back of the car looking at the lovely houses all lit up.

In my opinion, no matter what type of house or flat you live in, the outside is just as important as the inside at Christmastime. There is nothing nicer than coming home on a Winter’s evening after long day and finding that your loved one has secretly decorated the entire front of the house in lights, thus turning it into a little winter wonderland.

And for those of you in apartments; if you decorate your balconies and windows the light given off from the strings of fairy lights throws itself, with abandon, into the room and lights it all up!

Bare trees are also a favourite of mine to decorate at this time of year. By now most, if not all, of the leaves will be gone and the poor things have to wait until next Spring looking all twiggy before any signs of life emerge. Again, all they need are a string or two of fairy lights and you’re all set.

We have a large Christmas Tree out the front this year and it’s been given the royal treatment (as much as an outdoor tree can be given) I’ve used big multicoloured light bulbs, a departure for me, and baubles. Resisting the urge to get to work with the tinsel although there’s still time.

And you know, if you don’t want to go down the route of decorating there is nothing, NOTHING, more welcoming than a burning candle in the window. This is a traditional welcome to the weary traveller and a sign of peace and security for all who live there.

Christmas lights can make even the most cynical amongst us feel a bit more festive. So whatever you can manage in terms of decorating your outdoor space you can be rest assured that it will not go unnoticed.

Cherry

x

*******************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Aha! Welcome to the week. Preparations for Christmas have been somewhat stalled here at my house in West Sussex due to a rather busy few days spent dealing with various bits and pieces. But it’s Monday, the start of a brand new seven days on planet earth and I’m ready to rock and roll. Today and tomorrow’s post are all about how to make a Gingerbread Village (I say village, it’s really just two houses and a church) and the preparation pictures that I have up today are a teeny bit boring and brown. So I have peppered them with some pictures of my tree to add some colour.

You’ll see that today is about the construction of the buildings ( I’m making it all sound a lot fancier than it is) and tomorrow is going to be all about the decorating. Which is the fun bit so I’m off out to the shops in a moment to buy some sweets.

Last year my Gingerbread House was a bit squiffy …..

I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but when I was making it I was suffering so terribly from morning sickness that I had to hold my nose whenever I went near the poor thing. I tried to get it finished in record time so I didn’t have to spend all afternoon with my face in a bag of jelly tots and this made it all look a bit haphazard. But come on, Gingerbread Houses are meant to be fun and when my kids are old enough to be making them I’ll be so proud of what they create no matter how lopsided they may be. So if yours doesn’t quite stand up as straight as you would like it really doesn’t matter.

I have used this gingerbread house recipe for the last four years and have found it to be the best one. I hope you enjoy the fun to be had. I’d love to see your houses/villages so do post your pictures on my Facebook fan page if you have a go. Links at the bottom of the post.

What you will need:

To make the gingerbread -

• 300g packed brown sugar
• 200g softened margarine
• 250 black treacle (molasses will work but NOT black-strap)
• 1100g (1k & 100g) plain (all purpose) flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 250ml water

Pre-heat your oven to 220c / 425f

I used a food mixer with the paddle attachment to make the dough for my gingerbread house. It can be mixed by hand but you will need to put a bit of elbow grease into it as the gingerbread dough does become quite hard to mix because of its thick consistency!

Start by creaming together the sugar and margarine

Then mix in the black treacle  and set to one side.

In a separate and large mixing bowl blend together the flour, baking soda, salt, cloves, cinnamon and ginger

Measure out the 250ml of water and bit by bit, add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture along with the water

Tip: It is advisable to add the water gradually at this stage as you may/may not require the full amount for your gingerbread dough

The dough mixture should end up being of a of bread dough consistency; thick, strong and slightly stretchy, but not too sticky. You should be able to remove it from the mixing bowl without leaving any behind.

On a well floured surface use a rolling pin to start rolling the gingerbread dough out ready for the template to be cut in to it

Tip: I found that a thickness of around 3-4mm worked well for the thickness of the gingerbread walls and roof but you could make yours thicker if you prefer.

When you are happy with the thickness of the dough you are ready to cut out your gingerbread house template

Tip: I made a cardboard template for both my houses & the church; each house consisted of four walls, two roof pieces (front and back) and two additional  triangular, side roof pieces. For the  main part of the Church I cut out three wall pieces, two large roof pieces and one small, and for the steeple side of the church I cut out four taller pieces of wall and four pieces of triangular shaped roof.  You may have a steadier hand than me and not require a template at all!

Place your gingerbread village pieces onto a greaseproof or lined baking tray(s) and bake in the oven for around 10-12 mins

When you remove your gingerbread pieces from the oven do not worry if they feel a little soft and spongy to the touch, they will stiffen up, I promise.

Allow the gingerbread pieces to cool down completely before you start on the next step….

Check back tomorrow for how to make the mortar, tips on how to decorate the houses and to see how my (little) gingerbread village turned out.

It’s very foggy here at my place and I wish you could see it. You can just tell that Christmas is right around the corner. OK, I’m off to the shops. I have an edible village to decorate.

I love you and wish you the best start to the week you have ever had.

Cherry x

Click here for Part Two of my Gingerbread Village

**********************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

It seems like this to me during only one time of the year……. the run up to Christmas.

When it is this chilly out of doors the temptation is stay indoors and do nothing but put another log on the fire. However, I’ve learned to my peril that if I do that I miss what is happening out there.

Works of art, created out of site and invisible until the dew lands. They sit alongside frozen roses. Halted before blooming and saved in the frost.

Misty gardens where once we sat until the early hours of the morning bathed in the heat from the day. They will be empty until the earth warms up once again. And next time my children will be out there. In safety, with room to crawl forever.

Droplets frozen in time. A moment captured. I’m glad I was out there to notice.

We have two Bay trees. Standing like soldiers on either side of some steps. I have promised myself for two years in a row that they would be lit up as the dark months arrive but, as usual, I’m yet to get around to it. Perhaps it has something to do with babies, a warm fire and even more babies.

But even though the Bay is yet to be illuminated some of it has been picked. It was called upon yesterday to inject some much needed vibrancy to a Winter’s table setting.

Since our dinner party for six last Saturday night I have been itching to have more. They don’t have to be fancy affairs just as long as they are, indeed, an affair of sorts. The table that was so painstakingly painted white earlier in the Autumn also needs to be used more so I have the perfect excuse.

In what would seem to be an extremely fortunate bout of luck I have two excuses to fiddle with table settings this week. Both of them lunch dates and both of them super fun and exciting.

Yesterday, in my excitement, I started to put together the first of my experimental table settings. Starting with the blank canvas that is my dining room table and chairs.  I began with wanting to create a setting that had a touch of the Winter Blues about it. Not in a sad way but rather in a ‘colour of the sky at three in the afternoon’ way. You understand.

I added glassware. Wine and water. It was then, as I fiddled with positioning, that I was taken back to those years of waiting tables while at drama college. If I had a penny for every glass I have tweaked I’d be very rich. But suddenly it all made sense and I realised it was perfect training for what I love to do. Potter!

I added a blue plate that is the perfect shape for condiments or truffles. Whatever comes first.

Then I worked on the plates. Placing large white dinner plates down to act as chargers. And then topping them off with mismatched floral patterned china. The florals will be used for the starters and then removed to make way for the main course which will be served at the table.

I intend to bake a large cake for one of the lunches and I wanted to know that this particular cake stand would fit on to the table. It does, tucked away at one end waiting until it is ready to come out.

It was at this point in the proceedings, even after adding baby pink candles, that I knew the table was too cold in its appearance. I know that I was going for a Wintry feel but I didn’t want to go down the stark route.

Enter the bunches of Bay. Picked and placed in various milk glass receptacles, they added the vibrant focus puller I was after and gave warmth at the same time.

Of course you don’t have to use Bay. Use any greenery you can find. It was the principle of having a colourful through-line running the length of the table that I was after.

With some soft floral napkins added for the simple reason that I couldn’t help myself the table was complete.

Almost…..

I had some Bay left over so the place settings were adorned too. Determined not to over-style the whole thing I stopped there. Showing restraint that I’m rather proud of as it also leaves me itching to have another go with another setting when over styling will be the order of the day I’m sure.

It also looks lovely at night with only two candles, two strings of white fairy lights and the glow of a fire that has been smoldering for hours to light the room.

Snow white and winter green.

I never get tired of it.

Have a lovely day all of you. If you are waiting for news or have a mountain to climb then I’ll join you in positivity and we’ll all be alright. Don’t worry, we’re in this thing called life together.

I love you,
Cherry x

**********************************************
Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

I now have a comments function. Leave your thoughts/comments at the bottom of each post!

What are your most favourite children’s books?

That’s what I want to know today. What stories take you back to the halcyon days of your childhood and transport you to a time when you had not a care in the world?

I always knew that my children’s nursery would be full of books. In our old house the room that we thought would eventually become the nursery had the books in there already all it needed was the baby. But as it turned out our babies were brought home to this house and how happy I am now that I see the nursery is finally taking shape.

If you are an expectant mum or a new mum then don’t worry about whether or not you have the nursery ready for your little one’s arrival home from the hospital. I think it’s more important to get your room ready for them as they’ll probably be in with you for a few weeks/months/years. This is great as it gives you time to play with and plan the nursery until your heart is content.

Robert the Husband and I only got this shelf up on Monday. But since then I have had more fun decorating it than just about any shelf I have ever decorated before. And believe me, I’ve decorated a lot of shelves.

While pottering about I realised that I was paving the way for my children’s early reading experiences. They’ll be three, four or five before they truly grasp the drama of Peter Rabbit’s adventures with Mr. McGregor. But that’s OK, I can wait.

You’ll think I’m strange but this picture of Peter really reminds me of my son Ned! Ned has a little blue jacket like that and is always very straight. Ned sleeps in a straight line and sits up in his rocker in a straight line. My daughter Anaïs is very different and thrashes about a lot more. In fact yesterday during her afternoon nap she ended up at the other end of the cot without her blanket OR TROUSERS! This is not surprising to me at all as she was constantly moving about in the womb, whereas Ned was more still.

But that is why this little picture of Ned…sorry, Peter Rabbit, reminds me of Ned.

Got there eventually.

Noddy is also a huge favourite of mine and I’ve often gone on about Enid Blyton and how much I adore her stories, particularly The Famous Five. Noddy reminds me of my Nana and I can hear her voice as I remember diving in to her bed in the morning with my sister and she would read us a story to start the day with. My Nana’s house always smelt of toast and I can’t smell toast nowadays without being transported back.

It’s so important to me as a first time  parent to give my children good memories as they grow and one of the best ways I know to do this is through books and my love of them.

Eventually they’ll move on to The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter but until then they’re all mine and shall be fed on a diet of Beatrix Potter. Woo Ha Ha Ha!

I’ve had a wonderful time decorating with some of the most charming fabrics I’ve seen in a very long while. The babies are loving colours and shapes at the moment and all I have to do is lift the sewing hoops down from the wall and entertain them for hours with cowboys, lions and Matryoshka dolls. I have the most wonderful fabric emporium right on my doorstep – The Eternal Maker – is my local. Doesn’t get better than that and they are all lovely and so helpful!

Guys, I can’t tell you how quickly time is flying by.

Each and every day they get more hair, grow out of more clothes and make new sounds. As I pick Ned up to carry him upstairs to bed in the evening he rests as light as a feather in my arms and puts his sweet smelling head in to my neck. I know he won’t be doing that forever and will probably be a touch embarrassed if he ever reads this.

He’ll be a lanky teenager one day and want his own room and his own books. So before I give him back to the world (I refer to Ned as I’ll tell you right now the world is NEVER having my daughter. Oh no, Sirreee, she’s staying put) I’ll make this little room a haven of safety.

A room where they can enjoy being children, as we all know that it can sometimes be a little tough being an adult and I don’t want them to have to face all that until they have to.

I also want this room to be a room of dreams. Look at Mickey & Minnie up there. I remember seeing them on the television in an advert for Disney World when I was little and desperately  wishing I could go and visit them. I got there eventually and one of the quotes I live by when it comes to dreams of my own is a quote from Walt Disney -

“If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse.”

Robert and I have a dream of one day taking our twins to Disney. Seeing their faces as they enter the world of Mickey and his friends. Robert and I went last year and I think I had more fun than some of the kids there…..

See? I was in my element. We’d had such sadness in our lives before we left for this holiday and had just lost our second baby. But when Robert took me to Disney for my birthday last August, I’m telling ya, healing came through the ability to be a child again. Even if it was just for one day. Look at the poor little chap to the left of the picture. I think I was taking his turn on the truck. Sorry, little one.

One of the greatest days of my life.

I met Minnie.

Hot Dog song anyone?

But until the day comes when we all pack our bags and head off as a family to Disney, I at least know that my babies have a room they can call their own and a place that I can read to them.

They also have Peter Rabbit and his little blue coat to look over them as they play. And what more could they wish for!

OK, I’m dying to hear, as it may give me heaps of ideas……WHAT ARE YOUR MOST FAVOURITE CHILDREN’S STORIES? With the Autumn fast approaching I can think of nothing I’d rather do than some literary research by the fire………

I love you and thank you for reading my post today.

Love,
Cherry xoxoxoxoxox

***********************************

Leave a comment by scrolling down a wee bit………

View my channel on YouTube – Cherry Telly!

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

I’m crazy for tables right now. Ever since the table of my dreams was built by my Dad I’ve been obsessed by dressing it with different settings, colour schemes, cloths etc.
I can often be found nipping out in to the paddock with various items from the kitchen or dining room in my hands in order to set them all out on the wood just to see what works and what doesn’t.

This beauty is my Heirloom Midsomer Madness tablecloth. A technicolor giant of a tablecloth that sits like a jewel over the table and can be seen from space (I would like to think)

Dressing a table can be just as fun and creative as dressing any room in the house and has just as many variations available to it. In fact there are two table settings in this one cloth alone. There’s the Midsomer Madness setting that you can see and then there’s the Christmas setting that will be achieved by simply flipping the cloth over and revealing the red cloth that you can can see in the trim as the top.

I’ll have to wait a number of months before I use this cloth in a Christmas setting but to be honest I am so enjoying the Summer right now that the thought of Winter leaves me absolutely freezing not just cold!

You can read the instructions for how to make a tablecloth just like this by clicking here. It’s a fairly big but ultimately simple project that you’ll love if you love to work with huge amounts of colour and fabric.

The instructions will take you through the entire process including how to make the edging of the cloth using a contrasting fabric and the backing.

One thing I noticed we’d achieved subconsciously was a tablecloth that matched the flowers I have planted in the paddock beautifully.

Soft whites and greens……

Pinks, purples and reds….

Explosions of colour…..

Contrasting patterns….

Candy pink & yellow….

Magenta & green…..

And many other shades of all sorts that I assure you make this cloth visible from outer space….I promise…..sorta……I think.

This tablecloth is most definitely of the heirloom variety. A cloth that will be in use year after year and I’m sure will be pulled down off of the table to be used as a prop in some imaginative game that I expect my twins will play some day.

I can only hope that I am there to watch and listen at the door as they play.

Lots of love,
Cherry x

***********************************

View my channel on YouTube – Cherry Telly!

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Dreams are what we are made of and as we get older we learn, if we’re smart, to choose dreams that are good for us. Dreams that have longevity and substance. Dreams that affect many people in good ways and dreams that add to life not take from it.

Dreams are powerful and can leave you bereft. But dreams are always there and dreams can change. Dreams leave you when they are meant to leave you and if a particular dream is not over yet then hang on to it with all you have.

You’ll know when a dream is over as you’ll have peace.

You’ll also know when you are meant to hang on to a dream as you’ll have strength. It may not be a lot of strength but you’ll have it and sometimes that’s all you need.

Funny as it may sound a table like this one has been a dream of mine for years. A big wooden table of dreams where everyone is welcome. A table to seat many people and a place that they can all gather and share their hopes and dreams as the sun goes down and the food is wiped from our plates with big hunks of crusty bread.

In the hot sun my Dad – with a little help from Robert the Husband when the table got too heavy – put the table together with his own hands. Made from reclaimed wooden floorboards bought from a reclamation yard in the area. It was made to be strong. To last in all types of weather as long as it received a little care and attention. To seat at least twelve and a few more if they didn’t mind being squashed.

When it was completed it was jet washed to give it a good clean, sanded to get rid of the splinters and given a coat of oil to protect it

I’m realising that the table is a place, not only for eating, but for coming together and for community. For celebration and for healing. The table builds families and friends around it and memories are made.

Welcome to my table. I have been given the table of my dreams and now I can get creative on its ass. I can dream up all different sorts of table settings and colour schemes. I can make tablecloths and serve new recipes to the unsuspecting guests.

We can drink wine or elderflower cordial depending on how quickly it goes to your head.

We can use antique linen napkins or scraps of fabric grabbed from the stash box.

As the sun descends in to the trees we’ll light the lanterns and switch on the fairy lights. The babies will have been fed and be sleeping in the cot until late in the evening when thy are due another feed. We’ll still be outside at that time, chewing the fat, and debating whether or not we need to open another bottle of wine or get the coffee pot on.

We’ll be there together, around the table of dreams, and share our deepest wants and thoughts in confidence and safety. If we’re hurting we’ll find solace and if we’re joyful we’ll find others to share that joy.

I’ve wanted a table like this because I want a table to see my family grow and to hear the stories that unfold as we live our lives. Lives that hold adventure and experiences. Lives that will come together amongst great food and even better company.

Lives and dreams that will unfold around the table. The family table, where even if you’re not family you feel like it and be treated as such.

Everyone is welcome….just don’t forget to bring your dreams.

Lots of love,
Cherry

The winner of the beautiful spotty picnic basket for our July Giveaway is Katy Chat from Windsor. Thank you for all your entries, we enjoyed reading them so much.

***********************************

Don’t forget you can join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

Today I’ve got a before & after for you and a wee makeover that has given this corner of the entrance hall a fresh new look.

This is how this footstool looked last Summer. It was one of those purchases that was far too cheap to pass up even though I had no idea when we’d get around to doing anything with it.

It needed a foam cushion to be added as the seat was a little flat and we decided that painting the legs was the best way forward.

The old fabric was carefully removed and all of the upholstery nails taken out.

The legs were then rubbed down and painted. Three coats of undercoat first as the wood was fairly dark and then a beautiful chalky white was added as the final colour.

A piece of foam was purchased and placed on top of the seat.

Then, the new fabric was pulled tightly across the top of the foam and secured underneath using brand new upholstery nails.

The edges of the fabric were tucked underneath before securing to create a neater finish.

And there you have it!

Brightening up this corner in a rather subtle but classic way.

Any readers of my previous blog will remember this mirror from about three summers ago. I bought it in a thrift store and promptly set about getting rid of the faux gilt appearance it was sporting.

I used the colour Bone by Farrow and Ball to paint it and hung it in my old bedroom. It stayed there until we moved in to this house last May when it was placed in the entrance hall above the Singer sewing machine phone table.

I liked the mirror hanging in this spot as I really like its shape but I was bored of its colour. It was a little dull and boring. All that was needed was a coat of Pale Duck Egg to brighten it and bring it in line with the way the rest of the Entrance Hall is shaping up.

The pelmets we made last Summer feature pale blue, the new footstool features it too so it was only fair that the mirror shouldn’t be left out.

The new blue is so soft and lovely and inspires me to create a home in this country that wouldn’t look out of place in Southern California. An idea perhaps…….

Soft whites and creams with a mere hint of blush, blues and dashes of vibrant pinks.

That’s my direction.

Lots of love,

Cherry

****************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove

There’s definitely some brightening up happening in my house at the moment. Mirrors are being painted, flowers are being picked and brought in to the house and various corners are being made-over to reveal brighter spots and vibrant fabrics.

Part of this new ‘Springtime’ look are these cushions. When I spotted the fabric I was immediately reminded of freshly cut grass and how the first time this smell wafts in from the garden everyone stops and exclaims ” Can you smell the grass, can you smell that???”

I hope you can find fabric that you love as much as I love this fabric to make your own cushions.

Utterly Edible Springtime Cushions

This cushion cover is for a cushion pillow/pad measuring 50×50 cm

We used a relatively lightweight velvet fabric for our cushion cover.

• Start by measuring and cutting out two squares of your chosen cushion fabric, both measuring 56×56 cm.

• Sandwich your pillow between the two squares of fabric and make sure that you can pinch at least two centimeters of hem all the way around the sides of the pillow, this will give you a good idea as to the size of your hem.

• Take your zipper and pin one side of it , back-to-front, approximately 2cm from the edge of one side.
• The zipper should be pinned to the side of the fabric that will be on show and it doesn’t matter what edge of the square you pin it to as all sides will be the same measurement (56cm)

• Repeat the process again pinning the other side of the zipper on the edge of the second fabric square.

• Machine the zipper onto the fabric squares.

Tip: You may have to un-zip the zipper half way through machining it onto the fabric, as the presser foot may get in the way of the zipper head.

To create the decorative tie and bow for the cushion, it is advisable to use a stiffer type fabric and one that is able to keep its shape when you tie it into a bow. Taffeta is a good option.

• Measure and cut the the piece of contrasting fabric you have chosen for the tie (20 x 70 cm
• Pin a double hem all the way around the piece of fabric (approximately 1/4 cm per hem)
• Machine the hem using thread to match the colour of your fabric.

• Next, place the strip of fabric across the front of the cushion (with the zipper below the strip), making sure that there is equal distance left between the top of the cushion and the bottom of the cushion.
• Pin in place when you are satisfied with the position of it.
• Fold the other side of the cushion over, encasing the strip inside the two cushion half’s.
• Pin the cushion half’s together around all three sides, leaving approximately 2 cm from the edge.
• Machine the three sides together, leaving the zipper half open, as this will help when it comes to turning the cushion back the right way out.
• Turn the cushion back the right way out so you are left with this effect…..

For the bow

• Cut out, pin, and double hem the strip of fabric you will be using for the bow (measuring 20×145 cm). Each hem should be around 1/4 cm.
• Machine the hems.

• Tie the bow to the cushion.

And place in a bright and warm spot where they can look just as edible as this.

Serve with a side order of tall white tulips from the garden and copious amounts of family photographs. All in black and white of course.

I’ll see you tomorrow with a few changes that I hope you’ll love.

Cherry xoxox

****************************************************

Join my Facebook page!

Cherry Menlove