Sarah said "make things!"

Hi All

My sewing machine and I have been very busy today - I've made some padded hearts, a lovely little bag and a union jack cushion. Photos to follow, as my camera has just packed up!

Amanda's lovely mum, Bea, has given us some lovely bits n pieces for our fair and our garages are starting to look very full again. I feel another car boot sale coming on to make space!!

Got to dash - more to do!

Tina xx

~

Back to work!

Hi everyone - Amanda and I have been busy all this week, making cakes, sewing lovely things and updating the website and our facebook page. If you have a mo take a look at our new website at www.bellaandthemoo.yolasite.com and check us out on facebook.
We've uploaded lots of photos of our lovely vintage china, glass and homeware, as well as pics of our pretty hand-made goodies.
I spent a lovely hour or two yesterday with Bella and the Moo (these are the lovely names we use for our lovely grandchildren Freya (Bella) and Maddie (the Moo) and after whom we named this exciting venture!! They are 20 month old identical twin girls who are absolutely adorable and I spend as much time as possible with them, inbetween working and making or buying pretty things!
I had an unsuccessful trip to Taunton on Friday - I was hoping to pick up some lovely vintage fabric to make into bags, cushions, hearts or whatever, but didn't strike lucky on my shopping spree! Never mind - there's a jumble sale next Saturday so who knows what will turn up!
In the meantime I have heaps of fabric to keep my going and a head overflowing with ideas for bag and cushion designs!!
Must dash - off to the pub quiz with Amanda though not sure if our brains will work too well as we were on a hen do last night!!
Tina xx

The website is finally on the go!!

Hi everyone - we are so lucky the lovely weather has carried on. It makes you feel so much better, doesn't it?
I have been busy this evening trying to work out how to set up the website, and am feeling quite pleased with the first attempt! Have a look at www.bellaandthemoo.yolasite.com and let us know what you think. I'll be loading more photos over the coming days, so keep watching.
We now have 4 bookings for the fair in September, with lots more interest being shown, so are really hoping for a great day! Amanda and I will be shopping and making frantically from now till then to make sure we have a lovely selection of things for the fair!
Tina xx

fun in th sun

Hello all you good people,
Wow what glorious weather! As you can see the photo shoot went well, although Dige the fat cat was having none of it! He much preferred the cool shade of the plants. It's hard work taking all those photos, rearranging things etc and funnily enough Steve, Tina's lovely hubby, decided to watch the cricket instead of being our runner. So we soon needed tea and cake to revive us!Such a lovely way to spend an afternoon, especially as Tina had just taken part in the race for life. Well done Tina!!
I have a gorgeous new bag, Thank you Tina. I love it! you can get a glimpse of it in the pics- check it out. Even better come along to the Bella and The Moo fair and treat yourself to one.
I took myself off for a lovely walk along the canal yesterday evening, so peaceful and relaxing. Sat on a bench, looking out over the water, listening to the bees buzz and the fish breaking the surface of the water and read my book, absolute bliss. Ain't life just grand!!

'To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.'

All for now, look after yourself and each other

Amandaxx

What a glorious weekend we have had! Amanda and I spent a couple of hours out in the sunshine in the garden photographing our bits and pieces ready for sale. Let us know what you think of our lovely things!

Sunshiney day!

Hi Everyone! Well - another lovely day! Amanda and I spent 6 hours at the card-making workshop and both of us have made some gorgeous cards. These will be on our website by the end of the week, so do have a look!
Amanda was very pleased with the bag I'd made her, which matches mine. They became like a Bella and the Moo trademark today!!
We're hoping the sun shines again tomorrow so we can take lots of lovely photos in the garden of our gorgeous vintage china, as well as our beautiful makes.
Keep an eye out on here and the website for those!
Wish me luck for tomorrow's Race for Life and keep smiling!
Tina xx

Summer days!

Hello all - wow! The sun has come out and doesn't it make everything brighter and more cheerful! What a busy day I've had though - a trip to the hairdressers, baking some cupcakes and a lovely afternoon playing in the garden with my gorgeous grand-daughters in the sunshine. After that Amanda popped over for a cuppa. What a great way to spend my day off!
She has been raving about my rose-print shopping bag so I have made her one as a surprise and also made several smaller bags in the same print. I think these will look lovely with a corsage on them so will be looking for some inspiration for those!
Amanda and I are off to a card-making workshop tomorrow so I'm hoping to get lots of lovely cards made, including a wedding card for my fabulous step-daughter Fi and her fiance Shaun, who are getting married next month!
Keep your fingers crossed the weather stays lovely as I'm running the Race for Life on Sunday morning, then Amanda and I are hoping to get our photo shoot done for the website and this lovely blog!!
Keep shining xx

Rain and cake and bunting ho hum

Hello All, the sun has disappeared so to cheer myself up I came in and baked, works everytime as long as I don't eat to much. A victoria sponge for Mrs T and some fruity buns for my tribe, and I only ate one!
I needed a rest from cutting out bunting pennants, wow my fingers ache! All being well I will sew them up after work this evening.
We now have some lovely vintage jewellery and accessories for the fair, Thank You Mother Bea, our finder of nice things. Lot's more interest from lovely people wanting to have a stall at the fair, it should be a lovely and busy event. Hope you'll all come along and see what our local crafters have to offer and of course enjoy some tea and cake.

Happiness seems made to be shared.
-Jean Racine.

Hope your day is a happy, sharing one and that the sun comes out.
Take good care of yourselves and each other,
With Love, Amanda x

Hi lovely people! I am very excited - Amanda & I have just taken our first booking for the craft fair in September from a lovely lady with lots of vintage clothing to sell! Feels like we are really, really in business now!
Steve and I had a lovely day out today with the angel babies, but came back exhausted!
I did sit down to unwind by making some toy/laundry bags and shoe bags in a lovely blue fabric covered in cars, lorries etc. Will be great for small boys!
Amanda and I are having another business meeting tomorrow, as we have lots to do and lots to sort out!
Bella and The Moo are flying!!
Keep reading lovely people!
Tina xx

Car booty!

Hello everyone! Well, the weather stayed dry for our car boot sale, but unfortunately there weren't too many people out buying. Still, Amanda and I resisted the temptation to buy anything and did sell some of our bits n bobs so we have cleared a bit of space in our garages for Bella and the Moo.
I hope to make some more bags tomorrow, as well as cut out lots of pennants for our bunting, but all that will have to wait, as Steve and I are taking the angel twins out for the day. We thought a visit to the garden centre might be in order ... the girls love running about looking at the startled pets and causing havoc in the china department! Bless them!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend people!
Tina xx

Hello Sunshine

Hello Lovely People, Yippee the sun came out! A very busy week cutting out pennants for bunting, a lot of bunting!! Mrs T, a lovely inspirational lady in her 80's taught me how to make marmalade and it's scrumptious! Lot's of interest in Bella and The Moos 1st fair in September, so we have alot to do. Better get stitching, although in weather like this it is so tempting to go out walking. we are so lucky to be surrounded by beautiful countryside and lot's of lovely beaches, rude not to go out and explore. Gather some friends, a pic-nic and off we go!
Saw this and thought I'd share it with you; Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
Isn't that lovely and what better excuse just to sit and be. May butterflies alight on you.
Love Amanda x

Hello everyone! I have finally been able to get back to my sewing machine tonight and have made a great bag for keeping in your handbag - very roomy, ideal for a good rummage at a jumble sale or in a charity shop!! Let me know what you think!
Just had a lovely voicemail from Ben, who is having to fold all his clothes into an A4 size and polish his boots this evening! He sounds fine, though, so I can breathe a sigh of relief that he's half-way through the first of the five weeks of basic training!
I have quite a bit more of the lovely rose fabric and will be making several bags of different sizes over the next day or two - they will be great for when Amanda and I go on foraging sprees!!
That's all for now. Love each other.
Tina xx

What a strange day!

Hello friends - What a strange day. I've been up to Sandhurst to wave Bon Voyage to my son Ben. Sandhurst is a very impressive estate, but I did think a bit of bunting fluttering in the breeze and some lovely hand-made cushions would have made it a bit less imposing.
Hopefully now normal service will be resumed. I've got several bags cut out and ready to be sewn together and then I have to price up all the goodies in my garage which are going off to the carboot sale in Burnham-on-Sea on Saturday. Then there's some furniture to distress, cards to finish, loads of display bunting to sew and about a million and one other things to do before next weekend.
Oh well - keeps me out of mischief.
See you soon and look after each other. Tina xx

how cold?!

Hello, so how much colder is it going to get!! Back into woolly vests and socks! Got a gorgeous, colourful crochet blanket at the jumble sale, reckon I'll be using that later if it gets any colder.
Tina and I checked out the village hall for the craft fair, deciding how many tables, how much bunting etc, and of course where to put the tea tables. We then drove out to the pretty village of Cossington to go to the jumble sale. It was very busy. We both got some pretty china and embroidered cloths, will get creative with those over the weekend (once I warm up a bit!).
Think I'll start on the bunting-we need alot!!
A thought for you- Ralph Waldo Emerson once said " A man is what he thinks about all day long" ... so does that mean I'm a cup of tea and a slice of cake???

Be safe and be nice to each other
Amanda xx

Hello! Tina here - managed to finally get home safely from Bristol after two hours on the M5! Spent the evening washing 115 socks for my eldest Ben after having foolishly offerd to do some last-minute washing before he goes into Sandhurst! What was I thinking of - I could have been making pretties for Bella and the Moo!
Never mind, I got up early this morning and got stuck into the card-making so we have lots of stylish cards ready for our craft fair.
Off to the jumble sale later and we're hoping to get our mitts onto some vintage fabric and lovely things!
See you soon! Tina xx

Scarlet O'Cara comes home and Tina is stuck on the M5 without her knitting

So that's it then, summer over! It's so cold today. Luckily my lovely car Scarlet O'Cara is out of the garage after having her engine rebuilt. Thank You to Mark and Barry at Dean Motors,they know how much I need my car. And of course L made them cake!
Poor Tina is stuck on the motorway, as there has been a pile up. Let's hope all involved are ok.Thank goodness for mobiles, it's giving Tina something to do. Must remember to take a good book and your knitting on all journeys!! Let's hope she gets home in time for tommorow- we're checking out the venue for the Bella and The Moo Fair and then onto a jumble sale. ooooh lovely, hopefully lots of lovely vintage fabric and other goodies. It will help to occupy Tina's mind as she is all upside down at the moment as Her eldest Son, Ben, is off to Sandhurst on Sunday. We wish Him all the very best and think He is very brave. Tina is obviously anxious and very proud. Big Love to You both.
Only did 2 squares to my blanket last night, Outnumbered was just to funny!!
Cheerio for now and let's all do the sundance!
Friendship improves happiness and abates misery by doubling our joy and dividing our grief. Hoorah for Friends!

Amanda xx

Hello again from soggy Somerset! I have been very good this evening and finished off the Peter Rabbit bunting - it looks very sweet and I hope to get a photo of it on here if the weather dries up enough to take a picture at the weekend!
I shan't be around much over the weekend as I have a lot of running around to do with my eldest son Ben going off to Sandhurst - my loft and garage will soon be overflowing with his things (as well as a lot of Bella and the Moo's bits and pieces)!
I hope to catch up with you on Monday evening and in the meantime, fingers crossed for some sunshine at the weekend and that we pick up a bargain or two at the local jumble sale on Saturday!!
Take care, Tina xx

more rain and more cake

Hello You lovely folk,bit of a soggy election day. got quite soggy cycling home from work, poor flowers on my basket, at least skin is waterproof!
More cake today! It's my friend Janes' Birthday so I baked a cake with lots of pink sparkle on top.Hope she likes it.
Just picked some lilac from the garden to bring indoors and remind me it is actually spring!
Now it's time for The Darling Buds of May, a glass of vino, crochet some more of my colourful 'Romany' blanket, probably another glass of wine and then outnumbered on tv-bliss.
Cheerio for now and remember 'work hard and be nice to people'
Amanda xx

Hi everyone ... no wonder I need to go running with all that lovely cake around!! I've also been busy telling everyone about the craft fair in September and have had several offers of cake-making and tea-pouring!
I desparately wanted to sit down and finish off the Peter Rabbit bunting but put my talents (?) to different use and started setting up our website! Hopefully it will be launched within the next few days when we've taken lots of gorgeous photos of our lovely things and loaded them all on!
Oh well - there's always tomorrow for the bunting, and I can feel a bag or two coming on too! Take care! Tina xx

tea and cake

Hello Folks, where did summer go?? Sat and had tea and cake in the garden with a friend, scrumptious. Although noticed how the grass had grown, no we hadn't sat there that long! so out comes the mower and in goes the sun. After that bit of exercise time to come in and bake ( tea loaves) and sew (lavender sachets), what a lovely way to pass the time.
Checked out local paper for jumble sales, so Tina and I will be out with our shopping baskets on saturday. I can feel more tea and cake coming on! Blissful way to spend Saturday afternoon!
Telling lots of fellow crafters and tea drinkers all about our craft and vintage fair on sept 18th, very positive comments and ideas, especially for cake- there seems to be a theme coming through here. That reminds me must get Mother Bea, our finder of good stuff, onto the fruit cake making, You must try some at the fair!

Hope all is well with you and yours and remember "kind people are the nicest kind of people"
Amanda xx

Hello! Having a bit of a chillaxing day today. Decided to go to Taunton this morning to see if I could find a dress for Fi's wedding - found an absolutely gorgeous one in Debenhams.

Steve and I decided it was too chilly to go for a walk so I thought I'd give my new butterfly punch a go and make some lovely wedding cards, which I will get round to photographing and posting on here some time this week! I can't believe how fab they look and how easy it is!

I now have quite a collection of cards ready for our Craft / Vintage fair in September, but will be adding more most weeks. Amanda is making cards today too ... so hopefully we'll have a mountain of choice by the time the fair comes round!

Hello, the other half here. A bit brighter today and surprisingly no hangover from the business meeting last night!
OOhhh it's so exciting doing the things you love, and as my daughter pointed out 'Mum at last you're fashionable' , always been a charity shop queen and crafter.
Tina and I love all things vintage and pretty and of course wine and chocolate, what more could a girl ask for?! oh and I don't quite know every one in the village, most though! it's a lovely place to live, nice people and most people know me from cycling round the village on my flowery bike, wave if you see me.
This is an exciting time for Tina and myself , it will be extra busy and should be so much fun. send us your comments and join us for tea and cake in September. Big thanks to Tina's Hubby, Steve, for all the suggestions and to Mother for all her 'finding good stuff' abilities.
Bye for now and smile , it's contagious xx

Hi there - what a wet and windy Bank Holiday Sunday! I've finished pressing all the penants for my Beatrix Potter bunting now, just waiting for the white bias binding to arrive through the post on Tuesday, so I can finish it.

I've just made another fairy cushion cover too, so now we have a matching pair! And they are very lovely! I'm trying to work out how much stock we may need for the craft / vintage fair in September (and where we're going to keep it all!). Hopefully there will be enough room in both of our garages after we've done the car boot sale in a fortnight's time.

Amanda is coming across the road tonight, so we can have another business meeting - I'll show her the business cards I've ordered and she'll talk to me about the rubber stamp we need to order to stamp our labels and greetings cards! I'm trying to be really organised as I have a feeling the next 3 months will just fly by! Especially as I have a big family wedding next month, followed by a HUGE birthday (50) so will be tied up for a lot of the time.

Off to chill the wine now!

hello again! Had a lovely day today with a very dear friend, at Clarks Village in Street, Somerset. Bought a lovely lot of cardstock at the Paper Mill Shop and a fab butterfly punch which I can't wait to try out!

Hubby Steve read through my first blog yesterday and chuntered that it was he who had first put the idea in my head of getting together with Amanda to form a venture, and that it was he who had suggested we put on a craft fair as our first outing and that it was he who had suggested where was the best venue for the craft fair! Fair enough I say - thanks Steve - you have been a great help in all of this!! And you don't even grumble when you can't hear the telly for the noise of the sewing machine!

Amanda and I are having another business meeting tomorrow evening to see what needs to be done next - must get a bottle of rose tomorrow! In the meantime I have finished sewing the pennants for the Beatrix Potter bunting - just awaiting delivery of the new supply of white bias binding to finish it off (it would be Bank Holiday weekend, wouldn't it!).

Think I'll make some more greetings cards tomorrow - lots of butterflies I think!