strange going's on at the bottom of the garden........

There are always strange things happening in our garden. Yesterday morning I went past our old kettle filled with campunala only to find a Friesian cow had popped into the garden and then you go a bit further round the corner and there is a donkey standing in the spring onions. These animals pop up in the most unusual places, last week it was a zebra in the Verbena. Also there I was the other day looking into the pond dreamily wondering if goldfish really do have 3 second memories, when beyond the fish came a vision a traffic jam. A traffic jam which included about 25 cars on the bottom of the pond. These are matchbox cars god knows how long they have been in there. I did wonder where they all were as the toy box was looking a little empty of treasured cars. It's strange these happenings because we don't have children, but we do have a myriad of nephews and nieces who often pop around and it's always after they have been about that the strange happenings happen. A friends very lovely Christian Dior sunglasses have gone missing last seen in the vicinity of the pond, going to have to dredge up the traffic jam and see if the fish are enjoying their designer glasses.

roses

I love gardens that ramble we have so many self sown plants that grow where the wind carries them. My garden is a continual source of inspiration, whether it's the clash of colour that break all the rules the scent of the honeysuckle on a balmy evening or just a beautiful daisy growing in the lawn. Flowers are nature's courtesans. They seduce elevate the mood and perfume the air. Our house is crammed full of flowers, I love them in old milk bottles, vintage china or just simply a pansies in a jam jar. This week I used flowers from our garden to make flower arrangements for "The old bag's tea party in old vintage handbags.
I would love to share with you another side of my world which is patchworkbutterfly vintage table ware. To find out more look on http://patchworkbutterfly.co.uk
or for our updates please feel free to join our facebook page
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Patchworkbutterfly vintage tableware is lovingly run by me and my sister who have everlasting memories of perfect tea parties when we were small. Like the magpies we both are over the years we have collected beautiful china and our collection has grown. We would love for you to have perfect everlasting memories like ... us and so we would like to share our passion for beautiful china with you. Patchwork Butterfly Vintage, hope to add a scrumptious decadence to your occasion.

round and round the garden

Come journey a little further around my garden today. I love the sculpture I bought from an amazing ceramicist Sue Mundy. You can find more of her work at www.suemundy.com. Her work is just beautiful and so lovingly made. I love having a bit of the indoors outdoors so I have hung chandeliers all around the garden and they give off a wonderful light as dusk sets in or the word I really love when the light becomes dimpsy.
We have now over 30 Oriental poppies out from the pink of Mrs Perry to this brilliant red, so fragile with their inky middles, great to paint with and glorious to watch as they dance in the breeze.

come on a journey with me this week .....

Last weekend was nearly the busiest in my recent history. We opened our garden to raise money for the amazing and wonderful children of Cambodia. It was a wonderful day full of people we love, enjoying the garden eating cakes and most important drinking lots of wine and gossiping.
Everyday the garden changes, I love looking out to see what has happened over night. We work in it, we eat and laze about in it, although there hasn't been much of that lately.
Every day this week I promise to take you on a journey around my garden. Come take my hand and off we venture.

Open !!!!!

www.patchworkbutterfly.folksy.com

May seems to be the month where the world Opens up for business again. Open studios and Open gardens. Life seems ever to be a fine balancing act, until the month of May, when everything goes a little bit crazy. The equilibrium has gone and it's back to the mania that predominates most of my life. When I was doing my degree I had this wonderful Lecturer who gave us two really good pieces of advice the first being you were given hands to feel and touch everything, use them but don't get arrested, she was talking in terms of texture. The second was that it is simply not enough to be just that artists/designer you are marketing, PR, merchandiser, sales, accounts chief cook and bottle washer. I can here her saying "it's a fine balancing act". To true!
One of the things I have been neglecting is my blog and anything to do with dreaded technology as my knowledge is limited so I waste to much precious creative time fixing my mistakes. I am opening my garden and studio at the end of May so much of my time has been out in all weathers fighting with the ever growing weeds. My garden seems to be growing before my very eyes, it is one of my favourite places. Also there are two exhibitions my open studio and I am taking part in the Henley Arts Trail venue 13 Sat 29 - Mon 31 May to find out more www.jojojewellery.me.uk.
So what I need is a 8 day week and at least 28 hours in the day.

Life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass... it's learning to dance in the rain!

the shoot

Finally got round to a massive photo shoot today, so much new work! The lovely Kat and I were up early ready to catch first light and 600 photos later we have some that I really love. We took the photos in my house and garden, it seemed the easiest way as I am so so un-organized that it was the only way to make sure everything we needed was to hand. A stylist's job is quite something when your off on location and you have to dream up every little item you may need for the shoot in the middle of the Sahara desert shooting winter coats. I don't know how they do it. We were up early to catch the ever changing light, it is not until you need certain light to create a certain mood that you realise how much the light can change in 5 minutes so we were running around the house and garden throughout the day like crazy things. I really scrubbed my house for the shoot, you know hoovered the garden dusted the flowers. Or so it would appear until we had to catch the light in a certain place in the house, you move the furniture only to find the Everest of a dust pile. My house after yesterday obviously doesn't pass the finger dust test. The day was lovely spent in search of making inspiring images that touch your soul in some small way.

All the items above will be going into my folksy shop soon www.patchworkbutterfly.folksy.com

Back in the world

Have felt so unwell this last week could only muster up a postage stamp of creativity. I have laid in bed listening to the birds and watching the garden grow before my very eyes, and feeling a little worried that I wasn't every going to feel well again. Thank god! for Archie the cat he listened to my delirium, ramblings and has been a good and constant companion whilst I have been confined to my sick bed.
So I am very nearly back in my creative place be it somewhat fragile. I have lots of new work half constructed half in my head and many blogs posts I need to catch up with. So onward and upward!