daisies

Some recently bought Crown Lynn plates from the 60s and 70s -  exotically named Boutique and Arizona - all in earthy mustardy colours.

Reading: (the graphic novel) How to be happy by Eleanor Davis

three things

1. One half of Mr Mingus

2. A new cactus cutting I planted in a lovely but badly crazed Crown Lynn cup with a pattern called 'Lilian'. Perhaps I should've divided the cactus and planted the two 'ears' separately. What do you think?

3. A batch of badges I made for winter using woolen fabrics and velvet. They add a bit of colour and texture to a dull winter outfit. My wardrobe seems to have settled on black and grey. I used a badge-maker machine but you could make a covered button and attach a small safety pin on the back instead. I think my favourite is the green tweedy one (centre left).

seed raising

After my seed gathering adventures I decided to make my own biodegradable pots from newspaper to germinate my seeds and grow the seedlings. There are many tutorials showing you how to do this. I used this one where you simply roll newspaper around a jar or bottle. At first the pots seem as if they'll unfold themselves but once you fill them with soil, they are fairly robust. Alternatively, you can make origami pots. I've planted some of the Aristea seeds and also gathered a few seeds from some pansies growing in my garden to plant up later.

My panda plant cuttings are still green - and not grey as they should be - but they are now big enough to re-pot so I put them into old jam jars turning them into (sort of) mini terrariums. And I re-potted a sad little cactus into a badly crazed but favourite Crown Lynn cup.

things from Coromandel

On our Coromandel camping holiday we passed through Thames - a good place to stop for something to eat and to visit the charity shops.

Here's what I bought there:

• a yellow and dark brown plastic basket. This is my favourite Coromandel thing.
• a Crown Lynn plate in a brown grid pattern called 'tres bon'
• a 1972 calendar tea towel with yachts (a gift for a friend) 
• some shot glasses that I've re-purposed into tea light holders and
• two books - The splendid soft toy book (useful) and The Welsh corgi (not so useful but corgis are cute and I might use the pictures to make cards). On the cover of The Welsh corgi someone has crossed out the word 'corgi' and written 'rarebit' underneath. That's pretty corny but I think it's funny.

I also bought some homemade plum jam from the Saturday street market in Coromandel Town. It's so delicious it's nearly all gone.

Reading Doppler by Erlend Loe + Harvesting passionfruit from the garden + Watching The life of Pi + Making ice cream in my new ice cream maker

new things

Here are some new pieces for my Crown Lynn collection. I bought the cups and saucers from Aunty Mavis. I think they are 1980s and probably from the 'Avondale' range but I'm not certain. The egg cups - I've been collecting for a while, buying the odd one here and there.

The dog is not Crown Lynn and even though it looks a lot like a Staffordshire poodle I'm sure it's a fake. It does have "made in England" stamped on the base but, more interestingly, it also has a red and gold sticker that says "Selected at Eunice Chick Gift Shoppe, 31 Wellesley St., Akld." All I've been able to find out is that the shop was demolished along with other buildings in 1963 to make way for the new library. The dog itself is pretty weird with a strange almost human face and a sad (or is it aloof?) expression. But I think it's wonderful. I should give him/her a name. What do you think?

Also purchased at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair on Saturday - did you go? - were two sets of "Summer flower papercut" cards by Melissa from tiny happy and the latest copy of extra curricular. Extra curricular has some of Melissa's water colours in it and a tutorial by Joanna Davies on how to make a terrarium. Terrariums would make great Chrissie presents, I reckon.

what we had when we had it

Tango

Reflections

Narvik

These are new additions to our Crown Lynn collection. Crown Lynn was a pottery started in New Zealand in the late 1930s. It had its heyday in the 70s and, sadly, closed in 1989. Mostly it made everyday china and, back in the day, everybody had it. One of the best things about Crown Lynn was that you could buy individual pieces. So, if you broke a plate, you could easily buy a replacement. It's been having a bit of a renaissance and is now quite sort after by collectors.

There is an exhibition on in Auckland until 14 January and these swans are just a peek of the delights in store for you if you go.

This and this and this

This is the first freesia to bloom in my garden this season. I've been inspecting the garden regularly looking for signs of Spring.

This Crown Lynn side plate is a recent purchase. Somehow it makes anything eaten off it taste just a little bit nicer.

And this is a birthday cake. I cheated a bit with this photo, as I was desperate to create a flower theme for this post. This is the cake I made last year for my mother's birthday. The photos of this year's cake didn't turn out so well. But, curiously, this year's cake was very similar to last years. I think I'm in cake rut.