Friday 29 July 2016

A month in pictures - A hot, hot, hot July



Happy July you lovely lot! 

Well, what a July it has been. After moaning about the the weather in last months post it appears the weather-fairies heard me, because the UK has been blazing hot this month! who knew old blighty was still capable of having more than just a few days of summery weather? the girlies have been donning their hats and flip flops, and the men have been sporting their sunburned heads and naked beer bellies (always a treat of course :-)) and over at AHC HQ we've been up to all sorts, though mostly furniture makeovers. Here's our month in pictures ...



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Thursday 21 July 2016

Water Cottage in Kersey - Suffolk's prettiest village


AHC rustic holiday cottages


Water Cottage is a beautiful 15th Century weaver's cottage in Kersey; Suffolk's prettiest little chocolate box village. Arriving here was like stepping back in time into the wonderful world of Lark rise to Candleford ... if you haven’t seen that TV series or read the book it I highly recommend it, in fact you could watch it while supping hot choccie in front of the fire while you're in your holiday cottage! Water Cottage is a timber framed 'Hall House’ that has been carefully restored to its former glory. The beautiful beamed rooms, antiques and furnishing, along with the cosy wood burner ensure a super cosy atmosphere in a well furnished, well equipped, luxurious cottage. There are wonderful walks straight from the door, quaint old rustic pubs in jumping distance and there’s lots to see and do in the area ... it's also ideal for kiddies and doggies!

Where is it: Quaint village of Kersey, Suffolk
How much: £508 for the week
Pets: 2 large dogs excepted
Sleeps: 5/6


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Thursday 14 July 2016

Floral & faded wood tutorial - using napkins! (plus how to make a fire-pit table)




I absolutely love the old worn and faded ‘floral-pattern-on-wood' look, and I've been meaning to have a go at achieving it for some time. I finally got around to it this week and I'm so happy with the outcome. It's incredibly effective and so easy to do. You can achieve this lovely faded worn look on any wood surface, and it looks especially good on tables, drawers, chairs, welsh dressers and wooden trays. I'm going to try this on my welsh dresser next but first I wanted to give my copper fire pit a makeover. Since I have a small garden I decided to make use of space by giving the fire pit a dual purpose - so I had a piece of wood cut for the top of it, so when it's not being a fire pit it can be used as a table! this provided the ideal surface for my experiment!


decoupaging wood with floral napkins

A floral wood tabletop tutorial

How to make a fire pit table top


My cosy little seating area looks so pretty now, and if you're admiring my new Peru wooden deckchair loungers you'll find these at Homebase, and they cost £99 for a pair. I absolutely love them, they look so natural and blend into the garden perfectly, they're also incredibly comfy and come with a head rests! I also headed to Homebase for my varnish and hand-held sander (links are below.) You could use simple sandpaper sheets for this, wrapped around a wooden block but I love the smooth finish of a sander, and I’ve used it on a range of projects time and time again.  

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Thursday 30 June 2016

A month in pictures - June

Hello poppets, well it's June and I'm sitting here, dog on lap, surrounded by soggy tissues because I have a stinking cold! Boo. Where has our summer gone? has anyone seen it? was that sunny weekend back in May it? a mere blip of warmth until next year? All my winter bits are now stowed away in the loft and I'm desperately trying to kid myself that my summer dressing gown has sufficient cosiness, when what I really want is my big furry dressing gown and big slippers but I shall resist! Still, at least our plants are getting a good water :-) Here's our month in pictures ....



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Thursday 16 June 2016

The Coach House - A romantic hideaway in Suffolk


Cottage holiday home - The Coach House in Suffolk


Last December our little trio (that's me, hubby and Ralphy the dog of course) headed to Suffolk for a relaxing pre-Christmas holiday. As soon as I saw The Coach House on cottages.com I was smitten - it's a beautifully decorated, rustic, detached converted stable featuring it's own 2 acre woodland! Set in a lovely rural location between the historic market towns of Framlingham and Saxmundham, and while it's an wonderful spot for walking, rambling and cycling, it's also perfect for exploring the quaint little villages of Suffolk and spending the day at the idillic seaside towns of Southwold and Aldeburgh. As you know I usually prefer my holiday cottages to be completely secluded, but while the owner does live close by, you can rest assured you'll be left well alone (though he's such a lovely man it was a pleasure bumping into him when we did.) This was our stay at The Coach House.

Where is it: Suffolk
Price from: £441 for a week
Pets: 2 welcome
Sleeps: 2


The Coach House - Photograph courtesy of cottages.com

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Thursday 9 June 2016

Cutting the riboon for Cooper's new craft department

A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to be invited down to my local Coopers department store to cut the ribbon for their new craft department. I walked down the red carpet as the crowds lined the streets and cheered me on (!) .... okay well that's not quite true, it wasn't as glam as all that, but my little craft club 'The Cottage Crafters' were there in full attendance because we are over the moon about the new craft department, as will the rest of our local crafters be when they discover it for themselves.


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Wednesday 1 June 2016

A month in pictures - May

Hello all, I hope this finds you all well in your worlds. We've had a lovely month of May in AHC headquarters. Hubby and I escaped to the country for a few days to celebrate our anniversary which was just what I needed ... we stayed in a gorgeous little cottage in a little 'chocolate-box' village in Suffolk, which I'll be sharing with you soon. We've also had some lovely walks and I've enjoyed some crafty challenges this month too! Here's my month in pictures ...



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Wednesday 18 May 2016

How to make a flower crown + for weddings, festivals and flowers girls

A few weeks back I was invited to take part in a blogger challenge by the Luxury Silk Bedding company Gingerlily. I love a crafty challenge so I was more than happy to join in the fun. We were sent a box of silk flowers and some other bits and bobs, and with the Chelsea Flower Show as our inspiration we were told we could create anything we wanted using the silk flowers as our main element of inspiration. 


how to make a flower crown


For a day or two I kept wandering past the flowers on my craft table, while I waited for them to shout out to me and tell me what it is they wanted to become - I toyed with a fairy garden, then a summer dining display ... but these flowers were so pretty I wanted to wear them ... so I asked myself in what scenario could such flowers be worn? of course ... weddings and festivals!! So here is my floral crown - inspired by the fresh flower crown I made for my own wedding day. This would be perfect for a flower girl, a bride, and I'll certainly be dancing around wearing it at festivals this summer :-)


How to make a flower crown

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Thursday 12 May 2016

My new craft room + storage for small spaces


Finally ... here is my new workshop craft room! This used to be our music room (AKA hubby's man cave) but since he's moved it to other premises it now mean Jodie Podie has a CRAFTY ROOM! We gave it a lick of paint and I went about sourcing myself a new craft table and some rustic storage. Welcome to the new AHC headquarters ....


creating a craft room


Tips on sourcing a workshop / craft table

The first thing I wanted was a rustic craft table. They're expensive to buy so I created one, which I've already showed you in my previous post: How to make a scandi-chic trestle table. Trestle tables are ideal for craft rooms & workshops as they are collapsable, should you need to make room for large floor-projects. The top of my table has two large holes which is ideal for threading my sewing machine leads through. I also pop my bin under the other one and knock through any rubbish / threads. Is so nice being able to leave the sewing machine set up for long periods of time, it means I actually use it. 



rustic trestle table
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Tuesday 3 May 2016

A month in pictures - April


It’s May - the bluebells are in full bloom and buds are bursting all over. We had a lovely walk at the weekend. It was a new walk and we got lost twice and had to find our way through woodlands, over babbling brooks and fields. Getting lost is truly one of my favourite things … I just love it. It’s one of the few times I find I’m able to stay fully mindful and in the present. When I find myself on a walk I’ve done a hundred times before, I find it so easy to let my mind wander back to work, back to chores that need doing, back to the mundane ‘to-do’ list. I try so hard to stay in the moment, and it frustrates me that I can’t always leave such things behind. So escaping for the day, and getting lost is sometimes exactly what I need because there’s nowhere to be but right here, in the moment. How strange that it takes getting lost, in order to feel found? Oh that’s quite profound for a Tuesday afternoon eh? Anyhoos. I’m sharing my new craft room later this week. It’s still finding its feet, but it’ll be nice to show you where I’ve been crafting of late. In the meantime, here’s our month in pictures!



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