Busy January

              January seems to have flown by so far. I am back in clearing out mode. And have more stuff listed on ebay and a few bits in a local auction. I still have quite a lot to get rid of so I thought I'd better start now!
      Anyone who knows me knows how much I love black cats. I have a large collection of black cat stuff that I've been collecting since I was a teenager.
I thought I would collect them until I was an old lady. But I've decided that the collection has to go! I have about 90% of my collection set aside and ready to go up for sale in the next couple of months. I have items from 1929 to the present day.
      But who needs all that stuff when I have the two best black cats in the world!

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Hope Santa was good to you!

Stuff, Stuff, Stuff!

                Just when I thought I was winning my battle against stuff, more pops up! I was hoping to have finished clearing out by the end of this year but that's not going to happen. Yet more stuff went off to auction last week and more ebay items posted this week.
          I have made a big dent in the amount of stuff I have but I am getting so fed up with it now. But at least there are two furry things who love it when all this is going on...

                    Violet loves to watch the action from the top of the door.

     Hmm...   This looks interesting.

         But I am really motivated to finish clearing out. We are aiming to be settled in England by August 2014 and I can't wait. I am hoping to have only eight boxes of stuff belonging to me on the removal van... we'll see how that goes!

An Early Birthday Gift For Me

     I have still been adding to my collection of needle felted items from Miss Bumbles. I now have a second cabinet to put them in (which is much bigger, so I have plenty room for more!)
        My Mum very kindly bought me my most recent custom order for my birthday and luckily I was allowed to have them now. The custom order consisted of:

     This beautiful Queen Of Hearts kitty comes complete with flamingo mallet and a hedgehog croquet ball. The detail in her dress is amazing.

     This Mad Hatter kitty is just gorgeous. I love the colour combination. And he even has a little hand painted cup.

This little cat burglar is just so sweet. He looks full of mischief. He is based on both of my cats as they can break into any room or cupboard.

And last but not least is this Big Hairy Scary Spider. I love the expression on his face. He also has a skull on his back which you can't really see in this photo.

      I have already asked for another custom order which will hopefully be ready before Christmas. I am really excited about it. I also have a gardening guinea pig on the way which I can't wait to see. Miss Bumbles' guinea pigs are so cute, they make me want a real one.


    Here are some photos of the rest of my collection including an early piece from 2009 which I picked up from ebay. He is a rather sweet tortoise holding a lovely juicy peach.

Ruby Bunny Ears Portrait

       I have cut out all other forms of shopping completely but Etsy continues to be my downfall. I have realised that it is impossible to ban myself from Etsy, so I've stopped trying!

      One of my latest purchases was from Water In My Paint. I have a French squirrel painting from this shop which I love. For my next purchase I wanted a custom portrait of one of my cats.

      I decided to get Ruby done wearing a pair of red bunny ears. And I couldn't be happier with the finished painting. It's amazing, it looks just like Ruby!

      I can't recommend this shop highly enough. The painting was ready so quickly and arrived in the UK very fast. I will be going back very soon to get Violet done too.

   The shop has lots of other lovely paintings too. Click here to visit the shop.

Halloween Excitement

     It's that time of year again when I start to get really excited about Halloween. It will be slightly different for me this year because as much as I love it when the shops get their stuff in, I won't be able to buy much. There is no point being on a shopping ban and then buying mountains of Halloween stuff.
       That said I have bought more Halloween goodies from Etsy. I was lucky enough to purchase more of Miss Bumbles' delightful Halloween pieces.

I think this little black cat with a Halloween treat in the form of a mouse head is my favourite.

Another lovely black kitty sporting a pumpkin skirt and showing off her skull garland.

I love the little details on this Guinea Pig devil, the red whiskers and beard and the forked tail.

This little pumpkin Guinea Pig was just too hard to resist.

And lastly is this very witty headless Guinea Pig. His little smile is so sweet.

All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles you can find her Etsy shop here.

       This lovely lot will be arriving with several more pieces which include a very exciting custom order. 

    I have collected quite a few different things over the years. But I have never enjoyed collecting anything as much as these woolly wonders! Here's hoping there are more Halloween delights to come...

Etsy Buys And Finds

    I have been clearing out once again. And I have been trapped in a sea of ebay items. I am now up to a total of 81 sold items. I still have plenty of stuff to go but I think it's time for a little break.       
     It's quite strange to have gone from somebody who loved shopping to somebody who loves getting rid of stuff.
    I no longer look at shops in the town centre and I never even look at websites I used to buy from all the time (ASOS, Topshop etc.)  When I decided to go on a shopping ban at the beginning of the year, I didn't think I would manage to stick to it so well and end up wanting to get rid of most of the things I own!
      It hasn't been a complete ban and I have still been buying a few things from Etsy. Most of these things have been gifts. But I have still been adding to my favourite collection (I always will).  
     One of the other things I have bought is a doll from Boopsiedaisy. I have liked a lot of the dolls from this shop but had never bought one. So I decided to make my first purchase a custom order. And I asked for (you guessed it) a black cat doll. I'm so glad I decided to get this doll made (her name is Pawlie), she is so cute. I would recommend this shop if you are looking for something cute and quirky.

Pictures belong to Boopsiedaisy you can find her shop here.

I thought I share a few other cute finds that I love but won't be buying!

I really like these anthropomorphic macarons and cookies from SandraArteagA. You can find her Etsy shop here.

And I have been quite tempted by these gorgeous vintage French knife rests in the form of cute little cats. They are From LaManche and you can find her Etsy shop here.

My Favourite Collection

     If you read this blog regularly you will know that I am a bit of an Etsy addict. And although I was doing very well on my shopping ban, that has now gone out the window.
     My collection of needle felted items from Miss Bumbles has continued to grow and about a month ago, I decided I needed a cabinet to display them in. I couldn't just display them all out in the open because both of my cats are prone to eating things!
       A couple of weeks ago after what felt like looking round the whole town, the perfect cabinet popped up at a local auction. It had an estimate of £20-£40 but I knew it would go for more than that and I was prepared to go up a bit. In the end it went for a whopping £130! Needless to say I didn't get it.
        The very next day my Mum found one for me at a recycling centre (which we had tried the week before but were out of luck). It was a bargain at £35. This is what it looked like when I first got it home.

The key was missing and it  had awful mustard fabric on the back. But it had potential.  But since my Mum has worked her magic on it, it looks great. The lock works and I managed to find a replacement key on ebay.

Now that it's pure white and has the vibrant wallpaper on the back (I was going for a retro feel) it looks like a different piece of furniture.

     The collection looks amazing in it. And the best thing is, it is safe from those mischievous little kitties of mine! The way I'm going I will soon need another cabinet to display them all!

        I thought that I had gotten rid of the collecting bug (obviously not!)  What do you collect? I'd love to hear about all your different collections.

Black Cats Galore... But I Still Want More!

        Today I received a very exciting parcel from my favourite Etsy shop, Miss Bumbles.  Included in this parcel were some of the purchases mentioned in my previous post. And also a very special custom order.

     The first thing I asked for in this custom order was a Marie Antoinette black cat. She turned out beautifully, I love her pink powdered wig and she even has her very own pet rat.

      The next thing I asked for was a little black cat clown. He is just so cute, I love his little red nose and his cheery smile.

        Next is this gorgeous baking kitty. She comes with freshly made mouse tarts and a fishy sponge cake. She managed to resist eating them on the journey to my house!

          Last but certainly not least is this stunning French themed garland. It combines my two favourite things, black cats and France. The detail in this garland is just amazing, I love everything about it!
All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles you can find her Etsy shop here.

        I will be posting pictures of the whole collection soon, I have finally found the perfect place for them all. I'm sure I will be adding to the collection soon. I just can't get enough of these pieces from one of the best artists on Etsy!

Back In Training For The Shopping Olympics

       I haven't blogged in a while because I have been quite busy. Busy going through what seems to be endless piles of my own stuff! But I am getting through it bit by bit. Bags of stuff have gone to the charity shop, boxes of various bits and pieces have been put into auction and a decent amount of items listed and sold on ebay.
      I had been doing great hardly shopping at all and getting money back in from the things I no longer wanted. But I wasn't on my best behaviour for long...
    Etsy was my downfall. I make no secret of the fact that Etsy is one of my favourite places to shop. And I had a big spending spree in one of my favourite shops, MissBumbles.
    I mentioned in my last post that I already had other items in mind for a custom order. This order consisted of three black cats.

    
      First is this little seaside kitty. She is based on Ruby. Ruby loves to play in the bath with a bit of water in it, so I thought it would be sweet if she donned a swimming costume.

       Next is this dashing little Frenchman. (Anyone who reads this blog knows I love almost all things French. So this one should come as no surprise!) I have named him Oliver after my first black cat but I suppose in this case, it should really be Olivier. He is just so sweet in person!

And last but certainly not least is this gorgeous Little Red Riding Kitty. Little Red Riding Hood is one of my favourite fairy tales and this little cat is just so cute. She even has a treat for Granny in her basket.

      My haul didn't end there...

While browsing one day I spotted this sweet little red vixen. She reminds me of the foxes I see from my bedroom window. Of course I had to have her too (she was too pretty to resist!)

         And my last purchase was this exquisite spring garland. I particularly like the little girl lamb. I have had my eye on this for a while. And since I have done so well selling my old things I took the plunge and bought it. I am so glad I did the detail is amazing.

    All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles you can find her Etsy shop here. I have used them simply because they are better than any of my photography.

     I have had a pretty miserable week, feeling ill for most of it. So when my parcel with all of these goodies in it arrived on Saturday and I unwrapped all of the pretty patterned tissue paper, it cheered me up no end.
    It is pretty safe to say that I am addicted to Miss Bumbles' wonderful creations. And I know I will be buying many more in the future.