Commode on over

And pull up a chair (once you've recovered from that really awful pun). 

Not just any chair, oh no; an upcycled chair. Yup. I've been getting my craft on once again, and this is the reason I spent several days in March covered in spray paint.

Commode: Before

I spotted this fellow feeling a wee bit sorry for himself, literally, in our local flea market late last year (the one that made me famous). Despite the fact his seat was bleached with the splatterings of bleary-eyed, full-bladdered emergencies past (lovely, eh?), I fell in love with his rather sexy turned legs and arms. 

Eeeew.

But check out those sexy legs!

And those arms! Swit-swoo!

Thankfully, I had a good excuse to buy him there and then, because we'd recently decided our bathroom needed a chair to perch on whilst we brushed our teeth. And what better for a bathroom than an antique commode?! Tom might have been slightly less enthused that we had to carry it home between us, because we'd walked into town...

Rather than reverting to my trusty DIY chalk paint, which I've previously used on a dresser, a lamp, a dining room chair and our dining table, I decided to opt for something even easier (and with no brushes to wash out afterwards) and bought a can of Rustoleum primer and another one of grey spraypaint. 

Making progress; after the first coat of primer.

I was particularly drawn to the wicker elements, because they reminded me of the aida fabric for cross-stitching. So I decided to embroider it. Are you ready for the "after"? Here goes:

So much better with the stains cleaned and covered!

I opted to use wool, because it's nice and chunky, but
I'm uncertain about the colour.

I haven't embroidered the seat yet, because the wicker is so complicated I struggled to get a standard pattern, and I was worried it would make the seat uncomfortable. Look at me- choosing practicality over aesthetics!! Perhaps I'm growing up...

Katie xxx

A catch up on my first giveaway

Today I'm finally sharing photographs of the custom cross-stitch samplers I made for my first ever giveaway. It was so long ago I almost need a lift from Michael J Fox to remember it happened.

My first giveaway winner was Alice, my utterly excellent real-life friend who was also my Ideal Home Show adventure buddy. Thankfully, Alice forgave me for taking months to hand her prize over, and it actually worked out in the end because she'd forgotten which designs I was doing; so they were a surprise!

Alice had eventually settled on two designs containing phrases by the excellent Emergency Compliments. Yes, I know, the prize was for one cross-stitch, but I was feeling generous; and text is much faster to stitch than pictures. The "cereal" one only took me a few hours. 

By the way, if you haven't heard of Emergency Compliments before, you should definitely go and check them out. These are three of my favourite pieces:

Buy this here

Get this here

Available here

Alice opted for these two (although this one was a close runner up):

I also whipped up a third sampler, with a phrase of Alice's own:

Complete with cheery cross-stitched tea cup:

Just in case that wasn't enough to make amends for my tardiness, I made Alice a card using a rather appropriate illustration from the used Babar diary I picked up in Oxfam. 

The top and bottom edges are finished off with this panda-tastic deco tape. 

I cheaply re-used craftily upcycled an old envelope with a bit more sticky tape, from Tiger of all places(!) Shocking.  

Then popped in a couple of extra treats from one of my favourite recent finds; a box of assorted McSweeney's Postcards entitled "Greetings from the Ocean's Sweaty Face". 

I knew that Alice, a librarian by trade, would appreciate this card about the Dewey decimal system:

And I thought this postcard about how C. S. Lewis dealt with writer's block was absolutely hilarious. I might try this next time I visit Ikea. 

Oops - I almost forgot about this vixen! Alice and I were admiring some rather foxy cushions at the Ideal Home Show but decided to restrain ourselves as we had already bought lots of random crap invested in a number of exciting homeware-related business ventures. So when I spotted this lovely lady in Primark's home section a week later I knew it was fate. Alice's boyfriend has named her Vera the Varmint, and I've been assured she's very happy in her new home.

I'm very glad Alice has finally received her prizes; mostly because I was worried the samplers would somehow end up covered in chocolate stains. Which obviously never happens in this house...

Right- I think it's about time I organised another one of these giveaway things. Although I'm not making any promises the prize will be ready until 2047. 

Katie xxx

The most important birthday in December

Today, known to most people as Christmas Eve Eve, is also my Mum's birthday. She truly doesn't want people to make a fuss, but I can't stop myself making her little presents regardless. I know all children think theirs is the Best Mum in the World, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. 

This morning I unearthed a make-your-own badge kit Tom bought me a few years ago and decided to make her a special birthday badge she can wear all year round, using the power of cross-stitch. 

I made the pattern up as I went along, but I've included a copy below in case you have anything or anyone in your life you feel is lacking in cross-stitched cupcakes.

FYI: The 2 stitches in the middle of the 2nd line are 1/2 purple, 1/2 red

Happy Birthday, Mum :)

Katie xxx

10000 Pageviews Giveaway

Hello lovelies!

Thank you very much for dropping by :) Today, and last week, and in September, and any other time you've popped round for a snoop or a giggle or to look at gratuitous pictures of Hugh Jackman. I'm very excited to announce I've just reached the milestone of 10,000 pageviews. Eep!

It's so lovely to know that my photos of dragon-fly sex and ramblings about Phil Spencer aren't floating off into the internet ether without somebody looking at them first (and probably judging me for eating too many mince pies). I truly appreciate the comments you all leave for me too- they really do make my day :)

So, I reckon this is the perfect opportunity to host my first ever giveaway, to say thank you to for reading all my waffle about, well, waffles... I wanted to give away something handmade, but as I don't really have a signature craft item to offer, I thought I'd give away a custom cross-stitch- with the design chosen by the winner, and then hand-stitched by me. The design can be up to the size of an A4 piece of paper, and can be anything you choose. 

These are some of my previous cross-stitch projects to hopefully give you some ideas :) Some of them are my own designs, and some are from existing patterns. 

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below saying which one of my blog posts has been your favourite so far.

For additional entries to the giveaway you can:

1. Follow my blog (if you aren't already!) via Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin, RSS, or email (all subscription links are in the left hand panel)

2. Tweet about the giveaway "I've just entered @teaandcaketime's custom cross-stich competition at http://hooklineandsinkher2.blogspot.co.uk You definitely shouldn't enter because I want to win!"

3. Blog about this giveaway (be sure to include a link!) 

Make sure to leave a separate comment below for each extra entry option you complete, so I can include it in the random generator to pick the winner!

This competition will close at 8pm on Saturday 22 December. Good luck! 

Katie xxx

*** This giveaway is now closed - sorry!***

Saying Sampler

Hey lovelies!

Are you having nice weekends? 

I've got a quick craft project to share with you that I completed this week in front of the TV (I just started watching Girls- has you seen it yet?). It's very silly, but then so am I; and cross-stitch is such an inexpensive craft if this stops being funny in a few days years' time I won't feel bereft if Tom decides to put it in the loft (although if he forgets then it'll come out of the loft and back on his desk* again). I came up with the idea after having to tell Tom twice in a matter of days and thought this would serve as a more permanent reminder- haha!

Ooh! Look! It's like it's on Star Wars...

I couldn't find a frame in a suitable size lying around the house, so decided to make a border out of equally appropriately green paper and put it in a bigger frame for now. 

It's not the first time I've cross-stitched something that made me smile. Have you done any of your own word samplers before?

Katie xxx

*His computer desk in the Boy Cave here at home; I haven't forced him to take this to work :p

Completed cross-stitch

Roll up, roll up, Ladies and Gentlemen, to witness a project capable of stealing hours of your life! Totally worth it though :)

Those of you keeping an eye on my recent posts may have spotted my over-excited chattering about the FREE Emily Peacock alphabet sampler I found on the interwebs. Combine this with my current obsession with the circus, and I think you can see where this is going....

I spent the majority of my Norfolk Broads "cruising" (teehee) holiday working on this beauty. A helluva lot of hours have gone into this, and I now need to get it in a frame ASAP before I cover it in chocolate/red wine and subsequently my own tears.

Ta-da! 

Have you completed any big projects recently that you've been working on for hours? Or undertaken any Emily Peacock cross-stitch samplers? They certainly aren't for the faint-hearted!

Katie xxx

P.S. To get an idea of scale- this thing is nearly a METRE long!! Serious.

Summer lovin'

Anyone else feeling a little conned that it's September already?

These are a few of my current obsessions that I'm hoping will remind me of summer even when it's growing dark, grey and gloomy outside...

1. Coconut-scented shower products
A few weeks ago, I bought alberto balsam's  coconut and lychee conditioner (which you can buy for £1 or less from pretty much any supermarket/Superdrug/pound shop), and a tube of shower 'smoothie' from the "I love..." coconut & cream range. 

These products are liked Hawaii in a bottle- I can't get enough of the fact that my hair smells like a tropical island and my skin smells like a Bounty bar. 

Ooh, talking of which, is anyone else reminded of the Dawson's Creek theme-tune when they hear the latest Bounty ad music? No? Just me then...

2. Summer dresses
Throwing on a pretty cotton dress gives that instant summer-time feeling, and a single-item outfit is always a winner when you're as lazy as me :p I particularly like dresses that can be easily adapted to winter wear with the addition of a chunky cardigan, thick tights, and winter boots. This dress is my current favourite, after I picked it up at a recent car boot sale for a bargainous 50p! Very Wizard-of-Oz, no? 

A rare photo of my face- hope you appreciate it!

3. Bountiful berries and baking cakes
Tom and I are lucky enough to have raspberry and blackberry bushes growing in our back garden- which means we're basically living The Good Life from April to October (without the dungarees). 

Several of my relatives visited us for lunch yesterday, so I thought I'd whip up an afternoon tea treat of a Victoria sponge cake crammed with fresh berries. It went down very well indeed (with a cuppa or two, obviously!); even though I was rather liberal with the potentially sneeze-inducing dusting of icing sugar.

4. Cheesy holiday snaps
I've felt like the luckiest girl in the world this summer, as I was not only able to go on a wonderful National Trust mini-break with Tom, but I also spent a week on the Norfolk Broads with Fran, our Toms, and two other ruddy awesome couples I'm proud to count amongst my friends. I'm planning to write more about our brilliant break in a later post, but wanted to share a few of my favourite pictures from the week now: 

The crew

Aaaar we be pirates

And pranksters... teehee

This deer had nothing to do with the boat- but LOOK how pretty!

We saw lots of windmills, but none so lovely as this one, with a heart made of bunting... 

...Which totally set the mood for on-board romance :)

5. Sunshine-bright vegetables
How gorgeous are these courgettes (or zucchini to my friends across the pond)?!? The brightest yellow I've ever seen, and an absolute bargain from my lovely local veg man who sells tons of tasty locally-grown goodies at the Sunday car boot in Lewes. 

And how awesome is this broccoli? Yep- broccoli(!) It's called Romanesco Broccoli and I think it tastes like a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. The bright spring green perks up warm summery salads, and it's Christmas-tree shape adds a seasonal touch to wintery comfort-food dishes covered in gravy. Yum!

6. FREE Emily Peacock Cross-Stitch Circus Letter Patterns
Announcing The Most Important And Exciting Discovery of 2012; if you click on this link you will be able to download FOR FREE an alphabet and ampersand designed by Emily Peacock in her signature circus style. FOR FREE. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find them). 

When I found this page I actually did a little dance. The letters aren't quite the same as the ones Emily sells from her online shop- as she designed this set to be given away as a free gift with CrossStitcher magazine- but they are still jaw-droppingly beautiful! I've nearly finished the word I chose to cross-stitch, and will (of course) share it with you all as soon as I've snipped off the final thread. 

Emily's designs remind me of summer because they're so bright and colourful, but cross-stitching also reminds me of cosy, crafty winter evenings under my patchwork blanket in front of the TV. Maybe winter won't be so bad after all...

Have you got any fail-safe things that bring back summer memories in the depths of winter? What have been some of your favourite things from this summer? I'd love to hear!

Katie xxx