June Bugs Finale

A final round up of some of my favourites from the June daily listing club on Folksy

Please click on the picture to go straight to the shops.

Porcelain bracelet - Jinjajewellery

Tree of Life book - Dottie Designs

Fuschia Butterfly Veiled Small Fascinator - imogen's Imagination

Floral Embroidered and Framed Hanging Picture - NOfcantsCurios

Cherry Quartz Pink Earrings - Avrilpam Designs

Small "Vintage Embroidered" handbound notebook - Kate Bowles

Well done to all those who listed everyday in June.

Good luck to all those joining the July club.

The Three Little Pigs

The three little pigs story with a twist.

This is the wolf's version.

 I know it's long but I read it all and I have the attention span of a gnat!

Way back in Once Upon a Time time, I was making a birthday cake for my dear old granny. I had a terrible sneezing cold. I ran out of sugar. So I walked down the street to ask my neighbor for a cup of sugar. Now this neighbor was a pig. And he wasn't too bright either. He had built his whole house out of straw. Can you believe it? I mean who in his right mind would build a house of straw?




Hay Monolith - 8x12 Signed Photo by brownrose



So of course the minute I knocked on the door, it fell right in. I didn't want to just walk into someone else's house. So I called, "Little Pig, Little Pig, are you in?" No answer. I was just about to go home without the cup of sugar for my dear old granny's birthday cake.

Pink pensive Pig - Red and Main

That's when my nose started to itch. I felt a sneeze coming on. Well I huffed. And I snuffed. And I sneezed a great sneeze.

And you know what? The whole darn straw house fell down. And right in the middle of the pile of straw was the First Little Pig - dead as a doornail. He had been home the whole time. It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw. So I ate it up. Think of it as a cheeseburger just lying there. I was feeling a little better. But I still didn't have my cup of sugar . So I went to the next neighbor's house. This neighbor was the First Little Pig's brother. He was a little smarter, but not much. He has built his house of sticks

Twig Soap dish - Persnickety Soaps

I rang the bell on the stick house. Nobody answered. I called, "Mr. Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in?" He yelled back."Go away wolf. You can't come in. I'm shaving the hairs on my shinny chin chin."

I had just grabbed the doorknob when I felt another sneeze coming on. I huffed. And I snuffed. And I tried to cover my mouth, but I sneezed a great sneeze.

Panceta - Crosstitch Framed in 3-inch Wooden Hoop - H2OWORKS

And you are not going to believe this, but the guy's house fell down just like his brother's. When the dust cleared, there was the Second Little Pig - dead as a doornail. Wolf's honor. Now you know food will spoil if you just leave it out in the open. So I did the only thing there was to do. I had dinner again. Think of it as a second helping. I was getting awfully full. But my cold was feeling a little better. And I still didn't have that cup of sugarr for my dear old granny's birthday cake. So I went to the next house. This guy was the First and Second Little Pig's brother. He must have been the brains of the family. He had built his house of bricks.

ORIGINAL Modern Fine Art Acrylic
Earthy Butterfly Nature Love Contemporary Painting by Shanna -
 20 x 20 - Broken Wall - ShannaDesigns

 I knocked on the brick house. No answer. I called, "Mr Pig, Mr. Pig, are you in?" And do you know what that rude little porker answered? "Get out of here, Wolf. Don't bother me again."

Talk about impolite! He probably had a whole sackful of sugar. And he wouldn't give me even one little cup for my dear sweet old granny's birthday cake. What a pig!

Three Piggy Soaps - Soap Dragon

I was just about to go home and maybe make a nice birthday card instead of a cake, when I felt my cold coming on. I huffed And I snuffed. And I sneezed once again.

Then the Third Little Pig yelled, " And your old granny can sit on a pin!" Now I'm usually a pretty calm fellow. But when somebody talks about my granny like that, I go a Little crazy. When the cops drove up, of course I was trying to break down this Pig's door. And the whole time I was huffing and puffing and sneezing and making a real scene.

The rest as they say is history.

Embroidered WOLF Blanket - Julssewcrazy



 

The news reporters found out about the two pigs I had for dinner. They figured a sick guy going to borrow a cup of sugar didn't sound very exciting.

So they jazzed up the story with all of that "Huff and puff and blow your house down.
And they made me the Big Bad Wolf. That's it The real story. I was framed. "

But maybe you could loan me a cup of sugar ? 

Bacon Resin Cufflinks by BirdcageCreative

THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS! AS TOLD TO JON SCIESZKA , Published by: VIKING, 375 Hudson Street New York NY10014, 1989

Wordless Wednesday!

Ronnie

Peas!

Being pretty on the inside means you don't hit your brother and you eat all your peas - that's what my grandma taught me.

Lord Chesterfield

I've finally managed to grow some peas. After years of trying, I'm not a giver upper! I've finally produced some edible peas. Granted not enough to fill a bag from the shop but enough to wander down the garden and pop a few fresh pods straight in. If you haven't eaten fresh peas you must try it.

 The experience is intensified by the pop of the pod followed by a sweet taste sensation.

As a little girl I remember sneaking into Grandad's garden to eat the fresh peas. He moaned but I think it was for show. I'm doing the same with my own children now. They won't eat frozen ones but will eat a handful of these.

Sadly this year, I have inherited  Grandad's  old pea frames and as I said bizarrely I've finally grown some peas. Coincidence? A helping hand? Happy memories.

The frames are now being used to cover the broccoli and brussels sprouts. Maybe the children will eat those too!

Muriel and Lily- Four peas in a pod

Debbie's Novelty Knits - Peas in a pod.
Please click on the pics above and you should visit a fab shop.

Glastonbury

I made this ETSY treasury yesterday and think it's gorgeous. It's great to see that two of the items on the list have now been sold.I think if you click on it you should go to the item, although that sounds too good to be true.  I wish everyone at Glastonbury a safe and happy time in the mud. I'll watch from the telly thanks.

Folksy Friday!

I have chosen some of my blue favourites from the June Bugs listing club to showcase this Friday. Please click on the link to go directly to the shop.

Destash!

We're having a garage sale in the Paradise Team today. It's challenge Thursday and listing a destash item earns the listing shop a place in a treasury and a little heart. Hearts mean points and points mean prizes! Hopefully in the terms of sales.

I've listed a pile of fused glass cabochons that I've been meaning to try for ages.

GARAGE SALE

By Love Poet

Tom Zart

One man's trash is another man's treasure

As one woman's junk gives others pleasure.

Cash and carry, no checks or credit cards

With bargains in the driveways and signs in the yards.

Some serve hot dogs, Kool-Aid and cut-rate pop

Some fly flags and balloons to make us stop.

Some will arrive before the garage sale starts

Using their vehicles as shopping carts.

Half of all purchases are sold again

At the buyer's own sale or to a friend.

So clean out your closets and the basement too

And earn some income with no taxes due.

Load up your tables and grab a good chair

Then plug in a fan to stir up the air.

The money you make you can spend again

Shopping for yourself, loved ones or friend.

This is the link to the treasury updated throughout the day.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQ0OTE3NjN8MzY5MjIzNTcw/challenge-thursday-in-paradise-destash

and here's a few more items to get you excited.
Bargains!

Recycled paper beads by LiLao (£5.12)

Precious gemstones by barkrock (£9.60)

Stickers by LouStudio (£4.96!)

Wordless Wednesday!

Pancake Brunch

The Best Pancakes Ever!

In the quest to find fantastic egg recipies we have found this one for pancakes. These are the big fat fluffy American ones not those thin things we eat on Shrove Tuesday here in the UK.

We ran down to the chickens grabbed ourselves some eggs, picked some fresh raspberries and served them with gallons of maple syrup.

Kawaii Cute Japanese Floating Ring-Pancakes with Syrup

by FingerFoodDelight

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs ( one each from Snowy, Ronnie and The chicken with no name!)

• 115g/4oz plain flour

• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

• 140ml/5fl oz milk
• a pinch of salt

* chocolate chips

First separate the eggs, putting the whites into one bowl and the yolks into another. Add the flour, baking powder and milk to the yolks and mix to a smooth thick batter. Whisk the whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. (Due to the large amount of egg whisking I seem to be doing I have finally bought myself an electric whisk. Hallelujah!) Fold into the batter – it is now ready to use.

Heat a non-stick pan on a medium heat. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to look golden and firm. NO oil needed. I added some chocolate chips to the batter at this stage onto the uncooked side before turning over. Not large chunks though. These tended to burn. Continue frying until both sides are golden.

Adapted from a Jamie Oliver Oliver recipie

If you can't be bothered with all that mixing I have found this mix that you can buy from BestBrownie. Click on the link to go directly to the store.

You have to try this recipie. It is now a Sunday favourite.



Folksy Friday - June Bugs of the Week

Butterflies

I've been trying to list in the June Bugs daily listing club this month. These are all picks from other June Bugs. Please click on the picture for a direct link to the shop.

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg

Glitzy Glass

Damselfly Gemma

Silk Purse Sow's Ear

Gelert Design

Whimsical Wren

Dottery Pottery

Wordless Wednesday

New Widget!

I am so proud of myself today. I installed a new widget all by my self. This is a big deal for the technologically challenged. How cool is the shelfari widget? (Hopefully you can see it on the right hand side!) I know it's from Amazon and that's not supporting local businesses but I'm a bookworm and that's the thing here.

 I've only uploaded a few books so far, that was enough time spent in one day but I've put in a few of my recent favourites. If you hover over it I've even added a one liner review!

I'm reading Jodi Picoult's new novel at the moment. I wouldn't normally read hardback but I got it from The Book People  http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk/  for £4.99  new, bargain. I like her books. It's a bit of a cliche I know but they do make you question yourself and ask yourself what you would do in a similar situation.

Last year we discussed books in my Spanish class and as a challenge we kept a 'reading diary'for a year. I was plesantly suprised to find that I'd read 26 books in 2010 including 2 spanish novels. How much do you read? I'd be really interested to hear about your reading habits and if you have any recommendations for me.

Why not start your own journal? I found this in a Folksy shop. Please click on the link to go directly to the shop.

Ostrich Leg Journal by Marcade Arts Press



Goldilocks!

Goldilocks and the three bears!

I really enjoyed doing The Red Riding Hood story last week so have decided to try another. When I found a bed I knew I had a story.  There were some amazing finds. Please click on the picture to go directly to the shop.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest. Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed. So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

"This porridge is too cold," she said

So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.

After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest her feet.
"This chair is too big!" she exclaimed.

So she sat in the second chair.

"This chair is too big, too!" she whined.

So she tried the last and smallest chair.

"Ahhh, this chair is just right," she sighed. But just as she settled down into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!

Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right. Goldilocks fell asleep.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, "Help!" And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest. And she never returned to the home of the three bears.

All the shops featured can be found on FOLKSY.

Goldilocks - Harriets Imagination

Baby Bear 1 - Northfield Primitives

Daddy  Bear 2 - Pud Bears

Mummy Bear - 3 - Bubs Bears

 Porridge Scrub - Posh Brats

Chair - Love Juli

Bed - Free Range Designs

Have a great FOLKSY FRIDAY

Wordless Wednesday

A walk in the woods......

We went for a walk over the long weekend to RSPB Copperas Woods Nature Reserve on the Stour Estuary in Essex.I'm not a birder but I like a good picnic! It's a gorgeous woodland that goes right down to mud flats where numerous species of bird can be found. My favourite time to visit is Autumn though when the ground is carpeted with delicious chestnuts. It's a great place to build dens and tell stories.

Once upon a time there was a girl called .....

Little Red Riding Hood - Fizzybee's Fantasia

Forest Fern Glasses case -Leane Woods Designs

A basket of felt cupcakes -CuteNique

Grandma -Aroma Sue Design  

What big eyes you've got -Gimme That Thing

What big teeth you've got - Bits N Bobs

and a Big Bad Wolf - Ding Dong Designs

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/s/stourestuary/