Tuesday 3 April 2012

The Bignall Park Wedding show…

Our first wedding fair… what an experience, woke to a beautiful day, the sun was beaming down, no clouds in the sky, perfect. After a slightly shaky start, probably due to the night before, and getting lost in Bicester as I was following directions to the wrong place, I arrived at the Bignall Park Hotel.

I met Uncle Philip and Aunty Barbara and the Cream Bristol Bus, and we set up our little stall. Then… the crowd’s flocked, well kind of, apparently during the course of the four hours 30 couples came to see what Bignall Park had to offer. Barbara, Philip and I weren’t complaining though, we spent the afternoon basking in the sun. On the upside, we did give out quite a few business cards and fliers, and Philip had some potential Bus hirers!!


What do you think of our little set up – Doesn’t the bus look good!!!
Fingers crossed for WED fair (www.theWEDfair.com)
Over and Out
VBC
Xxxxx

Thursday 1 March 2012

WED Fair, The Tythe Barn, Bicester 22nd April 12.30-4.30

This stunning Spring day has inspired feelings of excitement for the forthcoming Summer, and the many bunting antics to be had. These past few weeks have seen a surge in interest for The Vintage Bunting Company, and we have some exciting news to share…



We have been invited to exhibit not only the Bunting, but also one of the Vintage Buses at ‘The WED Fair’, in Launton Bicester, on Sunday 22nd of April. This event has been organised by Lord and Leverett, a nationally acclaimed photography company; who wanted to steer away from the commercial feel of the standard wedding fair and create a genuine wedding fair. All the exhibitors have been had picked to ensure a quality range of wedding services.
(Lord and Leverett Copyright)

The Venue; The Tythe Barn, is a gorgeous setting for the backdrop of the fair, it is regularly used to host weddings, and the historic barn will hopefully complement the bunting that  will be hanging and looping from the rafters in true vintage style!

We have lots of exciting ideas for the stand, and are going to have a WED fair only deal on the Bunting if booked on the day, and also a competition…
If you would like to come to the fair, entry on the day is £2 and includes a stunning wedding ideas booklet; HOWEVER if you contact me, I have 10 FREE tickets to give away, so just comment below or send me an email (vintagebuntinghire@hotmail.co.uk) and I’ll send you a free ticket. We would love to see as many faces as possible there, so please spread the word.

Lots of Vintage Bunting Love
Over and Out
xxx

Thursday 15 December 2011

Apple, Cider and Thyme Jelly


Autumn has finished, it clung on with its stunning colours and warm summerlike days, and finally succumbed to the dark cold depths of English Winter. However it is not all doom and gloom, Christmas is now near and this means LOTS of crafty things to be making, and yummy preserves to cook to get us through these winter months.
Yesterday I made some ‘Apple, Cider and Thyme Jelly’, which, as well as being pretty delicious, is a perfect gift to give to people as a thank you or a Christmas present.



Apple, Cider and Thyme Jelly
3lb. Apples
1 Pint Water
1 Pint Cider
2lb. White sugar
1 Lemon
Fresh Thyme
Dried Thyme

Wash the Fruit, peel and chop roughly and put in a cooking pan, along with a large handful of fresh Thyme. Add lemon and put enough water and cider to cover the fruit (The water and cider measurements are only estimates, if you would like to use more apples, then just add more water and cider accordingly, as long as it covers the fruit).
Bring to the boil, and simmer gently for one hour.
The fruit will then have assumed a pulp like consistency. Using a large bowl, a sieve, and some straining cloth, pour the liquid into the lined sieve and leave to drain naturally. It is important you do not force the juice out of the apple pulp as this will make the jelly cloudy.
Once all of the apple pulp has been drained (This can be used as apple sauce with roast pork) measure the juice, and for every pint of juice allow 1lb of sugar, put the juice and the sugar into the clean cooking pan and bring to the boil, gently stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil rapidly, the temperature should reach 224 Degrees F, or 106 degrees C. Test the jelly is at setting point by using the Wrinkle test.
Wrinkle test – Spoon out one teaspoonful of the preserve onto a cold plate and put aside in a cold place for a few minutes. If setting point has been reached, the surface will have set and will wrinkle when pushed gently with the finger.
When the setting point has been reached take the liquid off the heat and scrape off all of the white scum that has accumulated on the top (it is very important you do this as it will make the jelly cloudy).
Pour the liquid into the cleaned jars and sprinkle dried thyme on top (we also used fresh Thyme leaves) wait a few minutes until the jelly is nearly set and stir in the thyme with an upward scooping motion to create an even distribution. Put the lids on the jelly tightly to ensure a good seal.




After the jelly has been made it is time to label and decorate... Using some gold paper I had in my scrap box (an old birthday envelope) I wrote the name of the jelly and the date made. I then attached this to the jar using double sided sticky tape. As an extra added touch I then found my bag of cut offs from making bunting and using this beautiful bunting material I cut a circle about an inch bigger than the lid of the jar. Covering the lid I then secured this onto the jar with an elastic band, and used some pretty ribbon to cover the elastic band and create a cute bow.
Now these are ready to give away... what a pretty, easy, cheap present!!


The Vintage Bunting Company Xxxx


Friday 25 November 2011

Daffodil Digging

Its that time of the year again (well kindof, we may be 2 months late)... Daffodil Planting is high on our 'to do list'. Come Spring, bright yellow and orange daffodils dance down the driveway, in between the trees, their vibrant colours bringing little drops of happiness to anyone who passes them, their beauty once again decorating the ever so photogenic driveway to the farm.

However, in order for this to happen we first need to plant the blimming things. Not only does this involve 5 bags of bulbs, but also most of the family, or whoever mum can drag in... oh and I forgot to mention Mum described herself as having 'Autumnal hair'... see if you can spot her as she is so camouflaged, and Anna is wearing a rather fetching pair of trousers!

   









Thursday 24 November 2011

The beauty of Autumn


The Autumnal view up the driveway

The Vintage Bunting Company

The Vintage Bunting Company was established in September 2011. My brother's wedding to his beautiful wife Brooke was the starting point. When Brooke approached me and asked if I could make some bunting for their vintage themed wedding, my crafty enthusiasm jumped with joy and I full heartedly involved myself in this mammoth task. The tradition of needlework has been in our family for generations, with many of our ancestors being skilled tailoresses and embroiderers. We are also a family of great hoarders (mainly my mother), and have consequently amassed a huge collection of materials and clothing, with some dating back to between the Wars (Great Grandma's apron!).

Many hours of ironing, pinning, cutting, ironing,
sewing, ironing , pinning to the ribbon and finally sewing...
Many months of hard labour later there are now have 200 metres of this unique bunting available for hire, which is more than adequate for most wedding marquees and small events.

My brothers wedding was a huge success and everyone commented on the beautiful bunting.
I have decided to create this blog to post ideas and comments about all matters of crafty things. I'm also a keen photographer, so i may post some pretty photos on here too... the possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy reading my posts :)

The Bunting in the marquee

The lovely Bride and Groom