What did I get up to yesterday?

Well, it was a horribly grey, wet, stormy day yesterday, so I didn't put a foot outside all day long. Instead, I finally caught up with some long overdue paperwork, and started on the labels for the new soaps etc. Oh boy, you have no idea of the amount of work involved in just writing the ingredients label! INCI names for each and every ingredients, however tiny the amount, each bar of soap has to be weighed, date of manufacture or best before date, my details, and, worst of all, allergen info! Yikes, I have never been hot on maths, and trying to work out the percentages of these tiny amounts of components of essential oils which contain allergens is VERY time consuming.

So, every now and then, just to let the brain have a little rest, I had to do a bit of crocheting. I am rippling a cushion cover at the moment, as I had yarns left over from the granny square blanket and the Lucy bag, which I had made recently. Not much to show yet, but hey, its a (slow) work in progress -


So much more fun than massive amounts of paperwork! At the moment I have 8, yes EIGHT, files of paperwork, sigh, just for the few iddy biddy things I make, and I suppose I could keep a lot of it on the computer, but......... what if the HD destroys itself (again)? What if the computer gets nicked? I know I am old fashioned, but I do like to have all the important paperwork in hard copy so that I can touch it, lol-


Looking at the pic now makes me realise that I really really need to pretty up those files. Ah well, one day, when I have a bit more time on my hands.

Son No.3, my wonderful helper, and I also finally managed to make the new labels for the facial polish in the new, tall containers. I love love love Art Nouveau, so this label was, of course, also based on an Art Nouveau design -


I was also tidying up the sewing drawers a bit more, I had pulled out so many things the other day when I was showing you pics of some of my little treasures, and hadn't put everything away again yet. Look what I found in one of the little boxes from France -


Now isn't that the cutest little bunch of pansies? I have been thinking about what I can use this lovely corsage on, maybe a little bag filled with pot pourri, and decorated with antique lace, pearls etc., or perhaps I could crochet a little clutch bag and attach this bunch to it? Sigh, if you can come up with any ideas, please, please let me know.

Ah well, while I am at it, I might as well show you pics of some of the other fun things I unearthed in the sewing drawers -

I love the shapes of these old cotton/silk reels


and the dinky little designs on them, just look at that dove and the pagoda, for example


How about this sweet little needle packet?


Oooh, and buttons, I have one or two vintage French buttons, lolol. I adore the little cards they come on, especially the older ones, which have such lovely flowery corner designs -


Now, with the next lot, I could really do with some help to identify what these huge drops were actually used for. You can see how large they are, compared to the 2p piece, they are very heavy, glass, I think, not jet, so I really would have thought they'd be way too heavy to have been used on a dress. Perhaps they were used for fringeing on a lampshade? Some of the pieces still had thread attached to them, so they were definitely decorating something or other. HELP!!!


My grandmother taught me how to darn socks when I was a little girl, but please don't ask me how to do that today. I have to hang my head in shame and confess that I probably haven't darned a sock since I was a little girl. But I do love these wooden darning mushrooms, they are so very tactile, and they remind me of being a little girl in my grandmother's kitchen. Perhaps thats why I also love these dinky little card with darning wools -


Sigh, its 9am and I must get on with the tedious labelling stuff. I may just sneak a quick look at a few new posts on the blogs I am following, while I finish my cup of tea. You'd be surprised how long I can make a cup of tea last, lolol! xx