Tea – The Art of Cobwebs

Things I’ve Learned This Week

Happy Friday! These Fridays are still coming round far too fast for my liking. I swear that Fridays always seemed waaaay further apart when I was younger. What’s happened to make this change? No .. seriously … why are Fridays so close together now? I really don’t understand why.

I’ve learned some strange things this week and I’d like to share them with you so that your wisdom is improved in the same way mine has been! (improved? really??) [cough] Ready? Hold hands, and on the count of three we’ll all jump together. . . . . ONE ….. TWO …. THREE!

I learned this week: That one in 20 couples argue so much on their wedding night they fail to consummate their marriage. Aw this made me so sad. I don’t mind much about the ‘consummate’ bit – but it’s the falling out with each other which saddens me. Such a wondrous day and they end it with a row! What a rotten way to spoil the memories. 😦

I learned . . . That there are enough diamonds in existence to give everyone on the planet a cupful. Kindly form an orderly queue behind me, and hold onto your cup tightly. No mugs are allowed. Cups only.

I also learned. . .

. . . that thirty-seven people were injured so seriously by tea cosies in 1999 that they were admitted to hospital.

Can you believe it? Nope, me neither! Dog only knows what on earth they were doing with a tea-cosy which they injured themselves on!

67,000 people are injured each year trying to peel the cellophane off a packet of sandwiches, open a ready meal or open a ring-pull can.

. . .

More than 150 people a day – have accidentally stabbed themselves when trying to prise the top off a jar or opening a ready meal with a knife.

The number of injuries perpetrated by trousers on their wearers in 2002 – (the last year for which such figures were collated by the Home Accident Surveillance System) – stood at 5310, while putting on socks, tights or stockings saw 11,788 people taken to hospital. Falls caused by getting stuck during an over-hasty attempt to get dressed were mainly responsible, with trips in messy bedrooms close behind.

. . .

379,000 injuries are caused by trainers, high heels, sandals, platforms and countless other types of footwear.

An Exeter (in the UK) College student was making Italian bread in a bread maker, but when it clogged the machine he proceeded to pull out the dough with his hands, to free the mixing arm. However, he didn’t switch it off, and once the clog was unblocked the mixer arm swung into action – and broke his arm in four places. Nine weeks later, the student was asked how he had managed to break his arm while making bread. He felt obliged to demonstrate, so plunged his hand in – and snap went his arm, again!

. . .

And… do you know what’s really embarrassing? …. All the above examples of injuries in the home were all …. in the UK!!! What the heck? Are we really all ‘eff-wits’ here? This must be going on world wide … and if so … shouldn’t there be more padded rooms where these daft people are put for their own safety?

. . .

I also learned this week that, in the world, – only 2% of women describe themselves as beautiful. When I gave this some thought, it didn’t surprise me in the way it did before I gave it some serious thinking. We girls always ‘see’ where we believe we could be improved. Iron out a few wrinkles. Lose the baby tummy. Be taller. Nose a little more turned up and cute. etc etc. But if you asked other women what could be improved about their friends or a random woman they were being shown a photo of, they’d more often than not say “Nothing!“. We girls really do need to be very much kinder to ourselves.

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*photo found on Google ~ if you know who to credit please let me know and I’ll add it. thanks!*

I learned from something I read that Reindeer are particularly partial to magic mushrooms. I thought about this one for a minute or two and it suddenly made total sense. This would explain how we humans had seen Santa on his sleigh, pulled by 8 dashing reindeer! The reindeer had eaten magic mushrooms! ha!

And finally, in my mode of edumacation this week, ….

I learned that when a shop or store says its got an item you want to buy “in stock” on its website, it actually isn’t what it probably has in stock. And even when the computers in the store say that there are 11 (ELEVEN) of the items you wish to buy … the staff say they’ve seen those items …and come with you to search the shelves that you’ve already searched 14 times …. those items are NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!

HOMEBASE in Dorset UK, HANG YOUR HEAD IN SHAME!!! Perhaps if you

Tidied the store now and again

Made it look less like a warehouse for empty boxes – and a dumping ground for products no member of staff knows what to do with so they leave boxes of stuff in the aisles for customers, to navigate and fall over.

Had more staff to deal with customers (there were 9 in a queue waiting to pay and only one member of staff on your tills)

And perhaps if you had a better system to your stocking of plants in your outdoor gardening centre …

Maybe the store would be a more pleasant and easier place to shop in. Just saying.

I think Homebase might ~~like to~~ hear from me via an email to their Customer Services (although … I do wonder if that’s a non entity too, like their 11 items in stock). Hmpfffft! ☹️

Soo …. I have shared with you all my newly learned edumacation which was lovingly (?) delivered to me this week. I’m unsure if I’m any wiser, but I do feel my brain complaining. What of I don’t know … but it will soon be fine again … once it’s dumped some old information out of my right ear while I’m sleeping tonight. (I hope it hangs onto my: name, address, telephone number and passwords. The rest of the stuff I’m sure I can muddle through. lol).

Now we come to the most important bit of the Friday ‘What I learned’ posts ….

❤ THE JOKES ❤

The Energizer bunny was arrested on a charge of battery

. . .

❤

. . .

Q: What’s the best thing about Switzerland?
A:I don’t know, but the flag is a big plus.

. . .

❤

. . .

Why did the chicken cross the playground?

To get to the other slide!

. . .

❤

. . .

Q: Have you heard about the new restaurant called Karma?
A: There’s no menu; you get what you deserve.

. . .

❤

. . .

Son: “Dad, when will I be old enough so I don’t have to ask mom for her permission to go out?”
Dad: “Son, even I haven’t grown old enough to go out without her permission!”

. . .

❤

. . .

and finally . . .

. . .

❤

. . .

Conjunctivitis.com . . . It’s a site for sore eyes.

. . .

❤

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Well, that’s me done and dusted. I hope you’ve learned and little and gained a few smiles that you’ll be able to share with someone else today.

. . .

I wish you a most excellent Friday, and a totally wonderful weekend. May the weather be good, may your days feel restful, and may you feel a sense of happiness and protection settle upon your world, like a covering of a gentle blanket of love.

. . .

Until we meet again, be good to each other and … may your God go with you.

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Is it Time for Tea?

About two weeks ago I went into my local Charity store to have a look around and see if there was anything I needed which I didn’t know I needed until I saw *it*. (what ever *it* might be).

Amongst the china were some little cups and saucers which someone had made into pin cushions. “One of those would be great to replace my current pin cushion, because the one I’ve got has really had its day!” I said to Mr. Cobs. So I duly bought said pin cushion and took it home.

The following day I found that this ‘pin cushion’ didn’t want to the job it was supposed to do at all. The felt which the maker had used as the ‘cover’ was that thick childrens felt – and it just didn’t want to accept that it’s job was to allow pins through it. After a week of trying to jiggle (force) pins into it, I was about to throw the whole thing in the bin in frustration, but something told me I should try removing the red velvet ribbon around the rim of the teacup, and the white felt – along with whatever was inside that felt, and, if the cup was still in an OK condition, perhaps I could re-make the pin cushion. So I did. And it was. So I did!

I cleaned up the glue and bits of velvet threads stuck to the cup by using an emery board, then gave it a wipe. I then went and had a bit of a look through my bits of fabric box. I found some bits of soft denim fabric from some old striped jeans I had and laid it flat on my desk and with a chalk pencil I drew around the saucer (and added about half an inch, just to be sure). I then did a running stitch all around the circle of denim, and left a long thread at the end – but didn’t knot or over-sew the end as I wanted to be able to draw that circle together.

pin-cushion-cup-2-height — The cup itself (without the saucer) is just a shade under 6cm tall – *which is around 2.25 inches*. Such a tiny little cup.

Then using some foam (from an unused sponge), which I’d cut to shape (so that I could see that it fitted into the cup as I wanted it to do), and then wrapped a little toy stuffing (or cushion pad inner stuffing) around the outside of the sponge, to give it a bit of a filler to make it more ’rounded’ in shape.

I sat this wrapped sponge onto the middle of the circle of fabric and began to pull the loose threads, which in turn began to gather up around the foam. This is a part that you have to do carefully, as you want to make sure that all the foam and stuffing are in the exact places you need it to be, and that it’s all encased inside that fabric.

After this, I re-threaded the needle with those threads and stitched the gathered up denim closed, so that it wouldn’t come undone.

pin-cushion-cup-3-width — The width of the saucer is roughly 10.3cm – *which is around 4 inches.*

I tested it in the cup to make sure I’d got it just right, then, using Pinflair Glue Gel in a syringe, I squeezed out a thin line of Glue Gel all around (about an inch down) the inside of the top of the cup, then carefully placed the denim ‘parcel’ into the cup, and once happy, I gave a gentle press downwards, to make sure that the fabric actually was at the bottom of the cup, and that it had touched the glue gel, all the way around and so would stick & be held in place.

Then it was simply a case of decorating around the edge. I chose some Jumbo Ric-Rac and some tiny dollshouse Pom-Pom Trim in the same shade of pink as the Ric-Rac, and hand stitched them around the edge, to finish it all off.

This was SO easy to make that I think even Little Cobs (grandson) could manage this one. And the best thing about this? From start (removing the old ‘pin cushion’), to finish …. the whole thing took me about 30 minutes! One – Half an Hour craft project!

pin-cushion-cup-5 — *Handle to the left ….*

Oh! Hang on…. NO!!! The BEST THING about this is . . . IT NOW TAKES PINS! It’s now a really real Pin Cushion!

pin-cushion-cup-6 — *. . . and handle to the right!* … A view from above, so that you’ve ‘seen’ all the way around it, in case you want to make one for yourself … or for someone else.

If you do decide to make one of these for yourself.... the day before you actually make it, glue the cup to the saucer with some strong glue. Not crafters glue, or PVA. Use something which is suitable for china.

If you have Pinflair Glue Gel, I’d guess that would do a great job – but remember to put enough glue on (which ever glue you use), because there’s a little rim around the bottom of a cup (normally), which will make the base of the cup stand proud from the saucer – so you need to put enough glue so that it makes a good grab onto the saucer and the cup.

And that’s all there is to it!

This was such an easy make that I wasn’t going to post about it. I felt like a bit of a fake because I hadn’t sweat blood and tears over it. But then I thought that maybe there might be someone who needed a pin cushion and so could make something like this in their spare time.

Happy Thursday all. Sending squidges to you, from me!

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Tea or Coffee, my Fabulous Friend?

Personally, I’m a coffee drinker. But I’m more than happy to make you tea… or – we could go out to that lovely little tea room, here in town, where everything feels like it belongs in the 1940’s and 1950’s? There’s even a good old-fashioned Globe of the World in the window which has paled with time, and harsh sunshine. They have cakes under domes, and table cloths, and it looks kind of kitsch and is painted all lemony.

Remember those carnival type ornaments which we were told were precious (when we were little), but they were actually made of a chalk like substance and if they got chipped, you could see the white chalky ‘stuff’ inside. They have some of those there too, decorating the walls or placed around the tea shop in strategic places. (I’m not sure if they really were worth something – a genuine ‘collectible’ type of thing, – or if they were just precious because of the memories attached to them).

Or, we could go round the corner to that much-loved cottage tea room, which has a courtyard garden. It’s very lovely in there and just a little bit ‘vintage swish’ too – and we can sit in the garden if the weather is good, or inside if it’s a little chilly!

the-tearoom — OK.. so I’ve got mine, . . . *what are you going to order for yourself?*

Anyhoo . . .

I made a card asking my fabulous friend if you’d like to share a coffee, or a tea, with me… while you peruse this latest offering from the Cobweb.

The paper in the background is just so lovely. Just the right blue, with little circles made from pearly white dots, and perfect for what I needed, but I don’t know who’s paper it actually is. It was still in it’s ‘book’ – but the front cover has disappeared – leaving me without even a note! tsk tsk. The cup and saucer are Tilda. Yes indeedly doodly! None of those cheap market stall cups and saucers for you! However, I fussy cut into parts of it in order to make it what I needed it to be, then covered the original ‘picture’ of a glittered star (in the saucer) with proper glitter, in two colours to give it a little more depth.

The doilies, flowers, cotton muslin (behind the flowers) and the hat pins all came from my stash. The Pearl Strand of small, medium and large pearls which trails around the card, is by Anna-Marie Designs.

The little fabric roses (shown above) – which run along the top and the bottom of the card, actually came from The Range. I’m hoping that The Range still has these in stock (I doubt it) because I absolutely love them. They’re so soft, so pretty and so light weight. They go into envelopes easily but then pop back up again upon opening, and they don’t add any weight to posting a card either.

And that, as all the very best Magicians say, is all there was to it!

Happy Wednesday all! Monday and Tuesday just flew past and I now find myself in the middle of the week with what feels like a gazillion things which I need to do, and not enough days left in this week in which to do them! Honestly, I swear to Dog that since we moved to the seaside, someone is taking whole chunks of hours, days and sometimes even getting very cheeky and stealing a whole week out of my time, for time, apparently, flies past like it’s on the wings of a jumbo jet! Aw, enough moaning Cobs!

So … what about you.. what are you up to today? Going anywhere? Doing anything? Supposed to be doing something but want to do something else instead? Go on, tell me all about it. It’s just you and me (and a few others), and I’m not going to tell anyone!

Wishing you a truly Wonderful Wednesday. May the sun shine, if the wind blows, may it blow softly, and may you end the day with a gentle smile and the knowledge that life, even if a bit tough sometimes, is still good.