Dress Of The Day with Angela

Open Top Tote Bag Problems When I put a tote bag under my seat at a meeting, or a hotel airport, when I pull the bag out, the contents scatter. There's a delay. I feel foolish. My companions are annoyed. I shall lose my place in the queue to board. I look under the chair again from the other side and find I nearly lost a pen. I vow that I shall do something to solve this problem next time. Temporary Tote Bag Solutions There are two temporary last minute solutions to this scattered souvenirs problem.  Carry a stapler.   Or string or piece of wool to tie up the handles of your duty free bag and attach it to your main luggage, with the top held together. Permanent Solutions - Zips and Press Studs Put zips in a tote bag, which you use for extras you buy. Or, after boarding, put the duty free bag inside the zip-up tote bag. Today was next time, to find a permanent solution. As usual I have my mind on packing for my next holiday. Check every item of clothing. Stains. Looks seam...

  Dolls' House with DIY bedding. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. What can you do with small pieces of cloth, cotton or towelling, saved from torn, stained and thinning garments? Turn them into dolls' clothes and dolls' house bedding, curtains and furniture covers, rugs and bathroom mats and tiny towels. You might also have small pieces from dress making. Or cutting off hems, or unwanted bandannas and scarves, tote bags, tea towels and caps and old curtains and nets. I had scraps of towelling. No sewing needed. I fastened the edges of the pillow on three sides with staples. I raised the towelling duvet or sleeping bag or Japanese roll-out bedding, by sliding three toothpicks underneath. A white toothpaste cap is a bedside mug. It could be a mug for a kitchen table, sofa side table or bathroom sink.

 I had this in mind for a humorous speech. Or a stand up comedy act. Or a fancy dress party. What about a clown hat? Clown hats are available from Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, Joom, and Party Picks. Useful Websites

  Joom cat beanie knitted hat. Cat and Animal tee shirts and caps  1 The first funny tee-shirt which I love is the peek a boo cats from Eleven Forest.  Twenty three pounds seventy pence plus postage. A closer view. Reminder to myself and anybody in the UK - New users 10% off any order. (Code EL10). Orders costing 0-68.99 pay postal fee of $9.99. Orders over $69 get free shipping. The same cat peering over at you is on a hat. From Eleven Forest. £18.53 plus postage To go with your cap, is a dress with a cat. It is a minidress and cost £27.41 . Here is the cat in close up.  I tried searching for them on ebay to see if I could find one second hand. No luck. And I got lots of tee-shirts with the number eleven, age eleven, plus ads from convenience store Seven Eleven. 2 Shein has the hat, with a limited range of colours still in stock. About £3. You might need a minimum order to get free postage. 3 Joom has a knitted hat with a cat, at only six pounds plus postage. Anothe...

I have always liked the Welsh or Scottish aprons and tee-shirts showing dozens of white sheep and one black sheep. Today I looked closely for the first time and realised that the white sheep on the right is looking suspiciously sideways at the oblivious, unconcerned black sheep. Red apron with white sheep and one black sheep. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. This came from Ulster Weavers many moons ago. You can buy woolly winter jumpers with sheep designs showing multiple sheep. My second apron features cats.  All colours of cats, black. Four black, one white. Nine grey, some plain and others partly white. Six deep orange. Nine pale orange. I never looked closely before. Now I see so much more. One cat has turned its back. Refusing to be photographed or painted? Maybe it is looking for its kitten. The matching kitten is hiding, or hidden, the other side of the grey cat to the left. Look again and you see that some cats have a kitten sitting alongside. Some kittens are the same ...

 I bought a large dolls' house from St Luke's hospice charity shop. Empty dolls house. Furnished dolls' house, by Angela Lansbury. Dolls' Dresses Later, I was give a small one by a neighbour who advertised it going free. The message popped up on the road's WhatsApp group.  I wanted it for my grand-daughter. She comes to visit frequently. If she likes something, she might want to take it to her home. I plan to take little paper doll-size figures from magazines for the faces and hands and feet and cover the bodies with dresses made with tiny scraps of fabric, or ribbons. A 1:12 scale figure is roughly 6 inches high. Dolls' Bedding Meanwhile, I thought I had nothing to furnish it. The videos on You Tube showed how several hours work with glue guns and lathes and paints could produce top quality miniatures. I wanted something ready in an hour for her visit. No messy glue. No skill. No equipment. Quick and easy. This is what I found. Toweels and bathmat set for a dol...