More cards in the pipeline ....

I just seem to be 'on a roll' with the cards this week (see previous blog). There are lots of other jobs to be done, including the dreaded end of year paperwork but I continue to happily while away the evenings with what I believe is termed a 'displacement activity' (being busy with something other than what really needs to be done) ... twas ever thus!! :)
Hope you like them. They will be included in the late Spring giveaway and will turn up in the shop in a couple of months.

New This'n'That 'collector cards coming soon!

At the moment, customers are offered one of the beach hut cards which were introduced in late summer 2009.

Soon I'll have an updated version of the 'Donkey on the Beach' card. (First available in 2006 if I remember correctly).

Then there is a new card with this delightful picture such as may have been featured in one of those early 20th century schoolgirl stories. I imagine the girls having wonderfully old fashioned names ... all suggestions welcomed!

Last but not least is this picture taken from a 19th century colouring book. The little girl behind the breakwater looks all set to fly at any minute!

The new giveaway cards will be available later in April when they come back from the printer. However, I'll only be using one at a time to pop into bags with purchases so subsequent visits to the shop will give you different cards. I know that some bloggers can't get there so I'll be saving some for a giveaway later in the Spring.

Time to blog and to 'boot' once more

I am sorry to have been absent from the blogging world for so long. Many thanks to any followers who are still out there to see the return of the prodigal ... well I have been pretty busy but also having a good time:)

In January we went away to the Caribbean on a two week cruise. It was amazing! We only recently started to take hols abroad. I never dreamt that there was somewhere so filled with all shades of blue and where my achy bones stopped aching ... heaven. So, instead of it being a holiday of a lifetime, as in once only, we have just booked for next January and so a serious saving campaign has begun:)

Then, in March, it was Paul's (aka Mr Fixit, This'n'That's unsung and unpaid hero, my husband) 65th birthday so we went off to Herefordshire to be close to friends and family for a week of celebrating. Didn't take many pics but here's one of the sunset from the farm cottage which we stayed in. It's a lovely place called Hidelow House with barn conversions and cottages to let. We have stayed there lots of times over the years and I heartily recommend it. I will try to put a link to their website in the right margin.

Anyway, I am filled with resolve to do more blogging in the coming weeks and months. I've really missed keeping in touch with everyone and have been so pleased to see some bloggers in the shop! Thank you:)

Today we went to the flea market at Shepton Mallet in Somerset. Haven't done that for ages. It was great fun and, as you will see from the pics .... very productive (if equally muddy!) with lots of new 'trove' lined up for the shop.

Last but not least ... how many bloggers recall these old style Brownie uniforms with the ties which were, for me anyway, rocket science to tie?!! I seem to recall that they were supposed to double up as a sling if you met up with someone who had a broken arm whilst wearing your uniform ... never happened to me ... what about you?

Happy Easter from Lesley & Lidi at This'n'That !

These lovely Easter pics are Lidi's work! It's great to have a 'resident' photographer at This'n'That. The first two have been on sale as Easter cards (I love the 'tribute to Anthony Gormley' style chics!) The other two pics are of some of our Easter stock. Sorry that they are small but I've not yet mastered the art of taking an emailed jpeg and 'puffing it up' .... it's on my things to do list though:)

Some new Macmillan school posters from 1950's !!

The usual Enid Blyton Nature Plates are still in stock along with some Gay Way Nursery Posters. They are now joined by these lovely wildlife posters ... all originals from school classrooms.

The world has gone mad!

Hi, Long time no blog but I thought that this exceptional weather shouldn't pass without mention. Haven't been out with my camera so looked at BBC Devon's website to see if there were any local pics to share and celebrate and came across this news.
You can click on the title to get to the story.
So sad, we can't cope with leaves on the line or the wrong sort of snow and then this ... so sad that our hardworking farmers have to suffer in this way. Time we had proper snow clearance equipment fo all roads including those to our all important farms!
Do take time to look at the other pics on BBC Devon website ... so beautiful:)

Leo's duvet day!

Recent explorations into our airing cupboard (to the back where supposedly extinct dinosaurs roam), revealed a lovely old, forgotten Laura Ashley quilt from the eighties. So, here it is, freshly laundered with Leo wriggled inside it to get away from Sunday's wet and windy weather. Guess he sort of reversed in like a little hermit crab! He holds me personally responsible for the weather so it was good to see him with thoughts on other things!

Bloggy pics by Lidi ... as promised :)

The Babycham glasses and other promotional stuff continue to be popular. You can still buy the packs of four little bottles in many supermarkets and put with a pair of vintage glasses they make a great gift.

As soon as I have space there's a beautiful old cocktail cabinet to come in for sale. Will post a pic asap.

These retro styled stacking blocks and alphabet cards have been real favourites over the past month but I have a feeling that they are going as decorative items for retro minded grown -ups rather than as toys for children ... and why not?!

One of my favourite pieces of shop furniture ... the 50's cabinet is for sale but somehow I won't be sad if it's slow to sell!!

Knitted cakes made by my friend Sue. She lives in France but knits cakes for me when she visits. She even knitted one for my tom cat Leo (see earlier blogs for his stunning good looks and conical shape!) since he kept running off with the finished stock. The card is one of Lidi's photo cards and is for sale in the shop too.

As usual there's a tumble of stuff outside the shop. I suppose that its meant to show passers by what a mix of things they'll find in the shop. However, the other day I seemed to have picked all garden gifts and a passing vistor came in expecting a garden centre!

These lovely button badges are made for me by 'Sumptuosity' and are part of the growing range of cracker /stocking fillers for the 'grown - ups priced under a fiver! (£3.95 for these small ones).

Time to blog once more! Introducing Lidi :)

Sorry that I've not ben blogging lately. Not quite sure where the time goes but it's been a really busy summer and autumn at home and in the shop.

At the moment I still open for five days each week with Thursday and Sunday as closing days. My friend Lidi now takes charge of the shop for a couple of days each week. The days vary but I'm often in town on Lidi's days too, dashing around with new stock to unload and of course, having the odd cup of coffee in The Tangerine Tree!

You may have seen the apple picker in an earlier blog ... well, here it is again with Lidi! Thought I should introduce her. She's helped a lot over the years since This'n'That opened but now it's a regular arrangement and she knows just about as much about all of our lines as I do :)

Fortunately, she is a really good photographer and so we now stock some of her images as greetings cards and you will also see a lot of her work represented in the bloggy pics of the shop! When Lidi's website is finished I'll pop in a link so that you can see her work and maybe even pass it on to anyone in search of a photographer (look out for the pics which she took for Langage ... their lovely dairy cows looked even more fetching than usual!!)

They've arrived!! Nov. 09

I've ordered these wonderful little tin bird brooches to be in stock by the second week in October. Can't wait and can't decide which one I want ... such are the joys of having a shop and getting too attached to the stock ... I'm sure that we've got a therapy somewhere in Totnes to help me to be more businesslike:)

They will sell for £26 each and are handmade by Melanie Tomlinson who is based in the Midlands. You may have seen one of the birds in a recent Country Living but can't recall which one and my copy has gone to ground in the chaos which is our home!

PS. The birds vary in size from 6.5 to 8.9cm long. Thanks for reminding me Floss:)