Monthly Wish List - February

February has certainly gone in a flash! It's always a bit of an awkward month, with us all feeling impatient for lighter evenings and less knitted layers! But many hardy flowers are now springing up and providing some colour, which is a sign we're heading in the right direction!

The first item on the wish list this month certainly injects some springtime into this grey week! Now I'm beginning to learn how to paint on glass, I can appreciate any detail on stained glass, it's a tricky business! This Victorian panel may not be a masterpiece, but I really like the artists style, it's warm and quite nostalgic, and lets face it, I love anything with a bird on it! I'm really enjoying my stained glass class, it's teaching me lots of patience and attention to detail - thank goodness for that!

Speaking of springtime, this lovely painting caught my eye instantly. It was painted in the early 1900's, described as an 'Impressionist School Effort', so sadly, no name to research. These two girls walking in the woodland just remind me of Mary from The Secret Garden, or maybe even Alice in Wonderland with the blonde hair and blue dress! The detail of the woodland flowers is superb, and the breakthrough sunshine on the forest floor is gorgeous, you can almost feel the beams on your face, with leaves crunching underfoot. If only it had been in my price range, it sold on Ebay for £723, but i just think it's a scene that seems familiar to many peoples childhood memories...

The following items come from mine&mums recent trip to our local (and favourite) Bourne Mill Antiques Centre, where we spent a good few hours this half term, and didn't leave disappointed  (Although I have yet to photograph our purchases - next time!)

These door knockers were very painful to leave behind. The door knocker we had when I was young was a Fox, so I've always admired novelty shaped examples, but this chubby bumble bee was delightful and as soon as I have the funds I'll be racing back, praying it's waiting for me! The owl is equally gorgeous, but I will soon be "The Weird Owl Lady of Aldershot" if my collection isn't limited to only the necessary...well, i'll give it a try!

In the main taxidermy dealers room, I found this beautiful Victorian dome full of jewel coloured birds...although I will admit, so many little bodies in one piece does unnerve me slightly, just like when I went to The Booth Museum. But none the less, this dome was beautiful and very reasonably priced, Ebay has gotten far too expensive now taxidermy is acceptable again!

Finally, an item I knew Bruce would appreciate, featuring a fox of course! This was perched in a room otherwise filled with furniture, so stood out a mile! I practically knocked other browsers out of the way to get a closer look, I can't help it, I'm a lady on a mission! We all know the debates surrounding foxes in the UK at the moment (best not go into it!) but I'm sure that hasn't hindered their popularity in collectables and design, disappointingly! ;) That purple, cold winter sky is painted perfectly, and the fact you can see foxy's breath as he surveys his kingdom is brilliant, I wonder if it'll hang around for long...

I think that's enough 'wants' for this month! As always, thanks for stopping by, I won't leave it so long until my next post, I've been writing this next book review for ages, I just need to press PUBLISH!

OH! And you may have noticed the blog has had a re-vamp over the last week, what do you think?

Hope you're having a good week!

Katie