Maps

I woke up this morning with a real urge to do some spring cleaning. I didn't get very far at all though, as one of the first things I found hidden away in a suitcase at the back of the wardrobe were these beautiful vintage maps! Can't even remember buying them, although I must have picked them up from a charity shop or boot sale somewhere along the line. They are all of Melbourne, Australia, and are in the most yummy pastel colours... aren't they lovely?

I very rarely find things in the house that I don't remember buying as I'm getting quite good at only buying things I really want or need these days, so these were a nice surprise. I also love a good clear out, it is such a good feeling to give those full bags to the charity shop, but these will definitely be staying.

Maybe it's just me (my other half looked at me with an expression of incredulity when I said I was going to photograph them), but there is just something I really love about old maps and globes, I find them so interesting. I'm not sure exactly what I will do with these, as the condition of my favourite one is not great, at all though it would look great restored in a frame.

Anyway somehow it seems to have got to lunchtime already (how did that happen?) but I think that will end today's rummaging - I have a stack of badge orders to sew this afternoon instead! Have a happy Sunday, hope that sun is still shining wherever you are. x

Sunshine and Daffodils

Seems like ages since I last wrote on here - oops! Have had a busy couple of weeks making lots of badges but have also been relishing the spring sunshine which has been streaming in through the windows this past week. It makes such a difference to be working in a lovely bright room after such a long dismal winter! In an effort to bring a litle more sunshine into the house, bought some lovely daffodils too, which bloomed magnificently making me smile every time I walked past them.

Have also been enjoying my morning walk to the post office every day. Only takes 10 minutes, and it is a lovely walk through the flower-y park and up the steep barton (narrow alley) to town. The daffodils look so pretty in the sunshine - trust the only day this week I have actually remembered my camera is the only day it's been cloudy! Typical... 

Orders have slowed this week and I've had a chance to do a little of my other design work too. I think the sunshine has influenced me - my recent work has had a distinctly summery vibe! Here are a couple of the new designs I've been working on for my Pingg collection. 

These designs have been done entirely on the computer, something which I very rarely do, since my sewing machine usually always has a part to play in some way. Really enjoyed doing these though - It's nice to do something a little different once in a while and it keeps things fresh which can only be a good thing!

Anyway, let's hope the sunshine returns soon, can't wait to get out in the garden and do a little planting. Hope you are all having a good week too...

P.s Hello to all my new followers, lovely to see you here, thank you for visiting :) I've been a bit rubbish this last couple of weeks, have quite a bit of blog reading to catch up on when I get a minute, so I will hopefully pop in on you all soon x

Catalogue Time!

The Not on the High Street Spring Catalogue came out yesterday and for the first time since I joined last year, I am in it!!! Big excitement, although also mixed with a little apprehension, as I don't really know what to expect from it and it was such a massive outlay that I really, really hope it is worthwhile. 

My personalised 'I love' badge is the product I am featuring - If you have a copy of the catalogue, you have to go right to the back page to find me... Here's my little slot in all it's glory:) 

 

Hopefully this will be a good place  to be (people sometimes read magazines back to front right?) At least I won't be lost somewhere in the middle and since I'm right next to the ordering info, it might inspire people to do a little impulse buying! hehe. It's only been out a day but I've already had lots of orders for them which is fab. Hopefully will continue with a good steady stream of orders through til the end of the campaign in April. By then I am sure I will never want to see one of these badges ever again! 

I was also in the NOTHS customer newsletter on Wednesday - I've never been featured in one of their newsletters before, but the sales started coming in almost immediately! They have such a massive customer base, so fingers crossed I may be lucky enough to be featured again sometime soon!

There are some really gorgeous things in this catalogue so I am going to have a proper 'front to back cover' read of it this weekend. I have to say that the quality of it is so much better than some of the previous ones - the pages are thicker and it just has a nicer feel to it, so I am really happy to be taking part in this one.

Last but definitely not least, I also need to say a big thank you to Claire at Les Bijoux de Claire for awarding me a stylish blogger award yesterday - so lovely and I am really touched to receive it. I've now been honoured to receive it 3 times in the last few weeks, so I shall do another post with 7  more things about me soon (bet you can't wait for that!) Here is the first '7 things' post if you are interested! Thank you again Claire:)

So that's about it for now... I should probably get a move on and stop faffing about on the Internet as I have a jam packed day of making personalised badges to come, the first of many I hope! I also need to pop to  town and the post office - it is another beautiful cold but sunny day here, which lifts my spirits no end! Have a fantabulous weekend, hope the weather is kind! xxx

New Pingg Designs

Hello my lovelies, hope you are all ok:) Wow, this is the third post I've done this week - unusual for me! Things are good here, though I've been working on something a bit different in the past couple of days, adding some more invitation designs to my Pingg collection.

I know I've blogged about it in the past, but for those of you that haven't heard of it, Pingg is based in New York, and is an online invitation service where you can find unique artist designed invitations, e-cards and save-the-dates for any social or business event you may be holding. All designs can be personalised with your event/party details, and there are a host of other features that come with the service too.

Anyway, I am one of their designers, and hosts can use my designs for their parties and events. As I am part of the 'Pingg Plus' program, to use my designs, hosts pay $10, of which I then receive a percentage per usage.This is a relatively new scheme, but it is working out really well for me so far.  

I really enjoy working on these more digital based designs, it's just I never seem to have much spare time to work on them as I always have  so much to do for my own business. It still involves quite a bit of sewing but a lot of the work is also done on the computer, so it is quite different to what I normally do... It's nice have a little variety!

If you are interested you can take a look at the rest of my designs here. Have a happy Wednesday x

Spring is on it's way!

Spring has definitely been in the air this week... It is my favourite season, I love to watch the flowers blooming and the buds blossoming, as well as the baby lambs skipping about in the fields (I just love the way they jump!) The sunshine feels so good after a long cold, dark winter, and I can't wait for the time that I can sit out in the garden again.

I was looking through some of my photos from last year earlier and I came across these pictures of my hydrangea, all pretty in the sunshine! How lovely and Spring-like does it look with it's soft pink-tinged petals and rich dark green leaves...

Unfortunately it is looking a little sorry for itself at the minute, having been left at the mercy of the British winter, but little green shoots and leaves are poking through once more, so hopefully it won't be long until it is flowering once again!

Have a lovely Sunday x

A lovely week...

Have had a bit of a disjointed week work-wise, not that I've minded too much! The beginning of the week saw me working on an exciting commissioned project (not allowed to say much at mo though). Then the last few days my mum and sister Harriet have been visiting. We hardly ever see them, so it was so nice to spend some time with them! 

Went shopping in Bath on Wednesday, including afternoon tea in the Pump Room - how very civilised, hehe. We also took a trip to the city of Wells yesterday, which is really pretty with some lovely little shops and a stunning Cathedral.

I didn't buy that much in Bath except some new jeans but I did pick up these little cuties from New Look of all places! I appear to be developing a full blown 'love heart' obsession and I just couldn't resist these plasters to add to my collection. There are three different designs saying 'love hurts', 'kiss it better' and 'ouch' - so sweet!

I also bought this cute toast stamp - a post Valentine's bargain, but I've wanted one of these for ages, so it was a good find! Have yet to test it out, but I will post a pic when I do.

I've also made a couple more mirrors this week - the same as my little personalised 'I love...' badge actually. I am featuring for the first time in the Not on the High Street Spring Catalogue which comes out next week (eek - not feeling very prepared!) so I thought a co-ordinating handbag mirror would be a good idea! The couple of prototypes I have designed have now gone to good homes:)

I hope to have them live in my NOTHS shop soon. They will be £6.00 each and will come in a little ivory organza bag to keep them clean.

Mum and Harriet left this morning to drive back to Shropshire but the rest of my day hasn't been that productive! To be honest, I'm in the mood just to have a weekend off and start afresh on Monday but I have lots to prepare for the catalogue drop next week, so I think in reality I'm in for a weekend of ironing fabric and cutting out backing cards! Hope you all have a good one though... What are you doing, anything nice? 

Oooh nearly forgot but before I go I must say a massive thank you to Anna at SilverPaw, who makes the most lovely jewellery - pop across and check out her work, it's beautiful! Anyway, she was kind enough to award me the Stylish Blogger award last week - very flattered indeed though as I received it not that long ago, I won't bore you all with more facts about myself so soon;) Was very much appreciated though, so thank you again Anna!

xxx

Homemade biscuits

This will be a bit of a short post as my camera's playing up and I've not managed to get many photos, but I so wanted to post a couple of pics of my iced biscuits I made yesterday! 

I was originally planning on baking some 'Valentine's Day' heart biscuits next week but my sewing machine bulb blew (again) yesterday, and as the natural light was awful, my sewing plans had to be put on hold for the rest of the day! 

You may remember that after Christmas me and my sister tried our hand at icing, and I loved it, so I have since invested in three squeezy bottles and three icing nozzles. This meant that I could do each of the threes colour separately... so much easier than switching all the time!

I kept the shapes and designs simple, but I'm really pleased with the way they have turned out... I especially like the dotty ones (anyone who knows me will testify I am a little obsessed with red and white spots!) What do you think?

They also taste very yummy and I ate far too many yesterday! The biscuits themselves are made from a 'super choclately' recipe out of my Biscuiteers Book of Iced Biscuits and have proved a big hit so I will definitely be making them again soon I think.

That's all for now, hope you all have a smashing weekend xxx

Hearts, hearts and more hearts...

A few of my bloggy friends have been showing off their hearts recently and I couldn't resist taking a few snaps of some of mine! Now I have nowhere near as impressive a collection as Becky over at Dots and Spots, who has so many she's had to split her posts by room! Anyway, here are a few of my favourite hearts from around my house...

Cute heart measuring spoons - I bought these from here a few months ago, and love them, they make the boring 'measuring out' bit of baking so much more fun!

This is my favourite ever mug - my OH gave it to me a few years ago for Valentine's day and I use it at least once a day without fail. If I ever break it, I will cry.

This is a lovely linen heart given to me by a good friend, so simple but lovely all the same.

Heart cookie cutters... I think these are adorable, especially the tiny one! The pretty heart tin has to be the best thing about them though.

Lovely big red tin heart - have got cream versions of this too!

Cream hanging wooden hearts, given to me by another friend for a birthday a few years ago!

A pretty wire heart hanging in my studio... use it to pop little notes and photos on (took them off though so you could make out the heart shape!)

Green spotty wooden hearts hanging in my kitchen at the minute. I really love this eau de nil colour, I have a lot of it around!

Lastly, this heart was made for me by my younger sister when I was in hospital years ago. She would only have been 4 or 5 at the time, but when she gave it to me, I stuck it to the back of my hospital bed and have kept it ever since!

So there you have some of my favourite hearts - I do have more, including lots of christmas decoration hearts, but they are all packed away now and could not face getting them down just to photograph!

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend xxx

Giveaway winners... could it be you??

Before I announce the winners of my giveaway, I just wanted to post about an absolutely lovely prize I myself won recently... It was very early on a Tuesday morning a few weeks ago, and I was checking my emails and facebook account like I always do first thing, and to my delight, there was a giveaway posted from Coco Cuscino, who make a beautiful range of cushions, bolsters and accessories. My early start definitely paid off and I was lucky enough to win this lovely cushion from their Mini Coco range!

 

I'd asked  Leila whether she would mind sending me a pale blue version which would fit in with my decor, and she didn't disappoint. The package was beautifully wrapped in tissue and ribbon and the cushion itself is gorgeous - I love the stars fabric and the pom pom trim too - it looks so lovely residing on my little button back chair.

A big thank you again to Coco Cuscino - if you haven't heard of them yet, make sure to pop over to their website and facebook page to take a look at their beautiful range!

Now... on to the winners of my own handbag mirror giveaway - apologies for the slightly delayed reveal, not sure where the morning has gone to be honest! 

Thank you to everyone that took part, I can't believe how many entries there were, thank you all! I have used random number generator to pick the three winners, who are...

So thats... 

Number 56 - The Patchwork Heart

Number 147 - Megan

Number 160 - Sarah Foster

Well done ladies! xxx