up and away

I have just put some ballooning cushions into my shops. These are printed onto white linen in navy, smokey blue and olivey yellow with a navy linen backing. The colours are really lovely though I am not sure these pictures do them justice. I will have another go when the sun comes back out. These are really fun to print as the registration is easy, nothing needs to be too accurate - clever! Available in my etsy and online shop. A 40x50cm screenprint will be following shortly.

Decorate

I find it hard to believe that it is less than a year ago that Debi Treloar came and took these beautiful pictures of our house for Decorate, the brand new book from Holly Becker of Decor8 blog. I have had my copy for a couple of weeks now and it really is an amazing book, packed full of inspiring homes, images and ideas. I am still not sure how I feel about having my knick-knacks (so to speak!) on display for all to see and it makes me feel a little embarrassed but hey-ho, 99% of my stuff is pre-owned and well loved and just happens to have ended up here in this quite ordinary family home! I am going to the launch in Libertys on Wednesday with my lovely daughter Lucy, instantly recognisable by her bright red corkscrew curls, so if anyone else is going to be there please come and say hello!

bootsale finds

This studio pottery coffee set was my weekend find at the bootsale. It is made by Briglin potteries, probably in the sixties. Briglin was set up in the 1940's in the smart west end of London by two ladies called Brigette and Eileen, hence the name. Their aim was to produce pots for the home that were well designed, attractive and affordable and I think they succeeded. I have a couple of other pieces, the teazel jug and the kitty money bank. The excellent Pottery Studio website tells me this is now worth an amazing £75.00, however as with most of my stuff it is rather well loved and battered so probably not worth a bean but has a very nice smile!
Lots more pictures and infromation about Briglin is to be found on this ultra informative website www.briglin.com

hooray!

The sun's out and everyone's in a good mood. It always makes my happy when I can hang my prints on the line and dry my screens in the sun.

summer's here

Wouldn't it be nice - a complete summer wardrobe in a packet. Not going to happen! Maybe just the stripy dress, although its bound to have darts, and I remember coming unstuck with these in school needlework classes (those were the days!) 

passion for scarves

I spotted this beautiful book about silk scarves in our local bookshop and it is now on my wish list. It has just been published by Thames and Hudson and tells the story of the silk scarf with stunning images. There's not much that makes me happier than seeing a battered old suitcase stuffed with silk scarves three for a fiver at a bootsale or fleamarket. Most of my scarves end up stuffed back into a box back home but a few are transformed into cushions or curtains for my daughters bedroom (a real labour of love I won't be making many of those!) I love the bold patterns and colours of vintage scarves which is why this print dress jumped off the rails at me (half price in the sale at good old Dorothy Perkins - bargain!!)

healthy snack

I am not a great fan of cupcakes but these looked so luscious I had to buy them for a friend's birthday. They are from Ms Cupcake in Brixton, and are vegan (therefore healthy?!) so goodness knows what they are made from, but a very good way to make yourself feel quite sick on a Sunday afternoon. The vintage tablecloth belongs to my friend Tessa, who, if it is possible has a worse boot sale habit than me and is forever taunting me with her out of town finds. We spent a happy mother's day yesterday extolling the ups and downs of long distance parenting - thank-you for a lovely afternoon!