Hungarian folk vintage xmas cards

What's that you say?....folk, red, vintage, hang on ....there's a running theme here!
How GORGE are these cards I found from Etsy shop Found Vintage Style based in Toronto. Check out their other scrumptious items too.

Drink Shop Do

Kristie & Coralie and their lovely cafe are my new customers....







Sometimes when I have time I like to have a little peak online at what my outlets actually look like, otherwise they're just a name on an order form.

I'm always pleasantly surprised at how hip or gorgeous they are! I wish there were more of these gorgeous places near me - although for my bank balance it's probably just as well. I've had to ban glasses of wine and internet shopping recently, ahem.

Here's a pic of a new cafe in Kings Cross called Drink Shop Do, check it out if you're in the area, it looks cute, I love their colour scheme.

'Tis the Queens Birthday today...

... so what better way to celebrate than a visual feast of all things British and the good old Union Jack.

There's a fab old club called the Carlton Club near us, it has a wonderfully dilapidated interior. It's fallen from grace but I love it's tired glamour, there's a huge faded print of the queen in a guilt frame, dusty chandeliers from the 20's, a wooden dance floor and stage and lots of mismatched chairs from various eras.

It's been adopted by local DJ's and hosts some cool underground nights, I love Home on the Range, the last friday of every month, always a sell out. Cheap beer & great tunes - lets hope the Queen is enjoying the very same thing this evening!

The Magpies Daughter is getting hitched!

My lovely crafter friend Rachel (aka The Magpies Daughter) is getting married this weekend. I wanted to wish her all the best for a lovely future together with her husband to be Ian.

The weather is supposed to be beautiful so the birds will be singing and the sun shining for you.

In the meantime, here are some examples from the clever chick's collection. The links take you to her blog as she's shut up shop until April 20th to be in wedded bliss!

My fave holiday shop...

I just adore The Deco Shop in Machynthleth, near Aberdyfy. It's just full of everything gorgeous you could ever possibly want to buy. It's such a visual treat. I just love the juxtaposition of gorgeous homewares, pattern, colour and texture - take a peek for yourself and make sure you go there if you're ever in that neck of the woods.

I'm totally stealing the painted pink cabinet idea for my new studio!

My plan for a desk

I love this painted filing cabinet idea. There's a brilliant Dead Peoples Junk Store just down the road. No it's not actually called that but that's basically what it's full of. There are some old school filing cabinets, I figured if I brought 2 and got something like a high gloss white Ikea Pax wardrobe door to use as a desk top, I might just have an original and very useful desk.

And how cute are these slings???

Have baby will travel - I love these slings from Big Mama Slings, you can have them made up in your own fabrics too. You know if anything stands still long enough in my world it gets pimped or patterned!

I spend a hell of a lot of time carrying my bubs so I may as well design myself the most gorgeous sling to do it with! 9 weeks and counting - I'm ticking those to do's off on an hourly basis.

Lampshade of joy!

Isn't this gorgeous?? I used to collect stamps as a little girl so the birds and the postcards really appeal. It's my birthday next week so I might treat myself. It would go in my bedroom, I would wake up every morning and it would be the first thing that I see - that's got to be money well spent.

It might be a bit OCD but I think the little things are so important, I have a favorite bowl for my breakfast and my Portmerion Hungry Caterpillar mug for my coffee every morning. At the moment I have a big bunch of spring daffs on my desk that fill the room with their scent. It's these simple pleasures that make my life lovely!

If you want to have a look at some more gorgeous lampshades check out The Old Lamp Shed

My secret tin fetish...

For those of you who don't know, I am obsessed with vintage tins. It's a useful kind of obsession as a gal can never have enough storage. I use them for make up, cotton reels, pins, saved garden seeds, spices, jewelery, sewing kits, buttons - the list is endless.

Really though, you don't need an excuse to buy such gorgeous items, grouped together on the shelf they look so pretty. I even have a mini collection of red London bus tins.

You can pick them up at car boots, jumble sales, reclamation shops, ebay and these beauties were from etsy. But hands off the birdy one - it's mine if she'll post to the UK!

Spring Greens..

I found a whole cluster of gorgeous spring green prints from various artists on folksy. I love these nordic hares by Dee Beale, visit her blog it's lovely.



I also like these 2 prints from Sparklehen, another busy mum who used to be a graphic designer but now sells on line. check out her folksy shop for lots of goodies.

Big Brunch

I dropped off the kids and headed into the N. Quarter with 'im indoors for a spot of brunch at Teacup. After polishing off a massive poached eggs on toast we wandered off for a mooch. I always come back really fired up creatively (maybe it was the eggs!) from the N. Quarter. It has such a charm, rough round the edges and such a cool indi scene. We did galleries, some shopping then Magma which I LOVE.

You could call it a day date but I'd say it was strictly research of course!

I'm in love (again)..

Spring is finally in the air and after an inspiring chat with a lovely friend who shares my love of all things caravan and outdoors, I had to share this beauty with you, click on the pic to see the whole flickr stream...

All we need now is the smell of matches and camping gas, bring on summer!

Weekend Project....

I got this typography draw from my lovely sister-in-law for Christmas, (one of my best pressis!). I've been meaning to track one down for years as I have so many little knick-knacks, found things and folders full of nice papers that really need to have an airing. Some of the papers I used to line the little boxes were antique wallpapers that i bought back from New York. There's also some antique buttons from my grandmas button tin.


I spent a wonderfully creative afternoon just putting them all together with my second eldest 'helping', listening to good tunes (loving this Florence remix) sipping hot spiced apple. Each little box was like a piece of artwork with it's own composition, pattern and colours. Then when you step back the whole thing comes together visually.




A perfect winter afternoon, I've definitely caught the making bug again. I love whiling the hours away, forgetting everything and just focusing on creating. I'll just have to start collecting more bits on walks, carboots and fleamarkets now as I've looted my collection for this project!

Blog Update and Amazon a Go-Go....

You may have noticed that my blog has had a bit of a revamp. You can now shop from Amazon by clicking on the left. I have a blog search feature at the bottom of the page so you can find articles on my blog more easily on subjects that you're interested in.

I also have these 'quick shop' buttons so you can buy cards for upcoming events like Mothers Day and Easter.

Ooooooh I love having a tidy up and a sort out!

I'm actually nesting...

I'm getting rather large with baby no3 on the way and sitting at my desk for hours on end is pretty tough. I seem to need a mountain of cushions to get comfy! I've also decided to invest in a macbook so I can work in the evenings from the comfort of my sofa/nest of cushions/bed/anywhere in a horizontal position. Mmmmmmm, new gadgetry for my nest.

studio plans...

I'm very excited as our lovely builders have been beavering away (well actually they're a bit more zen and ploddy than beaverinsh) in our cellar. I will soon have a fab new studio space. I get to do that lovely planning and decorating bit - I can't wait. I did interiors for 8 years so it's great fun to get stuck into my own project. It's going to have limited daylight and i'm on a really tight budget so it'll be junk shops and flea markets all the way which is much more creative and inspiring anyway.

I want to go for a white gloss floor and zingy limes with a bit of retro pattern. I'm loving these 2 interiors shots with oranges, limes and whites, they look really fresh and bright. I might actually get round to making some soft furnishings with my vintage fabrics!!!

A return to the blogosphere...

Hello my very neglected readers (if you're still out there?). This post marks a return to my very sad and sorry blog that I've been neglecting whilst baking bigger business pies.

Here are some of my new designs, there's 18 in total. I'll be uploading them all on my folksy site soon. The good news is you'll be able to buy Design Rocks! cards on Amazon. Yes, I've been invited to sell with Amazon, so we'll see how that goes. There also other interesting developments afoot, so I'll keep you posted on how they turn out.

I feel like I've been in a washing machine for 2 months with such a massive workload (and massive bump, only 3 and a half months to go until baby no 3 arrives!). It's great but I'm glad to finally be able to do fun stuff again like reading, blogging and visiting galleries. I'm also really looking forward to meeting up with my lovely crafters and designers this weekend at the Craft Centre on Tib St for hot muffins and tea and a mooch round the N Quarter.




There's a fab conceptual wallpaper exhibition on at the Whitworth called 'Walls Are Talking'. Go and see it it's brilliant, there's everything from Warhol to Sindy to bloodsplats and barbed wire wallpaper.


Finally I leave you with Lola's Room, adorable photography by a gal with a great eye for colour and composition. I think her snaps would make great greetings cards actually. You can buy her pics from her folksy shop.

Autumn is upon us...

Now I remember why I painted my garden gate hot pink all those years ago! Every October I have an autumn treat with these beautiful leaves.

I've just invested in a giant and very gorgeous red Le Creuset casserole pot so i can cook up some autumn flavours. Just right for hot casseroles to warm your cockles on dark autumn evenings. The added bonus is the house is full of cosy cooking smells whilst I work. If any of you have some good slow cooking recipes - let me have them, I can't wait to get cooking!

I'm in love with...

...these cute little boats and lanterns by Jurianne Matter. Her paperwork is available on notonthehighstreet.com. What's not to love, the colours, pattern, styling and vintage maps to boot!

This weekend, right after the crafters meet up at the design centre cafe, I'm going apple picking! The idea is that volunteers (me) pick excess fruit from garden trees and take them to people who need them such as refuges and hostels. I absolutely LOVE helping people so this is a win win situation, plus I get to spend an afternoon climbing trees - yay!

Here's something appley to celebrate:
Apple broaches by Kat Boon Design - very autumnal!

Bike of my dreams..

My posts are like buses, nothing for a week then 3 at once.

I just had to add this bike, I keep meeting it by chance. It keeps popping up in various different places to say hello. It always makes me smile, I LURVE the winged mudguards ad the happy grass green and cream paintwork.

Today I was making the most of the sunshine by cycling to the Barbikan for a fat piece of cheese cake (calorie neutral). I just locked up my bike when along it came! I met it's owner and she was lovely too. She has a shop in the Manchester Craft Centre selling perspex jewelry and furniture, studio 3 I think.

It's so nice I might have to honor it's vintage lines by turning it into a li'l ol' design!