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.

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!

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!

Vintage Yardstick Coat Rack of Joy!

I love finding unique items on Etsy, I love the mellow wood of these yardsticks. They remind me of the wooden meter rulers of my school girl days.

I think this is a fine example of how to create something fantastic out of found items. Sometimes when you discover something of beauty you're not always sure what you can do with it. Thinking laterally about how to approach it and what else you could turn it into is much more resourceful and you end up with something totally unique and environmentally friendly.

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!

Back to school - YAY!

I've got that back to school feeling - yay! After getting my head around the end of summer, I can't wait to get stuck into designing ranges, business, selling & growth for my little business. My new mantra: Create, enjoy, have fun & sell!

I have some new stationery (any excuse) my pens and pencils, a tidy(ish) desk and my new shoes - I'm ready to roll and all excited about preparing for Top Drawer London in January.

My exercise books sell really well but I just found this french exercise book complete with exercises inside from Etsy shop Petit Vintage. She has gorgeous Gallic goodies so have a nose if you get chance.

I feel a little autumn shop coming on...

Rather than grumbling about my canceled camping trip this weekend (rain stopped play), I decided to enjoy the autumnal weather by going for a country walk and a big pub lunch. It's blinking freezing!!! But the upside is, I don't have to wait for the first leaf to fall before I hit the shops.

I'm already sporting a cute pair of grey slouchy ankle boots instead of my standard issue gladiators. I've planned a few autumn outfits and some disco eyelashes to help me grieve over the loss of summer.

I love the changing of the seasons - I get a massive design hit from all the new patterns and textures in both the shops and great outdoors. I've been designing my new collection so I'm like a sponge at the moment. I'm thinking about checks, autumn colours, berries, tweed, preppy styles and I love this red satchel. I organised a jumble sale a couple of weekends ago and amongst my vintage bargains (first picks) I got an old leather satchel - it's so cool!

I brought a pair of leopard print tights this week and they now feature on one of my new card designs! Well, that's my excuse for buying them - hmmmm, I wonder if that makes them tax deductible??

The height of bloggy laziness...

I'd love to say I've been busy on a Mauritian Beach guzzling cocktails, but alas no...I've been working my little butsky off the last 2 weeks on things that are too tedious to talk about. So apologies for my absence this week.

Down to the nice stuff - here's my Little Vintage Dresser of Joy - after all those plans I had of painting and papering it, I put it in place and it was just perfect as it was, and too good to paint.

So embracing full granny chic I adorned it with all my little nik-naks (ornaments not crisps) and I just love it! It's so nice to see all my Other- half's childhood books on display. I wanted to show you the gorgeous illustrations.

Storage should be good on the eye and not always about capacity and a place to shove stuff.

Little Vintage Dresser of Joy..

I picked this little beauty up off ebay today! I've been having a massive sort out, and needed a nice storage/display cabinet for the boudoir. I had a moment of madness and just bought it - it was one of those gut reaction things.

Just think...you pay £100 for a solid wood vintage darling like this but if you bought new you'd have a super flimsy, rattly bit of rubbish. It's a win win - quality craftsmanship, environmentally sound and something I'll still have when I'm 90 as it won't date!

It looks a little Ye Olde Inn at the mo but I have big plans for it. I'm going to paint it a nice grungy neutral then wallpaper the back of the display shelves in a fab wall paper, or I'll paint a nice pattern or illustration to work with the displayed items. I love natural shades with patterns and colours that pop. A bit like my cards I guess. I'll show you the after when it's done.

Studio Blitz!

It's time.... to clear The Room Of Doom as it's become known. I'm taking a break from a massive studio blitz. I can't stop sneezing from all the dust - I hope nobody knocks on the door, I look like I've got swine flu. This isn't actually my studio but I like looking at it as it makes me feel much better to know that there are people with worse work spaces than mine out there.


Isn't this cute? I found it at the bottom of my samples box (one of many!) It's a 60's floral. Maybe it's the sun but I'm really into acid yellows as an accent colour with muted shades of lilac or bone at the moment.

Annoying interruptions of my Studio Blitz:

1. Jehovah's witnesses (sorry but it's really annoying) Thanks for sharing the word but no thanks. Plus I've sussed you now - I can spot the long black silhouette and briefcase through the glass door

2. Sales calls. After spending 10 rings searching through my crap for the phone only to find it's a chirpy recorded message from 'Susan' telling me I need more credit cards. I don't.

3. Hunger. All that sorting and chucking means I have to keep stopping to refuel.

4.Calls from lovely family members who have no idea of the massive task I've just taken on and that I could die under a landslide of my own rubbish if I stop to chat, however tempting.

5. Finally a nice distraction: Blogging. We'll a girl's got to take a rest and survey her explosion in a paper factory of a studio!

Oh Wow! I just looked back at my studio and it's no longer The Room Of Doom! Yay, I'm nearly there and won't it be lovely to know where everything is??? Is every creative person messy or is it just lack of time/space etc? Let me know!

my joyous cards

I've just taken some nicer pics of my cards - lets hope it's at the finest eyecandy level to attract some blog space!