Some of my most treasured posessions.
Brooches by Julie Arkell, Jessie Chorley, my dear friend Julie H, some vintage brooches, and a bracelet I made at a Julie Arkell workshop.
Displayed on a vintage child's cardigan bought at J@B The Shop, quite possibly the loveliest shop ever.
Image by me (yes I'm taking ALL the credit for this terrible blurry shot)
PS. Don't forget to enter the Christmas giveaway!
What better way to start December than with a giveaway?
Remember this gorgeous calendar by Yoshie? I have one to giveaway to one lucky reader!
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post before December 24. The winner will be selected randomly and announced here on sam's notebook on December 25. Easy!
The calendar comes with a sweet little make-up bag and there will also be a few extra goodies thrown in too, including a little handemade something or other from me! Happy December!
Image from yoshie's blog.
Can you believe it's only one month until Christmas?! Where has this year disappeared to?
1. Vintage Christmas decoration from Butik Sophie.
2. Felt shingle tree by Janice Rusnak of Papier Valise
Gorgeous 2012 calendar from one of my favourite illustrators, Yoshie. You can purchase the calendar here - does anybody have any hints on navigating through a Japanese shopping site???
Images from yoshie's blog.
These suitcases from Liberty of London are seriously lovely. If only they were a bit bigger, they would be so perfect for a weekend away.
Image from Liberty of London.
I just LOVE this clamshell quilt by Australian quilt designer Brigitte Giblin. Inspired by antique quilts and fabrics, Brigitte has an amazing sense of colour and the way she combines modern and reproduction prints is just fantastic. You can see more of Brigitte's beautiful quilts on her website and the pattern for this clamshell quilt (plus quite a few others) is available in her online shop.
Brigitte also has a book that is due for release in April - it will feature nineteen of her quilts and I can't wait to see it!
Image from Brigitte Giblin Quilts.
I’d really love to pile our sofa high with lots of fabulous mismatched vintage-y cushions. Pinterest has been a really great source of inspiration – I think it’s time to haul out the sewing machine and get busy!
You can find more cushion inspiration here!
Image credits:
1. Tif Fussell, aka Dottie Angel
2. All About You
3. Perfect English Cottage by Ros Byam Shaw, photographer: Jan Baldwin
4. Stylist: Atlanta Bartlett, photographer: Chris Everard
5. Jeska Hearne at Lobster & Swan
6. jj Locations via sfgirlbybay
7. All About You
8. Cabbages & Roses
Not a new find, but these sweet little birds below by the incredibly talented textile artist Abigail Brown are giving me a much-needed dose of colour inspiration on this grey dark stormy Malmö morning.
Images from Abigail Brown.
These limited edition Lucky Charm Dolls are the result of a collaboration between Comptine du Quotidien and Fifi Mandirac. I love the colours!
Images from les surprises de fifi mandirac.
Due for release in October, The Liberty Book of Home Sewing by Lucinda Ganderton looks quite lovely. With projects including quilts, cushions, tote bags and aprons, I think this one will definitely be making it's way into my library. I love the hexagon quilt below, and the little dress is just gorgeous (although I don't think the dress pattern is included in the book). You can see a preview at the Liberty blog.
Image from Liberty blog.
Two of my favourite things - porcelain plates and vintage cars! I love these wallpapers from UK company Catkin Collection (you might have seen their birdhouse wallpaper before), a great example of a simple idea where the end result is quite stunning. Yet another great find from Jeska at Lobster & Swan!
Images from Catkin Collection.
I didn't know there were more! This time it's French brand Bensimon with a limited edition of Liberty print canvas sneakers. Found via Lobster and Swan.
Image from BlushBloom.
I'm feeling quite inspired by the summer atmosphere and beautiful bright colours in the current GreenGate catalogue...
Images from GreenGate.
Look what I bought this morning! In my second favourite* Liberty print ever! Apparently stocks were very limited and previous releases have sold out rather quickly, so I was a little nervous when the 10:00 release time rolled around. There may or may not have been a small meltdown** when credit card issues slowed me down and it looked like my size had sold out before I could get things sorted.
But it was all good in the end, and these lovelies should be on their way to me soon. Although for the amount Liberty is charging for non-UK deliveries, let me just say I think they should be delivered to my door TODAY. £25 for delivery to Sweden? Really?????
*Number one favourite Liberty print is this one.
**Yes Grant, I am quite embarassed to have had a meltdown over a pair of shoes.
Images from Liberty London.
Too bad I don't need a new bicycle right now, because I have fallen completely in love with these gorgeous hand-built old style beauties from UK company BEG Bicycles. Found via great blog Nursey Bang Bang.
So lovely! Especially Betty in Flirty 30s Green and Billy in Lamp Post Grey. Gotta love those fabulously descriptive colour names!
Images from BEG Bicycles.
Look at these beautiful necklaces! Made by jeweler Mari Fray Foster using antique quilt blocks, 1930s reproduction fabrics, quilt batting and embroidery floss.
You can read more about Mari's amazing work on her blog Mari Makes. There are some wonderful "in progress" shots of her work which I really enjoyed - I love it when I get to have a peek into a favourite artist's creative processes.
You can also find Mari on etsy and flickr!
Images from Mari Makes.
In Liberty of London tana lawn, no less. Click on the pic to see the fantastic variety of Liberty fabrics - what a collection!
Made by the very talented Lyndel, a Calico & Ivy customer. There are more pics of this beautiful quilt at the Calico & Ivy blog. Whenever I need a particularly strong dose of creative inspiration, I just take another (envious!) look at Lyndel's quilt - it never fails!
Image from Calico & Ivy.
This has to be one of the loveliest books I have ever seen. Created by Tina Kraus as part of her design/illustration final exams, Circus Zingaro is a story about a homeless girl who wants to join a travelling circus. Unfortunately the book is not in print, and I don't know if there are any plans to print it in the future, but you can bet your bottom dollar I will be following Tina's website closely for any such news!
All images copyright 2010 Tina Kraus
I've been meaning to post this photo for ages.
I love this photo for so many reasons. The sweet peas (my favourite) were from Grant and Charlie, the gorgeous little painting (by Bridget is Painting) was a Christmas present from Grant, and the photo was taken by my dear friend Becky at afternoon tea at our place on my birthday in April. Most of our closest friends were there, and this little photo is a lovely reminder of that lovely afternoon!
Image by Becky.
This time round with little Nora I splurged* and bought a gorgeous Liberty covered nursing pillow from one of my favourite shops in Copenhagen, Crème de la Crème à la Edgar. I cannot tell you how much I love this pillow! It is incredibly comfortable and easy to use, is very well made, and it is oh so lovely to look at - important for the hours and hours spent on the couch nursing a little one!
The inner cushion is made from unbleached cotton and is filled with 100% organic spelt shells (according to the website, spelt shells are known for their ability to calm and not overheat). The cushion is designed and produced in Denmark, and best of all, Crème de la Crème à la Edgar has just opened an online shop and will ship internationally.
Images from CPH kids.
* In the end it wasn't really a splurge since the "cheaper" polyester-filled cartoon character-covered nursing pillow that I had for Charlie was almost the same price as this lovely pillow. And I had to throw that pillow away when I had finished nursing Charlie as it had not held up very well to daily use.
This necklace by German jewelry designer Nora Rochel is just incredible. Made of whitened silver, the detail is unbelievable.
Images from Nora Rochel.
Another absolutely beautiful print from Amanda Blake. Click on the image to get a better view!
Image from thisisalliknow (Amanda Blake) on etsy.
Little Nora Pearl arrived August 11 at 20:55, weighing 3.8 kg and 52 cm in length.
She's 19 days old today!
I love the pattern and colour in this 1940s comfy quilt from UK online shop Velvet Ribbon. Many more vintage quilts here, hard to pick a favourite!
Images from Velvet Ribbon.
Postcards from Apolline à Paris and atelier Midi à 14h! How beautiful are these????
Images from la Marelle Editions.
Yesterday's post about British jewellery designer Jo Pond reminded me of this wonderful piece (first pic) from Viv of Hen's Teeth which I have had in my bookmarks forever. I love the combination of the old tin, the found objects and the beautiful stitching.
Then today while browsing Viv's photostream on flickr I found the gorgeous heart brooch in the lower pic, a more recent piece from Viv. Love it!
Images from Hen's Teeth on flickr.
I love this antique iron bed from French boutique Atelier Charivari. They have just started shipping all over Europe - could be dangerous!
Images from Atelier Charivari.
Georgeous silk-lined blue linen clutch bag from etsy seller Red Ruby Rose.
Here's a little snippet from Red Ruby Rose's featured seller interview on etsy. I love the sound of her house, and the description of her childhood home sounds so wonderful - two creative parents and an old Somerset mill house surrounded by woods and garden...
I was born and brought up in Somerset in an old mill house,
surrounded by woods and garden and lovely green stuff and then I moved
up to Scotland to study printed textiles at Edinburgh College of Art.
After graduation I took a detour from textiles and have spent the last
ten years self-employed, building up a collage/montage illustration
career, firstly in Scotland and then here in Bristol. Red Ruby Rose is
a fairly new venture for me... it's the result of my yearning for a
more tactile process away from my increasingly digital illustration
working methods. I started making these clutches for fun and haven't
stopped.
What first made you want to become an artist?
Probably because I'm completely and hopelessly unemployable. I grew up
in a creative environment - my mum's an artist and my dad walked out of
his office job to become a self-employed printer when I was 11. He knew
nothing about printing at the time but set up a one man business in the
house which he still does to this day... that risk-taking obviously
influenced me. 9-5 was never a viable option.... I did a few temping
jobs when I was particularly skint after college and it spurred me on
to never go near an office again.
Images from Red Ruby Rose.
By Sveta Dresher. I would dearly love to know where Sveta buys her fabric!
Image from Sveta Dresher.
handmade
velvet lining
silver fittings
the perfect green
Image from Susannah Hunter.
Meet Rabbity Friend. By Cathy Cullis. Beautiful workmanship, gorgeous fabrics, and what a personality! Just recently moved from London to Malmö. Will miss Octavia.
Rabbity friend is a folk art textile doll... very much inspired by
old primitive dolls of the past.
Rabbity has a linen body with a pinched nose and stitched
features. Her ears
are wool felt. Her arms are simple stitched
to her shoulders and can be
moved, arranged in different
poses. Her legs are button jointed,
allowing Rabbity to sit or
stand. She can sit quite nicely without being propped.
Her skirt is made using hand dyed cotton muslin. Her bodice
is made
using a vintage silk handkerchief. She has mustard
yellow patterned
cotton legs. Hand stitch detailing on this doll
lends a true hand-made
feel.
This doll measures 26cm tall approx. including ears.
Image and Rabbity Friend description from Cathy Cullis.
Word card
32 words in squares, separated by small symbols or devices
cut from brown,
orange, and green Dutch paper. Border and
verso covered in faded blue paper.
Card shows signs of wear
and soil.
in of for the/ they when what/ that my with but/which there
their/ his her
him he/ me she thy/ love shall where well/ will
all our/ have from must
most
Words and image from Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington).
Gorgeous shop found via Periwinkle Bloom.
Image from Five From The Ground.
Image by Rebecka Ryberg Skött.
Une vestiaire métallique ancien. Do you think the French read the words old metal locker and think oh how beautiful that sounds? No, me either.
Image from Atelier Charivari.
Image from lovemaestore.
