love to stamp

There’s something really nice about the worn, uneven look of a stamp, with each attempt looking slightly different to the last. It’s a sweet way to give something a personal touch. Here are some lovely finds for you to take a look at...

This is Anne Marie Loves Paper. The etsy shop is full of lovely type based stamps for you to play around with.
If you prefer a hand drawn effect the Eat Pray Create have some very sweet stamps. The way they’ve printed white ink on to brown paper makes a nice change. 

Here is one of my favourite online stationery shops called Wonderlust. There are some really eye-catching stamps for sale. See above for the whole range and make sure you check out the rest of the shop as well as the lovely blog.

happy friday!

Bonjour le soleil! It’s Friday and the gorgeous sunshine is here to stay for the weekend...big smiles all round. I hope you find a fun way to enjoy God’s awesome creation in the sun over the weekend. I’ve decided that’s it’s time to dust off the picnic basket and head for dinner in the open air for date night this evening. The joys of Summer!

milk & cookies

Here’s a quick and easy gift idea that won’t cost very much to make. All you’ll need is...
  1. The free template printed onto card.
  2. Scissors
  3. Stapler
  4. Milk bottle sweets
  5. Cookies (I used bought but baking a batch would be a far better present)
Just download the free printable, in mushroompink or turquoise and print the header onto card. Fold horizontally (score for a better fold) and then you’ll need a clear cellophane bag or something similar. I bought mine from trusty Wilkos. Then fill about half of the bag with the milk bottle sweets and cookies and then sandwich the top of the bag in between the the folded header and fix with a staple on either side. Simple as that!

don't wait for summer


Ok so we are still waiting for Summer to come and say hello but here are a few bright little things to cheer things up a bit. I have to say I've always been a big fan of a limited colour palette but I'm slowly starting to change my mind and embrace the rainbow!
  1. Mini lanterns from Typo
  2. Nail varnishes from Barry M.
  3. Bring back multi coloured sprinkles. They shouldn't just be reserved for kids birthday parties!
  4. Geometric exercise book
  5. Candy cracker free from Eat Drink Chic blog. 
  6. Pink luggage labels from Knot and Bow
  7. Birthday card from Typo
  8. Forget pastel macaroons, put a few more drops of food colouring in the bowl. Macaroons from this lovely blog. 

wedding bells

I’m very excited for my little brother’s wedding this summer and was really happy to be asked to design their wedding stationary and even happier to be given the brief ‘just do what you do’.  I took the opportunity to focus in on the typography, developing my own handwritten alphabets with printed backgrounds.

They are having their wedding down in Exeter at the church where Joanna is working at the moment and are hoping for a vintage tea party style affair. I’m sure there will be lots of sweet homemade touches and hopefully a big dollop of sunshine. If you want to see any more photos from their cute engagement shoot then click here!

Photos by Chasing Moments Photography.

how to...

Here's how I made some of the bits and pieces for my party if you feel inspired to have a go.

1. The coloured jars are a cute way to display any flowers. They look really affective but what makes them even better is that they're super duper simple to make. Just use old jam jars in any sizes (washed and labels removed) and your choice of paint colour. I used the little decorating tester pots as they have every colour you could ever want but I think I've seen someone else do this with acrylic paint too. Use a long paintbrush to paint the inside using a dabbing motion. Let them dry and give them another coat if they  are patchy. Now your flowers have a new pretty home.

2. These paper fans are a quick way to make a decorative backdrop. Use different papers to layer up colour. I think the first craft I ever learnt as a little kid was how to concertina into a fan. Who would have thought such a simple technique could create such good looking wall art. Here is a straight forward tutorial to get you going.

3.
And finally an easy way to make a table runner is just to paint it yourself. If you are after longevity then you could get your hands on some fabric paint but I just used the rest of my paint tester pots. Use a sturdy fabric like curtain lining, as this will make it easier to paint on. Simply stencil out your design with masking tape and get painting. It's a quick way to add a flash of colour to your table.

sugar coated


I decided to or shall we say got roped into hosting a Jamie Oliver party. If you aren’t familiar with such a concept it’s basically one of those evenings where you get a load of friends together to look at an array of lovely products with a chance to buy some at the end of the evening from the lady leading the party If you host and a certain amount is sold you get an amount to spend back in credit wahoo! I had a lot of fun picking nice things from the JME range for free. I saw the evening as another excuse to do a bit of party styling.

I have a lot of fun doing this sort of thing and love having an opportunity to do lots of DIY details. The ‘how to’ on all of these things will be in my next post. I did a whole lot of baking but I have to say I was pretty impressed by this recipe from trusty Delia Smith. It was all scrummy and moist. I added a bit of extra lemon zest and did a simple butter cream icing with some lemon juice instead of her suggestion.