so that was september...

From left to right:
*Out from the dusty depths came my tights, boots and coats. It wasn't the happiest reunion but I think I'm just about over it now and ready for that thing we call Autumn.
*Nick and I celebrated 2 years of being married. So much has changed since that lovely day but I'm very thankful for where we are.
*This was my very first month of Freelance Fridays. Aside from the pleasing alliteration, it's been so amazing to have an official day dedicated to doing my freelance projects. It's made my weekends a lot more relaxing. Welcome to my studio...our dining table.
*Leaves are turning golden and lining the pavements. Nick's 'I love Autumn' t-shirt has been worn all through Spring & Summer but has finally lost it's irony.
*Plans have been underway for our church to move for a trial at a new venue next Sunday. For more info check out the Trinity West blog.
*My favourite children's illustrator came to town! We made the most of it by visiting Mr Jeffer's new exhibition at Lazarides and spent an evening listening to him talk about his life, work and inspiration at the Southbank Centre. What a legend!

colour inspiration


It seems I've had a bit if an aversion to lilac ever since my all matching wallpaper border and bed spread at 13 years old. It became pretty sickly after a while! Having said that it's been growing on me lately and I'm especially loving these dusky lavender tones that look so ethereal. Mix it with a yellow and kapow!...something even more beautiful happens. 

old, new, borrowed & blue

After months of planning, mood boards, sourcing, designing, painting and making, the Eley wedding finally arrived and I was very happy to find out Sarah and Ben had hired our wedding photographer! I knew without a doubt she would take lots of beautifully, dreamy photographs and it was a bit of a bonus/ deja vu to see her again on the day, in the same church we'd been married in. All of the delicious photos below are by Rebecca Wedding Photography, capturing lots of the little handmade details from the day and some of the beaming couple themselves. All details photographed are designed, styled, made or sourced by The Lovely Drawer, my biggest project to date.
All these bits and pieces were crammed into every nook and cranny of our little London flat. Yay for plenty of built in storage, that's all I can say! Transporting all these things from London back to Basingstoke was pure comedy (not so much at the time), the low point being when the wooden photo board stubbornly wouldn't fit in the car boot. This meant overcoming the power of all-purpose, heavy duty glue in order to prize all the elements off and re-fashioning a new, foam board version at the other end. Aaah improvisation!
I finished decorating the venue with just enough time to go home, throw on my dress and wing it to the wedding. It was such a lovely, Jesus filled celebration and the Bride and Groom's smiles were totally infectious.

to the happy couple

It's suddenly got very wedding focused around here! This wedding was probably my biggest project of the year. The lovely couple came to meet with me to talk wedding stationery and by the end of our time together I'd signed up for styling and making the decor. This was something I'd been itching to do for a long time! The lovely couple got married in the summer and it was one of those sweet times when you already know both bride and groom, not to mention their families. It's always special designing in those situations. I already guessed Sarah would be wanting her day to be cute and girly so pinks and pastels were on the agenda and then this was mixed with quite a rustic vibe.
As for the details from the day, keep an look out for my next post. It's a big one! If you're getting married and you like what you see send me an email via the contact button for further details. 

Time flies...

Today we woke up to our 2nd Anniversary! Another year has flown by and I know I’m ‘meant’ to say this but it genuinely has been even better than the first. God dealt us a bit of a game changer and sent us down a very different path together but I’m very happy he did. The learning to live with each other and REALLY getting to know each other part of the first year has left much more time to just relax and enjoy each other this year and that's been loads of fun. We feel so blessed to see God use our marriage to chip away at our naturally stubborn and selfish hearts to become a little bit less like ourselves and a little bit more like Jesus. Things would be pretty different left to our own devices! There's no other relationship I see God's love and grace extended to me more than through Nick. I love that boy and in my more morbid moments I wonder what life would actually be like if he was no longer around and usually conclude that I'm gaining a much greater understanding of the phrase ‘like losing a limb’.

So how did we celebrate?...well by receiving a big, fat window into our old age together of course! I came home to my husband flat on the floor on Thursday evening. A bad muscle spasm in his lower back had left him unable to move for the previous hour and a bit. Anyway panic ensued, as well as a feeble attempt to try and lift him up with my puny arms. Paramedics arrived, gas and air was flowing, sending Nick into a trippy spiral and a late night trip to get some hard drugs was in order. To begin with he still couldn’t get out of bed so our day of swoony Anniversary fun arranged for the Saturday seemed like a long shot. As I was dressing Nick in bed, pulling him up and arranging all necessities at a reachable level we burst out laughing wondering how we ended up here at 2 years when this had been resigned in our minds for at least 50 years down the line. So tonight we’ll head to community group, and eat without a candle, wedding photo or romantic playlist in sight and we’ll postpone our celebrations until next weekend.

cardboard cities

I totally fell hard for this artist's beautiful collages. Meet Laura Redburn and her vivid imagination. She's the talented designer behind Cardboardcities. Her dream-like mixed media illustrations beg to be delved into but just like a dream, they never quite make sense. That's the fun of them! Visit her portfolio here or her society 6 shop and lose time scrolling through all these beauties. 

something for your screen

Another little something from my creative hour on holiday. Here’s some free desktop wallpaper love to adorn your screens. Oh the fun you can have with the humble felt tip! So click on the link to download your free desktop wallpaper.