I won! Pretty Dandy/Kat Got The Cream Giveaway

Yippee! I found out just a few weeks after Christmas I won a fantastic giveaway over on Kat Got the Cream blog - a £25 voucher to spend at the wonderful Pretty Dandy - a gorgeous new online interiors boutique which specialises in beautiful handmade, vintage and new designers home accessories.

It was so hard to choose what to get, the vintage crockery on the site is amazing, but really there's only so many teacups and pyrex a girl can fit in her kitchen cupboards (or maybe I should just put up some more shelves?!) So I decided to get something we would really use and need in our house. I'm not sure if I posted about it but in the summer we bought our first house, and lets just say it's definitely a 'project', and one thing that I can't wait to get stuck into when it gets a bit warmer is the garden. So I decided that the main purchase would be this beautiful handpainted birdhouse. I would have taken a picture of it in our garden as it s now, but frankly it's such a state that it really doesn't do this gorgeous little home any justice so here is the picture from the website - I think it's going to be the starting point to our first family garden, and I can't wait to see it being used!

The next thing I chose what this set on coasters which I love, I always love a bit of geometric imagery on things, and I think these are the perfect accompaniment to our charity shop Ercol coffee table (get me!) They're the most gorgeous quality melamine topped wood with a felt base, and I just know they're going to be something we love using for a very long time. Check out their the Pretty Dandy website to see more of their wonderful gifts.

And for those of you who aren't familiar with Kat Got The Cream blog, here I would like to introduce you to the lovely Kathryn! The blog features gorgeous thrifty finds, creative projects and her style posts, which I love. The blog is really happy, and I love to have a long read of all her recent posts on a Saturday morning when I have some baby free time and a large cuppa on the go.

Excitingly she's just about to start a new business designing and making childrenswear and accessories. If you take a peek at her blog she has some photographs of some of the types of clothes she'll be selling and they just looks so comfy, practical and beautiful (definitely something I will have to buy for Delilah!) This little top and bloomers are my favourites, I adore the fabrics she's chosen and the shapes are perfect too. I look forward to her online shop opening!

                           

Thanks so much to Kathryn and Pretty Dandy for the amazing giveaway!xxx

Merry Christmas!

Just a quick post to say Merry Christmas! Sorry for the lack of post but I have lots to share with you in the new year. Have a good one everyone!xxx

Lionheart Issue 3: Adventure!

Lionheart Magazine issue 3 is here! And of course it's just as delicious as the last issues were. The theme is adventure and nestled between the luxuriously thick pages are beautiful images, stories and so many exciting adventures. Take a look at the gorgeous cover illustration by Gemma Milly...

I designed a pattern inspired by adventure for the inside cover - I've posted a close up of the original design at the end of this post

Look who it is! I was also featured :) I'm so honoured to be featured in such a wonderful mag, I can't tell you how excited I was to be asked to take part! Here's a little sneak peak of a few of the treats inside.

A piece by Fritha about the birth of her lovely baby Wilfryd - Wilfryd was born not long after Delilah, and I love reading her blog - we seem to have had lots of similar experiences trouble at first with breastfeeding, sleep deprivation....its lovely to read such an honest beautiful account of her birth story.

Here is one of the amazing illustrations featured in the magazine, this is by Natasha Thompson.

And this gorgeous back cover pattern design by Ruth Craddock.

My original files for the Adventure pattern design....

Issue 3 of Lionheart is available to buy now: http://www.lionheart-mag.comhttp://www.lionheart-mag.com

Inspiring India - The Exhibition, Cox & Kings Bloggers Challenge

So last week was the Cox & Kings 'Inspiring India' exhibition held at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Unfortunately I wasn't able to actually attend the event myself, but I really enjoyed seeing the pictures on twitter on the night itself and reading the other bloggers blogposts about it. 

For my final piece I presented 9 patterns I'd designed inspired by India on a tile board. I almost always see things as a series and so tiling my designs seemed the perfect way to show them. Alas, I didn't win, but was thrilled to have been asked to take part and exhibit in such a lovely location. The standard of work was so high - here's a few pictures of the exhibition that Andrea Farmer kindly sent to me (thanks Andrea!) I've also linked to some of the other bloggers - they're fantastic check them out!

Melody Seal, Andrea Farmer and Kellie Black's beautiful pieces.

The winner - Chetan, I love this piece! Such gorgeous colours and illustrative style.

Here's a closer look at my 'Inspiring India' design collection.

Cox & Kings Bloggers Challenge - a little taster!

Here's a sneak peak of a few of the pattern designs I'm working on for the Cox and Kings 'Inspiring India' bloggers challenge. I'm really enjoying this brief and can't wait to see my work in the exhibition! Cox & Kings specialise in escorted tours and luxury holidays. My final piece will be displayed at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) on the 10th October with a lecture on 'The Mind of India' by Sir Mark Tully. To get tickets to the event please click here.