A place for everything....

My little sister bought me this wonderful Cath Kidston sewing box for my birthday, full of wonderful things. I'm excited to fill it and use it. It's so pretty, and just perfect for me.

So what shall I make first?

L x

If you only do one thing, do it well.

I only know one baking recipe. Cupcakes! Thanks to my lovely mum and her secret recipe that I have known by heart 'depuis toujours', these always turn out as pure perfection. I can do variations on cupcakes. Cupcakes with lemon, with chocolate, without icing, without dairy.... But cupcakes it is. Ask me to bake anything else and I have to consult my friends Nigella, Jamie, Gordon and Delia, not to mention the antique Mrs Beeton book that is like a bible for all things you should know how to cook but can't quite remember the ingredients for....

I have baked these cupcakes in all the houses I have lived in, in ovens held together with tape, ovens that rattle, and ovens that needed a fire extinguisher at the ready. Always perfect. It's a science that has become more like an art. I rarely use the scales now. I know what the ingredients look like in their separate mesurements. I weigh with my hands, adding shakes of flour and squeezes of lemon if the texture is not familiar to me. I've recently added my own twist, a secret ingredient that makes them individual, delicious, unique and naughty. It has a kiddie-friendly counterpart too! :)

The problem is, I need more perfect recipes. I bet you have one. If you like, we can swop. Give me your 'DOT' ('Do One Thing') recipe, and I'll let you in on my secret.  ;)      L x 

The Wonderful World of Google!

Anyone see Google this morning?  Hello Josef Frank, I think we just became new best friends!

Lovely print!  I want to reupholster my couch with it.  Or maybe just my armchair?!!

Oh, and by the way, what did one do before Google?

R x

More ribbons.......more smiles

And what about the children at the wedding? Need they miss out on the ribbon overload?

Of course not, I've made them party bags out of fabric, attachd the ribbons and adorned them in glitter painted names. I've even filled them with goodies and games to keep them happy and occupied.The sense of satisfaction I feel to see these little bags lined up ready to be opened is enough to make me want to make them all over again, and that's before they reach their intended owners. :) Love it.

L x

Wedding Preparations

So is a wedding just an excuse to get creativity flowing and use copious amounts of ribbon? I think so.

Fans supported by boxes of colour-co-ordinated confetti. I often ask myself- 'Too Over the Top?' but if it pleases me, then it stays. Ribbons on fans make me smile, so hopefully others will feel the same. Yea for ribbons and paper roses! :)

L x

Something out of nothing

.....and this is my inspiration, an illustration from my favourite author, Shirley Hughes (who was awarded an honorary doctorship at my teacher graduation). Not only is she highly talented in painting and creating an atmosphere herself, but this illustration of the children making a whole afternoon's play out of a sheet, a few rocks and a washing line delights me. I love to create something out of nothing, and know that what is now my favourite playing-place was once only drying laundry. Her illustrations remind me of my childhood, and the more you look at them, the more each individual picture is a story in itself. It barely needs words to accompany it. Simply beautiful and warming in every way.

Louise x

Zentangle?!?

When I was but an innocent girl of sixteen, I fell head-first into puppy love with a darling English boy that wrote me long letters with drawings on the backs that remind me of this.

Now who wouldn't fall for a guy who was capable of such attention to detail?

Well, that crush fizzled out long ago, but my appreciation for this art form known as Zentangle still stands.  The intricate lines and patterns, the flowing forms, all organic, nothing contrived or forced.  My eye dances with delight!

I could examine it for days and see something new each time.

What inspires you?

Rochelle
x

New Blog!

So here is our new joint blog for all things creative! Crafts, cooking and general creativity!

Inspirired yet?! x