I’m not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s the memory of all those agonising February 14ths at primary school, hoping that someone would leave a card on your desk, and the crushing disappointment when nobody did. (The only year worse than the barren years was the time someone did leave me a card … Continue reading Top 10 homemade Valentine’s presents
Month: January 2013
Stamp your own gift tags
I realised when I sat down to write this post that I’ve been playing rather fast and loose with the word “vintage” these past few years. You see, I was going to call the article, “Create your own vintage gift tags” – which is clearly an utter nonsense. That’s the whole point of vintage: you … Continue reading Stamp your own gift tags
Weighty issues: Valentine’s gifts
No jibber jabber from me today, just a few pictures.I revisited the paperweights I made for Christmas and used Valentine's Day images to create some nice, weighty, non-cheesy Valentine's Day presents.For a detailed step-by-step for making these (and a lot more jibber jabber), see my post on how to make your own paperweights. Today, I'm … Continue reading Weighty issues: Valentine’s gifts
Moustache mugs, a perfect man present
When I embarked on the whole homemade Christmas plan last year, the one person I was really worried about making something for was my brother. I find him hard enough to buy for every single birthday and Christmas as it is. With all of the products available to buy in all of the shops that … Continue reading Moustache mugs, a perfect man present
Snow! Snow!
In honour of the snow scene outside my window (snow in London is a pretty exciting, once a year occasion), I thought I'd share this excellent vintage image I found on the New York Public Library digital gallery: Perhaps there are slightly grumpy-looking men crouched above my house, right now, shaking great gold pans of … Continue reading Snow! Snow!
Things I’ve learnt: transferring images to fabric
I’ve got a confession to make. I started this blog with all the best intentions. As I wrote, in my first ever post four months ago, I was planning on “building a fabric empire” – creating new fabric designs, making beautiful things from the newly-printed fabric and, oh yes, actually starting up a business to … Continue reading Things I’ve learnt: transferring images to fabric
Coughs and sneezes
Waddya know, you take the baby to the “well baby clinic” at the doctors and a few days later he’s struck down with a horrible cold. A few days after that, I’m struck down with the same horrible cold (not really surprising, given the number of times I’ve been sneezed at right in the face…) … Continue reading Coughs and sneezes
A wolf at the door…
Poor old wolves, I’ve only just noticed what a terribly bad press they get. Vilified in literature, always the bad guy (especially in 17th Century children’s books), it seems all they’re good for is blowing down adorable pigs’ houses or dressing up as old women in order to trick innocent young girls into being eaten. … Continue reading A wolf at the door…
Peacocks and paradise: William Morris at Tate Britain
Before Christmas, we trotted off to Tate Britain to meet some friends and visit the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition. The highlight of the exhibition, as far as I was concerned, was room number six, entitled Paradise. A room devoted to William Morris. I flipping love William Morris. I love the ornate details, the colours, the grandeur, I … Continue reading Peacocks and paradise: William Morris at Tate Britain
Homemade cleaning products: a failed experiment
When we returned to London last March after six months in Hong Kong, I was four months pregnant and had no job. I got a bit obsessed with saving money. I spent hours a day reading every tip and thread on moneysavingexpert, forced my partner into making an annual budget with me, insisted that he … Continue reading Homemade cleaning products: a failed experiment
Wolves in London 