Feeling Vintage Inspired

I love looking at old things and finding something special. It's even better when you find something that nobody else appreciates, as if you knew the hidden secret to beauty. Sometimes I feel like I was born in the wrong era but then there are so many wonderful things about today and we can appreciate the things that were...

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Original sources can be found this way.

Mina Perhonen

I think mina perhonen fabric designs are beautiful and inspiring. The fashion brand starts the design process with sketches that are made into the original fabrics. They aim to test and develop new techniques and have a really extensive collection that continues to increase. I particularly like the printed hand painted style that creates ditzy and playful qualities.

Christmas with John Lewis

This years christmas advert for John Lewis tells a wonderful story about going that extra mile to find the perfect gift for someone special. I am so in love with this advert and I will be doing some of my christmas shopping in Japan this year!

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The Design Library

The Design Library holds the largest collection of prints and designs dating from the 1950s. Founded by Susan Meller, fabrics were salvaged from the attics of homes across Europe, restored and preserved.  Below are some designs that caught my eye from the archive.

 Needle and Thread Design, France, c.1880 (roller-printed cotton)

 Songbird textile design,France, 1887 (roller-printed cotton)

 dogs jumping through hoops, French, 1886 (roller-printed, cotton)

Textile design with American Indian Wigwams, mid 20th century (dyes on paper)

Anona

I am so in love with print design studio Anona. The print designs are so beautiful and the studio focuses on hand-drawn, hand-painted pieces which is right up my street. I love creating designs by hand with a paint palette before working with them digitally. I think the way these samples have been photographed is really crisp and professional too. 

Maddy Nye / Min & Co

I am loving these prints by Min & Co. They were inspired by Moroccan rag rugs and are available in the form of framed art prints, stretched canvases, stationary cards, iphone cases and ipod skins. The colours and patterns stood out to me and you can find them here along with several other wonderful art prints.

Lacock

I recently went to a village called Lackock, which dates from the 13th century. There are many stone and half-timbered houses there which made the village a suitable location for filming productions to include Pride and Prejudice and the Harry Potter films amongst others. I spent the day walking around admiring the feel of this ancient settlement and wandering the shops like a true flaneur!

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Like Crazy

Has anyone seen the movie Like Crazy? Yes it's a beautiful chick flick and although it's a fairly simple story it includes wonderful details that relationships understand. A British student is studying in LA and falls for an American guy. She outstays her visa and is denied re-entry into America after returning home to London for the summer. Through this obstacle their story is about the determination of love going the distance, literally.

  

Party Time

It was recently my boyfriend's birthday and we celebrated by throwing him a party. We had wonderful live music to include a girl and her guitar, plenty of cider and triangle sandwiches and a whole lot of cake! It was a lovely day which progressed to a fun evening. 

I made these cards above because there were two new baby boys who attended the party and I stitched miniature bunting to the card to add some texture.

 I was told that sweeties were a must and my mum came up with the fabulous idea of arranging the sweets in plastic martini glasses.

 An abundance of cup cakes were available and the ones iced with ice blue icing were very popular, although I liked the carrot & banana cake. I hosted a craft evening during the week and some of my friends made some miniature flags with cocktail sticks and coloured paper that I used to decorate the food.

 We also painted pasta and tied it to some string to make garlands. This was lots of fun and really effective.

But my favourite crafting activity was creating these fairy lights. We painted some cups neon pink on the inside and powder blue on the outside and they looked so pretty hung around the room.

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Bennison Fabrics

I would like to make some repeat prints soon and I felt that I needed some inspiration to help me. I recently discovered Bennison Fabrics, I think the designs have been beautifully repeated and I think the florals are both traditional yet wonderful.

 Atlanta on oyster linen

 Daisy Chain pink green on oyster linen

 Faded Floral on oyster linen

 Hollyhock blue on oyster linen

Roses lipstick pink on oyster linen