SURPRISE!

image copyright Littletree Designs

Hello blog peeps...now do you remember a while back I entered these patterns (above) into the Paper Bicycle competition... well my prize for winning came yesterday! Now it's a little late and this is due to the new venture they had lauched recently called the Light Grey Art Lab, so things have been pretty busy for them and I had almost forgotten all about it! But then the doorbell rang and I got this enormous parcel...that's not just a thermos mug I thought...and they had so kindly sent me a fabulous cushion as well as the mug for being so patient! So BIG THANKS go out to all the team at Paper Bicycle for my lovely goodies!x

lovely goodies! pic taken by me

a littletree sneak peek...

Hello my lovely blog friends, I thought I would share a peek into the littletree world today with some snapshots from around my space...

images by me

 from top, left to right...

My lovely peace cushion by Anna of the Patchwork Peacock.

I kind of love my slippers, even if they are a bit christmassy I wear them all the time!

A snippet of images stuck to my wardrobe for an e-course moodboard...

My desk drawer full of notepads!

Two lovely cushions...

My ever growing stack of books!

The lovely paper I bought in Liberty's on a trip to London...

A random collection of postcards and my little dachshund with his red bow!

xxx

colour inspiration...ice cream tones

image HERE

How amazing are the colours in this picture?! I love the fact it's been taken around dusk so the neon lights have a more subtle pastel hue...I would definitely eat the ice cream from here, mainly because of the sign but also because we just don't have stuff like this in the uk! The closest thing to an ice cream parlour around here is a getting a McFlurry from McD's...not quite the same...so I guess I will just have to enjoy these pretty ice cream colours instead...x

car boot booty!

Hellooo Monday! Today I start Module 2 of my e-course, eek! Exciting stuff! So just popping in to check you all had lovely weekends? And to share my car boot booty...booty like pirate treasure...not the other kind...this haul was all from one car boot that I often visit on a Wednesday, weird day I know but it is the best around!

Incase you are wondering what the green spaceship type thing is it's a Joseph Joseph mezzaluna, brand new, from the Essex Air Ambulance stall (yey local charity) and only £2!! But I'm also loving the homemade glockenspiel, the cup and 'cloud' shaped saucer with the little house on it, so unusual!

Another thing worth mentioning is that I am thinking of opening a second Etsy shop selling some of my vintage/retro finds! I see so many interesting things, but obviously can't keep them all, so I thought I would pass them onto you lovely people instead...I have a little stockpile of goodies ready, just need to do all the other stuff, like registering an actual shop...and photos...prices... Anyhoo I will obviously let you all know when I'm up and running and maybe offer a special opening discount for my lovely blog readers too...Have a good week all. x

images taken by me

pinterest pick of the week...

by Sian Elin

Hi Friday...you here again so soon?! Another week has passed and the end of Module 1 of my e-course with it! As I am busier, and indeed plan to be getting even more so in the coming weeks, for 'pinterest pick of the week' I am just going to share with you my favourite pin of the week instead of a whole board...hope that's ok? :)

This week it is this fab illustration by Sian Elin from my board Words and more...have a lovely weekend blog friends. xxx

littletree's blog crush...creative sketchbook

A relativley new find for me this one, found through the Rachael Taylor Designs blog a few weeks ago, the Creative Sketchbook written by Gemma Robinson is one of the best surface pattern/illustration/maker blogs I have come across in a long time! Beautiful posts dedicated to one designer with plenty of images to ooh and ahh over, I highly recommend you check it out! Here are the links to a few of my favourite posts so far...Going around in circles with Chris Kenny, Fantasy floral illustrations by Iveta Abolina and Holly Exley's quirky collections.

image from the creative sketchbook blog

e-course update...almost the end of module 1!

 Can you believe it? At the end of this week I will have finished module one of my e-course, the art and business of surface pattern design...it really has flown by so quickly but I cannot wait for modules two and three to start getting stuck into more detailed pattern designing and business related projects! So today I thought I would share a few snapshots of e-course goings on from the last few weeks...x

Above three shots from a trip to Ikea, lot's of pattern and colour inspiration...

Putting together a colour palette and accent colour from objects around the house...

 Three 'Pattern Love' boards, trying to help me decide what patterns I'm naturally drawn to 

and therefore shape my personal 'style'...

I think I figured out that I love graphic shapes but crave texture and detail to add interest.

As for colour...I love it all!

 

 Working on developing patterns and co-ordinates to present to a 'buyer'...

 This collection is my favourite, I'm really happy with the colours and mixture of 

graphic shapes and textured linear work.

Hope you have enjoyed this little round-up and will continue to follow me into module 2 next week! 

Have a good Wednesday all! x

All images copyright Littletree Designs. Please to not reproduce/reblog/pin. Thanks x

littletree's treasury's...picnic wishes

picnic wishes treasury

Hello again blog friends! This is possibly wishful thinking given our current weather in the uk, but I couldn't help putting together this little treasury to do with all things picnic...I can't actually remember the last time I had a picnic...but with these pretty paper straws and star covered wooden forks I am going to make sure it happens this year come rain or shine! x

littletree makes...an origami bow

Happy Monday all! Something a little bright and crafty to start the week, these super fun origami bows! Last Monday my regular crafting friend and I got together for a fun packed afternoon of making, we tried all sorts of paper crafts as my friend has a stash of pretty papers from card making, but this origami bow was definitely my favourite.

We found the project through Jessica Jones blog How About Orange (she has quite a few origami projects on her blog) which linked back to this excellent step by step tutorial written/photographed by Helen of the blog Let's Create. I used to do a fair bit of origami growing up so apart from the odd tricky bit this was pretty easy for me, but my friend who hadn't done any also got the hang very quickly so I suggest you give it a try even if you haven't done any origami before.

image from Let's Create

In the tutorial the bow ends are cut to shape (red bow), but you can easily leave them as they are (brown paper bow) or trim them neatly (purple bow). I recommend using a medium thickness of paper, too thick and the folds won't be crisp and you will find it hard to manoeuvre the paper. To make the finished bow neat I used a few small pieces of sellotape on the reverse to secure the bow shape in place.

The end result is so pretty, ideal for topping a special present. You could make matching/contrasting bows for your gift wrapping at christmas, add buttons, ribbon etc. Or if you were really brave make huge bows as decorations for a wedding or party? Let me know if you have a go at these I would love to see your bows! Have a good week friends...x

all images taken by me unless stated otherwise

pinterest pick of the week...

Ok ok last chicken post of the week I promise! I just happened to find this great board with some amazing chicken art! The board is simply called 'Chickens' and curated by Meg Cupman. I just fell in love with this first painting that is essentially a few brush strokes, but it works so well! There is a real mixed bag of paint, paper mache and wire chickens here, who knew chickens were such a popular subject?! Anyhoo have a lovely weekend and I will see you here again next week!x

As usual click on the links above for the sources.x

we have chickens!!!

pics by me!

Hello all, yes that is right we do now have a happy little brood of chickens! Or choockens as I have taken to calling them...They are all such characters but my favourite is the one that has become known as Abigail (top right) she is so cheeky! And whenever you wander up to the coop she always comes out to greet you. The boss of the group is Aggy (bottom right), here she is stuffing her beak with broccoli and narrowly missing my fingers! The other two you can see are called Alice (she's a bit vicious to the others!) and Annie, who unfortunately is the most henpecked of the group...I'm sure she will come out of her shell soon...oh dear, apologies for that terrible pun!

My mum has wanted chickens for years and finally decided that this was the year to take the plunge! It was her birthday recently so it's a kind of present to herself, but I also got her this beautiful Jane Ormes gocco print (below) to commemorate the occasion. He (not sure if he is a 'he') has become known as Arthur and is the 'rooster' of our little flock! If you haven't come across Jane's work before I highly recommend popping by her etsy shop!

I am sure I will post a few more chicken antics as the summer progresses and they are allowed to wander the garden more, so please bear with me! But you have to agree...they are pretty darn cute! x

'cluckadoodle doo!' by Jane Ormes

littletree loves...Mollie Makes 1st Birthday Issue

Happy Birthday to Mollie Makes! It is their 1st birthday issue (14) this month and to celebrate they have supplied an amazing bonus magazine packed with inspiring handmade wedding ideas, fab real life wedding photo shoots and the best of the best Etsy shops for different and individual wedding supplies. If you don't have this issue yet I really do urge you to pop out and pick one up, especially if you or a friend is getting hitched!

If you can't get hold of Mollie Makes then I have cherry picked a few bits from my favourite Etsy shops featured in the magazine (and one that isn't) so you can still get some lovely ideas...x

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Etsy...Geninne

Bouquet by Geninne

Hello my lovelies! How are we today? I realised whilst looking back through some old posts that I hadn't done an 'Etsy' post in aaaages! Which, considering all the great shops and items I 'favourite' on a daily basis, is a mystery as to why I haven't shared any with you...so today I am highlighting the beautiful work of Geninne.

Five Sparrows by Geninne

I came across Geninne's Etsy shop when looking for a birthday present for my mum and instantly fell in love with her pretty watercolour birds. The detail and colour of each painting is just stunning and the birds have a real cheeky character about them. My favourites are from the collection below, simply named Birds (1-25) but there are plenty of other stunning pictures available...Geninne also has a beautiful blog and if you are quick you can still download the May desktop wallpaper and enjoy her work everyday, well until June...I love seeing it when I fire up my laptop! Have a good day blog peeps and I promise to share more Etsy gems soon...x

Clockwise from top left, Bird No.29, Bird No.27, Bird No.7, Bird No.17  all by Geninne.

Image copyright Geninne. Please do not reproduce/reblog/pin without permission. Thanks x

also...

Just wanted to say thank you for all of your lovely comments (and votes) on my first Spoonflower competition entry, I have even been contacted by a fellow spoonflower friend to say that they would like to buy it! Very exciting!

And BIG thanks to everyone who kept their fingers crossed for my friends wedding on Friday, the sun came and stayed out all day! A little chilly in the wind but it was such a fabulous day, beautifully styled with so many lovely little touches...a basket of flip-flops for your tired feet so you can keep on dancing well into the night, excellent touch! Congratulations to both Andy and Georgie! x

littletree loves...ikea PS 2012

screenshot taken HERE

Welcome back Monday...another week comes around again! Did you all have good weekends friends? Well incase your's was as wet and grey as mine then do not fret, the new bright and shiny Ikea PS 2012 range is to the rescue! Packed full of colour and great new designs, most of which I just have to have...like, right now...not that I have any more room of course!

This stunning bookcase/multi-frame cabinet (1) you could use to store lot's of pretty things in and they would be instantly framed to perfection, or line the glass inside with fabric/paper and hide away the things you don't want to see! Also how handy would the multi-drawer sideboard (4) be? Excellent in the hallway for all those bits and bobs...oh, and that rug! (2) Anyway enough about my favourites, what's catching your eye?x

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pinterest pick of the week...

picture taken my me...

Hello Friday! Today I am off to a friends wedding so I want all of you to cross your fingers and hope that the rain stays away for them!

One of this weeks e-course tasks was to use either our own holiday snaps or images from the internet to help us create colour palettes...now if you visit here often you will know that I put together colour palettes from images all the time but very rarely use my own pictures...so this one above is from my trip to Venice a few years ago. I love the soft purple and green/blue hues that, to be honest, I hadn't noticed before!

Anyhoo I still went 'exploring' on pinterest for other fabulous destination pics for colour inspiration and I ended up back visiting one of my favourite pinners (and colour fanatic) Chloe Douglas...the board called 'travel lust & colourful places' is exactly as described...each picture has you thinking 'wish I was here!' and then enlarging the picture as big as you can so you can kind of imagine being there...just me? Ok...well I have picked a few of my colour and destinations favourites from her board to share today and if the weather has been as bad for you as it has for us in the UK then hopefully it will remind you that the sun does still exsist! Have a great weekend friends xxx

Beautiful door in India

San Miguel de Allende - Mexico

The Saguaro Hotel - Palm Springs

Kochia Hill, Hitachinaka City - Japan

Blue Doors - Morocco (by Miguel Flores)

Lucknow - India

Incredible train tunnel in the Ukraine. Photography by Oleg Gordienko.

And just to prove there can still be colour even on a rainy day in London.....

Neals Yard - London

As usual click on the link above to take you to the board and sources.x