littltree discovers...Orla Kiely Bag

Finally! I remember reading ages ago that Orla Kiely was designing a bag for life for Tesco, in fact i'm sure it was possibly even before christmas?! Anyway I popped in to town over the weekend and what did I see...the bag! I have always coveted an Orla bag but never quite been able to afford one! This one costing £4 was slightly more in my price range and in aid of the CLIC Sargent charity for Children with Cancer so that was the perfect excuse,  plus I just love the colours (greys, mustard yellow and coral red! how predictable am I?) and it is the perfect size to take when i'm out car booting it, the handles are super comfy...ok ok enough gushing. Now all I have to do is keep my mum away from it...shes already attempted to steal it once! Hands off people its mine!

littletree loves...Mollie Makes magazine

Ooh I have just enough time to share with you this wonderful new magazine for anyone that's into (in their own words) making, collecting, crafting and thrifting. Ok so its not brand new, Mollie Makes launched in May but I couldn't find the first issue anywhere! Then in Tesco (of all places) I saw the second issue and snapped it up! I have been pouring over it all week and I just love it, you even get a free felt flower kit so you can get crafting immediately! So if you are a little bored this weekend I highly recommend picking up a copy to keep you crafting all weekend long, if (like me) you can't find a copy pop over to their website. Unfortunately they only have a sneak peak of the first issue up on the site, but it gives you a good idea as to the kind of lovely things that's in the magazine, plus there is lots of other goodies to look at! Have a good weekend! xxx
Ps. if you subscribe before the 31st of July you get the first 3 issues for £5! How can you resist?

I'm back!

Hello to everyone who has been wondering where I have been the last few months...well work has kept me pretty busy but the main thing is that my camera has broken (so no pics to post!) and some sad news is that we had to put down one of my little puss cats a few weeks ago...very sad time. Better news is that car boot season is in full swing and I have already pick up a few gems that I can't wait to share with you once I get my new camera, which hopefully will be arriving any day soon! So I have managed to keep myself busy with a few projects including a little re-design here on my blog, which I hope you like...I am, as you may already know, quite partial to a grey and mustard colour scheme! Is it wrong to be addicted to grey? I just like how many varieties and hues there are! You would think living in the uk I would be fed up with grey, seeing as our skies are grey most of the year, but no I still love it! Anyway I am off to work this afternoon so I am off to whip up a delicious smoothie to have with some homemade flapjack, third batch in 2 weeks...have possibly become addicted to flapjack too...

littletree makes...easter table nameplace vases

Happy Easter to all! Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine, which is rare for a bank holiday weekend here in the uk, so soak it up! Anyway had a little idea using my mum's bud vase collection, she has about 30 of them all lined up along our sash windows in the house, all different colours, shapes and sizes. (Not sure what a bud vase looks like? Click here.) Using all of the odds and ends in my sewing box I decorated them using bits of ribbon and buttons, but by adding a label they make easter table nameplace vases! I thought they would look lovely dotted around the table with everyones name and greeting on, you could even fill them with spring flowers or little chocolate eggs for children. Either way I had fun making them and thought I would pass the idea on! You can buy bud vases at most charity shops and car boot fairs for anything between 20p and £5. Depending on what colours you collect you could put together a christmas version with reds and green and fill them with holly sprigs, in a large cluster they would make an interesting centrepiece. Anyway hope you have had a good friday (haha) and have a good weekend. xox

Easter cards...

 Feeling in the easter holiday mood and using a few older designs that were stored away, I have managed to put together a few easter card designs. I am particularly fond of the curious little chick with the worm! Hope the weather is nice where you are today, it certainly makes life a little nicer when it's sunny and warm!

retro flowers...

So, actually got some work to show you after a long while! I've spent ages just tweaking these designs, getting the colours right, I will admit I am little addicted to grey and mustard yellow combos at the moment but felt this palette need a little lift and the navy and dusty blue does just that. It gives it a fresh and spring-like feel. The designs are inspired by retro kitchenware patterns used by companies like Hornsea and Pyrex back in the 50's and 60's, so the mustard yellow is a nod to those eras. We also have an amazing american pyrex style bowl at home (I always use it to mix muffins in for some reason! And they always turn out great so maybe it holds some american muffin mojo...) The bowl has a lovely flower design in a beautiful blue, which was inspiring for both the colour and the pattern! Mmm...muffins...might have to whip some up later!

Web Wonders...design seeds

Just discovered this absolutely beautiful website through the Tigerprint uk blog. Design seeds is run by Jessica Colaluca and it's a whole blog dedicated to inspirational colour palettes that she creates from individual photographs, which themselves are beautiful. I thought this lovely spring colour palette was just right to perk up a grey day here in the uk, but there are so many other inspirational photos and palettes, take a peek!

littletree visits...Vintage Vogue Fashion Fair

Had an extremley fun and potentially very expensive day out at the weekend at the Vintage Vogue fashion fair in Brentwood, Essex. I had missed the last fair as it fell on the day of my sisters birthday so I was determined to go to this one! My friends and I had such a lovely day and every single stall was bursting with interesting retro finds! Clothing, accessories, jewelery and homewares, plus a few local designer makers who's work was retro themed. Oh and how could I forget the Tea Room!!? Beautiful mis-matched vintage china, the biggest cakes you have ever seen plus sandwiches, scones and pastries galore! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the fair but check out their flikr page for a gallery of pictures from past events. Now of course I didn't come away empty handed, and although I was tempted by all the beautiful clothes my love of kitchenalia won and I walked away with a super cute patterned Pyrex dish and a pretty tea set by Gainsborough. The tea set is missing two cups (ebay here I come!) but I had to get them both as the lady on the stall was so nice she let me have both the dish and tea set for £15! I could have gone mad as there were so many lovely bits and pieces so I think I was very restrained! If your in Essex or even London then do pop along to the next fair which is Sun 2nd October, for more information visit the Vintage Vogue website.

Mothers Day Gift...

Well I have finally got a picture of the present I made for my Mum to show you! It is a poem taken from a victorian book (how pretty is the book cover!) all about the language and poetry of flowers. I used the poem about the Peruvian Heliotrope (above) which means I Love You. I tried lots of different fonts in photoshop but decided to hand draw everything instead and added all the little birds, bees and flowers which gives it that 'in the garden' look. I added all the colour and little daisy chain border in photoshop after I scanned the original, it was going to be a card but thought it would be much nicer framed as a picture. My mum's a bit of a gardening enthusiast and has an unhealthy obsession for plant pots so thought this was ideal and just a little unique!

*cough cough sneeze*

Ok this week has officially been the worst week of the year so far, apart from suffering with a cold (if you hadn't already guessed...) I have worked almost everyday this week and when I have had any time on my hands all I've wanted to do is sleep and feel sorry for myself! I am a real man when it comes to being ill, I complain 24/7, certain that I have the plague and will die shortly. Dramatic I know. I have been working on a little gift for my mum for Mothers Day tomorrow which I will share with you once it is finished and in place. Anyway almost a new week and a nice little break from work is due so hopefully I will be a little perkier. Happy Mothers Day to all mums out there tomorrow xox.