New Vs. Old: The Things I Brought Back from Munich

I'll be writing a proper post about my time in Munich soon, but today I want to show you a few things I bought back from my travels over there. Munich has a good mix of old and new in terms of shops and markets, reflecting the city and it's history, so was a bit of a dream location for me. There are plenty of regular car boots and flea markets where you can find vintage treasures (if you are English-speaking and Munich-based try out toytowngermany.com for lists and dates) as well as contemporary homeware and stationery stores for more recent products. Below are some of the bits and pieces I picked up on the high street.

I bought lots of washi tape for a few craft projects I have in mind, some good quality bakers twine, some pegs (also for a craft project), some coloured pens and some notebooks from a shop called Semicolon. The postcard is a picture of my new favourite drink - Augustiner's Edelstoff - mainly because that's all the beer gardens sold! The heart? Well, I couldn't leave Munich without one really!

Now for the older things.

The photos aren't great, sorry! I've included a few close up shots so you can see the details in some of the pieces. The embroidered hankies are so sweet, they show a typically dressed Bavarian couple - the man in lederhosen and the woman in dirndl. The tear-out floral sheets are from a book I was given for free, the Bavarian soldiers were a bargain at €1, though I did notice later that the red one is missing arms - ooops! Finally, the vintage hanger is my favourite find, I love the typography and the cream clippers, I think it's so chic. Another bargain at €1. The rest of the items are, from the top left: a set of hand-crotchet hangers, a hand-made tapestry, knitted pan-holders, a prettily illustrated children's music book, a vintage Munich postcard, some doilies, a few meters of lace trim, seven vintage gold-coloured buttons and a mint green vintage jumper. Phew.

I hope you've enjoyed having a peek at all my new things! Hope you all have a great weekend.

{Images: Laura Blanksby}

Polka Love

This week I was introduced to the Danish brand Umlaute Designbureau (via the blog Fjeld Borg) and discovered these colourful stick-on polka dots, called POLKAlove! They are self-adhesive multi-coloured dots which can be used for decoration all over the house or for craft projects. I think they're fab and add a nice splash of colour to a room.

Here they are on the wall in Fjeld Borg writer, Ingrid's, work area.

Don't they look great? They come in a pack of 60 with 15 different colours with each dot measuring 3.5cm in diameter. The best bit is that they're re-usable to you can stick and un-peel 'til you've got it just right! To buy, head over to Umlaute Designbureau's on-line shop.

{Images: Fjeld Borg and Umlaute Designbureau}

La Rara

I'm finding myself increasingly addicted to stationery at the minute, from washi tape, coloured bakers twine and Kraft paper to cards  and files. There is just so much choice out there at the minute, all with fresh new designs. The latest brand I have fallen for is La Rara, a boutique stationers based in Sydney, Australia. They sell everything from screen-printed notebooks, cards, invitations and gift tags. Ran by Lara, originally from London but who now lives in Sydney, La Rara have a fresh and bright style which uses simple designs in bright shades. Here are some of my favourites.

I absolutely love the balloon design! It comes on cards, calendars and postcards and is available in yellow or pink. There is also a balloon print notepad made from brown card with a single screen-printed pink balloon on it, it's so cute!

Another fave is this happy 'You are my Sunshine' card. A perfect gift for a dear friend?

And last but not least here is a small selection of other products that are available. There's bound to be one to take your fancy!

Thanks for stopping by!

{All images: La Rara}

Christmas Wish List No.18

Road trips, ice cream, soda, pretzels & beer, drive-in movies, midnight bonfires, afternoon naps and water balloon fights...

Well, aren't these just fabby? Not only are they pastel-coloured and pretty, they also spell out a few of my favourite things! It must be fate. They are made by stationery shop One Fine Dae and you can get your mitts on them from Etsy. If you are still frantically Christmas shopping, these would make an ACE stocking filler.

{Image: One Fine Dae}

Welcome to the World of Abigail Brown

Hello and happy Tuesday! How was your weekend? What did you get up to? I'm pleased to say that mine was spent catching up on a very large pile of magazines that have been calling my name for a very long time! Anyway, whilst browsing my magazines I came across the artist Abigail Brown and her wonderful hand-crafted birds and just could not wait to share them with you.

Abigail is an illustrator, designer and textile artist living in London and creates the most wonderfully sweet textile birds. She hand crafts all her birds and gets to work on a lot of fun commissions (see her website for the latest additions). She has a great collection ranging from her small colourful birds (my personal fave) to blue tits, kingfishers and wrens. Her website is a must-see so head over and have a peek- I bet you fall in love with at least one of her creations!

So pretty aren't they? It's these little fellows below that are the cutest of the lot though...

The cheeky-chappies have so much personality! I eventually want one in every colour, but until then I'm going to get the little pink one and he can take residence on my bookshelf.

The birds are made from a selection of vintage and modern cloth and have little wire legs. There is also a robin in her collection which would make a fab Christmas decoration or gift.
Hope you all have a lovely week!

{All images: Abigail Brown}

Bringing the Outside in...

Don't you just LOVE this wooden bookshelf tree by Olivier Dollé?

Mixing traditional craft with contemporary design, French designer Olivier creates pieces that are both beautiful and functional. This bookshelf comes in either oak (main photos) or walnut veneer (bottom right) and would make a unique focal point for any living space. It would even look good without the books, as a piece of wall art. To learn more about Olivier, please visit his website where you can see more examples of his work and see what he's up to now.

If your budget can't quite stretch to a designer piece but you still love the idea of bringing the outdoors in, why not have a go at this DIY project I came across whilst browsing Poppytalk?

Made by one of Poppytalk's readers, this DIY project will be cheap and lots of fun! Although it is a family tree, I think that you could swap the photo frames for coat hooks and hang jackets, hats and umbrellas on. Perfect for a hallway! The tree is cut free-hand from self-adhesive cork and frames (or hooks) can be picked up cheaply from car boots and charity shops. Why not have a go? Click here to see the full project, then start making!

{Images 1-4, Olivier Dollé. Image 5, Poppytalk}