weekend inspiration...

...dreamy whites...

...also known as 'you all that' as inspired by dottie angel's embroidered words... ;)

...soft shades ~ cream, milky white, beige, taupe, softest grey, silver, hints of sage and ochre...
...textures ~ smooth, soft, natural materials, linen, cotton, silk, bamboo, wood, stone, aged surfaces, peeling paint, rusting metal...

...1. bailiwickdesigns, 2. Dewberry Parfum ♥ ♥, 3. threekusjes, 4. Alice M. Wingerden, 5. dottie angel, 6. ishtar olivera, 7. *mayxxx*, 8. wood & wool stool, 9. ivy style33...

...it's good to occasionally cleanse the colour palette with beautiful white shades, wipe the slate clean as they say and find a fresh new perspective...
...but as we all know white is never just one shade or one colour, is it!?
...something that paint manufacturers know all too well, which is great really as there is something so compulsive about collecting their wee swatch cards ~ i know you all know what i'm talking about... ;)

...which is why i was kinda excited about this colour palette generator, yeah i know i'm a bit slow on the uptake as it has been around for forever, but hey! better late than never... ;)

...i just love the names of all these colours, i can't decide if my favourite is 'black squeeze' or 'pearl bush'...
...and what better way to waste an hour or so on a dreary friday afternoon!?

...wishing you all a wonderful weekend... :)
emma
x

Ruche...

...i was doing a wee bit of blog hopping this morning when i found my way to a gorgeous online boutique called Ruche and their new season lookbook ~ Spring 2010...
...i absolutely love the muted springy colours and the sweet vintage styling of these shots, as well as the clothes themselves which have a great balance between casual and feminine appeal ~ oh how i wish i could pack away my winter wardrobe and splurge on lots of this loveliness!

...edited to add ~ the photoshoot for this spring collection was done by Stephanie Williams, be sure to check out her blog and portfolio if you want more beautiful imagery to swoon over... :)

...wishing you all a wonderful tuesday!

emma
x

colour your monday happy...

...with a few of my recent favourites... :)

...Workspace corner ~ jasna.janekovic...

...A "garota" da Natália ~ Maman Xuxudidi...

...ten garlands in ten days: day seven ~ jek in the box...

...olivia's hearts ~ sweet sweet life...

...untitled ~ hrsmithjones...

...when i first set up the 'all colours in...' group on flickr these were the kind of images i had in mind ~ full to bursting with rich, vibrant colour and beautiful printed fabrics and papers ~ the kind of images that never fail to inspire the 'crafty soul' within and make you want to dive right in and get creative!

...i know my 'crafty soul' is feeling inspired and today i'm going to channel all that creative energy into finishing up a few commissions and getting a few orders sent off (as well as a huge pile of laundry and housework!), so that at the end of the week i can let my 'crafty soul' run riot and make a start on some new ideas i've been pondering ~ yay!

emma
x

and the winner is...

...yay! of course this wee lovely lady is called 'phyllis'... ;)
...and thanks to the saviour that is google (and probably wikipedia where i got the clue from in the first place!), nearly sixty of you guessed right!

...but of course there can only be one winner, so without further ado...

...drum roll please...

...imagine me rummaging around in this wee bowl for a while to build the tension...

...a wee bit longer...

... ! ...

...'get on with it!' ~ i hear you cry...

...oh, all right!


...yes, we have a winner!
...the ever so lovely miss ~

...yay! and congratulations miss Christina!
...wee 'phyllis' will soon be winging her way to you... :)

...thank you so much to everyone who entered, i wish i could give you all your own wee 'vintage rose pincushions! but as you all know i have a serious chocolate habit to fund, so the rest of the ladies will be finding their way into my wee shop very soon... :)

...enjoy the rest of your weekend and i shall see you all on monday... :)

emma
x

weekend inspiration...

...inviting winter warmth...
...sludgy shades ~ cream, sage, mocha, blush, grey, taupe, slate blue, salmon, olive, ochre and chocolate...
...textures and pattern ~ aged, peeling, worn, weathered, knitted and crocheted, vintage florals and textured stripes...

...1. //fine little day//, 2. greenolive*, 3. sandra juto, 4. .natasha., 5. ~*~...nicole...~*~, 6. lush bella, 7. 3GIRLS + a goat, 8. Natasha.Gorodetsky, 9. papernstitch...

...longing for spring...
...pretty shades ~ lemon, cream, turquoise, blush, beige, sage, blue and gold...
...textures and patterns ~ vintage lace, crochet and faded floral fabrics...

...1. ohhellofriend, 2. backhomeagainvintage, 3. dottie angel, 4. empresstk719, 5. ~*~...nicole...~*~, 6. poppytalk, 7. SusannahT, 8. Creature Comforts, 9. lush bella...

...i seem to be torn between these two palettes at the moment...
...i'm really enjoying these sludgy winter shades (although the actual winter ~ not so much!), but i do have a longing for the spring too...
...i'm so ready for things to warm up a wee bit! there is hope though, as today in the park i noticed that the daffodils were poking their heads through the frozen ground, only by an inch or so but they still made me smile... :)

...which do you prefer this week ~ the sludgy winter shades or the pretty 'spring' collection?

emma
x

oh dear...

...it seems that this wee lady is going to have to wait a while before she can go to a new home, as still no one has guessed her name yet... :(

...so to recap, the first clues were...

...as yet no one has guessed correctly (still holding true)!
...and, her name has a 'y' in it...

...so, here are two new clues that should be a wee bit more helpful ~ hopefully!

...her name also has a 'p' in it...
...she has a namesake in Greek mythology, one of 'the heroines' who was married to a Greek hunk called 'Demophon'...
...

...now then, you have until Saturday to get your guesses in. i'm not sure what time, but i will leave a comment on each post linked to this giveaway saying something like 'the giveaway is now closed' ~ that is assuming that there will be a correct answer by then... ;)
...as before, please check my original post for the rules... :)

...good luck!

...edited to add ~ just a wee reminder that in the original rules i said i would randomly pick a winner if more than one person guessed correctly... :)

emma
x

colour your tuesday happy...

...with a pretty bunch of fresh flowers... :)

...untitled ~ abbytrysagain...

...Buttercups ~ Demoiselle Libellule...

...untitled ~ kwestad...

...flowers ~ wood & wool stool...

...september flowers ~ hyggelig happy...

...i'm still feeling very squiffy this morning and am on the verge of losing my voice altogether because of a ridiculously sore throat... :(
...so today i thought i would cheer myself up with some beautiful fresh flowers from 'all colours in...', if you're also having an iffy week i hope they help cheer you up a wee bit too... :)
...thank you so much for all your well wishes and remedies ~ although i must admit i've never been able to muster the courage to eat raw garlic! i'm quite happy to stick with my honey and lemon... ;)

emma
x

guess again...

...my apologies, i did mean to drop in over the weekend with this clue but yesterday i woke feeling a wee bit squiffy and today i have a full on stinking head cold ~ ugh!
...

...anyway, onto a clue ~ i can tell you that after 63(!) guesses no one guessed correctly yet!
...and she has a 'y' somewhere in her name...

...if you are going to hazard a guess for the first time remember to check my original post for the rules of the giveaway...
...

...now i hope you all don't mind, but as i'm feeling quite poop i shall wait til tomorrow to bring you this weeks colourful collection of inspiration... :)

...wishing you all a wonderful monday and good luck with your guessing!

emma
x

weekend inspiration...

...okay, so i was originally thinking of putting a more 'romantic' collection together in time for the valentines weekend, but to be honest i wasn't really feeling it...

...at least not in the more commercial sense of valentines day with armfuls of red roses, as much pink champagne as you could slurp and decadent boxes of yummy chocolates ~ 'yeah right!' i hear you all exclaim... ;) ~ or at the very least a Hallmark card with a 'cute' bear clutching a big red heart slapped on the front...

...me and my man have always believed that being romantic should be spontaneous, it should be something you do when you feel it, and 'it' doesn't have to be some overblown gesture that has lost sight of what romance actually means...

...it can be something small, something as simple as pausing the mundane routine of the weekly shop at the supermarket for a wee hug, a wee phone call (none of this text nonsense!) in the day just to say 'hi' or even a thoughtful cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit ~ although it has to be a chocolate biscuit, you can't compromise that one!

...yes indeed, it's always the simple things that make life lovely... :)

...earthy blues...
(looking suspiciously like 'winter on the beach', i think... !)

...1. undeniably, she felt cornered., 2. .2512, 3. Untitled, 4. Vintage Magazine Pages 1958, 5. .1974, 6. .2303, 7. cars, 8. Owl, 9. rome...

...anyway, if you take a moment and look at this weeks inspiration a little differently you can almost visualise a romantic weekend break in Italy (bottom right), visiting amazing historical sights and galleries to gaze at stunning works of art...
...yeah, you have to squint quite hard, but i know you all have great creative imaginations and will have no trouble visualising it... :)

...but if you are in need of a lovey~dovey fix then you can take a peek at my monday post and some lovingly crafted artworks, if you must... ;)

emma
x

...ps ~ i will pop in sometime over the weekend with a clue for my give away... :)

today i'm loving...

...the classic red and white combo (nothing new there then!) with a wee splash of turqouise in the mix...
...you can see my 'homely...' collection, over in etsy's treasury west, featuring these colours in some great graphic designs and vintage finds...

...although today i'm particularly loving these colours in these gorgeous necklaces...

...recycled tin charm necklace - vintage paisley ~ little black rabbit...

...snow white ~ GUGAW...

...Sackcloth Bib Necklace ~ Corrieberry Pie...

...Droplet Necklace - Red ~ Lila Ruby King...

...Almost Weekend ~ vadjutka...

...Storm Cloud Necklace No.3 ~ OrdinaryMommy...

...Porcelain Necklace - Cottage Garden Crescent ~ seaurchin...

emma
x

...ps ~ don't forget my wee give away, keep the guesses coming!

a wee thank you... :)

...yes indeed, i think a wee thank you is most definitely in order...

...i know we're only into February, but so far 2010 has been quite the exciting year (or few weeks!) for me and my crocheted ladies. we have been invited to say hello on some lovely blogs and, as you know, we've been honoured with a virtual award. there is even another really very exciting thing that i haven't told you about yet, but unfortunately my lips are sealed until it comes to fruition! on top of all that my wee etsy shop has never been so popular, wee 'mavis' even made it to the etsy front page a couple of hours ago!
...phew!!!

...so i want to say thank you for all this loveliness that has kept me smiling and happy despite my winter blues, and i shall do so with a wee giveaway!

...do you remember a very 'cryptic' post from a couple of weeks ago? did you figure out what they were going to be? if so, would you like one? would you like your own wee snippet of spring cheer?

...would you like your own wee 'vintage rose' pin cushion?

...if your answer to most of those questions is yes, then listen closely and i'll tell you how you could win this lovely wee lady here...

...yep, i think she's my fave too... :)

...all you have to do is guess her name ~ simple!

~~~ the rules are ~~~
~ you must post your guess here on my blog in the comments section, i will not accept guesses from any other source (oooh, that's a bit strict!)
~ only one guess per comment, if you include more than one guess in a comment i will only count the first one (it almost feels like you're at school again, doesn't it!?)...
~ you can comment as many times as you like for more guesses (that's a wee bit nicer!)...
~ if more than one person guesses correctly i will (somehow) randomly choose one person to be the winner (that sounds fair enough!)...
~ in order to win you must leave me some way of contacting you, ie. if you don't have a blog or etsy shop etc. then please leave a valid e-mail address with your comment and guess (yep, i'm in full headmistress mode now!)
~ you have one week to get your guesses in and i will announce the winner next wednesday, that is if my 'iffy computer situation' allows it...
~ oh, and i may drop one or two clues in the week, that is unless everyone guesses right the first time... ;)

...good luck!

emma
x

colour your monday happy with...

...love ~ ATLITW...

...heart garlands ~ everyday joy...

...i do... ~ dottie angel...

...Hello Weekend! ~ _cassisa_...

...love, love, love... ~ sweetjessie...

...Valentine's Day Garland ~ lavenderandlime...

...love!

...of course, how can we not have some lovey~dovey themed inspiration this week!?
...seeing all these lovelies today makes me want to rummage through my fabric stash and embroidery threads to do a wee bit of stitching myself. i have a quiet day today, i'm waiting on a yarn order before i can get cracking on some new crochet projects, so maybe a wee bit of soothing stitching will be perfect ~ and i shall let my man do the laptop shopping!
...yes there was much more 'effing and jeffing' when my pc refused to play ball again this morning! thankfully i have loan of a laptop so i don't have to go 'cold turkey' with my flickr addiction... ;)
...anyway, if you're in need of more creative inspiration this week remember to pop on over to 'all colours in...' for some colourful loveliness...
...

...before i go i want to say a huge thank you to you all for your lovely comments and words of support and encouragement about my Poppies award ~ thank you so much!

emma
x

the exciting news...

...so now to my big and exciting news, although i know a lot of you already know about it, i want to say how excited, speechless, thrilled, honoured and generally shocked and amazed i am by this said news...
...i want to say that it completely stopped me in my tracks on Friday, i had to have a wee moment to myself to let it sink in and to realise that yes it is my name there in black and white, and yes it does link to my very own wee etsy shop...
...even now, as i type this, i'm a wee bit giddy at the thought that...

...yes, i got a second placing in the Crafters category, in the Jury's Choice Awards in the Poppies!!!

...woooooooo~hoooooooo!!!

...really, i can't thank the lovely jurors enough for this honour, for picking out my wee cushions and garlands especially when there were so many talented artists and crafters to choose from! speaking of which, here are some stunning items from the 1st and 3rd place winners of this category...

...1st place went to Yokoo, some of the most beautifully presented crochet goodies i've seen on etsy...

...The Pembroke Cowl in Sweet Pea...

...The English Thompson in Citron...

...The Elizabeth II in Barley...

...Raw Brown Warmer...
~~~

...3rd place went to Maranon, the most gorgeous embroidered jewelry that has me swooning over delicious patterns and colour combinations...

...pinhata...

...dome...

...batman...

...see-through squares...

...if you have a few minutes please, please do check out these two artist shops for yourself and marvel at their incredible skills and talent, i promise you will not be disappointed... :)

...now i'm off to have a wee celebratory glass of red wine and a few squares of yummy dark chocolate ~ the perfect way to celebrate methinks!

...wishing you all the most wonderful day and have fun if you're watching the Superbowl ~ my man is a huge American football fan and will be staying up most of the night to watch it with his pals!

emma
x