colour your monday happy...

With vintage inspired, pretty spring pastels... :)

Image credits: 1. jutta / kootut murut, 2. it's a chimmy simmy CONFETTI GARDEN, 3. wood & wool stool, 4. PataPri, 5. ·Karen Barbé·

Good morning my dears, I hope you all had a fabulous weekend... !?
Mine was filled with some much needed spring cleaning. It was so good to open all the windows and let the fresh spring breeze blow the wintry cobwebs away. Oh and the whole place filled with that wonderful smell of clean laundry drying in the sunshine, so lovely... :)
I did get a whole pile of crochet done too but it wasn't all work, there were lazy mornings with breakfast in bed and long dog walks around Arthur's Seat... :)
With that and the glorious blue skies we have over Edinburgh this morning I'm feeling light and fresh and quite excited about some of the crochet projects I have planned for this week... more about them later though... :)
Until then I hope you're enjoying my 'all colours in' picks for today!? Some pretty pastels with a lovely vintage spring vibe going on... :)

Happy, happy Monday to you all... !
Emma, x

colour palette ~ awol / spring in my studio...

Hello my dears... :)
Sorry for going 'awol' yesterday but I'm thinking it may become a regular occurrence over the next few weeks as I gear up for the Selvedge Spring fair. I really want to get together a wide and varied collection for it, so to achieve the mammoth amount of crocheting I have planned I'm going to have to curb my computer time for a wee while.
Of course I won't be gone completely, I'll still be here for my regular Monday and Friday posts because they're such a great part of my creative motivation. It's just that I won't have the time to trawl Etsy and Flickr for as many gorgeous finds as usual. Instead you will have to put up with the odd post of what I'm working on... ;)

So this was my view yesterday while I happily worked on a bunch of new organic pot holders. I'm loving my new shelf arrangement with lots of white and pops of bright springy colours. Yesterday it really did feel like spring for the first time, it felt a wee bit warmer than usual and the sun was shining bright. You could almost smell the newness in the air... :)

What better inspiration for today's colour palette that my very lovely 'springy' shelves!? I hope you love it and my wee 'Kokeshi cuties' just as much as I do... :)

Oh, and before I go off to crochet yet more pot holdering goodness I want to say a huge, nay enormous 'thank you' to every one who took the time to vote for me in the Handmade Olympics. Thanks to you all my wee garlands brought home the Gold medal for Britain ~ woo-hoo! I am completely thrilled, grateful and quite heart warmed by your generosity... :)

I do hope you all have the most wonderful weekend, whether it is 'springy' or not...
Emma, x

today i'm loving...

This fabulous collection of Mid Century Icon prints from One Little Bird. Miss Leanda, another very dear virtual friend of mine, is the wonderful talent behind this gorgeous collection and I am completely in love with her tribute to George Nelson's Sunflower Clock. Isn't that pink just gorgeous... !?

All images: One Little Bird

Miss Leanda is inspired by all things mid century, so if these prints are pushing your buttons too you will love her Cotton Reel Label and Typewriter Ribbon Label prints from last year. Not to mention her quirky Eye Chart Panagrams and stunning new Digital Collage collection. If you would like to find out more about Miss Leanda please do visit her wee shop and lovely blog... :)

Emma, x

Selvedge...

So my lovely blogging buddies, I can finally tell you all about my super duper exciting news that I have been wanting to tell you for over a month...

I've been invited to exhibit at the Selvedge Spring Fair... eeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!

Imaging the scene just after I read that e-mail...

Happy dance! eeeek! Calling everyone! Omg, omg, omg! Another happy dance! Almost hyperventilating... breathe. eeeek! Then a wash of mild panic flowing over me as I realise how many weeks away it is and how much crocheting I'll need to do... double eeeek!!!

Even just thinking about it all right now and putting it into black and white I can feel the giddiness rising in the pit of my stomach! Oh, I can't tell you all how excited I am about being invited to take part in this fair... :)
Especially since I'm going to be alongside some other fantastically talented exhibitors including Papa Stour, Catherine Hammerton, Blodwen, Charlotte Macy, The Laundry, Claire Fletcher, Jennifer Collier, Catherine Ball, Becky Adams, Rosie's Armoire and Cornelia O'Donovan ~ wow! There will be thirty exhibitors in total and you can see the full list here.

So here are all the important details ~ The fair takes place at St.Augustine's church hall, which is right next to the Selvedge shop on Archway Road, North London. It is on Saturday 2nd April, the day before Mother's Day here in the UK, and will be open from 10am to 5pm. Entry is £2.50, but this is redeemable in the Selvedge Dry Goods shop across the road... :) Oh, and as the whole event is being sposored by Amy Butler it will be decorated with her gorgeous floral fabrics, I can't wait to see that for myself... !

Oh, there it goes again that slight feeling of panicked, nervous excitement! I'm so looking forward to it and am excited about the folks I could meet on the day. If anyone is going to be in London that weekend and wants to pop by to say 'hello' I would be thrilled if you did... :)

Now I must go and finish up tidying my wee studio so I can get on with crocheting some new goodies, I'll get some pictures very soon... :)

Until tomorrow my lovelies, I shall wish you all a wonderful day!
Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

With cornflower and sky blues with bright juicy orange... :)

Image credits: 1. cornflowerbluestudio, 2. rainingsheep, 3. colorful senses, 4. {brooke} april two eighty, 5. Happy Find

Hello my dears, I hope you all had a great weekend... !?
How gorgeous is this collection today!? I love the combination of those strong blues and bright oranges, it feels very refreshing on this chilly Monday morning. Don't you just love Raina's dining room!? Those stunning tulips against her beautiful cornflower blue wall with the sunlight streaming in... just beautiful! Oh, and Happy Find's pincushion, how cute is that... !?

I'm off to tidy my wee studio this morning, it seems to have got into quite a state over the last couple of weeks of manic crocheting and I can't think through the chaos! It will be good to put my hooks down for a couple of hours too, it might even give me time to pick up my camera again... !

Wishing you all a great Monday,
Emma, x

colour palette ~ jade and cerise...

Image credits: 1. MayaLee Photography, 2. laurawilliams, 3. {natalie spencer photography}, 4. DanielleT, 5. SteffenTuck

Oh my, it's Friday again... yay!
I'm absolutely loving today's palette of these gorgeous jade greens and hot cerise pinks. They're so vibrant and energetic, just what I need because I feel like I'm flagging a wee bit today. I'm so over the cold weather and just want to feel the warmth and freshness of spring... hmpf!
Although I did take myself off to do a wee spot of yarn shopping this morning, which always helps lift the spirits! I'm really pleased too because I've found four new (and very yummy!) colours to freshen up my custom flower garland colour palettes ready for the coming spring. I'll crochet a few samples over the weekend and show them to you next week... :)

Also next week, I promise and swear down that I will share my exciting news! Until then I hope you all have a wonderful weekend... :)
Emma, x

blossoming into spring...

Good morning my sweets... :)
Today I want to share with you some pictures of a very pretty custom order I worked on last month. Actually I've been meaning to show you for the last couple of weeks but I keep getting distracted by all the pretty things I'm finding around the blog-o-sphere and of course on Orla's site!
So let me introduce miss Agnes, a new 'blossom garland' design that I am so completely in love with! Her dainty wee blooms are so small and delicate with none more that 4cm across and the tiniest of the tiny at just over 1cm...

I'm so thrilled with how she turned out, as is her lovely new owner, just look how pretty miss Agnes looks hanging in the bright sunlight of her kitchen window... absolutely perfect!

Image credit: Ponder and Stitch

I am busily crocheting more of these tiny wee blooms (amongst tons of other pretty stuff!) and hope to be adding a wee blossom garland or two to the shop ready for the spring... :)

Oh, and just so you know I will be spilling yet more very exciting news very soon, but until then I hope you all have a perfect day... :)
Emma, x

today i'm loving...

Actually today I am completely head over heels in love with Orla Kiely's Poppy Meadow kitchen collection... !

I love this print so much and I think it's fast becoming my favourite Orla Kiely one ever, really lovely! The only problem I'm having is deciding which colour I like best... I love the classic looking 'Blue' because of that gorgeous flash of red, which I'm such a sucker for! But then the 'Brown' has that perfect granny chic retro vibe going on with that yummy yellow...

But which is better? I suppose there's only one way to find out....... FIGHT!!!!!

Happy, happy Wednesday... :)
Emma, x

ps ~ I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to get that into a blog post... ;)

going to the olympics...

The 'Handmade Olympics' that is....... eeek!!!

I am so excited this morning as I've just found out that my custom forever flower garlands have not only been nominated for the handmade olympics, over at the rikrak studios, but have also made it to the finals, woo-hoo!!! They are in 'event 4' which is 'honouring handmade goodies that inspire loveliness and wellness'... wow! I can't tell you how sweet and touching it is to know that some folk think of my work in this way... I'm almost speechless, thank you so very much!

So, now I'm going to ask all you lovely blog readers for a huge, huge, huge favour... (imagine me smiling ever so sweetly and batting my eyelids furiously at you, almost like I'm trying to casually remove a an irksome wee bit of grit from my eye!)... please, please, please would you mind popping by the event 4 voting page and possibly casting your lovely wee vote my way? Please... :) If you do I might even pop round and share some of my precious chocolate stash with you... ahem, well maybe... ;)

Before I go I would like to say a very special thank you to those lovely folk who nominated my ladies, to the lovely Ez who juried 'event 4' and to the super Kristal for holding such a fabulous event... :)

Wishing you all the most fabulous day!
Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

Valentines edition ~ love and romance in a creative 'all colours in' style... :)

Image credits: 1. hownowdesign, 2. annalea hart, 3. itchinstitchin, 4. rainingsheep, 5. littlejennywren

Happy valentines day everyone... !

I've been very much looking forward to today's post and rifling through all the love, heart and valentine themed submissions to 'all colours in'. I'm always astounded by the vastness of creativity that such a holiday can bring out in folk. Over the last couple of weeks I've been following the incredible Abbey, of Aesthetic Outburst, in her mission to create twenty handmade valentine projects in twenty days. She has made some absolutely gorgeous wee pieces, one of my favourites being this perfect cross stitched heart. Just lovely... :)

I do hope you all have a wonderful day and find a wee moment of love or romance waiting for you somewhere... I know I'm looking forward to a yummy fish supper and an evening in with my man... :)
Emma, x

colour palette ~ caught between two seasons...

Image credits: 1. julie hoover, 2. Svenmarck, 3. ann he., 4. dottie angel

Happy, happy Friday my lovelies... :)
Today I'm trying to remind myself that despite my longing for the colour of spring we're still in mid-winter here. The snowdrops are only just blooming here in Edinburgh and the skies are still quite grey. I feel like I'm caught between two seasons, almost in a state of limbo...
So there we have the inspiration behind today's palette ~ cold winter whites and soft lilac greys with snippets of colour from wild spring flowers, warm yellows and purples with bold spring greens. It reminds me of this crocus inspired cushion cover I made a while back... :)

Now I'm going to have to love you and leave you... until Monday that is! It's just that I have a lot of organising and crocheting on the to do list this weekend so I'm going to sign off early. I promise to tell you what it is all for very soon... :)
So until then I shall wish you all the most wonderful weekend,
Emma, x

thank you sweet blogging buddies...

Hello my dears, today I have a few thank yous I want to say to a few lovely blogging folk. Either for being so kind as to honour me with a wee award or with a wee blog post about me and my lovely ladies over the last couple of weeks... :)

Image credits: 1. The Wheatfield, 2. Delightfully noted, 3. Wit and Whistle, 4. Beau Ideal

First up is the lovely Helen, of Serendipity Child, and Carina, of http://www.carina-at-home.com/2011/01/big-thank-you.html, both of whom awarded me the 'Stylish Blogger Award', thank you so much you guys!

Secondly is the ever so lovely Beth, of The Linen Cat, who was kind enough to feature a custom garland I made for her recently alongside some of her own gorgeous crafty creations, I love those wee birds! Please do check out her lovely blog and Folksy shop... :)

Thirdly is the equally love Claire, of Paint Drops Keep Falling, who was the lucky winner of miss Edith. She was super kind to blog about miss Edith and send me a gorgeous wee gift card featuring one of her tiny hand painted cupcake artworks, I absolutely love it miss Claire... :)

Fourthly was miss Danielle, of Curious Key, who surprised me with a whole blog post about my wee studio and my lovely ladies. Thank you Danielle... !

Lastly, but certainly by no means least as I'm going in chronological order here, is a thank you to the lovely Elizabeth, of Rosalilium, who generously awarded me with the 'A Blog with Substance' Award. The idea of this award is to describe what blogging means to you with five words, so here are mine...

~ inspiration ~ connection ~ sharing ~ support ~ positivity ~

If you have a moment to spare and don't mind sharing, I would love to hear what five words you would use to describe your blogging experience. Will they all be positive or have you not found blogging to be as rewarding as some have? I'm intrigued... :)

Emma, x

ps ~ If there is anyone I have forgotten I do apologise and send a huge thanks to you too... :)

pinterest faves ~ colourful geometry...

Image credits: 1. FineLittleShop, 2. my funny eye, 3. The Rug Company, 4. PataPri, 5. Grady McFerrin ~ via Cafe Cartolina, 6. Debbie Powell ~ via design*sponge

Hello my dears... :)
I wouldn't call it an obsession (not yet at least!) but lately I seem to be drawn to all things geometric, graphic and angular. Quite strong and bold shapes in a beautiful rainbow of colours. I'm not sure why this is, maybe because I'm crocheting lots of pretty wee flowers lately and somehow I'm trying to find a balance. Or maybe there is an idea itching to be realised but I'm just not seeing it yet. Who Knows!? But until I figure it out I'm happy collecting such gorgeous finds over on my Pinterest boards!

Wishing you all the most wonderful day,
Emma, x

colour your tuesday happy...

With a rainbow... of sorts... ;)

Image credits: 1. Trisha Brink Design, 2. greta♥loves, 3. Gail Griggs, 4. annalea hart, 5. laurawilliams

Hello my dears and a very happy Tuesday to you all... :)
Yep, even this is confusing me... colouring our Monday's happy on a Tuesday, I just know it's going to throw me off for the rest of the week too. As my man is home again today, not feeling so good, I'm finding myself still in weekend mode... still in my PJs and wishing the wee man didn't want to go for a walk so early. Not that 10am is early but when you're stuck in weekend mode doing anything before lunchtime seems like a real pain in the butt!

Anyhoo, I do hope you are loving today's wee selection from 'all colours in'... !? They are just a few favourites that I spied this morning and I love how well they all hang together. Creating a lovely gradient from those soft pinks and aqua blues through to those bright and warm reds, oranges and greens... as I said a rainbow of sorts... :)

Wishing you all a fabulous day,
Emma, x

colour palette ~ fruity sorbet shades...

Image credits: 1. Style Me Pretty, 2. raehein, 3. Better Homes and Gardens, 4. Eva Magill-Oliver, 5. Better Homes and Gardens

Happy Friday my dears... !
I do hope where ever you are in the world that the weather is being nice to you!? It seems a wee bit crazy out there at the moment so if not, I hope you are safe and warm... :) Poor old Scotland has been battered with hurricane force winds over the last 24 hours, thankfully with not much damage, but it felt a wee bit scary last night as the wind howled... !

Anyhoo, to today's colour palette and a wee bit of escapism with some summery, juicy, fruity sorbet colours! Just the thing to lift our spirits a wee bit... :) This week I've cornered a spare moment or two to re-acquaint myself with my beloved Pinterest after barely pinning a thing for the whole of last month! I can tell you it was lovely, especially as I discovered all of these gorgeous summery colours just waiting to be re-pinned to my 'colour me happy' board. I don't often print out my palettes but I think I might just do this one and pin it up in my studio... maybe it will encourage the sun to shine on us for just a wee bit!?

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful weekend... !
Emma, x

handmade artist ~ ponder and stitch...

Happy Thursday... what already!? Wow, another 'whizzy' week is whizzing by in a whizzing blur... phew! Now if I can just get a handle on today, before it whizzes into tomorrow, I want to share one of my very favourite Etsy shops with you.....

The ever so lovely miss Amy is the talented designer maker behind Ponder and Stitch. She makes the most wonderful dainty cuffs from re-purposed vintage fabrics and vintage inspired fabrics in the most beautiful colours and tiny floral prints. Some of her designs also incorporate snippets of pretty lace or meticulously hand embroidered words. As I have recently become the proud owner of two of miss Amy's cuffs I can tell you that her workmanship is just beautiful! They have that understated granny chic charm that I love so much ~ vintage and nostalgic with a whole lot of pretty! Just perfect for the coming spring... :)

All images: Ponder and Stitch

Please do pop by and take a peek at miss Amy's lovely wee shop to see more of her pieces. Oh, and she also loves to take custom orders so if you would like a different size, maybe even a wee phrase of your own or are after something slightly different to what she has in stock, I know she will do her utmost for you... :)

Emma, x

between the rainclouds...

There have been some very heavy, dark grey rainclouds over Edinburgh these last couple of days, but occasionally they have parted to let through some fiercely bright sunshine. One minute I'm struggling to see what I'm doing and the next the whole place is glowing with bright light and glorious colour...

In those fleeting moments it felt as though my wee studio had come to life and I was in my own wee crocheted garden of Spring cheer... :)

Hopefully, sometime soon, the sun will shine longer that a few fleeting moments and I can snap some proper pretty pics of these new ladies in the making. Goodness knows my wee shop shelves are desperately crying out for a wee bit of sprucing up ready for the spring!

Emma, x

la vie en rose...

...tis the season of love!

Happy February my dears... :)

It is the season of love so why don't we celebrate with some perfectly pretty pink finds from our dearest Etsy!? Lacy, frilly, floral and girlie in with a whole lot of bold and beautiful... !
This gorgeous 'honeysuckle pink' is also Pantones colour for 2011 and I love their reasoning for it...

"A Color for All Seasons ~ Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it."

Hmmm, but now I'm wondering what perfectly pink prettiness there is in my wardrobe that could fill my day with courage, confidence and vitality... I'm not sure that one very old and tired undergarment along with pair of fluffy socks is really going to cut it... ;)

Emma, x