Monday 30 December 2013

Mince pies...

This is my last post for 2013...
but I'll be back towards the end of next week with my first posts of 2014, yay!

What better note to finish on than with a foodie related post, right?
These are some pics of the mince pies I made just before Christmas. 
They look properly homemade don't they; mincemeat oozing out between the lids and bases, higgledy-piggledy pastry..but they tasted good and thats the main thing. 
I seem to remember my Dad happily munching down on three or four in one sitting on Christmas Eve!

The recipe I used was this was one right here by Paul Hollywood
His recipe for these pies is lovely; gorgeous sweet pastry, and the mincemeat filling is soo rich and yummy when it has the extra fruit and zest added to it, mmm.





Hope you all have a fabulous New Year!
See you on the other side...

x x x

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Monday 23 December 2013

A Christmas colour crush...

Oooooh, its getting closer...only two days to go!
So here's a little festively themed colour crush post for you..



x x x

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Saturday 21 December 2013

Christmas crafting!

I'm cramming in the last of my Christmas related posts before the big day next week...
Heres some festive crafting ideas for you rounded up in a neat little Take Four post, enjoy!



x x x



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Friday 20 December 2013

Etsy shop find...a chat with Paper Moon


I've got my next little etsy shop owner chat for you..
Today it's the turn of Nicola at Paper Moon!

Enjoy getting to know her...


1. Can you tell us a bit about you and your background... 

I studied Decorative Arts in Nottingham, it was was a mixed media course, covering everything form ceramics, paper, glass and textiles so really great to work with lots of mediums. 
In my final year I specialised in printed textiles which opened up a whole new world for me. After graduating i did a couple of placements and then in 2006 landed my first design job, from here my career has been pretty diverse. 
I have worked In-house and on a freelance basis designing everything from cards and gift wrap to accessories and home wares. I think its given me a really great grounding for starting Paper Moon and Iv'e learnt it's a completely different experience designing ranges for your own brand. Paper Moon really started as an outlet for ideas I had whizzing around in my head and is something that has evolved over the last year and a half, running a business involves a lot of learning curves, some good some bad, but if you love what you do it makes it all worth it!


2. What books/ magazines are currently on your coffee table?

The shelf of our coffee table is a bit weighed down at the moment with a mixture of recipe books and lots of photography books (my boyfriends!) and a few editions of 'Pretty Nostalgic' and ''Frankie Magazine' that I keep promising myself I'll find time to read sometime soon!


3. Tell us about a typical day for you…

I still design for a company in house so a normal day can be quite busy and I often carry on late into the evening.  When working from home I can be processing and packing orders for Etsy and my stockists, answering emails and working on any comissions that may have come my way. 
That's one of the things i love about having my own business everyday is so varied and you never know what sort of email is going to pop in your inbox. My favourite days are when I move away from the computer screen, which I look at way to much and get some time to do some drawing or some some screen printing.



4. What inspires you and who are your design heroes?

All sorts of things inspire me from designs blogs, books and magazines to rummaging in second hand shops for inspiration, generally just getting out and about seeing an exhibition and sometimes ideas can be sparked form the most random things, for instance my 'Stacked Birds' prints was inspired by a stone carving on a weekend away at the beach in Sussex, you never know when the next idea for a print or a card will crop up.

My design heros -  I have always loved the work of mid century designers such as Lucienne Day and Stig Lindberg, the 1950's is one of my favourite eras for design and I would say the a lot of my colour palettes are inspired by that time. Illustration wise I also love the work of  Jon Klassen and Oliver Jeffers, I would love to illustrate a children's book some day.



5. How did you decide on the name ‘Paper Moon’ for your etsy shop?

For a long time I was very indecisive about a name for the business/Etsy Shop, it had many different names before I settled on Paper Moon. Paper Moon came about one sunday when my boyfriend was watching and old balck and white movie, I asked him what he was watching and  'Paper Moon' was his response, something clicked, it sound right and so Paper Moon it was!



6. What album is currently in your Stereo/iPod? And what do you listen to while you work?

I listen to music all day everyday so Spotify has been my saviour, some artists on my playlist right now - Santigold, Friends, Wild Child and Peter and Kerry



7. What are your top three blogs?

A Beautiful Mess - http://www.abeautifulmess.com  
It's a good mix of fashion/design/food and tutorials

What Katie Does - http://www.whatkatiedoes.net    
UK blog with tasty recipes, 
places to eat in and around london and some craft tutorials to top it off.

Oh so beautiful paper- http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com 
Because i'm a little bit obsessed with stationery!



Thanks so much to Nicola for sharing a little bit of her world with us!
 You can find and follow Nicola here...

                Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/hellopapermoon/
                Twitter - https://twitter.com/apapermoon

(all of the above images are taken from the Paper Moon etsy shop 
and all copyright belongs to Nicola)

x x x

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Thursday 19 December 2013

Foodie Christmas gifts...

With literally under a week to go until Christmas day, I've got three lovely, last minute gift ideas that any foodie friend would love! 
This year, I opted to make chocolate truffles in little gift bags (you may have seen them in my instagram feed), a Christmas muffin mix in a kilner jar as a little DIY treat to be had with the little ones, and lastly, some sugar dusted vanilla shortbread, mmmmm, yum!
But there were so many nice ideas I've spotted out and about that I thought I'd share a few...


1 | Jam filled biscuits..loving the homemade jammy dodgers
3 | Spiced beetroot & orange chutney...ooh bring on the cheese and crackers

x x x

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Monday 16 December 2013

Go on, treat yourself!

I've never done a post on anything beauty/make up/ pampering related before... 
but I've stumbled across some good finds recently so thought I'd do a little post on them and share with you all!
You may be aware of some of them or use them already, and there may be some you'll discover and want to try.
And with the run up to Christmas upon us, what better time to leave this blog post in view of your boys or folks as an oh so subtle hint of a wish list!



Now, I'm no real loyal buyer of any particular brand to be honest, but of late I have to admit to being a little partial to Nars, Kiehls and Origins, and there are some goodies here...
I've spent an absolute fortune over the years on different make up brands and skin care routines, suffering with not so brilliant skin throughout my teens and 20's, and still, even now.
I think it's made me into a bit of a make up magpie over the years for bits and bobs, loving to treat myself to a new lipgloss or blusher. 
I don't however, ever sway from my trusted Bare Minerals foundation, perfect for my troublesome, sensitive skin!

So here goes, some of my recent faves...

1 | Nars lipgloss in Turkish Delight and Chihuahua - such lovely natural pinky tones

2 | Origins GinZing energy boosting moisturiser - really nice first thing in the morning to revive and refresh! 
The eye cream is fab in this range too!

3 | Barry M dazzle dust - gorgeous, and just a little goes a long way 
( I use it more as an liner than a full eyeshadow)



6 | Sleek Blush by 3 in Lace - really affordable and three highly pigmented blush colours for your money, in corals and peachy tones

7 | Nars radiant creamy concealer in Vanilla and Custard - mixing two tones of this concealer works really well for different areas of your face, and its great for under eyes.

8 | Origins Checks and Balances - does exactly what it says..checks and balances dry and oily areas, perfect!

9 | Barry M glitter nail varnishes - for a bit of sparkle at Christmas!


11 | Body Shop body butter - so many to choose from but pink grapefruit and satsuma are yummy!



14 | Real Techniques stippling brush - great for applying cream blushers

15 | Nars bronzer in Laguna - a good all round bronzer


Phewee, mammoth post today...

Enjoy indulging!

x x x

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Friday 13 December 2013

Take Four... Christmas advent

Well, we're nearly half way through December already, and in under 2 weeks, it'll be Christmas Day...mmm food and merriment here we come!
So, in honour of the Christmas countdown, I've seen some lovely ideas for advent calendars this year so thought I'd do a post of some of my favourites!




x x x

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Wednesday 11 December 2013

Rosie Harbottle...

A lovely gal I know has opened a very yummy little shop filled to the brim with gorgeous art prints and Christmas cards, with some very nice styling and photography to boot!
Rosie Harbottle is an Illustrator and Designer who lives by the sea and absolutely loves surface pattern, which can be seen throughout her work.

Have a little peek at her big cartel shop here.
And Rosie's also opened an etsy shop...

Her A3 posters are available for £25 and are digitally printed from her original drawings, printed on 100% cotton, textured, 300gsm paper stock.
Her Christmas cards are sold in packs of 10 A6 cards with two different designs, printed in the UK, delivered to you in a sweet little recycled kraft box, all tied up lovingly with twine.



'Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas' - £8.00 (2 designs)


'Stay Wild' - £25.00

'Chimney Tops' - £25.00


'Never Stop Dreaming' - £25.00


'Warm Winter Wishes' - £8.00 (2 designs)


'Dream' - £25.00




(All above images are taken from Rosies website or big cartel/etsy shops.
All copyright is owned by Rosie Harbottle)


I'm sure there'll be more to come from Rosie in the New Year 
so watch this space for new additions to her shop!

x x x



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Monday 9 December 2013

Puppy pinterest picks!

I've put together a little gathering of puppy related pins for you today...
We can't forget our fluffy friends at Christmas right?!
Alfie usually gets little toys and festive related treats but I'm loving the homemade dog biscuits, so might give them a try this year.
How great is the bag found on not on the high street; 'I like big bones and I cannot lie'. 
(I must admit to having a little giggle to myself when I saw those, tooo cute!)
You could even treat you and your little fluffy companion to a self portrait from Studio Legohead.
And those little personalised bone shaped dog tags are adorable!



x x x

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Saturday 7 December 2013

Pinterest Picks... { This & That }

I don't usually post during the weekend, 
but I've got waaaay too many Christmassy things to share with you over the next few weeks
to be able to fit them all in!

These are a couple of lovely festive pins from the past couple of weeks.. 

I love the old style vintage Christmas wrapping paper design (left).
And how adorable are these bottle brush trees (right) found on A Beautiful Mess blog.



x x x

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Friday 6 December 2013

Paper & Cloth Christmas Shop!

Paper & Cloth have launched a range of Christmas wrap designs,
being sold through not on the high street.
If you haven't already seen the post on the P&C blog, heres a link...
And here's the link you need to get straight to the shop!

Theres something for everyone... 
star prints, reindeers, robins, decorative patchwork, 
kiddy fun, enchanted woodland, geos, 
ooh decisions...

Happy wrapping!

Here are a few pics...









 (all images above taken from the Paper & Cloth blog and not on the high street, 
all copyright is owned by Paper & Cloth Ltd)

x x x
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Wednesday 4 December 2013

Instagram snaps...

Here's a little selection from my instagram goings on for November...
This month I've seen my blog hit the 200 follower mark (yay!)
I've been busy in my happy place again making granola, ginger spiced banana bread and fruit loaves.
My little helper glancing up at me in the kitchen, Benji, in the middle row, 
and one of my favourite sights I see first thing in the morning..
our cute fluffy one snuggled up at the end of the bed refusing to get up 
(we all know what that feels like right?)
Ooh and a Christmas tea towel...festive!

Hope you all had a good November..


x x x
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Monday 2 December 2013

Happy December...

Well folks, it's here! 
December!!
That means 2013 is nearly done and we'll be welcoming in 2014! 
(Crazy right?!)

I seriously think I must have blinked and just missed half of this year, it has floooown by.

This weekend was spent putting up the decs, so the house is now feeling, and looking very festive, but also like an explosion in a Christmas bits and bobs shop!
(I don't do minimal very well.. if we're doing Christmas, we are DOING Christmas! Garlands, wreaths, candles, trees, tinsel, beads, baubles, and lots of random hangy things)

Anyways, here's a little doodle to say helloooo to this lovely festive month!




(image above copyright of louise/ loveprintstudio blog)

x x x
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Friday 29 November 2013

Three lovely things...

Popping in today with a little 'three lovely things' post,
with a bit of a leaf theme for these autumn, wintery, blustery days...

I absolutely adore these gorgeous little golden acorns, found in the etsy shop of (1) Stacey Winters
And how beautiful are the colours in these painted leaves by (2) Emily Isabella


x x x

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Wednesday 27 November 2013

Pinterest picks... { This & That }

Loving these...



x x x

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Monday 25 November 2013

Witley Court...

On our week off together recently, me and the boy, fluffy one included, had a little trip to the very spectacular Witley Court.
There was a large house fire there in 1937 and the house and grounds are still as they were, following the fire. 
It was obviously a devastating thing that happened, but what remains is pretty amazing to see.
I first visited the grounds when I was back in college doing a photography module and I still have the photos somewhere. 
I remember I was trying out black and white film at the time (yes, film!) and managed to get some atmospheric and moody shots that I was really pleased with.
So, now I have my lovely slr, I took it along and took some photos 13 years on...

I probably got a bit carried away when editing these shots, but I really liked the mood it created.
Ooh the drama!


Aaaww, the boys...



(photos taken by me for use on loveprintstudio blog)

x x x
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Friday 22 November 2013

Giant ginger cookies...

I found the recipe for these lovely ginger cookies over on the Martha Stewart site.
I love ginger anything really...cookies, bread, tray bakes...and these certainly don't disappoint,
they're extremely yummy!
And, if kept in an airtight container, they'll keep for just over a week 
(if you don't devour them in that time).

Heres a pic of my cookie bundle...
(How nice would they be as a little food gift for someone at Christmas, wrapped up all lovely and festive!)



(photo taken by me for use on loveprintstudio blog)

x x x
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Wednesday 20 November 2013

Thank you lovely followers...

I've been meaning to post this for a few weeks now when I first hit 200 blogger followers, and then a few more of you lovely people joined the party, so I added some extra li'l guys...

Thank you sooooooo much for following my goings on over here, and I do hope you enjoy the posts, 
I certainly enjoy putting them all together, and I love reading all of your comments.

I'm sure you probably already know, but I can also be found on 

See you there :-)


(image above copyright of louise/loveprintstudio blog)

x x x
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Monday 18 November 2013

Paper & Cloth for Lilipinso...

Ooooh exciting!
Paper & Cloth have worked with Lilipinso to create two collections for your lovely little ones...
It was soooo nice to work on the project, such beautiful products.
You may have already seen them shared on the P&C facebook page..but if you haven't, you can see them here.
There are two collections designed, here are a few bits and bobs from the baby collection...
There are canvases, wallpapers, borders, height charts, wall stickers...
Ooh go on, treat your little bundle!







(all images copyright of Paper & Cloth/Lilipinso)

x x x
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