Things that made me happy in January...

Summing up everything I loved about the first month of 2015.

What I made, watched, listened to, read, was inspired by, discovered and more...

Here goes!

Listened to...
Sia (her new take on the Annie classic)
Gavin DeGraw - James Bay - Billie Black - Mark Ronson/ Bruno Mars - Elizaveta - Kodaline

Feasted on...

this 45 minute Coq au Vin with brown butter sage mashed potato
these Chicken Enchiladas
this creamy shells and ham casserole
these Cajun chicken and pineapple burgers

Discovered...
Dine and Dish blog
Dolly and Oatmeal blog
The Awesome Green blog

Loving...

this outfit from stylewithinreach instagram feed
the colours of these Bright Lab lights, yum!

Getting organised...
with these wire storage baskets

Buying...
the new Print & Pattern geometric book

Wanting...
this glittery blazer
a plaid scarf like this

Sharing...
this welcome to 2015, courtesy of Rosie Harbottle
these beautiful artworks from Anthropologie showing the beginnings of their tabletop pieces

Reading...
The Fault in our Stars
Top with Cinnamon
Playful
Hemsley and Hemsley
Red magazines articles on Japanese eating, the meditation guru Andy Puddicombe of Headspace fame and how to eat well with the Hemsley girls

Watching...
Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast - Silent Witness - Scandal - Esio Trot
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Jersey Boys
Pretty Little Liars (my new guilty pleasure after a couple of sofa ridden cold/flu/general sicky days called for a Netflix marathon)

Inspired by...

the work of Peter Cromer and Claire Softley

Laughing...
at this quote
(I'm forever doing this... "Que sera sera" eh?)

Baking...
these Chocolate chip and orange muffins
this Malt Chocolate cheesecake

Dreaming...
of being able to wear these sandals in gloriously warm weather

Enjoying...

de-Christmassing the house and that feeling of starting over


So, that was a round up of my month,
how was yours?

x x x

Etsy shop find...a chat with Flora Chang!

I'm really pleased to be able to share 
the work of Flora Chang with you today, 
also known as Happy Doodle Land over in her etsy shop.

Flora sells an abundance of prints, hoping to put a big smile on your face!
I just adore her colour, her lovely characters and the fun and happy feel she creates with her artwork.
There is so much variety to her work, using different techniques;
 digital, hand drawn, watercolour, fine line and much more, 
I was spoilt for choice for images to include in this post.

So, lets get to know Flora a little better...
Get that cuppa!

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

I was born in Taipei, Taiwan. 
I went to San Francisco in 1998 to study Graphic Design at the Academy of Art College (now Academy of Art University.) 
During the Spring Show in 2001,  Hallmark Cards sent its recruiter to our school and she invited me to fly to the headquarter for an interview; I was offered a job before I finished school. 
I moved to Kansas City as soon as I graduated and have worked at Hallmark as a designer for over 13 years.

2. Who are your design heroes and what inspires you?

There are so many designers and artists who I greatly admire, such as Alexander Girard, Paul Klee, Nathalie Lete, Beatrice Alemagna, Minami Keiko, Calef Brown... just to name a few. I am inspired by colors, organic lines shapes, and folk art. 

3. Tell us about a typical day for you...

I get up around 8 am during the week. Like most people with a full-time job, I go to work from Monday to Friday. 
At work I design and illustrate kids cards all day. 
I usually get off work around 6ish, sometimes later, depending on the workload. 
In the evening after finishing dinner, I would either get on Facebook to see what's going on with my friends, updating my official Facebook page, or go to my library room to draw or read. 
I go to bed late, usually around 1am or even later. I am a total night owl.

4. What’s your favourite item for sale in your etsy shop, and which is the most popular with buyers?

I like my art prints, the smaller art prints are the most popular, and I try to add new designs into my shop on regular basis. 
I also have some interchangeable necklaces which I've been told by many buyers to be their favorite Etsy purchase.

5. Can you give us an insight into your creative process? 

I rarely sketch out my design, especially if I am creating digitally because I am used to work in a fast-paced environment. 
Most of the time, when I get an assignment, I'd have a rough idea in my head how I want a piece to look like, and I'd go on my computer right away and figure it out as I draw. 
I work mostly in Photoshop because it's easier for me to add interesting textures.

6. How would you describe your style?

I'd say, in general, I have two styles. My commercial style, especially when I am creating at work, is pretty graphic, with a little bit of mid-century modern mixed in with some Scandinavian flair. But I also love to create in a more fluid, organic, folk-art inspired style. I switch between these two styles, depending on the need of the job, and sometimes I blend these two styles together.

7. What are you currently working on? 
And do you have any big plans or goals over the next couple of years?

Right now my day job still occupies the majority of my time. 
I love to create kids products at work and it will still be the main focus of my creative life for the near future. 
At the same time, I do have a goal to create more personal artworks by hand.

8. What are your top three blogs?

Pinterest (if it counts), Print & Pattern, and The Art Room Plant.

9. What makes you laugh?

My boyfriend, silly jokes/dances, and cute animals.

10. What’s the most rewarding thing about being a designer/illustrator?

The ability to brighten someone's day with my artworks and make them smile.

Flora is brilliant at sharing all of her lovely doodles 
with her many followers on Facebook, 
so I thought I'd also include a few of these too.

You can follow happy doodle land on Facebook here.
And here's a link to her blog.

Thanks to Flora for sharing a little bit of her world with us!

(all images featured in this blog post are copyright of flora chang/ happy doodle land)

x x x

Mini Labo...

Mini Labo is way up there on my list of lovely brands, and I had a little nip over to their website recently and wow, wow, wow, sooooo many gorgeous things!

Obviously, I had to share...

The colours, the prints, the gorgeous quirky little character guys,

heck, everything! 

Here are some of my faves...

(all images above copyright of mini labo)

x x x

This & That...

This beautiful selection of ceramic vases

That gorgeous floral print

x x x

Lovely links...travel, ceramic tees, mug cakes and more!

With the start of a New Year, I thought I'd add a shiny new little number to my regular blog features in the form of a bit of link love.

There are so many lovely things that I stumble upon in blog land or pinterest, and obviously a lot of them are shared in colour crush posts, take fours or moodboards, etc...

but others finds, frankly never see the light of day, 

simply because they don't happen to fit a palette or mood I'm trying to curate.

So, for the random picks and general loveliness that would otherwise be neglected, here we have 'lovely links'

Hope you discover something new!

These travel keepsake kits from Martha Stewart - not only are they such a fab idea, but in gorgeous colours too!

Morley kidswear SS15 shoot featured on Smudgetikka - just stunning!

DIY dyed wheat tea lights found on Design Sponge - how beautiful are these little treasures

A Case of Wanderlust on Honestly WTF - this blog post started me thinking about places I still want to go; 'travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer'

A lot of Italy features quite a lot on that travel bucket list; Venice, Tuscany, Rome, etc... but I'm currently lusting after getting to this place, beautiful!

5 minute chocolate mug cake on Half Baked Harvest -

Never before have I come across such a quick and easy pud idea.

I'll be giving this a go very soon

Ceramic tees by Danielle Kroll - I love these delicate little ceramic ornaments

x x x 

New Collection from Ferm Living Spring/Summer 2015

With all of the trade shows going on, we're starting to see the launch of brand new shiny collections from our favourite brands.

One that caught my eye recently was Ferm Living.

As expected, beautifully styled shots and gorgeous colours.

That blue, mixed with super soft pinks and greys and shots of copper, mmm.

And who wouldn't adore the Little Mr Teddy and Little Ms Rabbit cushions for the kiddos, so cute!

(all images above copyright of ferm living)

x x x

A midweek moodboard...everything's golden

There's nothing quite like a nice little moodboard to brighten up a grey Wednesday.

A bit of mid week loveliness...everything's golden

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

x x x

Paper & Cloth looking for new talent...

If you're a super talented designer with bundles of passion for illustrating characters, doodling beautiful typography, creating fancy florals and gorgeous geometrics, then head on over to the Paper & Cloth blog for their recent post as it might be of interest!

(image above copyright of Paper & Cloth Design Studio)

x x x

Something for the weekend...Chocolate Chip & Orange Muffins

Happy Friday!

I thought I'd share this recipe for Chocolate chip and orange mini muffins with you today.

Something to try over the weekend perhaps?

I found it on my baking addiction blog
(gorgeous food blog with plenty of yummy recipes to try)
and just added orange zest and juice to make them orangey!
(I'm a sucker for chocolate and orange as a combo, mmmm)
Ooh and I used semi skimmed milk, rather than whole milk.
Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly, and the result was some seriously good chocolate chip muffins.

Here's what you need for 10-12 muffins;

2 cups of plain flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs beaten

2/3 cup semi skimmed milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Zest and juice of half an orange

(the method can be found here)

They're really easy to make; simply mix the dry ingredients together, then the wet ingredients, and combine. 

Add choc chips, orange zest and juice and mix well.

Bake for 20 mins at gas mark 5, done.

Enjoy!

(photos above taken by me for use on loveprintstudio blog)

x x x

Paper and Cloth off to Printsource, New York

Off we pop!

It's the first show of the year, and it's over the pond we go, for Printsource in New York.

Paper and Cloth will be exhibiting the SS16 collection 

(scary right... SS16?! I'm only just getting my head around it being 2015)

full of character, florals, typography, and much more!

The show is being held at the Metropolitan Pavilion from January 13th- 14th.

Stop by and say hi to the lovely Jen and have a gander through our wares.

(image above copyright of Paper & Cloth Design Studio)

x x x

What better way to start the New Year...

Happy New Year!

I hope you enjoyed the festive period and feel all refreshed and refuelled for the year ahead... 

I had a lovely break spent with my family and friends, and feel exactly that; ready for 2015!

I've never known a year go by as quickly as 2014 and I can't quite believe 2015 is here, but I'm ready for it nonetheless, and I couldn't think of a better post to start back with...

A lovely colour crush!

There'll be plenty more of them to come too.

This one's yummy, full of creamy, pastel Neapolitan shades.

Ooh I can feel summer's just around the corner!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

(clockwise from top left)

x x x