BE INSPIRED

Be Inspired is going to be an ongoing celebration of creativity, where I will share some of the creative things I will be making and doing. Plus there is no better time to be creative than Christmas. Our first project in nice and simple and especially quick to make. The Ribbon garland could be made for any occasion and would look especially lovely at birthdays or weddings.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED...

1 Reel of Ribbon

Scissors

Double sided sticky tape or fabric glue

Tape measure

How To Make A Ribbon Garland

• Measure and cut a 20cm length of your chosen ribbon. I found it much quicker to use the initial piece of cut ribbon as a size guide. Then cut continually until you reach the end of the reel. All of our Ribbon Selection is sold on a 3 meter roll (one roll will make 15 strips).
• Then attatch a 1cm strip of double sided tape to the end of each strip. Press hard to ensure the tape has stuck well (glue can be used, but it is a lot messier and more problematic).
• Take the first strip of ribbon, curl together to make a loop, pull off the edge of the sticky tape and attatch the other edge, it really is that simple.
• Next thread another strip or ribbon through the first loop and stick as before. Repeat until all lengths of ribbon have been used or until the garland is the deired length.
• Finally hang and admire your great work.

Mixing different ribbons together also looks lovely. I will also be making a longer version of the garland with my daughter to decorate the Christmas tree. 

Cosy

It is now that time of year when I take out all my blankets and covers, and just relish the feeling of getting warm and cosy. I love lighting the fire then sitting down on my favourite comfy chair, wrapped in my wool blanket to read a good book. So this weekend I have promised myself that I will sit down with all of the Christmas books and magazines (that I have saved over the last few years) and make a start on our own festive planning list.

Each year I get excited about all the things I will make with my daughter, we have our own little tradition of things we make, and have done this ever since she was tiny. These are all things we have discussed making this week, whilst on our walk to school in the mornings... gingerbread house (made from scratch, I must add), it takes a whole day to make and assemble then decorate, cards, lots of different decorations and now the Christmas cake, last year was our first attempt at making the cake and it was a success, so we have decided to add this to the list too. A great many other little things will of course get added to the list once we have sat down and planned, so I can't wait to get started. This year my daughter is getting excited about the planning too, she has requested toasted marshmallow and a big mug of hot chocolate, to help us think and relax of course. Just thinking of writing the list has made me feel warm and happy. But for now I must get back to the huge amount of packing. Our Christmas range is doing very well again and some of our new items are nearly sold out, but we will be ordering them back in again next year.

Our fire in the dinning room, my favourite cosy place!

Vintage Chic

I love all things vintage and vintage inspired. For many years I have collected vintage glass bottles of many shapes and styles, often costing very little, but just so pretty, in fact my dressing table is overflowing with them.... you will often find them in the background of our images (it's hard to keep them out when they are so pretty). So as you can imagine when we discovered these I was in love. I have now promised myself that I will keep a couple as I love mixing the old with the new.

Vintage Chic Wash Bag

 

Vintage Chic Make Up Bag

We will be adding these to the website on Friday (11.11.2011).

 

Festive Delights

After the huge work involved in changing the whole of our website, we are now on to the next important task. As I type I'm currently in the middle of finishing our ever popular Festive Delights Christmas Collection. I thought a sneak peak would be in need, so here are a few of our new items...

We have also received all of our best sellers back in stock... our customers just love these.

Only a few days to go, so I better get on with adding our lovely new stock.