December in Pictures: Frosty Leaves, Festive Fun & a New Home

It was rather quiet on my blog this December because I was a) busy getting ready to move, then b) moving house, and then c) doing lots of DIY in my new flat... but I also got up to some fun stuff and shared pictures! Wanna see?

I started the month in true Instagrammer / blogger style, by almost missing my train because I'd stopped to take photos of some frosty leaves. Totally worth it.

I got some gorgeous post from one of my (then) blog sponsors, in thanks for hosting their ad. How sweet is that? The adorable bunny brooch is by illustrator Emma Evans. 

I spent most of the start of December packing ready to move house, and ticking lots of other things off my "stuff that needs to get done before I can move" checklist. That bunny brooch got packed within hours of me taking that photo!

Of course, I couldn't resist squeezing in a couple more local Nice Days Out before moving away from the South-East. I spent a busy day in London, doing some Christmas shopping and oohing over all the festive loveliness (the lights, the shop windows and all the sparkly things for sale).

This is the swoonworthy flower stall in one of Harrods' food halls. It was such fun picking out delicious gifts for friends and family, umming and ahhing over all the loveliness.

 
I can never resist popping into the haberdashery department when I'm in Liberty. Not least because they're still selling my book! So thrilling.

My second last-Nice-Day-Out-before-I-move-away was a trip to Windsor. They had a gorgeous Christmas tree this year - a gift from the German town where Queen Victoria's husband Albert was born. Victoria and Albert popularised the idea of Christmas trees in Britain, and apparently Albert had his first tree at Windsor shipped in from his home town!

Windsor Castle is always a wonderful place to visit, but especially so at Christmas. It's quieter in the off-season, and the Castle is decorated with wreaths and garlands and Christmas trees, including a huge tree in the main hall.

 

I had a marvelous bit of luck, as it turned out that the only day I could manage to get away to Windsor for the day was not only wonderfully sunny (yay!) but it was also part of a special festive weekend of events at the Castle (hurrah!). There were choirs singing carols, ornament-making workshops, and a very funny "pop-up Panto". So much fun!

I also really enjoyed Fashioning a Reign, an exhibition of some of the Queen's outfits. Some of the embroidery and beading was quite incredible.

Back at home, I wrapped all my Christmas gifts super early so I could leave them at my parents house (to save carting them back and forth as I moved house then headed "home" for a family Christmas). Isn't the gift wrap gorgeous? It's not technically Christmas wrap, but who cares!

I totally dropped the ball on Christmas cards this year (I didn't send a single one! and I love sending Christmas cards!) but at least I managed this.

Before my unplanned blogging break I finished blogging about my trip to Leeds (so much great architecture!) and my day in Oxford with Polly. This is one of my favourite photos from that Oxford trip: a quiet corner of All Souls College.

 
I also blogged about the felt Christmas baubles tutorial I'd designed for the Village Haberdashery's blog. It feels a teeny bit pointless linking to a Christmas tutorial in January, but maybe you could bookmark it (or Pin it!) and make some felt baubles for Christmas 2017?

Then in the middle of December I moved to the seaside! Into my very own flat!

I'm really happy to be living in the South-West again (I love it here and had missed it a lot), and it's very exciting having my own place.

I shared this photo a few days after moving in: I might not have had a cooker or a fridge yet (or much proper furniture!) but I did have all the important stuff, like piles of colourful handmade blankets.

Seriously though, it has been such a joy finally using these blankets in my new home.

There's my Happy Rainbow Blanket (which I still need to take "finished" photos of!), a Giant Granny Square blanket (the first and only thing I have ever crocheted), my Sky Blanket, and my Random Squares blanket (which includes squares I knitted as a teenager). Each of these blankets contain so much meaning and so many memories, and they're all so wonderfully colourful. I love them.

It's also been really nice rediscovering some of the things I've had in storage for the past few years. I missed these plates rather a lot - isn't the pattern lush?

After a couple of busy weeks of moving boxes and doing DIY it was time to head to my parents house for Christmas. These are a choir of singing trees from the Christmas at Kew light trail I visited with my mum back in November; the trees lit up as they "sang". Delightful!

We had a lovely quiet Christmas - just how we like it. We watched lots of films and some Christmas telly and ate far too much food.

These are the excellent gifts I got for Christmas: the Ghostbusters remake on DVD (which I made my family watch immediately; such a great film!) and a Chocolate Orange (yum!).  

Aaaand that's it for another month!

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Shopping Guide: 10 Gorgeous Christmas Cards

I love Christmas and I love nice stationery and I adore sending proper old fashioned bits of snail mail... so it's probably no surprise that I love sending Christmas cards each year! I couldn't resist putting together a round-up of some of the festive and fabulous designs I've spotted recently.

Maybe you don't send many cards but have a few people in your address book you want to send a special note to? Perhaps you've bought a gift voucher and want a nice card to "wrap" it? Or maybe you're like me and have a long list of cards to write?

Whatever your Christmas card plans, I hope you'll find something to love in this list...

1. Christmas Jumpers card by Hanna Melin. Love or loathe the novelty Christmas jumper trend, they make for a very cute card. I would probably wear most of the jumper designs on this one!

 

2. Pack of 5 Christmas Tree cards by Bo Lundberg, available at Hus & Hem who stock the most gorgeous selection of Scandinavian Design.

3. Christmas Furry card by Blank Inside Design. You can also buy gift wrap to match this card, which is even more adorable and perfect for wrapping gifts for all the cat ladies in your life.

4.  Pack of 10 Holiday Foliage cards by Quill & Fox. Sadly the weak pound has put cards from US-based companies out of my budget this year (boo) but these are so very lovely I had to include them in the list anyway. Come on, pound, get your act together so I can start buying things priced in dollars again!

5. Penguin Dress-Up Paper Doll card by Clara & Macy. I would have been thrilled to receive a card like this when I was little. Paper dolls = so much fun. 

6. Pack of 8 Black Cat cards from the British Library. These cards are so delightfully spooky, I love them - though it was hard to choose just one design from the British Library's range of vintage cards.

7. Christmas Baubles card by Telegramme Paper Co. I bought a set of cards from Telegramme at The Renegade Craft Fair a couple of years ago and had a hard time parting with them! They sell gorgeous matching gift wrap, too.

8. Pack of 10 Huntley & Palmers Christmas Cakes cards, from the V&A. Growing up in Reading, I have a special place in my heart for local firm Huntley & Palmers. Luckily you don't need to be from Berkshire to enjoy a card decorated with festive cakes.

9. Merry Christmouse card by Stormy Knight, available from Soma Gallery in Bristol. I do love a Christmas pun, and that little mouse is such a cutie!

10.  Finally, a set of 6 woodland-themed cards by Stephanie Cole (3 deer cards and 3 fox cards in each pack). I bought some of these to send to friends last year and wished I'd bought more because they're so gorgeous - especially that deer, oh my goodness.

Which is your favourite? Do you prefer your Christmas cards classic or quirky or cute? Are you buying cards to send this year... or maybe you're going the DIY route? Let me know in the comments!

Renegade Craft Fair London 2016

A couple of weekends ago I visited the always awesome Renegade Craft Fair. I've been to this fair for a few years running now - it's amazing.

With so many designers, makers, crafters and artists selling their wares in one place it's very hard to get out of the building without having accidentally spent all of your money on wonderful things.

It's also an excellent excuse to visit Brick Lane and explore the area. 

Here are just a handful of the lovely things that caught my eye at this year's fair...

Colourful textiles from Miesje Chafer:

 

 
Fun and happy goodies by Ladybird Likes:
 

Super sparkles from Pup Tart:

Kitty and dino cuteness by Emma Carlisle:

Charming prints by Rosemary Milner:

 

 
Gorgeous mugs and pots by Duck Ceramics:

 Laser cut awesomeness by Finest Imaginary:

And (last but by no means least) fabulous patterns from The Pattern Guild:

Aaaaand here's what I bought!*  As you can see, I've been stocking up on nice cards (you can never have too many nice cards to send).

Clockwise from top left: Chá com Letras, Sparrow + Wolf, Cactus Club, The Pattern Guild, & Cactus Club again.


*(Minus a couple of secret purchases I can't blog about because they're gonna be gifts, ssshhhhh).

Want even more shopping inspo? Check out my highlights from previous fairs! 

A Wonderful Bookshop: Daunt Books

A few weeks ago I visited a very special bookshop: Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street.

I can't believe I'd never visited before, especially as it's so central - just a ten minute walk from Bond Street tube station.

The Edwardian shop at 83 Marylebone High Street was orginally an antiquarian booksellers, but for over 25 years it's been the home of independent booksellers Daunt Books (who have since expanded the store into no. 84, next door).

 
I do love a nice indie bookshop, and this one is especially lovely. This is the main room:

Talk about swoonworthy!

As well as being a beautiful shop, Daunt Books has a quirky twist: most of their books are arranged not by category but by country. Interested in Russia, for example? You'll find Russian travel guides, poetry, history, novels and biographies all shelved together.

This makes for a really novel (pun totally intended) browsing experience. They also have a more conventionally shelved fiction section, lots of art and cookery books and a children's section.

I will definitely be popping in here in future to browse and buy books on my London trips.

Visit the Daunt Books website for more info and opening times.

Leeds: Magnificent Victorian Shopping Arcades

This spring I spent a week in Yorkshire, visiting Leeds and then York - exploring both cities and visiting lots of museums and other interesting historic bits and pieces along the way.

One of the highlights of my trip to Leeds was the Victoria Quarter, which is home to three Victorian shopping arcades.

 

There's Thornton's Arcade, which was built in 1877 and was the first of Leeds' arcades (at one time there were eight!).

If you look closely at that photo, you might be able to just make out the clock at the far end of the arcade - it's decorated with four figures from the book Ivanhoe (including Robin Hood and Friar Tuck) who strike the bells every quarter of an hour. Sadly, I didn't time my visit quite right and missed this!

Next there's Queen's Arcade, which was built in 1889.

 

 

Both arcades have some lovely decorative ironwork, and are filled with a mix of independent shops and well-known chains.

And last but by no means least is the County Arcade. Built between 1898 and 1900, this is a large and very splendid arcade!

There are some lovely and very smart arcades in London but I've never seen one quite like this before. I mean, just look at it! Isn't it fabulous?

 
 There are glazed domes...

 

... colourful ironwork, decorative tiles, symbolic mosaics...

... golden shop signage, balconies, marble columns...

... and sunlight streaming in through pane after pane of glass.

 

Even the floor is gorgeous.

The shops themselves are all pretty fancy as well, with a whole host of luxury brands to choose from.

This is somewhere that's definitely worth a visit, even if you're just planning on window-shopping!

Want to read more about my trip to Leeds? Click here to read about my walk along Leeds' waterside.