s t a t i o n a r y ...

I have a real penchant for stationary. Ok, anything even slightly related to stationary does it for me. I admit I spend far too much time looking at the stuff be it in shops, online on blogs etc, but it is ohhh so pleasurable. I am sure there are more than a few of you out there who can relate...you know who you are!

Occasionally I may treat myself to a special piece and will find myself strangely obsessing over it like I'm Charlie and it's a Willy Wonka Chocolate Bar or something. 

So, as the end of 2013 was fast approaching, I found myself getting rather anxious about my new 2014 diary. This Grafika one below in the pink and yellow was my special find for last year. I purchased it from Howkapow when they had their pop-up shop Bristol. I loved the graphics of all of the designs, but loved the pink one the most. It's a perfect size being between A5 & A6. It fit in my handbag perfectly and had plenty of diary room as well as an address book section and a plentiful notebook section. All this without being big and clumsy. I definitely wanted to invest in another for this follwing year, however to my extreme sadness I was more than disappointed to see that the makers, 1973 hadn't produced any new diary's for 2014, only a selection of notebooks in these same snazzy designs. 

 
So, frantically trying to find a good as replacement, I was beside myself when I came across this beauty in my locally owned store Something Else owned by the very lovely Sidonie & Kyle. Their wonderous shop sells a niche and very specifically selected collection of unique paper goods including stationary, books, magazines, maps and much more.

Stationary from Something Else

I have my eye on this - from Something Else

Among their plethora of goods I came across this 'Another Project' weekly planner by Seeso Graphics and highly recommended by Sid as her personal planner. On flicking through the pages I could see why. So much detail on the weekly/yearly planning you could go wild. Plus lots of space for notes on pretty pastel lined/gridded paper. The planner comes with stickers-o-plenty to so you can be creative with those I guess. I just love the colour, simplicity and endless ways of planning that can be done! The removable plastic jacket is great to make the thing last, but also doubles up as a pocket on the inside sleeves for those special looses bits of paper one tends to collect like gig stubs and the like.

Another find I made recently on Etsy was this. I love simplicity and combined with recycling, these cute little 'Matchbook Notepads' by One Fine Dae are great. Handmade using paper recycled from security envelopes. Perforated edges allow for ease of tearing pages out if needs be. This little notepad is pocket sized, ethically aware and cool.

Matchbook Notepad from One Fine Dae

Matchbook Notepad from One Fine Dae

Matchbook Notepad from One Fine Dae

Matchbook Notepad from One Fine Dae

W e e k e n d a w a y ...

Happy belated new year to you all I hope 2014 is a wonderful and exciting one for all!

I must admit I've been having a bit of a breather since Christmas and really enjoying some serious down time. Catching up with my mum, sisters, nephews and niece over the holiday period was a joy. I must admit I was a little anxious to begin with as it was hard not thinking about work, making and orders, but I soon got into the swing of it!

This year I wanted to be more conscientious about my gifts to my nephews & nieces as children always get a ridiculous amount of presents at Christmas time and they usually get bored with them after 5 minutes!

I wanted them to be creative, and I wanted their gifts to be recyclable (being made from paper or wood) or handmade. I got them these marvellous 3-D self construct things (which were a little more than difficult even for me, but fun non-the-less) and these wooden Sumo Skittles both from Muji. The paper animals above were from a seller at the Bath Artisan Market where I regularly hold a stall. You choose an animal and a pack of coloured tissue paper and you get a bag with PVA glue & a brush. I was delighted when on opening these the kids decided to get stuck into creating straight away. A messy, but fun time for all I think.

So January in the UK has been very wet and pretty cold, but when the sun comes out it is most definitely glorious. I'm making the most of not having booked myself in for any market stalls this month and have been visiting local towns and cities every weekend.

This weekend Mr Red Bird took us away to a lovely b&b called The Swan in Wedmore. It's set in the little charming village of Wedmore in Somerset, only 40 minutes drive from Bristol. On our way we took a slight detour and paid a visit to the lovely market town of Wells. It has a magnificant Catherdral and I love walking about the moated Bishops Palace with the ducks and swans about the place. There's a farmers market in the square and this time around a book fayre. There are also many many charity shops along the main high street, so if that's your kind of thing you will be spoilt for choice (although it's not that cheap). Of course we picked up a few little bits along our way.

Bishops Palace
I am wearing Sparkle & Fade coat, black high tops, vintage
handbag (all Urban Outfitters), old scarf 
(French Connection), umbrella (vintage).

Lovely book fayre finds
I am wearing suede blue flats and skinny jeans (Zara).

Our room at The Swan

Gorgeous details in our room at The Swan

A nice brew...!

Out and about in Wedmore
I am wearing black high tops, coat & scarf (as before), leopard print cotton dress (Topshop) and tights (Primark)

So many cute cottages in Wedmore

Church of St. Mary, Wedmore

Taxidermy in the back of someones car!

Christmas is coming...

I hate to say it, but now that Halloween is over, Christmas is well and truly on the way - eeek!

Now, you can can check this one with Mr Red Bird, but I am sure that he will more than confirm that I have a bit of a soft spot-come-fetish for cushions. I don't know what exactly the appeal is, but all the fabulous designs, textures, fabrics and colours that just get me buying more than our little flat can cope with!

I bought this great one last Christmas for Mr Red Bird from Society6 - which he grew to love after I convinced him that it was a gift for him and not for 'the house'. He loves wearing his Icelandic jumper in the Winter months and foxes, so I thought this very apt!

Icelandic Foxes Cushion by Ulrika Kestere 

Now...I have just come across these two beauties. One by one of my current favourite local artist, Charlotte Farmer for Ohh Deer & another by Alice Potter seen on Wolf & Badger, a London based lass. I now see that there may be a running theme with these cushions, in that they are all animal based....hmmm, what does that say about me?

Tiger Kitty Cushion by Alice Potter 

Hip Hip Hello Cushion by Charlotte Farmer

h a l l o w e e n ...

I really can't believe that autumn is full speed ahead, and I never even got to say goodbye to summer!
With that in mind, celebrations seem to be coming thick and fast and I can barely keep up, what with the weddings, birthdays...and more birthdays around every corner.
Halloween is fast approaching, so here's a few ideas that I've been toying with to get a bit of a head start. Does this get any of your creative juices flowing? If so, I'd like to hear what plans you have up your sleeve this Halloween...


Enjoy...x

Funny Face Halloween Carton of Eggs Heads

Painted House Halloween Pumpkins - Country Living

Halloween Smiles - Disney Family

Day of the Dead Make-up by Ryan Connors Photography

Lasercut Wood Bat Pin by Red Bird Makes

W e e k e n d a w a y ...

Here is a little taster of what I've been up to of late...

...more about this little trip to follow!

 X

d e c l u t t e r ...

For those of you who know me, you will know the the word declutter isn't one that belongs in my vocabulary! However, after a recent trip to Berlin (my 3rd time) for work, rest & play, spending 2 days doing hotel reviews and 3 in our own rented 3rd floor apartment, which Mr Red Bird and I immediately fell in love with, I come home with a certain pang of need to declutter my home!

Now I am a certified hoarder and have been since birth pretty much. I think my mother has a lot to answer for when I talk about hoarding (she has an entire garage which has no room to house a car because it is floor to ceiling full of crap memories. Okay, a lot of this is 'said' crap belonging to me and my siblings that we all guilt my mum into not chucking away, but a lot of it it definitely hers!
I blame my messy hoarders house to the fact that I don't have enough storage to hide my endless bits and pieces away in. When infact, I need to just bite the bullet and clear out my junk pre-loved items and give them to a new home. Oh, I can see Mr Red Bird's face lighting up as he reads this!

Here's some snaps of our Berlin apartment!

....gorgeous huh! I highly recommend using Airbnb instead of perhaps booking a hotel as it's much more personal and has a lot more charm!

I also came across this blog this afternoon - Life Thru A Lens. It's written by a Finnish graphic designer and mother, and is full of bright inspiring photos of her loves. I can't but adore her taste in home decor. Those pops of Neon are just my thing & I love the yellow kitchen wall!

This has definitely given me the drive to make a start on my new decluttered lifestlye...

m a r k e t s : b a t h a r t i s a n m a r k e t

Okay.... So much for committing myself to writing regular short and sweet blog posts in attempt to make them regular - hmmm, I must try harder!

The second Sunday of every month I have been holding a stall at the wonderful Bath Artisan Market in glorious Green Park Station which is an amazing grade II listed building having formally been a train station, now converted into undercover marketplace. The building has an amazing high vaulted glass roof in a single-span wrought iron arch structure which is pretty cool.

You can find me along with many other excellent artisan stalls here at this monthly event which definately makes a great day out for the whole family. You can check out more photo's from the May market here on their Facebook page.


Yesterdays trip to Bath was very eventful for me seeing as my trusty little van was getting some repairs done at the garage. I managed to squeeze all I needed into my huge travel backpack and cycled my squeaky 80's bike to cycle to Temple Meads station. It was pretty hard work but once on the train all was good - phew!
...x

Carolyn of Carolyn Slater Ceramics

Gorgeous vintage clothes & accessories

Gemma of The Silver Shed