Best Wishes

My dears, here is a sweet antique Victorian post card for you from my collection. Click to enlarge and right click and save.

I have lots of Unique, Fabulous, and Fun finds to share with you, but due to a bunch of other things taking precedence until middish July, I won't be back here until then.

Until middish July, best wishes to you all! :)

Blossom and Cat

Continuing on from last week's post...

Helen is the talent behind the label Blossom and Cat. The lovelies at Blossom and Cat are designed by Helen and handmade by Helen or you from a mixture of new, vintage and pre-loved fabrics, buttons and trimmings. Yes, the lovelies can be handmade by you as sewing kits are available for many of Helen's designs.

Sewing kits include a step-by-step instruction booklet, full size pattern sheet, a mixture of new, vintage and pre-loved fabrics, buttons and trimmings, as well as thread. Helen, formerly a graphic designer, also created her lovely website:

www.blossomandcat.com.au

Custom, wholesale and international orders are welcome.





Enjoy the rest of the week all! See you next week! :)

Their Song Birds

Handmade by a wife for her husband, this fabulous origami crane mobile was indeed a meaningful gift for the couple's first wedding anniversary (traditionally known as the paper anniversary). The couple I'm referring to are Helen and David - the gorgeous couple whose gorgeous swoon-worthy wedding I featured here last year - A Sydney Beach Wedding.

At Helen and David's wedding "The Way You Look Tonight" was the song that played for their first dance as a married couple. To create the cranes Helen used vintage "The Way You Look Tonight" sheet music. Helen also added some vintage glass beads left over from the wedding decorations to the mobile.

Helen and David wedding dance photo by Marzena Wasilewska

Creating the decorations and favours at her wedding reignited Helen's creative side, and she now has her own label of handmade lovelies. Next week I'll be featuring some of the handmade lovelies from Helen's range.

Hope you're all travelling well this week my dears! See you next week! :)

Simplicity

I recently purchased this simply lovely vintage flower picking basket from the fox and the spoon. I've visualized myself with a basket like this one for quite some time in my flower picking daydreams in expansive cottage gardens, wildflower-laden meadows, and along sun-dappled woodland paths...

Anyway in real life I'm mainly going to use this basket as a display and put some silk flowers in it. And I'm still going to keep daydreaming about picking flowers in the above mentioned places...

If you pick flowers in your daydreams too, you're welcome to take this basket along with you...

Photos by the fox and the spoon

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Enjoy the rest of your week all! See you next week! :)

A Gem I Know

Here is one of my favourite 50's photos of my gem of a Mum. On the day this photo was taken Mum had her silhouette done by well-known scissor artist S. John Ross. And here is the elegant silhouette:

(click image to enlarge)

You can read more about S. John Ross in one of my favourite previous posts - Silhouetted To a Tee.

Wishing all Mum's a Happy Mother's Day!

See you next week my dears. :)

Stitched Purrfection

You are looking at a pair of folded hand embroidered vintage hand towels that I purchased from Red Ruby Retro. The embroidery is way too cute to even contemplate drying hands on. I'm going to repurpose it as wall art.

Until next time my dears...best wishes. :)

What's the Story?

I'm on a break from blogging until after Easter. Just checking in to wish everyone a Happy Easter, and tell you about the wonderful uplifting novel you see above.

I read A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff last year and am reading it again. Not only about vintage fashion, A Vintage Affair has romance, wit, warmth and intrigue. Love it!

Here's the blurb from A Vintage Affair:

"Every dress has a history, and so does Phoebe...

Phoebe Swift always dreamt of opening her own vintage dress shop. She imagined every detail, from the Vivienne Westwood skirts hanging next to satin gowns, to sequinned prom dresses adorning the walls.

At the launch of Village Vintage, Phoebe feels the tingle of excitement as customers snap up the fairytale dresses. Her dream has come true, but a secret from her past is casting a shadow over her new venture.

Then one day she meets Therese, an elderly Frenchwoman with a collection to sell, apart from one piece that she won't part with...

As Therese tells the story of the little blue coat, Phoebe becomes aware of a profound connection with her own life, one that will help her heal the pain of her past and allow her to love again."

See you after Easter dear ones!

Tietastic!

I made this tie from some gorgeous vintage Japanese kimono silk. In addition to wearing it as a necktie, I wear it as a waist tie and a hair tie.

My fave way to wear neck ties is loosened as above and tied in a Four-in-Hand Knot with various tops/blouses/t shirts.

The Four-in-Hand Knot

Diagram from Tieknot.com

Until next time dear ones... :)

My Butler

Yes, I have a butler. A Handbag Butler - a nifty foldable hanger that attaches to table tops allowing you to keep your bag off the floor or your lap when at cafes, restaurants or meetings.

The Handbag Butler has non-slip backing, can hold up to 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds), and is available in many fabulous designs. Included with the Handbag Butler is a cute little storage purse along with a nice box.

www.handbagbutler.com.au

Aussie readers: you can also find the Handbag Butler at Myer in-store or online.

My Handbag Butler is the Sakura design from the Japanese Paper Collection featuring traditional Japanese designs (I love traditional Japanese designs on paper and fabric). My handbag is a vintage Oroton mesh bag, a lucky thrift shop find!

Next week I'll show you something I made from vintage Japanese Kimono silk.

Hope you are all enjoying your week ! See you next week! :)

Vintagey and Happy to Boot

These are my new Colours of Australia gumboots in all their rose paisley glory. They are hand painted, cotton lined and are great to wear!

www.funkyrainboots.com

I've had these sweet little ceramic butterflies for some years and don't recall where I got them from, but they were made in Thailand.

Happy rest of the week my dears! See you next week! :)

More L♥veliness

Because Valentine's Day was this week, and I'm an incurable romantic, I just had to feature some more l♥vely photos.

Wonderful photography by Esther from Esther Julee Photography.

Fabulous styling by Joy Thigpen.

Joy found the amazing dress at a small flea/antique market and restyled it. The cute cloche hat is by Urban Outfitters (2010).

Until next week dear ones...♥

In the Spirit of Valentine's Day...

Some of the l♥vely photos from photo shoot - A Valentine Tale - photographed and styled by talented duo Christine and Vania from Simply Bloom Photography. The sweet dress is by Topshop.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day! Wishing you all L♥ve and light!