A little bit of Christmas.

Seeing as we were away for Christmas I had to improvise to bring some Christmas spirit to our day by doing the following little bits...

I threaded some chocolate coins together and decorated our hotel room along with some 'clean' socks to act as stockings so that we woke up feeling like it was Christmas.I could not find any Christmas paper so I wrapped our Secret Santa pressies with fabric and made little fabric flowers to decorate each gift. It actually worked out quite well.
It was a rather untraditional Christmas lunch as I ended up having spaghetti bolognese - but we decorated each place setting by turning a small Christmas bauble into a vase with some leaves and a pretty flower. This afternoon we went down the beach for a Christmas swim so could not resist taking a picture on the beach!

Mhong Christmas.

Whilst I was trekking in Sapa, northern Vietnam, with the Mhong tribe ladies, I decided to do a small photo shoot incorporating some of their traditions to create a Christmas table set up. Here are some of the behind the scene images.

Mhong ladies, Tee, Sa and Chiang who inspired the idea of the photo shoot.

Tee, at the age of 52, cutting down some bamboo for me.

Here I am cutting the bamboo to the right length, it looked a lot easier when Tee was doing it!

Plaiting fern leaves to create a Vietnamese style Christmas reef.

Whilst breakfast was being cooked I sewed Merry Christmas onto some muslin, which is traditionally used to make clothes once it has been dyed. The young girl next to me also helped thread all the coins together.

Muslin drying after being dyed indigo, ready to be made into the traditional clothing.

Hanging the Christmas reef and threaded coins which are traditionally worn on the headresses of the Mhong tribe.

I will post the final pics of the set up shortly.

missing christmas.

Being abroad is brilliant but I have to say I am missing all the lead up to Christmas.. so I went online to find some Christmas inspiration and cheer myself up.

1. Living ect had this gorgeous picture of stitched doilies - which are such a simple yet effective idea.. maybe I could do something like this for Christmas day to bring a little festivity to the table.

2. Elle Decor's recommendation of the reindeer place mats is super cute.

3. Christmas would not be complete without me trying to attempt one of Donna Hays recipes and these chocolate candy cane cookies look super yummy!

heaven on earth.

Just had the most amazing banana and chocolate rotti.... check out more pics and the recipe here!

bursts of colour.

Here is just a selection of snaps I have been taking in India & Sri Lanka. Everywhere you look there are bursts of colour... it has made me want to be a lot more experimental with colour both in my work and at home.

what a sight.

more indian inspiration.

Your time - My time.

Whilst I am away I am also doing a blog with my very good friend Michelle Tilly. We would usually always meet every Sunday for a trip to our local car boot followed by some tea and cake - so the blog will be our little way of staying in touch with each other.

You can check it out at:
http://yourtime-mytime.blogspot.com/

inspiration in India.

I am currently in India and am going to be traveling for the next couple of months. India has taken over all my senses - there is so much to see, hear, smell and touch that I am always on red alert as I don't want to miss anything. Here are just a couple of pictures of the beauty I have seen so far.

cluckingham palace.

This bank holiday I went over to France to visit my parents. For weeks now they have been talking about their new pets...chickens... Unfortunately one of the chickens called Charlie (apparently named after me because it had a high pitched chirp!) was eaten by a dog last week - so my parents took me to go and choose a new one. We went to the local market and picked a chicken who looked like it had the most personality (later named Blondie). Once home my Dad took me round the back of the house and showed me the chicken pen that he had made - it was FANTASTIC! And has been the talk of the village - one neighbour thought it was so grand that they made a plaque for the pen Cluckingham Palace'. The weekend was great fun and the chickens really do all have very different personalities and come marching in the kitchen demanding food. We also managed to get an egg from each of the chickens over the weekend - all very different shapes / sizes and colours.

25 beautiful homes.

A home I styled was featured in the August issue of 25 Beautiful Homes over a four page spread. It was a super busy day ensuring that we photographed every room of the stunning four bed Victorian home in Hove. Kiya, the homeowner, was very welcoming on the day and was excited to share the information of how she developed her home and where she sourced all the beautiful furniture. My favorite aspect of the home was the floor in the lounge / kitchen which were old scaffolding poles that Kiya had personally scrubbed and limed.

behind the scenes.

Last week I went back to the beautiful location house in Henley to work on the Homesense Autumn / Winter collection with the fabulous Abigail Edwards. It was my first Christmas shoot of the year and by the end of the week I was covered in glitter and had eaten my body weight in chocolate. So all in all... a good week!

Abi & I balancing a stack of pillows.

This was one of my favorite shots - I just wanted to sit down and start typing.

All hands on deck for the chocolate shot!

My shoes featured in a shot.

Abi and I beavering away.

Christmas!

No time for hide and seek!

The Art Directors.

It all got a bit too much for some.

tuesday treasures.

The wicked witch is no more...

images: opps, i craft my pants via networkedblogs

monday inspiration.

Here are a few pictures of beautiful interiors to start the week with. I adore the blue painted decking in the first image and the wonderfully decorated shelves in the living room picture.

images: this old house, country living, coastal living

sunday car boot.

I did a car boot sale last Sunday in the pouring rain but my day was brightened up by this lovely gentleman who was my favorite customer all day! He was full of jokes - I wish I could remember them all - I think some people have the memory for jokes and I am just not one of them.

tuesday treasures.

The online shop Rowen & Wren is full of beautiful products to suit any home. On my wish list this week are these ceramic apples and pears in white or lichen grey - they would look perfect on my dressing table at home!

lifting spirits.

Tim Walker is a creative genius and one of my favorite photographers of all time! I find this image so amazingly stunning I have it on my pin board so that it can inspire me each day.

giggles.

I went into a card shop today and found the fantastically funny cards, by Hazel Bee, I just had to buy this one ... now I just need to find a frame as it is going straight up on my wall so I can look at it everyday and giggle!

secret garden wedding shoot.. part one.

Here are some of the final images from the secret garden wedding shoot I styled a couple of months ago. This shoot was a secret garden inspired vintage wedding with rustic keys hung from strips of ribbon and flowers displayed in vintage bottles around the gazebo. Cake by Sugar created a beautiful miniature wedding cake and pastel coloured heart biscuits which sat perfectly on the centre table. I sourced the collection of vintage mirrors from DoDo vintage a favorite shop of mine based in Hove as well as a selection of decorative frames that were hung from trees to create an eye catching display. Part 2 of the shoot to come soon. Would love to hear your comments and thoughts on these images. x

Stylist - Charlie Davis, Florist - Fairy Nuff Flowers, Dress Designer - Sally Lacock, Jewellery & Accessories - Oliver Laudus, Hair and Makeup - Sarah Dickenson, Wedding Planning / Design -Always Andri, Cakes - Cake By Sugar, Model - Terri 'The Bride Fairy', Venue - Cowdray Walled Garden Props - Dodo Vintage