Christmas Countdown

It's the 1st of December and the Christmas Day countdown has begun. (Just breath!). I haven't bought an advent calendar yet as I'm not sure anything containing chocolate would last more than 30 seconds in our house. So I'm thinking that one of these from JA! (aka Janine de Waal and Alta Stegmann) would be perfect. Completely different and beautifully illustrated by Alta, they most definitely remind me of the more magical and fun side of the festive season. You can buy them at the Fringe Market this Saturday or at the Designer-Maker Artisan Market on the 14-16th December. You can also find them at Tastebud in Stellenbosch, Pulp Kitchen & Deli in Willowbridge and at Marigold and Blank Space in Cape Town. Included in the box are 25 cards, red ribbon and the prettiest instructions ever.

Dorp Street, Stellenbosch

The Dorp Street Gallery has to officially be my happy place (or at least it comes in at a very close second to the Chanel make-up and fragrance counter at the Waterfront). Every time I go in there I think: if I had to win the lotto I could easily buy up the entire place (at least I have a store card for my other wish list). What makes it even better is that adjoining the gallery is the divine De Oude Bank Bakkerij. I have blogged about it before… I love it that much. Here are a few pics of my favourite works and a bit of the restaurant and new Brasserij. The sculpture of the man and woman on the right are by Marieke Prinsloo of Walking the Road fame.

Cape Point getaway

It's been over a month since my last blog post. Not sure what I've been up to but I think it might have something to do with a lot of admin and the need to take a little rest (2011 has been quite some year). Our family from the UK arrived just in time to get us all away for a long weekend (throats were sore, eyes were black… honestly, things were not looking good) to Cape Point Cottages. It's a bit of a joke really… we hopped in the car and 45 minutes later we arrived in another world. Needless to say we came away with fresh air in our lungs and a spring in our step. Oh, and not to be forgotten – a fab rusk recipe (thanks to Sally who runs the show at the cottages). Anyway, here are a few pics taken with my new little Canon mik en drik…

How to Block Print

Ever since posting those beautiful block printed cards by Love and Reason I've been thinking about finding a how to somewhere (I only have some vague college memories of a grey lino board and a few wood-cutting tools). So, I found this most useful and beautiful step by step on Papersnitch done by Ania of Paper Cut Works.

Nice hey! For the nitty-gritty and so on you can go here. Alternatively, and maybe even more useful if you are a local yocal, you can see how Jesse Breytenbach does her block printing on her blog Jezze Prints. Some helpful questions and answers posted at the end too – as in what inks and tools are best for the job.

Doodles

I did these drawings quite a long time ago and had to get them out the other day to scan in. I had forgotten how much these two funny looking people make me smile.

Midnight Garden and Flower Power

Really loving Linda Edwards' illustrations. Here are two more…

Birthday card by Linda Edwards

This has been sitting in my draft folder for about 2 weeks now because I scanned it in and then couldn't find the card to credit the illustrator. Much huffing and puffing later I found it – yes, it's so predictable – in the scanner! So what I was meant to say all those days ago – this is my birthday card by Linda Edwards for Clare Maddicott from my lovely husband who knows exactly what style of illustration I love. Moonlight Garden completely sums it up…

Le Souk crochet rug

A quick little re-post from my favourite blog The Style Files. How beautiful is this crochet rug from Le Souk? 
I have hooky envy – big time.

Block printing by Love & Reason

How gorgeous are these block printed notecards by Kate Sutlive of Love & Reason. Definitely going to spend some more time reading her blog. It's filled with her inspiring work and some super interesting looking posts – I'm always keen for a bit of art history!

From Africa with love

I couldn't find the share to facebook or twitter icon on the styles files blog so thought I'd do a quick cut and paste (hey, it's what I do best after all) into mine. From Africa with love is a new showroom/gallery located in Amsterdam selling contemporary interior design by some of our most talented designers. I feel all proud and homesick just looking at these – and I live here. Thank goodness for that.

Happy New Year!

Oliver made this at school this week – they were being taught about the Jewish New Year and of course apples and honey featured quite prominently. I love it… and thought I must share and take the opportunity to wish all my Jewish friends a very happy New Year. May your year be filled with blessings!

Crochet happiness

Look at what my unbelievably talented sister-in-law Salome made for me! I share a house with 3 British passport holders and this crochet cushion has more than one set of eyes checking it out. Thankfully, my men have no interest in pink so the bag is all mine. Salome: your talent, skill and perfectionism in everything you leaves me gobsmacked. The only thing left for me to say: guys if you want to order one… send me mail.

New from Deep Dark Africa

These arrived in my inbox recently… gorgeous new products from Deep Dark Africa. How about those little baby booties!

Happy Spring Day

Ok… so winter has finally arrived today but I don't care and am celebrating spring anyway! So excited to find these heart brooches and pendants by Skermunkil for sale on Beatnik Bazaar's new online shop. I have a plain red and green heart necklace which I love and wear all the time but think a little floral one will be just springtastic.

My first crush

I'm in the midst of a huge (gargantuan!) deadline so my poor (much loved by me) blog is really taking a back seat (never mind the crochet… that's practically on the 2012 list). But a good friend and fellow designer sent me this You Tube animated film called My first crush and it's just what the doctor ordered (along with tea and chocolate). I couldn't help but find a few more of Julia Pott's illustrations to share… hope they make you smile too!

Boer & Brit

A few weeks ago Paul (aka my husband) and I had the best ever, romantic weekend away in Stellenbosch. The first thing we did when we arrived was to head off to De Oude Bank Bakkerij for a lazy tapas lunch. Along with all of this, of course, was a bottle of Boer & Brit Suiker Bossie Red (a Rhone inspired blend of Shiraz and Viognier – so says the bit on their website.) So I got to sit, relax, and enjoy a really awesome wine and at the same time admire this gorgeous label (not often I can say that!). Mmmmm… quite fancy the look of their Cap Classique and Bob's Your Uncle too. Think a glass or two are just what's needed for some mid-week inspiration!

Ok, and because this is meant to be a design blog (and because I just had to find out who the genius behind all this is) here are some more images from the Boer & Brit Wine packaging… designed and illustrated by South African design agency Fanakalo. Mooi!

My new bag!

At last here it is! My lovely, gorgeous, way too-nice-for-grocery-shopping Orla Kiely bag. It was designed exclusively in 2010 for Tesco's in the UK (as a reusable grocery bag and to raise money for charity) and thanks to my dear friend Charlotte who lives all the way up north in Cumbria I now have one all the way down south here in Cape Town. Thank you! I love it so much – I won't let a single smelly onion near it. So far it's made a great little bits n bobs and nappy bag but i think it's ultimate destiny will be to look after my crochet wool, hooks and needles. Happiness all round.

Flowers for you

It seems I like to start the week with a bloom or two! I love this paper collage illustration by Jennifer Judd Mc-Gee… it makes me want to get out a pair of scissors and some glue. Hope you all have a good Monday and a great week ahead. 

Ellen Giggenbach

I've been following Ellen Giggenbach's blog for ages now. I love her simple shapes and bright use of colour. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand and these images depict the local wild life and craft. Super original!

Creative colouring

Sometimes you just can't beat good old fashioned colouring in to keep kids busy (especially now that it's school holidays and the weather isn't so great here). I love Made by Joel – it's such a fabulous website full of creative things you can make with your children. There is a whole page devoted to Colouring Sheets… his designs are so gorgeous (wonky hand drawn lines – tick! No dinosaurs that need a purple crayon – yes!). I'm definitely going to print a couple of these out for my boys.

Happy Monday

Life has been super busy since last Monday… so much so that I haven't even had the chance to read my favourite blogs (completely unacceptable). But I arrived quite early at the office this morning, had a quick scoot around and found this by chance on Etsy. It's by Jessica, a London based illustrator and graphic designer. It's just the bit of yellow happiness that I need to get this week started. Hope you all have a good one too!

Orla Kiely

Something arrived in the post today that has me loving Orla Kiely more than ever! I can't wait to show you and all will be revealed as soon as I get some time to take a picture but until then this should fill the gap.