inspiration...

From our wee wintry world. I love how this blanket of the purest white snow is bringing out the most beautiful details in a (mostly) dying garden...



Wishing you all the most beautiful and inspirational day... :)
Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

With some snowy whites... :)

~ image credits: 1. Gálago, 2. rainingsheep, 3. David.L1, 4. All Things Bright, 5. IlgosSmilgos ~

So at last! Edinburgh is covered in a lovely blanket of white snow this Monday, yay! We woke up to almost four inches of it yesterday morning and almost constant falling flakes. It has been mostly the same this morning but now the sun shining and the city just looks so pretty... :) I know it's kinda early for the snow to arrive in the UK (we don't usually get any until January time) but I would much rather have this than the miserable rain... !
So to celebrate, today's collection of beautiful snowy white images from 'all colours in' are to pay homage to the snow... I know, kinda obvious really... ;)

I know lots of you lovely folks have lots of snow just now, so where ever you are I hope you have a fun and cosy Monday... :)

Emma, x

colour palette : black friday

Images credits: 1. 6.5st, 2. Steffen Tuck, 3. Sparrowsalvage, 4. Au fil de...

Quite a tenuous link really, considering that "Black Friday" has nothing to do with the colour black (but I suppose that does really depend on what you will be shopping for today!?) nor does it really exist here in the UK. But when the inspiration is there you gotta go with it and it does make for quite a pretty palette.

Anyhow, I too shall be taking part in the Black Friday event by having a wee sale in the shop this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for all the details over on my Facebook page.

Until next week my dears, I do hope you all have a great weekend and that the snowy weather doesn't cause too much disruption for you!?
Emma, x

today i'm loving...

Almost everything from Plumo's Winter 2010 collection! A wee catalogue came through my letterbox a couple of days ago and this morning I have been drooling over their entire site. Seriously, everything is just so pretty over there at the moment. I love this faux knitted Antoni & Alison silk dress, this teak cabinet is just gorgeous and I would love to be tucked under one of their flower quilts right now! I so wish this tweed coat was within my budget too... *sigh* ...take a wee peek for yourself and see what I'm talking about...

~ all images via Plumo ~

See! Just gorgeous... :)

Oh, and I must report that the snow didn't arrive in Edinburgh as expected, but the winter hasn't really started yet so there is plenty of time for that!

Wishing you all a cosy day and for everyone who celebrates it I do hope you have the most wonderful thanksgiving... :)
Emma, x

five festive favourites... :)

Because while I'm here organising photos and whatnot for the shop I'm getting distracted looking at baubles, garlands, tinsel and all things that are festive and lovely... :) Here are a few turquoise and aqua inspired pretties I found today over on Etsy...

~ top to bottom: 1. gretchen mist, 2. efinegifts, 3. Zime, 4. Pom Love, 5. 5gardenias ~

Be prepared for a few more of these during the lead up to Christmas because there is so much gorgeous-ness out there that is just begging to be shared... :)

Have you had snow yet? It's coming here and soon! It's so cold today too, which is making me feel even more festive if that's possible... !?
Emma, x

edited ~ Ooops! Just realised I hadn't added the links... !

pottering...

So it's another late post today and that can only mean one thing ~ yet another whole, entire, full day spent pottering in the studio... bliss!

Mostly I've been pottering at my desk putting the finishing touches to one or two ladies. Luckily the sun has been shining so the light has been lovely. I love how fresh and colourful my studio can look on days like today, it's so inspiring and motivating...
I've also made good headway on some of those festive ideas I've been pondering, but I'll tell you more about them later once they are ready! Until then expect to see a few ladies making their way onto my wee shop shelves, keep a wee eye on my Facebook page if you would like to know more... :)

Oh, and thank you all so much for your sweet comments yesterday! I'm so pleased you found a moment of inspiration to cheer you up on such a dreary day. Although the rain finally did stop it seems we are forecast some snow this week... eek! So not looking forward to that... !

Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

With more soft greys and some lovely rustic tweed shades, enjoy... :)

~ image credits: 1. One Flew Over, 2. thelittlereddoor, 3. cauchy09, 4. sweetmyrtle, 5. i am le petit oiseau ~

Good morning my dears! How are you all this fine Monday morning, I hope you had a great weekend... !?
We were all set to visit family but were thwarted by a flat car battery! So instead of spending a lovely weekend with relatives we spent a slightly quieter but equally lovely weekend at home. Yesterday I had a lazy morning in bed before doing a spot of grocery shopping and then spent the afternoon in the kitchen making huge pots of soup, a tray of flapjack and a delicious seafood risotto for dinner. Its good to have a real 'homely' day every now and then... :)
Now back to today, I do hope you are enjoying these beautiful images from 'all colours in'? The tweedy shades are a richer and more varied take on Friday's 'november pastels'. I just love these seasonal colours and still can't get enough of these soft linen greys. Today I think they just look so good with red, orange, purple, green and gold jewel colours. What do you think ... ?

Wishing you all a less rainy Monday that Edinburgh is having... !
Emma, x

colour palette : november pastels

Image credits : 1. Stacey Winters, 2. Stacey Winters, 3. Maggie&Sparrow, 4. xanthe berkeley

Hello my dears!

I do hope you don't mind a few more grey and gold inspired neutrals today? I'm still being drawn to their soft and seasonal tones but today I think they look just as beautiful with a few pastels thrown into the mix. Soft lilacs and purples with a hint of muted aqua and olive, 'November pastels' as I like to think of them. Those muddy shades of late autumn before the winter snow arrives and adds that crisp icy edge to these colours. I don't know about you but this palette make me want a wee tipple of that well known, creamy Irish liqueur... still a wee bit early though, maybe later... ;)

It has been lovely to get back to regular blogging this week and thank you so much for stopping by with your sweet comments, I appreciate them all very much!

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend,
Emma, x

in a quiet place...

Hello my dears, sorry for the late post today. I have been happily tucked up in my wee studio all day long, I can tell you it has been blissful! Today was one of those days when I just didn't want to be looking at a computer screen for very long, you know what I mean... !? But I did want to pop in and say 'Hello'... :) I have more pictures to show but they will have to wait for another day as it's getting late tonight.

Before I go I just wanted to mention a couple of exciting things from today. The first is that one of my Mam's gorgeous Hot Water Bottle Sweaters was featured on Victoria's lovely blog today... yay and double yay!
The second, if you haven't already heard, is that Etsy have started to introduce a range of currencies beyond the USD... woo-hooo! I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for them to take this step and I can't tell you how excited I am about this, really! I think it will be hugely positive for inviting a more international audience and making them a truly unique international marketplace. Speaking from personal experience I know it will make trading on the site a far less frustrating experience for all us non-US folks. Battling with a fluctuating exchange rate is just so tiresome, I recently gave up with altering my prices and just resigned myself to losing a few ponds here and there. But, that all changed today as I am now officially trading in GBP... :) You can still view all prices in your preferred currency but my list prices will now show as £'s instead of $'s. The change just means that I won't be losing out anymore!
Oh, I also noticed another new feature that Etsy are introducing this week... Coupon Codes. I haven't looked into this one yet but I know it's one that a lot of folk have been asking for.

Okey dokey then... I have rambled on enough tonight so I shall wish you all a wonderful evening and hopefully see you tomorrow... :)
Emma, x

grey and gold...

It's been a week or two since I've been able to browse all my favourite sites and pin my most favourite finds to my Pinterest pages. But it seems that my wee love affair with these glamorous neutrals and the geometric trend has not been interrupted by this wee break. Today I just can't get enough of them...

~ clockwise from top left : 1. oldnewagain, 2. Heath Killen, 3. Niki Jones (thank you mrs French!), 4. Erin Dollar ~

~ bovill road location at 1st option ~

~ clockwise from top left : 1. Marimekko collection at New Wall (via design*sponge), 2. David Stark for West Elm (via decor8), 3. via emmas designblogg (thank you Brittni!), 4. Photographic Amy ~

~ bovill road location at 1st option ~

I think this would make a wonderful festive colour theme if you're not one for the traditional multi coloured brights. All those soft greys, creams and taupe shades with a smattering of gold in a few sumptuous silk pillows, some delicate paper bunting or gorgeous crockery that would be perfect for a festive dinner. Of course a wee bit of sparkle with a few gold sequins wouldn't look out of place either... :)

Emma, x

'tis almost the season...

I have been trying my very best to ignore it but I just can't do it anymore, I have that festive feeling creeping over me... ! What with the dark chilly nights and having our first real frost yesterday. A bottle of warming ginger wine in the cupboard alongside the first fresh cranberries of the season and I've just tucked into a huge slice of yummy Stollen! Not to mention that my dear friend Miss Tif put out her first 'gleeful' tutorial of the season. Really, how could I resist any longer... !?

~ whimsy in green... ~

Of course lots of my favourite Etsy shops are filling up some wonderful wares too and I can see my favourites folder starting to bulge with lots of gift ideas. Okay, so yes most of them would be gifts for me and I assure you that Mr Claus will be hearing of them all... ! But just in case you would like to 'give' them too these are just a few of my extra special favourites today... :)

Wishing you all a merry day,
Emma, x

colour you monday happy...

With snippets of pretty colour... :)

~ image credits : 1. pilli pilli, 2. Planet Fur, 3. super ninon, 4. LolaNova, 5. Dani Senske ~

Ah, back to the normal blogging routine and a lovely morning spent browsing 'all colours in'. It's kinda comforting, like slipping into your most cosy pair of slippers after spending the day in cold, muddy wellies... :)

It feels so good to start a fresh new week knowing that lots of things on the 'must do' list have been completed and crossed out. Of course there are still one or two things to tackle, but it does mean that this week I have more time for the equally important 'would like to do' list. I have a few crafty things I want to get started this week as well as spending time catching up around cyber land. My poor Pinterest boards have been neglected for far too long now... !

What is also making this Monday morning feel particularly great is that our building refurbishment work is coming to an end. Which means that after almost five months that horrible bright green debris netting has finally gone, as has most of the scaffolding. We are no longer bathed in a shadowy eerie green light whenever the sun shines and our wee world is looking so much brighter and lovely... yay!

I do hope you too have lots of things to make you smile this Monday morning... ?
Emma, x

i heart flickr, part 5...

Happy, happy Friday... !
What better way to celebrate the start of the weekend than with some delicious red velvet cake balls, an aqua blue Eames rocker with a perfectly granny chic crochet blanket for your lap and the cutest crochet hair clips you have ever seen... !? Really, could there be a more perfect combination... !? I think not... ;)

~ all colours in... : sugarcrawler ~

~ granny chic... : rainingsheep ~

~ ■ knit ■ solid ■ yarn ■ : un arc en ciel dans le lavabo ~

Well it has been quite a hectic week, but everything seems to be under control now and I'm so looking forward to getting back to a normal blogging routine next week. Until then I do wish you all a fabulous weekend... :)

Emma, x

i heart flickr, part 4...

Hello my dears! Here are today's Flickr favourites, a wee bit of a retro theme all round with some classic red and white ~ my favourite!

~ all colours in... : super ninon ~

~ granny chic... : Ingthings ~

~ ■ knit ■ solid ■ yarn ■ : svankatwijk ~

I'm keeping it short and sweet today as I still have a lot of things to busy myself with. I do hope you're all having a wonderful week though!?

Oh before I forget, if you like you can swing by the Artisans Collective blog for a peek at a wee guest post I did yesterday. The Artisans Collective is a wonderful Etsy team that I'm so proud to be a part of. As well as our blog, you can also check out our website and brand new Etsy team page. We have some incredibly talented members and I'm sure you will find some wonderful creations that you will absolutely love... :)

Emma, x

i heart flickr, part 3...

Wow, it's midweek already! The last couple of days seem to have whizzed past in a wee blur of frantic organising and writing. I've still got a whole lot to get done before the week is out but I'm slowly but surely getting on top of the huge 'to do' list that keeps taunting me! Thankfully the wild weather is taking a wee break today and the sun is shining bright. Someone must have heard my wee plea for some sunny light because I really need it today to snap some pretty pics around my studio... eek! I'm saying no more... ;)

So anyhoo, for this midweek moment of calm I thought some suitably calming images from our Flickr groups would be perfect. I absolutely love the faded pastel shades in this wee collection. They are so well placed in the vintage floral textiles and I love the textures of these reclaimed 'shabby' wood plaques by Wood & Wool Stool...

~ all colours in... : wood & wool stool ~

~ granny chic... : kristenaderrick ~

~ ■ knit ■ solid ■ yarn ■ : Sparrowsalvage ~

Now I must not get distracted with hunting down a pretty white lotus bowl for my colourful pins, or searching out my beloved bamboo knitting needles to whip up something warm and cosy. Well, at least not til I've tackled that mammoth 'to do' list... hmpf!

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,
Emma, x