Wednesday 29 February 2012

littletree visits...Ikea in Spring

Hello again, how's everyone doing? As you may have guessed by the title of today's post I visited Ikea last week and had to share some of the lovely pics I took when there. There seemed to be a couple of themes going on around the store so I have arranged my top picks into little moodboards for each theme.

First is 'Pretty Pastels' always a good start to spring, this very first image was taken from the window display and looked so stunning...the perfect tea party set-up! The new bedlinen along the same theme was also so pretty with pink checks and cushions with cottage florals on the front and stripey backs. I loved the little glass mugs decorated with pastel coloured florals and the perfect tea tray to go with them covered in teacups!


The next theme was in the more traditional Ikea style of 'Bright and Funky.' I have seen these brightly coloured Billy bookcases online but they were even better (and brighter!) in real life. Loving glass fronted shelving at the moment, showcases all of your lovely books and objects without them getting dusty! I hate dusting...there was also lots of new (to my eyes) fabrics and cushions all in great colours, fab for kids, or big kids like me! Also in the second pic down you can just see a set of crochet flowers, there are 5 in a set and come with yarn so you can string them up! So cute...


Now I bet you're asking what did I buy?! Well I was very good, only 2 small serving bowls and 1 large matching bowl...but they have a purpose! The small bowls were to go with this lovely plate I had recently bought at Villeroy and Boch in the bargain 75% off section. It's a large platter that is meant to have a bowl for dip on the side, it had no matching bowl but at £6 for the platter I knew good old Ikea would have something that would work! So the small bowls fit perfectly and the large bowl was extra...I couldn't resist...it was too pretty!



All pictures taken by littletree.
I hope you have enjoyed this little trip to Ikea with me! See you again soon. x

Tuesday 28 February 2012

littletree discovers...the worlds smallest & largest stop-motion animations

Something a little different for a Tuesday...I first saw the Smallest stop-motion animation on Channel 5 between programmes and had to investigate more...which is where I discovered the Largest stop-motion animation. This is an art form that constantly amazes me as the level of time and patience required is astounding...the difference here is that these films are made on a mobile phone! Both of the films are a collaboration between director Sumo Science and stop-motion legends Aardman a combination which can only mean magic! Enough rambling from me here are the two films, I really hope you like them because I love them! Which one is your favourite? x


 



Monday 27 February 2012

beautiful books...The Liberty Book of Home Sewing


Hello lovely blog readers, did you all have good weekends? I hope so...Anyhoo last Thursday's beautiful books post I did indeed promise to share a sneaky peek of my new Liberty Home Book of Sewing...and here it is! I thought you had waited long enough over the weekend and also Monday's do require some extra visual stimulation to get us all going for the week! This book is a pure delight to read, the photo's are beautifully styled and the projects are fairly simple, some harder than others, but even I of basic sewing skills could make most of these projects...probably...there is even a glossary of terms and Liberty Fabrics at the back. These fabric patterns also make an appearance throughout the book in full pages and are just stunning so I've added a few below. Well I hope you enjoy and all have good weeks, see you soon! x



Friday 24 February 2012

pinterest pick of the week...


If you can't already tell what this weeks pinterest picks are about it's Crochet! After the Quilling bonanza the other week I thought I would highlight another old craft that has well and truly become a modern crafting phenomena! So curl up in your crochet blanket and enjoy this weeks board Crochet by Clare Donovan...have lovely weekends and I will see you next week!x



Now I like crochet as much as the next person but I think this room would give me a headache after a while!
Would love a crochet rug though...sigh...if only I could crochet! As usual click on the links above for sources.

Thursday 23 February 2012

MT tape Expo on Hello Sandwich...


 A quick little link love this sunny afternoon...pop over to Hello Sandwich to check out this post from November when she visted the MT tape Expo...amazing pictures...washi heaven! x

Mini Love!!! All images from Hello Sandwich



beautiful books...Homemade Gifts Vintage Style



Hello again, today I am sharing two of my recent bargains and new favourite books, first is Homemade Gifts Vintage Style (HGVS) by Sarah Moore and the second I'm sure you will recognise as The Liberty Book of Home Sewing...now for the bargain part, I got both of these books for £12! Yup £12...from The Works of all places! The Works is a discount bookstore here in the UK which has all sorts of home/craft/cookery books as well as fiction and even craft/art supplies. I have bought a few cookery books before but finding these two was like finding the holy grail! The Liberty's book is £20 retail price but I got it for £6.99! So to spread out the book love I am going to show you a few sneak peeks from HGVS today and save the Liberty book for another sneak peek next week...I'm mean, I know...so enjoy a mini browse today and click on the links above to take you to shop the books at The Works or pop by Amazon here and here. See you tomorrow! x



 All photos taken by littletree from Homemade Gifts Vintage Style

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Liebster no.2!


Wow! How flattered am I? I have just been awarded my second Leibster Blog Award by the lovely ladies at the Polka Dot Lighthouse, Carla and Olga, Thank You! They went a little over their 8 blog limit but I have to agree it is so hard to just pick 5 blogs to award it to...you can check out their other award winners here and check back later this week for my 5 new blogs to award it to! Thanks again ladies! xxx

new print designs!


Happy Wednesday to all, you having a good week? Now you may have noticed that I added a few new prints to my Etsy shop last week, if not then this is a little mini showcase of my new designs! If you read here regularly you will recognise the 'Geek Love' print above from my Valentine's cards, it was such a popular design that I decided to bring it back in print form. Perfect for a engagement/wedding gift for that geeky couple you know! My new prints below are all based on sayings or phrases that most people know, 'Tea the cure for Everything' which being English I completely believe in! 'Sunshine on a Rainy Day' has a lovely bright yellow background guaranteed to cheer up a grey day and finally 'Oh My Days!' A saying that gets said a lot around here!

Everything is hand drawn by me in pen, scanned, re-touched and coloured in Photoshop before being printed on to quality 100% Cotton Rag archival paper to make the print last longer. All Prints are £12 and available right now from my shop, so stop by and have a look!x




Tuesday 21 February 2012

colour inspiration...'pancake hues'

Image HERE
Does this not look like THE perfect mountain of pancake-y goodness? Chocolate and raspberry sauce, fresh raspberries and pistachios...set against a dark sultry background it all looks very naughty...but nice!x

littletree bakes...apple pancakes!



Yey! Here in the UK today it is Shrove Tuesday or, as it's better known, Pancake Day! Now I love pancakes, all kinds, traditional large, thin ones with lemon and sugar or Nutella....ooh Nutella...or the thicker American style pancakes that you stack high and drown in syrup...oh dear think I'm falling into a pancake coma! Now as much as I love the thin kind they can take ages before you have a pile, doing each one individually in the pan...yawn...I want my pancakes asap! So most of the time at home throughout the year I make these thick, fluffy, apple pancakes. They are super simple and quick to whip up, plus they use up old apples that may have passed their best, nothing goes to waste in this house! So if you want to give them a go here's the recipe...hope you all have a pancake-tastic day!x

Ingredients (This mix will make enough pancakes to feed 2 hungry people!)
  • 150g / 6oz Plain Flour
  • 30g / 1oz Caster Sugar
  • 1tsp Baking Powder
  • 150ml / 4 1/2 fl oz Milk
  • 1 Egg
  • 1-2 Apples
  • Butter for cooking 
  • Syrup for drizzling!

Let's Bake!
  • Weigh out the Flour, Sugar and Baking Powder in a large bowl, stir to combine.
  • Make a well in the centre and add the Egg and Milk. Whisk together until all the flour mix has been combined.
  • Grate in 1-2 Apples, the more apples the further your batter will go, stir to combine.
  • Heat a large pan or griddle, when hot add a knob of butter and swirl to coat the pan.
  • Add batter in large dollops and spread to slightly even out. Don't overcrowd the pan as you need room to flip!
  • Once air bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake the underside should be done and ready to flip over.
  • Once flipped keep an eye on them as they will cook quicker than you think!
  • And that's it! If needed put cooked pancakes on a warmed plate wrapped in a clean tea towel to keep warm.
  • Keep going until all of the batter is used. 
  • To serve pile high on a plate and drizzle with syrup and a knob of butter...scrummy...x

Monday 20 February 2012

littletree loves...Ninainvorm


Hello all! Hope you had good weekends? I have something nice and bright and cheery for you this Monday morning, the lovely work of Nina van de Goor and her shop Ninainvorm. I came across her shop last week and immediately messaged her about doing a post because it really was love at first sight! Nina's shop is packed full of beautiful ceramics all creatively 're-designed' using her quirky designs carefully screen printed onto vintage china. There are also lovely prints and postcards all using similar cute and colourful designs. Nina has been lucky enough to have had her work on many a popular blog such as decor8, Design*Sponge and Oh Joy to name a few..and in magazines such as Easy Living and Frankie! So today I have cherry picked my favourites to share with you but do stop by the shop for more...and Nina's super colourful blog too! Hope you all have great weeks and enjoy. x

Super Festive Serving Set
9 Colourful Postcards
Medium sized love birds Teapot
L'amour Toujours Print
Spirograph Flowers and Bunting Plate
I think this last plate is my favourite of all, the plate itself is so pretty...but bunting and spirograph?! I'm in love!

Friday 17 February 2012

pinterest pick of the week...


Another week has gone...it's all going to quick for me! Now I know Valentines Day was Tuesday but there were so many lovely boards out in Pinterest land I couldn't resist sharing some...plus spring is coming (it is...I hope) which is the wedding season so I thought I would find a board that had some lovely ideas for engagement pics, cute bachelorette party ideas and wedding decoration/food/pictures...Here are my picks from the board Heart-shaped by Inari...enjoy x


I love this easy peasy heart garland...so cute and simple to do yourself! A I hope you're not all loved out too much after this...for sources clink on the links above and I hope you all have a fab weekend!x
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...