Ampersand Love

Images from Ampersand Shop

I am a fan of the ampersand. I love the design of it and the name of it. I find it hard to write with a pen or pencil. (Really, it gets very lopsided)

Ampersand Shop is the Etsy store of Ampersand Design Studio. The colours they use in their stationery and prints are so much fun. I love the neon. They truly rock the ampersand.

Acts of Kindness on the Tube

Images from TFL

I read and hear a lot of things about kindness disappearing from our daily lives. I think there are still awesome people in the world though. Random acts of kindness are fantastic and fun to be on either side of.

Michael Landy is an artist who has explored acts of kindness on the Tube in London. I have to admit, the Tube is not the place that instantly comes to mind when I think of kindness, so I really enjoyed looking at this project and thinking about it differently. I am excited to check it out on the Central Line when I head to London in a couple of weeks. I will keep this project in mind when I am squashed against the window of the carriage!

Surprise!

Images from Ganim

Monday already! I hope you had a great weekend and I hope you have a great week ahead. Let's hope we all have some fun surprises in store.

I love these surprise balls from the USA. They really remind me of Christmas crackers. How fun would it be to receive one? And how fun would it be to make one? I am thinking of all the things you could put inside- the possibilities are endless!

Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday! It's funny- when I was younger I used to hate Sundays but now I look forward to them. A day to catch up and chill out, watch programmes like Pan Am and Borgen and go on a nice walk somewhere with a picnic (if it wasn't January!).

I also love Sunday to catch up on all of the fantastic blogs, ideas and inspiration out there. Here are some links that have caught my eye this week:

Lovely textile letters from Mare Kelpman

Fantastic French wall paper care of Miss Moss

Love this cushion and the newspaper wall!

I wish I had an ocean is a lovely collection of inspiration and gorgeous images.

Tattoo yourself in your sleep with this bed linen

And a gorgeous study in patterns from Morocco

Hotel Crayon

Images from Hotel Crayon

It's the weekend! Hooray. Hope you have a good one!

Have you seen the amazing Hotel Crayon in Paris? I love it when hotels break out of the box and do something different and that certainly applies to this hotel. I think it would be so much fun to stay there!

Norman Parkinson and Gorgeous Vintage Dresses

Images from The Guardian

Happy Friday everyone! What are your plans for the weekend?

This week's Friday Photography is focusing on the work of Norman Parkinson. I love fashion photography. I also love the fashion from the 1950s and 1960s, so this set of photos and prints released by his former assistant is a fantastic way to spend some time. Norman revolutionised fashion photography the 1950s and 60s, taking models out of stuffy studios, and I think you can really see this here.

I love how a lot of these dresses would not look out of place at all in 2012. And that black dress in the middle of the top photo is gorgeous! Very Joan from Mad Men. (I love her and even have a pen necklace too ha!). I don't know about you, but now I really want to go vintage dress shopping.

In The Make

Images from In The Make 

Photography: Klea Mckenna

Happy Thursday everyone! I really like Thursdays- the weekend is getting close and you can start to think about plans and lie ins!

As I have posted about before, I love looking at real apartments and houses. So, when I discovered In The Make I was really overjoyed- a chance to look in studios of artists. It's a collaboration between

Klea McKenna and Nikki Grattan and it's a great project- you can get lost in the site for hours. Really, it's fantastic and you should check it out. This studio space belongs to artist Annie Vought. I love the art and the studio. 

Some Silly Cats

I am sorry, but I could NOT resist this post. I just couldn't. Especially on a pretty dull Wednesday afternoon. Above are our two cats, Toby and Scout. I am showing you them because OH how I wish they would let me dress them up like this:

Images from Snoop Catty Catt

...just for enough time to get a photo! As someone who works on pet photo shoots for my day job I have serious professional appreciation for this cat! Cat ties and accesories for the well turned out, social cat can be found here at Snoop Catty Catt.

I really like these, Debbie Carlos

Images from Debbie Carlos

I really do! Like me, Debbie Carlos has a Psychology degree. Unlike me she also produces these fantastic prints. If you've read my blog before, you'll know that I love prints. I would happily cover all my walls with them.

 I think my favourite is the cloud print- there is something so relaxing about it. You can check out her Etsy store here and also read a great interview here too. I love the fact that to get out of a creative rut, she plays pranks on her pets. Ha!

Paper Inventions

Images from Faye Moorhouse

Firstly, I love the term 'paper inventions'. Secondly, I just love these! They totally take me back to making paper dolls when I was a child. Created by Faye Moorhouse, these paper inventions include garlands, moving zebras and animals in Christmas hats. What is there not to like? You can find out more on Faye and check out things to buy here. I thoroughly recommend it.

Nice Party

Images from Nice Party

The weather here this morning is sleety and slushy. Happy January! So what better to brighten up your morning than some lovely images from a party company based in a warm, sunny country. I love the styling and the products available from Spanish event company Nice Party. Gorgeous, bright colours.

I really need to host a party so I can use a metallic backdrop!

Nancy + Betty, Practically Perfect

Images Nancy and Betty

I'm so glad I found the design studio of Nancy and Betty! As I am starting to scope out things to stock in my store, I love finding awesome stuff. I love their twists on things like wedding cards and wrapping tape. Who wouldn't want to receive a package wrapped up with the words 'practically perfect in every way'? Lovely! Check out their store and more designs here!

Something Like a Phenomenon

Images from Felt and Wire

Good morning, I hope you all had brilliant weekends. Do you sometimes need a bit of a boost on a Monday morning? I know I do! 3 cups of strong coffee, a big bowl of porridge and this phrase should power me through this morning. Check out the prints and find out more here. Everybody do something like a phenomenon this week!

Happy Sunday!

Sunday again already! Hope you're having a great weekend.

Here are some great links from around the web that caught my eye this week:

A super super cute mini pug Valentine!

Fun article on Chinese New Year

The Locals is an amazing blog anyway, but I love this polka dot dress!

I love these sparkly servers from Leif! (Leif in general is a really great store to check out).

And a jumping elephant! This will 100% make you smile.

And a round up of Sparrow + Spark this week:

An amazingly coloured painting by Jen Ramos

A Back to the Future series of photography

Really cute vintage finger puppets!

A vintage inspired, lithograph print look at Paris in the 1930s.

Gorgeous pyjamas and nightware by pop-lin.

Dust confetti.

A great mask project. More masks!

And finally, Let's Sleep Here. Some lovely unusual places to stay under the stars.

Blue Velvet Ruffle Cake?

Images from Apollinas

Yes please!

I found this amazing cake project while browsing Apollinas and I thought it would be a really fun post to kick off the weekend. I love red velvet cake, so I think this blue twist on it is awesome. It looks so delicious! Look at all of that delicious, thick frosting...

Have a great weekend!