Etsy Loves

I am a big voyeur on Etsy and am not shy of liking lots of things.  If I bought everything I wanted I'd be seriously out of pocket.  Occasionally, I do actually buy something because I just can't resist.  The above little brooch is one such thing and when it arrived I fell in love! Cute or what?  Character, detail, frivolity, patience..it's all there in this mini miaow.

But now I want this one!
The lovely thing about Adatinė ( a partnership of friends, Elena and Ieva from Lithuania) is that new things keep popping up all the time and they are all just as appealing as the next.  So I better not look for a while or I'll have a whole menagerie pinned to my cardi in no time at all!
The clothes are lovely too!


I'm pretty sure I found Adatinė originally through Debbie over at Kickcan and Conkers.  Always a good place to go, to point you in the direction of lovely, unusual finds!

I'd love to pull up all the gorgeous things I spy and shout about them here on my blog...but it all seems to take so much time.  It's not all just about me, me, me, honest!  So, bravo to those that do find the time, where would we be without them? 
Hooray for the rare occasion that I do write a post like this, but in the meantime I'll just keep on adding to my Etsy faves, or hop on over to Pinterest and you'll find me there - pin, pin, pinning...on my big, fat mood board of everything!

Right, I really am done for the weekend. x

Ernesto Neto at The Hayward

A tailored made exhibition for me and my little boy!
A wonderful day and this little video just about sums it up.

Ernesto Neto and his dreamy wonderland of stretchy stockings in hues of lemon, lime, watermelon, aqua and lavender.   A sensory explosion, but in a gentle and inviting way, pulling you in, to explore a world of misty avenues and sneeky peepholes, with pockets of scents and a big drum to pound.

We went on a school day so were lucky enough to have the space almost to ourselves.   The weather wasn't too great either so the swimming pool outside was a great invitation, had he been 20cm taller! 

I loved the signage inviting you to be gentle or not to touch at all. 

The minature, urban park and the giant sized slotty pieces on the open decks were a great contrast to all the mist and cloud inside.

We took a break upstairs in the Project Space, with Stanley watching the Powerpuff Girls on an interactive screen in the Waterloo Sunset Pavillion, while I dreamed about in the big white space of dice world!

The work of Semâ Bedirovic was a brilliant companion to the room below and the short film of the advancing black dot was just a joy!

Back down stairs in The New Decor Exhibition and we even got a chance to swing in the bondage style, chainmail hammock!  An incredibly relaxed and friendly gallery attendant with a shiny gold tooth just made his day when Stanley was given the go ahead to 'get in'!
A giant take on interiors and a wild stretch of the imagination it all was.  I loved the mattress completely covered in buttons.

In the shop I bought a fab book called PLAY ALL DAY Design for Children.  A lovely souvenir of a great day out.

I had to laugh when I read this funny review by Charles Darwent for The Independent 
'My fear for The Edges of the World is that it will be seen by middle-class parents as a bouncy castle made for their children and so be filled with shrieking Toms and Daisys.' ....and Stanleys!
Well tough, we both enjoyed it which is more than can be said for a day in the park. Just don't go in the school holidays.

Numbers Up

I made some lavender bags sometime last year and having sold and given them all away, I meant to do more, but like a lot of things, I just haven't got round to it!

Then, I came across this fab tutorial for number bean bags via the brilliant Little Red Bus.  It was spotted on Holly's cheerful blog Chez Beeper Bebe.  There are just loads of great tutorials on her blog and she has a lovely shop too.  Her Two Faced range is just adorable!
Anyway, I was determined to make some for Stanley at some point, so here they finally are.

 

Inspired by our workshop chats and sample making for Jennifer at The Make Lounge, I've thrown myself back into the world of machine embroidery and have been having lots of fun.
Some of the fabric clashes are a bit mad, mixing my prints with fabric scraps that I've had forever, but I just wanted to be a bit random and colourful for my little lad.  I've stuffed them with wheat and lavender to give him a sensory kick too!
Holly gives all the beneficial and fun reasons for making these on her blog and I whole heartedly agree!
We played catch, what's missing, hide and seek, memory game, juggling and finally throwing them all straight at me.  That's when it all got a bit out hand and we had to stop!  Our living room is now filled with a lovely aroma of lavender and despite having a crap nights sleep last night, I felt I at least got something good done today.

So thanks to all those links to a great thing and more on The Make Lounge later!

Oh and I thought I'd add just one more link!
A great Giveaway here from Karen Jones' super kiddie filled style blog All About The Boys
Lovely books, lovely boys! Can't get enough.

Just a Little Note....

Thank you to Sam at Inklore for her supernice inclusion of my inspiration post on her journal/blog. She makes beautiful eco conscious stuff and I love the block printing!