dottie angel workshop...

Hello my lovelies! It is so good to be feeling like my old self today, which is doubly good because we have lovely visitors arriving this afternoon and the last thing I wanted was to cancel because of an icky virus!
But before I get busy with preparations for their arrival (you know, a mad dash at the housework... ;) ) I wanted to tell you all about my dear friend Miss Tif's 'eclectic handcrafted dottie angel workshop' that is happening this summer...

This exciting eclectic event is run by the lovely Angela, of Angela Ritchie's Ace Camps, who dropped me a wee note earlier in the week to tell me that there are still a few places available for any folk that want to try their hand at a spot of vintage crafting with one of the loveliest ladies you could ever possibly meet, Miss Tif herself!

Miss Tif has a fabulous itinerary planned for the two day workshop where you will get the chance to craft such lovelies as summer apron wraps, little birdie ‘hangy-me-jig’ mobiles and little sunshine messenger sacks. I am assured that there will also be lots of tea, crochet and chit chat with the lovely Angela herself providing delicious food throughout the whole event! What more could you want from a crafty weekend... !?

So here are just a few of the important details for all you lovelies who have just stumbled upon your getaway plans for this summer... The workshop is being held in Suffolk, on the English coast of the UK, and the dates are July 8-11 and July 12-15, 2011. To find out all the nitty gritty stuff look here, here and here... :)

Wishing you all a fabulously eclectic day!
Emma, x

thrifty finds...

Hi guys... :)
So yesterday's wild winds reached a destructive 100mph across Scotland. So far there has only been one report of a casualty due to a fallen tree, which is incredible considering the number of trees that have been uprooted or literally ripped apart by the force of the winds. You can see what I mean from some of the pictures in this gallery. Thankfully things have been a wee bit calmer today with lighter winds and not much rain to speak of. Apart from a few large fallen branches I haven't seen much damage around our part of the city. Hopefully the forecast will improve over the next few days... and then our worries can turn to yet another Icelandic volcanic ash cloud that is heading our way... Crazy!

Anyhoo, I though you might like a wee peek at a couple of thrifty finds I picked up this weekend. The first is this delicious, granny chic jug I spied in a local charity shop window. Can you believe I almost didn't bring her home because of the £5 price tag!? I dithered over her for far longer than the lovely lady in the shop wanted me to. But in the end I decided she was far too pretty not to bring home and after a good scrub up this lovely is now sitting in my fridge doing a perfect job of keeping my lemon water chilled... :)

The other find that I am most chuffed with is this yummy mint glass bowl that was waiting just for me at a flea market in the old Drill Hall, Dalmeny Street. This lovely lady cost me the grand sum of £1, bargain! So now I have a lovely pair of perfectly granny chic glass bowls that I'm finding deliciously photogenic. I am completely in love with the shapes and textures in this glass...

Btw, if you're in Edinburgh the next flea market will be on Saturday 18th June at the Drill Hall. It's free entry and there are some great stalls with some great vintage finds ~ furniture, knick-knacks, linens and lots of vintage clothes too... so be prepared to leave with armfuls of goodies!

Have a great day my lovelies,
Emma, x

colour your monday happy...

...with 'granny chic' floral loveliness, enjoy!

~ image credits : 1. Ingthings, 2. FollyandGlee, 3. calloocallay, 4. folk city, 5. wood & wool stool ~

Yay, I'm so pleased to be back in blog land this morning! I do hope you're all doing fabulously and had a great week last week!?
Mine was filled with some very lovely things with visitors visiting and some not so lovely things such as cracked water pipes and broken computers! But this morning all of those not so lovely things are a distant memory as I tuck into yet another 'Peppermint Cream' and tiptoe my way through all the wonderful submissions to 'all colours in'... :)
Today I'm especially enjoying all these fab vintage florals with their bright and bold colours, the perfect counter balance to this drab and dreary autumn day!
Oh' and if you're absolutely loving Folly and Glee's vintage bark cloth lampshades, as I am, then you really must check out their online shops here and here... go, now!

Wishing you all the most fabulous Monday!
emma
x

ps ~ Thank you all so much for all your sweet comments last week despite my absence, you are the loveliest bunch! I still haven't caught up with all my messages yet, but I'm working on it and you should hear from me soon if you are waiting for a reply... :) x

*swoon*

some retro fabulous lovelies that i've pinned to my granny chic Pinterest board and that have been inspiring me recently...

~ via kml design : toast ~

~ via pretty green : via retrouvius (page 7) ~

oh, how i am so loving all of these just now, especially that crochet blanket from Toast, so gorgeous... !
oh, and of course you know i love those olive greens next to those muddy yellows and golds, but lately i'm enjoying hints of bright pumpkin orange to lift them slightly and add more warmth. i like warmth... :)

this is miss Myrtle, a slightly different take on my ususal forever flower garlands as she has a few pretty wee granny squares nestled amongst her blooms. her colours were directly inspired by that beautiful mid-century chair and lovely spotty pillow from retrouvius and i'm imagining that she would perfectly at home hanging on the wall just behind it. what do you think... !?

emma
x

macaroons and roses...

~ top : philosophia*, bottom : Posy! ~

some random inspiration from my favourite Flickr today ~ Posy's sofa has been one of my most favourite images for as long as i can remember! although it's not a style i practice in my own home, i much prefer a more visually quiet look, i do find it endlessly inspiring. the colour and pattern, texture and warmth, the vintage and handmade... just lovely! ~ oh, and who doesn't love a wonderful pic, as well as a boxful, of those delicately coloured and flavoured macaroons... !?

a happy Wednesday to you all... :)
emma
x

edited to add: i have just received the sweetest e-mail form none other than miss Posy herself, yes the owner of that endlessly inspiring sofa arrangement! i am hanging my head in shame because, until she introduced them to me just now, i had not discovered her fabulous granny chic blog and flickr photostream! what's more, miss Posy is also an avid crocheter and this afternoon i am finding myself lusting after her colourful vintage hook collection ~ i'm feeling a wee bit jealous to say the least with only three in my own collection... ;)

today i'm loving...

colourful vintage pyrex... !
i would so love to start my own wee collection of these wonderful bowls and plates but will have to wait until i have a home with a much bigger kitchen in which to display it properly... for the time being i'm having to content myself with perusing the isles of Etsy and lusting over these gorgeous colours and patterns!

~ top : thami.mitten ~
~ centre left : vintage picnic, richard and ruthie, vintage soup ~
~ centre right : thami.mitten ~
~ bottom : silk creek gallery ~

a happy Tuesday to you all... :)
emma
x

colour palette ~ retro teal and turquoise...

~ image credits : 1. wooden donkey, 2. urban outfitters, 3. lonny magazine, 4. house of turquoise ~

yay it's nearly the weekend! and guess what... my sheer stubbornness at refusing to let go of the summer has tempted the sun from behind those nasty thunderstorms and it looks set to be a lovely one ~ woo-hoo!
now onto today's' colour palette, i do hope you like this wee collection of retro inspired teal and turquoise with pretty hints of orange and red? i know i've posted a lot of these colours already this week, but hey! when you've got a good thing going, why spoil it... ;)
over the last couple of days i have, quite randomly, pinned all of these lovelies to my 'granny chic' pinboard and when i saw them looking so perfectly co-ordinated this morning i just had to share them with you... i know, i'm too kind... ;)
actually, it was quite nice to break free from the realms of my Flickr favourites for today's palette, so i think i may do it more often and mix things up a wee bit... what do you think?

wishing you all a fabulous weekend... !
emma
x

colour palette ~ just peachy...

~ image credits: 1. birds & trees, 2. Kristybee, 3. Pablo Ch, 4. dottie angel ~

i'm still in a wee bit of a floral mood after yesterdays pretty pictures so i thought we would go with a floral inspired colour palette for today... i think this palette is a pretty good 'all rounder', meaning that if your a wee bit selective from it you could come up with a palette suitable for any season...
~ the bottom row being very soft and spring looking,
~ the whole centre bunch being quite summery,
~ those three left hand columns give a lovely warm autumn selection,
~ while the two columns on the right have a soft wintry feel...

but if you're like me, you'll be quite happy with them collected together just as they are and you're probably thinking that this is the possibly the most lovely 'granny chic' palette ever... :)

wishing you all a peachy weekend!
emma
x

some granny chic goodnes...

it's been a while since i've featured any pretty pictures from our 'granny chic' pool over on Flickr, which is a wee bit naughty of me since there seems to be a never ending supply of gorgeous imagery submitted on a daily basis!
so today i thought i would remedy the situation with a selection of some of my favourite 'granny chic' spaces that just ooze laid back comfort with that signature vintage girlie appeal...
enjoy... :)

~ svankatwijk ~

~ dottie angel ~

~ melissann ~

~ ted and agnes ~

~ folly and glee ~

~ heylucy ~

( did you notice all the pretty pillows again!? )

emma
x

dreaming of summer...

have you been over to Noa Noa lately?

i am completely in love with their sweet vintage summer styling ~ the beautiful saturated pinks, aqua, cream and sage greens are so uplifting and energising...

i'm also loving the oh so 'granny chic' bathing caps... not that it's a trend i think i'll be following, way too many bad memories from my school swimming lessons wearing such a 'flowery' cap in a very sad grey colour as far as i can remember. if only my fellow classmates had heard of 'granny chic' and it's love of all things retro and a wee bit flowery... *sigh*

emma
~ hoping these pretty pics will tempt the sun out from behind the rain clouds today! ~
x

busy bee...

...i have been as busy as a bee this week crocheting and tending my wee shop shelves, but today i seem to have run out of time...
...i had wanted to do the wee shop update today but it's already getting late and i'm pooped, and to be honest i quite fancy a quiet evening with a glass of wine, a good film and a pack of my favourite chocolate brownies that my man thoughtfully brought home today :)
...

...but before i go and settle in for the evening i thought i would leave you with a couple of my favourite images from flickr this week ~ springy perfection...

...dottie angel...

...LolaNova...

...lulaland...

...wishing you all the most wonderful evening and i shall see you bright and early tomorrow morning :)
emma
x

festival highlights...

...possibly the best festival i have ever had the pleasure of attending ~ 'a festival of granny love' ~ partly because there wasn't a drop of mud in sight, but mostly because i got to meet so many liked minded 'granny chic' loving folk...

...and the whole festival was hosted by the queen of granny chic herself, the ever so lovely miss Tif, aka dottie angel, in the grounds of the stunning mossy shed...

...highlights include special guests such as Ingrid of Wood and Wool Stool, Michelle of The Royal Sisters and miss Tif's lecture on how to turn a 'no' man into a 'yes' man with just your trusty paintbrush, a tin of paint and a thrifted wardrobe...

...but the biggest highlight for me was that i actually got the honour of being the headline act that closed the whole festival ~ with my very first interview :)

...all images ~ copyright dottie angel...

...so thank you for the opportunity miss Tif, my very special granny chic loving cyber buddy ~ until next year!

emma
(off to do a wee bit of embroidery)
x

ps ~ thank you so much to every one for your lovely comments about wee 'aggie' who has been made to feel very welcome :)

it's okay to be a 'granny chic' addict...

...wise words from the lovey miss Tif, aka dottie angel, who officially announced my new 'granny chic' flickr group to the world in a guest post over at sfgirlbybay...

...it is true, it is perfectly okay to an addict of all things 'granny chic'! it is perfectly normal to want to hang a collection of beautiful pot holders on the wall, or to cover your sofa with a fabulous rainbow coloured crochet afghan! why wouldn't you want to wear a delicately crocheted brooch with your favourite cardigan, while pouring tea from a vintage tea-pot, with maybe a plate of ginger-snaps arranged perfectly on a delicate china plate with a sweet paper doily! why wouldn't you want to do any of these things!?

...well to our delight, miss Tif and i are not the only ones with such 'granny chic' tendencies! here are just a handful of our fellow addicts proudly showing off their 'granny chic' ways...

...Dining area ~ LarkingAbout...

...Blossom Brooch ~ Edera Jewelry...

...the family room... ~ dottieangel...

...Tea set ~ kitschcafe...

... . ~ unravelling [susannah]...

...spot on ~ ethanollie...

...now if you are looking at these wonderful pics and thinking ~ 'that's me! that's how i see the world ~ through wee doily tinted lenses! why doesn't he get it!?' ~ then brew yourself a lovely cuppa in that vintage tea-pot and come over to flickr and join us in the love of all things 'granny chic' :)

emma
(loving ginger-snaps at the moment!)
x

...ps ~ i feel there may be a promotion in the air ;)