Love the collection of prints over at Little Paper Planes more than ever.

Oh, the one below from Debbie Carlos too.

Busy last few weeks at nursery and visits to Primary School, still managed to pick up this colourful tumbler for 50p and a beautifully illustrated book for Ishi. We will be off down south next week, looking forward to revisiting Brighton’s super pebbly beach.

One of the lovely things about extending my birthday week is that it gives me the perfect opportunity to share the handmade gifts I received with you. I am a lucky and extremely happy birthday girl!

First off is a gift I bought for myself (every birthday I choose a couple of meaningful items to mark the turn of another year). I ordered this a while ago, you may remember it from the Forget-Me Not show at Gallery Hanahou in February. How felicitous that it actually arrived the day after my birthday, just in time to appear in this post. You may have noticed that there is a very special someone missing from my birthday/spring extravaganza, where is Miss Nicole of Astulabee, surely you aren’t still honouring that admiration truce from way back? Everyone knows how important Nicole is to me, I adore her as an artist and as a person (who wouldn’t? Such beauty, intelligence and all round good-egg-ness!). I would have pestered for a little something but the lady has been so busy with the American Craft Council show and hot on its heels this amazing project, I didn’t want to add to the mix. Oh but be assured I will be badgering soon, very soon (sorry Nicole!).

The piece is called My Love For You Is A Roller Coaster and I love it more than I can say. As you can see from the detail above the stitch work is so very fine and delicate and yet so powerful at the same time. I was truly astounded when I took it out of its protective wrapping, thank you Nicole for being such a genius!

Who is that foxy fellow with the sly and cheeky countenance? Why it is Mr Arctic Dodger of course, I have been warned that he is little bit tricksy, he has behaved impeccably so far and keeps me company from his window sill vantage point. I see him silhouetted against the night sky and sometimes I swear he is waving at me. Dodger is a gift from the unbelievably amazing Margie of Resurrection Fern, he is so beautifully designed and realized, right down to his removable wool jumper. If you look carefully you can see Dodger’s companion Etienne the Merfish, who travelled with my foxy friend to keep a scaly eye on him! I was moved to tears by Margie’s beautiful gift, and though we have never met in person, I have some little pieces of Margie’s magical presence around me. Thank you so much Margie.

Hooray, someone must have read my birthday wishlist post! I received the loveliest bag of birthday goodies from my dear friend Karin, including these gems from Etsy. I have been drooling over the reading wolves print from Oh My Cavalier for ages and am so happy that it is mine, all mine!

So very precious. I am in love with these tiny little twig hairclips from The Sparrow’s Nest. They were packaged so beautifully in a hand stamped box filled with fairy-sized paper leaves. Perfect.

And, yes, yes, yes, do you remember the darling miniature plastic fawns from The Thin Veil, just crying out to sit on top of some pretty cupcakes? Well, I have some. They are so photogenic, I am going to have some fun with these. Thank you so much Karin and Evie for giving me the most wonderful gifts and thanks also to Mr Probert for flying the best presents of all over to me!

Do you recognize that exquisite style? No one illustrates vintage garments as beautifully as Diane. I knew that this had to be my birthday dress as soon as I saw it. My pictures don’t do it justice. You really need to feel the weight of this dress, examine the beautiful beadwork and explore the enchanted subaqueous garden Diane has created. I am becoming a bit of a collector of pieces from Hibou Caillou Chou, this is seriously desirable art work and you can wear it too! Diane is another wonderful person that I have *met* through Etsy and blogging, I am so happy and proud to be a part of such an amazing community. You are one of the coolest Diane!

I hope that you are feeling inspired by all of this handmade goodness? There is plenty more coming up this week. Don’t forget to pop back later for a very special announcement. Hmm, curious!

**Etsy is down at the moment for site maintenance so I can’t access the shop links, I will return and edit the post later with the appropriate contact information**
Done!

From Paris Nord, it can only be from Miss Mathyld aka Encore Petite.

I bought this gorgeous Meadow lingerie bag from Mathyld’s Etsy Shop and it is even lovelier in person, beautifully made, delicate and pretty with the most adorable embroidered detailing. It is a shame that the embroidery doesn’t stand out in the images I took, it really adds a very special touch. Before going into raptures over my new bag I should also say that it was packaged so inventively and with such obvious care that I almost didn’t have the heart to open it.

Also the most wonderful little gifts, including a perfectly lovely teapot brooch, I can imagine the Dormouse from Alice poking out of the top! The brooch went straight onto my coat (pictures later!).

Thank you so much Mathyld, I hope that you are sewing up some more lingerie bags, they would make the perfect gift for the discerning lady (which I most certainly am!) this Valentine’s Day, or any day in fact. Because this is a day of self-revelation for me I am going to show you my knickers now!

Isn’t my lingerie enhanced by its proximity to my bag from Encore Petite? I am looking forward to seeing more of Mathyld’s work, get over to Encore Petite for some Parisian Chic; lovely cushions, bags and brooches-swoon!

It is one of my dreams that I will one day have my own little bricks and mortar shop where I can bring together all of the beautiful handmade treasures I have come across. I love Etsy and my expectations are always exceeded when I get to meet the item I have purchased in person. Sometimes I wish that photographs could offer the complete tactile experience! Sometimes a photograph misses the perfect little details. How wonderful to guide a customer around my imaginary emporium and encourage them to explore the delights on offer! Beginning to sound a bit racy now! Carried away by my little shop dream! It is so exciting however to hold an object and discover tiny detailing you couldn’t see in the picture. This is always the case with (Oh, it is so difficult not to fawn!) Nicole’s work, everything I have received from Astulabee has been a revelation. Today’s delivery was no exception. I received these-Hooray!

Hello Sweet Valentine card and Wolves In Love print.

Here they are together, you can just make out the pretty, red jewels on the Valentine! I am so in love with Nicole’s Wolves, probably my favourite representation of these beautiful creatures ever, yes, *ever*. I’m going to stop now before I get carried away again! Thank you so much Nicole!

Oh, lovely, lovely Margie! Thank you, thank you, thank you ad infinitum! I had to order these stunning prints from Margie’s shop Resurrection Fern because I love them but also because I keep missing shop updates and Margie’s work flies out in seconds.
It is no wonder, such rare, fine and beautiful art indeed.

Felt, Lace-covered and Natural stones print.

Matryoshka Stones in a Frame print.

Especially for Ishi, The Polar Bears Are Turning Green print.

Oh, and a wonderful surprise! Who is nestled safely inside but Merfish Feste, the tiny, capering swimmer, plus a lovely print of Feste and his friends. I was overjoyed to see him and his colourful, intelligent and happy spirit brought a big Chesire Cat grin to my face.

Thank you so much Margie for your wonderful generosity and marvelous friendship.

I consider myself so lucky to be surrounded by objects and artworks made by such talented and special women, you are all such stars!

How often our plans are outstripped by the ups and downs of actual existence! I had planned that my first post would be dedicated to Nicole Licht of Astulabee, an incredibly talented artist working in Brooklyn, New York. Nicole’s work brought so much beauty into my life last year and acted as a powerful fulcrum for my imagination, it seemed the natural place to begin. Of course the time goblins have conspired to leave me hard-up against my first boutique order deadline (exciting but more on this nearer to the time!) and I am unable to do Nicole’s work justice until every creature is sewn and my mind is clear. So, do please check back to share some Astulabee love with me in the next couple of days.

In the meantime here is the short (very short) Tale of The Jackalope Who Changed His Name.

If you visited my Flickr page yesterday and wondered what was snugly wrapped inside the gorgeous package I received, I can now reveal that it was Jasper The Jackalope from lovely Astulabee. I had been eagerly anticipating his arrival and as I carefully unwrapped the tissue paper and caught sight of Jasper I gasped “He is amazing!” (sorry for the bad romance novella tone, this is a romance though, as you will see!). My son Ishi, who had until this point been playing quite happily with his stickle bricks, dashed across the room shouting “I want Amazing, I want Amazing!”. As you can see from the images below, Jasper The Jackalope no longer belongs to Mummy and is no longer Jasper, he has changed his name to “Amazing” in honour of the little boy who loves him. It really was love and fascination at first sight for Ishi, he spends ages just marveling at the tiny leather leaves. My son has great taste, I am trying to negotiate some kind of Jackalope time-share deal with him but I think “Amazing” is lost to me forever!

Hooray for Jackalopes, for Ishi and an extra special hooray for Nicole the Artist!

Oh, I nearly forgot, welcome to my blog, it is lovely to see you! I am hoping to put together a wonder cabinet of beautiful finds, experiences and people in this place. If you would like to share any wonders you have come across please do feel free to contact me.

A Happy New Year and love to you all!