London Mummy

A touch of Pink and getting to grips with Windows

 
After the death of my iMac recently, I've been trying to get to grips with using Livvy's laptop and I have to say I hate it :)  Not only did I lose a whole heap of work on my Mac (yes, my fault I didn't bother backing things up) but I've also lost loads of my favourite applications etc.  Where in the past I could quickly upload and edit my photos in Photoshop everything, and I mean everything, just looks and feels so different and it's driving me nuts!!

So with dreadful pictures, I'll show a little of what I've been making recently.  I wanted to make a more focused range for my shop and so decided to pick a limited number of fabrics and take it from there. 

I adored the Aneela Hoey Sherbert Pips fabric the moment I saw it and think it sits really well with the pink flowers and Appleville Houses by Suzy Ultman.

 
I debuted some of these new goodies, together with matching cushions at The Chiswick Summer Fair recently and am pleased to say they went down well - phew!  There's also some other pieces in the range but won't show  those until I sort out the camera and laptop issues.  Plus I'm waiting for my styling assistant to return from a trip to her paternal grandparents later this week.

I also fell in love with the new Swedish Forest, organic cotton fabric by, Mona Luna, I think this print is so sweet for a new baby's nursery and doesn't scream boy or girl, especially when I team it with the lovely co-ordinating olive print, although this pic shows a bag with the co-ordinating blue/grey. 
 
This new range will be added to the shop soon - again when I've sorted out the computer issues!

 

Spring Shopping

So the springtime trade fairs have started.  Had a great weekend at Top Drawer, buying lots of lovely new goodies for the London Mummy Shop.  I'm so excited and impatient for everything to arrive over the next few weeks so that I can show and tell properly with pictures! 

I'm particularly pleased to have found some gorgeous new bedlinen for children from Norwegian company Blafre and I really hope that you like the prints as much as we do - cute elephants, robots and deer.

I'm also in love with renowned designer Michelle Mason's cushions, tea towels and melamine cups and beakers, all with a wonderful London theme.  I've loved her Stella rug for ages.

More vintage style goodies, the cutest soft leather shoes for little feet, sweet lunch boxes and water bottles for school lunches, plus so much more - I shall be flexing my camera muscles and keeping my fingers crossed for some sunshine when this little lot arrives.

In the meantime, I shall just have to content myself with more of my new patchwork baby bibs and cushions.

Fully reversible cotton or cotton and linen bibs.

Found some of this adorable Robert Kaufman vintage planes print in my stash, just enough to make a couple of cushions but how gorgeous would this fabric look as curtains in a boy's room.

I mean, come on, just how cute is that!

And for the girl's mealtimes:

Although, I'm still undecided about whether I would prefer a plain pink fabric with the whales and the zoo animals - so may well change those for the next batch, provided, of course, that I can find just the right pink!

 

Patchwork Baby Bibs and Gift Sets

It's amazing what a little bit of natural light can do when it comes to making fabric choices.  After lots of horrible dark and wet weather recently we had a little bit of sunshine yesterday and I found myself drawn to these pretty soft green shades whilst making up a batch of new quilted patchwork baby bibs as part of some new baby gift sets for my shop. Not that there was much light in evidence when it came to taking the photos.

Of course, I couldn't resist an old favourite :)  Not when it teams up so beautifully with the Anne Claire Petit blue crochet elephants.

I do have others which are sitting here waiting to be photographed and I'm currently working on a little sewing tutorial for those of you would like to make some of these quilted patchwork bibs for yourself.

In the meantime, Livvy was busy re-arranging her every growing library of books on the shelves I built in for her:

Couldn't persuade her to arrange them by colour though - all catalogued and arranged by author - future librarian there me thinks :)

Colourful Crochet

Sadly not my handiwork but part of my new Anne Claire Petit stock which arrived amid much excitment here on Monday.  The colours and texture in the blanket are just divine and I have to say I found it very difficult to put it in the shop as I was sorely tempted to keep it for myself, not that I have need of a baby blanket of course :)

Olivia was equally smitten with the cuckoo clocks and it's not hard to see why, how cute is that little birdie!  Some of these were pre-sold before the stock even arrived so I now only have one left in the shop.

I have to say the bunny and the mushroom money box complement my new dolls quilt sets rather well, I have to thank my half term holiday stylist and photographic assistant for this shot :) 

Although we did have our creative differences over this one - I think they look rather cute, as if they're sitting up to beg but Livvy thinks they look like they're going to the loo!

But this one is Livvy's absolute favourite, hmm I wonder why ...

Ah yes ......

Baby Shower Giveaway

I'm so excited to be taking part in Sew Mama Sew's Baby Shower event which starts on Monday and is sure to be both fun and full of great ideas.  Visit the Sew Mama Sew blog for lots of wonderful giveaways and tutorials all centred on a baby shower theme.  I'm not going to tell you what my gift is just yet, I just hope the winner loves it!   Don't worry, I will happily post my giveaway gift overseas so entry is open to all :)

I had such a hard time choosing what to include in the giveaway, as it needed to be gender neutral and my orders from the trade shows had not yet started to arrive at the time I had to choose.  But now they have started to arrive and, as always, I'm like a kid in a sweet shop. 

When you place orders at the Trade Shows it can all be rather hurried as there is usually so much to see, so it's easy to, not exactly forget what you've ordered, but certainly remember what the products actually look and feel like in the flesh.

Like these oh so very soft cotton and snuggly baby blankets from Austria - both Livvy and I fell in love with these as soon as we saw them, the colours are so pretty and I love the fact that the back of the blankets have the same design but in the reverse colourway as seen in the cars one below - yes I photographed it straight out of the packet, hence the folded look but I've got to catch the natural light when I can :)

I went to look at a vacant shop recently, it would be an absolute dream come true for me to have a bricks and mortar store, particularly one close to where I live.  I have spent many an hour drawing up ideas for how I would fit it out, what workshops I could offer there and loads of other ideas to make it work, which are all there, in my head and in my notebooks.  But sadly, whilst the rent is fairly reasonable, the other outgoings and the cost of bringing the very outdated and scruffy interior, not to mention the outdoor loo, up to scratch are just too much for me at the moment so reality has to bite and I shall have to content myself with playing shops at home :)  

I couldn't resist doing some very quick styling shots in Livvy's room, poor girl, she's always having her room taken over by me for my photography but it's the best room for natural light etc so she's used to it by now and is more than happy to offer her own opinion and ideas too!  Plus she knows I'll have to tidy it up before I start so she's more than happy with that trade off!

Still, not taking the shop does mean I can get a little carried away at Anne Claire Petit's gorgeous stand at Top Drawer,  not that I ever need an excuse to do that.   That stock isn't due to arrive until later this month but I've added some items to my online shop as pre-orders as it is unlikely that I will be able to re-stock again in time for Christmas - their next delivery date is mid March so if you did have your eye on something you do need to get in quickly as I'm sure the fabulous reindeer and baby mobiles will sell out quickly as always.

I know it's often difficult to find as good a range of items for boys.  So I was pleased to find these gorgeous brushed cotton gingham pj's with a cute car applique, although I know girls like cars too.  These are a lovely quality and available in either red or blue.  I love the fact that the company who make these is a Fair Trade company which also donates a percentage of sales to SOS Children's Villages, a charity which provides homes for orphaned and abandoned children.

 

I'll show you more items as they arrive but in the meantime, Livvy is away for the weekend so my studio beckons.

Hope to see you over at the Baby Shower :)