London Mummy

Another vintage find and a little bit of Japanese Crafty Goodness

Gorgeous, gorgeous vintage greeting card, another find at Spitalfields Market recently.  I'm loving the owls sitting on the branch above the snoozing cat!  Love the gray and blue colour combination, I'm guessing this card is from the 1960's but if anyone can shed more light on it for me,  please do let me know.  Little did the person who sent this card know that some 40 years later it would be framed and put up on my wall :)

The card was designed by Regie Gillard for the Gordon Fraser Gallery Ltd.  I cannot find any info on the web for Regie Gillard but the V and A apparently hold some of the works by the company in their Art and Design Archives.  How fascinating would it be to be able to delve a little more into these and see the collections first hand - there is a long list of companies in the Archives but in order to view the actual items you need a letter of recommendation.  Still it is interesting to see which collections they hold.

Livvy and I went back to Spitalfields and Columbia Road on Sunday.  I didn't take my camera as I'm always a little wary of pickpockets in these tourist spots so no photo's I'm afraid.  It was really busy and the sun was shining so we had a great time - spotted something I've never seen before, Cycle Polo anyone else seen this?

I've been really enjoying making some clothes for  some friends children so decided to treat myself,  yes I know I'm being greedy ordering six Japanese sewing books for babies and toddlers, but I'm justifying the damage to my credit card as an early birthday present to myself!  I would love to have had these when Livvy was smaller, I made her a couple of outfits but could have really gone to town if these had been available then:

Actually the damage isn't too bad, I've ordered these from Yes Asia who are offering free shipping for orders over $39 at the moment.  I  also have a $5 discount coupon code, email me if you want the code.  I don't think many of these books are particularly new but can't wait for them to arrive.  Anyone else got any of these?  What do you think, are they worth having and which projects have you made?

Strawberry Luna - Original Hand Screen Printed Art - for babies, kids and grown-ups

I don't know about you, but I love to follow a Flickr trail, you know when someone adds a comment or one of your photos to their favourites.  I like to take a look at that person's photos and then their favourites which often leads me to some new things for me to love :)

Which is exactly how I came across the posters and Alphabet Prints of talented designer and screen printer Allison of  Strawberry Luna

I have always loved this colour combination and as we all know, I have something of a penchant for houses too :)  Everything about this composition just works for me.

Or how about this one:

Now in real life, I'm not a cat lover but even I have to admit that this one is cute!

Allison also designs and hand screen prints some lovely limited edition Alphabet Prints which have a wonderful nostalgic feel to them, here are a few of my favourites, although I had a tough time choosing as there were just so many that I like. 

Priced at $15 each plus postage - my fellow Europeans will be delighted to hear that Allison does ship internationally - I think these are tremendously good value. 

These would be an adorable addition to any nursery or playroom and would be a very welcome new baby gift I'm sure.

 

Actually I know a fair few adults who would love this on their walls ........

How could I resist when we all know just how much I love owls, be they Festive Ones for Christmas or just normal everyday fun ones.

Birds in a tree, yep that works for me too!

 

To see the rest of the collection and purchase any of  Allison's prints and posters, visit the Strawberry Luna website.

Do let me know what you think and you can also check out Allison's Flickr Photostream.