Framing memories

My parents were tidying their loft last week and they found a big box of my Birthday, Christmas, Graduation and Good luck cards that we had kept from the past few years. It was great to go through them and read all of the handwritten notes, but I loved rediscovering the beautiful, quirky and individual images that people had personally chosen for me. 

Two of my favourites that I found were prints by Angie Lewin, the printmaker, painter and designer. I first saw her work in Country Homes and Interiors, and when I found her prints amongst my cards, I decided to frame them. The artist works in a whole variety of mediums, including wood engraving, lithograph and collage, however the most interesting method to me was linocut. I remember using this medium at school and in my A-levels, and enjoyed how it created very bold geometric prints. Angie Lewin has created a beautifully delicate style of cutting designs for florals and fauna and printing them in gorgeous colours, but at the same time retaining the boldness of the lino.

I decided to frame the cards in my NKUKU frames, and once again I loved how the simple frames showed off the delicate nature of the gorgeous 'Agapanthus' (above) lithograph print. I also framed her 'Loch with Dandelions' print (below) with a completely different style design of a white rabbit with butterfly wings jumping out of a hat. 

The colours compliment each other and I love the flash of blue, plus I love the text on the bottom of the card, because, as always...

...and long may it remain that way!

"I've been cheating on fashion with furniture" - A Country Homes and Interiors subscription

I have been reading Vogue magazine as a subscriber for as long as I can remember, however this year I fancied a change. Since moving into The Nest, half of my time has been taken up with decorating, furnishing and generally obsessing over how my home looks. 

As Carrie Bradshaw said in Sex and the City 2: "I've been cheating on fashion with furniture"

I have been picking up occasional copies of Country Homes and Interiors, and have fallen in love with their styling, photoshoots and things to make and do. Their articles cover a great range of topics from country businesses to gardening, recipes to decorating, and with a fab layout and a gorgeous mix of country homes to dream about, what's not to love!

There was a brilliant offer through magazinesdirect.com that I took advantage of, so if you're thinking of trying a different magazine, why not click over to Country Homes and Interiors to have a look!

Below are a few of my favourite pages from the last few issues and to be honest it was difficult not to photograph the entire magazine!

And who could resist these fuzzy little faces!

Sparkle is for life, not just for Christmas!

If, like me, you are feeling bereft of sparkle after Christmas has been and gone, I suggest that you get yourself some gorgeous crystal lights that will make sure that your home sparkles year round, and not just three weeks out of fifty two!

I found this string on Not on the High Street, and for the amount of choice on their website it was very hard to come away with just one set! The crystals are a mix of clear, caramel and a smoky purple (they don't really show up very well against my carpet!) but when they're all lit up they look gorgeous!

Now the fun but will be deciding on where I'm going to hang them! I'll keep you updated.

P.S It can't just be me that's feeling a little miffed that it's all over when you start typing 'How ma' into Google and this is the first result that comes up!