23 May 2011

Our Wedding Stationery 'Look Book'



This post has been a long time coming, as our wedding stationery 'Look Book' has been a major project for us over the last couple of months, delving into it whenever a quiet moment arose.

Finally, at long last, it arrived in our post box on Friday, when we instantly took to photographing it, to give all of you the first glimpses, before it gets handed over for display in a beautiful Worcester shop.

Laura Elizabeth Cakes, based on The Tything, Worcester, will be displaying our book from this Wednesday onwards, which we are very excited about!

The book contains photography of a selection of wedding stationery projects, and an overview of the services that we provide. We have also included a discount for Laura Elizabeth customers to enjoy, so if you are popping by, why not take a peek! If you are not getting married yourself, you are sure to know someone who is!

17 May 2011

Toy Stories by Aled Lewis





We came across these prints by Aled Lewis, and thought that they were great. Food for thought and comedy combined!

Aled Lewis is a designer & illustrator, based in London. He has these prints and more up on his shop at 'InPrnt'.

These are some of our favourites, but we definitely think that we saved the best until last with 'Murder Mystery' - that one really made us laugh!

www.inprnt.com

10 May 2011

Save The Bees


My heroic fiance has been at it again (finding wildlife in need) and this time I was there to capture it. Today, at lunch, he brought me home a gift - a beautiful big furry bumblebee that was all out of energy and on the brink of death. Perched on his lunchbox, the poor bee was hardly moving.

Luckily, my partner had recently read an article about bees, and how they very often (and very quickly) run out of energy. If they are not near a source of nectar (to stabilise them) this can be life threatening, as we saw with this one.

All of those times that we used to see a bumble bee sat on the pavement, we would presume it was dying and there was nothing that we could do. We now know why they are dying, and that by taking a few simple steps, we can help them, and they can be saved. The article explained that when you see a bee like this, you should feed it some honey, which will give it back the energy that it needs.

We took him into the garden, and dripped water mixed with honey in front of him (as the picture shows). We could not believe our eyes when he instantly reached out his antenna and began sucking up the liquid like there was no tomorrow. Apparently they can smell the sugar! We gave him plenty, and then moved him on to plain honey, without mixing it with water, incase he needed it a bit stronger. This worked a charm and he had the lot! - That is a really important point actually, to give them honey and NOT sugar. Even a little sugar can harm them, just as it does us in large quantities.

After about 20 minutes (he was really thirsty), he was all fixed. Like a baby taking its first steps, we watched excitedly - proudly - as he made his way off the box, dried himself in the wind with spread wings, and bid farewell as he flew off on his way.

If you would like to help bees (which absolutely everyone should), then remember this story, and put it to use in your life. Don't be afraid to pick a bee up either, they are not like wasps that sting randomly, and certainly not when they are on the brink of death.

You can now even purchase a 'Bee Station' which will help the bees in your garden, without you having to get hands on. They are a wonderful idea, and just sit in your flower bed, for bees to nest in, and re-fuel on sugary drinks (honey). You can find them here: www.eco-age.com

To read more about bees and how amazing they are, the troubles they face in todays changing world, and how you can help them, have a read of this very interesting article: www.eco-age.com

09 May 2011

Spoonflower - Beautiful Fabric Designs


Spoonflower are a US based textile printers, who make it possible for creatives to design, print and sell their own fabric designs (which we think is very special).

Recently on their blog, they revealed the winner of their 'Project Selvage' competition, Patty Sloniger. Her 'Backyard Baby' collection was voted for by their community, allowing the fabric to be stocked on the shelves of quilt shops, all around the world, next year.

We instantly fell in love with her fun & playful, colourful yet soft designs, and just had to share them with you.

Spoonflower run lots of competitions for all to enter, such as 'Fabric of the week'. Incidentally, the last winner of this competition was won by a UK designer, Kezia, from Manchester. Her beautiful and magical design was inspired by the poem, 'In the Forest' by Oscar Wilde. We just love this.


For more information on Spoonflower, why not visit their website:
http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome

05 May 2011

A Spring Tale




I just had to share this heart warming story from yesterday.

My partner was strolling back from work for lunch when he was interrupted by a black bird, behaving very strangely. Looking down from a tall lamp post, he squawked and squawked in distress, confusing my partner, who was left wondering what the little blackbird was trying to say.

After lunch, as he walked back to work, below the lamp post where he had seen the blackbird, he saw a female blackbird and two males, desperately pecking at a drain by the curb of the pavement, making awful distress calls. At one point the three of them were in the road, risking their lives as cars passed, nearly hitting them, and it was then that my partner decided something must be very wrong.

He waited for a break in the traffic, and peered down the drain to find a baby blackbird trapped down there - it must have fallen through the wide bars. Being the absolute hero that he is, my partner removed the drain cover at once and reached in to rescue the fledgling.

Placing him down on a nearby grass bank, he stood back and waited for the parents to return (having scared them off on his initial approach to the drain). After about 15 minutes, and a somewhat desperate call to the RSPCA, daddy blackbird appeared to feed his rescued baby, and lead him away to safety.

Is that not the most extraordinary and beautiful story that you have ever heard?

Among many things, this tale highlights the intelligence of the blackbirds. They were clearly trying to get my partners attention when he first saw them, and what dedicated parents they were to risk their lives for their baby - an obvious thing for humans to do, but always extraordinary within nature. What is more, there were two male black birds helping, and obviously they couldn't both be the dad.

I am still smiling inside at both the beauty and intelligence of nature, and the fact that I am soon to marry the greatest man alive!

PS. The picture was not taken by us unfortunately - no time for photos when your being a hero - but I am told it looks just like the little bird that he rescued. Ruffled, squinty and agitated - and so very cute!

'Play' - For Everyone

We recently stumbled upon a very interesting article from 'digitalmash', which
turns out to be a great read for not only a designer, but any creative at all.

With touches of humour here and there, it describes the rut that all creatives find
themselves in from time to time - the rut where we over work something, plagued
by pressure, which we all know is the very ingredient that shuts down our creative
minds. By taking some time out to play without any expectation or goal, we lose
the stress and anxiety, unveiling a free mind, which is more often than not when
our best ideas surface.

Exploring this act of 'play' and how to connect with it, the article combines quotes
from Dr Stuart Brown, (who wrote a book all about 'play'), outlining the many
different factors that constitute the activity, and just how free it should be.

I think that this is all relevant to every day life as well, no matter who you are.
We can all get so caught up in work and routine, that we forget to make time for play.
After all, everyone knows how manageable things feel when you are relaxed, with a
clear mind. You feel better inside and out, work efficiency improves, and routine is
far more fluent. There are companies that actively encourage play for these very reasons
- I think Innocent are a great example of this.

So, whoever you are, whatever your occupation, this is well worth a read.
Take a few minutes out of your day, for you, and remember how to play....

www.digitalmash.com
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