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Blabla Kids

Thursday, 31 May 2012 by Leave a Comment

Blabla Kids and I go way back, that’s why I’m super exited they are now a sponsor of my blog.

Blabla’s collection is designed by Florence Wetterwald and knitted by Peruvian artisans. Everything is made of natural fibers grown in Peru. The dolls are so soft and cuddly and the yarn colours are so beautiful it makes me want to insulate my new roof with blabla dolls.

Blabla Kids also stock clothing, paper goods and pillows … Oh those pillows, they are next on my wishlist.

About four years ago I bought a Boogaloo for my niece, Kris, and a year later I bought one for myself, but I gave Yupik up for adoption and now Kris is having them both.

Berry Lee (aka Kiekeboe) is my niece’s dearest possession on Earth. You can see, by the amount of stitches, that she is a much traveled, much hugged, much washed and most of all much loved Boogaloo.

Kris and Kiekeboe share their own language and all parts on Kiekeboe end with boe, like earboes, noseboe etc.

Blabla kids were so kind to sent me two other dolls.

Meet Bernice the Bear and Suzette the Fox. They are just too cute and I’m going to keep them all to myself, sorry Kris ;)

Thank you Blabla Kids, we love you!

Filed Under: Press, Sponsors

The New Craft Heroes

Tuesday, 29 May 2012 by Leave a Comment

1. Donna Wilson Use My Beehive Tea Towel 2. Rob Ryan Mug Set 3. Cath Kidston Mini Dotty Printed Ribbon, 3m 4. Cath Kidston Large Spot Towels, Pink 5. Orla Kiely Mini Scented Candles Gift Set, Set of 3 6. Donna Wilson House Cushion, White 7. Cath Kidston Royal Stan Tea Towel

This a sponsored guest post. All designer ranges stocked at John Lewis and handpicked by me.

The UK’s craft scene is thriving, writes my John Lewis guest blogger: just look at the creative love shared through magazines such as Mollie Makes, on Etsy and at the numerous local craft fairs that have been enjoying renewed popularity across the country.

Handmade is king. But that doesn’t have to mean small scale operations – as four of the UK retail scene’s new craft heroes have shown by making the leap over to high-street domination.  From printed curtains through quirky cushions to contemporary lighting, these versatile designers have got it covered.

Cath Kidston
Cath Kidston opened her first shop on London’s Holland Park in 1993, selling colourful renovated furniture and hand embroidered tea towels as well as vintage fabrics and wallpapers. Her re-working of traditional English country house style, remembered from her childhood, was originally aimed at the ‘yummy mummy’ set and has grown to seduce hundreds of thousands of customers across British and Asian markets, making her vintage-inspired floral prints instantly recognisable.

“Cath Kidston is one of those brands that makes me feel warm inside. Her nostalgic prints hark back to a simpler time – a quality that in our modern, often hectic, lives appeals to many.” Ellie Loughran, lifestyle blogger at www.prettymuchpenniless.com.

Donna Wilson
Knitwear designer Donna Wilson specialised in mixed media textiles for her MA at the Royal College of Art, and during her time as a student started selling her “disturbing” knitted creatures to London shops. Since then she has grown her retail base to cover some of the biggest department stores in the UK, among dozens of independent boutiques that stock pieces from her range which now includes cushions, ceramics and stationary. In 2010, Wilson won the Designer of the Year title at the Elle Decoration Design Awards and plans to continue making “interesting, happy, exciting beautiful, cosy, friendly products for nice people”.

“Donna Wilson’s crafty aesthetic is quirky and playful and appeals to homespun lovers of every age, who are drawn to the engaging tactile quality and cheerily bright colour palette of her designs. I am a big fan of her adorable knitted creatures which are instantly recognisable, and capture a childlike sentiment for things that have been hand-crafted with love and care.” Kate Baxter, interiors blogger at www.fabricofmylife.co.uk.

Rob Ryan
Rob Ryan has achieved a feat of which many artists dream – combining personal ‘labour of love’ work with commercial success. Another graduate from the Royal College of Art, Ryan’s intricate, whimsical and often sentimental papercuts helped him find a niche which has proved a hit with everyone from magazine editors and high street retailer buyers to fashion designers. As well as creating original illustrations for magazines and books, the Rob Ryan product range now spans greeting cards, stationery and ceramics.     

“The appeal of Rob Ryan’s work lies in both in its simplicity and its intricacy. With just one piece of paper and a knife, he creates beautiful, romantic stories with an incredible attention to detail. His work inspired me to start papercutting.” Lou Taylor, papercutter and prop designer.

Orla Kiely
Like Wilson and Ryan, Orla Kiely built on her previous training and work experience to complete a Masters at the Royal College of Art, with her exit show of hats snapped up by Harrods. After design work for M&S and Habitat, Kiely started to produce her own range of laminated cloth handbags in the late 1990s, showcasing the bold Mid-Century inspired stem prints that she has become renowned for. As well as her flourishing high-end fashion range, Kiely’s prints can now be found on kitchenware, stationery, wallpaper, lighting and even cars and radios, ensuring that everyone can buy into this modern-retro style phenomenon. 

“The main reason I love Orla is because her prints are timeless, they have a retro quirky feel that is also modern and fresh. Her designs appeal to the girly side of every woman and indulge us in a little whimsy in our everyday life.” Vicki Harvey, fashion blogger at http://www.themagpiegirl.com.

Filed Under: Press, Sponsors

Hot Water Bottle Cosy

Monday, 28 May 2012 by 4 Comments

Thank you SO much for all the amazing comments (and generous donations) on my previous post and the roof fund debacle. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful readers and after all that’s what I want, wonderful readers to share my life with.

As a thank you, for those of you who crochet, I have made this quite simple hot water bottle cosy pattern. It’s not really hot water bottle weather but it seems I always like to do winter projects in summer, one can only be prepared right?

You can find the instructions and the yarn I’ve used as usual in my shop.

Happy Days!!

Filed Under: Crafts, Crochet

One Last Thing

Tuesday, 22 May 2012 by Leave a Comment

As you may have noticed I’ve deleted all the Roof Fund related content from my site.

Although I feel really happy and loved by so many of my faithful readers who’ve sent me lots of love and well wishes, it’s always the bad crowd that wins. I’ve seen this before when I was quite big in The Sims scene, earlier this millennium, with 600.000 downloaders a month I made skins and furniture for The Sims. I eventually was bullied away and I’m not allowing that to happen again.

I love being on the internet and although I’ve been doing it for quite some time, I still have a lot to learn. Like asking for a donation for my roof. I thought this would be a fun lucrative idea. My longtime blog friend saw it as something that could turn out big where I would interview the builders, keep you up to date by posting videos etc. It was meant to be going so much fun. But alas …

I do feel very limited to what I can say and show without being bullied. Words don’t kill but do hurt me.

So these will be the last words I will write about it and I will never ask you for something again. I will however continue to host lots of giveaways in the future and look out for those who are so against giving and taking.

With lots and lots of affection and the warmest of sincerity to those who follow me, who understand my wit, who support me and love me without actually knowing me – RESPECT!

Thank you for reading,
xox Yvonne

Filed Under: Life & Style, Yvesworld

The Yvestown Fair 2012 – save the date!

Monday, 21 May 2012 by Leave a Comment

Hello and happy Monday. I have some good news!!

I’m utterly exciting about the upcoming Yvestown Fair to be held in my front garden on Saturday September 8 of this year. It was just an idea that sprung upon me and after inviting all the amazing handmade blog friends I know (and some I don’t know yet) and all of them saying Yes, it’s now going to happen for real.

It’s an impressive list, I have to say:

Ingrid from Wood & Wool Stool
Anki from Zilverblauw
Joscha from MUSwerk
Petra from byPetra
Marloes from Planet Fur
Nina from Ninainvorm
Eline Pellinkhof
Daan from MaandagDaandag
Jane from All the Luck in the World
Erika from MikoDesign
Ingrid from ingthings

The thought of so many talented ladies and so many beautiful things in my front garden makes me giddy. There will be an official fair page soon, this is just a save the date.

The official page is now up!

Filed Under: The Yvestown Fair, Yvesworld

Food Revolution Day

Saturday, 19 May 2012 by Leave a Comment

Today Jamie Oliver declared “Food Revolution Day”. Good for him!

Growing up with foodies as parents we were never fed chicken nuggets or other stuff that is mechanically made. My father did take me to McDonalds as a guilty pleasure but I honestly think my mother and my sister (right?) have never really set foot in a McD, ever maybe only to have a wee. My sister is now running a top quality restaurant and my mother is still extremely fussy about healthy, fresh food as (with age) she has become a diabetic.

I still only serve real food. I strive to not eat anything that walkson four legs so it’s poultry and fish for us only. There are days when I replace fish or poultry with eggs, seeds or nuts. Just simple, rustic
meals without a lot of hoopla.

I try to shop locally and to buy as much of organic food as possible.

So I full heartedly support Jamie Oliver on his quest to eat real food and to feed our children real food.

The other day I was at the supermarket and I spotted two parents pondering over what chicken (imagination) figurine they were going to buy for their children, a dino shaped one or a flower shaped one. I hardly couldn’t resist myself to walk over to them, rip the crap they were about to buy and feed their beautiful children out of their hands and shout at them – but I didn’t. I walked on as if nothing ever happened.

Today I poached my homegrown eggs, using these amazing things, roasted fresh green asparagus, placed them on Scottish smoked salmon and Bo bought a bag of Belgian chips to go with it.

It was a good food day for us, what did you eat?

Filed Under: Food, Meals

Answers to Questions

Thursday, 17 May 2012 by Leave a Comment

As promised in this post.

Do you find keeping white furniture clean difficult? We have a lot of cream in our home – doors, windows and some furniture and we find that it gets dirty looking really quickly (inside and out). We have no children as an excuse. Do you have any cleaning tips? :)

White furniture gets dirty and there’s nothing you can do about that as to clean it and be tidy about it.

There are things we do to keep everything as white as possible. We take our shoes off when we go inside, there are slip covers over all of my sofas and chairs so I can wash them periodically and I hoover and mop all of the floors at least twice a week. It’s hard work but that’s with having a white home.

Hi Yvonne, I love the curtains in your kitchen. Where are they from? The new shelves look great too.

The curtain fabric is Dotty (in cotton duck) from Cath Kidston. I lined them with just plain white curtain fabric and used the IKEA curtain tape to make pencil pleats.

What a beautiful room! Where did your lovely blue tiles come from?

I love all the rooms and corners of your home. So pretty and elegant. I’ve been wondering where you got the blue/red tiles in the fireplace. I saw its close-up picture in your flickr account. The design looks so simple, but striking!

I bought the tiles in a friend’s shop in ‘s-Hertogenbosch The Netherlands. I don’t know the name of the manufacture but the tiles were made in Portugal. I recommend you Google “Portuguese Cement Tiles” and try to find a supplier in your area.

Where is that gorgeous tea towel from? I’d also be really interested if you did a post on re purposing your fireplace…

The tea towel is from Cath Kidston but she doesn’t sell it any more. You may find it in her outlet store in Bicester Village UK. You can however get this really cute one instead.

I LOVE Dille & Kamille! We went to Belgium for our honeymoon 14 years ago and each visit since we have spent WAY too much time in there! I was even thinking of asking you some day to do a swap for our favorite D&K long spoons :)

I LOVE SWAPS!!! E-mail me and we can arrange one. Please, anyone, feel free to ask me for swaps any time as I LOVE SWAPS!!!

Hello, This is a really nice looking site. Are you a website designer or did someone make this lovely design for you?

I’m the web designer, illustrator and developer. MovableType is publishing it for me.

Love your deco style, your colour palette… it all looks so fresh! I love your egg’s basket? Is that a vintage thing or can it be purchased online? It’s just gorgeous!!! x Pati

I bought the egg basket (it’s plastic) a few years ago in a shop that sells RICE products. I don’t think they make or sell it any more.

I love everything you do, I have a hand built kitchen painted pale blue and the floor is terracotta tiles, I want a much lighter floor as the room is dark, it’s an old cottage. What kind of floors do you have? I would love some ideas…

There is an epoxy floor coating over the concrete floor in my kitchen and it’s a disaster as it’s matte and the dirt sucks into it. In a few weeks we’re going to cover the floor with white Novilon to make the floor warmer and easier to clean. For your kitchen; why don’t you paint the pale blue cupboards white? I love white cupboards with terracotta tiles. I love this kitchen and although there’s no terracotta on the floor, it quite resembles the colour combination.

Me again, looking through all your decorating posts again I notice you have painted wooden floorboards everywhere. I have just bought some reclaimed Victorian floorboards and will be painting them White. Do you use all White by farrow and ball? Thanks, hope for a reply, I did look through your paint colours post before asking and couldn’t see floor colour, sorry to be a pest x

You can read all about that here and here. And yes, I use All White (2005) by Farrow&Ball for my floors but definitely not their paint.

Beautiful beautiful kitchen!! Beautiful beautiful blog!! So many questions are buzzing around in my head, I’ll start withfaust one. When you were living in England what brand of paint did you use? What brand would you recommend that is available to buy in England? Thank
uuuuuuuuu, your help is much appreciated xxxxxx

I used Farrow&Ball but back then they were oil based and they were brilliant. Their water based switch was quite a disaster to me. I recommend using Sigma Paints with F&B colours, you can buy them in the UK.

And two questions in Dutch, I’ve translated;

Yes, the Dille & Kamille chairs are quite comfortable but I wouldn’t recommend them for an all-night-dinner-feast without cushions ;)

I’ve hung the plates on to the wall using plate hangers. You can buy them in The Netherlands at Blokker or Marskramer. I’ve never used cheap (or free) photo editing programs so I can’t answer this question. I use professional Adobe programs.

Filed Under: Life & Style, Yvesworld