mug shots with Skinny laMinx

Hello everyone! Last week I jumped at the chance to participate in a creative workshop with the lovely Heather Moore in her cosy Skinny laMinx studio. Heather provided plain white ceramic mugs, scissors & a selection of her Skinny transfer-printed designs in pretty colours. Then she instructed us cut, soak & stick to our heart’s content, creating our very own unique patterns on the mugs.

The process was super simple… just choose the elements you fancy, cut them out and soak for a short time in water…

then apply the motif to the mug and press out any excess water, taking care not to move the transfer around too much. Heather will soon take our mugs to be fired in a kiln, after which they’ll ready for their first teabag. Because tea always tastes better in a mug, right?


The Skinny laMinx studio is lovely to work in. Heather draws inspiration from her surroundings and these gorgeous books and vintage Scandi fabrics are the perfect creative catalyst for her prints.




all photos my own.

my weekend

hello! did you have a good weekend? I did! We went away with friends to the beautiful seaside village of Arniston, about a 2 hour drive from Cape Town. We relaxed, ate, played in the rock pools with the the kids, laughed and ate some more… somehow the weekend flew past and here we find ourselves back to Monday! But would you like to join Instagram and I for a few special moments which caught my eye over the weekend?

En route to Arniston, you drive through the picturesque town of Napier, a rural farming community set in the rolling hills of the Overberg. This hot pink wheelbarrow masquerading as a succulent planter totally caught my eye at the Napier Farm Stall. As did this vintage tin sign for Joko tea…

We stayed in a beach house directly on the beach which was absolute bliss… the children could safely run on the beach and play in the rock pools while we watched from the deck. We were even surprised by a few whales who came to say hello, their majestic tails waving to us on the beach. Such a treat!

The water has artfully carved out crazy abstract shapes in the rocks and a host of colourful sea creatures call this home…

 

So after a chilled weekend spent in the company of good friends, it was time to say our goodbyes to Arniston… until next time!

all images my own

flavour of the month: May

hello! Can you possibly believe that another month has flown by and we’re jumping into June tomorrow?

So last month I started a new series called Flavour of the Month…a visual round-up of my month through the eye of my iPhone and Instagram. The snippets and inspiring details of the things I saw and did. The month of May marks the end of the warm season for us Capetonians as we launch head long into our rainy and chilly winter. I realised that I needed a pair of fingerless gloves for working at my computer, since my hands have been freezing their knuckles off. I found a cute pair of gloves from Mr. Price which quickly became the keyboard-friendly fingerless variety after a 10 simple snips of my scissors and a few stitches to stop the unravelling…

A very proud mom and dad saw their youngest take off his training wheels and learn to ride this month. My 5-year old responded to peddling like a duck to water. After all, it’s just like riding a bicycle…

This same little boy recently moved into his own room after sharing with his bigger brother. We’ve had fun getting it ready and adding personal touches, like the artwork by friends and family collaged together on one wall and a freshly painted desk which was mine as a young girl.

We had a delicious dinner with friends at The Pot Luck Club, Luke Dale-Roberts’ latest culinary endeavour which lives up to its reputation of remarkable and delectable food. The concept is to order a variety of dishes to share and taste. I can’t wait go back!

When the day is sunny, a favourite place for a stroll is along the beachfront promenade between Mouille Point and Greenpoint. The waves come crashing up and mist you with their icy spray…

I spotted some cosy knitted scarves at Country Road which would be perfect for a winter walk. I loved the multi-coloured harlequin pattern so much!

The simplicity of a heart-shaped biscuit from Melissa’s Food Shop on a vintage plate seemed like the perfect thing to photograph… and then gobble down with a hot cup of tea. And pomegranates are my favourite fruit of the month. Their jewel-like ruby arils are slightly sour, almost astringent, but lovely sprinkled over a salad.

A fantastic design driven publication called Designtimes has been on my radar recently. They have their finger on the pulse of both the international and local design scene, introducing their growing readership to exciting world trends. Grab a copy from Exclusive Books or have a look at their online site.

This striking chevron pattern has been in the pipeline for a few months now and this month the zigzag got its show on the road… do you remember this awesome blogging competition which I won? Well, part of the prize was a room makeover courtesy of Freeworld Design Centre. I was beyond delighted and promptly chose my studio to be given a facelift. It was a collaboration between Freeworld and myself… and the result? A chic black & white space inspired by Coco Chanel, with personal details and timeless appeal. These are my Instagram shots of some the details.

Keep an eye open for the official photographs from the shoot which will be posted soon.

So that’s the merry month of May, my friends. I’m already looking forward to June!

flavour of the month: April

so you all know I’m a massive fan of Instagram… I’m always on the go and I generally snap pictures along the way with my iPhone and share the images through the Instagram app. So this got me thinking that perhaps at the end of the month I should share some of my photographic highlights from that month on my blog. A kind of virtual & visual calendar if you will. So my April went something like this.

Autumn is always a beautifully transitional time of the year in Cape Town, falling leaves of auburn & russet, gold & bronze collect along the streets and there’s a distinct chill in the air as winter waits around the corner. It’s always a lovely time to wrap up warmly and take a seasonal stroll…

My son’s hockey season started this term and the tiny white blossoms of this tree on the school field caught my eye as I looked up during practice. At night, Alexandra Fuller’s autobiographical ‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight’ kept me captivated as she skilfully tells the incredible story of her childhood in Rhodesia.

The new Sushibox restaurant in my suburb may be small, but the ceiling is artfully studded with white paper lanterns creating such an amazing effect not to be missed!

And speaking of lighting, the windows of Poetry have a lovely vintage vibe going on with their multi-patterned lampshades hanging around being pretty. Do you like this look I’m wearing? I am such a fan of all shades of grey, and these new caramel stretch jeans are my warm autumn complement to this cool colour.

This fuschia pink bougainvillea gives a vibrant pop of colour to my street, even more striking against a clear blue sky.

My studio makeover is reaching its goal and nearly finished, so I’m looking forward to sharing pictures soon. This little tablescape in black & white is a sneak preview. And the gorgeous Skinny laMinx fabrics from Heather’s Flower Dreams launch was a wonderful morning of inspiration.

Cavendish Square, my local shopping mall, is having some alterations done and the team invited various schools to decorate the temporary barrier walls with amazing and exciting eye candy… I loved these tin can flowers:

The latest Freeworld Design Centre exhibition is a colourful & creative decor exploration in shades of autumn and runs until 8 June 2012. I loved the visual contrast between the 4 design pods and the bursts of neon made my day!

This bunny peep hole was just a craft-punched piece of paper through which I spontaneously photographed the trees outside my studio window… sweet, no? And another great cappuccino with friends at the lovely Starlings Cafe the other day…

To end off my month of April, we went to the nearby seaside town of Kalk Bay for a late breakfast at the famous Olympia cafe, a local & tourist hangout with delicious food & an offbeat atmosphere. And then a lazy stroll through the quirky & interesting Kalk Bay streets, stopping for coffee and a pastry at Boulangerie, the French-style bakery tucked away up a quiet lane. I couldn't help but admire this eye-catching mellow-yellow doorway against a lovely charcoal wall. Stunning colour combination!

Well, that’s my flavour of the month. Hope you liked it and pop back again to find out what I get up to during May.

[all photography my own]

skinny laminx: flower dreams

The designs of Skinny laMinx are wild… but sweet. Heather Moore, designer & creator of the loveable label we’re so proud of in South Africa, launched her first proper collection yesterday, called Flower Dreams. I went along to the launch and was not disappointed. The centrepiece of the collection, Wild Flowers, is a bold 2-colour print which is a little bit Scandinavian, a touch Japanese & a whole load of fun. The simple large-scale print comes in 4 delicious colourways; Strawberry Humbug, Lemon Humbug, Strawberry Plum and Lemon Plum. Very sweet indeed!

Also part of the collection are the Solid Orla & Pincushion designs, which work so beautifully as coordinates in this versatile collection. All the prints are at home in a variety of settings and cross over to different ages, genders & styles with ease.

And if you haven’t seen Heather’s Flower Dreams animation yet… please click the pic below.

images from Skinny laMinx, except for Instagram photos, which are my own.

instagram with me

happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend… mine was quite busy and I made some good progress with my office makeover. I’ll snap some pics when it’s looks as good as it does in my mind! But for now, these are some of the Instagram photos I’ve taken lately… lots of bright hues and pretty flowers.

all photos my own, find more at my Followgram.