What did you do?

I hope you have all had a lovely weekend, what did you do? I had such an amazing response to the cabbages and roses giveaway, thank you so much for all your comments.

I won't keep you hanging on any longer the winner is the super talented Emma from Vintage Magpie. Congratulations Emma! I can't wait to see what you make with a metre each of the Ships passing, Metro and Scoopy black fabrics. I am very jealous! hehehe

As another special thank you Cabbages & Roses are offering free postage to all their blog and Facebook friends on web orders over £100. All orders placed online from November 26th until December 11th are eligible – no matter where you are in the entire world!

Their sales team will contact you after you have placed your order to tell you if your items are in stock, so please make sure your email address and all details are correct. including your Country, area code and address.

Please quote CABBLOG when they contact you to redeem this offer.

Cabbages and Roses Giveaway

Hi there, today to celebrate the launch of Cabbages and roses newest ranges Hobury and Gilbert I am one of four blogs hosting an amazing giveaway. Along with Maria, Tracey and Melaine I will be giving away a metre of each of the fabrics shown here. Be sure to go and check out the alternative designs that they are giving away for four times the chance of winning.

Being a long time devotee of Cabbages and Roses and their dreamy, vintage aesthetic, I really am passionate about these fabrics that are screen and roller printed in the UK and designed in London. All in delicate colours that suit all seasons and will effortlessly add a vintage layer to your interior. Living on the East Sussex coast the Ships passing fabric would look so perfect as cushions in our house. I can't wait to make some. I am also counting the days until I can visit their new Avery Row store too. My husband will have to drag me out by my ears.

So, I will be giving one lucky winner a metre of each fabric swatch pictured here from the beautiful Gilbert Range, 'Ships passing' 'Metro' and 'Scoopy'. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment here telling me what you would make with the fabric if you were to win. The winners will be announced on Monday the 29th of November. If you are the lucky winner I would love to see what you create at a later date.

You can also get an extra entry if you post or tweet about the giveaway and comment back with a link to the post here. Good luck and don't forget the other prints available at Dreamy Whites, French Larkspur and My Sweet Savannah.

Have a happy Thursday, I hope the sun is shining wherever you are today.

Batten down the hatches

I hope you are all tucked up on this wild November evening. Nothing more satisfying than a hand made (not by me though) chicken and leek pie with a side of locally grown vegetables. I have been rain battered by leaving the house today but it made this dinner taste even sweeter.

Don't worry, in my haste to batten down the hatches and put my feet up with a box of chocolates, I haven't forgotten to select the winners of last week giveaways, so here goes . . . .

Mondays Farrow and Ball book and paint chart won by Jac of Coco Sunday.
Tuesdays Photographic prints won by Rimpsukaisa.
Wednesdays Make it pretty box won by Denise of A bun can dance.
Thursdays delicious Dorset cereal bars won by Jenny of Winni Briggs House.


Happy November to you x

Flavour up.

Thursdays yummy giveaway is this super lunch bag packed with delicious cereal bars from Dorset Cereals. I have been a long time lover of their delicious granolas, and new convert to the Tasty Flakes range, these are just another addition to my ever burgeoning shopping basket.

In order for these treats arrive on your doorstep all you need to do is leave a comment containing the three ingredients or flavours (for instance they could be regional or seasonal or just downright outrageous) that you would love to see used in a Dorset cereal bar.

To stop me rambling I will say go over and see what they are up to on their site, it's full of fun, exciting competitions, recipes and the lovely simple pleasures blog.

Tuesday's girl

Should always dress up to the nines. Todays giveaway is a trio of my photographs, a set I call 'spend the day like a princess'.

This giveaway is open to everyone no matter where you live. All you need to do is leave a comment telling me what secret rituals you have when you are having an indulgent princess day.

Good luck! xxx

Happy November

Happy November. To celebrate the new month and my new life due to the fact that I have worked my last day at the bank! I am hosting a week of giveaways. First up is this beautiful book-Farrow & Ball Living with Colour by Ros Byam Shaw and a colour chart to help you decide which colours to start with.

"Paint is the least expensive way to transform a room. And, unlike knocking down a wall or tiling a floor, it is not difficult to rectify if you have a made a mistake. Colour should be fun; at its best it is joyful." Ros Byam Shaw, Farrow & Ball Living With Colour.

Rylandpeters.com


All you need to do is leave a comment below.

I am afraid this give away is open to my UK readers only. Tomorrows will be worldwide xxx

Happy Valentines Rose.

Happy Valentines day.

After a major tidy and cleaning frenzy this morning ready for the photographers visit tomorrow, I am now baking a Plum and Almond cake and the sweet scent of cinnamon and sugar is filling the air.


Thanks to all who entered my giveaway for two beautiful red striped Cornishware mugs from T.G Green.

The winner is Rose from the blog 'A rose beyond the thames'. I hope you enjoy a cosy mug of something warm as soon as you receive them. If only I could I would send a slice of that cake to accompany your new kitchenware.


Image by Kate wilson found via {Frolic!}

Can't stay down for long.

Even though mail order is giving me some difficulties at the moment. Etsy does have a great side. Meeting people. The best thing about having an Etsy shop is all the wonderful people you meet. Buyers, sellers and people who share your tastes. Someone I have met recently is Jessica Goodman from Way side Violet "a student, a coffee lover, proud corgi owner, an admirer of pretty things and a devourer of literature".

I was very happy to be asked by Jess to answer a few questions for the first interview in a series about her favourite Esty sellers. We are also having a little giveaway with the interview. so pop on over and leave a coment to win.

See more from Jess, coffee snugs (like the one above) in her Shop and day to day life at Flickr.

Thank you again Jess.

Nearly forgot!

Oops nearly forgot to announce my give away winner, so before I disappear for a while. Thank you for entering and . . . .

. . . . the winner is the beautiful owner of the Etsy shop Ten things. It was her comment about mexican crepe paper flowers that finally won me over. So Ten things its you!!

Drop me a line including your address at lobsterandswan[at]yahoo[dot]com

Party sign Image from Cox and Cox

Oops

Sweet samantha of Inklore pointed out to me my email spelling boo boo earlier so if the give away winners check the last post I have corrected it now x hope to hear from you a little easier now!

Paper hearts

Preparing for a valentines dinner I am having later with friends.

I am also happy to tell you that the giveaway winners are Brittany Noel, Cafe fashionista, E Floyd, Inklore, Lissy Lou, and Sam, please email me your address's to lobsterandswan[at]yahoo[dot]com Thank you.

Happy valentines day to everyone x

something for you.

De-clutter day. I have four packs of bright colourful bits and bobs that would be perfect for craft fun with kids. There are small pieces in these though so I would suggest supervision and a watchful eye. (We did nearly have a trip to the hospital in the 80's when my 3 year old sister stuck some beads up her nose!!)
These packs in red, yellow, green and blue contain Papers, fabric scraps, beads, tags, trims and all manner of fun things for making mobiles, decorations or collages. And of course something for grown ups, two of my archive vintage embellishment packs, one in Violet/ivory and one green/amber each contains ribbons, sequins, beads, an antique postcard and more.

Just leave a comment below along with the first and second colour choice of the pack you would prefer and I will have a friend draw the names out of a vintage handbag on Saturday 14th of February, Valentines day. Good luck!

For your home?

Inspired by my favorite, no, hang on a minute everyones favorite Uncle, and to say thanks for reading my blog and for all your lovely comments/thoughts. I'm going to do my first give away. During the major tidying of my creative space I found these flags that I made a while ago.
So if anyone out there would like one of these baby's hanging up in their house somewhere or to give to a friend. Leave a comment on this post and I will put all the names in a hat and get the husband to pick out three.
I know I have a vintage bowler somewhere in the bottom of my wardrobe. You just never know when you might need to dress up as Sally Bowles or one of Laurel and Hardy? Do I detect smirking? Don't doubt it, I assure you its possible, my family members used to mock me when I was a helpless baby unable to defend myself for my resemblance to stan Laurel, though naturally I would prefer to think of myself as the star of Cabaret.

Oops almost forgot a closing date how about this Tuesday evening 26/08/08? I'll post the winners on Wednesday. Night Night.