The Virgin of Guadalupe

There are a number of exotic and wonderful discount shops in the area that I live in. My mum and I recently discovered 3 rolls of amazing photographic flower print jersey fabric. Needless to say we snapped it up in an instant! The backdrop to these photographs is my favourite of the three, I love that it looks almost like a painting and the colours are so beautiful (I'm having difficulty expressing in words how great it is!) 

I've always been very taken with the saint cards that are available to purchase in Cathedral shops, particularly their eyes! As a teenager I named their very particular expression 'caring eyes' and ever since my family have enjoyed practising our own versions of caring eyes. This is my tribute to those cards and in particular The Virgin of Guadalupe in all her mystical glory. 

I am about to start some paintings from this series of photographs, so I'll be posting those very soon (I'm going to start posting more of my creative endeavours in general!)

In other unrelated news this week my shop, Mrs MacBeth's Department Store, that I run with my mum will be hosting several pop ups for Penryn Arts Festival. We'll be decorating a multitude of windows with parrots, pom poms and flowers as well as making pom poms and other delights in a new charity shop which is opening this weekend! Should you be in Cornwall (or just fancy having a nose) have a look at the programme of events here. There is so much going on and the great thing is most of it's free!

Linking to Visible Monday.

Outfit Details:

Floral headdress- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Russian floral scarf-  purchased by my mum in Istanbul

1960s pink cherub tapestry top- Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair

Edwardian nightie (with collar embroidered by me)- charity shop

Gold and mint green Sari- gift from my mum

Floral Bangle- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Necklace- Penny MacBeth

Ring- Portabello Market

Paper flowers made by me

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The Power of Objects

It's been a very busy week, nearly all the birthdays in my family fall within a 3 week space. An awful lot of cake gets eaten and not a lot of housework gets done. This is my living room before it descended in to a mess of tape, wrapping paper and glitter. This is about the tidiest it gets, my trick has always been to distract the eye as much as possible with plenty of paintings, cushions, colour and nick nackery! I hope it works. Not pictured is my desk which lives under a nook beneath the stairs. It's not looking too tidy right now and come to think of it I'm not sure it ever does?! I will take some pictures of it when it's a little clearer (there are lots of paintings piled on it). 

Our living room is perhaps my favourite room in our home, it's perfect for lounging and reading. The daybed is particularly good for lazily flicking through art books and sipping g&ts! We have a lot of books, far more than are pictured. 

 One very important part of our living room is the drinks cabinet. It houses a host of glasses from champagne boats to whisky tumblers as well as whole menagerie. I have used the bottom (and some of the top) shelf to house my collection of weird and wonderful creatures and a variety of objects that I treasure dearly. I am, by own omission, a bit of a hoarder. I have over recent months got a little better, moving to Cornwall forced me to really consider what was needed. The trouble I have always had is I attach memories and emotions to objects, each one contained within my drinks cabinet has a particularly special meaning. 

They are mainly things I've been given by loved family members who have since passed. I find it very comforting to have small objects to hold, I've always liked the idea of Netsuke. My assortment of Buddha's have always come in handy during in exams or difficult essays, I choose one and hold it in my hand, the soft cold texture is very comforting. Other objects are less easily transportable, due to size and delicacy. They however are no less treasured. The white owl is one of my oldest belongings, my dad gave it to me as a baby. It originally tweeted and fluttered it's eyes, it sadly has since stopped doing so but it's been with me through every home and I couldn't really imagine not owning it.  

I like to display them all because they help remind me of the people I've lost but also to always appreciate the people that are here.

Featured below are a few of my favourite objects:

The owl that my dad gave me, a marionette made by an auntie (I think!) in the 1930s, the lid of a long lost box featuring 3 carol singers originally belonging to my great-granny. 

A knitted llama a friend gave me for my 23rd birthday, my dad's business card illustrated by my mum and a cheeky little eggcup that was my granny's!

Steiff owl that belonged to my grandma, another marionette and the Bogart of Bohermore*

*Bohermore was the name of the area of Galway I lived in when I was small. My mum made this friendly little Bogart, he caused much mischief around our house. 

A whole collection of Buddha's.

Melon teeth the lion a recent purchase from Oxfam and a little Japanese bonsai scene from the Japanese Gardens.

 A selection of glasses and a little cardboard figure that belong to my Great Aunt.

Do you have any objects you carry with you? I'm always so interested to hear about people's attachment (or not!) to objects. My brother is very different from me and has barely more than a handful of possessions! He is always very bemused by my nostalgia for childhood objects. 

I hope you all have glorious weekends and treasure all your loved ones. 

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Glorious Colour

I'm on a bit of an all out colour binge at the moment. Maybe it's the sunshine or maybe it's just the increasing amount of beige I see every day but I really feel the need to stack beads, colours, textures and go for it full whack. This ensemble in constructed from various items from my mum's studio. The jacket is hand embroidered by her and lined with a gorgeous floral fabric she got in Istanbul. The pom pom bracelets have recently been added to our Etsy shop, they come in a whole variety of colours and are so jolly to wear, they brighten my mood instantly. I've always been a big fan of colour, I find it very hard to imagine not getting up and putting on something bright. One of my all time heroes is Kaffe Fassett (a fellow colour enthusiast). I saw his exhibition Life in Colour at the FTM last year and it was so beautiful. I met him too which was quite the dream, I left feeling like I'd visited another world! I recently found that his programme Glorious Colour is available to watch on 4oD, it's so inspiring; I definitely recommend it.  I'm just plotting now how I can get to his latest exhibition at The American Museum in Bath! 

I've had a very inspiring week, I've had so many ideas for new pictures and projects so I'm sure you'll all be seeing some of them soon! 

I hope you are all well and thank you so much for all the lovely birthday wishes on my last post, they really made me smile. 

Outfit Details

 Embroidered jacket- Penny MacBeth

Turquoise dress edged with red pom poms- Penny MacBeth

Pom Pom bangles- Mrs MacBeth's

Various beads- charity shops

Floral Headdress- Mrs MacBeth's

All artwork by Penny MacBeth (similar shrines are available here)

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Time for Tea

My birthday is coming (on Monday!) I'll be 24 but that doesn't mean I've grown up! Here I am having a teddy bear's picnic with the oldest bear I have had the pleasure of meeting. His name is King Edward VII and he belonged to my Granny. He is very well behaved for a bear; he has excellent table manners- no paws in honey pots here! The dolly belonged to my Great Auntie, who I spoke about in the last post. She has the loveliest matching outfit, I really wish it was full size! All the flowers are from my mama's garden which is currently in full bloom and looks so beautiful.

I'll be celebrating my birthday on Sunday with a 1920s tea party (populated by humans not bears!) It's been such gorgeous weather here this last week so I really hope the sun sticks around. We will be tucking into cucumber sandwiches and Dill Gin Rickey's (recipe here) and hopefully a slice of cake or two. I'll be sure to take some pictures to show you all.  

I hope you all have beautiful weekends and get to enjoy the sunshine as much as possible. 

Details

1930s mint green and pink ex theatre dress- Vintage sale

Headdress- Mrs MacBeth's Department Store

Teacups & teapot- belonged to my great aunt

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Costume Dolls

You might recognise this wonderful embroidered top from the header of my blog. It's part of a 5 part set that my mum and I purchased from Port Eliot Festival two years ago, it was hidden away at the back of a vintage tent and we couldn't quite believe the price tag; £15!

I was very interested by the beautiful colour combination and embroidery. So, in order to try unearth it's origins, I turned to my late (and Great) Auntie's costume doll collection. She had a big collection of dolls, including the costume dollies which my mum has conveniently just unearthed from boxes and put on shelves in her home. They are a much under appreciated item, I am forever seeing them at car boot sales in £1 boxes or sitting unloved on charity shop shelves. Not by me though! They are so useful for researching costumes and embroidery techniques from across the globe, as well as being beautiful items in their own right! I used them in combination with a brilliant book I purchased about costume dolls and discovered that the set is Portuguese! 

Look, here is my Portuguese dolly counterpart:

and a Lady dancing in the traditional Portuguese costume:

Source: 1

Today I decided to pair the waistcoat from the set with another folk costume which also belonged to my Great Auntie. It's actually a children's costume, although I think she used it to dress her dollies! The backdrop is a painting by my mum Penny MacBeth (you can see her paintings here)

I hope you've all enjoyed the sunshine finally popping out (I know I have!) Lets hope it's here to stay. 

Linking my folk costume to Visible Monday

Outfit Details

1920s silk children's folk costume, skirt, apron, waistcoat and belt (worn as a headdress)

Portuguese embroidered waistcoat 

Embroidered necklace- Penny MacBeth

Pom Pom headdress worn as a belt- Penny MacBeth

Various bangles- vintage & Penny MacBeth

Broderie Anglaise white shirt

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In Bloom

The best part of having a new home is that everyone who visits seem to bring delightful blooms! I've received several bunches of flowers this week and these are my favourites; some gorgeous Stocks and Sweet Williams. I love having flowers around the house, the smell and colours never fail to lighten my mood (even when it's drizzling outside!)

I've recently dug out all my favourite pink silk dresses and jackets. They didn't get a lot of wear in London as I was always a little worried for them on the tube (it's so grubby!) Cornwall is a much friendlier environment for them. This little satin bed jacket is so sweet, it was a christmas present from my mum and it again came from our local Oxfam.

Today I've spent the day baking banana loaf which is my new favourite, it's so easy, super quick and is nearly healthy (hah!) I've also been sorting my various bits of china. I have been collecting fruit and vegetable pieces for a long time but only recently have I branched out into raspberry tarts!

I was SO excited when I found this dish at car boot a few weeks ago, it was very hard to contain myself. I thought they were going to charge me lots of money for it because I was jumping around and smiling like a loon. Anyway I asked how much they wanted and guess what? They only wanted 50p!!! It's definitely one of my best purchases ever, I have for some reason always loved raspberry tarts. We used to grew raspberries when I was small and my mum used to make the most delicious raspberry tarts in the summertime. I have very fond memories of my brother and I picking them for her and eating quite few at the same time!

I hope you've all had wonderful weekends.

Linking my raspberry tart to Share-in-Style

Outfit Details

1930s pink satin bed bed jacket, trimmed in blue satin- Oxfam

Floral Headdress- Penny MacBeth

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