Spring!

I got a little tired of the old blog background, so its been rehashed for your and my visual pleasure, the green and pink was a bit much. So that's been my first act of revving this place up with Spring - 28 degrees today what pleasure ? Secondly I bought new bathers (right) by seafolly -an absolutely fail safe brand when it comes to swimwear.

Thirdly I deleted my facebook account, I figure its time for the good old face to face contact which reminds me yesterday I went to the loveliest shop with a extremely chatty owner.

It was called "Old Love" and full of an assortment of new and old goodies, including glomesh bags, enchanting lazer cut brooches and rings(all very much affordable), rosette headbands (made from ties, such a smart idea), vintage cameras and telephones and radios - all for ornamentation, I was told - as well lots of accessories made from local designers and a exclusive natural body care range made in Perth.

The range includes candels, soaps, body wash, lotions and bath salts. The lotions especially caught my eye with names such as: Cup of Tea & a Lie Down, Doris Day Dream and Keep On Trucking Men's Balm. Suffice it is to say I am very very excited about having discovered my first Spring a gem, every now and then I find beautiful, inspiring places whether a shop, cafe, park, lake or book store which fuel my mind with ideas and curiosity. I hope to share them with you.

Back to Old love - It's been open for about two months and stock comes in weekly, however the website doesn't show a lot of its stock, so you'll just have to visit it in person - its a must if you're anywhere near Rokeby Road, just walk down Forrest street until you get to the car park on Denis Street and you are there.

Here are some pictures

Delivering the Goods

When it comes to gifts, I'm a big fan of presentation - what shows your care and consideration more than a carefully wrapped present ? (I'm a fan of alliteration - as cheesy as it is)


Make sure you pull your wrapping paper as tightly as possible around the
folds, get the best affect before neatly taping.

A colour co-ordinating bow is a charming addition.

Real ribbon is a must when it comes to bows; it can be reused over and over again by the giftee, rather than the plastic curling ribbon that always ends up on the floor or in a bin. And for any creative friend ribbon is a gift in itself as it can easily be transformed into a hair accessory, embroidery material, a book mark or bracelet.

One problem with decorative wrapping is that buying ribbon, wrapping paper and a card can be an expensive task, that's why ribbon can be one of the best op-shop finds. You can buy whole reels of ribbon in the haberdashery section for a few dollars, or vintage lace which looks just splendid.

For a personalised card, you can't go past old postcards, they sell for cents - take the images from the postcard and make your own highly personalised touch.
As I was on a quest to wrap a friend's present today, I found a great stationary brand: Frederica, which produced this vintage catalogue inspired wrapping paper: http://www.frederica.co.uk/