Vintage Nation - Edinburgh

This Sunday we went along to Vintage Nation at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange and it was really great! Being a little bit obsessed with vintage clothes and random household trinkets from the past, you can imagine that we're in our element at events like this :)

Some of our favourite sellers were at the event with their fabulous displays, but we also discovered a lot of new makers and sellers that we've fallen in love with. Whilst their was a lot of clothes there, we were more looking at bits and pieces to fill our home with and some cool things to use for displaying our products at the upcoming markets (Renegade especially!)

We very almost spent a fortune on one of these vintage clocks, but decided that the money would be better saved for now as we have a lot of projects on the go at the moment and are trying to spend every penny wisely on the run up to Christmas. Being self employed is tricky when there are so many cute things and a strict budget to stick to!

We also fell in love with a lot of the big old radio's and record players at the event. I can't believe someone brought all of these up from Milton Keynes to sell. We struggle to get our prints and stationery across Scotland - never mind heavy and delicate things like these! If we had a big home, I'd love to have one of these in the hallway... and a chandelier in the bathroom :) Heaven!

As well as stalls and music, there were some super popular food stalls (the cupcake queue was insane!) and even a mini beauty parlour. It was a lot of fun to see girls getting their hair done up like pin up girls by the wonderful Miss Dixiebelle beauticians. I would love to wear victory rolls in my hair if it was longer, but long hair just doesn't suit me. I love to rock a massive quiff on a night out and occasionally roll up my fringe, but I have pretty thin hair which makes it a bit tricky.  If anyone has tips on creating vintage hair do's with short hair I'd love to hear them!

All in all we had a great weekend and we're looking forward to going to it again if it comes back :) I believe it's currently touring the UK with Judys Affordable Vintage Fair so be sure to check it out and pop down if you love all things retro. You have to pay to get in, but it only cost us £3 each as we got our tickets in advance online. Early bird specials forever!

Oh! I also wanted to ask you all for your help!

We're currently looking to get a UK card reader for markets. We're looking at iZettle, Intuit and WorldPay. Do any of you lovely makers have any experience of these or any advice to share? We're a little bit stuck so your thoughts would be really appreciated :) Thanks in advance lovelies!

Stall! Little Birds Market, Glasgow, 13th Oct

Hello Glasgow!

This Sunday we're participating in our first ever Little Birds Market and we can't wait! We'll have a special offer on our prints & keepsake cards and will be bringing along a few *new* treats and treasures you'll be the first to see :D How exciting!

Little Birds Market

Sloans Bar & Restaurant

62 Argyll Arcade, 108 Argyle Street

Glasgow
G2 8BG

12 noon til 5pm
Free Entry!

As an extra special treat, download one of the Little Birds Market coupons from itison and get 10% off your purchase too! How brilliant is that?

With 2 floors of glorious stalls to see, we know it's going to be one heck of a day :)

We hope to see you there lovelies!

xox

Style Me Friday: Cake Tins & Fox Mug From Joules.com

Look at my adorable new cake tins and fox mug from Joules.com! Being an avid baker of sweet treats, having something stylish to keep them in is high on my list of priorities. I'm a big fan of the homeware at Joules. They always have such amazing prints and patterns and as we're redecorating it's been a frequented site for inspiration and for my ever growing wish-list. Don't you think these are just adorable?

The cake tins are sold in a set of three - they all fit inside each other for when you want to tuck them away, but even better - they all stack perfectly on top of each other when you want to display them! There's a rim on each lid that perfectly fits the tin thats a size smaller than it. Being an ergonomic design nut, this little big of creative genius really rings my bell!

I love that each tin is so different too. That's one of the cutest fox illustrations I've seen in some time! Mixing it with stripes and florals ... a trio made in heaven, right? Now I have a small woodland themed tin for taking cupcakes to my best friend, a cracking medium sized tin with stripes that's perfect for picnics and birthdays and I have plans for a lovely big fruitcake for Christmas with the massive floral tin. It's going to be the pride of the table this year! 

Joules.com

My mum already has her eye on these so I might splash out on a set for her this Christmas too. *daughter points* Haha! They're so pretty I foresee them being used to store stuff in our studio when they don't have cake in them too. We have a lot of odd bits and pieces throughout our home that have been repurposed; I'm a strong believer in mixing and matching wherever I can so you can imagine that these will fit right in!

Naturally I had to bake to celebrate! My little foxy mug is just the right size for 'the good coffee' and those seriously delicious hot chocolates I was telling you about on Tuesday. I've got autumn covered (... and my mum's Christmas gift idea ticked too!)

Oh Snap!

Oh snap! A few photos from our week - I've posted a couple of these on twitter recently, but I couldn't resist sharing this one again as it was the first outing wearing one of our new necklaces! We've had our I love mom wooden brooch available for a while, but look at how cute it is as a necklace :D 

We'd love to hear what you think! 

DIY: Homemade Hot Chocolate Shells (or spoons!)

Happy October 1st! Now we're officially into 'cozy up' weather, I thought I would share my favourite hot chocolate recipe so we can all get involved in the spirit of autumn. I'm a big fan of cinnamon which really makes this drink taste super festive and delicious, but I'm going to warn you right now - there is a fair whack of sugar in here and it's pretty addictive, so consume in moderation :B 

This is a really quick and easy recipe and it makes the perfect treat through the colder months. If you dress it up in a cute box they make great gifts too!

All you need is:

200g dark chocolate (I don't usually use the 70% coco stuff as it's quite expensive so don't fret!)

40g coco powder

100g dark brown muscovado sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

To make it, break up the chocolate and melt it in a bain marie (in a bowl over boiling water) or in the microwave. 

Take it off the heat and sift the sugar, cinnamon and coco powder into the chocolate. Gently stir and combine. It's going to be a little stiff and lumpy, but that's a good thing!

Whilst the mixture is still warm, spoon it out into a madeleine silicone mould to get shell shapes like mine. You could also use a muffin tin or ice cube tray if you don't have one of these. The mixture is going to solidify, so you could make 'hot chocolate spoons' by taking spoonfuls of the mixture and letting them cool like that. Or you could even stick lollypop sticks in them when they're cooling so you can use them as a stirrer when you're making your hot chocolate :) It's diverse .... and addictive!

Once you've spread the mixture evenly, it's fun to add a few little extras like little marshmallows or sprinkles. I'm a bit in love with these edible stars at the moment - they are going on everything!

After that's done all you need to do is wait. The mixture will take a couple of hours to set, but I promise you it is worth it!

Once your little hot chocolate shells are hard, they're ready to be enjoyed :D
It's best to heat up milk in a little pan on the stove till it's just starting to simmer. Pop one of these in your favourite mugs and pour the milk on top. Give it a stir and watch the milk go chocolatey!
Now all you need to do is grab a blanket, put your feet up and stick on your favourite movie. Bliss!
As for the rest, keep them in an air tight container in the fridge and you can take them out when you need them. Perfect.

Enjoy lovelies
xox

Style Crush: Vivienne Westwood Red Label, Spring 2013

I've always aspired to have a blue rinse when I grow up. There is something so awesome about the 'old birds' who rock it; they just seem to be having a lot more fun in their old age! That's why I am totally in love with this first look from Vivienne Westwood's Red Label collection for Spring 2013. Getting old just got chique!

Vivienne Westwood has been my favourite designer for as long as I can remember. I love how she cuts fabric and I like that her looks are classically based but always have a killer edge to them. If we ever get rich you can guarantee one of my first big purchases is going to be one of her fabulous structured gowns ... and maybe even some mary-janes to match!

Being a massive fan of vintage fashion, there is a lot of inspiration to be had out of these looks. Just because I can't afford the real thing just now doesn't mean there is no fun to be had! Simple things like gloves and fascinators found in thrift shops and even your grandmothers closet can totally evolve a cheap n cheerful dress from modern to classic in a flash. If you have time (and a whole lot of hairspray), give your hair a few victory rolls and you've got yourself a whole new look :D

If you'd like to see more from the show, click here...

 And remember, a girl can never have too many hats, gloves and shoes!

Facebook Giveaway!

Hello peeps 

Just wanted to give you a heads up that there's only a few days left to enter our Facebook giveaway! If you 'like' us you've got the chance to win one of our spectacular prints and our two most favourite keepsake cards :D Hooray for free stuff! *click here to enter*

Good luck!