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letterpress love from studio carta

Hello!! Don’t you just love surprises? I got one last week and was so chuffed.

I got an e-mail from Angela Liguori that immediately got my attention – you know in that way of “someone I really admire is e-mailing ME!!”. To explain – Angela has a business called Studio Carta in Boston. She has THE MOST gorgeous range of products – letterpress stationery, italian cotton ribbon (in every colour you can imagine), wrapping paper, vintage stamps and envelopes and tools. I dream of visiting her shop one day!! Well – it turns out I won a prize on her blog. A lovely set of the most beautiful letterpress cards which arrived in my postbox yesterday. I absolutely love them. One is going into a frame, and the rest will be used very sparingly for very special people!! Aren’t these divine…….

I can’t leave it there – you’ve all got to see her lovely store and ribbons…….

images: studio carta inc 

One day I will pop-in Angela and THANK YOU so much for my parcel.

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beautiful grungy colours

Hello friends. It’s another new month and autumn is settling in here in Stellenbosch. The vineyards are turning, the trees are starting to loose their leaves and the squirrels are madly collecting all sorts of yummy goodies to store away. A lovely time of the year, with colours all of its own.

My hubby and I escaped for a mini-break last Wednesday. We crossed over the mountains, went through Ceres and then up to Kagga Kamma (which is in an area which combines the Cederberg and the Karoo…..difficult to explain). It’s far away from tar roads, cellphones and city lights. Beautiful. Quiet. Unspoilt. We relaxed, walked, went on drives and made some new friends. Wonderful.

While we were walking it dawned on me that I was surrounded by what my friend Su calls “grungy colours” – those rusts, greys, chartreuses, purples and oranges that are both dull and vibrant, dirty yet alive…….. I found myself taking photos of colours and textures, as well as vistas, that emphasised these colours. (My hubby has become used to me constantly stopping and taking photos of a flower or a rock!!) Not only is Kagga Kamma beautiful, it is also very historical and spiritual as the bushmen and Khoi people have lived here over the past few thousands of years. We were able to see very well-preserved bushman paintings and learn about their “use” of the wide variety of plants and animals.

I think I’ve said enough – scroll through these pictures and enjoy the colours…….

all images: my own

And now it’s back to work and “the real world”. I hope that you all have a wonderful week!!

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recovered, refreshed and re-organised

Hello friends!! Wow- it’s been 3 weeks since I last spoke to you all. Thank you for your kind words, support and well-wishes. I am back on the go, the shop is open, and life goes on!!

The last few weeks have been good for me. I took a mental and physical “break” and have been re-focussing. I re-organised parts of the house that have been in a state of chaos since I did the markets at the end of last year (yes – it’s taken me THAT long……), and I finally got around to sorting out and organising my workspace. Bags and bags of recycling and donations later and I am once again feeling good about my space! Do you also feel happier when your environment is organised, everything has a place, and most importantly it looks good and makes you happy to be there! I do. So – want to take a little tour around my office with me?

This is what I see while I sit at my computer. I have my desk in the middle of the room, which is not always the most practical, but it works for me. I can see the sunshine coming in the windows, and keep an eye on the front-gate (to spot the all-important courier!!). Sometimes It’s VERY messy, sometimes there are flowers – at the moment it is relatively tidy and I have a lovely delicate Orchid keeping me company. Sammy also joins me on the desk quite often – but wasn’t around when I took these pictures.

I have displayed all my favourite goodies on the shelves directly across from me – lovely white ceramics, the cute owls, precious books from some of my favourte, inspiring authors (recognise any?), a lovely SweetWilliam print, and a collection of favourite stationery and the hanging birds from papertales.

And then – my worktable! Above which I have now organised and displayed my (embarrassing) collection of lovely washi tape!! I tell myself that I do NOT need more, and must not be afraid to use it – there is more than enough!!!

On the other side of the room is another set of shelves and work space, where somehow the colours are softer…….funny how that happened. Notice my lovely knitting bag from lovely leah at sangthebird. And I love the wooden pegs and spools in the glass jars – reminiscent of a candy-store. The map boxes remind me of my dad who is map-mad!!!!

So – this is where I spend my days making lovely things and packing orders to send off to all of you lovely gals!! I am really fortunate to have this space.

So now it’s back to normal – sending out orders, creating lovely designs and blogging!!!! For those of you who live nearby I’ll be hosting a pop-up market  here at my house next week. I’ll post all the details here on the blog a little later today!!

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!! Big hugs.

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Taking a break for a few weeks…..

Hello friends. I hope that you all had a lovely Easter. It wasn’t the best one in our home as I have had a few problems with my health in the past weeks that resulted in me having to go into hospital on Thursday. I’m OK now, but am going to be taking the next couple of weeks off as “sick leave” to give myself some time to heal and find my way again. Unfortunately this means that my shop will be closed, and I hope this is not an inconvenience for anyone. Sometimes in life, we just need to put ourselves first, and this is what I am doing.

This print (from Sweetwilliam) which I have on the wall in my office, basically sums up how I’m feeling right now…. I just need some time.

I may pop in to say hi during the next weeks, and my shop will re-open on Monday the 15th of April. Sending you all love.

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