Thursday links + happy weekend

An early weekend for me, as I'm off to work on leaf craft projects with my mum {who has been busily preserving leaves in gelatin, on my instructions!}, and visit my favourite little ones. Until next week, just a few links, and hope you all enjoy your weekend.

*A gorgeous B&B in Bruges

*Pretty vintage ink tins

*Love the table plan {an old door} in this wedding {and everything else!}
*And, I expect many of you will have seen this already, but I've been drooling over everything in the latest Sweet Paul magazine.

Photos by Rachel Whiting {aren't the colours amazing?}

Lucy Turner Furniture

I am a huge fan of any mid-century furniture which is updated with a formica/laminate surface. So, it's no surprise that these pieces from Lucy Turner appeal to me {although I'd love to see something in yellow!} - and, I'm pretty sure hostess trolleys are making a comeback...

Giveaway: Ramsign enamel nameplate

Today's giveaway is from Tea for Joy sponsor, Ramsign. Ramsign sells traditional hand-stencilled enamel nameplates, perfect for sprucing up the front of your home, and is offering any nameplate to a Tea for Joy reader.

To enter;

*visit Ramsign and leave a comment with your favourite design
*for an additional entry {please leave two comments}, follow Tea for Joy on Twitter + tweet about the giveaway, or become a Blogger follower.

The competition will close on Sunday, 3rd October at 6pm.

{ps, if you are interested in becoming a Tea for Joy sponsor, please email me for rates. Please note there is a waiting list of 4 weeks for the nameplates.}

Stationery corner...

Snapped on Saturday, this entrepreneurial girl selling vintage and old school stationery outside her house on Redchurch Street...

Big Fish

I've recently discovered that some of my favourite branding has been created by the same design agency, Big Fish. I wonder if they do taste tests before they take on new clients, as these brands are tip-top notch. (From top left, Belvoir Fruit Farms, Gu, Dorset Cereals and Clipper teas.)

Until next year

...I'll leave you with these very last images of summer, Polaroid coasters from London-based Etsy seller Just Noey (shop, blog.)

Tea of the week: remnants of summer

The sun's playing games with me today, peeking through the clouds, but I think this is the last summery Tea of the Week for this year...

Image unknown (if you know the source please let me know.)

Friday Links + Happy Weekend

*I want to go to a pen pal meeting

*Love these flowers in the gutter
*Chelsea colours

*A science-themed kids party

*Another yellow sofa to love

*Lovely little home details

*A hilarious mother's collection

A small selection of the many events this weekend, as part of London Design Festival;

*Curiosity is an East End pop up shop, which is a collaboration between lots of designers I admire and have featured here, including Catherine Hammerton, Shan Valla and Lizzie Allen.
*Origin Craft Fair has moved to Spitalfields this year - always worth a visit.
*A miniature Caravan-style world, with wallpaper from Deborah Bowness.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Photo from Caravan.

100% Design

A little roundup of designers spotted at 100% Design.

Spineless Classics - these prints have a whole book printed on them, available in many out of copyright titles.

Penelope Batley - statement jewellery, in lighting form...

James Shaw - loved his simple designs, and these lights, which also come in lots of bright, vibrant colours.

Luckily for me, I discovered quite a few new designers I loved, so one evening out = quite a few potential blog posts. Time to relax for a day or two, and if you'd like to visit (it's one of my favourite design shows), it is open to the public this Sunday.

Take one...

Sean Dix Sofa (£599) from Made.com (a great website where you can vote for new designs to be produced at reasonable prices) and accessorise with;

2. Shingle Blanket (£186), Eleanor Prichard, 3. Ikea lampshade (£19.99), 4. Architectural trees (£45), Ink Posters, 5. Balyan fabric, Osborne and Little, 6. Turbine clock (£55), Habitat.

Stargazing

Another day, another interest* (have looked for astronomy evening classes many times, but there is nothing local.)

1. Photo by London-based artist Loren Filis, 2. Shooting star card (£2.50) by Old Wives Tale, 3. Philip's Stargazing 2011 (£5.59), 4. Shoot for the stars print (£16) at Keep Calm Gallery.

*Some call it fickle and lacking direction to have so many interests, often not followed through, but I call it embracing the diversity of life.

Louisa Grey

A few photographs from the portfolio of London stylist Louisa Grey.

Mottled plaster walls and distressed mirrors...

Sequinned cushions and textured throws...

I'm easily satisfied. See more of Louisa's porfolio here (and there is a really lovely section on her website called 'inspirations' - you'll love it too, I guarantee...)

London love: City Coordinates

City of London Coordinates Posters (£25) from I love Design. Designer Caroline Silfverling can customise this print with the coordinates of anywhere in the world.. {note, there are some cute kids items on this site, too.}

All Gold

This started off as a post about gold kitchenware (I can just see myself drinking my breakfast tea from a shiny mug), until I spotted that a Brompton bicycle is available in gold...

All items from Be Golden; 1. Gold mug (£9.50), 2. Egg box (£15), 3. Brompton bicycle (£1,900 - perhaps I'll stick to the mug) 4. Gold spot umbrella (£25.)

Glass bottles

I am considering signing up for an evening class in floral design, but I think my preference is for simple, plain arrangements, but in pretty containers, such as those above.

From top; 1. Milk bottles (£9.75 and £10.50) from Lavender and Sage, 2. Laboratory flasks from Natural History (£10), 3. Vintage bottles (from £12) from Bottle Green Homes. 2 & 3 are from recently launched online businesses - worth a look.

Giveaway winner

Winner of the Papermash giveaway is Justine - congratulations!

Thanks to everyone for taking part. A special offer for you; until this Friday (14th) I'll add a set of these vintage travel gift tags (worth £3.50) to any orders over £25 if you add the code 'teaforjoy' in the comments box (apologies if you are on my mailing list and have already received this). Postage is also free in the UK on orders over £25. This will be the last special offer before Christmas, so it's an opportunity to start your Christmas shopping early!

{The above photos of striped red straws are from the wedding of French style muse Eleonore Bridge, you can also see more of her wedding photos at the blog of her British photographer, Marianne Taylor.}

Tea of the week: Wandsworth Museum Cafe

For two weeks in a row, I've been to the cafe at the newly-opened Wandsworth Museum. Serving Clipper teas, and yummy cakes (I had a very moist rosemary and lemon cake, reasonably priced at £2), the cafe is spacious, with parquet floors, polished antique dark wood tables and newspapers for browsing. Despite traffic rumblings from the busy road it is situated on, I definitely plan to return - it has a lovely, antiquarian atmosphere and as an ex-Museums student, I love the corner display of an old chemist's shop.

Happy weekend

Struggling with productivity today so I have to get offline (and I was doing so well yesterday with my bookkeeping.) Just a few links, but hope you have a lovely weekend - I'd love to hear your plans.

*Behind the scenes at Rue Magazine

*Apron details

*Stardust tights

On this weekend: Open House Weekend. I go every year, and it doesn't look like many new buildings have been added to my area, but this might be the year I make it to Tooting's Gala Bingo Hall (photo above.)

Photo via Flickr.

Alphabet Bags

So, there's nothing particularly original about Alphabet Bags (£10), but I like them all the same, especially for the diamante option (I love anything sparkly.) It isn't available, but I think the diamante would work well on a black bag (or a nice charcoal grey, if anyone is taking suggestions.)

Howies

I like these desktop wallpapers, many of which are bicycle-themed, available to download at Howies.

Swallows

Do you have a favourite search term on ebay? Every once in a while, I can be found searching for swallows, oils or watercolours with flowers, or embroidered postcards (I have a few I'll share here soon). Above are a few sweet postcards I found on my most recent 'swallows' search.

Win £100 of stationery

{Papermash products, photographed by Jon Day and styled by Sally Conran for October's Homes and Gardens.}

Papermash recently turned 1! So, in annual tradition, I'm having a bumper giveaway. Thanks to last year's winner, Ali, who won a year's worth of stationery and was very patient with my very tardy parcels!

This year's competition is a one-off opportunity to win £100 of stationery of your choice.

There are three ways to enter, for a maximum of three entries each.

1. Visit Papermash and leave a comment below about your favourite item.
2. Tweet or blog about the giveaway (a link is fine) - if tweeting please tag @papermashuk and link to this post so I can track it.
3. Become a Papermash follower on Twitter or a Facebook fan.

Please leave a separate comment for each of these entries and let me know what you've done. If your blogger profile is not enabled, make sure to leave your email address in the comment.

Thanks to the below blogs who have recently mentioned Papermash - if I've missed you off, please let me know.

Wallpaper, 100 Layer Cake, Cookie Cutter, Dee Wilcox, A Pretty Place to Play, The Pretty Blog, Sugarcoated Events, Ampersand Photography, Scrapbooking, Wuthering Iris, Chateau Savoie, Pillar Box Post, The Natural Wedding Company, Princess in the Desert, Designs by Nina, Lobster and Swan.

This competition will close at 6pm GMT on Sunday, 19th September.

British blogs

Sarah Kane is an incredibly talented professional photographer, who is a firm favourite of mine as she is also a N. Irish expat. Her blog is a showcase of her professional and personal work. I especially love her dark and dramatic landscapes.

Fernn Notebook is the Tumblr blog of Hampshire-based Linn, whose photography I admire for its often dreamy quality. She also sells prints at her Etsy shop.

Wellies and Vogue is the rural lifestyle blog of Norfolk-based Tori, who also runs design agency Passion Fruit Design with her new husband Oli. Her recent wedding photos are stunning - I just adore her floral headdress, and I also love this post with dad practising his wedding face...

I've set up a Linky tools list below so if you are based in the UK, or are a British expat elsewhere, please add your blog to the list so we can all discover more of our small British blogging community. (I will check you meet the criteria and no inappropriate content, please.)

UPDATE: This list has been capped at 50 - there will be another chance with my next roundup.

Getting reading for autumn

I'm taking my hot water bottle (1) out of storage, preparing to press fallen leaves (2), organising (3), shopping for tights (4), and hoping to curl up in my blanket and read (5.) I also want to make pickles, and can't wait to try the baked porridge from this book (the recipe looks delicious.)

What are you doing, or perhaps it's still hot and sunny where you are?

Tea of the week: teacup cake topper

Another wedding project, this time a wedding cake topper on Ruffled, designed by Julia.

Happy weekend

*Pretty wrapping {and a creative wedding gift.}

*I want this bike.

*Great round ups of talented European designers at Maison & Objet, the Parisian trade fair.

*The most beautiful photos I have seen in ages, of honesty, one of my favourite plants {love, love the other nature collections too.}

Have a lovely weekend. I will be thinking about how I can incorporate autumn leaves into parcel wrapping {if you've seen anything inspiring please share.}

Untitled by Femme Run on Flickr.

Cambridge Satchel Company

So, the Cambridge yellow satchel is very popular these days. (Hannah has one, creatively customised here.) But how many people do you know who have an embossed version? See an example here, available in silver, gold or blind impression at the Cambridge Satchel Company for £5 per letter. That would be my plan, were I to obtain such a beauty.

I like to take things one step further. Circa. 1986, when my fashion-conscious contemporaries were sporting leather ties, I persuaded my mum to buy me a white leather bow tie. Why anyone manufactured such a thing I do not know. Cutting edge style indeed.

Bottom photos Weardrobe and Chictopia.

When mum comes to visit

Garden cleared {if I had a before photo of the evil ivy overtaking everything, you would be very impressed.}

Mum hangs my picture with baker's twine {not sure about that idea, but it's resourceful, although I did have it artistically propped on the fireplace for a reason.}

Mum updates the memory board.

Lots of shopping with my cousin, buying belated presents - this one is only a month late {slightly dodgy corners on my wrapping}.

Come again soon!

Labour and Wait

Can household products be described as elegant? Simple, but beautiful, items from Labour and Wait.

Jon Day

I love the outdoors/indoors collaboration of these photos by Jon Day.

{this does not look dissimilar to my garden before my mum attacked it last weekend}

I'm not sure who styled these, but the Highland cattle and flowers in drawers (which remind me of this recent post on Oh Joy) are ideas I love. Jon's portfolio and blog are my new favourite discoveries, so I'm sure I'll be sharing other photos here soon.

UPDATE: Greenhouse story styled by Laurence Pasquier, furniture story for Scottish antiques company Refined, styled by Louisa Green.

{photos posted with permission.}

Where I blog from...

Not from the space above, but you can find out where on Ill Seen, Ill Said today. I loved taking part in Jane's 'Where I blog from' series - one of my favourites. Thanks Jane for asking me to take part! (if you haven't visited her very lyrical blog before, you might want to start with the St Patrick's Day guest post she wrote for me earlier in the year.)

{Above, freesias in coffee jar, teacup - gift (with my very first plant inside), scarf from Pippin in New York and chair from ebay. Photo taken this afternoon, on a very dreary and wet Monday - alas.}

Tea of the week: table settings

DIY place setting, from 100 Layer Cake. Original idea from Hello Lucky, also a Tea for Joy sponsor.

Dan Duchars

I'm very predictable - I love industrial backgrounds and distressed walls every time.

{Images by British photographer Dan Duchars, posted with permission}.

Wednesday workspace: relaxed

I can guarantee you that if this was my home, I'd spend more time slouching on that sofa than sitting at the desk being productive. It's just too close, and looks so comfy - I'm easily distracted.

Image from Marie Claire Maison.