Eggshells

God bless the daylight by Seven Worlds

Soy wax tea light eggs from Mr Wick (£8) (via She Draws)

Lucy Shena on Flickr.

Signs of spring by Owen Schaefer

Birth of a flower by Charlotte Jade

Heidi Burton

I like people who smile when its raining by Heidi Burton, $26. I love the rain, and I love her blog, too, as all the posts are beautifully hand-written.

Round up: Egg cups

1. London egg cup by Cecily Vessey (£5.50), 2. Ceramic egg cup by The Village Pottery ($9), 3. Happy egg cups by Elsie Teague ($10), 4. Washing line egg cup by Heidi Burton ($12), 5. Vintage Palissy Sierra egg cups from Betty and Roland ($9.25), 6. Vintage nursery rhyme egg cups from Le Petit Boutique (£6.)

Can anyone help me with a mystery? When I searched for 'egg cup' in Etsy, almost all of the results were from British designers. Do boiled eggs not exist as a concept elsewhere? Enlighten me, please...

Tea of the week: Vintage tea cups

Vintage tea time by Sally Elford ($20.)

PS Laura, it was nice to meet you today (see some photos of the South West Jumble here.)

Five Friday Faves

*A gorgeous spring garland
*Amazing tents in British Columbia
*Beautiful calligraphy (and love her use of masking tape)
*A first step on the property ladder
*I'm fickle; after declaring last week that I'd found my favourite house tour ever, I already have a new contender for the top spot.

Events on this weekend:
*South West Jumble (in Tooting; mention Tea for Joy at my friend Malini's stall for a 10% discount.)
*Country Living Fair

See you next week!

Pic by Teacups, Cupcakes on Flickr (just because I love yellow.)

Spring forward

Saidos da Concha

Katya, Nestled In

Flora Douville

Don't forget to put your clocks forward this weekend (in the UK)! There's a Friday Faves post coming up later on today, but I couldn't keep these cheery shots to myself for a moment longer.

V&A Quilts Exhibition

Yesterday I went to see the Quilts Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was amazing and well worth the rave reviews; the quilts reveal so much about social and political history. Have any of you been? Most poignant for me was the quilt created by prisoners of Wandsworth Prison, which I often walk past. Their quilt reflects all kinds of emotional experiences; desperation, faith, hope, injustice. I've been meaning to write about the charity which supports them for a while, Fine Cell Work, as I think it's a great initiative.

So, time for contemplation on issues of social justice - and then there's the shop! It's piled high with beautiful stacks of fabric; eighteen limited edition designs which are a collaboration between the V&A (the designs are based on their collections) and Liberty. The fabrics are available online, too.

Karin Akesson

Next on my 'hopefully soon' shopping list, a print from Karin Akesson, a talented Swedish illustrator now based in London. These are just my thing.

Love Birds 1, (£25)

Wonderful, (£20) (also available as a limited edition giclee print here, (£58))

London Love

From top: Ribbon notebooks ($25) from Etsy London seller nuvonova (shop, blog), 'Before the morning comes' by Che-Burashka, Battersea Power Station and Albert Bridge plates (£24.95) by Snowden Flood.

Susan Cowie embroidery

I'm in love.





I almost left it at that, as I'm without words to describe how much I love this beautiful embroidery by Susan Cowie. Some background, instead. Susan is a London-based embroidery designer, whose recent projects have included the tree pillow for the film Bright Star. There is a beautiful photo montage of a day in her life at the new-to-me but oh-so-fabulous blog, This is Naive (worth looking at for the blog header alone.)

Wednesday workspace: the kitchen table

Photo by Liivia, spotted on Krisatomic.

Cards from Paris

Remember my brother G? He just sent me these vintage cards he bought at a Paris flea market. Who knew that bugs could look so pretty?

Mid Century Modern

Some photos from the Midcentury Modern Fair on Sunday. It's held in Dulwich College, which is a famous school in beautiful grounds, so the setting is lovely.

Tip one: do not get there a minute after opening time - it quickly descends into chaos (plus, everything you want will be sold.)

I loved this tiny desk and chair.

Every time I go I check that this stall still has these vintage factory shoe stands, as I'm still saving for one for my kitchen.

A plan chest! And, in the foreground, the sofa that was not to be. My friend almost bought it, but couldn't make up his mind, and when he went back to enquire about delivery (five minutes later) it had just been sold. Apparently, I'm to blame because I did not sit him down and convince him it was an investment which would hold its value for years to come (important to someone who doesn't part with his cash easily) and was running round saying 'buy it, buy it!' at lots of things, sending him into a spin. In my defence, I told him to get it as soon as I saw it and I think a grown man should be able to make a decision. Tip two: if you see something you like, buy it straight away. It's an investment, and will hold its value for years to come.

The above items are all from Metro Retro.

Formica is one of my favourite materials, so I loved this Italian corner desk with a Formica top.

One day I'll have a buttoned sofa.

This desk setting caught my eye as I liked how it was arranged under a photo of a headmaster.

The fair also sells lots of smaller items, as well as new designers who have a retro aesthetic - I have a few posts coming up which will feature my new fair discoveries.

Tip three: don't go expecting a bargain (there are none, this is serious shopping) and tip four: if you miss out, don't worry - there's always next time!

Harrington and Squires

Letterpress studios are relatively rare in the UK, so imagine how thrilled I was to discover London-based Harrington and Squires, with a beautiful line in bespoke invitations, as well as a small but exciting range of products available from their website.

Sneeze, Boohoo and Atishoo hankies (£9.)

Limited edition books, such as this one, Firewood (£80) - I also love these Love Poems (£10.)

Postcode postcards (3 for £6, customised options available - wouldn't they make stylish 'We have moved' announcements?)

I've left the most exciting discovery until last - they run letterpress workshops! And, to see gorgeous photos of them in action, click here.

UPDATE: Billy just took a class with them last week - see the fab results here.

Tea of the week: Abby Powell

Tiny teacups print ($12.95) by Abby Powell.

Five Friday Faves

*Love these postcardens.

*An original illustrated Alice in Wonderland manuscript at the British Library.
*Illustrated recipes (also spotted on What Katie Does) - fancy trying nettle pesto?
*I adore these yellow bridemaids' dresses (with differing sleeve lengths.)
*And the yellow sofa (and everything else) in this house - one of my all-time favourite home tours.

If you're based in the North of England, there's an interview with me this month in Concept for Living magazine about my blog and Papermash.

Photo from the ever-dreamy Amanda's blog - she has just updated her Etsy shop with lovely spring prints, which come with a set of notecards if you buy one in March. Have a great weekend! I'm going to the Midcentury Modern Fair in Dulwich on Sunday. I can't wait!

Blogging for beginners

Ooh.com is a website which lists lots of exciting, creative events and courses around the world. It's free to add a listing or course, and current UK courses include a beekeeping taster course, graffiti classes and food smoking.

I have just listed two blogging workshops. I've been trying to teach a blogging course for a while, but a few opportunities have fallen through, so I thought I'd try creating my own. I've designed two courses, which will be a half-day workshop in London; blogging for beginners, which will cover how to set up and promote a blog, and blogging for designers and design-based businesses, which is similar to the first course, but will also cover how to use your own and other blogs to promote your small business. I actually took a blogging class in New York a few years ago, and it helped me enormously with this blog. Of course, Tea for Joy is a long way from perfect, and it's difficult to work full-time and have time to provide the quality of content I'd like, but I think I do have some useful tips to share. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

A lemon curd craft evening

Once a week I go to a small church discussion group, and recently I've been hosting a craft evening once a term. Last night we made Delia's lemon curd, and it was so much fun - everyone (including one male) was really into decorating their jam jars! It's a really easy thing for a craft evening as the lemon curd only takes about 15 minutes to make. Ideas I loved include the cork tags, wire, vintage seed labels and the obligatory date stamp. Mine is hidden at the back of the group photo as I was just lacking vision last night - it's my editor's prerogative to leave it out!

I think the results are brilliant for a group of people who don't usually sit down to do anything arty, and my friends were so fussy about getting theirs right (lots of discarded first attempts). Next time (although I haven't told them yet) we're going to make pickles.

St Patrick's Day edition: Jane from Ill Seen, Ill Said

I'm excited to welcome Jane from Ill Seen, Ill Said as my St. Patrick's Day guest - her blog is full of interiors inspiration and I love her lyrical writing style. I'm also a huge fan of her 'Where we blog from' series. Thanks Jane - I love the homes you've featured here.

Hello! Jane here from the blog Ill Seen, Ill Said. I'm a Dubliner, currently living in Toronto, Canada. When Lynne asked me to blog something for St Patrick's Day, I thought a post about Irish homes would be perfect. Now, I know some of you are probably imagining twee little thatched, white-washed cottages. I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint on that score. Georgian architecture is very much my Irish reality, whether in the form of farmhomes, city townhouses or grand demesnes. Here are three of my favourite examples:



This farmhouse was featured in World of Interiors and is located in Co. Cork. There's nothing hugely dramatic about it, you could nearly call it utilitarian; almost Shaker-meets-Georgian. The most dramatic room is probably the kitchen, which has been left in the state it was found, with the walls simply washed down. I love the idea of leaving one room in a renovation a little raw. I think this may be one of my favourite homes featured in any magazine ever.

All images scanned from World of Interiors, March 2007
"Country Fare" photographed by Lois Crighton



You may recognize this townhouse from Toast's catalogue and movie from last season. This Georgian period house is located on Henrietta St on the northside of Dublin city centre. The street was originally laid out in 1729 and the houses are big by standards of the time, four or five bay wide. The residents were equally grand, including some of the wealthiest aristocratic families of Ireland.

Images from Romantic Irish Homes by Robert O'Byrne, with photography by Simon Brown, published by CICO Books



These pictures were taken of Bonnettstown by Andrew Bush between 1979 and 1982. Bonnettstown was built in built in 1737 and is located in Co. Kilkenny. As a family we used to visit old grand houses like Lissadell, Russborough and Powerscourt. This style of ruined grandeur is buried very deeply in my consciousness. I respond to it immediately. I know its smells and textures. And it's a part of home that I often miss.

Thanks Lynne for asking me to participate! To read more of my posts about Ireland, click here.

Happy St Patrick's Day, Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

Becky Broome Textiles

Becky Broome textiles are inspired by the social history of mid 19th Century Britain, integrating Post Office savings, co-op and rent book ephemera into her designs. Her range includes aprons, tea cosies, tea towels and cushions, and are available from her website.

In other news, Tea for Joy sponsor Le Petit Boutique is offering 10% discount off her lovely vintage finds until next Tuesday, if you enter teaforjoy at checkout. And, tomorrow I have a St. Patrick's Day post from an Irish guest blogger which I guarantee you will love.

Tea of the week: Irina Graewe

Elegant images styled by Irina Graewe.

Wednesday workspace: Jasna Janekovic

Do you see what I see? Another crate! And in a radical departure, a painted crate! What do you think? This home belongs to Cologne-based graphic designer Jasna Janekovic, who has just been interviewed at SF Girl By Bay.

Photos via Jasna's Flickr. PS Only just realised it is, in fact, Thursday!