Olivia Jeffries

I've always loved art which uses old books or paper, and these drawings by Olivia Jeffries are no exception. I've bookmarked all of the above on Etsy as I'd love to own one of these quiet, peaceful pieces (I think the rear view is my front runner - what do you think?) She has a blog, too.

1. Drawn $17.50 2. Candid rear view $17.50 3. Something similar to love $17.50 4. Collage sketch no. 6 $30.

Tea of the week: on a rainy day

On a rainy day by Elena on Flickr.

Five Friday Faves

Thrilled to be sent home early today - so time for some blogging before the bank holiday weekend. (If you're interested in what I do, you can get an idea of what it is from this Biz Ladies guide I wrote for Design Sponge this week.)

• Yum, yum - I want to make these banana, oat and peanut breakfast cookies.
• Love these colour-coded vintage wares (for sale at a fair in Bridport this weekend)
• An amazing photo booth (love the hand-drawn library).
• A second plug for Alice this week but I just love this flower box.
• I've always loved Orange Pekoe so I'm excited to see Emma's new project for them.

What are you doing this weekend? I'm doing a photography course so expect to see a dramatic improvement! (I hope.) Next week I'm announcing the straw styling challenge winner, plus I have some other amazing straw photos I hope to share - so if you're not as interested in striped paper straws as I am (which I totally understand) I'd take a week off!

Have a great weekend.

Photo by Emma Turner - from a friend's hen weekend I went on a few weeks ago.

London love

Bespoke blouses from Etsy London seller Nadinoo, phone box decorated in origami by Central St. Martins' students, London cushions by Michelle Mason.

British blogs

First up, a new (to me) discovery but already a firm favourite, Wish Wish Wish. Student Carrie mainly writes about fashion, but there's a healthy dose of general vintage inspiration - check out her lovely hollow book treasure box. The photos above are from My Sugarland, where's she is currently interning. I love, love, love her blog design too. Thanks, Polly, for the tip-off.

Quaint Living is a photography blog by Oxford-based Alice, and documents lots of lovely excursions around Oxford and beyond (with recent trips to Brighton, London, and Shropshire.) I'm very jealous of her lunchtime picnic in the first photo. (I think I was subscribed to it already, but if not, it was recommended by Caroline, No.)

I like blogs with a very specific subject matter - and Quad Royal fits the bill. This is a blog about vintage posters from the 1940s, 50s and 60s, written by two collectors.

Barefoot Kitchen

The gorgeous beach styling of Cornish shop Barefoot Kitchen really does convince me that I should be living the alfresco beach dining experience their shop is trying to promote.

Wouldn't the bamboo lantern look amazing at a barbeque? The quality of their goods looks impressive, too - I especially like 'Dan's plates', made in 100% solid ash by their next door neighbour.

Tea of the week: Clipper Tea

I've slightly missed the boat on the Alice theme, but I love the packaging of this Alice range at Clipper Tea (all of their packaging is pretty cool.)

Elena Deshmukh

Last summer, I met someone at a picnic who told me that she had a friend, Elena Deshmukh, who made cards. Imagine how excited I was when I checked out her website and found this beautiful range. A few months later I met Elena at a trade fair and she was just as lovely as her cards. At the minute they are only available in shops (see stockists here) but there is an online shop coming soon. Her website is one of the prettiest I've seen, with old books, tea cups and black and white postcards as photo props - just my style.

Tea of the week: Morning tea

Morning tea by Ornamelle on Flickr (lovely blog, too).

Normal blogging service will resume shortly - probably next week.

Missprint

Apologies for not been quite back in full blogging mode - but I have some ideas stirring for when I have a little more time.

I've been meaning to post about Missprint for ages. A five minute lunchtime blogging break between deadlines means that all I'll say is that I just love their retro prints, especially their wallpapers. I'm still looking for a wallpaper for my hallway and their bright yellow Saplings design is definitely a contender (I spotted it in situ at Zoe's blog, here.)

On a totally unrelated issue, last weekend I went to the Butterfly Explorers exhibition at the Natural History Museum (huge butterflies flying about) and it was amazing.

Back to the grind.

Tea of the week: Jasmine Tea

Blooming jasmine tea by Chocokat on Flickr.

Just a reminder that today is the last day for entries to the straw styling competition - see the entries so far here. I have two other lovely judges lined up so hopefully I can announce the winner soon!

Guest posting at Plush Palate

Today I'm guest posting at Plush Palate while Crystal is on a European adventure. If you'd like to see some of my holiday inspirations, visit here.

Photos from Casa Camper.

New feature: British blogs

I'm back from my blogging hiatus feeling very refreshed and with lots of new ideas. The first is a feature highlighting three new British blogs I have recently discovered. It won't be every week, but just as and when I find good ones to share - which is where I need your help. I already have a British blogroll, which you can see in my right column, but I love to discover more. Do you have any good suggestions of ones I may not have seen?

Miss Pickering is written by a florist based in Lincolnshire whose shop I know I'd love if I visited - flowers in vintage jugs and a selection of vintage items for sale sounds exactly my style. The arrangements on her website are stunning. (Spotted on 27 Years Later.)

That Kate is an inspiring photography-based blog, documenting the adventures of Kate as she is out and about in London and beyond.

Technically not a British blog, Found, now home is written by American Leigh - but as she's just relocated to London with her family, I've included her as an honorary British blogger! She has always had a great eye for vintage home finds, so I can't wait to see what she finds here. Leigh spent some time in London last year and photographed lots of lovely London shops, so I'm sure we will see more of the same.

Tea of the week: tea jars on sill

Tea jars on sill by Julia Stotz. Not sure I would go to this much effort for styling purposes - but, don't they look so pretty?