Black and white...

...{and some variations thereof}; 1. Natural History cushion {£70}, 2. Danielle Banks print {£10}, 3. Lisa Stickley magazine bag {£28} 4. Orla Kiely Abby bag {£245} 5. Lisa Stickley egg cup {£5.60}, 6. Mitchell and Peach hand cream {£17}, 7. NW3 shoes {£101.40.}

Blodwen General Stores

Blodwen General Stores sells traditional Welsh crafts from rural artisans, such as handturned bowls, antique Welsh shawls and jams and chutneys made from local ingredients. A selection above; iphone cover {£35}, ash bowl {£85}, Mamgu's wild rose collection {from £25}, bronze enamelled dish {£60.}

Tea of the week: A cup with a handle

A cup with a handle print {£12.45} by Mrs Eliot Books {shop, blog.}

Wednesday workspace: Marion Bataillard

I never tire of artist's tools and palettes, the crustier the better *rushes to ebay to see if there's such a thing as old wooden palettes {for styling purposes}.* This is the studio of Marion Bataillard, photographed for an interview with Freunde von Freunden. Love her portraits, too.

Photos Maxime Ballesteros.

Keiko Oikawa

At the weekend, I had a moment of 'whatever happened to...' while perusing another beautiful photography blog, This is Naive. I remembered a UK-based Japanese photographer, Keiko Oikawa, whose food photos and blog had once blown me away. I easily tracked her down {I included her blog, Nordljus, in my roundup of 50 top food blogs a few years ago}, and my heart swelled. Can someone teach me how to take stunning photos like these, please?

Photos used with permission from Keiko Oikawa.

Deal of the month: Oh Joy cards

I'm experimenting with offering special Papermash deals here, as {think Groupon, on a teeny scale.*} These will be one-off deals, probably once a month, and in a limited quantity. If I pick items which are light in weight, the postage charge will be lower than my normal standard rate.

My first deal is this set of two blank 'a note' cards, by Oh Joy, which have a metallic design - I love writing on dark cards in metallic ink. Originally £2.95 each, I'm offering 5 sets of 2, including postage, for £4 each. UK only please. You can pay with the paypal button below. Please ensure you complete your shipping address correctly.

SOLD OUT

*Have you seen this site, Philanthroper.com. It works in a similar way to Groupon, but they feature a charity each day, and the maximum you can donate is $1 or 1 euro. I think it's a brilliant idea.

Rocking Chair

Love this refurbished rocking chair {£195} from Winter's Moon.

Tea of the week: Tchai Ovna

Tchai Ovna {£10} by Winchester-based Etsy artist Antii Sullivan.

Happy weekend + Papermash discount

Wrapping up early as we have summer hours and a half day at work every Friday - so I'm in weekend mode by Thursday evening! Have a lovely weekend! I will be last-minute panicking and trying a new recipe for a lunch party on Saturday, and wondering if I can master caramelised onions in time {any tips, so far they keep burning?}

A Friday treat, 15% off at Papermash until the end of tomorrow {Friday} with code tape. The above are new party banners I love! {I also think the Sweet Dreams banner is perfect for a baby's nursery.}

I haven't collected too many links recently, but this post on Topshop did make me laugh! Enjoy!

Morris and Co stamps

Newly released, these stamps are based on the designs of Morris and Co, established by William Morris.

Below, wallpapers from their archive collections {love the embroideries, too.}

PS Other stamps here, here, here, here, here, oh, and here; I'm noticing a trend!

Yellow Owl workshop at Urban Outfitters

Christine and Evan from Yellow Owl Workshop will be at Urban Outfitters in Spitalfields tomorrow, demonstrating fun printing projects from their book Print Workshop. I was excited to see this event, as I'm very familiar with their work and thinking of stocking their stamps in my shop. Let me know which designs you like!

Blognic Sunday 10th July

So, the exciting news...! I'm helping to organise an informal summer picnic for bloggers (with Ellie), which we've named Blognic! It is going to be on 10th July, in Regent's Park, London and you can register here for more details. You don't have to have your own blog, everyone is welcome! Please help spread the word {feel free to post the invite on your own blog, and we are using #blognic on Twitter.} I hope to see you there!

Embroidered cotton envelopes

...I like from Cologne & Cotton {£10.95}, although any ideas what they are for?

{PS, also like their candy-striped bedlinen.}

{PPS, come back tomorrow for an exciting announcement.}

Tea of the week: tea and reading

An afternoon's reading, with tea from a proper cup {and pistachio biscuits}. Lots of new material, with Midcentury Magazine and Mollie Makes {I especially loved the interview with Dottie Angel.}

The cookbook, Alice's Cookbook , was a gift from a friend. At first I was underwhelmed, by the plain cover, and the lack of photographs, but then the pretty binding kept catching my eye. I noticed the photographs it does have are by Emma Lee, whose food photography I love, I realised I had already made one of the recipes, these delicious blackberry granola muffins. The more I read, the more I was seduced. I adore this book. I can't wait to make raspberry barley water, lemongrass pork buns bowls, chilli jam and her picnic recipes for a 'springtime camper van by the sea.'

What are you reading?

New launch: Midcentury Magazine

A new magazine launch, Midcentury Magazine showcases mid-century design and interiors and the opening issue features the home of Lucy Ryder Richardson, co-founder of London's iconic Midcentury Modern Fair {which moves north of the river this weekend, to Lords cricket ground.}

Sample articles and subscriptions are available on their site, and I even spotted an interesting article by Huma of Her Little Place on the Mad Men effect {I'm convinced it has pushed up prices on mid-century design - do you agree?}

Top photo by Ben Anders, below photos Jonathan Goldberg.

Miller Harris

I've only heard of Miller Harris perfume before - but I love this packaging from my new discovery, their olive oil range {oils, £14 each.}

Unto this Last

I have been a fan of Unto this Last for a long time, but now that they are offering bespoke colour options, even more so! I'm thinking about something in green or yellow...

{Also, some roundups of Friday's Underground Night Market - from Katie and Me Old China; about Richard in a raffle - so true! It was nice to see Becky too, of Shoreditch Sisters fame.}

Tea of the week: tea dresses

Tea dresses from Asos {left, £50 and right, £35.}

Underground Night Market

Tomorrow night, Papermash will be having a stall at Ms Marmite Lover's Underground Night Market in Kilburn. There will be craft stalls, a foodie Dragon's Den and lots of yummy food {I can't wait to try this pulled pork}. I hope to see some of you there! Tickets and lots more information here. I'm not at all organised, but if you mention Tea for Joy, I will try to have some kind of goody bag/lucky dip for you!

{Photos above from stallholders Juiceology, AvaRae17, Galavant and La Cremerie.}

Bank holiday flowers

Today was the only productive day out of the last five, the others spent window shopping, wedding watching and generally lounging around, but today I tidied. My favourite accessory for a spotless kitchen is always a bunch of flowers - these were free {I snipped them from an overhanging neighbour's tree - usually annoying as it blocks a lot of my sunlight, but I have had a few weeks' arrangements out of it.} Milk bottle from Sunbury Antiques market, bowl from Nina Invorm.

Poolside shopping..

...and sunbathing, at the Modern Movement fair at Brockwell Lido this weekend {I loved the little tile tables, of which I saw a few.}