Kitsch Devine by Amy Gaston

This is the second of what I hope will be many product reviews. Having scoured the internet for great products, that are quirky, handmade and affordable that would make the perfect gift for your loved ones, or more than likely, yourself! The first was featuring the amazingly talented Alexandra Snowdon and can be found Here
 

 

 

Kitsch Devine is run by Amy Gaston who lives in Buxton in the Peak District. 

Her shop features so many gorgeous accessories, from pencil cases, messenger bags , phone cases, keyrings and hanging decorations, all hand made by Amy. 

This is Amy's story in her own words:
'I started sewing about 4 years ago after my parents brought me my first sewing machine for Christmas, I didn't actually start making things until about a year later. I had bought myself a handmade phone case from Etsy and remember thinking how well made and professional it looked and how much I wished I could make things like that. So I set to and trawled the internet for free sewing patterns. After hundreds (or what felt like it!) attempts, me and my mum finally came up with something that looked pretty good - our first phone case! Kitsch Devine was born!

Since then over the last two years I have improved at sewing and I'm now designing my own products and making my own patterns. I use everyday items as inspiration, like what items do I need, and how can I make them as functional as possible. For example, my Iphone wallets that allow you to carry all of your essentials in one place.

At the moment I run Kitsch Devine alongside my day job, using evenings and weekends to get my orders done, which can be tough at busy times such as Christmas. Fingers crossed one day I will be able to run it full time.

I'm currently working on some new travel accessories for 2013 which I can't wait to get up in the shop, and I've got some gorgeous new fabrics heading this way from Japan!'

 

When she offered to send me one of her items I knew it had to be the Cakes and Sweets Pencil Case which can be found here. It's made of water resistant fabric and fully lined, with the sweetest (literally!) pink printed fabric. It arrived beautifully packaged and I couldn't be more chuffed. Considering Amy has 100% positive feedback I'm certainly not the only one!

 

One of the things I really like about Kitsch Devine now that I've received a product for real is the photography. That might sound a bit silly but her items are so well photographed you can clearly see every detail of each item including the lining, zips etc. You know exactly what you're getting which is a massive bonus when you're buying handmade goods online.

 

 

Nothing that comes in hot pink tissue paper can be bad can it?

 

 

It most definitely wasn't! I'm so pleased with it, the colours are bright and the fabric is a wonderful quality, not too thin and I think it will take alot for even me (serial zip breaker) to break this bad boy.

 

 

 

The lining is gorgeous and the colour fits the outer fabric perfectly. The corners are incredibly neat and there are no stray threads anywhere!

 

 

It's already been put to good use!

 

Here's a few of my favourite products available at Kitsch Devine;

 

Zakka Colourful Dot Print Zip Up Pencil Case - £8.00

 

 

Steampunk Octopus - IPhone 5 Case - Charmed Collection - £15.00

 

 

Vintage Style Paris Print - Travel Pouch / Mini Messenger Bag - £16.00

 

 

So a massive thank you to Amy, and to the rest of you please please check out Kitsch Devine for yourself.

Snowdon - Handprinted Paper and Textile Goods by Alexandra Snowdon

It's that time of year again where your funds have recovered from Christmas, the spring clean and redecoration is in full swing, Mother's day is just around the corner and it feels like every day is someone's birthday. This will be the first in a series of many product reviews. I have scoured the internet for great products, that are quirky, handmade and affordable that would make the perfect gift for your loved ones, or more than likely, yourself!

 

 

 

Alexandra Snowdon from the countryside surrounding Manchester is a designer, illustrator and print maker with a range of beautiful prints, cards, bags and accessories for your home all for sale across her two Etsy shops Snowdon (for the bags, cards and accessories) and Snowdon Prints for the fine art prints that she does by hand.

 

 

 

When I contacted Alex to tak about being featured here she kindly offered to send me the print of my choice and I knew straightaway that I desperately wanted the New Experiences Hot Air Balloon Print. She popped it in the post to me and within 24 hours it's now hanging on my wall!

 

 

As soon as I saw this when I walked in the door I knew I was in for a treat!

 

 

 

(Now I want that Washi tape too Alex!)

 

 

The print arrived in a hard backed strong board envelope which was ideal for two reasons - absolutely no marks or creases, and also, no having to fiddle with a poster tube and ripping or marking the edge of the print. Poster tubes are a pet hate of mine! Then once out of the envelope the print was safely covered in a polylope type plastic envelope as well.

 

As soon as it was unwrapped I laid it out and just admired it for a good few seconds! The detail is absolutely fantastic, and so sharp. It's the perfect size for the image, not too big that you can't hang it anywhere and not so small that you can't read the text from across a room. The paper quality is fantastic and the finish superb.

 

 

I already had the perfect frame for it, a white plain wooden frame from IKEA - I'm so pleased, because I couldn't wait to put in up!

 

 

Apologies, my photography skills aren't the best and it's hanging right opposite my window. Please be assured, I am very picky when it comes to art - and I love this print.

 

These are a few of my favourite's from Alex's shop:

 

 

 

 

There are many more prints in a whole range of designs on Fine art prints by Snowdon, and as a special offer just for you lovely lot, Alex has kindly offered a 15% discount on any print purchase, just by entering the code 'MINDPURGE' at the checkout.

 

Thank you so much for my beautiful new print Alex and I hope many more of you pick one up too!

Oh Deer!

Oh the dangers of seeing something cute, pug related and pricey on the day your new credit card arrives!

I recently picked up this Oh Deer Pug and Poodle Cushion from Urban Outfitters (you can see more here) I've admired this cushion for ages and chanced upon it the other day, I couldn't resist!

It arrived yesterday and I am so chuffed with it, it's a lovely soft suede type fabric, tan coloured on the back and with the gorgeous print on the front. It's very good quality and a really good size.

I managed to get the last one - it's fate! but they have other designs from the same brand Oh Deer! and I'm sure it'll be back in stock soon. Pricey at £40 but worth it in my eyes!

Voulez Vous Coucher Avec Moi?

If you're anything like me, your bed is your world. I own more bedding than clothes and I'm so easily tempted for more, even though I have literally nowhere to store anymore! Maybe I need a second bed...

This is what's tempting me at the moment;

Pansy Print - H&M (H&M bedding in my experience is really reasonably priced, and a nice quality)
with matching curtains.. bliss!

Tree print by Ben de Lisi at Debenhams (gender neutral to appease the other half!)

Butterfly Home by Matthew Williamson at Debenhams - The dull grey is so pretty. You could pick out one colour of the butterflies to match to a pillowcase/sheet/curtains/rug - anything!

Grey and Black Pinstripe (reversible) by Next at Home - Another gender neutral one, I think this would love amazing in a Scandinavian style room, with bare wood and lots of natural light. Nautical, without being novelty.

Love is in the Air

It's that time of year again, dreaded by men and singleton's all over the globe (I love my job because single or not there's always a supplier to bring me flowers or cake!)

These days I think it's cool to be cynical and 'oh it's so commercial' and yes your love should be good to you all year round, but it's nice for the day to be marked.

Here's whats on my wish list this Valentine's Day;

 

1) Come on Baby Light My Fire - Boxed mixed media display by Brigitte Herrod. £59.00 - Here

 

 

2) Heart measuring spoons. £3.95 - Here

 

 

3) Bunny Ring Holder. £10.00 - Here

 

 

4) Penhaligons Elixir Candle. £32.00 - Here

 

 

5) Lazy Oaf Card. £3.50 - Here

Marc B - ASOS - E-tailPR Blog - Competition Entry!

I will openly admit that I hadn't heard of Marc B before I saw this competition on E-tailPR's blog.

Having recently signed up to EtailPR (and now an approved blogger for them, eek!) I thought this competition looked amazing and I couldn't not give it a go.

 

I had to put together a dream outfit from ASOS based around a Marc B bag, and once I'd taken a look at the bags, oh my, it wasn't hard! I can't believe I've never heard of them before, competiton or not I will definitely be making a purchase!

 

Here's my dream outfit;

 

I based this around the amazing Lottie Camel Ostrich bag, which is a gorgeous nude colour, that would go with pretty much anything! To go with the bag it had to be, black skinnies (everyone needs some right?) and what better brand than Religion. Up top I went for this beige lace effect blouse (perfect for work or pleasure!) For the shoes I had to go for something sky high to make the skinnies look even better, so I went for these Black parade platforms. No outfit is complete in my eyes without a timepiece, and I've been eying this one up for quite some time..the most amazing Vivienne Westwood leather watch, elegant, understated, ah I want it now!

 

 

What do you think of my outfit choice, and more importantly, what's yours?

Enter the competition yourself by finding out more here

 

 

Crafty Creatives Box 7 - SPOILER ALERT!

First up - SPOILER ALERT!

 

Now that's out of the way, it's that time again, Crafty Creatives box number 7 arrived with most of us this week. Here's my little look through this months box.

 

 

After the first glimpse you know immediately it's going to be a good one! This month's is a Nature/Woodland theme and boy is that a good choice! This may well be my favourite box, the quality and quantity of the items gets better every month, this one is so packed!

 

The art card this month is so pretty, it's definitely going on my wall!

 

The first thing I pulled out was these three birch hearts. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them but I LOVE them, we had a huge silver birch tree in my garden when I was growing up and I always got told off for peeling the flaky silver paper-like bark off. These are so tactile and they look lovely, great start!

 

 

Next up, two lovely porcelain fox beads. I think these would make great earrings!

 

 

5 metal leaf charms - I'm thinking a tiered droplet necklace for these babies...

 

 

Loads! of wooden leaf buttons - I'm already planning a tree on canvas, with embroided trunk and background.

 

 

Owly fabric - this is so cute! This would make gorgeous childrens clothes, maybe bunting!

 

 

Large metal owl pendant - This would obviously make a lovely necklace, but has anyone done anything else more original?

 

Pinecone - This is definitely being spray painted!

 

Skeleton leaves - These would lovely on a notebook or against some dark fabric

 

I love these! Glass toadstool beads, so sweet, these are definitely going on a bracelet!

 

Flower soft - I'm not entirely sure what this is, but it looks fun! Time for some research....

 

 

And this month's kit is...

 

 

Needle felting! This is fab and right up my street, I can't wait to get felting, but I am a little scared about the barbed nedle!

 

 

I officially now have two favourite days - Pay day, and Crafty Creatives day!

 

Roll on the next one, maybe a valentines theme..?

Crafty Creatives Box 6 Review - Spoiler Alert

Sorry for being a little late on this, but here's my look through box number 6 from Crafty Creatives.

The theme, as it is December, is Icy!
Slightly unusual but nice to have something a bit different from the traditional twee Christmas theme, so this is what's included in this month's box;

A nice litle extra - 3 Crafty Creatives pin badges.

 

Choker wire - what a fab idea! I would never have thought of making a choker necklace, but I can't wait to find a suitable pendant to go on this!

 

 

Paillettes - I have an idea in mind for these so watch this space..!

 

 

Glass drop pendants - I feel a keyring comng on!

 

 

Shirring Elastic - I've already used this to secure a bundle of fimo canes for my blog giveaway, I'm sure they'll be a lot more uses to come for this.

 

 

Icy glass beads - two lovely snowflakes and a handful of beads

 

 

Two glass hearts in a lovely little organza bag

 

 

Ice furry white wool - I'm so chuffed with this and I know exactly what I'm doing with it!

 

 

String of fluorite gemstones - apparently this is known as the genius stone which very much appeals to my ego! I like it as it is but I'm going to divide it up and make lots of goodies out of this!

 

 

 

 

 

And finally the kit this month is....

 

A bath bomb kit!

This isn't what I was expecting at all.. although when ever is it!

The kit contains all the ingredients you need to make them - I have so far made two using the moulds provided and have at least half of the mixture left so it's really great economy. They're so simple to make I can't believe I've never made them before, you just mix the ingredients together, add an essential oil (the kit contains a gorgeous orange one) mould, and leave to dry.

 

 

I used my first one in the bath last night and it was great, the scent was amazing! I have very sensitive skin so I was a little worried about making/using these but no issues whatsoever.

 

 

So top marks once again Crafty Creatives, having this little treat through my door every month (usually towards the end of the month when funds are running a little low!) is a brilliant pick-me up and always inspires me. Thank you!

 

What have you made with your kit this month?