Love From Hetty & Dave

Jack is BACK!!

2012-01-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

After my last blog about the adventures of finding my kitty, I persevered with various cat traps. I caught various other kitties, most of them furious, but decided that after 7 weeks of no signs of Jack maybe it was time to give up...

So I returned the trap to the Cat Protection League, when lo and behold, the next evening we got a call from a lovely lady called Lorna, who was certain she'd nearly caught our little fella, but he'd dashed off just before she had time to grab him.

Next thing he was in an empty house opposite Lorna's, pitifully mewing from within the roof space.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, having identified Jacky's face through a hole in the roof, a lovely chap from the council came along and pulled him out of the roof!

So Mr Jacky Boom Booms has been home just over a week now, and has only just stopped purring day and night!  He's lost just over a kilo- lucky he was a little fatty when he disappeared!

 Apart from the weight loss, he is just purrrr-fect!

And the moral of this story?  Never give up!

Purry Lovings

xx

Trapping Kitties

2011-12-18T12:12:00.001-08:00

The last few weeks have been hectic-ville. And as usual, I decided what better time to move house, than right before Christmas when I am at my busiest with work.

After moving into my new teeny, tiny flat, and having been there for no more than an hour, Mr Jack Cat decided to make a bid for freedom as I came in through the door, and hasn't been seen since... and that was over a fortnight ago. Booooo.

Soooo, I've been leaving food out since he's gone, inside his cat box, and every night, something comes and eats it... although they're not too fond of the cat biccies (classic Jack). After a few days, I stuck some white paper on the bottom of the box, to see what sort of foot prints were going in and out. The outcome? Definitely paw prints.

Then I came up with a rather genius idea of sticking some masking tape, sticky side out, to catch some hairs of this hungry creature. Having only seen a black cat around these parts, I was pretty pleased to find tabby hairs stuck to the tape in the morning. It's gotta be Jacky.

Then Mama suggested borrowing a cat trap, so last Tuesday I contacted the lovely, lovely people at the Cat's Protection League. They told me it was more than likely that Jack is close by, rather than trying to head back to the old house, and lent me this scary looking contraption:

Tuesday night I was convinced I'd have my furry friend back by morning, and had quite a sleepless night, waiting to hear the trap door close. By 5am the food was still untouched, so I popped a bowl of meat just inside the entrance to get him in there... by 7am the food had gone.

Wednesday night I sussed out where to put his bowl to set off the trap.  At 5.45am the trap went bang, and I leapt out of bed, to find the food gone, the trap door down, but alas, the trap was empty, and I could hear some frantic scrabbling over a fence. Houdini cat?

Thursday night, I didn't put the trap out in case it scared him off, and instead set my alarm for 5am.  I figured he came for his food around this time.  I opened the kitchen door, put his food just inside, and snuggled up in the dark, underneath my duvet, and kept watch til 7am, when people started going to work. In this time I saw a cat run past the door, but it was too dark to tell whether it was Jack.

Friday night, I put the trap out again with the biggest mountain of food at the end, convinced that this time it would DEFINITELY get him. By morning, all of the food had gone, but the trap door hadn't gone off.

By yesterday I felt like I was losing the plot to say the least, and just left food out in his box last night.  By morning, the food all gone, and as usual, tabby hairs stuck to the damp bowl.

So, today I went off out with a big old wooden crate and an old cat flap, and paid Papa a visit in his workshop of wonders (I should have taken a photo of it- seriously, every tool you could ever imagine in there, along with amazing vintage car he's restoring), who did a mighty fine job of installing cat flap in box, as well as gluing lead onto the flap to ensure it shuts properly!

Now the latest trap is installed:

Basically, the cat can go in through the flap, but won't be able to come back out, as Dad fitted a clever catch on it (you can see it at the bottom of the cat flap).

The cat trap contains:

Friday's copy of The Sun on the floor (keep him warm, and entertained innit?!)
One bowl of trout in jelly
One bowl of fishy biccies
A cosy fleece blanket
A catnip banana

On top, I have placed my clothes airer, covered with some old calico, and weighed down with some wood.

Thanks to a free Barclays biro, I have propped the flap open a smidge, and left a welcoming few biscuits to lure him in:

Now, all we've gotta do is all keep our fingers and paws crossed that it is Jack that I'll trap, not some random selection of neighbourhood kitties.

Come on Boom Booms, we want you home in time for cuddles at Christmas!

Will keep you posted on the return of Jacky Boom Booms.

Kitty cat lovings xx

Festive Thursday

2011-11-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

On  the 24th of November, Love From Hetty & Dave will be having a  little pre-Christmas shindig in the shop, to celebrate the start of  'Festive Thursday' late night shopping in Pokesdown.

For our  first Festive Thursday, we'll be open til 10pm. There'll be the  opportunity to win a super dooper Christmas hamper of Love From Hetty  & Dave goodies, a chance to scribble down a wishlist, so we can  point your loved ones in the right direction when it comes to pressie  buying, as well as festive music, mince pies, mulled wine etc etc.

Then throughout December, we'll be staying open til 8pm on a Thursday  evening, to encourage you not to spend Christmas Eve frantically  shopping for your loved ones in petrol stations, once the shops have  shut.

Soooo, see you then, if not before at...

Love From Hetty & Dave
864 Christchurch Road
Pokesdown, Bournemouth
Dorset BH7 6DQ

Festive  Lovings xx

This Christmas...

2011-10-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hedley the Hedgehog

2011-10-27T14:58:00.001-07:00

I told you I'd keep you posted on the rugby playing hedgehog commission, so here ya go...

When my lovely, loyal customer Sophie commissioned a brooch of a rugby playing hedgehog called Hedley, I must admit, I did  do a little LOL, but it didn't really surprise me, as a while back, Sophie asked me to make her a rosy cheeked cricketer brooch, to wear while she served up cricket teas!

Anyway, meet Hedley the Hedgehog, mascot of Hitchin RFC...

Here's Hedley before and after stitching and stuffing...

Sophie tells me Hedley the Hedgehog arrived all safe and well this afternoon, just in  time to be worn at tomorrow night's youth section Halloween party at the  rugby club.

So that's another commission, done and dusted.

Next? A tartan sausage dog draught excluder!

Hedgey Lovings

xx

Commission Accomplished

2011-10-25T00:15:00.000-07:00

Lately, it seems I have been inundated with commissions... here's what I've been up to.

Inspired by her pooch Freddie, a rather gorgeous Lakeland terrier...

...here's Donna's Doggy Bag...

A cello brooch for a cellist, whose name I've forgotten- oops!

Some Jimmy's Iced Coffee brooches for our lovely friends at, yep, you've guessed it, Jimmy's Iced Coffee!

Another dog brooch, Poppy- possibly the trickiest commission so far!

Now today's job... a rugby playing hedgehog brooch! I'll keep you posted on this one!

Spikey Lovings

xx

Mollie Makes features State of Craft

2011-10-12T01:15:00.000-07:00

Hoorah! Not long now til the release of new craft book on the block, 'State of Craft'.

And to celebrate, the delightful Mollie Makes magazaine have featured my project contribution in the next issue. 

And this is what it looks like- Super dooooooooper!!

Right, must dash, gotta whip up some cute coffee flavoured commissions now- watch this space!

Ciao ciao!

Bunny lovings

The Wonderful Wiggle!

2011-10-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Sooooo, every now and again, I get commissioned to make a brooch of somebody's beloved pet.

I haven't made any in a while, but here's one I made earlier... the delightful pooch, Wiggle, complete with tweed flat cap, pictured with his equally delightful owner, Karen. 

Here, you can also see the initial template, and all the pieces of leather cut, stuck down, and ready to stitch.

Amazingly, I discovered some long lost hounds tooth print suede, in the dark depths of my leather stash, which was perfect for Wiggle's flat cap!

And here is the finished brooch- stitched, stuffed and ready to go!

This Wiggle brooch was made for Karen's mum, but I have kept the template as I have a feeling this might not be the last Wiggle I make!!

If you'd like to commission your very own pet brooch, prices start from £18, and you can contact me at zoelarkins@gmail.com

You can also see other commissions I have made here. 

Wiggly Lovings

xx

Strawberry Fields Forever

2011-10-01T16:19:00.001-07:00

So, it seems like I might just have a teeny tiny obsession with strawberries.

First came the brooch, then the mouse amongst the strawberries purse.

Next the earrings and necklace.

The shoes...

And in between, amongst other strawberry designs, the upcycled strawberry table cloth skirt.

Then, this week, having spent a day making strawberry brooches and babooshka dolls, the two designs merged...

I thought I'd do a little google image search to see what other  'strawberry heads' were out there, and discovered this beautiful image  by ELSA BESKOW-KORT.

It got me thinking, 'I want a strawberry dress like those ladies!' and  then, on closer inspection, 'I want to ride around (albeit very slowly)  on a snail too!'

Obviously the snail part might be a little tricky, but I am off to hunt  down a lovely, juicy red jumper, to customise into a strawberry top for  winter, complete with leaf collar.

Will keep you posted on progress!

Strawberries and cream lovings

xx

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2011-10-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

Lummy cripes! How time flies!

Bestival came and went in what seems like a flash...

And while there, I managed to dance for an entire night balancing a fruit bowl on my head, a la Carmen Miranda...

You can find out how the fruit bowl came about on this clip:

Took me about a week to recover from Bestival!

Next, a lovely 258 brooch/keyring order flew off to Japan...

And those unfinished medals were only a fraction of the order!

There's been another contribution to another craft book, which is due out next year- I'll tell you more about that nearer the time, and my project from 'State of Craft' will soon be appearing in Mollie Makes, so that's all very exciting!

Next on the agenda are Christmas fairs, so my winter weekends are fast becoming booked up.  Today I started stocking up on vintage wool check sausage dogs in preparation:

But for now, to bed. 

I have something pretty wonderful planned to make tomorrow.

Keep your eyes peeled.

Sleepy Lovings

xx

Exciting Stuff

2011-08-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

So, as the title of this blog may suggest, some lovely, exciting stuff is happening.

Recovering from a fairly traumatic few months, I felt like I was hanging around, impatiently drumming my fingers, waiting for something brillo to occur, and all of a sudden, rather like buses, everything seems to be coming together at once...

Firstly I should mention Mollie Makes magazine. Mmmm, I love it- check it out of you haven't already. It's  raspberry jam packed with lots of delightful crafty and vintage  inspiration. If I could, I would climb inside that magazine and live  within the pages. Divine...

Anyway, I was lucky enough to have my vintage customised Mousie handbag featured in issue 4, so that was rather wonderful!

Second brillo thing on the list of loveliness, is the fab new craft book, 'State of Craft' which comes out in October, and to which I contributed a cute little heart shaped how-to project...

Just a little while longer until the book comes out now, and then you can learn to make this bunny brooch:

Nice.

So anyway, next up, Bestival!

The lovely folk at Secret Emporium have invited me along to trade with them under their delicious pink tent next weekend (8th-11th September), alongside a whole host of other scrummy designers...

So if you're heading to Bestival make sure you pay the Secret Emporium a visit, and don't forget your pocket money!

Oh, and please could everybody pray for sunshine?

Thanks.

And while I'm on the Isle of Wight, my lovely assistant Ali, will be taking 'Love From Hetty & Dave' to Alderholt Vintage and Handmade Fair, which you can find out about here.

Sounds rather splendid if you ask me, so make sure you pop by and get involved!

Now, I must go and do some sewing- lots of things to make, and soon I will be unleashing some new fancy-pants designs on you.

WATCH OUT!!

Soooo, as I may have mentioned before,

exciting stuff...

Mucho lovings

xx

How to Make a Tablecloth Skirt.

2011-07-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, whilst mooching around a car boot sale, I came across this beaut of a table cloth. Hand appliqued strawberries and leaves with a red trim, and lace, it was a total snip at 75 pence!

A couple of weeks ago, I'd bought a this handful of Woman's Weekly magazines, dating back to 1946...

Amongst these tatty old issues, I found some simple instructions on how to make a circle skirt.

The thought of making myself some vintage-inspired, summery skirts had stuck in my mind, and having found this fabbo circular table cloth, where better to start- no hems to stitch is always a bonus for the lazy sewer! So, here's how I did it...

* Measure the largest part of your hips and cut a strip of fabric about 3 inches wide, and whatever your hip measurement is, plus a couple of extra inches.

* Fold your strip in half, width ways, and stitch the length of it, to make your waistband, then turn inside out and thread elastic through.
Make sure it fits comfortably around your waist- you want to be able to breathe.

* Lay out your round table cloth and use the measuring tape to make a circle as large as your hips. Trace the circle out with a pencil, and cut out the hole.

* Next, stitch the edge of your waistband, around the hole in the middle of your table cloth, making sure the ends meet up as close as poss (this is why you add on a couple of extra inches to the strip at the beginning)

* Neatly stitch the open ends of your waistband together, and hey presto! You have a lovely 50s style circle skirt.

What do you reck?

It's so quick and simple, I managed to make it in the time it took to run a bath! The thing that took the longest, was finding where I'd put the elastic!

Strawberry and Cream Lovings

xx

Emerald City

2011-07-13T12:13:00.001-07:00

 Recently I had no choice but to give up on pulling out the white hairs (I hate calling them grey) that appeared to be sprouting on a daily basis.

I decided that there were only two options: Red or Dead. And by dead I actually mean, boring brown.

So red I went, thanks to the fabby Ben at Reef Hair, who is most marvellous with all hair related issues.

And after going this super duper shade of Paloma Faith, all I could think was, 'I NEED AN EMERALD GREEN SEQUIN CARDI!'

Many moons ago I saw one in a vintage shop down Brick Lane. It was hung next to a lovely fuschia sequined shell top, and worn together they would have made anyone look like the juiciest watermelon in Shoreditch.
But alas, I was a penniless market trader back then, and had to just walk on by.

Now, I wish I'd just extended the ol' overdraft a teeny tiny bit more, because I swear I would wear that cardi every single day now, and look like a jazzy leprachaun while I was at it.

Anyway, on my fruitless search for a shiny, emerald wonder, I came across some super sequined leaf motifs...

And a week previously, a sweet knitted short sleeved sweater in the most perfect of greens, I discovered hidden away in the basement of Clobber.

And so a union of gorgeous greens was met...

And I get a splendid sparkly top, fit for the Emerald Palace.

Luscious Lovings

xx

Productivity a-go-go!

2011-06-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

Oh my giddy aunt’s pyjamas, it’s been a pretty productive week!

After deliberating over the last 7 months whether to close the shop on Wednesday, I finally took the plunge, and oh my, how good did it feel!?

So this Wednesday, I did the following:

Finished stitching 20 keyrings

Caught up on Eastenders (my guilty pleasure)

Also caught up on The Apprentice (I love Lord Al!)

Watched a terrible Ashton Kutcher movie

(I really don’t see the Ashton attraction!)

Tidied my bedroom- finally discovered the floor

Did 3 loads of washing

Made and photographed 11 cashmere slugs

And just had a lovely ol' time hanging out with Jaccqui Boom Booms

He was not massively impressed with the slug invasion though.

Anyway, shop news…

Lots of splendid new stuff has arrived this week.

Here’s a little taster of just some of the delights:

The brillo Nick Frith brought in a lovely bunch of greetings cards

The amazing Swimmer girls have been busy knitting and stitching some fabby cushions

And new addition Lucie Ellen’s wonderful, wonderful wooden jewellery. I heart it.

(Another of Nick's brill cards has sneaked in there!)

Totally LOVING the typewriters!

  And after selling the 1970s shopper bike out of the window, it was time for a new window display featuring one desperate housewolf:

She's called Iris. Or previously known as Ian. She's had some gender issues...

Anyway, off to bed now, ready for a busy day in the shop tomorrow.

Sweet dreams and lovings

xx

Apron Antics

2011-06-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

I love a good skirt or dress in the summer, and it's always a bonus when I discover a pocket in said skirt/dress. More often than not, this is a bit of a rarity.

I also love vintage fabrics...

But, when a snazzy vintage skirt comes along, it's ALWAYS a teeny tiny size, which wouldn't stand a chance of going over my hips.

Anyway, then I discovered Dottie Angel and her love of vintage half aprons,

And so a 'Stepford wives meets Grandma' obsession begins. I need pinnys- aprons is where it's at!

I bought one a while back, on a crazy whim.
Pink, green, and lovely 50s rose print fabric.
What more could a girl ask for?!

But what to wear it with...

And then it dawned on me, let's team up all those pretty, but a bit too plain for my liking, skirts I had collected over the years, with a pinny, AND WITH A POCKET TOO! Hoorah!

Now I can permanently look like a wonderful domestic goddess, on the brink of a cake baking episode, AND have my phone/thimbles/needle and thread close to hand. Perfection.

This is my latest and most favourite pinny... from my ace neighbour Leah, at Vintage Per Sempre.

Goes perfectly with my ancient pink cardi.

I heart pinnys.

Apron love

xx

A Quick Catch Up on What I've been Doing.

2011-06-02T15:28:00.000-07:00

Whoa there! It's been while crocodile since I last wrote...

Been a super busy bee as usual.

The monster sized order part 2, has been shipped, so I 'just' have 246 keyrings to make which leave at the end of the month, then it's business as normal... whatever 'normal' is nowadays!

So, in between stitching like a maniac, here are some more leisurely things I've been doing and making...

I made myself a strawberry necklace and matching earrings- a creative distraction from what I was meant to be doing, but rather juicy.

I went to a fabby knitting exhibition at Bournemouth Library. Very inspiring. I want to knit radishes, and beehives and dog poos too.

I made some Babooshka doll brooches, which I've been meaning to do for a couple of years, and put to use some beautiful Liberty Tana Lawn fabric I'd been saving for something special

I then went on to repeatedly watch
Kate Bush singing Babooshka on YouTube 

I was a bridesmaid at a lovely wedding...

(In hindsight, probs shoulda waxed the 'tashe first)

...with lots of balloons...

And amongst all these events, I went a bit flamingo crazy:

Flamingo Rosette- you can buy one here for a mere fiver.

I bought, then today, sold, a rather brilliant flamingo picture, perfect for a boudoir:

I made some o' these, which you can purchase here

Bobbing flamingos (available in the shop)

And I couldn't resist a metre of this fabulous fabric:

What I will do with it, I'm not entirely sure, although I am quite fixated on vintage half aprons at the mo (which I will embellish on at a later date) so maybe a flamingo pinny is the way forward?

Anyway, until next time... I will try not to disappear for quite so long.

Pink flamingo lovings

xx

Handbags at Dawn

2011-05-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

I have been waking up super early recently, and unable to get back to sleep without have some sort of anxiety related nightmare.

This morning I thought I'd use the opportunity to list the customised vintage handbags I've been creating recently...

Firstly the mouse bag, which I must admit, I am fighting the urge to keep myself!

It's here if you fancy a look.

And having gone a bit mad on Bluetits this Spring, the Bluetit bag is finally on the website and up for grabs...

You can take a peek and buy it here

I can't deny I'll be sad to see the pair go, but there's more in the pipeline, so keep your eyes peeled!

Handbag lovings

xx

EGGS LOGS

2011-04-21T01:36:00.000-07:00

This Easter, I've come over all generous, and as I can't get to every single one of you to give you a delicious choco easter egg, a lovely discount code to use on the website will just have to do...

For 20% off all your orders from now until Monday 25th April, use the code: EGGSLOGS in homage to our fave farm sign down here in the South!

Order here NOW!

Eggs Logs Lovings

xx

Facial Hair Growing Antics

2011-04-12T00:12:00.001-07:00

Since the boy has been growing a moustache and gone all dandy, I thought maybe now was a good time to bring back the moustaches...

So the brooches are back in a choice of black or brown...

And the double sided necklace is available HERE.

Brown on one side, black on the other- how very versatile?!

And did you know, that when one has a moustache, cup and saucers designed especially for one's facial hair can be used for drinking tea, to avoid melting one's moustache wax... FAB!

I now know what to get the boy for his birthday!

Bristle Faced Lovings

xx

Soft Boiled Egg and Soldiers, Anyone?

2011-04-11T15:51:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy couple of months, what with the gigantic Japan order, but last Friday saw the first 500 fly off, which was a huge relief.  Just another 550 or so to go now!

So anyway, I have been desperate to do some new designs, and last Sunday, after a visit to the Russell Cotes Museum (or as I like to call it, Russell's Coat Museum) and their Food For Thought Exhibition, I had a brain wave.

On seeing Diane McLellan's fab food paintings, more specifically her 'Boiled Egg and Soldiers' painting, I decided it was time for something a teensy bit Easter-y, and this is what I came up with...

Yup, drippy, dippy soft boiled egg brooches, with a choice of white or brown bread soldier!

But I didn't want to just leave it at that... I've made retro red and white polka dot egg cups too:

And what better way to decorate your neck this Easter, than with a dippy egg necklace!

So, as from today, all of these eggy delights are available to buy on the website here.

Over the next few weeks, I will be having a bit of a product cull on the online shop, to make room for exciting new products, so if there's something you're after that you've been eying up for an age, now might be the time to grab it!

Anyways, off to bo-bo's now- it's been a busy day.

Scrambled Egg Lovings

xx

Poorly Head

2011-03-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

The busy-ness is never ending at the moment, which is how I've ended up with a stinky ol' cold, and stayed in bed for much of the day today, with my fave little buddy, Jacky Boom Booms:

So this has given me a chance to catch up with some reading:

And of course some sewing...

But the good news this week, was receiving this stunning Austrian magazine in the post on Monday:

And finding my cupcake necklaces adorning a page within:

Such a lovely magazine, if only I understood German!

You can check out Material Girl here, and buy the cupcake necklace here.

Anyway, I'm off to bathe in some Vicks vapour rub...

Ciao for now cupcakes!

Snot Face Lovings

xx

Spring has Sprung... kinda

2011-03-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

My blogging has become slack, slack, slack again, and for this I am sorry, but I have been a super busy bee recently with a gigantic big order.

Anyway, in between stitching the big order, like a mad woman I've snuck in a couple of new designs-  nothing like a bit of avoidance tactic creativity!

So with spring on the way, and the sun shining, a new birdy design flew into my brain...

Blue tits: the epitome of Spring, yes?

Here's a couple that landed in the shop, on top of a suitcase of lovely vintage jumpers...

And here's me wearing my new favourite vintage jumper, and a lovely pair of tits...

In other news, at the beginning of the month, I took part in the fabbo Boscombe Vintage Market. This takes place every first Saturday of the month at Boscombe Crescent, and is a pretty marvellous day with lots and lots and LOTS of super lovely people selling gorgeous handcrafted and vintage goodies, and many wonderful, friendly customers.

I managed to spend practically all the money I made, and one particular beaut of a buy was a Fairisle tank top in candy colours, but in a teeny tiny size... I just couldn't resist.

After trying it on, and the boy looking at me in mild disgust as it squidged down my boobies and looked like some sort of terrible knitted bra gone wrong, I offered it to my sister. She's a lot smaller than me, and it was still a squeeze, so this is what I did with the wonderful tank top...

I made it into these two cute cats, Bertie and Bill.

You can buy them online here, but be quick because there's only one of each.

You'll meet Frankie in the shop too:

Frankie is quite a hit with the ladies...

Anyway, that is all for now- I have loads more I could write about, but I'll save some for another day.

Spring Time Lovings

xx

I went to the shops and bought...

2011-02-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

Well, I went to the shops with the intention of buying a new phone.

This is what I came home with:

A pair of amazing/disgusting leopard skinny trousers, 2 pairs of lovely woolly tights, a spangly beret, and a chunky necklace which I have been non-stop wearing.

Oops.

Think I'll just order the phone online- can't be trusted to go anywhere near the shops!

Lovings

xx

Valentine's, Schmalentines...

2011-01-22T16:20:00.000-08:00

I know it's a few weeks away, but being a little romantic at heart, I couldn't resist getting those Valentine's goodies up on the website...

I've been busily making teeny tiny rosettes, using the cutest little Love Heart buttons- they look a little too convincingly like the sweets, but I'm pretty certain they won't be quite as sugary!

They are available to buy online here for the small sum of £5, and each come pinned onto a Love From Hetty & Dave display card...

You best be quick though, as there is only one of each design.

So I know a lot of people HATE Valentine's day... they are usually single... and some people totally relish in the fact that they have an excuse to be as slushy and romantic as possible, so how do you feel when it comes to L.O.V.E?

Does it ROCK? Or does it SUCK?

You can get your own brooch, telling the world your opinion of love, right here!

And not only in red, but in leopard print too.

Anyway, that's all for now my pretties.

Love Love Lovings

xx

The Cat in The Shoe

2011-01-15T02:50:00.000-08:00

Since opening the shop, I have kept meaning to write about all the gorgeous designers I stock, so today I will tell you all about the super dooper Cat in The Shoe.

Lovely Lucy is the lady behind the Cat in the Shoe creations, and these are just a few of the beautiful pieces I have in store...

The Pumpkin Girls... they will set you back £30 each.

Mr & Mrs Porkpie...

Although, due to irreconcileable circumstances, Mrs Porkpie left her husband before Christmas, to go and live with a nice lady called Alice.

Mr Porkpie is now young, free and single.... He WLTM a lady with GSOH but NSA. He comes with a price tag of £32.

All of Lucy's creations are handmade in London by her fair hand, and made using a mixture recycled, vintage and new materials.

WE LOVE 'EM!!

Pork Pie Lovings

xx

Knitting Plans and Patterns

2011-01-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

Look! Look! Look!

I finished knitting the anchor!!

And check out the super cute knitting needle box my dear friend Anna-Camp-Anna-Campino gave me for Christmas.  Coincided conveniently with my new knitting craze!

So now I have decided to knit another anchor, and a long stripy gusset to make it into a bag. And then I will attach to these rather lovely vintage wicker handles, a friend of Big Nan gave me...

Quite lovely aren't they!?

Once the anchor bag is complete (I will post some photos up), lovely Liverpool Laura of Milo's has suggested I have a go at creating this pretty mega skate get-up!

I am particularly loving the knitted knee pads, which are sure to protect from any scrapes!

A-MAZ-ING!

Anyway, that's all for now...

Extreme Skate Knit Lovings

xx

New Year Knitting

2011-01-05T03:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to one and all!

Hope you all had a truly marvellous Christmas and New Year.

This year I decided against making resolutions as such, but mentally made a list of little things I wanted to achieve rather than a list of things I want to give up.

Number one on that list was to get to grips with knitting, in particular fairisle.

I already knew the basic knit one, purl one malarks, and having knitted a variety of snake scarves in the past involving stripes, wondered 'how hard can it be?'

Not that hard it turns out.  This was my first attempt:

Having figured out you've gotta twist the wool in the back to stop it getting too tight and too messy, I had a go at a snow flake design I copied from my slippers, and added my own heart...

I will at some point do some more pattern on this, but I was so excited, that I've abandoned it for the time being, and started an anchor pattern:

I'm trying to decide between making it into a bag, or making lots more in different colours, and stitching them together to make a blanket.

Now all I can think about is knitting.  Today I'm attempting to start my tax return, but all I can think about is patterns.

Anyway, I guess I'd better get back to those receipts for now...

Knit one, purl one lovings

xx

Back to Work...

2010-12-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

It was back to work for me yesterday, which was quite a relief as I was getting quite bored with all the eating, and telly watching.

So down came the Christmas tree, the stockings, cards and baubles, and the window displays changed to a New Years Eve party theme!

We've gone for a bit of a black and gold feel, not that you can really tell, as there are so many reflections from the window:

Sybil Squirrel has had an outfit change too...

Feeling rather pleased with the new window displays, today I decided to change the shop about a bit.

My sister came and helped out, along with her trusty saw, to chop off the top of some shelves.

By 5pm I was wishing I'd never started, and abandoned it, to finish off tomorrow!

Here are some bits I did finish though:

And this is what I've got to face tidying and sorting out tomorrow!!

Wish me luck!

Organised Lovings

xx

A Handful of Gorgeous Presents

2010-12-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

Whoa there!  Second blog of the day?!

So yup, I found my camera, and here are just a few of my favourite pressies I've received...

From my thoughtful and lovely boyfriend, I was given this beaut of a bear for my birthday, a couple of weeks ago- A 1971 Gabrielle Paddington, complete with the dinkiest red Dunlop wellington boots

And for Christmas he gave me this hilarious and quite grotesque A Ferlay jug, who I have named 'Milk Tits':

I LOVE her!!  You put milk in her back, and it pours out through her nipples. So, sooo good!

And because he's a gigantic romantic, he made me this with his crafty paws:

It's me, holding a rolled up poem he wrote for me last Christmas. What a lovely sweetheart!

Following on from the handcrafted pressies is this brillo Red Arrow brooch, hand made by my super talented big sister for my birthday:

We are both gigantic Red Arrow fans, so this will totes be worn during Bournemouth Airshow 2011!

A couple of years ago, our Mum was sorting through her old doll collection, amongst which was a lovely Newquay fisherman. I swiftly grabbed it, only for my darling sister to stop talking to me, for about an hour.  We had quite literally regressed to being little girls again, fighting over dollies!

Eventually, I let her have the doll, on condition she made me an exact replica for Christmas, and that was what she did!

I adore him, and love that she made him a local, Mudeford fisherman.

Super talented lady she is!

Anyway, that is just a mere handful of loveliness that I received- I'd be here all day if I listed them all.

Spoilt? Moi?!

So, that is all for today, hope you all got gorgeous gifts galore, and if you didn't, the shop re-opens tomorrow, so you can always pop in and buy yourself a lovely treat.

Alternatively, if you are too far away from Bournemouth to come shopping, pay a visit to the online shop, and grab yourself a bargain from the Super Sale section.

Mucho Lovings

xx

Sooooooooooooooper Doops Sale!!

2010-12-28T03:32:00.000-08:00

Hello! Hello!

Hope you've all had a fabby Christmas!

I've eaten my body weight in choco, and had some lovely, lovely pressies, which I will blog about once I unearth my camera!

But for now, let's banish those post Christmas blues with a SUPER SALE!!

Here's just a selection of bargainous goodies to be snapped up...

Metallic sheeny shiny Forever heart brooch, was £25, now a mere £18!!

The very last Apple of My Eye brooch. Was £30 originally, now at a bargain price of £18...

Dinky robot necklace, unearthed from the depths of a dark box, at the bottom of my desk drawer, was £18 now just £12...

Be quick though, as many items are the last ones left!

So if you LOVE something, get in there quick!

Love brooch now £8 (was £14).

Anyway, that's all for now, I'd better get out of bed, and go celebrate a belated Christmas with Pops and co. Must go dig out the wellies, for the annual forest walk.

Fa la la la la la la la lovings

xx

Christmas News...

2010-12-20T01:50:00.001-08:00

So much has happened in the last month or so, hence me being a little rubbish at blogging, so here's a little of what's been going on...

The shop is looking very Christmas-y

And a Christmas clothes line has been strung up across the main window:

Sybil the Squirrel won me Boscombe's best Christmas window competition, by modelling a delightful vintage winter outfit, surrounded by lovely gift ideas:

And the prize was two tickets to see Martha Reeves and the Vandellas...

They were ACE!!

In London last week, Mary Portas opened her new Living and Giving  shop in Primrose Hill, and is stocking Love From Hetty & Dave.

And here's the lady herself, wearing her LFH&D brooch:

Anyway, that is all for now.

If I don't blog again before, have a wonderful Christmas!

Mistletoe Lovings

xx

Festive Fabulousnessnessness

2010-11-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas is creeping up, soooo why don't you come along to the Love From Hetty & Dave Christmas Shindig?

Friday 19th November
6pm-9pm

at

Love From Hetty & Dave

864 Christchurch Road
Bournemouth
BH7 6DQ

Partake in some drinking of mulled wine, eating of mince pies, chatting with some lovely people and do some Christmas shopping while you're at it.

And as you're here, feast your eyes on this Christmas-y delight:

Available to buy in the shop, or online here!

PUCKER UP!!

Mistletoe Lovings

xx

Autumnal Goodness

2010-11-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Arghhhhhh, I just wrote a lovely long post, then lost it all, so here I go again...

Firstly, apologies go out to my dear Mama, who was very disappointed to discover I hadn't blogged in a while...

Anyway, the shop has all been going peachy dandy, and after years of working in pretty much isolation from home, with only the cat to chat to, it's quite a novelty talking to all sorts of different people everyday.

Last week I had the lovely Therese come and experience work with me for 3 days, during which she made my fabby OPEN and CLOSED sign, circus styley:

LOVE IT!! Just wish she coulda stayed longer, but I had to let her go back to Stevenage.

Anyway, since the clocks changed, it's suddenly felt very autumnal, and I thought it was time to unleash Sybil Squirrel on Pokesdown:

And now back, due to popular demand, are the acorn necklaces, perfect for squirrels and ladies alike:

If you can't make it to the real life shop, you can buy your acorn treat here.

Acorn lovings

xx

Open for Business!

2010-10-15T02:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has already been a week since the grand opening... and I haven't blogged about it til now!

It was a super doops night, and there must have been over a hundred guests coming and going, so the shop was crammed full all night until I'd decided I'd had enough at 10pm, and we should all go to the pub!

Unfortunately nobody took any photos on the night- I was too exhausted to even think about a camera, but here's a lovely photo of the shop front, for your viewing pleasure!

Anyway, it has been a great week, with lots of people popping in, and all full of compliments for the new shop in the area!

So when you are next in Bournemouth, be sure to pop in to Love From Hetty & Dave at 864 Christchurch Rd, Pokesdown.

Lovings

xx

Shop Shenanigans

2010-10-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Lummy cripes I'm tired.

It's been a busy day, in fact, it's been a busy fortnight.

With only a couple of days left til the grand opening of Love From Hetty & Dave HQ, I thought I would give you a sneaky peak of how it's all looking...

Rather fabby I think, although more than one family member has exclaimed it looks as though my brain has exploded in the shop.  I'm pretty sure this is exactly what it looks like inside my head!

Mega thanks goes out to my amazing sister who stepped in, just at the right point this evening, to merchandise, before I collapsed with exhaustion. And wowzers, did she do a good job!?!

So, unfortunately due to shop duties, I won't make it to the We Make 'Meet the Makers' evening on Thursday, which I am rather gutted about, but just can't fit in a trip to London. Nevertheless, a pair of severed hands and LOVE/HATE rings are on their way up, to go in my show case.

If you happen to be in the Farringdon area on Thursday night, you must pop in to meet some lovely creative people:

And for all you gorgeous Bournemouth based people, I look forward to seeing you on this Friday between 6-9pm for the opening!

Whooooopla!

Super excited lovings

xx

Marvellous Montage

2010-10-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

Soooo, the shop is nearly ready to open, and we have a lovely white wall to fill.

I think it's time for a competition, and as many people live too far away to visit 'Love From Hetty & Dave HQ' I thought, what better way than to be at the shop, if not in person, but in picture instead.

I'd love to see your photos of you wearing your fave piece of Love From Hetty & Dave jewellery. You can post them on the Facebook wall, pop them on Twitpic, as long as you remember to tag @hettyanddave or simply email them to me at hettyanddave@gmail.com

Please send by Friday 16th October. All pictures will be printed off to adorn the shop walls, and the winner will be announced the following week.

And in case you were thinking, I'd love to enter this competition, but don't have a piece of Love From Hetty & Dave jewellery, here's a 15% discount code, to get you collection started... or if you've had your eye on something for a while, here's your chance to get it!

FOTOFUN

Camera lovings

xx

So Far, So Good.

2010-10-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

 We've been busy all week, getting the shop ready for the grand opening on Friday 8th October:

If you are in Bournemouth, do pop along to 864 Christchurch Rd in Pokesdown, between 6pm and 9pm, for drinkies, nibbly bits and you can see what all the fuss is about.

Alongside the leather jewellery and accessory goodness, handstitched by Love From Hetty & Dave, there'll be other British designed and handmade goodies for sale, as well as vintage bits and bobs, and other treats we rather liked and threw into the mix.

Look forward to seeing you then!

Tired Shop Lovings

xx

Shoppy Shop Shop

2010-09-27T00:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a while, mainly because I have been very busy, and wanted to keep a secret til everything was in place, but, I got the keys to my shop on Saturday!  Whooooplaaaa!!

All weekend has been spent painting things white- walls, shelves, us...

Now it's looking super fresh and ready to start doing more interesting stuff, like moving things in.

Here's just a little sneaky peak...

So far, so good.

Now off to move some furniture in... EeeeeK! Exciting!

Shop Lovings

xx

Gee-Gee Jewellery

2010-09-14T02:28:00.001-07:00

After writing about equestrian loveliness, and my A/W Balmoral look, inspired by the Queen, I thought it was about time I started designing some new jewellery, and recycle a few old ideas too.

Here's the double horseshoe necklace, you can buy here:

And a pair of lovely horse head brooches, which are available to buy online here:

And going along with the idea of the pony club, I think the 'Best In Show' rosette is one of my faves.

I've worn mine on my LBD, my pea coat, and on my plain vest.  The possibilities are endless, and they are only £4.  Get one here.

So giddy up fillys, and gallop over to the online shop and get accessorizing your A/W wardrobe, for that country classic equestrian look.

Posh-o Horsey Lovings

xx

Meet the WE MAKE Makers

2010-09-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

While I remember, as I have been a little forgetful of late, I have been invited to show case at the 'Meet the We Make Makers' meeting, and that's a tongue twister if ever I saw one!

So if you are around Farringdon on the 7th October, it will be a lovely opportunity to chat and network with a bunch of crafty creatives. Plus I'll be there!

Here's everything you need to know...

I'll do a reminder tweet nearer the time.

Oh, and if you're not following me on Twitter, just click on the 'TWITTER' heart on the right, and 'follow'.

Twittering Crafty Lovings

xx

BRRRRRRING BRRRRRRRING!! BRRRRRRRING BRRRRRRING!!

2010-09-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

A while back we got a super smart black GPO phone, from the 40s or 50s.  It looked tres cool, but it took a million years to dial a mobile number, and if you had to 'press 3 to bla de bla', you couldn't.

It looked good, but just was not practical, so it had to go. Simple as that.

This gave me the opportunity I have been waiting for since my uni days, when I saw a cheese burger phone in what can only be described as Rochester's Novelty Telephone Shop, and it sold out before the student loan cleared.

So, I got straight on Ebay, and within a week or so, my brilliant cheese burger phone arrived from Singapore and satisfied my hunger for a novelty phone. Or so I thought.

Well, just as I thought you couldn't get much better than a fast food phone, we went car booting on Sunday, and CHECK THIS OUT...

Yesssssssssss, it's only a Pianotel!  Amazingness!

The cord that connects the handset is missing, but thanks to good ol' Ebay, there's a black one on it's way. I pray it will work, as rumour has it, you can actually play a tune on the notes when you dial.

I will keep you posted.

Telephonic lovings

xx

P.S. 14/09/10 - The cord arrived today and the Pianotel works! Hooray! Result.

Super Hero Snazziness

2010-09-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my neighbour Susie asked whether I could conjure up some sort of She-Ra outfit for a super hero party she was going to.  'Yeah, yeah' I replied, and then forgot, and had to quickly cobble something together in a day.

Amazingly I had a pair of gold cowboy boots hanging around (as you do) which were ideal, and conveniently in her size. A red cape was hiding in one of my many fabric boxes, and she had a white dress and hair extensions, so between us, we weren't doing too badly!

After studying She-Ra's head dress, and pretty much drawing up a blank as to how to make it, I just got the scissors out and started sewing regardless. This is what I came up with, and then wore around the house for the rest of the day:

I was pretty impressed with myself and very close to picking the boy up from outside his office wearing it.  Then I thought, as he's in his first week of a new job, he might just finish with me on the spot!

Anyway,  after no time at all, I'd make little gold wings to stitch onto the bust of the dress, along with gold belt, armlets, and gold and blue design, and this is the finished outfit on Miss Susie herself.

Snazzmatron, right?!

Anyway, just for a little nostalgia on a Saturday night, here's the Secret Sword...

Super powered lovings

xx

Vintage Holiday Goodness

2010-08-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I went on holiday, which is why it was all a bit quiet on here. I didn't go far, just went up the coast with my Sister, to Lyme Regis, for epic walks and scones galore.

It's such a beaut of a town, with adorable little, higgledy piggledy, independent shops and delicious ice cream coloured houses:

We did a massive walk on our first day, along the cliff path from Lyme Regis to Seaton, which took 4 hours and practically crippled us for the following day, but we managed to fit in some ace charity shopping.

We were in Bridport when I snapped this up for a pound, much to my sister's disappointment at not spotting it first:

Then in a sweet little vintage shop in Lyme Regis, called Sublyme (do you see what they did there?!) I got this gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS 1950's tea dress for a tenner! I've made a couple of alterations to it, and it is up there in my top 5 dresses now. LOVE IT!

Also, after trying on an extremely overpriced Aquascutum quilted jacket in a charity shop the other day, and seeing all the ace equestrian style stuff in Zara, I couldn't resist this scarf...

Perfect for my winter 'Balmoral' look:

Incidentally, amongst other things, picked this little beauty up in Axeminster for a couple of quids:

And to reassure the boy, I hadn't forgotten about him and the cat, I picked up a pebble from the beach to paint of the three of us on the telly:

And a postcard on the back to him and Jacques Cat...

Anyway, that's all for now... blog you laters

Postcard lovings

xx

Alphabet Goodness

2010-08-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

It took me a-a-ages to make all 26, but here they are, and how gorge do these circus inspired letters look in juicy metallic colours?

So, you can get wear your initial in necklace...

Or brooch form:

So do I need to spell it out?

Don't be...

Get yours here!!

Letter Lovings

xx

Ratzilla

2010-08-19T13:18:00.001-07:00

This morning, I logged onto Facebook and found this link left on a friend's profile:
Invasion of the Giant Rats

Actually hideous, and probably a little exaggerated, but it gave me an idea...

Everyone makes fox stoles, even I've just finally finished the leather fox stole I started making 6 years ago, but what about a GIGANTIC rat stole?!

I got to work, and here is the rat wrap, the perfect accessory for next season's camel coat:

You can buy this Rat Wrap here.

He'll keep your shoulders warm, but won't give you Weils disease. So that's good.

And check this out, which I came across while searching for rat images:

RATASTIC!

Rodent Lovings

xx

Shoe Story

2010-08-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

I might have already told some of you this freaky story before, but I've just entered it for the Selfridges Shoe Story doo-da, to win many lovely shoes, and thought I'd pop it on the blog for your creepy pleasure...

This is a true story, and is a might be a bit diluted as it happened a while back now.

One hot summer's evening a few years ago, after a couple of glasses of wine, I was ambling to my bus stop on Oxford Street, when I was approached by a rather sweaty man, wearing very short shorts and steamed up specs.

He said he'd noticed my shoes, and I looked like I enjoyed shopping. He then went on to tell me he was doing some research into people's shopping habits for a book he was writing, and would I be interested in being a case study? Every shop he observed me in, he would pay me £10.

Let me tell you now, I was skint (I'd recently spent all my money on a pair of Miu Miu tapestry wedge sandals), naive (I hadn't been living in London for long) and did I tell you I'd had a couple of glasses of wine that evening?! Anyway, as I stood at the top of Oxford Street, I thought to myself, £10 per shop could make me A LOT of money, so I agreed, and he suggested we went into Clarkes where I should try some shoes on...

There were conditions though. We had to rush through this, as there were many shops to go to, and we didn't want to attract the staff's attention to slow us down. AND he had to put the shoe on my foot. I thought this all sounded reasonable in my slightly sozzled state, so in we went and as I stood there looking at groovy granny sandals, it suddenly clicked. This man wasn't interested in watching me shop, he was interested in putting shoes on my feet! I had attracted a foot fetishist!!!

Mr Foot Fetish obviously saw the look on my face, as my brain switched on, and he swiftly escorted me out of the shop, and asked whether everything was ok. I told him I felt a little uncomfortable, and had to catch my bus. He kindly offered me his phone number, in case I wanted to re-consider, but I sweetly declined, and fled as quickly as possible.

I haven't worn these shoes for a long time now, but whenever I re-discover them in the dusty depths of my wardrobe, I can't help but laugh... in a creepy sort of way!

Anyway, I will blog properly tomorrow.

I am too tired to do so now!

Shoe Lovings

xx

Unfinished Business

2010-08-13T14:54:00.001-07:00

In my last blog, I mentioned my tendency to never finish projects, which got me thinking, 'How many unfinished projects do I have lying around?'

Here we go...

Saucy 60s girl, stitched around 2003... then just hung about in a box til now:

Leather fox stole, started in 2004...

Lady of Guadaloupe applique, started circa 2005...

Bottega Veneta inspired handbag, begun around 2005... never finished:

The image on my business card, and I did make a handbag for my sister with this design on, but this replica applique has sat about since 2006:

Massive mexican sugar skull applique, which I think I might make into a bag. I stitched this around 2007!

A Typewriter all stitched by hand, in leather seemed like a good idea in 2007.  What a surprise, I never got any further than this:

Lummy cripes... the list goes on and on:

A herd(?) of horses:

A sexy lady in a lifebelt:

Some tattoo design thing, that I got bored with, halfway through the cobweb!

And this is just a tiny taster.  Having unearthed them now, it might have almost inspired me to finish them. 

But I'll keep you posted on that idea!

Inconsistent Lovings

xx

A-Line Dresses and Pearly Kings & Queens

2010-08-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

I've been after an A-line dress for aaaages, to wear with a very lovely vintage 60s long jacket the boy bought me a while back.  A-line dresses don't seem to be in fashion at the mo though, and vintage ones are always a size teeny weeny, so I gave up looking for one, and decided to try making one.

The last dress I made was in 1996, and was black stretch lace. Basically it was a long see through lacy vest, and I just wore it with bra and knick-knocks like the brazen hussy I was... 14 years later, I aim for a slightly classier look. I emphasise 'slightly'... I mean 'Classy'.

So, not being too familiar with darts et al, I pulled out a couple of brill sewing books to help me:

A Guide to Basic Sewing from the 70s, and the ace, Eithne Farry's 'Yeah, I Made it Myself'.

And between 2 seperate sets of instructions and a bought shift dress, I managed to cobble together some sort of pattern...

And then ruddy well made this beaut, out of some black canvas-y fabric, just as a bit of a tester:

And it only took me an hour or so, AND I managed to put a zip in the back, and satin-y bias binding around the neck line, and arm holes.

Then I thought about how to make it a bit snazzier, as it was actually quite a good little dress, and my first thought was of the Pearly Kings and Queens of the East End, as I've always wanted a pearly item of clothing, so this is how I've found myself ordering hundreds of pearly buttons off Ebay.

And going by the designs on these guys, I've decided on scalloped edging, bells, anchors, hearts and horseshoes. Ambitious? Moi?

Here is my pearly dress so far:

It is going to take me freakin' ages, and I have no idea when I am actually gonna wear it, but in my head, I have already designed the hat to go with it, and it will be the best outfit ever!

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my progress.  And if you don't get any pearly dress updates, just give me a nudge okay?  Many of my projects get left half done, and I really don't want this to be one of them...

Pearly Lovings
xx

P.S. How cute is TobyBoo's Pearly Tooth Pocket?

Buy yours here!!

August T-shirt Special!!

2010-08-05T10:12:00.001-07:00

It's August.
It's a bit hot.
You need a new T-shirt.

Now you can get the Captain Fishcake Tee reduced to a tenner, from 15 squid, here.

Get one, before they run out- there aren't very many left now...

Girls, wear it like this:

Boys? Wear it like you wear all your t-shirts- with a pair of jeans!

Bargain T-shirt Lovings

xx

Gabberdashery at Standon Calling

2010-08-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

What are you doing this weekend? 

If you are heading to Standon Calling, make sure you make a beeline to the Gabberdashery shop, on the temporary 'high street', where you will find a delicious selection of Love From Hetty & Dave treats!

Gaberdashery is an exciting new project developed to showcase and sell pieces inspired by Gabby Young and her style. And her amazing style is definitely something to be talked about:

Up and coming artists, illustrators, fashion designers and craftspeople are contributing everything from handmade lace gloves to customized tea-cups; if its eclectic, artistic and 'Gabby' then Gaberdashery will be selling it!

And for a little of the personal touch, Gabby and Katie (stylist and partner in the Gabberdashery
project), have now got their very own Love From Hetty & Dave heart pins, which you'll see them wearing at future events...

So if you go, don't forget to watch Gabby Young & Other Animals.  Beautiful, beautiful music, described as "if ani difranco had sex with jeff buckley in 1920 while on acid listening to ella fitzgerald...that would be the wonderful music of gabby young..."

Stylish Musical Lovings

xx

Naps with Cats and Purses and Prizes.

2010-08-03T14:56:00.001-07:00

Today I was a very busy bee, and got busy with the sewing machine, making purses such as these delights...

They are all one offs, and available here, ready for you to buy.

They are nice and big, and fit loads of stuff in.

I keep my purse, keys, phone and i-pod in mine.  I usually carry around a gigantic bag, so at least I know everything is in one place, and I don't have to go rooting around for ages.

You can keep your make up in it...

Your pens and pencils...

Keep your jewellery safe when on the move...

Or anything you like really.

Anyway, enough of purses, I'm on a mission to get 300 followers on Twitter. Once I reach 300, there will be a lovely 20% discount for all Tweeters, and a goody bag for one lucky random.

What's in the goody bag?

That's right! A bunny ring, a cupcake necklace, a skull headband and a gold owl brooch.

Generous aren't I?!

So get following, and get tweeting!!

Twitter Lovings

xx

Ring-a-ling-a-ding-dong

2010-08-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Mmmm, summer time means ice cream, and ice cream colours are my fave.

Here are some ice creamy Mexican sugar skull rings to adorn your fingers, which you can buy here for a mere £12.

There are juicy strawberry and cute cupcake rings too:

And you've seen the likkle animal ones before...

Check 'em out here, and dress up yer digits.

Also, don't forget, you can get your own plush severed hand too- only a few left for £10, so get in there quick and buy yours here before the price goes up!

Ice cream lovings

xx

Handy Fun

2010-07-29T07:58:00.001-07:00

Okay gang,  the severed hand plush is now available to buy online...

£10 TO THE FIRST 10 LUCKY BUYERS!!
 £15 THEREAFTER

You can use it as a pin cushion...

Keep your rings safe and tidy...

(Please note, the tobacco ISN'T mine- I don't smoke, and nor should you!)

...or just have it peeking outta the sofa cushions to disturb your guests...

Three brilliant uses, for a severed hand... complete with bloody stump and bone sticking out.

£10 TO THE FIRST 10 LUCKY BUYERS!!
 £15 THEREAFTER

QUICK!! Buy yours here!!

Gruesome lovings

xx

Thimbles and Big Cats

2010-07-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

Everyone who knows me, knows that I have a bit of a penchant for leopard print...

And as I felt it was time to snazz up my blog and stuff, it seemed an injection of leopard print was what it needed. So, now you can see these beauties below, on the right hand side of my blog, to click on and take you to various lovely online destinations:

Now that they have been photographed and uploaded, I'm not entirely sure what to do with them.  Some sort of social networking themed necklace for the internet enthusiast, perhaps?

If you like these hearts, you can order your very own here.
If you'd like it personalised, just send me a message.

Anyway, what with all this sewing and spending far too much time looking for 'lost' thimbles, I came across these delights today, for a squid each...

Vintage promotional thimbles.  One is News of the World (obviously my favourite Sunday paper), sale exceeds 3.000.000 copies, it says around the other side.  The other is Drink Lyons Green Label Tea in lovely bright turquoise.

Amazingness. I love them, and will probably have lost them both down the back of the sofa by the end of next week.

But for now, I have stuck them on the severed hand I blogged about a few weeks back, which is now being used as a pin cushion.

Severed hand pin cushions will be available to buy online soon, just as soon as I've picked up my sewing machine and made some more.

Sooo, I think that is all for now. Two blogs in as many days is a bit much for me!!

Have a super cool weekend.

Big cat lovings

xx

Sensual Disco Dancing

2010-07-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Sooo, a couple of weeks ago, after mucho hunting, we finally got our mits on a well gorge Dansette record player.  We heart it BIG TIME, and feel all sophisticated and retro, listening to records in the evenings...

In no time, we seem to have got quite an impressive record collection, and for really not much money at all.  And after an afternoon trawling the charity shops, the boy came home with 39, 45s which cost a mere 10p each... and this little beauty:

We will be spending the weekend, doing some sensual disco dancing.

Erotic Lovings

xx

Mexicana Magic

2010-07-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

I've always been drawn to Mexican folk art, possibly since discovering a big hard back book in the bookcase as a child, all about black magic and witchcraft.

In fact, I think this book was called the Encyclopaedia of Witchcraft and Black Magic, and when questioned about why we had this in the house, Mum told us it was sent by mistake by her book club.  Yeah, whatever Mum...

Anyway, once you got past the MASSIVE picture of a mummified witches hand on page one, and numerous images of naked women dancing around bonfires, there were some ace pictures of Mexican sugar skulls, amongst other fascinating day of the dead photos.

This book was possibly the most interesting, frightening and bizarre thing I'd ever seen, as an 8 year old, and had a lasting impression.  I'm pretty certain this is what led me to my fascination of Mexican arts.

And a few years ago, I designed my own leather brooch version of the sugar skull, and been making them ever since.

This summer, I have combined lots of lovely ice-cream colours with a splash of gold, and here they are , available to buy here.

And alongside the brooches, are the NEW skull headbands... and rather lovely they are too, even if I do say so myself.

Available in 2 different colourways - mint and lilac, or blue and pink:

Skullicious.

Buy yourself a headband here!

Mexican lovings

xx

More Lovely Commissions...

2010-07-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's been crazy busy for commissions recently, which has been ace, as I love making bespoke pieces.

The first was for the lovely lady behind Tobyboo, Tina, who couldn't make her mind up at the We Make London fair the other week:

So after much hilarious to-ing and fro-ing, Tina placed an order a couple of days later, for a bespoke 3 Blind Mice headband...

This is what I came up with...

And stitched, and finished...

And very happy we all were, with the end result.  Although the mouse missing his tail probably wasn't.

On another headband commission note, the gorgeous Dixie Doll, who tattooed me last summer was after a personalised 'Dixie Doll' head something.  We decided on a traditional tattoo style swallow headband...

But with a twist...

And here's Dixie Doll wearing her Love From Hetty & Dave goodies, and looking rather gorge, at the ace Southbourne Barbers, in Bournemouth where you can get a trim upstairs and a tattoo downstairs, and a sneaky espresso inbetween...

Go visit...

And pick up a brooch for yourself while you're there:

And that is all for today...

Tattoo Lovings

xx

S-S-S-S-SALE TIME!!!

2010-07-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Soooooo, I've never actually had a sale as such, but with so many bits and bobs hangin' around, which I'm sick of looking at, I thought let's just get rid, and make room for the new collection which will be available sooooooooon.

So here's a teeny tiny taster of some of the stuff going in the SUPER SALE section in the shop...

Get your mits on them quick, 'cos once they're gone, they're gone!!

So snap up those bargains, and the quicker they're gone, the sooner the new collection will be available!

Go shopping here now!!

Bargainous lovings

xx

Car Booty

2010-07-06T13:45:00.001-07:00

Having given up trading at Spitalfields Market, it is now quite a novelty to do whatever I fancy on a Sunday, for the first time in a couple of years.

This week, getting up at 6.30am seemed like a good idea at the time, to go to a car boot sale.  By 1pm, it felt like it was time to go back to bed, but it was all worthwhile, just for these 2 fairly weird items...

Straw stuffed dog, that looks like a goat, according to the boy.  Price? 50p

Such a cute little face... and quite possibly, fleas...

And a fairly freaky Sprite brooch... I heart it. Plus, it was from the best stall there, which happened to be our friend's, so he gave it to me gratis. Even better!

It felt soooo good having a non-sewing day for a change, even more so, as we spent the afternoon at Sir Francis Drake's hunting lodge, in deepest darkest Devon, which a decadent friend had hired for the week to celebrate her birthday.

Seriously beautiful, and at 400 years old, it has GOT to be haunted.

You can read more about this amazing place here. 

And in other news, found a tick in my leg that evening. Gross-tastic. Fingers crossed I haven't got Lyme's disease now.  Eurghhh.

Anyway, now the Japanese order is winging it's way to Japan, you can expect lots of new, exciting things happening on the website over the next few weeks.

Keep your eyeballs peeled.  Not literally.  That would just be disgusting.

Non tick-related lovings.

xx

Turning Japanese...

2010-07-04T13:15:00.000-07:00

Wowzers. Last night, I finally finished stitching this season's Japanese order.

Here's a peek of what my hands have been busy doing over the last few weeks...

Many, many sheriff badges.

I will be a very happy lady, if I never have to stitch a sheriff badge EVER again!

Some heart shaped London Underground key rings, for those Japanese London lovers...

And for those who just love...

A mere fraction of the Soldiers I stitched...

And amongst many other goodies, which tomorrow will be Japan-bound, I am ready for some...

RSI Lovings

xx

Crafty Pickings

2010-06-29T04:37:00.000-07:00

Finally I have got around to writing about Saturday's We Make London craft fair, at Chelsea Town Hall.

It was a scorcher of a day, but there were many, many beautiful things to purchase. Here are just a handful of my favourite stalls...

These two lovely ladies sell brilliant and truly unique hats on one side, and twinkly biscuit jewels on the other.

Hatastic and Creme Nouveau.

I fell in love with all of Alice Gabb's beautiful bears...

And as if I haven't been feeling broody enough lately, Milk Two Bunnies made me want to have babies there and then!

Just look at their gorgeous Liberty Print Tutu knickers. Everything was truly divine!

Actually, I'd quite like a pair in my size please...

When I spotted Now, Voyager, I had to stop myself hyperventilating over the A-MAZ-ING cake head pieces. Their stall looked absolutely fantastic, and I couldn't stop myself from purchasing a lovely pink piece of cake for my head.

This is their eye-poppingly good stall... Photos don't do it justice.

Another gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous stall was Heart Zeena's...

At the end of the day, a swap was in order with Zeena, so I got her lovely orange love bird cushion, on the right hand side of this pic, and she got my leopard swallow headband...

My Love Bird has joined the rest of the gang on the bed...

I do so love a swap, and another was made with Hung Drawn Quoted.

I swapped a Union Jack brooch for an ace crocheted Brown Sauce bottle canvas, which now hangs above our cooker, and complements my great grandmother's flying ducks, rather well:

Having abandoned the boy, yet another weekend, I got him a cute present from Crumpet & Skirt.

This rather marvellous pin-up mug...

Another adorable stall with cute stuff for kids was Toby Boo- love love loving their Soldiers, and nursery rhyme cushions:

I could keep writing all day, about every single one of the stalls, as they were all selling at least one thing I wanted! You can check out a list of all the great sellers, and view their websites here.

Anyway, that is all for now... mucho sewing to be done.

Crafty Lovings

xx

Do you need a hand?

2010-06-21T03:25:00.001-07:00

I have been hand stitching like a mad woman over the last few weeks, and with a big order off to Japan in a fortnight, this is no time for a sore wrist.

I've been doing way too much sewing, and not being one to sit around doing nothing, thought I'd give my wrist a break from the hand sewing, and get re-acquainted with the sewing machine.

A hand is exactly what I need right now...

And not just to help me out with work, but also to display rings for the We Make London craft fair I will be at on Saturday, at Chelsea Town Hall.

So far, a productive morning, and it's only 11.20am.

What next?
Cup of tea please.

Severed limb lovings

xx

Another Hard Day at the Office

2010-06-16T11:06:00.001-07:00

The mess goes where I go...

The view from my open air studio...

My hands busy sewing...

And the end result...

Another productive day in the sunshine.

Freckly Lovings

xx

Bits and Bobs and Bunnies

2010-06-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

I was too busy to blog last week (la-di-da!), so here's some nice bits and bobs to feast your eyes on.

Here's a lovely way to wear a pair of  brooches and jazz up some boring pumps...

I discovered the ace work of She Draws. I almost did a little bit of wee when I saw this...

So I snapped that up, obv, and teamed it up with this ace little mohair cape I picked up for a mere £4.99 at the new Salvation Army shop that's opened up the road:

And this is what I'll be wearing on my fingers, when I wear my cape...

That's right, mouse rings.  Makes typing a whole lot more entertaining. Add a real life cat, and you're done for! These are new, and you can buy them here.

Oh and I mustn't forget this hilarious commission I made for a lovely lady called Sophie, who serves up cricket teas at the weekends...

This is how Captain Fishcake looked in his younger days, when he was a keen cricketer.

I must add, yesterday was my last day trading at Spitalfields Market.  So I'd like to thank all the lovely customers who came and bought from me there, and all the wonderful people I worked alongside, but after a good few years, it felt like it was time to break free.

I'm certainly gonna miss these two ladies, who bought practically every colour way possible of the swallow headbands!

So here goes another busy, busy week.

Lovings

xx

Fresh Sushi are the Fishes Fins

2010-06-03T05:53:00.000-07:00

Last Summer, whilst roaming around a field at Bestival, and trying to decide what to eat, I met a lovely lady called Laura. We got chatting about the mexican skull brooch on my bag, and about the gorge Fresh Sushi yurt she was working at...

Anyway, almost a year has passed, and some strange sushi brooches were created, and I wasn't entirely sure whether these brooches worked. Then Miss Laura got in touch, and I had a bonkers brainwave.  This was the girl to rock the sushi accessories!

So, a lovely platter of sushi has been stitched and stuffed, and sent all the way to Edinburgh...

And as she's such a groovy, lovely lady, I popped in a couple of Sushi surprises...

A fishy necklace:

And a super seafood-y head piece:

And today, Laura emailed to let me know they'd arrived.  I'd been dying to post the photos on the blog all week, but didn't want to ruin her sushi surprise!

And here's the Queen of Sushi herself, rocking the fishy look:

Sooooo, this year, if you are going to any of the Festivals below, go and check out Fresh Sushi, feast on their yummy delights, and see all the staff wearing their Love From Hetty & Dave brooches...

You can check out their Facebook page here!

Glastonbury
Hop farm
T in the park
Lovebox
Womad
Camp bestival
The big chill
V festival
Reading festival
Electric picnic
Bestival

And there will be some sushi platters available to buy online sooooooon.

Fishy Festival Lovings

xx

We Make London Summer Spectacular

2010-06-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wow woweee, it's aready the 1st of June! Where is this year going?

Well, here's a June event I'm quite excited about... the We Make London summer fair at Chelsea Town Hall, Kings Road, London on Saturday 26th June.

You can read all about it here.

There are so many ace exhibitors, so get saving.

Here are some of my faves:

Cecily Vessey- I bought the lovely Battersea Power Station print for the boy's Christmas present, and now I have my eye on some of the gorge new crockery she's doing:

And I am completely in love with Nancy & Betty, who like me, studied at KIAD. A Caravan card is totally on the shopping list, what with our recent caravan obsessions:

And lummy cripes, I LOVE this hat by Jardin De Fleur

I could go on and on, as every single exhibitor has something I want! Go and have a look at the list here, and come and check them out in the flesh on the 26th June.

Here are the details...

Date:	Saturday, 26 June 2010
Time:	11:00 - 17:00
Location:	Chelsea Town Hall
Street:	Kings Road
Town/City:	London, United Kingdom
	View map

Shop shop shopping lovings

xx

Commission Missions

2010-05-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

I regularly get asked whether I make commissioned pieces, and the answer is yes, I do! In fact, I generally love doing one off pieces, as its usually designs I'd never really thought of, and sometimes inspires a whole new train of thought.  So here's a little story on how commissions come about...

Recently I was contacted on Etsy, by a sea-loving lady called Breezy Brenda, who had been looking for a mermaid necklace for some time. Having discovered Love From Hetty and Dave, she decided commissioning a mermaid was the way forward...

Brenda gave me some ideas of what she wanted: aquamarine or seafoam colors with maybe peach, mango, kiwi, silver or gold accents, flesh tones for arms and face, light brown hair, flower in her hair etc. and she wanted her to be flashy with sequins and pearls, in a horizontal swimming mode instead of a vertical one.

So the next step was finding an image to work from, and putting together a selection of colours...
This was what I came up with:

The metallic aquamarine snake print leather was perfect for this project.

Next I cut out and stuck the leather pieces together, to make up the basic mermaid shape:

At  this point, I had the design okayed by Brenda, and then it was time for the stitching  and embellishment to commence.

It's surprising how different it looks after stitching:

So now, this little Mermaid is leaving the seaside in Bournemouth, to live on Brenda's neck in Nashville, Tennesee. And as a jeweller herself, Brenda will attach a chain of her choice once she receives her mermaid, so I look forward to seeing her photos of it all finished.

So if there's something special you would like made up, don't be scared to contact me to commission a one-off personalised piece. Just send an email to zoelarkins@googlemail.com

Here are some more examples of bespoke pieces I have made, to get you excited...

A lovers handbag...

'Faithful' and 'Unfaithful' keyrings. Not sure what the story was behind these!

Cupcake brooches for DJs Amy & Susan

Wedding date keyrings

Commissions start from £25 and up.

Bespoke Lovings

xx

T-shirts T-shirts T-shirts

2010-05-28T01:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, on a crazy whim, I got a couple of T-shirts printed with Captain Fishcake, just to see what they looked like.

And this was the result...

I showed a few people, and everyone loved them. In fact, I sold one straight away to the handsome Mr Kemble, who put it on immediately, and did a monster pose for the camera...

So I decided to keep the other one for myself, wear it and see what everyone thought. Obviously I spilt food down it straight away, as I can't seem to wear anything white without getting it dirty immediately.

Anyway, thanks to all the great feedback, I've ordered a bunch of these T-shirts in Small, Medium and Large, and they are now available to buy online here for a mere £15.

By the way, they wash perfectly... and I got the food stains out of mine straightaway! Well done Mr Washing Machine.

Nautical T-shirty lovings

xx

Lovely Things to Make and Caravan Love

2010-05-26T03:22:00.000-07:00

On my return from Brighton, I discovered in my absence, this amazing book had fallen through the letter box...

Written by my very talented and extremely hilarious friend, Eithne Farry...

And lo and behold, on page 134, was my guest star slot- How to make a Telly Bag Charm- Hoorah!

Eithne also wrote, 'Yeah! I Made it Myself', the book that taught me the joy of shearing elastic, and I'm pretty sure, from her latest, 'Lovely Things to Make for Girls of Slender Means' will stir up some other crafty excitement... at the moment I am planning a gigantic flower headband, and matching wrist corsage with the addition of some joke plastic flys...

And on another booky note, while I was away, I found this super duper fantastico book about Caravans...

I am now officially in love with caravans, and not sure how I can go on
living without one.
Surely it can only be a matter of time before I can get a caravan to use as a studio.

Until then, I will just salivate over the pictures in the book.

Well lush.

Crafty caravan lovings

xx

Brighton Rocks

2010-05-24T03:24:00.000-07:00

So after my last post, another Hen came along. This time it was my beautiful friend Laura, celebrating her last days of freedom, before getting hitched to the lovely Ryan.

Me and a lovely bunch of ladies spent a super fun hen weekend with Laura, in my most favourite place ever, Brighton. And in an amazing apartment overlooking the pier and beach, we had possibly the hotest and bestest weather anyone could have hoped for...

For Laura's hen veil, I thought incorporating some seaside detail would remind her of a fab weekend in Brighton with the girls...

And here is the pretty lady herself, looking a teeny bit sozzled, wearing her personalised veil...

Just can't wait for the wedding now!

Brighton Rock lovings

xx

The Fox and the Hen

2010-05-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, it was my dear friend Aurelia's hen do, and I was commissioned to make her some sort of gorgeous non-penis related hen night veil, minus the L-plates...

This is what I came up with...

And here is the lovely lady herself, subtly declaring her undying love for her fiance Fox Face, or Justyn as he's more commonly known...

What a beaut...

If you would like to commission some sort of alternative wedding/hen veil, or just something to rival the fascinator wearers at a summer wedding or Ascot, please contact me with your budget and any ideas at zoelarkins@googlemail.com

Foxy Lovings

xx

Moustache-erific

2010-05-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

Wooooah, so Facebook Fans have got to 438 as I write this, which is really rather super dooper!

And the lovely winner Charlotte made her mind up on a moustache necklace.  I've only ever made the squishy 'tache brooches, but quickly whipped up a double sided necklace, with black snakeskin on one side and leopard print on the other...

Here's the lady herself, wearing the necklace, and very lovely she looks too:

LOVING that lipstick colour, plus she has a great blog which is worth a peek.

And here's me just trying on the necklace the leopard print way round before I sent it off!

Tache-tastic.

Beardy faced lovings

xx

A Glorious and Generous Giveaway!

2010-05-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

Soooo, for all you lovely people who are fans on Facebook, you will have seen the aim to get 400 fans.  Well, this morning when I checked in, we'd got to 410 fans, and I have offered EVERYONE a 20% discount on the website for EVERYTHING.

PLUS, I randomly chose one lovely person to choose whatever they liked for FREEEEE!  That lucky fan was a lady called Charlotte, who is having problems choosing something at the moment!

So, well done everyone for inviting all your friends, and your reward is this code: FACEBOOKFRENZY and with that you get a delicious 20% discount. Nicey nicey.

And in other news, yesterday the Spitalfields stall had a bit of a makeover, and we went all nautical to match the new collection:

My beautiful and brilliant assistant Ayesha is loving the lifebelts, which I whipped up on Saturday afternoon, to display brooches:

And there is a new addition on the website... the beach hut necklaces:

So get nautical people, and get your 20% discount online NOW! It's not gonna last forever!

Sea shanty lovings

xx

Seaside loveliness

2010-04-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Wowzers trousers, it's been quite a busy week so far... after flooding the kitchen with the broken washing machine, I took a trip to the launderette, and proceeded to melt most of my bras in the tumble dryer. What an idiot, but what a brill excuse to go and buy lots of lovely new undies!

So, along with the undies, I got some rather lovely purchases... here is a few of my favourite things I got my mits on this week:

My St. Lucia straw bag being the best summer bag ever, from my favourite-est vintage shop ever, 'Clobber' in Pokesdown. My amazing Scooter Silk scarf came from there too, with thanks to the boy... who also got me my cute white brogues. Spoilt? Moi?

And to go with all the nautical stuff, I got some lovely buckets and spades, for a bit of a makeover on the stall, along with some old school saucy seaside postcards.  Watch this space for the new look stall at Spitalfields... I'm excited!

So I thought, to jazz everything up, it was time to do some sort of groooovy packaging for the brooches at le marche...

I love to doodle, so these framed tags are the new thing, and look pretty cute, even if I do say so myself.

But best of all, yesterday I ordered some snazzy cotton tote bags with Captain Fishcake's friendly face printed on, and as if by magic, they arrived today in super speedy style, and I think they look fabio:

They are available to buy on the website, for a mere £12.50 + p&p and are big enough and strong enough to hold your books, snacks AND ukelele. You can't say better than that...

Anyway, that's enough for today.. time for bed.

Seaside lovings

xx

What's Been Happening Then, Huh?

2010-04-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

Every time I write my blog, I promise myself that I will write more regularly, then stuff happens, and I forget, then realise a month has nearly passed, so just a quick lowdown on the last month...

Here is my new work space. The boy donated his amazing, gigantic 70s desk to me, in hope that this would contain my mess. Still working on my messy and chaotic issues:

We met Alfie, the manic Staffy cross Bull Mastiff puppy that my pops is crazy enough to have re-homed. He looks cute, but is actually MENTAL, and has put me off having a dog for quite some time:

And what else...?

Well, I haven't really done much work to be honest, so I'll big up my dear friend Edward de Lacy instead, and his truly AMAZING handbags. I have 3 already, and his new designs are super cool. I'd like all of them please... especially this one:

You can see his stuff here. It's mightily fine.

Soooo, I think that is all for now, on this super dreary, rainy night.

Spitalfields tomorrow...

Snuggly lovings

xx

Love Your Mum.

2010-03-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

This Mother's day (14th March), show your mum some love with a squashy red heart keyring...

Or if there's a Yummy Mummy in your life, the perfect brooch for her...

Just click on the images, to take you to shop.

Maternal lovings

xx

The Adventures, of Portland Bill...

2010-02-26T05:16:00.000-08:00

Oh come with me,
To the rolling sea,
While the weather's calm and still.
And we'll have some fun and laughter with
The Adventures of Portland Bill.

I'd forgotten how much I LOVED Portland Bill (the programme) as a kid, although I do remember crying my eyes out in my pushchair when we went to visit the actual Lighthouse :'(

Anyway, get ready for the new nautical collection me hearties!

And this is only the beginning...

More to follow next week.

Have a super dooper weekend.

Sea Shanty lovings

xx

Animal Treats

2010-02-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

Wowzers trousers, almost another month has flown by since my last post.

Soooo, February has been a month consisting of otters... I LOVE them sooooo much!!

Possibly the coolest car EVER...

Could I get a peach version I wonder?

And cuddling Deer... the boy was almost dumped for this lil' fella:

Between these lovely Valentines treats, steam has been coming out of the long-neglected sewing machine.

Now feast your eyeballs on these cute purses, and click the images to view the range on Etsy...

Badgers are probably my second fave animal after Otters. So snuffly.

Then it's probably bunnies and mice...

Big enough to hold keys, phone and wallet, these clutch purses hang around your wrist on a detachable chunky gold chain.

Alternatively you could pop your pens and pencils in them, or make up... or whatever you like really.

Well, I think that's all for today.

Keep watching for Mother's Day gift ideas, coming soooooon.

Deer kisses and Otter lovings

xx

Love Cats

2010-02-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

Oooooh, so it's been quite some time since I last blogged, we've had Christmas, New Year, and now it's almost Valentines day already.

So, lovely tings for your loved one...

Firstly, the classic red personalised heart brooch... it's been around for a while, but never tires. Romance at £25, and comes in a snazzy gift box with satin ribbon bow.

And new necklace on the block is the heart padlock, on chunky, blingin' gold chain. Available in red, bubble gum pink, or hot pink.

Who holds the key to your heart?

And for those of you, who would rather eat your own eyeballs, than entertain the thought of gentle cooing doves and all that romance brings, here's a little something, especially for you:

Big snogs and romantic lovings

xx

This Saturday...

2009-12-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

Love From Hetty and Dave will be here, selling Christmas present delightfulness, along with a whole host of other London designers and makers...

Be there, or be square... with a little bit of tinsel on.

Holly and Ivy lovings

xx

Christmas Loveliness

2009-12-02T06:16:00.000-08:00

Love From Hetty & Dave will be here on Monday 7th December...

Theeeeen, on Saturday 12th December, we'll be here...

Come along for Christmas shopping, Christmas drinkies and general Christmas cheer.

Whooplaaaaaa!

Christmouse lovings

xx

New Stuff an' That.

2009-10-29T03:45:00.000-07:00

Last week the lovely Filly Pops came to visit, and here are some gorge pics of her modelling some of the new stuff...

A delicious snack for squirrels, the acorn necklace...

Hangin' on the telephone...

and simply the best Little Red Riding Hood, foxy brooch...

All available to purchase here, now!

Whoopla!

Lovings,

xx

Wedding Delights!

2009-10-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Seems like love is in the air at the mo, and everyone is getting engaged or married, and there's nothing more I love than a good wedding, if only to fight for the bouquet at the end!

Anyway, last weekend, the lovely Ian Davenport and beautiful Emma Cake tied the knot, and here's what they got...

You can read the full story on the super talented photographer's blog here and see all the fab photos from the day too.

The spontaneous laughing lady (which is me) wishes these two lovely people the happiest life time together!

And in other news... the amazing Love From Hetty & Dave model, Filly Pops has returned from her travels, and we'll be seeing her funny face, modelling the new collection sooooon!

Hooray!  And here's just a little heart-shaped peek of what's to come...

Someone's head has been in the clouds a bit tooo much recently!  But in every cloud there's a silver lining...

Til next time people!

Lovings

xx

Booby Wobbles and Bum Shakes

2009-09-15T13:51:00.001-07:00

Bonjourno!

This is just a quick little blog, as my brain has not really recovered yet after Bestival festivities at the weekend, but here is a super dooper fantastic picture of boobalicious Burlesque beaut, Miss Lottie Bon Bon in her Lottie heart brooch...

You can check out Miss Lottie Bon Bon's burlesque page on Facebook here!

And get your very own personalised heart here.

Booby wobbles and bum shakes comin' atcha.

Lovings.

xx

Tattoos, Holiday blues, Cupcakes and Pom-poms!

2009-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, I got trapped in holiday mode and didn't even send a postcard, so here's what's been happening...

Spent 8 hours a day, sunbathing on the beach, but managed to fit in some shopping and got these amazing pom pom slippers in Greece...

...expect to see some sort of pom pom inspired treats soon!

Then on our return from hols, thanks to my dear sister who designed it, and the brillo Dixie Doll who stuck it in my arm, I got my beautiful new tattoo...

We're thinking, new Love From Hetty & Dave logo there!

Notice Dinah Cat managed to squidge her fluffy self into that pic, and my face is expressing true holiday blues!

Then, last Saturday (which seems like a lifetime ago now) we did the Bust Summer Craftacular, which was super fun...

... and met some ace people, including the lovely Amy & Susan

They got quite excited about the cupcakes!

So anyway, now we are focusing on some very cute designs for Christmas (Christmas is only 113 days away you know!). We heart them, and think you will too- watch this space!

'Citing!

xx

If we took a Holidaa-ay

2009-08-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hello,  hello just a quick little note to say, we're having a week off, and I'm heading to the sunshine for a week of pints of Ouzo and snorkelling galore. Yay!!

Therefore the online shop will be asleep for the week, and although you can still order, remember it won't be posted until after the 20th August.

We'll be back in full force for the Bust Craftacular on Saturday, August 22nd, at Bethnal Green in London, which will be tres exciting... plus I should be super tanned! Hooray!

PUT IT IN YOUR DIARY!!

Hope to see you then, then!

Have a super week in the meantime!

Grecian lovings

xx

Lip Smacking Goodness

2009-07-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

Forget collagen lips, a safer and easier way to big lips is this patent leather Luscious Lips necklace...

...As seen on one of a pair of Russians visiting the seaside this week...

I think they'd had a hot rum too many.

Also, a little update on our dearest Love From Hetty & Dave model, Filly Pops, who features all over the website.  Madame Filly Pops headed off to New York earlier this month for a lovely American adventure, and in honour, the big apple brooch came about...

Comes complete with a chomp munched out.

Yum yum yum

xx

Leopard Lovings

2009-07-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

Well, since my last blog, much has happened, which would have been documented in pictures, but due to a loss of camera, hasn't happened. BOOOO!

Nevermind, a new one is on its way, which means mine will show up in a handbag at the back of the wardrobe, approximately 2 days after the new one arrives.

Anyway, thanks to my darling flat mate Campanna Campino, who kindly lent me hers, I can now show off the snazzy new leopard print heart brooches... Grrrrrr

You can buy one here and also find the swallow necklace which has been super popular at Spitalfields, and now is finally available to buy online... at the mo there are two colourways to choose from, more colours to follow.

I think that's enough for now- wouldn't want to spoil you!

Keep checking back for more handstitched leather loveliness!

Big love

xx

Flamingo Lingo

2009-07-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Since the Flamingo brooches have been such a hit, with you bunch of bird lovers, the range has been extended, so you now have a choice of 3 colour ways...

Original baby pink and fuschia, ivory and candy pink or off-white and metallic pink:

Whichever colour you choose, these long legged lovelies always raise a smile.

Get yours here!

xx

Bethan Elfyn's Mini Boot

2009-07-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Before I forget, you should probably all come to this, mainly because I'll be there, but also, because it will be a lot of lovely fun...

It's on Tuesday 28th July, held by Radio 1's Bethan Elfyn.

There'll be live music from Cate Le Bon, Sweet Baboo, Le B.

Steve French, CiCi, Caroline No! & Bethan Elfyn dj-ing.

Crafty stuff from Love From Hetty & Dave, and Cakes by Delicious.

Doors open at 7pm, and entry is £2.

Oh, and it's at The Social, on Little Portland Street, London.

See you there then, yeah?

xx

Cute Little Heartbreaker

2009-07-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneaky look at what I've been sweating over the last few weeks, to the point of my fingers resembling big, raw sausages, ready to go on the barbeque. Nice.

Squishy, squashy, tactile fox head brooches, in a range of 3 different colourways.

I'm pretty sure, if Jimi Hendrix was still around, he would tote be wearing one,
and so would his foxy lady.

You can look like a cute little heart breaker, by buying one here.

xx