Happy Post Day is back! Check out my blog's new home to see how you can win some lovely mail landing on your doormat instead of boring junk mail for a change. Continue reading

Hello! It's been a little quiet round here lately because my clever techy hubbie and I have been working on moving this blog to my website. You can now find my musings, piccies, colour palettes, printables, happy post day giveaways and stationery love at thegreengables.co.uk/blog. The url thegreengal.co.uk will be automatically forwarded to thegreengables.co.uk/blog for a while but do update your rss feed and blog readers with the new address so you don't miss out! I hope you like the new look of my blog, feel free to have a good wander around and nosey in the differerent sections. I'm... Continue reading

I've been an admirer of Isa Maria Seminega's business, Happy Piece, since it launched so when I felt flush with birthday money I headed straight to the website and ordered a pretty bracelet! Happy Piece is a 'socially conscious accessories brand' so not only do the products look gorgeous but they also do good in the world. Talented craftswomen in Rwanda make the colourful products, Isa helps bring them to the world at large and profits from the sale of the beautiful bowls and jewellery go to educating and training women as part of the Aspire Rwanda project. The bracelet... Continue reading

Today I am helping my mum to move out of the house I did a lot of my growing up in. We moved to this house when I was 11 years old, and in the almost 27 years that have passed an enormous amount has happened within these walls. So many memories, mostly happy and a few sad, I won't even begin to share them with you. It's the little things that make a house a home. Blowing out decades of birthday candles on the kitchen table, posing for photos on significant dates in front of the sitting room window,... Continue reading

{image source} Yummmy! Everything in this picture says tasty scrumminess – the ice cream looks delicious, the little wooden spoons are cute and the paper cups set it all off perfectly. Double scoop for me please! Continue reading

I know I'm a day late but that's because my weekend continued on until yesterday! The last few days were spent with some family at a holiday house in Oxfordshire and it was just lovely. We joined in the duck race at Bourton on the Water, admired pretty houses on dog walks, cooked on a barbecue, played silly games, and I couldn't resist taking a snap of a bush version of a Mini, as you do! The first picture is of the house in Mollington that we stayed in, it was comfortable, spacious, well equipped and in a gorgeous location... Continue reading

To round off the week here are just a few articles I found on the www this week… Susannah Conway has a great idea to join in with to change how you blog during the summer Such an inspiring interview on The Design Files with Jane Martino and what a brilliant idea for an app! Fancy displaying your photos in a different way? A Beautiful Mess shows you how to transfer photos to wood If you're looking for inspiration for your new business card check out this post on Paper & Stitch The National Trust released their 50 Things to... Continue reading

So, a few weeks' ago I mentioned that I had finally started to crochet a granny stripe blanket, about two years after buying the yarn. Here's where I'm up to so far: Okay, so it doesn't look that much but this is a big project! When it's finished the blanket will cover our bed, so at the moment it's the width of a double bed but only the length of, um, about 10cm. I'm aiming to be finished for the end of the year but as I'm really enjoying this I don't want to rush for a deadline. It was... Continue reading

{image source} Crikey, this is my 30th palette picking post, where has the time gone?! I've got a pretty peach number for you today. I'm not sure what these flowers are (I'm thinking ranunculus possibly?) but the petal shades are just gorgeous. The colours I took from this image feel fresh and girlie and I could see it as a great palette for a range of floral, spotty and stripy fabrics teamed up with colour blocks and lots of white. A room decorated with this palette would feel cheerful, restful and summery all at the same time. Lovely! Continue reading

We all know about looking on the bright side of life and for silver linings on clouds, but thinking positively has been proven to not only make you feel a bit more cheerful but also to have a beneficial effect on us physically. Recently I watched a fascinating BBC documentary by Dr Michael Mosley which showed that people who go through life with a positive, optimisitic attitude, rather than worrying and thinking the worst, suffer few health issues and even live longer! As a born worrier I found this hugely interesting, especially as over the last few months I've been... Continue reading

Actually, every day of the past weekend, starting Friday, was a good day! My weekend started early with the wedding of a gorgeous friend of mine, Kelly, to her lovely fella, Neil. It was such a happy, wonderful day, I think the only person who outshone their beams was their super cute one-year-old Noah! After the excitement of the wedding, Saturday was relaxed with crocheting and movie-watching. Which meant Sunday was all about getting on with orders and work! In case you missed my new launch last week you can check it out here, plus I have a couple of... Continue reading

There's been a definite wedding theme to my week – our wedding anniversary, I launched my new range of wedding stationery and today I'm celebrating a good friend tying the knot! So, while I'm toasting the happy couple you can browse a few lovely blog posts I came across this week… We have plans to brighten up our kitchen and this post on SF Girl By Bay has me craving colour! I love the relaxed look of this 'little string of happy' on dottie angel and so easy to make from scraps of fabric Mollie Makes has news of a... Continue reading

I am so excited to finally be able to reveal what I've been working so hard on for the past few months – the green gables' wedding celebration stationery! My designs can now be a part of your most special day as well as your everyday. As well as collections that include my quirky, hand drawn illustrations I also have designs featuring striking typography and bold graphics. I'm launching five collections to begin with – Summer Fete, Flora & Fauna, Deco, Graphics Love and Winter's Tale – and all the collections can be made your own with your colour scheme... Continue reading

Today is our eighth anniversary, I can't believe how quickly the time has passed! But at the same time so, so much has happened in those eight years. If someone had told me on my wedding day that in eight years time Col and I would have exchanged London living for a rural life with a dog, that Col would be designing apps (the iPhone wasn't even on the market in 2005) and I would be running my own business I would never have believed them! We've gone through tough times losing loved ones and shared the joy of gaining... Continue reading

Well, my weekend was a weekend I'll remember for a long time! It was my birthday on Saturday but it was also the day my husband took part in his first Olympic triathlon. This consists of swmming 1.5km, cycling 40km and the running 10km, not something I have a great desire to do but my hubbie has been training hard for it for months. He took part in it along with his brothers and his dad, on the HOTTEST day of the year! It was 29 degrees in the shade and so I'd say around 35 degrees in the sun,... Continue reading

Before I disappear off for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and burst with pride as my husband takes part in an Olympic triathlon and raises money for The Brain Tumour Charity, I'll leave you with these splendid blog posts I found this week! If you're off on your hols soon check out traveling mama's top travel apps Looking for a good gardening book? Take a look at The Simple Things' favourite five I really enjoyed this Brighton home tour on Design Sponge, I especially love the chair and rug pictured above If you're thinking of starting your own business,... Continue reading

It's that time again when I like to send out little surprise bundles of the green gables' stationery into the world to give their recipients a Happy Post Day. That little kick of joy that comes from spotting a piece of handwritten post in among the bank statements and pizza menus is what I'm aiming for. You may have spotted that I wrote 'bundles' plural above, yes, I'm giving away more than one Happy Post Day! Because it's my birthday on Saturday, and I've already spotted some very happy post landing on my doormat already, I'm passing on the good... Continue reading

{image source} These napkins are so pretty in such an understated, stylish way. The yellow/charcoal color combo (although it looks more mustard/milky coffee coloured to me) works beautifully and the hand printed design is just beautiful. I would happily sit down to a meal at a dining table decked out in this colour palette! PS Watch out for a Happy Post Day giveaway tomorrow! Continue reading

I've never bought Psychologies magazine before but when I found out that Make Me Joyful blogger, and new friend, Cheryl Adamson had been interviewed for the mag I hotfooted it to the newsagent! As you'll see if you read the interview Cheryl is on a mission to bring joy and happiness into the lives of others by performing random acts of kindness and being a generally jolly nice person. I think I originally found Cheryl on twitter and after seeing she's a big fan of sending happy post (her blog features a badge declaring 'happiness is handwritten') I got in... Continue reading

Strawberries have featured quite highly in my weekend. I have strawberry plants in two hanging baskets in my little garden and, following a taste test between our homegrown berries and shop bought, I can tell you that own grown are soooo much better! Sweeter and much yummier. I've been merrily adding them to glasses of Pimm's, along with leaves from our out-of-contol mint plant, and munching on them with ice cream. And with Andy Murray being the first Brit to win Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977 it's only fitting to be downing strawberries at every opportunity! The weather has... Continue reading

Before you head out into the sunshine (hello, summer!) here are a few fab posts I've come across this week: Love this DIY scarf from Sincerely Kinsey, I don't think you'd particularly notice it's a US flag if it wasn't pointed out to you The Pretty Blog is based in South Africa so they're enjoying winter at the moment, hence the wrapped up people in this cool coffee cup sleeve post! I really rather like the idea of being able to fill the base of this Laura Ashley lamp with anything you like I lived in Chiswick, west London, for... Continue reading

{image source} How good does this drink look?! Blueberry Mojito. Just the name of it puts me in a holiday mood. The only ingredient I have in abundance already is the mint (the plant has gone rampant in my wild flower bed) but I'm thinking that's enough of a reason to go out and get the rest of the ingredients and start knocking up my own Blueberry Mojitos. The colour palette I've pulled from this picture is pretty lovely too, I could see this working wonderfully as stripes of different widths on cushions or a duvet cover. By the way,... Continue reading

A fun weekend including a Windsor boat trip and crocheting a granny stripe blanket. Continue reading

Whether the weekend is raining or shining, these lovely links will keep you smiling! I am so very excited to see the first glimpse of the fabulous new book from my super talented friend, Kirsty Neale The Simple Things magazine is offering the chance for you win tickets to the Grow It Yourself Gathering I really enjoyed this interview with uber-talented illustrator Jula Rothman on Design Sponge I'm in the mood for flapjacks so think I might make use of the Mary Berry recipe on Country Days this weekend And finally, if you're a designer maker looking to grow your... Continue reading