Hearts and buttons

I just love these hearts I made with my art teacher friend Jo yesterday in her cute little art room at her house! The colours of the buttons are lovely together too. They are quite easy to make. In a time when most of us are very aware of our spending, recycling your old jewellery pieces or finding buttons could be the answer to bringing a new lease of life to something that would just sit gathering dust at the back of a drawer.

South Pacific Tribal Print

I just thought I'd post this on my blog today.  Fiji in the South Pacific is well known for its beautiful hand made Masi cloth, a traditional bark-cloth made from the Paper Mulberry tree. These natural coloured cloths are recognized by the intricate patterns that are stencilled, stamped or smoked onto the fabric. I bought these prints as a souvenir from the island of Suva when I visited Fiji when I went travelling in 2008.

Masi cloth holds a place of honour in Fijian traditional ceremonies such as marriage, birth, worship and death ceremonies. It is also used in homes as decoration and privacy curtains. In earlier days, it was used as a primary source of clothing material.

This is my favourite print story of A/W 2011, the collection by Duro Olowu. The print mixing is Tribal, exotic,  bold, and contemporary, and is still old world and familiar at the same time.

Cinema - El Secreto De Sus Ojos/The Secret in Their Eyes

I went to the Taliesin cinema in Swansea last night to see  El secreto de Sus Ojos/The secret in their eyes cert 18. It's a murder mystery, a tale of friendship, and a love story all rolled into one, “The Secret in their Eyes” was a thoroughly gripping, enchanting, and entertaining film! I'm currently enjoying evening classes learning spanish. (a scene in this trailer might be upsetting)

The film is set in Argentina, and I visited this wonderful country in South America a couple of years ago and absolutely loved Buenos Aires. here are some of my photo's I took from my travel's there. I would love to go back there one day.

 

La Boca

Cafe in San Telmo

Tango at Cafe Tortoni

 

Jungle sketching

I have been so inspired by the bright and tropical Spring Summer 2011 collections that I got my sketchbook out and went to the National Botanical gardens of Wales to the Tropical house to do some sketching of the jungle plants there. 

Paperchase also have some wonderful new greeting cards with a lovely organic look, below, for mother's day. 

Tropicana

I love the monkeys and bananas on MIUCCIA PRADA's catwalk for the SS11collection above. This season it's time to be bold and fun! I love the South American inspired espadrilles, mismatched stripes and eye popping primary colours.

I'm also really excited about HOUSE OF HOLLAND's tropical green palm prints in his 70's inspired collection. My favourite is the jumbo leaf print seen here on this jumpsuit.  

The  freshness of STELLA McCARTNEY's cheerful and light citrus SS11 collection with prints of oranges and lemons is perfect for spring.

The Window display blog

You can now find these bright and bold SS11 trends on the high-street.  Star by Julien Macdonald has a colourful new collection at Debenhams, His eye catching tunic and colourful Hibiscus print dress (featured in the new television advert) are great for those that like to stand out from the crowd.

Ceramic hearts on Folksy

Happy weekend! It's finally a little bit sunny here in South Wales, I'm going to go to the Junction Cafe and art gallery in Mumbles to have a nice cup of coffee, I also have greeting cards and hearts for sale there.  

 I found this lovely Folksy online shop today called the Tait Gallery selling ceramic wedding favours and hearts made out of clay, Angela is a sculptor from the North West of England. She has also written this online  tutorial so you can try and make your own. You just need clay, ribbon, decorative pieces, Glaze and a kiln..I'm a complete novice and wish I had a kiln!

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues (Studio HD) + Lyrics

Green Man festival

I just got my tickets for this years festival!! It's is on from the 19/20/21 AUGUST 2011.The Green Man Festival is an alternative independent music festival held annually in the  mystical Brecon Beacons, (Bannau Brycheiniog) South Wales.

It has evolved from a one-day, 300 capacity event in 2003, to a three-day festival with live Music, including psychedelic , folk rock, indie, dance and Americana across five stages, as well as DJs playing everything from dub-reggae to electro, throughout the night in tents like Chai Wallah. Literature, Film, theatre, ceilidhs, all-night bonfires, comedy and and secret gigs are part of the festival's unique identity.   The bars offer everything from real ale and organic cider  to cocktails. There's always a fantastic variety of food on offer too- full menus from countries around the globe down to tea and toast for breakfast from a cute french van called Cowslip! An 8 metre sculpture of the Green Man is set alight at the end of the festival, which creates a wonderful finale and great spectacle to finish the celebrations.

Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons are a couple of the artists who played last year and the lovely Laura Marling won Best British Female at the Brits last night! This year the Fleet Foxes, from Seattle,  are one of the indie bands confirmed to headline.  The festival has carved a niche as a non-corporate and ethically-minded magical  festival!

I can't wait....hurry up summer!! 

 

Shabby Chic Florals

Hand drawn print by me, a beautiful delicate design. I love soft neutrals and this print is so delicate and pretty!

SS11 Florals

Coral, Pale Citrus, Sweet pink and Teal greens. 

New Collection Prints designed by Heulwen Lewis

Love Spoon / Llwy cariad

I bought this lovely Welsh lovespoon recently as a gift for a friend for her baby girls dedication. It's hand-carved, stained and polished limewood. The Cross symbolises Faith and the Heart symbolises Love.  I bought it from the Lovespoon gallery in Mumbles, Swansea, the only dedicated art gallery for lovespoons in the world!

Its a tradition in Wales to give Lovespoons to family and friends to mark special occasions. Its also a wonderful romantic tradition to give as a token of affection as a courting gift! 

Faith and Love

Love Hearts

Hand embroidered shabby chic hearts filled with soft polyester fibre and finished with ribbon loops to hang them. Each heart is made from fabric designed by myself and each one is unique as they are embellished using vintage buttons. 

Happy Valentine's Day

Heart collage