the green gal

Lovely links

Five fab posts I've enjoyed from the www this week…

Some great advice on hanging pictures on a wall from Heart Home

I may be swayed away from my plan to have an all-white-walled house with this gorgeous range of paint from the super talented Mini Moderns and Newlife Paint as featured on print & pattern, and it's 90% recycled!

A simple but really effective DIY for embroidery thread-covered earrings on Creature Comforts

The shots of the herbs first grabbed my attention in this post on Odessa May Society but the idea for a herb bouquet is so easy to do I'm definitely going to try it next time I have a bundle of herbs

And finally more beautiful photography plus an interesting insight into the life of an American ballerina in Copenhagen on Flying House by Traveling Mama.

Have a great weekend and be sure to check back here on Monday because I'm launching a new range of lovely stationery goodies!

So that was 2012…

Another year is about to end, and when I look back it's been quite a 12 months! I'm often too busy looking forward to what I want to accomplish in the future to look back at what I've already achieved, so sitting down to write this blog post is a good exercise for me. It's only by taking a moment to reflect on 2012 that I've realised all the different things I've done in my personal and professional life. 

So, in the last 12 months…

I exhibited at my first trade fair, Top Drawer at Earl's Court, London, and I'll be there again in just under two weeks' time (stand F14).

The number of retailers stocking the green gables' products has grown and I had more than 20 press mentions in national magazines, newspapers, websites and blogs. Even me and my little house were featured on several pages in Style at Home magazine!

I became a smidge addicted to taking courses, online and offline, including a photography workshop and the Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design, as well as finding more inspirational not-too-businessy-business-books to read.

I began illustrating, creating patterns and developing a range of eco-friendly stationery and will be concentrating on growing this part of my business in 2013.

My illustrations and patterns became available to buy on iPhone, iPad and laptop covers and skins at Society6.com.

Several days out and trips were enjoyed including visits to Brighton, Hastings, Whitstable, Florida and lunch at Claridge's!

I won a retweet from Dragon's Den star and Ryman boss Theo Paphitis as part of his Small Business Sunday, I've never had so many tweets and new followers in one evening!

thegreengables.co.uk got a complete revamp thanks to my super clever hubbie and several months of planning and hard work.

Plus plenty more bits and bobs in between, including hours spent cheering, crying and being totally inspired by the London Olympics and Paralympics of course. So, all in all, a pretty busy and great first full year of self-employment!

There's so much more I want to achieve in 2013 including expanding my range of eco stationery and illustrated patterns, exhibiting at two trade shows and supporting more charities through my work – I will keep you posted!

I hope 2012 was a great year for you, and that 2013 proves to be a happy and healthy 12 months, see you next year!

Palette picking 6

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Don't you just love the light, as well as the colours, in this image? I'm a little bit obsessed with light in photos because we're down to less than eight hours of daylight a day in my corner of the planet, which makes for gloomy days but also makes photography rather tricky.

This pic is from the house tour of Bonnie Christine (goinghometoroost.com) in the new issue of 91magazine. Her house looks so light and inviting and gorgeous, if you like this pic you really want to check out the rest of the feature, as well as the rest of the magazine. I chose to pick out the paler shades in the photo but could just as easily have gone for the bolder colours. What do you think?

Palette picking

I'm asked quite often how I choose colour palettes to use with my designs. There's no great secret, I just use colours I like and think work well together! However, one way to create a colour palette is to find an image you like and pull a handful of colours from it, if the pic looks good, it's likely the colours within the image will work well together in a different setting. But when it comes down to it, if you like it that's good enough!

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So, I thought I'd start a new feature posting a colour palette picked from a picture for you to take inspiration from, if you choose. Enjoy…

Your instagrams in a book

This is happening

While catching up on my blog reading I was super excited to discover (via sfgirlbybay) that a publisher is calling for instagram pics to be submitted for a new book. 

Anyone can submit a photo taken using the instagram app, and although the call was opened ten days ago as far as I know submissions can still be made.

Chronicle Books editor Bridget Watson Payne will choose her favourites to make up the book and yours (or mine) could make the cut!

Find out all about the book on the Chronicle Books blog and upload your pics here. Exciting stuff, good luck! (BTW if you want to follow me on instagram I'm @thegreengal.)

A simple thing

This week, in my corner of the world, it's been very grey and foggy. But one evening, as we were walking the dog the clouds cleared to reveal this rather pretty sunset. After a dismal, murky weather week, seeing something as simple as a setting sun was just lovely.

Don't forget you can get 25% off at thegreengables.co.uk with code YAY25 until midnight on Sunday. Happy weekend, everyone.

My weekend

I took this photo on my phone as I charged along Waterloo Bridge on Saturday afternoon to catch my train home. I had been in London for lunch with three lovely friends and took the opportunity to snap a few pics of the London skyline while I walked. The patch of the Thames around Waterloo Bridge, South Bank and Westminster Bridge is great for seeing several London landmarks in one go. I love how the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben (that's actually just the main bell, the tower's name is the Elizabeth Tower) are instantly recognisable, probably by a sizable chunk of the world's population, even when small and silhouetted as they are here. I've found I have quite an appreciation for London, since I don't live there any more…

Discover the Flying House

Do you find that you choose which blog to read depending on your mood? Or perhaps the kind of inspiration you need? There are some blogs that I'll read at any old time but there are others that I go to when I'm after something a bit more specific.

When I want to look at calming images and feel inspired to take great photos one of the blogs I turn to is Flying House by Traveling Mama. Tina, her husband and three gorgeous children are American and, having lived in Spain and Morocco, have settled in Copenhagen, Denmark. For the time being anyway. I first stumbled upon Tina's blog because my husband works for a Danish company and works in Copenhagen on occasion. I've visited once and hope to go back next year so in the meantime I enjoy it through Flying House. 

Tina's husband is a photographer and although the photos of her must be taken by Jack I don't know whether Tina or Jack takes the other photos on the blog. At any rate, they're gorgeous, the use of light is great, especially when you think of how far north they are on the globe. 

Tina writes about their family life, her work, the projects she makes and the places they travel to (if you've got the itch to travel this blog will have you booking your tickets in no time). 

Flying House is a lovely, inspirational blog so do check it out when you get a mo.

My weekend

Hope you had sunshine in your little corner of the world, we did on Saturday, it was one of those perfect autumnal days. And, having updated to IOS6, I took this panoramic photo on my iPhone! There's an obvious curve going on but it's still heaps better than I could do in the old days of sticking pics together.

Although we've in Autumn and Christmas is yet to come, I've been working on new designs for Spring! I will be revealing them on the green gables stand at Top Drawer trade show in January so I'm trying to be organised, or else I'll be super stressed straight after Christmas.

Have a fun and productive week, folks!

Day-tripper

On Thursday the hubbie and I decided to take a day out from working and explore a different patch of the country. So off we went to Whitstable!

Although the weather was decidedly dodgy-looking (without an instagram filter these photos would have been horribly dark) we had a lovely time. Taking a walk along the almost deserted beach front was heavenly, it was so peaceful and the long, long lines of beach huts, four rows deep were among the prettiest I've seen. They're in such a great position we mused what a beach hut might cost (not that we're in the market, we live nearly two hours' drive away) and then I spotted an ad in a newsagent window. The asking price for a second row beach hut was £18,000. Does that sound like a lot? They're quite big with a little verandah, very pretty and in a great spot so if you used it a lot I guess it could work out as good value. 

Whitstable castle, small and perfectly formed
Bikes on the wall above a supermarket, I don't know why…

And after a bite to eat we explored the very fetching town, browsing in vintage shops, cooing over the pretty contents of The Whiting Post and coveting everything in a great shop called Frank, selling stationery and prints. If you fancy a trip to a pretty and distinctly untacky seaside town then I can heartily recommend visiting Whitstable. And if you find out why there are bicycles mounted high up on a shop wall do tell me.