Secrets of a Butterfly

Sheepskin boots,vintage cards and tea cups

Most of us know how beautiful books by Ryland Peters & small are and how evocative their photography is. They produce address books and a limited range of notecards,some of which have proved easier to come by than others. i finally tracked some of the vintage flea market style ones that i've been after for ages,i bought them from a UK website shop Glint. They come in a very useful box and are in a set of 4, here are the other designs...

I treat myself to a new pair of Uggs this week from Love from Australia, in a caramel brown colour. They have ties that wrap around and i'm loving them.I should probably join an Ugg fan club if there is such a thing!

I'd like to recommend a group of 3 female singers and their sweet gentle music. They are called Aurevoir Simone and i've been listening to their album lately...you can hear it on their website.

I've been thinking about saving up for an ipod,and am looking at the new i pod touch,does anyone have one and have any feedback on it? please leave a comment, as i'm interested in how you've found it.its one thing reading reviews but nothing beats a friends recommendation does it.

I made a card today for a family friend Auntie Olive, she is an amazing person, very giving and very much a part of her church and singing in the choir, she has various health problems but somehow never complains and always has an open house and heart for others. She has been very kind to me over the years and never forgotten me during the years when i was too ill to be around. sometimes out of sight is out of mind for people i've discovered, even relatives that you would have thought would remember you,don't always! it can be an interesting experience, and one where you have to just realise that some people seem to have more of a brain wired for considering others feelings and thinking about them, and some don't. It turns out its not a personal thing against you, it just is the way it is.  Once i realised this i felt less upset by it.

I still find that sometimes i have to balance out how much i think about people and try not to 'give' too much. I have had to learn to allow room to 'recieve' too. We need to live both roles don't we. On  a small scale and on a big one too, like how much we let in the Universe to support us.It has to fill our cup before we can share anything with others....

That kind of leads me full circle back to Auntie Olive who is very much connected to her God and her faith sustains her from the inside. That ease of faith and feeling comfortable with life is very inspiring. Its something i couldnt relate to when i was younger, until i came to know God/Universal Source of Love, in my own way and through my own experience. Now i understand where she gets her Light and energy from and how she manages all she does even at 90 years old! She always seems to trust and know she's taken care of and doesnt seem to live with fear. Her face is always happy and she delights in life. So i wanted to make a special card for a special lady... i used some vintage wallpaper, and vintage lace. With some cream pressed flowers and i tried a new idea of a button closure with a ribbon loop.   thats all for now, keep in touch,kat xx

kayo & leona

Kayo Tamaishi is an illustrator; she was born and raised in Yokohama. I found her work on Moo and ordered some as postcards. This one above is a particular favourite but so many of her designs are wonderful that its hard to choose. Alot feature rabbits too which certainly captured me,being a bunny fan. Here are 2 more of her postcards on my wall,i also got some stickers of hers,i love moo,its just it can get addictive!

This one of the couple together is on my noticeboard,she really should sell on etsy or something but when i googled her there was very little that came up. She must sell more in her own Country. I certainly hope her popularity grows so we see more from her. I think she has done some T shirts which would be so cool.

As you can see i have a picture on the board of Leona who i think is Amazing, she is so graceful and i find her so inspiring. Her voice makes my spine tingle when she sings and i love her album. Its the best i've heard since the album of the same name by jewel in the 90's.It was certainly worth the wait from when she first won Pop idol to when it came out last year.i have her song  "Better in time" as my ring tone now, replacing Take thats song from the Stardust film. This is what it says on her website at the moment...

'Leona’s debut album Spirit has gone straight in at the top of the American album charts! Not only is she first British female to achieve such an amazing feat, but she is the first British artist in history to debut at number one! '

If thats not inspiring, i don't know what is!!  love kat x

Delicately crafted

Megan Park is from Australia but now resides in London and creates collections with the skills of artisans and embroidery specialists in Delhi,India. Her home wares which include sumptuous cushions in gorgeous fabrics and delicately beaded throws,were closely followed by a womenswear collection,after many years spent designing for others to live her dream in this way must be why her collections are so inspiring. I find her belief in using the most skilled people and her commitment to fair work practices with them,is inspiring, and this care and attention is reflected in the prices of the handmade pieces in her collections. To come up with the concepts and designs and be able to follow through on them, having them made and then seeing the finished articles distributed, is what i admire. I adore the colours she uses and the way her beautiful things transend fashion, a bit like Alice Temperley's designs do too. They are heirlooms and works of art, which those who have them are lucky enough to own.