Tulchan Surprise

A while ago I got a surprise mail from Tulchan. Would I be willing to review one of their cardigans from the new collection if they sent it to me? Would I??? 

I was contacted by Gemma, Tulchan's Digital & Direct Marketing Executive, and I was absolutely thrilled. Over the moon. Tickled pink. The cardigan on the photo was gorgeous. It was even more so when it arrived. I mean, look at it!

Gemma told me she had been reading my blog and she liked the way I had styled my Tulchan pieces. I have a great many Tulchan pieces, FYI, Tulchan is one of my favourite brands. It took me a while to come up with styling ideas for this beauty. And finally, ta-dah ...

Outfit No 1

Outfit No 2

Outfit No 3

Close-up of the embroidery

I mentioned to Gemma that I absolutely love Tulchan socks, I am a proud owner of a rather pretty selection, and she was so kind as to pop a little surprise in the post, along with the cardigan! Aren't they absolutely gorgeous as well? 

I was very happy to receive the pretty blue package. This is the very first sponsor item in my closet, and I couldn't be happier. 

Thank you so much, Tulchan!

Outfit details:

1 Tulchan cardigan styled with Joules brogues, tights can't remember, Boden denim skirt, belt from local supermarket, Boden white top

2 Tulchan cardigan styled with Vagabond flats, Topshop cargos, Benetton belt, EK top

3 Tulchan cardigan styled with Vagabond flats, Playlife trousers

Three (Mysterious) Things

Three things on the third day of the third month of the year :)

:: snip snip snip - something new off my crochet needle! ::

:: the loveliest surprise - a post to follow! ::

:: snip snip snip - shorter hair don't care! ::

Surprise Cupcakes

My boy likes to surprise his classmates 

with yummy vanilla cupcakes 

he's rather famous for. 

And trust me, he really does make 

absolutely delicious little cakes! 

He always asks me to do the frosting, though, 

and I'm happy to oblige :)

                   Gone in a jiffy, I was told!

Three Things - Once Again

Lots of lovely little things 

putting a smile on my face these days ...

:: a gorgeous pair of handmade earrings, 

 a totally unexpected gift from a good friend ::

:: same friend, same loveliness ::

:: a stylish pair of my little girl's sunglasses, 

a supermarket bargain :)  ::

Plus another huge thing making 

my heart leap with joy - 

I found some 'long lost' friends 

on Facebook last night - 

happy, happy, happy!!!

Just Because

From my beloved.

Just because.

Pink Birthday Surprise - By Post!

It's my friend's birthday today.

I made a little flower for her.

I hope the postman delivered it safely.

And I hope it put a little smile on her face.

Happy birthday, R.

P. S. : Card handmade by my little girl :)

Yarn Bombing Part II

Right, in my previous post I promised to tell you about my secret crochet project. Here's the thing: one of our best friends celebrated his 40th birthday last weekend. A group of friends had decided to present him with a new bike. Since there were two avid hookers (!) in the group, we decided to yarnbomb the vehicle!

I made the seat cover...

... and the handlebar covers,...

...each with a bunting flag.

The cross bar bunting was made by my good friend M.

The surprise present was exactly that -

- a lovely surprise!

How do you like the end result?

Yarn Bombing Part I

Can you guess what all this is about?

Surprises, Surprises (Including Granny Squares & Liberty Fabric!)

Remember this post? Well, I read the book, it was lovely, and then I thought it would be nice to send a little thank- you note with a little something to my wonderful blogging friend Alix.

This is what I made for her:

And then, about a fortnight later, there was another surprise for me in the post!

Photo: source

I got the most gorgeous Liberty Tana Lawn VW van notebook cover, handmade by dear Alix! I mentioned at one point that I really liked it and there, now it's mine, all mine! Thank you so much, Alix, I really appreciate your kind gesture. It is incredibly nice to have such wonderful blogging friends around the world (well, particularly from Britain...)!

Sweet Surprise

My husband and I went cycling the other day. 

When we returned home, this was waiting for us:

Six pretty cups of sweet strawberry jelly. 

Courtesy of our boy.

With shiny sprinkles and hundreds and thousands.

Courtesy of our little girl.

Exceptional upbringing :)

A Wonderful Surprise

A fortnight ago I read this lovely post from my fellow blogger Alix. As I love giveaways and I looove books I decided to join in. Exactly two weeks later (yesterday) Alix, who is the sweetest lady imaginable, surprised me with this little package in the post:

With a kind note and 

the most exquisite origami book mark!

I am one happy reader :)

Flowers For J.

About a year ago, after seeing my FlowerPower T-shirts, my friend J. asked me if I could embellish a summer dress for her. I said yes, of course. Alas, with life being as unpredictable as it is, it has taken me a whole year to actually complete the mission. It's J.'s birthday today and I put all my efforts into finishing the task before midnight :)

I crocheted the flowers a while ago but I couldn't get round to the leafy bits... until last night!

Today it was all about ironing and sewing...

... and here you can see the result! The front...

... and the back :)

It's come out rather gorgeous, even if I say so myself... I sort of wish I could keep it...

Then again, there are always new dresses to turn into a summer garden, right?

A couple of hours ago I packed the dress in a brown box, added a birthday card, tied the box with a piece of string and attached a garden posy on top.

Then I hopped on my bike and personally delivered the package to the birthday girl.

So, once again, happy birthday, J.!

Alison's Gift

I'm about two months behind the whole thing but since I did say thank you at the time I guess it's not too late to present this lovely surprise from my dear blogging friend Alison.

This lovely surprise package couldn't have reached me at a more appropriate time - my husband had just broken his both arms and I was caught in the middle of an extensive and demanding translating project.

So what can be better than a packet of precious Harris Tweedy goodies all the way from Scotland? Not much, if you ask me! Add a little dress-up doll and some Liberty fabric on top and you've got me!

Just look at all these lovely colours and patterns - and the crafting possibilities, endless!

As I'd already purchased two similar dolls from Alison she kindly decided to send me another one so that I can dress her myself. Being the kindest person there is, she provided the clothing material as well. So, ta-dah...

Quite fancy, don't you think?

I've already managed to make some other little projects with the Harris Tweed scraps, but that's for another post. Until then! And thank you so much once again, Alison!