Want want want

I love this bag and this one and everything else by the talented Ana Faye.

[Image © Copyright 2009 Anna Vahey}

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Brooches to beat the January Blues!

Handmade wool felt brooch treats by The Shiny Jane Company. And if colour is your thing she offers a custom colour brooch, just choose from her kaleidoscope of colours here.

(Image credit The Shiney Jane Company)

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Happy Holidays!

Love these handmade chrimbo paper and laser cut decorations by SNOW design company made up of husband and wife team Fiona Snow and Michael Mohler. You can buy them here!

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A Christmas Cracker this one!

If you are knocking about Dublin this weekend (sat 14th and Sun 15th)  looking for alternative christmas shopping venues, then you got to check out this one. Dublin Flea Market and BLOCK T's joint christmas market is back for 2012 and this year they've upped the ante again with a BLOCKbuster of an indoor Christmas Flea Market in Block B, SMITHFIELD SQUARE to bring Dublin a whopping 120 stalls of bric-a-brac, clothes, vintage, retro, vinyl, furniture and hidden gems, clever crafts, creative thinking and affordable art.

Try hard as you may you will definitely not leave empty handed. Whatever it is you are looking for, even if you are not sure what that is, you will find it here.
Delicious food, cracking coffee, music and Christmas cheer.

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Cute Cufflinks

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If a game of X’s and O’s or ouija is not your thing these steampunk typewriter-key cuff links can be personalized with your choice of letters. Perfect stocking sized pressies. See more here.

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Tis the season to light those candles

For us mere mortals who do not own a period house, this charming collection of scented candles will help transport one back to that utterly exquisite era this festive season! Developed by Irish Interior Designers Joseph Ensko and Helen Rodenis, they are inspired by the history of the Irish Country House. Each scent is designed to evoke a particular room in the house and each beautifully designed box captures the story of how the room was used. Perfect pressie for a Downton Abbey fan me thinks! Available here.

[IMAGE CREDIT - Louise Roden]

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Damn Fine Dublin

 
 











[Image Credit - Clodagh Kilkoyne Photography & Damn Fine Print]


As many of you know, I've been burning the midnight ink these last few weeks trying to get our new screen printing studio off the ground. Thursday night saw our opening night exhibition DAMN FINE DUBLIN, and what a turn out. Thank you so much to all those who braved the cold wet miserable December night and more importantly who waited in line to queue to buy prints! We were so overwhelmed by the demand. All remaining prints  are now available to buy online here and we will also be selling at this gem of a christmas market this coming weekend.  And for anyone who would like to try their hand at some screen printing you can follow our studio progress on Facebook for updates about upcoming courses in the New Year.

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DIY - Jazz up a sad wooden table with a simple stencils

Crafty Emily Westbrooks of  lifestyle blog From China Village is back again to share with us some of her slick DIY skills, this time she transforms an old table into an eye catching piece of furniture.

"Repurposed furniture is all the rage at the moment, but it can also be very expensive to buy in a shop. But most of us have a piece or two of old furniture sitting unused in the garage or shed just waiting for a little sprucing. One fast and impressive way to give an old piece new life is with a simple stencil. The shapes and patterns you can choose for your stencil are endless." [Emily Westbrooks]

What you'll need

• A piece of furniture that needs sprucing! I used an old wooden table, but you could use an old bookcase or even new Ikea furniture you're looking to put your stamp on
• Electric sander or sand paper
• Thick card
• Craft Knife
• Ispiration for your stencil
• Paint (I find Woodie's DIY sample paint pots are enough paint and they come in a range of cheerful colours)
• Small paint brush
• Varnish

Directions

[Photo's by Emily Westbrooks]

What to do

1. Create your stencil. Decide what shape you'd like to stencil your piece - this is a great way to bring in a trendy pattern you couldn't find anywhere else. I chose to use several different feathers, but you could do simple, graphic birds or stars or even just circles to make polka dots!
   
   
2. You can either freehand draw your stencil on the card and cut it out with the craft knife, or you can print out a shape, trace it onto the card and cut it out. You'll want to cut out several copies of your stencil as you can only really use each sheet once before the paint starts to soak through.
   
   
3. Once your stencils are ready, you can get your furniture ready for painting. Use the sander or sandpaper to smooth down the finish of the piece you're working on. I found an electric sander took off the old beat up varnish in just five minutes. I chose not to sand the rest of the piece because I wanted to keep it looking rustic - just updated!
   
   
4. Wipe dirt or sawdust off the surface with a damp cloth.
   
   
5. Arrange your stencils on your furniture. You really can't go wrong here - stencils look great grouped together or spread apart. Secure your stencils with blue tack.
   
   
6. Paint the inside of each stencil, brushing from the edge into the middle so paint doesn't get underneath the card. Paint one coat and let the paint dry without removing the stencil. Paint a second coat (and third if necessary) and remove the stencil. If you need to add one or two more stencils, now's the time to decide!
   
   
7. If you have a piece of wooden furniture like mine, you will want to paint the surface you sanded with a few coats of varnish (letting it dry in between).

Then sit back and enjoy your newly revamped piece of furniture. You now have a one-of-a-kind piece you created!  

 [Emily Westbrooks - www.fromchinavillage.com ]


Thanks Emily

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