Let Me Introduce: Love Lammie

Issy Weekend Bag - Love Lammie

Fashion - we all love it, we all have our favourite eras.  I really resonate with the women's fashion of the 1940s - elegant, classic and figure-hugging.  And for many different reasons, today's featured business has taken a lot of inspiration from the same era.  Ladies and Gentlemen - allow me to introduce, Love Lammie.

Working as a designer for many high street stores, Love Lammie was the brainchild of owner Victoria, whose dream became a reality just before the birth of her first child.  Inspired by the use of oilcloth shopping bags in the 1940s and 1950s, plus the ecological benefits of oilcloth as a reusable material; Love Lammie began to produce lines of beautiful bags for everyday use.  What's more?  These gorgeous bags are produced right here, in the UK.

Love Lammie Bibs

Since its conception, Love Lammie has gone from strength to strength, from humble beginnings of Victoria designing, making and then selling at artisan fairs and markets; through to being stocked by several independent retailers.  Shortly after exhibiting at a few trade shows, Victoria realised that she could no longer keep up with the supply and demand of her bags, so they are now manufactured here in the UK, as the companie's success continues to grow.

Victoria cites her most popular products as her weekend bags, Signature Handbags (Love Lammie is launching a new design at the end of this month) and cosmetic bags - great for gifts.  What is so inspiring about Love Lammie, aside from the success Victoria has gained from her initial ideas, is that she approaches each aspect of Love Lammie with a positive attitude, accepting the good and bad of running a small business, with her designing skills just the tip of the iceberg of what needs to be done to run Love Lammie successfully.   If asked for advice about running a business?  Victoria says 'be prepared to learn and listen to all of your customers, but most of all, be open-minded'.

Love Lammie Large Cosmetic Bags

At the moment, Victoria is working hard on stamping her place as a popular lifestyle brand in the UK, though she does have longterm goals of taking Love Lammie worldwide.  She is very keen to continue working with her principles of promoting UK manufacturing and works tirelessly to design new products and ideas.  And when she's not too busy, Victoria loves nothing more than scouring antiques fairs and markets for new inspiration!

Why not take a look at Love Lammie's beautiful products HERE

Love Lammie is also on TWITTER - give her a follow to be kept up to date with the latest Love Lammie news!

EXCLUSIVE OFFER TO LIFE IS PEACHY READERS! Love Lammie is offering a wonderful 20% discount to all my lovely readers! Simply like Love Lammie's FACEBOOK page and tweet Love Lammie to let them know.  You will then be sent your code!  Definitely worth a like for some discount on these beautiful things! 

The Handmade Home - 'A Tour of Our Nursery'

You may be aware, that as well as writing my blog, I am also a writer for the family section of PVB Daily - a really great website promoting small businesses.  I've recently written a few articles about some of the upcycling and handmade projects I undertook when I was making Daisy's nursery; so I thought I would write a post 'tour of the nursery' as I'm really proud of what we have achieved.  Some of it is still a work in progress, but I think the overall look really reflects my love of all things handmade and I hope little D loves sleeping in there!

Upcycled Welsh Dresser - You can read about our upcycling of this welsh dresser HERE; it was met with some criticism,

but I think it will go on to be a staple and useful piece of furniture for D's room as she grows older.  As you can see, she already has toys in abundance - most of the top shelf were mine from various ages (there is a photo of me as a toddler, with this Panda).  Typically we have Jemima and Peter smattered about across the nursery - including the little money box, which was bought on a 'Babymoon' trip to Wales in February.  In keeping with the 'rabbit' theme and I have to shout out my lovely friend Naomi Smith, who drew this gorgeous rabbit picture and framed it in a vintage frame and Jodie, who handknitted the little pink rabbit on the top shelf.  My Beatrix bookends were also an eBay bargain - I often find new baby items being sold for very cheap on eBay, simply because people can be a bit overrun with presents!


Painted Vintage Chest of Drawers - Donated by a friend, this gorgeous 1940s chest of drawers was sanded, primed and painted white and the original dresser mirror removed.  This type of traditional oak furniture often seeps slightly during restoration - but I like the antique

look of the drawers.  I also placed pink polkadot paper to line each drawer and help protect Daisy's clothes.  The wide top doubles up as a great space for changing if necessary. 

Cot - Purchased from Ikea, I love the traditional design and, as with all Ikea furniture, it was easy to assemble (for my OH!) and the mattresse is really comfortable for Little D.  I've found some perfect fabric for the cot bumper, though I've not yet got around to making it yet - I've heard hundreds of conflicting opinions on cot bumpers, their use and how safe they are - which has somewhat put me off!  The blanket is also a homemade sensory blanket - I blogged about this and my love of knitting HERE

 
Cot Mobile - Another handmade item, you can read the tutorial HERE.  I have found most cot mobiles on the market to be expensive and also quite bulky, so in fitting with the theme of the nursery, I made a little mobile of

Jemima and her ducklings, the overall cost of the materials came to under £10 and I made it in just a few hours.  For me, yellow is a colour that young babies really respond to - Daisy loves to watch the ducklings chasing around when she is falling asleep.

Beatrix Potter Framed Pictures - I love mismatched frames and am currently planning a collage display for our front room.  Each of these frames were purchased from local charity shops and we found a pack of vintage Beatrix Potter pictures on eBay.  The trouble was, deciding which characters were going to take pride of place in the nursery!

Selection of antique toys and ornaments - I'm already really pleased with some of the lovely toys we have been given for Daisy, the abacus will be perfect for early stages of learning and Daisy already loves Humpty, though he's almost as big as her!  The Peter Rabbit and  a selection of Postman Pat ornaments that were mine as a baby, so it's lovely to pass these down through the family. 

I love experimenting and trying new crafts - follow my blog for more craft ideas, bargain hunting and tutorials as I continue to make my Handmade Home!

Hodge Podge: Dinosaurs, Astronauts and Glow-in-the-Dark Goop: the 10 best baby sensory experiences!

So, Daisy turns 20 weeks this coming Thursday and I've noticed a steady increase in her demand to be constantly stimulated with new sights, sounds and textures.  I'm not one to break the bank with toys and gadgets and I am constantly looking for ways to entertain and educate her as she grows and becomes more interested in the world around her.

I am really excited to introduce Gude from Hodge Podge, who has written a guest post about the best sensory experiences for babies.  Her blog, as she will tell you, is dedicated to ideas for crafting with children and is a real inspiration - I can't wait to see what ideas she has for my little one!  So, for today, I will leave you in her capable hands as she counts down her top ten.

Hi, I’m Gude from Hodge Podge, where I blog about crafting with, and for children.  I am so excited to be guest-posting here at Life is Peachy!Emma, a thousand thank yous for having me!  In keeping with Emma’s philosophy of positive mother/parenthood and creative inspiration, I hope this post will encourage you to try some fun, simple, low-cost sensory experiences with your baby.

Do come and visit me at Hodge Podge or follow me on Twitter for more ideas HERE! 

Babies are adventurous little explorers and love to put anything and everything into their mouths – it’s their way of discovering and learning about the world around them.  Food is therefore a common first sensory experience.  My boys (AKA Pickle, 2 and Chops, 1) have fed themselves ‘real’ food since they moved on from milk and while Baby-Led Weaning is not for everyone (and makes a HECK of a lot of mess), it is utterly fascinating (and hilarious!) to watch babies discovering flavours like yoghurt, cherries, pasta bolognese and chicken and avocado for the first time…

Another sensory experience, which is fantastic for even very young babies, is massage.  Anna at Little Lotus explains that baby massage can help ‘lower stress levels in the body and help unsettled babies relax… increase body awareness and stimulate the nervous system’.  It’s also a really lovely way to bond with your baby.

So, if you’re keen to set up a more creative or unusual sensory experience for your baby, why not try one of the following ideas? 

1. Raspberry spaghetti from the Imagination Tree yum!

2. Space sensory tub from Totally Tots - Pickle would LOVE this!

3. Ice-play & painting at The Good Long Road - great for hot Summer days!

and a Giant dinosaur ice cube (wow, just wow!) from Crumb Bums 

4. Sensory bags (no mess!) from Growing a Jewelled Rose- the doyenne of sensory experience!

5. Wet newspaper from Hands On As We Grow – so quick, simple and easy!

6. Coloured & scented rice (tutorial) from Play Create Explore Chops would try to scoff this stuff, no doubt…

7. Beach in a box from Mama Pea Pod – I would love one of these myself in the garden!

8. Goop and Glowing Bubbles – another genius and original idea from Growing a Jewelled Rose.

9. Dinosaur sensory bin from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes.  Older kids would enjoy this one too, right?

10. Flower sensory bottle (no mess!) from My Little 3 And Me how pretty is this?!

NOTE: Please don’t ever leave your baby unsupervised during this kind of activity, especially those involving water. 

Finally - be prepared that they may not enjoy the experience.  If they are frightened, or uncomfortable in any way, simply stop and try again when they are a little older. Pickle HATED sand until he was about 1, but he can’t get enough of the stuff now!

Let Me Introduce...This is Lullaby

If you're anything like me, it's not just your own clothes shopping that can be a nightmare.  Sometimes I like to look for really individual little things for Little D and that's where my love of small, handmade businesses come in.  Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce the lovely Vicky from This is Lullaby to you!   

This is Lullaby, is a unique business selling handmade children's clothing from vintage and upcycled materials.  Vicky set up the business in May 2012, when her daughter, Lucie, turned one year old and she has not looked back! 

Inspired by her own love of making, sewing and breathing new life into old fabrics, Vicky's business is an extension of a 'hand-me-down' tradition and she uses her talent to bring unique and individual products to the children's clothing market.  Vicky designs the majority of patterns herself, though on some she does modify existing patterns to suit her designs.  The only downside to making such beautiful clothes is that she gets a lot of adults saying, 'I want that in my size'.  After flicking through her shop on Etsy, I am quite happy to join them!

Just look at this beautiful dress she made, made from beautiful vintage florals!  I'm envious of Lucie's wardrobe!

Although based in the UK, This is Lullaby's majority of custom comes from the US, who are in love with her classic styling and use of more unusual and traditional fabrics.  Her use of lovely fabrics such as Herringbone and Tweed, make her quite the go-to business for more formal children's clothing such as Christening or wedding outfits. 

Vicky's designs really stand out as she does not use children's fabrics (though Lucie would love to be head to toe in Peppa Pig), I'm wondering if she might branch out to adult clothing too?!  This is Lullaby caters for clothing aged 0-24months and prices start from £7.00 for a bib through to about £25.00 for a lovely dress.

In short, Vicky loves what she does.  Everything is made by hand at her home in Manchester and she is (rightly) proud of setting up her business and makes a point of stressing the importance of celebrating every small success along the way.  Running a hands-on business with a toddler running about must take it's toll, but overall, Vicky loves being her own boss and the opportunity to introduce and sell her designs to another country has been a real positive.  

In the future, Vicky would like to see This is Lullaby gain more customers in the UK and she has plenty of product ideas developing right now that she wants to roll out in the near future.  What is so interesting about talking to Vicky, is that she is so keen to keep improving her ideas and products as her business develops.  I'm predicting big things for this brand, Vicky certainly caters for my type of 'mum' shopping - unique, with a little bit of history.

You can view Vicky's Etsy shop here --->http://www.etsy.com/shop/thisislullaby
While you're at it, why not give her a like on her Facebook page too! https://www.facebook.com/thisislullaby

The Handmade Home: Knitting in a Free World!

A few days ago, my beau's younger brother made an off-the-cuff comment about knitting.  I can't remember exactly how it was termed, but the particulars included something to do with knitting being for both the 'sad' and the 'old'.  I perked up at this, defending us young, hip knitters and I was temporarily excused for my knitting obsession as I was now a 'mum'.  I started knitting when I was at University.

 

I don't think a lot of us crafters, knitters etc would be able to pin point a moment in life that we decided to put our intrigued fingers to work, neither could we give a reason why we do it.  I've only ever answered this sort of question to one thing; writing.  I said I write because I can't not write.  I suppose I knit for the same reason; I can't not do it.

 

Earlier in the month, I published a short beginner's tutorial to knitting, in the lovely online magazine for Peta's Vintage Boutique.  It was difficult to put these actions into words, as it's been a long time since I completed my first few stitched under the watchful eye of my Nan, a keen and talented knitter for many years.  That was where I got the bug, fast forward to present day and now, I have even more reason to go 'handmade'; there is nothing quite like watching Daisy man-handling (baby-handling) the sensory blanket I made for her.

You can find the original knitting tutorial here ---> http://www.petasvintageboutique.com/issue-2.html

I chose this Val Pierce-inspired sensory patchwork blanket as my first baby-project.  The different knitted textures and the daisies are great for little grabbing fingers and will, hopefully, become something of a comfort blanket for Daisy when she is a little older.  I chose to work with pastel, light colours to fit the Beatrix Potter theme in Daisy's nursery.  I was really pleased with how the colours blended together - Peter Rabbit's Blue, Jemima's Pink and Lilac and a soft baby Cream.   It worked wonders for the first few weeks after Daisy's birth, as we were hit with such cold, snowy weather and now it's great as a sensory object that remains familiar to her.

As an intermediate knitter, I found this blanket quite easy, the bulk of the blanket is made with simple garter and stocking stitches; these make for a very classic patchwork look.  The challenge lay in creating the daisies but I'm always up for a crafting challenge!  It's a great pattern for sitting in front of the TV, especially when I needed my mind taking off impending childbirth.  I'm now looking at adapting this pattern with different sensory objects and colours.  Results to follow!


I've got the handmade bug!  More posts to follow on 'handmaking' your home and nursery on Life is Peachy!

Are you interested in commissioning a sensory baby blanket?  Email missemmaberry@gmail.com for further information, costs etc.  I would love to hear from you!

A Picture of Owlish Grey...

Every once in a while, I stumble across a truly unique crafter, who has taken an entirely different approach to their designs.  Since Father's Day was yesterday, I just had to share the gift I chose for my beau's first Father's Day, designed and made by the wonderful Owlish Grey.

CRAFT MEETS SCIENCE

I stumbled across Nottingham-based Owlish Grey quite by accident, when she gave a friendly 'like' to my other business' Facebook page.  Intrigued, I looked a little closer at Owlish's Etsy shop, and was so pleasantly surprised by what I found, I simply had to order one of her unique 'Soundwave Prints' ready for the Big Day!  

Owlish Grey's products stem from an interest in crafting accessories, whilst taking inspiration from science and nature.  Some of her latest products include cards and prints with famous scientist's quotes and also cards featuring symbols from the periodic table.  A truly different design approach, which make for some lovely keepsake pieces.

A first Father's Day is always going to be very special, so I decided to opt for a unique 'Soundwave Print'.  Should you decide to purchase one (which I thoroughly recommend you do); they come in two different sizes and, once you have placed your order, you are required to send a short recording of a message you would like to give to the receiver of your gift.  There are several options you can choose from in terms of colour, a borderline etc and you are asked to clearly state your options when sending your order across.  What is then posted to you, 48 hours from completing the order, is a unique soundwave print of your voice and your message. 

 

I chose a red soundwave to match the red theme running through our abode,  I also chose a grey background to add depth to the piece and recorded myself saying 'Daisy Loves Daddy'.  A simple, but perfect and very personal gift for Mr Peachy to treasure.

Aside from the originality in Owlish Grey's designs, her attention to detail in each step of the process really inspires me.  Her packaging is personal, even her envelope stamp is named and she provides you with a barcode so that you can scan and hear your message!

Needless to say, the OH was chuffed with his gift, a lovely memoir of his first Father's Day celebrations and something so personal to him.  I would like to thank Gemma, of Owlish Grey, for her wonderful product, incredible service and for her part in making Mr Peachy's day so very special!  Owlish Grey gets the official 'Peachy Seal of Approval'!

Check out Owlish Grey's wonderful designs on her Facebook page and Etsy shop: https://www.facebook.com/owlishgrey/app_259525164100619

Coming soon...my first foray into the world of Paper Cutting

Welcome To The House of Fun...

Once upon a time, a wise old 'Clever Clog' on Twitter was reported to have shared this gem of a tweet amongst his followers; 'The Internet called, it says it has enough Blogs now'. I laughed, then I moved on.

To Blog or Not To Blog?

Throughout my pregnancy, I was sometimes shocked at the level of negativity some of the motherly types I spoke to, about the impending change I was about to welcome to my life.  I was led to believe, by some, that there was little to no point in getting up in the morning, as life as you knew it would fade into oblivion; you would be left in a haze of oversized tees, baggy leggings and incessant screaming.  Daisy was born on March 14th, after two weeks of waiting, waddling to the nearest coffee shop and downing curries.  Life, as I had known it, became suddenly enriched.

I think this feeling of euphoria sealed my decision to set up Life is Peachy.  I thought I knew what to expect, I thought I would have no time for anything.  I had trawled through the internet, through working mums, stay at home mums, debating mums, sadly unhappy mums and decided that perhaps I wanted to put Motherhood in a purely positive light.  

Do Something Everyday...For You

When you become a Mother for the first time, the one thing you cannot be prepared for is the sheer amount of love and adrenalin you will wholly exist on.  Your world changes, your priorities change and you are suddenly facing each and every day with a tiny person whose constantly changing face and abilities will astound you.  There are times you will be tired, there are times you will be frustrated, but this always fades into insignificance when you consider what you have achieved.  Daisy is approaching the three-month mark and she's already insisting on standing when being held, she has developed a morbid taste for Lana Del Rey (just like her Mother) and loves nothing more than chatting and smiling away in her chair.  Those few things alone, personally, make it all worth it. 
As for me, the personality lobotomy I was so afraid of during those bleak, self-aware hours before I was commanded to 'push', it turned out, was nothing more than an urban myth.  I was proud to leave hospital the following day in a cheerful, if somewhat impractical, dress and tights.  I still found I had a borderline obsessive interest in music new and old, books, writing, fashion, crafting, baking, recipes, tattoos and I was still itching to try pastel hair.  In the end, the pastel was a short but much-loved moment of my peachy life.  I set about trying to do one thing every day that I enjoyed.  I read, baked and wrote my way through things I had been meaning to do for months and I created Life is Peachy to share these great things with you all, as I continue to grow, try new things and develop the sense of the word 'mum' that I am most comfortable with.  I'm lucky enough to have the support of the wonderful Mr Peachy, who loves nothing more than to Daisy-dote for an hour or two so I can type up my latest musings.  Everybody has different experiences, I feel I want to share mine through Life is Peachy And that, Mr C Clog,is why I believe there can never be enough Blogs. 

I hope, if nothing else, that Life is Peachy inspires others not to be afraid of losing their identity, to try new things and most of all, to be proud and comfortable in themselves.  Whether it's practicing a new craft, sharing a new recipe or daring to bear the wardrobe, Life is Peachy is a celebration of the creative parent, who challenges themselves and embraces all that they are post-birth.  Parents do wonderful things, but this should never be at the expense of losing all sense of themselves.  Life indeed feels Peachy, I hope you'll all agree... 

E x