The cutest darn fabric I ever did see

I can't even put into words how much I love this fabric. I found it entirely by chance in my local crafty emporium. It was tucked away at the top of a mountain of fabric bolts stacked almost to the ceiling and when I took it to the till, the staff ooh-ed and aah-ed over it as if they didn't even know it existed.

How cute is it? There are eight adorable little children and each one has a selection of outfits and accessories.  It's by Bluehill Fabrics and is called Aunt Lindy's Paper Dolls.  I had to buy just over 60cm of fabric to get the entire pattern repeat so each 'frame' is a little under 30cm.

I probably should have ironed it before taking pictures, but I was too excited and impatient to share it.

I think I'm going to use it to make a set of cushions, probably by mounting each 'framed' print onto a piece of cotton.  If anyone has any other suggestions on ways to use it, I'd love to hear them!

Jenny

 x

Miss Beatrix's Buttons

I just had to write a quick post about the lovely handmade and hand-painted buttons I received the other day from my talented friend Anna. She makes the sweetest little buttons and as she takes custom orders, I asked if she could make me some bluefinches. Even though I'd seen a picture of them before they were sent, I still did a little "eeeeeep!" when opening the envelope!  

A family of Bluefinch buttons

Anna makes the buttons from polymer clay and then paints the intricate designs on by hand.  The attention to detail is just amazing and each button is a little work of art. (Excuse the photos - they were taken on my phone as I'm supposed to be working, oops.)

Mr Bluefinch Button

Ms Bluefinch Button

Baby Bluefinch Button!

The teeny little buttons feature my shop's logo.  I am planning on making some gloves or wristwarmers and stitching these onto the wrists.  As for the larger ones, I don't have any plans for them yet but I'm absolutely in love with them!

You can visit Anna's adorable etsy shop here: Miss Beatrix Shop .  

Jenny

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Cruelty-free hair!

Hello! It's been way too long since my last post but I wanted to share my latest cruelty-free finds with you.    I wrote a bit about my quest to only ever buy cruelty-free products back in May and thought it was time for an update.  And as we can't talk about cruelty-free without a gratuitous cute bunny shot, here you go:

Cruelty-free make-up and, increasingly, toiletries are fairly easy to find but I've always struggled with quality hair-care products.  Supermarket own-brand shampoos and conditioners (see Co-op and Sainsbury's own labels for super-cheap cruelty-free products) tend to be cheap and relatively low on quality.  While these are fine for 'normal' hair, my long, heat-damaged, dehydrated hair doesn't do well with these basic products.  Step in, Liz Earle. 

For some reason, I'd never purchased any Liz Earle products until a few months, ago.  I have to be honest and admit that this is partly because I vaguely remembered Liz as a reporter on GMTV in the 90s and I found her intensely irritating at the time.  Well, I decided it was time to forgive and forget and I finally lost my Liz Earle virginity by heading into John Lewis and purchasing this shampoo...

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo £8.50

this conditioner...

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Conditioner £8.50

and this shine treatment...

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment £14

My verdict?

The shampoo = awesome.  Liz has a customer for life there. You only need to use a teeny, tiny dollop and it lathers up beautifully, leaving your hair feeling squeaky-clean and happy.

The conditioner = awesome.  Again, you don't need to use all that much compared to other brands and although it doesn't feel that 'conditioning' while you're applying it, your hair will feel lovely and soft once you've rinsed it off.  

The Shine treatment = meh.  Maybe it just wasn't a good match for my hair but this was the only product I didn't love.  It's OK, and I'd consider buying it again to use on a beach holiday, maybe, or if my hair was looking particularly dull.  I didn't actually find this did much more for my hair than the conditioner did so it wasn't worth the £14 to me.

At the cheaper end of the market, Superdrug have recently expanded their hair-care range and now offer shampoo and conditioners which are their version of Pantene Pro-V.  Pantene is made by the most definitely NOT animal-friendly Proctor and Gamble so I was pleased to try a similar product from a kinder company.

Superdrug Pro-Vitamin Conditioner £2.29

I was pleasantly surprised by this shampoo and conditioner.  It left my hair nice and soft and the scent is lovely.  Proper old-school clean hair smell!  I bought the Thermal Protect  shampoo and conditioner but they also offer 'Normal', 'Extra- Shine' and 'Volume'.  I will definitely be buying this again and thoroughly recommend it if you're on a budget as the bottles are BIG and it lasts for ages.  I also recommend it if you  want to instantly be transported back to your childhood, sitting on the sofa on a Sunday evening, smelling of shampoo and bubble bath, full from a roast dinner and waiting for You've Been Framed to come on.  Or Songs of Praise if you were more highbrow than I was.

Last, but not least, my final cruelty-free hair care find is Tara Smith.  I'd never heard of Tara but on a recent trip to the ginormous new Marks and Spencer near Cheshire Oaks on the outskirts of Chester (if you're in the north-west and haven't been yet, go. Even if you don't like M & S, just go.  It's amazing.  Even my retail-therapy-hating boyfriend loves it) I spied a display of her pretty bottles.  I was so excited when I picked up one of said bottles and it turned out her products were BUAV approved and 100% cruelty-free *squeal*.

I thought I'd just try the serum to start with, reasoning that if I liked it, I would simply HAVE to come back to the world's greatest M&S to buy up the rest of the range.  I've only used the serum twice so far and I like it very much.  A little goes a very long way and it leaves my hair looking smooth and healthy.  It feels very  rich and luxurious and not at all sticky like some serums tend to.  The bottle is pretty funky too:

Tara Smith Base Coat Serum £14

The full range includes shampoos, conditioners, styling products and some nifty little kits, each designed for a specific hair type.  I will be dropping some heavy hints and hoping to find a selection of Tara Smith goodies in my Christmas stocking this year.

Have you tried any of these products, or do you know of any other cruelty-free hair-care ranges?  If so, I'd love to hear from you, as would my parched locks :-)

Jenny

   x

“A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content”

OK, so that's an old proverb and not my own words but I definitely agree.  I hate mooching around the house all day on a Sunday wondering what to do and feeling that familiar Sunday night feeling creeping up on you sometime around 4pm.  Now that I'm (temporarily) back in a 9-5 job with an obscenely long commute as well as running Bluefinch Boutique, my Sundays are really precious and I try and enjoy every minute of them!

Friday night was spent having dinner, playing cards and drinking gin with friends, Saturday was early morning clothes shopping in Liverpool, a supermarket dash, DIY and housework so Sunday needed to be unwind day.

We started off our day at Brimstage Hall, an 800 year old hall which houses a range of lovely independent shops.  Recollections is a stunning shop selling a huge range of vintage crockery, furniture and gifts.  Most of the vintage china is sold in matching sets but there are a bunch of lonely cups and saucers you can buy separately and mix and match for £1.50 each.  I've seen a few people turning pretty teacups into mini plant pots so I bought this one with the intention of doing the same:

I had (and, sadly, killed) a cute little heart-shaped cactus from Ikea so I'm thinking one of them might look good in the cup?  And I'll try not to kill it this time - so much for cacti being the option for people who can't look after plants.

I'm still gathering together pictures for the gallery wall I mentioned in my last post and so far have prints from Paris, Amsterdam and Turkey which are all special places to me and my boyfriend.  I had been looking for a local print for a while and came across a great selection in The Stables Gallery .  I made Glyn make the final decision on which print to buy as apart from his guitars, games consoles and laptop, I feel like I picked out pretty much everything in our house!  He picked this one of New Brighton lighthouse in the middle of a storm:

We can see this lighthouse from the end of our road so couldn't get a much more local picture!  It's really hard to see from the photo but it's got great depth and colour.  I also bought this card which reminds me of the Rosie the Riveter posters:

After browsing the lovely shops, we sat in the sun in the courtyard with a cup of tea and lots of very friendly  hens.  

I didn't realise they were ex-battery hens until I saw a sign on the way out about them.  It's so lovely to see them clucking around, happy, healthy and safe.  I know a couple of people who've adopted ex-battery hens and think it's a wonderful thing to do.  As soon as I get bigger garden, I'm joining them!

Next, it was leisurely Sunday pub lunch with my whole family followed by a walk on the beach at sunset...

Whatever you're doing, I hope you made the most of your Sunday and that you're having a lovely Bank Holiday weekend :-)

Jenny

x

It's easier than you think to go cruelty-free...

I know lots of people genuinely aren't aware how many companies still do test on animals but let's be blunt: it's most of them.  If you use any of the mainstream cosmetics brands, you are almost certainly using make-up which has been tested on animals.

When I was at school in the 90s, there seemed to be lots more talk in the media about cruelty-free cosmetics than there is now.  I always tried to buy cruelty-free, as did most people I knew.  I suppose animal rights have gone out of fashion a bit since then so the topic of cruelty-free is much less on the agenda than it was then.  I still buy cruelty-free though and make sure not just cosmetics, but all my toiletries and household cleaning products are 100% cruelty-free, preferably BUAV approved.  It's easy enough to find out about the horrific procedures used in cosmetic testing on animals and I'm not going to go into any of that here.  If you aren't familiar with the topic, I suggest you do a quick Google search on animal testing which may change the way you shop for beauty products in future.  BUAV has great resources on all aspects of cruelty-free shopping, as well as a list of approved companies which you can find here.

It's easy enough to buy BUAV approved products now and I can't think of anything that I regularly struggle to find a cruelty-free version of.  It also doesn't have to cost more to buy 'kind' products as there are budget brands available.  Also, don't be misled by any products which say 'We are against animal testing'.  This doesn't mean the product wasn't tested on animals.  If in doubt, check out a company's corporate website.  If they are 100% cruelty-free, they will say so.  In my experience, if you can't get a definitive answer from the Internet, they're not cruelty-free.

To prove there is a cruelty-free alternative to just about everything, here are some of my favourite companies:

Cosmetics and toiletries

Urban Decay

100% cruelty-free and available in selected branches of Boots, Debenhams and House of Fraser.  I'm a big Urban Decay fan.  I especially love their Surreal Skin mineral make-up and have been using it for the past couple of years.  They're also great for bronzer, blusher and eye make-up.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

Barry M

I just LOVE Barry M!  They're affordable and cruelty-free and are readily available in most branches of Superdrug and Boots.  Their nail polishes are excellent and come in every colour imaginable.  I'm also a big fan of their Wink eyeliner pen which is easy to use and long lasting.

Barry M Wink  

Marks and Spencer
All own brand products are BUAV approved.  M & S have a few different make-up and beauty ranges.  I like the Autograph range of make-up best, but they also have a really reasonably priced basics range, too.  Also good for sun-care and skin-care, especially their delicious smelling body butters!

M & S Coconut Body Butter

Superdrug

All their own-brand toiletries, cosmetics and household goods are guaranteed 100% cruelty-free and are BUAV approved.  I buy most of my hair-care and skin-care here.  They're also great for own-brand hair dyes, sun-care and household products.

Superdrug Hair Colour

Montagne Jeunesse

100% cruelty-free and made using vegetarian ingredients, I'm sure everyone is familiar with their brilliant little facemask sachets.  I've been using these for years and they really do work!

Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask

Supermarkets

Did you know two major UK supermarkets are now 100% cruelty-free and BUAV approved?  Both Co-op  and Sainsburys carry the 'leaping bunny' symbol on all own-brand products.


I hope you will think about buying from some of the companies on here, if you don't already.  This is by no means and exhaustive list of all the places I buy from, just the ones I've come to depend on most over the past few years.  The Go Cruelty Free website has an extensive list of all BUAV approved companies and is a good place to start if you're not sure what is classed as 100% cruelty-free.

Jenny

   x

Vintage finds: Sewing box

So, apparently sewing boxes are like buses: You wait all year for one and then two come along at once...or something. I've been looking for an old wooden sewing box for ages, preferably one that could also double up as an end table/cat lookout post/footstool/mug rest but was having no luck.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, I came across one on ebay.  It was a little small, but it was only £8, local and great quality solid wood so I bought it.  It's a fixer-upper and is soon to be sanded down, painted and spruced up.

It wasn't perfect, but I'd found my sewing box so I stopped looking.  As is so often the case, once you stop looking, you find what it was you wanted.  I was visiting my parents a couple of days ago when I passed a new 2nd hand furniture shop in their village.  Lo and behold, there, sitting outside on the pavement was this:

I have heard lots of tales from more dedicated shoppers than I about the time they bought some old piece of tat and it turned out to be full of vintage treasures and oh, what a reward for trawling 2nd hand shops, you never know what you will find, blah blah blah.  That never happens to me and I suspected certain people were exaggerating the regularity of this happening.  Well, some of them might be but when I finally got round to lifting the lid of my sewing box (after impulsively telling the shop owner I'd take it), I discovered....loads of vintage treasures and oh, what a reward for trawling 2nd hand shops, you never know what you will find, blah blah blah.

This is my very favourite item of all those in the box:

I love it.  For a start, I own Bluefinch Boutique and this is a Blue-tit which is close enough for me, but also because it's just so darn pretty. As if that wasn't enough, it's is chock-full of lovely vintage buttons, like this beauty:

From scraps of paper and old envelopes in the box, I have gathered that the lady who owned my sewing box was called Eileen, and that she lived with her husband in Bootle, Liverpool for at least part of her life.  I haven't even begun to sort through the piles of accessories and supplies in her sewing box but it's obviously a collection that spans many, many years, perhaps a lifetime.  There are items going back to the  at least the 1950s but there are also much newer items. It always makes me a bit sad when I see this kind of thing to think that the owner had no-one left who shared her obvious love of sewing or who wanted to keep this little part of her life for themselves but don't worry, Eileen, it's found a good home.

Jenny

 x

Culture Label

Chances are, if you're a regular Internet user and based in the UK, you've already come across Culture Label's fabulous website (www.culturelabel.com).  If you've ever been stuck for a gift for someone and Googled 'unusual gifts' or 'gift ideas', it's usually up there near the top of the search results.  Founded in 2007, the aim was to create an online store that offered affordable style, and where money spent on shopping made a positive difference to the arts.  Their founding partners included iconic and internationally renowned British institutions such as Tate, V&A, Saatchi Gallery, and the Whitechapel Gallery. Five years on, Culture Label is now home to over 200 brands and designers, including, as of March 2012, my very own Bluefinch Boutique.  


It's early days for my own little corner of Culture Label, and I have lots of exciting plans for an exclusive range of jewellery which will only be sold through there, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some of my favourite pieces from other Culture Label sellers.

Green and Gold Cup Necklace by Louise Buchan £32.50

Cat Scratching Decks by Maiden £16.50

Blue Birds Purse by Custom Made £13.50

His 'n' Her Set of Mugs by Rob Ryan £17.95

Retro Green Printed Clutch Bag by Anna's Design £19

Sew-Your-Own-Fox Tea Towel by Maiden £10

See anything you like?  I particularly love the Sew-Your-Own-Fox Tea Towel - it would make a really cute gift for a fox lover or a crafting virgin!

Jenny

  x