Banish moths, bugs be gone, let the gentle fragrance waft over you from the new Anti-Moth and wardrobe care items in store!

Every year I have increasingly become more enthused about the Spring Clean – and this year I have even more reason to be excited!!

Cue the beautifully packaged range of sweet smelling anti-moth and wardrobe care products now in store!

The moth season starts end March/April so you should be preventing now and getting your wardrobes ready to avoid any nasty surprises later on!

Click for more information on the blend of essential oils used in the products and my Guide to Vintage Clothes Care. Why not treat yourself to the lovely items as your special reward for your Spring clean!

Betty Grable – The original pin-up girl advertising Lux Flakes.

Wilkaniko have a great range of eco-friendly products for your laundry as well as your house to get you ready set for the big clean!

I especially like the Soap Flakes. I have a vague recollection of seeing these ads in old, old magazines. Do you remember Lux soap flakes? These soap flakes are made by the company that used to make Lux! Soap Flakes are predominantly pure soap – with no added perfumes, enzymes, bleach, phosphates or additives, so you can be confident that they will degrade harmlessly without damaging watercourses and aquatic life. They have not been tested on animals and far less likely to cause skin irritations than regular detergent washing powders. The packaging is made from 80% recycled board.
These flakes are perfect for your vintage garments, gently handwash or pre-wash out any stains with the flakes before putting really delicate items on a cool delicate wash.

Top Tip! Try a homemade laundry recipe – easy on the pocket and your conscience.
Simply add 16 tablespoons of Soap Flakes, 8 tablespoons of Borax substitute and 8 tablespoons of Soda Crystals – all available at Wilkaniko to an airtight container and shake up the ingredients. Use two to three tablespoons of the mixture in your washing load. The washing powder will last for approximately ten washes, with the average cost of about 20p per load.

Need a little help? If you can’t get your clean on to these 80s babes nothing will get you grooving!

Lets hear it for the Pointer Sisters!! I said TURN IT UP!

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Jason Merritt-Getty Images©
Recent post by my Guest Label Ollie & Agnes predicts a vibe for flamenco styled fashion… and they were bang on the button! Or should that be perfectly ruched ruffle…

Zoe Saldano of “Avatar” in a silvery sequin bodice with graduated lilac to deep purple skirt with flamenco-like ruffles. They remind me of cornflowers.

Vera Farmiga of “Up in the Air” in strapless fuchsia dress by Marchesa with so many fan like ruffles creating a wonderful shape.

I love seeing this kind of style and celebration in a dress… I could never really pull off demure anyhoo…

They wear them well with such style and grace! ( I just hope their seats were large enough!)

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Ole!

For some reason, here at Ollie&Agnes we feel a ‘Spanish vibe’ is on its way in the fashion-world and so, in anticipation, we have asked Senorita J to send Flamenco dresses over from Espanola.

Polka dots, layer-upon-layer of ruffle, fitted bodice and a cinched in waist, the flamenco dress was designed to enhance the figure and hide the flaws (what other reason do you need to bring this style into fashion?) and was the traditional ‘song and dance’ dress of the Andalucian locals. Historically, these dresses were worn by Andalucian women, who travelled with livestock traders to Seville.  As well as the figure-enhancing dress, it was teamed up with embroidered scarves (used in a “flirty style!”…hmmmm could take some practice) and hair, which was scraped back into a bun, to make the neck appear longer. We cannot imagine why there were not more Flamenco dresses on the red carpet at the Oscars having read that! In fact, we don’t care if the ‘vibe’, that there will be a Spanish influence on the catwalk, is real or just in our heads; no longer shall the flamenco be relegated to the fancy dress box.

This season we will mainly be wearing a flamenco dress with pride, in the hope that we will appear gazelle-like with our long necks, flirty with our scarves, have enhanced figures and, most importantly, hidden flaws.

We can hear the drums Fernando…

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Not only would anyone be delighted to receive this but can be used again, framed in a room forever….

Measures 5 X 7inches.

Blank inside made of 300gm textured art board supplied with 100 gm white laid envelope

These products are designed and manufactured in the UK. Using environmentally friendly products wherever possible, either paper which is 100% recycled or from well managed sources. Use of biodegradable bags and using a printing company that is FSC accredited.

Plus FREE postage!

So everyone’s a winner – what more do you want?

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If you enjoyed creating your own fabric buttons from scratch, why not buy a ready-to-make kit so that you’ve always got the right equipment to hand? Sew essential stock a range of self covered buttons priced from £1.10 per set of six. Visit www.sewessential.co.uk to buy.

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Make sure you pick up this months copy of SEW Magazine – for great Mothers Days and Easter how to’s also!

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Spring Sale throughout March!

One of a kind dresses and jewellry ~ Once they’re gone, they’re gone!

You’d be mad as a March Hare to miss it!

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I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

William Wordsworth

Happy St. David’s Day!

♥ Now if you feel your patriotism needs to be kicked up a gear – check out Vintage Daffodil Dress – in store now! ♥

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I just wanted to share this lovely pic with you! Reminds me of vintage postcards. I’ve been playing around with settings on my camera and found some lovely filters that worked well in my editing programme too! I think the colours work really well. Let me know your thoughts too!

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With Mothers Day on its way it was lovely to spend some time with my mam recently as she visited me at Extinct Design HQ! We spent time comparing shiny threads and ribbons and off cuts of material, we talked about various sewing projects I had started and techniques and workshops my mum had recently attended… Then, we made a plan. We made some coffee. The the ipod tunes and stories flowing over us in the background and through my bunged up nose, fluey eyed state we managed to finish off some items and get started on some rather gorgeous Mexican looking hearts – possibly to adorn a headband or even to be made into brooches!

Made from my mothers embroidered, layered fabric she had made herself and my stash of ribbons and pom-pom string – a true collaboration!

Don’t forget your Mothers Day Cards and Gifts in Store!

*Next Friday – Covered Clothes Hangers with left over vintage material.

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www.nonstopmama.com

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A close friend of mine is due to have her first baby girl in a couple of weeks and I’ve been on the look out for something special for the nursery. I love the range from Organic Toy Company… in the organic garden, fruit and veg shaped toys starting from £6.99. Ethically Made, natural and organic.  Not only is there a super cute , super soft looking range of toys available, the textiles used are made from certified 100% organically grown/produced fibres that are hypoallergenic.

I’m completely in love with the organic cotton butterfly which sleeps in a removable chrysalis drawstring bag. It has a little red hat with green peaks as feelers and softly shaped yellow wings. Once emerged from its chrysalis, it has a green body shaped to a gentle point, with little blue arms. HOW CUTE?! Such an adorable item. (Ok am I gushing too much? Just looks so peaceful.)

I was lucky enough to actually watch a butterfly hatch from its chrysalis when I was little, that whole process has held such a fascination for me. Like unwrapping a wonderful gift, coming up with a new design or hatching a master plan (Mwha ha ha!) that excitement and potential is thrilling. A perfect gift I think the for a newly born girl.

The site is bursting with interesting information, links and set out in such a way that it is easy to find the perfect gift quickly!

With my head full of fruit, veg and garden beauty I have been reminiscing about the Ladybird Books ~ the Garden Gang ~and their fabulous scratchy felt tip drawings. They stood out to me on my book shelf as their drawings were really free, sometimes imperfect and not dissimilar to my own… I don’t think I realised at the time they had been written and drawn by someone who was only a couple of years older than me! Jayne Fisher – who at 9 years old was the youngest author ever to write for Ladybird Books. Some of the rarer titles are back in demand, fetching high price on Amazon and ebay.

Don’t forget check out Ollie&Agnes’s new range of Little Veg Patch hand-knitted hats. Perfect for little helpers in your early spring garden.

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Check out www.beautybombshells.com for insights on how to acheive the bombshell look

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The Little Veg Patch collection from Ollie&Agnes

Finally, here at Ollie&Agnes, we have launched our new range of kids’ hats ‘The Little Veg Patch’ ..with the juicy strawberry, crunchy green apple and bright pumpkin kicking off this lovely new collection.

The cute hats are hand-made from 100 per cent acrylic wool (so easily washable), and contain care labels and hand-made Ollie&Agnes labels.

This cute collection is sure to be a winner – even for kids who don’t like their fruit and veg!

The handmade hats cost £18.50 and are available from www.extinctdesign.co.uk/guestlabel/Ollie&Agnes

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If you’re not quite a Gleek yet I’m sure you soon will be… all the schmaltz n cheese, romance and peer pressure we’d expect from an American high school drama with a bout of ball-busting attitude thrown in and yes (cue cheesy gag) that’s just the teachers!  The perfect blend.

In the latest episode – Vitamin D – you can see the lovely leading ladies in lemon! I love that each dress is unique, each with it’s own style and type of material too.

Lemon is quite a “vintage” colour with many summer seasons throughout the 60s and 70s  seeing it’s reemergence in various forms, from dresses and skirts to gloves and wide brimmed hats.  A great colour that compliments almost any skin tone.
Yum!

If you are thinking of starting your own Glee club (and I think you should) check out my own handpicked vintage dresses ready and set to propel you to the limelight… err… in Lemon!

Watch Glee on 4oD.

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Guest Label Post by Ollie&Agnes

Here at  Ollie&Agnes we were gutted to miss out on getting the mad ‘Yoga for Cats’ calendar, which features a team of flexible felines in lotus, half moon etc…and have ended up with a rather twee Erte calendar, which came from the bargain bin. The 2010 ‘Yoga for Cats’ calendar was produced by husband-and-wife photography team Dan and Alejandra Borris and shows felines like Star, Persia and Rosetta in a variety of poses.  Former yoga teacher Mrs Borris borrowed cats from friends, and chose each cat for specific poses, to create the quirky calendar. Thankfully no cat, or dog (in the doggy calendar), was forced to do anything that was impossible or cruel and photoshop wizardry was applied. (Check it out on: www.yogadoz.com)

However, this calender is nowhere near as mad as the book, ‘Dancing with Cats’, by Burton Silver and Heather Busch (bought out several years ago by Tandem Press) and which has the wonderful strap-line ‘Nine lives, four paws, and all the right moves’.

Is it a parody? Is it for real? Who knows, who cares…it is utter madness.

New Zealanders Burton and Heather say the book will encourage to experience ‘up lifting energy’ by dancing with their cats and greater understanding between us and our felines’… hmmmmmmmm what to say? But even if you aren’t a feline, or dancing,  fan, seriously,  it is worth a look at this book to see a man painted as a cat complete with tail, cats in knitted jumpers and to see Ralph, who dances with two cats, and has a confused energy-field as a result.

However, be warned,  if you are thinking of dancing with your own pet,  be prepared for disappointment… because, as the great Eddie Izzard shows in his Pavlov’s Cat sketch, moggies ring their own bell and may not have their dancing shoes on!

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This kind of “hands on” art truly excites me – I mean how freaking cool is that?

Painting without the paint! Hurrah for no clean up!

Keeping his identity hidden the Invader is known mainly for his street art of mosaic tiled characters from the classic arcade game – Space Invaders.

Invading cities all over the world installing the mosaics on those places frequented by many people and more obscure locations. Other sites include the Hollywood sign and Jacques Chirac’s lapel… Check out his invasions here.

As a logical next step to his work he uses Rubik’s Cubes to build up striking images, coming fully equipped with the pixel like colourful squares to make up the desired image. Thus Rubikscubism was born. He says in one interview – “The Rubik’s Cube is a fascinating object being very simple and very complex at the same time. The cube has over 43 billion different color combinations.”

Growing up a bona fide kid of the eighties it was hard to miss the new graphic world that surrounded me. My sister in her polka dot t-shirt that made up a picture of Madonna, my bedroom a blur now of dots and dashes, bright red wardrobes stand blocking old Victoria Plum wallpaper… People swishing passed me  noisily in the mis-matching shell “suits” -angrily playing with their Rubik Cubes (or just trying to peal the stickers off)

I applaud the use of Rubiks cubes in this way, loving the idea of re-using something so recognisable to us as one form to be re-invented in another.

If you’re itching to buy one (or perhaps a big box full?) check out the lovely Toyday for all your retro and traditional toy needs!

If you wanna get with the Rubikscubism vibe check out this ahead of its time 60s Dance-Floor Rubik Cube Top!

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