• Crafts for adults - upcycling

    DIY Orla Kiely inspired wrapping paper

    My favourite Orla Kiely print is stem print. I recently bought myself a new stem print handbag for work, I just love it! The print is a classic and I wanted to use this print around the home, so tried my hand at cutting my own Orla Kiely inspired stamp. DIY Orla Kiely inspired stamp I already had a DIY stamp craft kit from Flying Tiger which contained the rubber sheet and carving tool. I photocopied a sheet of stem print paper which I then cut out to make my template. I placed this over the top of the stamp…

  • Family Life

    What next for Orla Kiely?

    I’m sure you’ve all heard the news today that Ola Kiely ceased trading on Monday following the collapse of its parent company  Kiely Rowan. There were a few rumours about this in a Facebook group on Monday, yesterday a notice was put up on the Orla Kiely website and today the story hit the BBC. To say I am gutted is an understatement. I have loved Orla Kiely for about 15 years and use an Orla Kiely handbags every day. I was only in the Orla Kiely Covent Garden store 2 weeks ago. I loved that little shop and went…

  • Family Life - mindfulness - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – Summer holidays {Week 5}

    Happy Monday everyone. Hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying the school summer holidays. Each week I start off by writing my Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things blog post. It’s a great chance to reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I always enjoy writing. Monday mindfulness – Summer holidays edition Last week I mainly spent washing after our week at Eurocamp at Duinrell, Holland. I did so much washing it was untrue! Thankfully the weather was pretty good…

  • Family Life - mindfulness - Orla Kiely

    Monday mindfulness – 5 Happy Things

    Happy Monday everyone. Hope you had a great weekend. The weather has been lovely all week (again!) and we loved getting out for some family time this weekend. Each week I start off by writing my Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things blog post. It’s a great chance to reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week, as well as to record some of our family adventures – it’s a post I always enjoy writing. Monday mindfulness – 5 Happy Things We managed to fit a lot into last week. My daughter had her first school trip…

  • competition - Family Life - Orla Kiely

    Danone Light and Free X Orla Kiely

    I love collaborations! I don’t usually eat breakfast but that didn’t stop me looking for the latest collaboration between Danone Light and Free X Orla Kiely. You all know how much I love my Orla Kiely handbags. Some of her homeware has crept into my house but generally I’m limited to a new handbag on my birthday or for Christmas. Well I was overjoyed to find an affordable collaboration between Danone Light and Free and Orla Kiely. Danone Light and Free X Orla Kiely Yep, Danone Light and Free and teamed up with Orla Kiely on an exclusive range of limited edition…

  • Family Life - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things

    Happy Monday everyone. Hope you had a great weekend. I love starting off each week by writing my Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things blog post. It’s a great chance to reflect on the things that made me happy in the previous week. Monday mindfulness – 5 happy things We had a really busy weekend. There was so much going on which was fun, but a little hectic. I love Spring – the clocks have gone forward and there’s more daylight. The kids can’t wait to play outside after school, especially since we let them clean the trampoline. We’ve been planning some…

  • Crafts for adults - Orla Kiely - Pinty Plus Ambassador - upcycling

    Vintage foot stool makeover

    A few years ago I picked up a vintage foot stool at a car boot sale. I wanted to re-cover it with some lovely Orla Kiely fabric. I think the foot stool may have sat in the spare room for about 6 years until I recently found it again. You know that 2018 is the year of tackling those little projects I stashed away. So this is what it looked like before I upcycled it. There were two parts to it – the wooden base and top. The top was embroidered over a foam pad (although we didn’t know this…

  • homestyle - Monday Happy List

    Monday mindfulness {5 happy things}

    Week 159 of my weekly Monday happy things post, about the things which have me happy. Last week was really busy, and the week-end was too. I’m hoping for some quieter time to get ready for half term. Only 2 parent evenings, after school clubs and homework to get through first! Monday mindfulness {5 happy things} I think that Facebook has a lot to blame for my purchasing recently. Someone mentioned that Orla Kiely had designed two exclusive bags for The Royal British Legion. I found them on the Poppy Shop and just had to buy them. Jute bags are…

  • days out - homestyle - Monday Happy List - Orla Kiely

    Monday Happy Things {Week 144}

    We are definitely feeling that the end of term is coming. Every thing is finishing which is kind of satisfying but also scary because that means the summer holidays! My son has handed in his school library book for the last time, finished his handwriting book and had his last Gardening Club session. Only 3 weeks left and still so much to squeeze in! It’s time for my Monday Happy Things post – the 5 things which made me really happy in the last 7 days. My to do list is always long but I’ve excelled myself by buying some uniform…