I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

gingerbread house ornament - Asda

making decorations - sprinkle baubles, fimo candy canes and button garlands

finished with sparkles and ribbon!

handmade sprinkle bauble on the tree

ice cream bauble - Maisons du Monde

Gingerbread decoration - Miss Daisy Gifts

cupcake bauble - Maisons du Monde

snowman decoration - Fayre Earth Gift Shop

sweetie decoration - Maisons du Monde

pastel button book tree - Macbelles

candle - Pebble / vintage plate - Rural Reads & Threads

We have our first proper Christmas tree up! I'm so excited because I've been collecting things for months and had decided a while back that I wanted to go for a 'winter wonderland/sugarplum fairy' theme with lots of snow, pink, pastels and cute sweetie decorations. We got our snowy tree from Asda and a selection of cheap tinsels, bead strings and simple baubles from there too as well as B&M. We didn't have a big budget for Christmas decorations so doing that for the basics meant we could buy more special decorations from local shops and on holiday. We got lots in Maisons du Monde in Nice which go so perfectly and of course we finished the tree off with some handmade bits and pieces! I have to admit that I didn't stop at the living room and there is lots more in the house including our homemade advent calendars in the hall along with a mini tree, snowy lights in the windows and some other cute things but I've decided to split this post in two as I took way too many photos! Here is the end result...

Our Home: Living Room Tour

spinning tealight holder: Rustiques // teacup vase & vintage peony: Cottage Craft Centre // wallpaper: Jane Clayton & Co

love lantern: house warming gift // pink candle: Primark

 chalk paint on bookcase & mantelpiece: Milk by Autentico // rose garland: Sass & Belle // pink house lights: Nyla Rose

sofa: Ikea // floral cushions: Fayre Earth Gift Shop // mint cushion: Pebble // checked throw: Ikea // patchwork throw: Primark // world map print: Not on the High Street // house lamp: ebay

rug: Society 6 // chalk paint on coffee table: rose by Autentico

wooden heart trug: B&M // candle: Pebble // wooden doilies: Asda // napkin holder: Tiger // napkins: Cottage Craft Centre

table cloth: John Lewis // coasters & placemats: B&M

upcycled vintage chairs: Pebble by Alabaster Box

button lamp: DIY project

upcycled piano stool: Alabaster box // bright pink lantern: Bombay Duck // light pink lantern: B&M // dandelion artwork: Fayre Earth Gift Shop by The Wee String Plaque Company // doily: etsy // stag clock (below): Pebble

After the last post about our new home which focused on the village we decided it would be fun to start a series on 'our home' which will give us a chance to share our newly decorated cottage along with other bits and bobs about Falkland. 

So here is our living room! I think it's my favourite room in the cottage, but I do keep changing my mind. I did a mood board post with what I had in mind for this room back in July and I'd say it turned out how I'd planned. I know it's really girly with all the pink and florals but it's also very comfy, cosy and practical. We have our little dining corner which can fold out to seat 6 for dinner and the big pink corner sofa is a double sofa bed (it also stores all the guest bedding inside it!). We painted the plain furniture ourselves with Autentico chalk paints and my Mum is to thank for the wallpapering (thanks Mum!) There are links under the photos to where we bought some of our living room things but if I've missed something which you're curious about let me know! 

July Inspiration: Cottage Ideas

This month we're thinking lots about things to buy for the cottage so I thought it would be nice to share some of these ideas. At the moment the living room is quite neutral and grown up (when we move in I'll take a 'before' picture). There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not very me and I've always wanted an excuse to buy pretty pink shabby chic home wares. It's going to be ridiculously girly... but lots of fun!

Stag Clock - by Jaimie Brown from Pebble, Aberdeen - £30

Wallpaper - Freya from Jane Clayton & Company - £30.40 per roll

Sofa Bed - Friheten (with handy storage) from Ikea - £445

Rug - by Mercedes from Society6 - $79 (approx £65 inc P&P)

Fairy Lights - Nyla Rose - £15

Glass Dish - Mollie & Fred - £19.99

House Lantern - on sale Bombay Duck - £3.75

Cushion Cover - by Heavenly Ideas on eBay - £3

We've already bought most of the small things and a few other bits and pieces which aren't in this image including some gorgeous chairs for the dining corner and our upcycled piano stool, both by The Alabaster Box. You can see more on our Pinterest.

June DIY: A Quirky Kitchen Accessory

With just over a month until we move to our little cottage I've been looking out for unusual bits and pieces that will fit in. When I was staying at my Nanny and Grandad's in Fraserburgh earlier in the month I found this little spoon rack in a charity shop. It was a bit rickety but my Grandad helped sort that out with some nails then I decided to paint it with a pastel pink rose chalk paint. I ended up using it for my collection of cake forks with cute tea party themed tops. The cake topped ones are from Blond Amsterdam (the first time we stayed in Amsterdam our apartment was above one of their adorable shops and I couldn't resist buying some goodies to take home). These have been in a box hidden away for ages so it'll be nice to have them out on the wall even if it's a bit of an odd kitchen accessory! 

March Places: Pebble

An exciting new gift shop based in Rosemount, Aberdeen opened at the weekend! Since Pebble is my Mum's shop and I've been really involved in the whole process I'm doing my best not to write this as a review since it would be really biased! Instead I'll tell you a bit about the finishing touches, opening weekend and some of my favourite products in the shop. So come on in and have a look around!

The big job last week was arranging all of the stock around the eclectic mix of pastel painted vintage and upcycled displays, this took a few days and we finished with the window display on the Friday which admittedly involved no planning and a bit of panicked throwing together. The vertical Pebble branded bunting seemed like a good idea beforehand but was being assembled right up until the last minute - I think the look was worth it in the end though! Along with those last minute jobs I hadn't actually finished the Bottled Treasures stock until the Friday morning; I was determined to fill the two tiny cube shelves in time for the opening and am glad I did as they have been selling quick and getting lots of compliments (thank you). The little stationery section was my idea, not all of it handmade but I thought arty people like to buy crafty things so I helped choose some cute pens, stamps, deco tapes and sticky notes... and most have sold out already!

I could have featured all of the products in the shop but I've limited myself to 8 so this post didn't get too big:

1. Ecosse Candles: these have been so popular, my favourites are Sweet Pea and Evening Rain (which might have sold out actually) but I'll be waiting for the next delivery to get my own. 2. Collage Etage: gorgeous brooches and embellished heart frames. I've already got a few of these quirky pieces! 3. Bosie Boutique: silver stacking rings, my Mum makes these but they are really beautifully shown off in the illuminated cabinet in gorgeous colour groups. 4. Bellwood Bears & Nikki McWilliams: These bears have the cutest faces, they're just begging to be given a new home. The cushions are catching passer-byes eyes in the window display. I'm a fan already with my lilac party ring cushion being displayed proudly on the sofa at home. 5. Freda Shelton: pretty yet practical socks, I have a pair of the rainbow ones in the middle - so cosy 6. Doodlestuff's Doodlepins: I bought one of these at Christmas and was very excited to find we'd be stocking them in the shop. Such funky colours and creatures. 7. Studio 34: Northern Lights tealight holders, they light up in such a magical way and come in a set of 4 so you don't have the impossible task of choosing! 8. Ginger Pickle: adorable wooden animal earrings, brooches, necklaces and hair slides. These have been really popular already - you can see why!

This has still turned into a bit of a giant post but it's all too exciting! We spent the weekend serving lots of happy customers and hearing wonderfully positive comments about the shop while living on cake, sweets and tea. It's no surprise that I came home and fell asleep at 5pm yesterday - oops...

Finally, I've just published the temporary website for Pebble today. In future the plan is to replace it with an online shop, in the meantime it's just a simple place to have a look around the shop and find out a bit about it. Hope you like it!

www.pebbleshop.co.uk