Giveaway Time! {closed!}

Remember that giveaway I mentioned a little while ago? Here it is! I've teamed up with the lovely Tatjana Buisson from Postcard Happiness to share the stationery and postage happiness with you lovely people! 

It's such a great project and really resonates with me, so if you haven't heard of Postick or Postcard Happiness before, here's the dealio from Tatjana herself:

"I created www.PostcardHappiness.com in an effort to inspire people to get back into sending each other postcards. The digital age is wonderful and incredibly efficient but there's something so special about receiving a physical postcard that was written by hand and posted by someone special. It makes us so happy and it lasts as long as the postcard does. There are two main branches to the website: The Postcard Happiness Project and Postick.

The Postcard Happiness Project is an ongoing initiative which makes it easy for anyone around the globe to send friendly postcards to strangers who could do with a little extra happiness. I add profiles of people who are experiencing challenging times and a link to their personal postal address. You can check in on the site every week or so and pick a person you'd like to send some friendly words to. You write them a postcard and send it and voila! You've made a complete stranger very happy with minimal effort.

Postick (which is part of this awesome giveaway) is a product I've recently developed out of pure necessity. Postick is my brand of sticky labels that look like the back of a postcard. You can stick one on the back of a printed photo, write your message and post it. Stick one on fabric off-cuts, illustrations, magazine cut-outs, bits of beautiful packaging... anything! So when you see something that reminds you of someone, keep it and send it with a Postick on the back and your written message. "

Here's what you get:

1 x Postick pack containing 10 Postick labels

3 x A6 Happiness is... inspirational notecards

4 x Happiness is... patterned gift tags

How to get it:

1. Share your favourite happiness quote or inspirational words in the comments on this post  

2. "like" the Postcard Happiness page on Facebook

For extra entires you can "like" the Happiness is... page on Facebook and follow me on twitter, and mention each extra entry in the comments section (all in one comment is fine) so I can count it in. 

Last day for entries is Monday next week (6th May). Only open to South Africa.

Go forth and join the postcard revolution!

Last week's posts at a glance...

Catch up on any posts you missed last week!
• Flower Beards
• 5 x i love: Rings
• New Stationery
• Rooted in Succulents

Retro Let's Go! - A huge success!

So this past weekend was the awesome Retro Let's Go vintage and retro market that I mentioned a while ago and it was such a raging success! It was super super busy with a very cool and well-dressed crowd. I tried to snap away in the midst of it all, but many of my pics were taken very fast and many turned out blurry, but I managed to get a few good ones that I think will give you the vibe of it if you weren't there...

The dance was later in the evening and I unfortunately didn't attend that, but from what I hear it was sold out and was a really great event as well. I'm sure it'll be happening again sometime, so be sure to catch the next one! I have a feeling it's going to just get bigger and better. Well done to the organiser, Micaela, for doing such a fantastic job!

Flower Beard

I just love this creative botanical shoot! Beards and plants - what a great combo, right? I just came across the site of Sarah Winward who creates beautiful fresh flower arrangements for weddings and events. The guy in the photos is her husband and this shoot was his idea!

New Stationery - Cat Notecards & Mother's Day Cards

I've got some new notecards available on my Hello Pretty store! Would love to know what you think of them and what you'd like to see in future, let me know in the comments :)

5 x I Love... Beautiful Rings

one  •  two  •  three  •  four  •  five

Rooted in Succulents

Jessica St. Hilaire is the owner, maker and designer behind the Etsy shop, Rooted in Succulents. Her designs include woodworking with reclaimed materials, vintage treasures and centerpieces from topiaries to reused books and any other means of using succulents in colourful ad unusual ways. I especially the reused book pieces and the initials, would love a big one like that on my wall!

"Rooted in Succulents is a business born of my absolute love and obsession with succulent plants!"

View more here.

Free stuff!

So excited about my first ever giveaway on the blog happening very soon in collaboration with a very cool product! Here's a sneak peek at what's in store, keep an eye out for it! :)

Sneak Peek - Watercolour Patterns

I've recently developed a thing for patterns and have been really enjoying experimenting with creating some! Here are a few that'll be used for some products soon. What do you think? Would love to know how you'd like to see them used and which ones you like best, let me know in the comments!

Lettercats - An Illustrated Cat Alphabet

I don't think this needs much explanation - a cat alphabet. Yes. Nevermind that it's a Russian alphabet - that's not the point. Cats.
Created by Russian painter and graphic designer, Irina Batkova.

Beautiful wearables from So Little Time Co.

How awesome are these accessories from So Little Time Co.? From the cute little creatures above, to the awesome detailed Penny Farthing brooch below and the wooden photo locket pendents, each item displays its own individuality and uniqueness. I'd love to own one of these pieces!

"So Little Time Co. was started by Kirsty and her husband Josh, through a desire for more creativity and a means in which to channel it."

Check out more on their Etsy shop. 

Happiness is... on Instagram!

Hey peeps! Hope you've had a fantastic weekend. Just wanted to let you know I've finally joined Instagram. I hadn't joined before this coz I just wasn't feeling it for some reason, partly because of feeling a bit overwhelmed with other social media that I felt I was wasting too much time on already so I didn't want to add to that. Also because I know that if I'm not properly into something I probably won't do it justice, and I think it's sometimes better to not do something at all rather than do it for the sake of it and do it badly, you know?
So anyway, I'm into it now. And trying to keep the cat pics to a minority, so I promise it's not just cats! Would love to see you guys there! > happinessis_blog

Beautiful Art Prints & Photography by Kari Herer

I am so totally crazy about this fantastic work by photographer, Kari Herer. She has a background in fine art and graphic design and a strong love for nature, all of which are clear in these pieces. I adore the fresh beautiful florals combined with the simple line work. 

These are all prints available from her Etsy site, but she specialises in professional portrait photography which you can see on her website.

Have your cookbook and eat it too!

I came across this quite a while ago and loved it, but recently came across it again and thought it's worth sharing with you guys in case you hadn't seen it. An edible real cookbook! The best kind :) It was created by Korefe, a German design studio. I love it when people do such awesome creative stuff with design!

"The first and only Cookbook you can actually read, cook and eat. Made out of 100% fresh pasta it can be opened, filled with ingredients and finally be cooked. Packaged as classic lasagna. The Cookbook was designed as a special project for a large publishing house."

Retro Let's Go!

If you're in Durban and you haven't heard about this yet, you'd better listen up! Retro Let's Go is a super cool new event happening for the first time on the 27th April at the DLI Hall. It's going to be an awesome market selling vintage and retro goods and more, followed by a fifties dance in the evening! How flipping awesome!

Retro, Let’s Go is Durban’s first full day Vintage Festival being held on the 27th April 2013 at the historic DLI Hall.

Word from the bird is that the DLI will be transformed into a hip, happening joint, with sounds from the jukebox, girls in full skirts, beehives, boys in their Don Draper best, shoppin’ and boppin’ like its 1956!

There will be a market from 9am-1pm featuring carefully selected and curated vintage and modern retro-inspired clothing, antiques, jewellery, books, treats and anything else delightfully old-school! With a tailor and hairdresser on stand by, a Bean Green pop-up coffee shop and much much more - market-goers won’t be able to resist spending the morning and be rip, roaring and ready for the Retro, Let’s Go 1950s Dance that night where Dr Fly & The Nurses and Veranda Panda will be a-swinging! 

One of the first things that came to mind when I was thinking about this was Archie comics. I was a total Archie comic geek and loved the whole vibe they had going... Ah the good ol' days. Here's some outfit inspiration from Betty and Veronica!

The second thing that came to mind was Grease. More just retro than fifties, but still great for some inspiration... And just to stare into young John Travolta's eyes for a bit...

If you've got a product, service or idea that'd suit the event, get in touch via the details below or on the event facebook page and be a part of it! Get amped, get involved, and get there!