JAPANESE CUTE - superbuzzy

there are some very cute bits & pieces for sale online here at superbuzzy. its full of inspiring goodies including midori, and heres the best bit - its in english.

ILLUSTRATION - kate sutton

wonderful works by UK illustrator kate sutton. see here for kate's blog. inspired by a love of vintage childrens books in kate's drawings birds wear eye patches and cowboy boots. a recurring theme also seems trees, plus illustrations of some of my favourite things tea & biscuits.

CHILDRENS PRINTS & PATTERNS

next week is kids week here on P+P and i'll be looking at all types of pattern & surface design for children. so if you work with 'juvenile' design in any form then this is for you. after the sucess of 'book week' last month i thought it would be nice to have another themed week. but dont worry if you're not into childrens design - its still going to be stylish & inspiring. it will also be good for those that produce novelty or 'conversational' prints. so if you're working with cards, wrapping paper, novelty gifts, textiles, or you just like stuff thats cute, then tune in next week.

the knitted chimp above is currently being given away free by pg tips with boxes of 360 tea bags.

TABLEWARE - luminarc

get ready for spring summer with lovely tableware designs by luminarc.

WALLPAPER - graham & brown

it was only last month we looked at their brilliant new drama collection of wallpapers. but now to celebrate 60 years of graham & brown they're back with yet more new patterns. 3 monochrome designs are being released as part of the wow paopers. at the top is 'macintosh roses' by wayne & geraldine hemingway & below 'tranquil' by linda barker. the third design 'florid' isnt up on the website yet so its a question of 'watch this space'.

PAPER DESIGNS - bam pop

now heres a really fresh approach to scrapbooking from utah based designers bam pop! . jj & jen harrison produce papers & stamps in a really cute & fun style of illustration. what more can i say - robots parachuting through the sky and the best frames & speech bubbles ive ever seen. absolutely charming.

MUGS - collection

some new additions to my mug collection this week. for those who arent regular readers, i collect mugs not to use but just for their patterns. the top one was from a cheap bargain shop called instore (6 for £2.50) and they are unbranded, i just love dots and can never resist this type of geometric. i thought the transfers being on the handles too was a nice touch. the bottom one is from matalan and has bold floral motifs in unusual colours.

MUGS - vintage / mr pink

whilst on the subject of mug design - i bought these two glassbake mugs whilst on my US vacation. they were $12 each from mr pink in new york.

these are some images i took whilst in mr pink last november during my american trip. when i visited it was geared up for the christmas holidays with lots of vintage decorations on display. i was on the hunt for fire king - but in a stroke of bad luck the shop had been cleaned out of patterned fire king the day before by japanese visitors. they had plenty of advertising ones, but i was after some of these. luckily i was able to get the two mugs above and some great moonlanding 1969 tumbers.

PATTERNED IPOD CASES - haro

if you are of a certain age then you may know the name bob haro as the bmx stunt rider who rode ET to safety in the spielberg classic. he was many a young boys hero back in the early 80's. these days he is the man behind haro design and axio.

i love the patterns they've produced on these ipod cases as seen on the axio website.

PATTERNS - paper

there have been some great new arrivals in a imagination project since i last reported and there more great patterned papers on the way in april. they are surely one of the best and most contemporary scrapbook designers around. have a browse here.