~ NOTICE ABOUT BOUTIKO SERVICES ~

PLEASE NOTE:

Between 23rd February and 12th April 2010 we will be running a greatly reduced service. Orders will be despatched once a week and we regret that phone messages and emails may not be responded to during this time.

I apologise  for any inconvenience this may cause and am grateful for your patience!

Warm wishes

Tara

Hearts and Roses

New in for Valentine’s Day this year, we have some gorgeous rose prints from RawXclusive for £35,  and some delicious lavender scented hearts in two very different styles, from £8.50. Snap them up before February 14th!

Simple Trainers Love

I just bought these (in the sale at Schuh!):

And boy are they comfy! They are squishy inside so it’s like walking on rubber, which you are actually – it’s latex,  a natural rubber.  In fact everything about these trainers is great, from the comfort factor to the ribbon laces to the fact that they are completely ethically produced.

Here’s what the inside of the box tells me about the ingredients of my new shoes:

Latex (as  mentioned just now)

Recycled car tyres – ‘we collect used and landfill-bound car tires, cut them up and use them as outsoles.

Bamboo – bamboo is an endless resource because it is so plentiful. It’s super soft too!

Organic cotton – Our cotton is 100% organic – that means no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers or additives.

Water based glue –  we use all water based glues. Better for the shoe makers and better for you.

Crepe – crepe is another natural rubber. It’s tapped from the hevea tree in the same way maple syrup is tapped from the maple tree.

Recycled inner tubes  – we reuse the rubber from landfill bound car tire inner tubes on many of our shoes.

Hemp – not only is hemp soft but it is one of the wtrongest vegetable fibres available and it grows like a weed!

They call their brand ‘shoes for a happy planet’.  Happy me, too.

New In For Valentine’s Day

We are now stocking these gorgeous wee hearts which come in pairs and are filled with lavender.

Two hanging hearts handstamped with the words ‘LOVE’ and ‘KISS’ , and make a lovely accessory that will keep your clothes smelling delicious and moth free, or just look pretty on a doorhandle!

A perfect gift for Valentine’s Day.

Red ticking fabric with linen message label.

More messages coming soon. Please ask about personalising too.

Approx 16 x 9cm

Free Rice.com

I’ve just spent quite an embarrassingly long but at least worthwhile period of time on the Free Rice website. I’m quite a word geek so taking a few minutes to test my knowledge of word meanings pleases me anyway, but in this case, for each correct answer you get, 10 grains of rice are donated to help feed the world’s hungry.  I managed 1000 grains, which probably isn’t as much as it sounds, but every little helps right?

New Banner

I’ve just had the banner I have on Tea for Joy (see it on the right there?) revamped by Kerry at Hello Monkey.

Jolie, non?

PS. Kerry was very helpful, professional and affordable, and this was her first design, so it was an easy process! I’d definitely recommend her.

How To Wrap A Present. NICELY. (revisited)

I just found this piece  in the archive and I think it’s worth a republish since it’s that time of year when wrapping gifts is a(n) (inter) national activity. I’ve updated it and hope you find it useful!

(for these labels, see the Copper Swallow)

OK, so you’ve trailed the shops/internet, developed a nervous disorder, and finally got all your presents in a pile; now it’s time to wrap those bad boys. Of course all wrapping gets ripped off in the end, so you might think it doesn’t really matter what it looks like. WRONG. Packaging is very important, as any woman will tell you. It’s also rather nice to receive a beautifully wrapped gift; it shows thought and effort and people always appreciate that. And of course you can do it all in an eco friendly way, using recycled and recyclable materials, whilst still being imaginative, stylish and a bit different. That’s right, you CAN have it all.

You can of course go completely mad with it, and use lashings of ribbon and sticky tape and all kinds of embellishments. And why not. I however am inclined to think that less is more in most cases, as long as you haven’t literally dug out a bit of creased old paper from last year’s stash, the kind with marks where the tape was stuck the first time round, and roughly attached it to the outside of the gift with tape that got twisted in the middle of things.

So basically what you need to wrap a present so it looks pretty is: scissors, sellotape, some kind of ribbon/raffia/string. Oh, and paper. (Unsurprisingly I’m a total fan of reusing wrapping paper as long as it doesn’t look too scrappy, and also ribbons which are usually fine for many uses. Proper fabric ribbon though, not that awful plasticky shimmery sort that you can curl with scissors and probably never biodegrades.) Also boxes of different shapes and sizes; a present is much easier to wrap if it’s a rectangle.

In the Keeping It Simple vein, what could be simpler than brown paper and string? It has a certain retro vibe to it, is not expensive, and the paper at least can be recycled. You could really up the old-fashioned-parcel feel by using stamps (the rubber kind, or indeed the postage kind), and use a brown or cream paper luggage tag and some lovely brown ink to write your Christmas message. This works well for men, as does simply wrapping the gift and then using rubber letter stamps or cutting out letters in a contrasting paper to spell out their name. (This rather depends on how much time you have.)

For women I’d do something lavish with ribbon. I think of it like the make up rule; eyes OR lips but most definitely not both. Glamorous paper means simple ribbon, and vice versa. I keep a stash of ribbons from past gifts so rarely have to buy new, and with something like the name idea above, you can forego ribbon completely. If you can tie a bow you can make ribbon look nice, and extra wide ribbon has a certain extravagance to it. The kind with wire along the edge which holds its shape is also fabulous, not least because it’s so easy to make it look good. If you can manage it without using tape so much the better, but this can be quite tricky and really only tends to work for people who wrap as part of their job or have four hands. Check out this for a cunning trick to turn a piece of ribbon into a rose as below.

Another way to do it is to use fabric. Again, I stash away a lot of fabric, and if you buy a fat quarter (a smallish bit) it’s not expensive and can be reused to make something lovely. Fabric’s good if the present is round or an awkward shape; lay the gift in the middle of the fabric ( the right way up), scoop it all up so it’s bunched together at the top, and tie some ribbon around it so it looks a bit like a pineapple. But much more glamorous. You can use pinking shears to give it a nice non-fraying, zig zag edge too. Or use one of the aforementioned boxes.

If you’re trying to save some pennies, look around your home for inspiration. Old (not vintage!) maps, musical scores, or pages from dead books can all make original, recycled, recyclable wrapping paper. Newspaper (black and white) can be used to great effect too, especially with, say, a bright red ribbon.  And if you’re feeling crafty, why not use rubber stamps on plain white paper? You don’t even need to buy stamps – potatoes will do!

Have a go! And if all else fails, we can do it for you free!

Christmas Fair Rundown

Phew! Six fairs may not sound like much but I tell you, I feel as if I’ve run a marathon, several times. Here are some photos from the fairs….

Michelham Priory – Two days of gale force winds in a draughty marquee!

Cabbages and Frocks in Marylebone High Street – Mulled wine and carol singers

Arundel Castle – Stunning venue, enormous quantity of customers!

Down Place – two days at the home of my friend’s lovely parents

West Hove Infant School

Cabbages and Frocks UCL Christmas Fair – students, crepes and cupcakes

New Cards from A Local Printer

I’ve had some new postcards made – a bit late for fairs as I did the last one on Tuesday, but now if you place an order you will also get one of these!

I use A Local Printer, an eco printing firm based in Chichester, so not only are they local, they also fulfil the ethical criteria! What I love about them is:

~ Ordering is easy.

~ P&P is free.

~ They do short runs.

~ All paper/card/inks used are environmentally friendly.

~ They are very quick and efficient.

~ You can have the FSC logo printed onto each card at no extra cost.

Also I’ve just noticed they’re doing ec0 wrapping paper now! I would definitely recommend using them if you’re looking for excellent quality, eco friendly printed material.

And no, they’re not paying me!

Make it yourself! Or not.

I would really love to make all my Christmas presents this year. I did a pretty good job of it last year after doing pottery classes and producing all sorts of baked clay goodies for my loved ones, but this year both time and inspiration are sadly slightly lacking. The thing is craft is such a massive thing now, especially with the recession forcing so much tightening of belts, that there are more reasons than ever to think about crafting Christmas presents for your nearest and dearest. For one, it’s immensely satisfying and meaningful (although I’ll admit that it is STILL difficult to think up things for men, especially if you can’t knit), secondly it’s eco friendly, and thirdly, it is or can be much cheaper than buying expensive high street gifts.

I just stumbled across these instructions to make a shopper bag from Daisy Green, an online magazine dedicated to all things green, eco and cool, but if you don’t have a way with a sewing machine, there are always our (very affordable, pretty and extremely durable and useful) Oneless Plastic Bags!

£10

If you are a dab hand with the knitting needles you could have a go at knitting a soft grey lacey scarf, courtesy of Folksy Makes, but if not, no bother, we have just the thing – a soft grey cotton jersey scarf!

£19.99

If you have a stash of bright buttons, some felt and a needle and thread, you could try making a brooch, (another Folksy Make), or you could choose one of our recycled felt brooches – still ethical and handmade (just not by you….)!

£12

Make your own screenprinted card, or buy a set of our handmade, recycled, UK designed and produced notecards.

£5.95

Now these Upcycled Paper Beads really ARE easy, and no fancy schmancy equipment required. But if you’re all thumbs, guess what. Yup, we have jewellery! And very affordable and pretty it is too. What about this bright and beautiful necklace?

£16

Lots of ideas, whether you’re a DIY sort of person, or a BIY type (yes, that’s Buy It Yourself). Happy shopping!