My view today

As you can see from the photo below the weather has improved just a little bit in the last day or two ;-)
The other pic was taken earlier this week. (I forgot to change the white balance on my camera so it looks extra miserable!) And according to the weather report there is more of that in store for us this weekend. Boo. Good thing I did the washing today then...

Dodgy white balance and taken through a window!

It's raining. Again.

It's been raining so much lately, I can hardly believe that these photos were taken just a couple of weeks ago... (By the way, my photos don't do it nearly enough justice but Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are exquisite! Takes my breath away every time we go there.) And, looking at these I'm so glad I managed to give The Toddler half a haircut - he won't let me near him to finish the rest but that mullet was out of control :-)

Love the mountains in the background
Off to explore
Pondering toddler
Reading. Ahem :-)
Autumn
Stone sculpture (loads of different sculptures dotted about. The Toddler loves the owl)
Aloes

Coming soon

Remember these little fellows? They'll soon be available as a print in my Etsy shop! (That is if the sun ever shines in Cape Town again and I can get some decent photography done...) But if you can't wait til my shop opens, they're also available on tote bags from here.

Copyright Hello Olive Designs

And the winner is...

Congrats lucky number 9, Charlene of Gee Whiskers (as selected by Random.org)!

Please pop me an email with your address to helloolivedesigns [at] gmail [dot] com 

Thanks again everyone for all your lovely comments! x

Thank you lovelies!

Just wanted to say a huge THANKS for all the lovely comments on my previous post. It really did cheer me up and I'm back to grinning from ear to ear! Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see who's won the give away... Big hugs, Col x

June magnet by Tuesday Bassen

via Lazy Explorers

A random act of kindness

Well, I don't know about all of you but I have had an interesting morning... I had a spat with a stranger! People stared! *cringe* There I was standing in a queue and minding my own business when some woman in front of me starting muttering to the sales assistant that I was irritating her, and could he help me first! Well, as you can imagine that irritated me and I said so. I told her she had upset me and she said, good, she was glad about it! I'm not proud about it but I lost it a bit and the sales staff had a go at me for having a go at the woman. And of course that upset me even more!

I wish I had been calmer about the whole situation but I have had it with rude people. I don't know if its like this everywhere, or maybe I just notice it more because I'm home with The Toddler* (and am out and about a lot) but people are just so unkind to each other. All the time.

But instead of complaining to the store, or my husband, I've decided that I am going to be kinder to strangers because that encounter this morning really upset me. I'm not talking about extravagant gestures - just simple things like holding a door open or saying thanks. And the first nice thing I am going to do is give away the Hello Olive Apple print below. It's printed on lovely recycled board and looks great in real life - even if I do say so myself ;-) All you have to is leave a comment. A nice one please - I'm feeling a bit sensitive :-) I'll pick a random winner this weekend.

(I've finally got a few items printed for my soon-to-open Etsy shop (yay) and this is one of the designs. Just need to get them all photographed and uploaded. Hooray!). 

Oh, and sorry for moaning but it feels good to get it all out :-)

Copyright Hello Olive Designs.

* The Toddler wasn't with me to witness the drama, thank goodness!

My neck needs cheering up

Ouch, I've done something strange to my neck and have been in agony all day. No wait, I'm exaggerating. As long as I don't actually move my neck I'm fine! Maybe a new necklace (or two) will help 'cause the painkillers definitely are not... And yes, I'm having a lovely time at my pity party :-)

1.  Cube necklace by Things Like Diamonds,   2. Bead necklace by A Merry Mishap,
3. Wooden bead necklace by Heute Schmidt,   4. Lightning bolt necklace by Fawn And Rose

Look, it's the same one!

I spotted this vintage Fisher Price bus over on Jen's blog and couldn't resist reblogging because, as The Toddler would say, 'Look! It's the same one!' He has this exact bus and he loves it! It belonged to my husband and his sisters and I think it's so sweet that The Toddler now gets to play with the same toys that his dad once played with :-)

Vintage Fisher Price bus

I wish I could

...crochet! I'd love to buy the pattern for these adorable slingbacks by Mamachee and make them. I used to be able to crochet, sew and embroider when I was a teenager but I have forgotten how :-( I can still (just about) remember how to knit though so perhaps there is hope for me yet! You can find more crochet patterns by Mamachee here.

All images from Mamachee

And the winner is...

...Rebecca of Littletree Designs (as selected by Random.org)! Congrats Rebecca :-)

Please pop me an email with your address to helloolivedesigns [at] gmail [dot] com 

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, and a big welcome to my new followers!

Let's build a fort

Phew, what a start to the week! The Toddler had a wee cold this weekend which has now been followed by a bout of conjunctivitis. Poor little thing is still very jolly but he'll have to miss play school for the next few days. He loves it when we build a fort so I guess we'll be doing lots of building work to keep him entertained! Maybe we'll 'upgrade' from our version (usually just a sheet or two draped over some chairs) to something like the ones below :-)

(And don't forget to enter the Hello Olive giveaway... Entries close this Wednesday.)

1. DIY fort via Built By Kids,   2. from Teeppee and Tent,  3. via Built By Kids,   4. via Built By Kids

It's been rather cold

And very, very wet here in Cape Town. I really need to get some more (stylish) winter woolies and I'm loving these goodies from Neeka Knits. Such pretty colours and unusual designs - how cool is the necklace cowl below? See more here.

Drum roll please!

I am SO excited to bring you this post today! (I don't even know where to begin!) It's been such a hassle the last few days organising my Etsy shop (printer problems - boo) so it's lovely to be able to finally share some of my work with you... but first a little background story (stay tuned, there's a giveaway at the end of all of this).

I've just finished collaborating on some tote bag designs with the lovely Leila of Bow Peep. Leila makes the most gorgeous accessories and stationery from her loft in Cape Town, and she has been the nicest person to work with. Below are just a few of her products but you can find loads more loveliness here.

And here are the tote bags, designed by me :-) There are two different designs, and various colour options. You can see them all here, and read more about them on the Bow Peep blog.

Hope you like them! And if you've hung about til now you could win yourself an owl tote bag AND a pair of button earrings, generously donated by Bow Peep. 

All you have to do is visit the Bow Peep website here and then leave a comment on this blog telling me which is your favourite product.

For extra entries you can:

• Follow my blog (if you're not already a follower) with either Hellocotton, Bloglovin' or Blogger (if you have a Google account)
• Tweet or blog about the giveaway
• But be sure to add a separate comment if you do either of these.

Good luck! The giveaway closes next Wednesday, 13 June, and is open worldwide.

All images by Leila Badsha (Bow Peep) and Christine Watters

Wee Gallery

Hello all, I have a gazillion things that need doing but instead I'm admiring these goodies from Wee Gallery. Aren't they sweet? I love the nesting dolls! See more here and here.

1. Nesting dolls,   2. Organic soft book,   3. Stamp set

Daydreaming...

Happy Friday everyone! I'm spending my afternoon daydreaming about these Mid Century pieces from Hindsvik. Sigh, aren't they lovely? You can see more here.

Number 1 on my list would definitely be this sideboard! Have a great weekend :-)

1. Lounge chair,   2. Dresser,   3. Credenza