{inspiration: mug shot}

We so thoroughly enjoyed painting plates for our anniversary that I've been looking for more ways to get creative with old china. Everyone's got a plain white mug laying around somewhere (or, can pop to IKEA and get a couple very cheaply) -- these easy projects will quickly transform your bland cups into personalised pieces, full of character.

Gina's tutorial for cross-stitched mugs lets you monogram your morning mocha. I love that you could use any font (ahem, American Typewriter), any colour, and make a set for the whole family. 

Aesthetic Outburst's patterned mugs make doodling look chic. You can draw a line, a circle, a triangle, I know you can!

BaileyDoesn'tBark's Teabag Mug couldn't be simpler. The bag sits inside, while the tag hangs outside the mug, and could even be personalised with a name or a little heart.



Sweet Sweet Life's face cups are all lined up to be our next anniversary project. A little better groomed than Beardy, Mr. Moustache seems to yearn for a nice hot cup of Earl Grey. And, of course, that's Lady Grey next to him!

BaileyDoesn'tBark's Postcups let you write a message -- a 'wish you were here', perhaps, or a favourite quote about tea. Plus, if it ever gets misplaced, the return address will be right there on the cup!

P.S. The lovely Dutch-British couple, Jadyn and Ben, who share our wedding anniversary, also got up to a bit of plate painting of their own back in June. Check out the brilliant results here.

{finer china}

Justin and I will have been married for three years next Saturday. And this year, we're switching it up a bit, and taking a break from the whole trying to surprise each other with presents thing (which, let's face it, can be pretty stressful for everyone -- poor Justin worrying that he'll get me something I don't like, and poor me worrying that I might be opening another RoboPanda. Go on, click on it. Yes, he really bought me that.)

So, what we're doing this year is starting a collection. I got very inspired by all these lovely hand-drawn plates, and thought that the fact that we were married in China the country meant that we can have china the plate as our little theme every year. (Rather than having to find something leather for our third year, as tradition would have us do!)

Meg plate and Beardy plate, by Donna Wilson

Blossom and Bill tray, by Isak

Summer Pizza Plate by nitchii

Bear plate and Wolf plate, by jimbobart

Nestled Mini-Dishes by baileybowls

So, I offered Justin the choice: we could treat ourselves to a fun designer plate from the selection above, or we could have a go at drawing our own. (I'm not sure which option I was hoping he'd choose!) 

He picked making our own, and so that's what we'll be doing during one of Tilly's naps next Saturday. We both love the idea of recreating Donna Wilson's Meg and Beardy, but as portraits of each other. I love Beardy's beard, so might be painting an earlier, hairier version of Justin. We'll see. 

We'll be sure to show you the results!

So Much Love

There are some people who would go to the ends of the Earth for you.

Okay, China might not quite be the end of the Earth, but I'd say it's pretty close when most people were coming from America, England, or Denmark.

And when I think back to our wedding day, as well as being filled with love for my husband, I'm overcome with how much I love all of the people who made such an effort to be with us on that special day.

Immediate family, second cousins,

friends from childhood, friends from university,

some people I hadn't seen in years.

But somehow, over the course of the week of sight-seeing and fun before the wedding, it stopped being important how exactly people were related, or how long it had been since we'd seen each other. All that mattered was that we were in Beijing together, and that each of these people had chosen to be there with us.

No doubt making sacrifices of time, money, and other plans to do so.

And I feel so incredibly grateful to these people, who showed us that our family really means something to them. It's not just a word you use to define how so-and-so is related to you, it's a real bond that drives you to be active and connect and show those people that they matter to you.

So, this date reminds me not just of the beginning of my marriage, but of the wonderful family I have, who don't just say they 'would' go to the end of the Earth for me, but have done it, and proved it, and are stamped on my heart in a way that won't ever be forgotten.

Wodger Weginald Wabbit

A new toy has taken shape:

He was originally going to be for the baby, but I couldn't resist sewing a red pom-pom onto his bottom, thus making him 'risky' as a choking hazard.

So, he will be packaging himself up in an envelope shortly and sending himself to one little wabbit-lover in China: my little sister, Alice!

(And I'll be making another, pom-pom-less version, for baby in the near future!)

Tag!

The lovely folks over at Podgehodge tagged me for a photo post, so I counted through my folders and my tenth photo is...

It's me, years and years ago, hiking the Great Wall with my Mum (who's behind the camera!).

We'd heard about this fun 'off the beaten' track hike, which was supposed to take us to a lovely little village a few miles away. However, after a few hours, we reached a fence with a sign on it saying 'Military Training Zone: Danger!' and couldn't go any further.

Turns out, we got a bit mixed up, and started hiking where we supposed to end! It was still a lovely day out... and we really did have the trail all to ourselves!

And now I'm tagging:

Mike and Linda over at Station1528

and

MentalMulch and her cute cute doggies

I'd love to see your photos!

All you do is:

1. Open your first photo folder.

2. Scroll to the 10th photo.

3. Post the photo on your blog and tell the story behind it.

4. Tag people to do the same.