Dydd Santes Dwynwen Hapus

Before you all go and click on translate (Marilyn) never fear, this is in English - sort of.
It's the 25th January. Our Celtic cousins have Burns Night. Our antipodean cousins have started Australia Day. While here in Wales we are celebrating Dydd Santes Dwynwen, Saint Dwynwen's Day. Here's a small token of my love that I made earlier today.

Dwynwen is the Welsh saint of love and in true Welsh tradition it ends in tragedy.

Dwynwen lived in the 5th century. She was the daughter of Brychan Brycheiniog, and was one of upward of 20 daughters and by far the prettiest. Dwynwen fell in love with a prince called Maelon but was betrothed to another of her father's choosing.

At this point there are lots of different versions but the main part of the story is that Dwynwen didn't want to disobey her father. She prayed and an angel turned Maelon into a block of ice, in some versions because he became too passionate. God gave her three wishes.

Her first was that Maelon be released, her second that she would never marry and her third that she would help others who were going through the same pain of love.

Together with her sister Cain and brother Dyfnan they spent their lives in the service of God. Cain established a church on Anglesey at Llangeinwen while Dwynwen established a cell on a small island off the coast now know as Llanddwyn.

For pictures check out Fiona's blog Sugar for my Honey

And the lovespoon? Well, that's another story. Dydd Santes Dwynwen hapus i chi gyd!

Pantone Colours

Bellflower 

Pantone 18-3628

A new year and new colours from Pantone. We've already looked at the colour of 2012, Tangerine Tango, a vibrant orange. Today I'm taking a closer look at Bellfower. Pantone describes it as,

fanciful Bellflower, a distinct ornamental purple, exudes uniqueness and creativity.

Creativity seems to be the prevail mood throughout the colours for spring. Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute said that,

“Consumers look to spring for renewed energy, optimism and the promise of a brighter day. They have learned how color can help them alter a mood, while providing the vitality and enthusiasm that enables them to experiment with new looks and color combinations.”

In the dark days of January in the middle of a recession we need something to alter our mood and give us a lift. Here's what the good people at Etsy have to offer.

You can also check out my purple colour board on Pinterest

Have a great weekend everyone!

Colours

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will know that last year I ran a series on Pantone colours. I've delayed doing a series on the spring/summer 2012 colours. In the meantime I've been adding to my Pinterest board and it's become quite an obsession. Take a look!

These amazing colour palettes come from Design Seeds. This truly beautiful site makes it possible to search by colour or by theme. It's invaluable for putting together mood boards. I've found it to be too user friendly and quite addictive. Far too easy to flip through boards and pin away. Design Seeds has drawn me in for hours while I go 'Oooh, aaaah!!!' Needless to say I'm hooked.

I'm trying new ways of putting my limited number of organic cotton shades together. Design Seeds has been a real find. Here are some of my favourites.

Have a great weekend!

The making of cats

The making of the Sudafed advert set me thinking about how other things are made. Perhaps with cats it's a bit like this.



You have to plan your cat and then get all the bits together. Of course the most important part is the heart!

Thanks to Kris at Cat House Prints for the inspiration!

Sudafed

Have you seen this advert for Sudafed?



This amazing advert is completely yarn based. Read all about it at Yan's blog. It gives a fascinating insight into the making of the commercial. Make sure you translate because she is based in Argentina.

Here's an insight into how it was made.

Want to see more of Yan's work? She has her own Etsy shop called Pica Pau.

Enjoy!