All Wrapped Up by Alice

When my friend Zoe and I get together, it's dangerous. 

Zoe runs a handmade gift wrapping business called All Wrapped Up by Alice, with printed wrapping paper, cards, wedding stationery and lots of other dinky paper trinkets and goodies to add to your wish list.

I'm an absolute stationery geek and have shelves with dozens of pretty (but actually most of the time unused!) notebooks and pots of pens, so when we're in the same vicinity, it's like a stationery whirlwind.

One weekend we created an afternoon tea styled photo-shoot at Zoe's house - cue teacups, pearls, little milk bottles and her intricate handmade paper flowers. I shot all the pictures in her garden on a hazy but bright afternoon and the results matched her vintage style.

With Zoe's crafty magic, I wrote a piece for Photography Monthly magazine about how to create your own paper petal project. You can read Zoe's paper flower how-to tutorial with downloadable PDF template on her blog here.

Plan ahead of Mother's day and create your own paper bouquet for a snippet of the price.

You can thank us later! x

Paperless love

If you’re like me, the January blues hit your bank account like a ton of bricks. So I have made it my mission to explore thrifty options whenever I stumble across them on this blog - hopefully for the price of a cappuccino or there abouts. 

The first post is even better because it centres on an environmentally friendly way to wish your people happy birthday, say thank you, hello or erm, goodbye, by way of an e-card from Paperless Post, but it's absolutely free.

Now before you get reading, don’t get me wrong, I do believe there is a lot to be said for hand written letters and perusing Paperchase provides hours of limitless joy for me (yes, sad I know). However, when people are abroad posting can cost you an arm and a leg and take weeks to arrive. Plus, another one of my new year’s resolutions is to be more aware of the environment, so I hope this post will save a tree or two.

At Paperless Post, the fun and festive designs are free, while the more classic Premium cards come at a price. Stylish Oscar De La Renta’s patterns have even graced invitations from the brand – I doubt you’ll get that kind of design down at WH Smith.

Anyhow, the free versions are perfectly lovely and by using a coin system, you can send a load out to friends and family. Choosing snazzy envelope liners and other fussy options may cost you, but overall, you don’t have to bother with that stuff if you’re on a budget.

Once you’ve signed up, a really simple thing to do is click on the free tab on the website to suss out what creativeness you can nab free of charge. I’ve picked out a few of my favourite designs below to inspire. Enjoy!

Have your cake
Armadillo cocktails and dinner
Teacups get well soon
Chic florette save the date
Three photo bands

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