Vantastic

Transform classic Vans into your very own beautiful bespoke pair. Love this DIY project from Beautiful Mess.

My momento

London 2012 has been momentous. No one anticipated the effect the games would have and cynics will grumble but the results have been extremely positive and British morale has rocketed. Today is the last day of the games and I suspect we'll be sad to resume normal TV watching for there's frankly very little to watch. As a momento for this historic event, I've just bagged myself a bargain with Pedlar's lovely London MMXII tea towel. I love the graphics and think would look fab in a frame or I might turn it into a cushion! Well done team GB for doing us proud.

Red Arrows visit Hastings

A stunning display on a perfect day. I ♥ Hastings.

If only the sun were shining

I officially love this song by Haim. With an 80s vibe this tune is made for summer cycling along the promenade in faded denim!!

Tins

Looking forward to getting my hands on my tin collection this weekend. Watch this space!

Barcelona Baby!

I love Barcelona and my second trip back was just as brilliant as my first. From a segway tour of the city to cooking a 5 course cookery class (involving lots of wine), I had an amazing trip with my lovely colleagues at The White Room. I can't wait to go back and discover more! You just can't beat Barcelona's perfect mix of city and beach life. I heart Barcelona. xx

Pageant and a pot of tea

A Vintage Lover's Guide to Hastings!

Hastings is a haven for vintage finds and as a self confessed magpie, I've written a little piece letting you in on my secret hotspots. Check out my wee write-up in the latest issue of the lovely 91 magazine, a new online magazine featuring style tips, shopping ideas, interiors and features on craft and vintage style!!

Pringle gets personal

 

Now available, your very own personalised Pen&Pringle piece! 

Taking your first initial, and a list of 3 key things that represent you as a person and the things you love, yours truly will design a unique one off mixed media print which is emailed to you as a proof for you to approve before printing. For a one off Pen&Pringle on your wall, find out more here.

I heart Southwold

I love holidaying in Southwold, Suffolk. Every year me and the family go for our Suffolk fix. It's an annual trip we've been doing for several years and hopefully for many more years to come.

What I love about Southwold is little changes. I switch off...literally. No mobile, no emails, a complete break with no distractions. Just me and my sketchbook. If you're ever up that way, I'd highly recommend a trip to the Olive deli followed by a good mug of tea down at Suzi's on the beach. I heart Southwold. 

I love Sundays

My gorgeous niece and my husband Richie tiptoeing through the Bluebells

Sunday is a day of rest for me. And I know when I've had a good Sunday, it's when I forget I have work the next day! Today was a gorgeous Spring day and there's nothing I like better on a sunny day than to go for a walk across Fairlight Glen to see my little niece. It was so idyllic today. Bluebells peppered the landscape as orange tipped butterflies chased each other. As a pheasant called, a heron glided above, riding the thermal air currents. And moments later, a woodpecker knocked, tapping away purposefully. To have so much nature on my doorstep is invaluable. Perhaps the best things in life really are free?

Out & About in Hastings

I've been so busy lately I've not had a chance to enjoy what's on my doorstep. So this morning was spent weeding up at the allotment and enjoying the views from the West Hill. After a hard morning's work, we headed over the hill into the Old Town and stumbled across a scooter rally with the most gorgeous Vespas with their equally gorgeous owners. That's what I love about Hastings, there's always something going on. Which reminds me, to keep in the loop with what's on and the latest happenings in Hastings, check out thisishastings.com

The West Hill, Hastings

Heading into the Old Town

Stade Scooter Rally, Old Town Hastings

Beautiful garden door in the Old Town

Pringle's Carrot Cake

I hate it when we have nothing sweet in the house. And so here we have my easy carrot cake recipe - a perfect baked treat you can knock up in no time to ensure you have something sweet and tasty in supply when your craving kicks!



You will need:
200g sugar, 2 eggs, 180ml veg oil, 110g self raising flour, 2 carrots, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon.

This recipe takes no time.

• Peel and chop your carrots and chuck in a blender til your carrots are finely chopped. Set finely chopped carrots aside.

• Beat your sugar, oil and eggs together and add the flour, continuing to stir until you get a nice creamy consistency.

• Now add the chopped carrots, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix thoroughly. Preheat your oven to 180degrees and grease a loaf tin.

• Pop your mix in the tin and bake for 30 mins or until your cake skewer comes out clean. Take your cake out of the tin and leave on a wired rack to cool.

• For added tastiness you can chuck in walnuts and currants to the mix.
  

• Enjoy your scrummy carrot cake! Mmmm!
  

Making Do

Step into my kitchen and step back in time. With it's 70s tiles and mock wood cupboards it's kitsch to the nth degree. I would love to get the whole kitchen ripped out and a new glossy number installed but we're going to need to save for a couple of years before we can even consider such a project. But for now, a touch of pink has given my kitsch kitchen a new lease of life and brought a little sunshine into what was a dilapidated room.

Lighter evenings

I'm loving the lighter evenings...and so is the neighbour's cat.

We love homemade pizza

Chez Pringle, we can't get enough of homemade pizza.

It's so easy and so much tastier than shop bought. Plus, I always make enough dough to freeze so the next pizza is even easier to make!

The beauty of making your own pizza is you can literally chuck on whatever you fancy. So today I raided the fridge and added mascarpone, mushrooms, chorizo, mozzarella, basil and olives - mmmm!

To make the base, simply mix together 350g strong white plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 x 7g sachet of yeast, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 225 ml of warm water. Mix with a wooden spoon or in your super duper food processor and then knead for a couple of minutes on a floured surface. The dough should be nice and stretchy. Then place your dough in a lightly oiled bowl and leave with a teatowel over the top for about an hour. After an hour, your dough will have doubled in size. Knead for a minute and then roll out onto a floured surface to make your circular pizza base. For a pizza base with extra taste and crunch, I mix 200g of strong white plain flour with 150g Allinsons seed and grain bread flour.

Once the base is rolled out, I like to bake the base for 10 minutes. I find this stops the pizza getting soggy. Try and use a pizza baking tin for best results.

Then allow the base to cool and apply a nice coat of passata followed by your favourite toppings. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top of your toppings and then put in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

I like to serve my pizza with my mean chips which is basically maris pipers cut into wedges and parboiled for 10 minutes. Drizzle in vegetable oil and season generously. Roast for 1 hour. And most important of all, serve in newspaper!

Enjoy peeps. x

4 day weekends...

are made for chilling in the sunshine, as kindly demonstrated by Biggles.

High after Hockney

So last weekend I took a trip to the Royal Academy to see the much talked about Hockney exhibition. And it didn't disappoint. It took me about 2 hours to get round the exhibit and I had to sit down and have a break as there's a lot to look at.

Hockney's use of colour is so inspiring. Viewing his simplistic landscapes is like watching HDTV; the vibrancy of his work almost pings with clarity. And seeing some his older works that I've known and loved as an art student were quite emotional to look at too. A favourite piece of mine is the Nichols Canyon which I distinctly recall copying as a teenager and it took me back. I remember mimicking his marks and shadings and admiring his technique. Funny what you remember.

The 25 minute video installation had me mesmerised. I particularly enjoyed the dance pieces with Wayne Sleep and fellow dancers. The colours in the footage are beautiful and very 2012; what we say in this season's fashion collections and in interiors.

Anyway, what I've taken away from Hockney's exhibition is to paint again and have the courage to take subjects and paint them in a palette that reflects how they make me feel. And so I've started to film my journey to work so I can take note of the beautiful Kent countryside I drive through every day. Who knows what I'll paint but I'll keep you posted.

Passion for Print

On Friday I paid a visit to the wonderful Adams of Rye, a local wood type printers used by well known graphic artists such as Anthony Burrill and Aardvark. The printer is located at the back of an old fashioned newsagents come gift shop that's served by attentive little ladies in bibs, ready to serve you. It's like stepping back in time. I was accompanied to the printing office and as the printing office door swung open, I entered what was a treasure trove of letters. Here's a little window into the wonderful world of letterpress.

Going Green

Today, I went green. I had been dilly dallying (love that phrase) over whether to use such a vibrant colour and was very close to opting for a Farrow and Ball grey. But dark greys just aren't me. I love colour and I'm super pleased with the results. Just need to work on my black and white photography collection to go in frames and create a feature on the right hand side wall! Paint: Dulux Forest Falls 1.

How supermarket shopping should be

Over in Peasmarsh, I decided to sample Jempsons to do my weekly grocery shop and I was ever so pleasantly surprised. As my Jempsons experience began, I was greeted by an elder gentleman in shirt and dicky bow tie wishing me a good day and before me laid a feast of fresh produce beautifully displayed, begging for me to touch and feel their freshness. Ok so I'm getting carried away but it really was a refreshing shopping experience. A million worlds away from the aisle rage one gets in Sainsburys or Tescos. Like every supermarket it has designated counters; your butcher, deli, fishmonger and so forth however Jempsons make them feel homely like your visiting your local deli. The food is locally grown and overall, it's a much nicer grocery shopping experience. It's how supermarket shopping should be.

Hooray for Spring!

Finally, Spring has arrived and my freshly painted toenails can wake up from their slumber and see the light of day. It's been a gorgeous sunny day and in celebration of double digit degrees, here are a pick of some my favourite things this season.

1. Bluebellgray 2. Sandro 3. Mulu Tutti Frutti by Villa Nova 4. M&S' Organic Green Tea with Jamine 5. Jane Churchill Mayflower fabric 6. Summer bulbs from letsgetsnug.co.uk 7. DIY milk glass 8. Andy Warhol Butterflies print, Heals

In the jungle...

Just finished designing for The Wild Mallydanimals Charity Ball, an RSPCA fundraising event. Collaborating with Whisk Illustration, we hope the posters drum up some excitement for the charity bash and raise lots of money for a very worthy cause. To help raise funds for RSPCA Mallydams Wood or to find out more about their super cool charity ball on Sat 14th April, click here.

Today this made me smile

I love design that makes me smile and this bag had me chuckling. Bag from Pamela Fugate Designs. Found via the fab online mag SweetPaul.

One day I'll have a Morris

They just don't make cars like this anymore. You can't help but smile at this British beauty from the 60s. One day I'll have a little Morris of my own to pootle about in. But for now, I'll have to just admire the one down the road.

Thrifty find #010

Picked up this Ottoman today to sit in my bay window. The plan is to paint it white and make a padded seat out of Sanderson's Henri Matisse Still life fabric shown below. Perfect!!!!

In love with Liberty

Oh how I love Libertys. Each time I visit I come away slightly saddened at not being able to buy absolutely everything instore. If I were to ever win the lottery (which will never happen as I never remember to purchase a ticket), I would buy one of everything, Michael Jackson stylee. But for now, I'll have to make do with buying a fat quarter.

Grrrr...

It dawned on me today that I've dished out a lot of advice recently. Not like an annoying know-it- all telling people how they can do things better. But people asking me stuff about design and asking for guidance on getting ahead. And being the stupidly nice person that I am, I invest my precious time and energy responding, only to get absolutely zilch in return. I don't ask much but a simple thank you would keep my murderous tendencies at bay. 2 words, 8 letters. Ping it in an email, job done.

Anyway, inspired by the fabulous David Shrigley, I've produced an illustration that will now be sent to all future enquiries. Should save me some time hopefully.

Good Grub in Wincheslea

Last weekend we paid a visit to the delightful Winchelsea Farm Kitchen which is about a 15 minute drive from where we live and is most definitely worth the pleasant road trip.

Enjoy a bit of tea and cake in the conservatory before shopping for your local, fine produce. If you like a good sausage (wink), they have a super tasty selection and their wine cellar is the perfect place to get yourself a decent bottle.

I'm a sucker for nice food packaging and pretty foods are in their abundance here. I also loved their tiled floor in the cafe area which is going in my inspiration file for my new kitchen for sure!

If you fancy a nice drive through the country, this is the perfect place to stock up on good, local tasty grub. Yum!

A little perspective

I was sitting reading the March issue of ELLE Decoration in my lunch hour today and editor Michelle Ogundehin featured a quote by Mother Teresa which made me stop and think about how easy it is to hamster-wheel our way through life. I think these words are a nice reminder to gain perspective sometimes. One for the wall me thinks.

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is struggle, accept it.
Life is tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.”

Mother Teresa

You're Wheely Fun print

What a perect Friday. The sun nourished us with some very much needed vitamin D, the weekend is finally here, and the lovely Good Homes mag has featured Pen&Pringle's bicycle print "You're Wheely Fun". Happy days! To check out my bicycle print and the rest of the collection, simply visit Bouf.

The Happy Branch

On one of our recent walks through the countryside near our house, I picked up a strewn branch that had a nice shape to it. My husband rolled his eyes wondering how long it would sit in the house for before I decided to do anything with it. Well it didn't sit gathering dust for long, as it is now officially what I call our "happy branch". With a slap of white paint followed by splashes of my favourite colours, the happy branch is a most useful tool that brings happiness wherever pointed. Every household should have one. Available in all good retailers.

Lego Taxidermy

Antlers are on my wishlist however they don't come cheap and I was half tempted to try and mould some out of clay. However after seeing this lego kit from Brooklyn based designer David Cole, maybe there's an easier option!!!

Source: apartmenttherapy