Penelope and Pip

Stock Photo Freebies: Summer

2013-05-16T22:24:26Z

I’m so jealous of the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere with spring well and truly underway.

I’ll be dreaming of beaches and beautiful sunsets this weekend as I rummage around in my cupboard for my winter gear, so I thought this week I’d share some memories of recent summer beach combing.

As always, you can alter these images however you like under this Creative Common License.

Download your sweet summer photos here.

[see what other free stock photos we've been sharing lately]

Loving Lately: 10

2013-05-12T10:13:18Z

SMILING over the work of Little Cat Draw. Such whimsical little creatures with beautiful pastel palettes. A sure fire cure for the looming winter blues down here.

SIGHING over the breathtaking work of Will Govus. Eerie and mystical photography that draws you right in.

GASPING over the beautiful food stories of Amelia Crook. Her recipes are sweet and simple and I’m so happy to have stumbled across her blog Simple Provisions.

FOLLOWING the evolution of the handwriting trend at the moment. There is a beautiful collection via Kelsea Sweet.

01 | 02 | 03 | 04

Supplies By: Partytu.de

2013-05-07T02:48:38Z

You know we are right into DIYs in these parts, so we thought it would be fun to add to our Made By and Curated By series and have some ‘Supplies By’ posts too.

After all, it’s pretty hard to craft without some fancy bits and pieces.

If you need party supplies, we’ve found the perfect shop for you! Partytu.de has all sorts of twine, tape and pretty party things.

And, we were so thrilled to find some berry baskets. Yay! Imagine all those cute food styling shots you could do with these babies.

Oh, and hello lace tape, where have you been all my life?

Sneak a peek at their current sale items too.

Favourites: 5 Instagram Feeds To Follow

2013-05-10T06:17:14Z

I have been finding a lot of beautiful nature inspired feeds on Instagram lately and thought I’d share so you can follow along too.

These IGers take my breath away with the fascinating locals they visit and their skills with the camera.

Hopefully you will feel inspired like us, to get out amongst the trees and blue skies too:

When I first found @KylieJackes I was struck by how beautifully Australian her feed was.

Wattle, beaches, long country roads – everything made me feel nostalgic for this big land we live in.

@BobbyTruckTricks goes to beautiful places.

And he writes beautifully random comments to accompany these little snippets of magic.

When you find a stunning black and white feed on Instagram it can really make you sigh.

@IsikMefat shares gorgeous monochrome images like these. Love!

I’m a pretty big fan of winter landscapes and @TomLovesYou has a feed chock full of snow, creatures and graphic design.

I love when people manipulate their pics and this feed is spot on.

If the dog doesn’t get you in than the sweet words from @elisbaetherin on this pic will have you following straight away.

This feed is full of muted colours, sunshine and happiness.

Do you have some favourite instagrammers you follow?

Do share!

*The top image is from us. Follow @penelopeandpip for pretty things, lovely landscapes and the odd cute cat or two.

Why I Love Baby Showers

2013-05-12T09:48:45Z

Do you remember a couple of week’s ago when I was gathering inspiration for my lovely friend Jacqui’s custom baby shower invite? Well yesterday was the day of celebrations and it was a gorgeous feast for the stomach and the eyes!

I love baby showers as you are guaranteed to feel a sense of joy.

And also there will be cake. A lot of glorious cake.

Our hosts Sarah, Tenille and Jade made cupcakes, cake pops, red velvet expresso slice, honey cakes and strawberries in chocolate. I can’t imagine being this clever in the kitchen.

And Jacqui’s mother-in-law made cupcakes which her grandchildren decorated – they were so cute!

There were also peonies, beautifully wrapped gifts and pom poms galore.

We played some cute games like “Guess the Celebrity Baby Parents” (We found out who reads trashy mags which was pretty funny. I’m so totally one of those people).

And we played a game where we had to think up a name for if the baby was a girl or boy. I loved Napoleon – such a sassy name.

And in case your were wondering how the invite turned out, here it is:

I think it’s kinda cute.

Congratulations Jacqui and Nathan – you’ll be such beautiful parents I know.

It was such a lovely way to spend Mother’s Day!

[see what else has been happening in our studio lately]