Introducing...The Friday Fix!

Fridays just got even better! Every Friday from today Oh So Cherished will be offering a brilliant bargain offer. We call it the Friday Fix! Each Friday we will bring you one of our desirable products with a 'just for today' discount. Watch out for fine stationery, luxury leather journals, romantic gifts, wedding accessories...each one a delightful treat to get your weekend off to a great start! Just quote FIX at checkout to get your discount.

Rustic Leather Travel Journal

This week's treat is our gorgeous genuine leather travel journal available at £29.99 for just today, Friday 17th May. Just quote FIX at checkout. 

With a high quality genuine Italian rustic leather cover featuring old vintage stamps, this beautiful (filofax style) journal/organiser is compact for popping in your bag or rucksack. It looks stylish and it's not too bulky, making an ideal travelling companion. The organiser holds lined ivory pages with a few pages to write important information and to do's. Our travel organiser also holds a stylish pen in a pen loop. This practical journal also features an inner pocket to hold a passport, driving licence, boarding cards and tickets. Our journal comes in a sturdy white gift box and all beautifully handmade in Great Britain by skilled leathersmiths. 

They make a wonderful gift for anyone setting off on their travels and are great for gap years!

But hurry! Our Friday Fix discount expires at midnight tonight.

Follow us here or like us on Facebook every week to get your Friday Fix. Remember, just quote FIX at checkout.

Meet Alex - our new customer service advisor

If you call or email Oh So Cherished at any time you are likely to speak to Alex, who recently joined in our customer services team. We pride ourselves on providing superior customer service so we were delighted to welcome someone as experienced as Alex to the team.

Alex has spent the last three years at home bringing up her two small children, but was ready for a new challenge when she saw our vacancy! She had always worked in customer services before starting her family.

Her last position was at the Land Registry where she was, for 7 years, a registration executive dealing with all aspects of land registration and customer services. Before that she work for HMRC and English Heritage, so she is used to looking after all sorts of customer needs.

Alex says 
"I am so thrilled to have joined the team at Oh So Cherished and am looking forward to making Oh So Cherished's great customer service even better!"

We are delighted to welcome Alex to the team!

"And A Sixpence In Her Shoe"

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in her shoe."
We often hear the first part of the saying and many brides like to follow the tradition with a few tokens, even if they don't take it too seriously. Here is our own take on the rhyme...

Something Old, New, Borrowed, Blue....Wedding Pin

But where does this saying come from? The rhyme is thought to date from at least as far back as Victorian times, though the traditions it refers to are somewhat older. The custom demands that the bride should collect five tokens of good fortune from amongst friends and family.

"Something old" refers to the need for the bride to take something from her past to the marriage and that she will remain close to old friends. Typical gifts here are family heirlooms such as a piece of jewellery or a veil worn by a mother or grandmother.

CC image by chicagogeek

"Something new" represents the couple's future happiness and prosperity as they set out on their new lives together and usually the bride's new dress and accessories provide the good luck tokens needed here.

"Something borrowed" should be an item much treasured by the bride's family and strictly speaking, she should give it back to ensure the good luck. Carrying something borrowed also represents the idea that friends and family will be around to help in times of need. The customary gift for this line was a garter given to the bride by a happily married friend to pass on her own happiness.

White Lace Garter

Vintage Lace Garter

But "something blue" is not just an English tradition, as wearing blue at weddings is said to date back to ancient Israel and Rome and the colour represents purity and fidelity. Princess Diana of course famously chose a sapphire engagement ring, now passed on to Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge for her own engagement ring, preserving the tradition of the wearing of a family treasure.
 

Aqua Table Crystals

 

Personalised Duck Egg Blue Rose Ring Cushion

But what of the "silver sixpence in her shoe"?
This is thought to be an old European custom whereby the sixpence or penny is placed in the bride's left shoe to bring her prosperity and protection against ill-fortune. Some traditions have the bride's father donating the coin to send his best wishes for her wealth and happiness.

But who wants to stagger through their wedding day with a piece of metal rubbing against their Jimmy Choos? We have come up with two far more practical ways to complete the rhyme without the risk of bridal blisters! First up is this boxed silver sixpence in a little box bearing the wish 'Happy Ever After' as well as the 'Old, new, borrowed,blue' from the rhyme. It makes a sweet gift for the father of the bride to give to his daughter as they set out on their journey to the aisle.

Boxed Lucky Sixpence For Her Shoe

Or why not send a lucky greeting with a card that she can preserve in her keepsake box for future prosperity.

Lucky Sixpence For Her Shoe Card

Other bridal superstitions include avoiding the groom on the eve on the wedding and a last look in the mirror as she leaves for the wedding to bring good luck. If she is lucky enough to spot a chimney sweep, a rainbow or a black cat on the way to the wedding, this is a good omen too. However, it is best to steer clear of monks, nuns, pigs, lizards and cockerels crowing after dawn, as these are associated with bad luck! And of course the lucky lady who catches the bridal bouquet can look forward to a wedding of her own as will the man who catches the garter thrown by the groom.

Of course no-one takes any of these traditions and superstitions too seriously, but somehow a wedding is not quite the same without some of these old traditions, and let's face it, when it comes to achieving a long and happy marriage, it's one thing to find the perfect partner, but a little extra luck can never be a bad thing!

New Personalised Notebooks

Our personalised books and notebooks have always gone down well, especially our Wedding Planning Notebook and our 'Keep Out! Notebook'. 

'I Really Love Wedding Planning' Notebook

KEEP OUT! Notebook

So we decided to add some more personalised books to our range, including address books and a birthday book, all with personalised details to make them really special gifts. This spiral bound address book has a vintage styling, with a sweet design of a little bird on the phone. The cover will show your chosen name and you can add a special message inside the cover.

Little Bird Personalised Address Book

Another option in the same A5 format is this Pretty In Pink Address book.

Personalised Pretty in Pink Address Book

This retro styled version features an old fashioned telephone and can also be personalised on the cover and inside.

Personalised Vintage Design Address Book

I might fill my phone with electronic birthday reminders, but unless I have them written down I always manage to miss one! You can add any name to the front cover of this on trend cupcake design birthday and anniversary book and your personalised greeting on the message page. There are also four handy information pages, listing the different types of Anniversary Gifts, Zodiac Signs, Birth Stones and Birth Flowers.This one is also A5 in size and divided into tabbed sections for each month.

Personalised Cupcake Birthday and Anniversary Book

One for the kids to give to Dad - maybe for Father's Day or a birthday? This is an A5 lined notebook starring Dad as a superhero - a great way to show him what a brilliant Dad he is!

Personalised Super Hero, Super Dad Personalised A5 Notebook

These Dennis the Menace Personalised Beano Prankster Notebooks are a bit of fun! The name of the Menace, in your life, be he young or old, will feature on the front cover and on the inside message page.

Personalised Beano Prankster A5 Notebook

Name-in-image books are always popular, with your chosen name appearing in the images throughout the book to make them really personal. We have chosen some for children and some that are definitely a more adult option!
 
One for the little ones is this adorable book of nursery rhymes featuring your child's name. It is a lovely idea for bedtime reading and early readers will love trying to spot their name worked into the colourful images.

My Book of Nursery Rhymes

If you're looking for something a bit more romantic, the Personalised Book of Love Artwork might fit the bill. Here you can add two names which are cleverly worked into a selection of images combined with sweet love quotes to make a sentimental gift for your someone special. Great on Valentine's day or just to say 'I love you'.

Personalised Book of Love Artwork

We couldn't resist these naughty seaside postcard books! Anyone of a certain age (!) will be familiar with Bamforth's iconic images of bosomy females, henpicked husbands and naughty nurses, all accompanied by cheeky innuendoes! We have books for him and for her, each featuring 12 cheeky cartoons, and they are even funnier when your chosen name appears in the joke!

Personalised Saucy Postcard Book for Him

Personalised Saucy Postcard Book for Her

These make a fun little gift, especially for those celebrating one of the 'bigger' birthday milestones and provide a nostalgic reminder of those British seaside holidays of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s!

Personalised notebooks, address books, birthday books and postcard books are fun to create and if you are looking for a unique and personal present, one of them is bound to suit. You can take a look at our full range of personalised books and notebooks here.

Adorable Personalised Teddy Bears For Bridesmaids

Look what we just found! We were looking to expand our selection of gifts for little bridesmaids and flower girls and we came across these gorgeous teddies. The teddies are super-soft and cuddly with plushy little paws and a cute expression on their faces! 

They have a grey stitched ribbon round their necks and best of all their cotton T-shirts can be personalised with the name of your bridesmaid or flower girl and a thank you message.

They are quite large, measuring 47 cm from head to paw, but normally you'll find him sitting down. You can safely give them to little ones as the face is all embroidered with no tiny parts to pull off and swallow; in fact they are covered by the CE standard mark for toy safety. Each bear is hand crafted, and made from a polyester fur fabric that is surface washable.

They make a really lovely gift for a little bridesmaid (or a big one!) and will be something she can display fondly to remember her day as a bridesmaid.

They make great gifts for new babies too. The new baby teddy can be personalised with baby's name, date of birth and weight.

We can turn them round in just five working days, so you won't have to wait too long! Just click through to order.

Look out for more of these bears for other occasions as we are really very taken with them and can't wait to design some more varieties.

Introducing...Shine Greetings Cards

Our regular customers will know that our founder Sarah has graphic design as her background and when sourcing new greetings cards is always on the look out for quirky and original styles that reflect her love of design and quality printing.

New to our pages this spring is a collection of cards from an exciting company called 'Shine Publishing', which was launched by artist and designer Jane Tonkin, a textile designer by training. She decided to specialise in traditional printmaking techniques, using the greetings card as a medium for small works of graphic art.

Although Shine now has nearly 150 different designs, we decided to start with a selection of beautifully printed cards with messges of romance and friendship.

On Jane's website she explains: "The designs are developed through a variety of printmaking techniques, including etching, monoprint, collograph, linocut and screenprint. The fact that each card has these elements in them, where you can see the hand of the artist, gives people a truly individual product."

We always like cards with meaningful messages, so we were particularly taken by Shine's signature 'Words are all I have' collection, featuring stylish monoprinted backgrounds with vintage, handprinted letterpress blocks; see if you can play "Name that tune!" with some of these!

Something else we had in common with Shine is our preference for working with UK based design companies. These cards are, like our own branded cards, designed, printed, hand finished and packed in the UK. The card itself is made from eco-friendly pulp and comes from a paper mill based in the Lake District.

We are sure our discerning customers will appreciate the care and inspiration that goes into making each of these unique cards, with their messages of love and friendship.

By Popular Demand - Extra Large 50 Page Ivory Leather Album

We have had a lot of enquiries this season from brides and other customers looking for extra large photo albums. In particular, they are looking for top quality leather albums to house photos 10" x 12" in size. With today's digital photography, prints are such good quality that they enlarge really well to this size without losing definition, so it's a shame not to take advantage of all those pixels when it comes to printing wedding photos for the album.

So we asked our leathersmith to produce an extra large album to accommodate larger photos, to the same high standard as our normal large albums,  and exclusive to Oh So Cherished. For the moment we have just produced the album in pale ivory, with a plain cover, as this is such a versatile option and suitable for other occasions as well as weddings.

However, if you wish you can add one of our popular brass engraved nameplates, in either silver or gold, to which you can add your own wedding or event details. They have an adhesive back and are really easy to attach anywhere on the cover.

Like all our exclusive leather albums, this one is lovingly handmade by our skilled bookbinder with fine quality genuine Italian vachetta leather. Inside there's a thick chunk of 50 pages (100 sides) of thick ivory acid-free card pages, each with a luxurious vellum interleave to safeguard and set off the photographs to perfection. Our albums come with a sturdy luxury tissue lined keepsake box to hold your album. 

How many photos will fit to a page? This extra large album page will take two 6" x 4" or 7" x 5" photos or one 8" x 10" or 10" x 12". The album itself measures 38cm W x 38cm H x 9cm D. 

To order just click through here or take a look at our full range of  leather wedding albums here.

We like.....Su Blackwell

"A passion for paper" is our strapline, so we are always on the look out for artists and designers who share our enthusiasm for book-art of all kinds. We just love beautiful books and journals, fine quality paper and stunning graphic designs. 

Alice, A Mad Tea Party

When we came across the work of English artist Su Blackwell we were overwhelmed by what she could create just using paper as a medium for sculpted book-art. Woodland scenes, children, birds and castles all take shape and spring lifelike from the pages of her book sculptures.

Birds, Beasts and Fishes

Her work is inspired by her childhood, much of which was spent playing in the woodland around her Sheffield home, surrounded by trees that she named for protection. It was not until she happened on a Textiles course that she found her inspiration, going on to study for an MA in Textiles at London's Royal College of Art.

The Secret Garden

Her paper sculptures began after a visit to Thailand, where she bought a second-hand book aand, using a craft knife cut from it the moths, representing lovers' souls, that formed her first paper sculpture, The Quiet American.

The Quiet American

Much of her work is derived from the world of fairy tales and folklore. She begins by reading the book until an idea takes shape which she cuts and glues into a paper sculpted reality, a process she describes as "tediously slow". Here, in her blog, Su describes the process.

”I often work within the realm of fairy-tales and folk-lore. I began making a series of book-sculpture, cutting-out images from old books to create three-dimensional diorama’s, and displaying them inside wooden boxes”.
”For the cut-out illustrations, I tend to lean towards young-girl characters, placing them in haunting, fragile settings, expressing the vulnerability of childhood, while also conveying a sense of childhood anxiety and wonder. There is a quiet melancholy in the work, depicted in the material used, and choice of subtle colour.”

Now based in London, Su published an illustrated book of fairy tales ‘The Fairytale Princess’, written by Wendy Jones, and published by Thames & Hudson in October of 2012.                                                                                                     

Su has also turned her hand to larger scale works, using similar techniques and inspiration to create a series of theatrical sets.

Set-design for 'The Snow Queen' , Rose Theatre, Kingston, 2011

 Another stunning series of works was installed in 2010 at the Bronte's Haworth Parsonage.

The Children's Study (details). Installation at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, 2010

We  are keen to see what else is on the horizon from Su, and hope we can get the chance to see her work in person at some time. In the meantime I'll sign off with a few of my personal favourites. I love the fairytale feel of this piece.

2008, The Castle

The Little Prince, 2012

2009, Edensor, Derbyshire, A Guide to

But this is the piece I keep coming back to, a beautifully detailed explosion of wild flowers that just erupt from the page in a blaze of colour and form.

Nature in Britain, 2012

You can see more of Su Blackwell's work on her blog and  here at her website