lifestyle

Family and writing certainly takes up most of my time, but I'm a huge lover of travel, design and decorating, cooking and baking, crafts, photography and illustration, gardening and making house a home. I'm also a secret fashionista. My new Styling Tan can be followed on Instagram and Facebook.

Mostly, I take part in these things for pleasure, but I also do them for work. In 2010, I compiled handmade living: a designer collective - which features over 70 inspirational projects and ideas from chocolate to toys, papergoods to lamps.

handmade living was wonderful to compile because I simply adore all things handmade - especially decorative and children's items and ... paper (note paper mobile, above).

I've also contributed to several lifestyle magazines including Maeve magazine and Tickle the Imagination. You can see my contributions here.

Want to revamp a chest of drawers, make woolly pompom chicks for Easter or create artwork from fabric or whip up a collection of Christmas wreaths? See posts on specific topics below:

ARTS

BAKING

BEAUTIFUL THINGS

CHRISTMAS

COLLECTING

CRAFTS

DECORATING AND DESIGN

EASTER

FASHION

FOOD

GARDENING

GIFTS

HALLOWEEN

HEALTH

KIDS + FAMILY

KIDS' PARTIES

HOUSE

PARTIES

PHOTOGRAPHY

SHOPPING

TRAVEL

and upcoming or archived EVENTS