Sharron Goodyear Photography

Last September I was invited to have a stall at the Fordcombe Village Fete near Tunbridge Wells in Kent. It is such a beautiful part of the world and this pretty village was the perfect backdrop for the very english tradition of an annual end of summer fete, complete with vintage car display, Punch and Judy, a dog show and some lovely stalls. My kind of event!

The sun was shining and there was a relaxed and happy buzz to the fete. It has been run every year since the 1950's and so there really is something for everyone, including a rather lovely tea tent, with tables groaning under the weight of homemade cakes. Unfortunately for me,it was on the other side of the dog show arena!

It is so exciting when someone comes along and completely falls in love with our vintage style nightwear, which is just what Sharron Goodyear from Lollipops and Little Ones did that afternoon. Lollipops and Little Ones is a family lifestyle blog with all kinds of useful info for Mums and Dads from healthy eating, beauty product reviews, photo, gift and activity ideas for all the family. Sharron is an accomplished, award winning portrait and wedding photographer and she happily offered to take some photos of her three beautiful children in our vintage pyjamas. These are just a few of the images we have used recently on our site. 

This pretty nightdress featuring this sweet little night owl is always one of our best sellers

I love the cheeky expression of her youngest here. He looks so handsome in these transport Pjs. All our Pjs from Powell craft are 100% soft cotton and suitable from age one. I remember being so excited when my boys were old enough to wear a proper pair of big boy pyjamas and left the baby jumpsuit designs behind.

Oh those were the days!

You can see Sharron's wedding photography here http://www.goodyearphotography.co.uk/weddings/

Janne x

Happy New Year with 20% off

January brings the snow.....

Well, January is nearly over and surely I'm not alone in thinking "yay"! With endless muddy dog walks, hacking coughs, grey drizzly skies,(we didn't even have a sprinkling of snow), tax returns and school exams it's no wonder we have literally been hiding under a big snuggly blanket and waiting for February to arrive!  

We had a great Christmas season both online and at all the Fairs we attended with our lovely vintage inspired range of traditional nightwear and gorgeous toys. January is literally the month for taking stock and planning where and what we are going to sell in the year ahead. Selling at fairs and markets is a big part of our business because we love meeting our customers and hearing feedback. Something you just can't really get a feel for online.

For the rest of January we are offering 20% off our whole range, so now is a good opportunity to stock up on some Pjs for the Spring. Just use code Jan20 at the checkout.

Happy New Year to you all and best wishes for 2015!
Janne x 

Christmas Fairs

Tis the season........

I love November and once Bonfire night is over, then the Christmas countdown truly begins. We have a number of gift fairs coming up, so if you are local then please pop along and come and say 'Hello'. We'd love to see you!

A pirate is for life, not just for Christmas

Ahoy there! "Shiver me timbers" and whatever else it is that pirates say, "surrender the booty". Well, with less than 100 sleeps till christmas we are stocking up on our pyjama and gift ranges here at My Heart and Home HQ and pirates are playing a big part this year. 

We have some adorable pirate rag dolls in stock and at 40cm high they make great first dolls for toddlers. With his cheeky little face, there is nothing scary about this cheery little chap. We have him in both large and mini size, with the smaller size just perfect for the christmas stocking.

We have some great pirate jimjams this year in super soft 100% cotton interlock. Cosy and warm, these pyjamas feature a cheeky little pirate appliqué on the front making them great for boys or girls. Seeing as they are red and white striped they make fabulous christmas pjs too! They start from age 2-3 years and go up to 8-9 years.

If you are quick then pop over to our Facebook page and enter our pirate bundle giveaway. There is a great selection of pirate booty being given away to one lucky winner!

And remember....  a pirate is for life, not just for Christmas!

Introducing Paxton

This is Paxton the fox and no he's never been involved in news night! Paxton is the wee younger cousin of Chester who has been a very popular addition to our Ragtales crew.

At 22cm tall, Paxton is made from a soft chestnut colour velour with a long bushy tail. He has a lovely brown, hand knit stripy top (which no doubt some very determined toddler would whip off and use it to dress another toy) and a purple polka dot lining to his pointy ears. He has a rather smug grin. (I think he knows that he's my favourite Ragtag).

Paxton and his Ragtag friends are suitable from birth and make perfect little baby keepsakes. They are just the right size for little toddler hands, with loveable, tuggable ears, paws and tails. They all come with hand finished, vintage style clothing making them charming and quirky toys.

Here is Paxton helping in the garden. He's checking out the agapanthus that I bought at the flower show a few years ago.

This is Chester. He's a bit bigger at 35cm tall and comes in his own named linen draw string carry bag. He's also a fan of hand knitted waistcoats and likes wearing purple trousers! 

Paxton has lots of other friends and we stock some of them too. Priced at £9.95, they are great little newborn gifts.

So if you are looking for a fox to help out in the garden this summer take a look at Paxton here.

Janne x

Wealden Times Midsummer Fair

The beginning of June saw fabulous sunshine and My Heart and Home showing at The Wealden Times Midsummer Fair, near Rolvenden in Kent. The setting for this idyllic country scene was the beautiful Hole Park Gardens, with it's clipped, neat lawns and beautiful topiary shrubbery, and all set in the Kent Weald. I have never been to that part of Kent and couldn't believe how stunning it all looked in the June sunlight. Gentle rolling lushness and dotted with Oast houses. I want to move there!

I don't often attend three day events as it is quite a feat trying to juggle family life and being away from the dancing/swimming/dog walking schedules not too mention all the other challenges of family life! But my wonderful hubby agreed to take a few days holiday to help me and I'm so pleased with the way it all worked out! It was such a lovely few days! (i'm afraid these iPhone photos don't do it all justice)

With bags packed and stock loaded it was quite a car full to transport and then unload into our 2mx2m allotted space in purple marquee.

The Wealden Midsummer fair really is the quintessentially english event with everyone welcome including dogs. I love it when doggies come and visit the stand and I'm always in awe of how well behaved other peoples dogs are! I just know my black lab and a crowded marquee aren't designed to go together!

There really were some stunning stalls at the fair selling everything from beautiful home-ware to baby clothes,  dog beds to vintage clothing and I was so glad I could be part of it all. There was such a lovely mix of stall holders and customers too, which always makes for a wonderful atmosphere.

I was pleased with the way everything fitted into the space provided and our hand finished cotton nightwear was perfectly suited to the event. Best of all, wellies were not required for the whole three days!

Here's hoping that this fair will be a permanent fixture in our calendar!

Janne x

Wealden Times Midsummer Fair

I'm so excited to be included in this years Wealden Times Midsummer Fair in June as this is my very favourite type of setting in which to showcase my range of children's cotton nightwear. I think this love of the 'quintessentially English fair' must go back to my childhood. Both sets of my grandparents lived in Devon and many summers were spent holidaying there. I still remember the thrill of dressing up in my summer frock and heading off to the village fete with my holiday pocket money. The sun was always shining and my granny complete with her 'clip clasp' handbag, would guide my sister and I through the crowd, buying a raffle ticket here or a jar of jam there. Sometimes it was the village fair and sometimes the local hospital fete. I remember the wonder of winning an embroidered green cushion when I was about seven, but just so elated that I had a winning ticket and had won something! There was always an ice-cream or a huge slice of cake and of course some homemade treasure such as a lavender bag or a knitted toy to take home.

Well, times were simpler then and things have moved on considerably, but don't we just love the charm of a good old fashioned country fair? The cream teas, the WI homemade preserves with their gingham covers, the wellies, the cooking shows, the smell of the marquees, the fluttering bunting. This fair promises to be jam packed literally with the most beautiful hand-picked array of artisan stalls and vendors selling home and garden wares, fashion, gifts and jewellery. The tea tent will be a highlight and foodies will be in their element with local farmers, producers and wine makers selling delicious products in the food avenue. There will be gardening experts on hand sharing their knowledge of growing flowers and vegetables and top chefs at work in the kitchen theatre. All this will be set within the  grounds of the lovely Hole Park in Rolvedon, Kent.

E tickets for the fair are now on sale and you can claim your exclusive discount code by quoting EXS14 when purchasing tickets on line before midnight on 30th April 2014. This entitles you to 25% off the gate ticket price. The ticket price includes free entry to Hole Park Gardens so this promises to be a fabulous day out for all the family.

I can't wait to tell you all about it in June. And no, I won't be needing my wells because the sun is going to shine!

Janne x