Spring/Summer 'Luna' 100% Silk Scarves

Well as promised this blog post is going to reveal some brand spanking new Betty Blue's Loungerie products!!  Thanks so much to everyone who has been so patient in waiting for me to get my act together these past few months.  I am now back and ready to get this show on the road one more time!

The new Betty Blue's Loungerie products are the last two 100% Silk printed (in the UK!) scarves in the Luna series; Spring Ditsy Floral and Summer Daisy.  So to remind you all I will quickly recap on the story of these beautiful silk scarves.

I met Luna de Lovely ooo must be a year and a half to two years ago by chance.  We quickly became friends as we share a lot of hobbies and design inspirations.  When I started up Betty Blue's Loungerie, this UBER talented lady agreed to collaborate with me on a print collection - one of her specialities.  Luna is a songstress, Burlesque artiste, model and freelance print designer on top of having a very prestigious full time job.  In other words she is superwoman! 

The first two prints, as part of an extremely limited edition four print set, were released for Autumn/Winter 2011/2012.  Back in August/September 2011 they were shot along with other items at Tigz Rice Studios and upon my grand opening of business, released.  To remind you here they are:

Autumn Poppies

Winter Rose

There is nothing more luxurious than a silk scarf.  Silk is one of those magic materials, it keeps you cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather.  How?!  I have no idea, but it really is magic :-).  And to remind you how versatile they are here are the product snaps on the lovely Fleur de Guerre.

'Doo - Rag' styley or covering up your rollers

1950's neckerchief styley

These scrumptious scarves are seriously limited edition so I can 99% guarantee that no one else will be seen out and about wearing one of these beauties.  There are only a few left of the Autumn/Winter designs left so snap them up whilst you can!!!!!

So now onto the much anticipated new prints!  As with the last two prints, Luna was inspired by Vintage floral patterns.  The Spring design is a gorgeous ditsy floral in lilacs, corals and greens.  VERY on trend this Spring/Summer!

Spring Ditsy Floral

And to put it into context so you can see how gorgeous it is about the persons, here is Miss Banbury Cross channelling Ms Monroe ;-)

Perfect pastels against alabaster skin!

Draped elegantly against ones skin, one will look oh so irresistible!

And then the final silk scarf in this series, and perhaps my all time favourite, the Summer Daisy print.  Pretty pinks highlighted with a pop of green leaves on a dotty background; stunning!!

Summer Daisy

And again to make you want this baby even more, here is what it looks like on the stunning Banbury Cross

Pretty in Pink - please note that I cannot guarantee that you will look like Banbury ;-)

You may have already seen this one on the Tigz Rice Studios website.  Can't you just imagine yourself cruising down a country lane in a classic convertible car?!  Well I can!!  And what a perfect way to protect your hair from the wind, whilst looking like a movie star!

There you have it my darlings, two brand new products for you.  I know that these may seem slightly on the pricey side, but for 100% silk, printed and made in the UK, limited edition, these are a steal at £70 each!  You only have to go to the scarf hall at Liberties to compare the prices of the many silken lovelies on display, to see how brilliant my price point is!  And to help you see how versatile a little luxurious silk scarf is, I made a little video on my favourite ways to wear a silk scarf.  This video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG2ubMJEAyM 

AND FINALLY I have a special little offer for you all as a little thank you for your support and kindness over the past few months.  All four scarves in the series will have a whopping £20 discount until midday Tuesday 3rd April.  So they are just a minuscule £50 each (plus P&P).  I am working my little socks off today to try and have the website page up with the new scarves added - but just in case it takes me longer than expected, if you would like to reserve your scarf please drop me an e-mail and I can pop your name down so you will definitely get one.  betty@bettybluesloungerie.com *Remember they are SUPER LIMITED EDITION so quickly quickly peeps!*.  The Autumn/Winter scarves have been adjusted already and the price change should show up in your basket.  They can be bought here: http://www.bettybluesloungerie.com/2011/luna.html

Lots of Love
Betty xxx

The big 'C' word

No not the rude one ;-), I mean Cancer.  Things have been a little quiet on my social media front of late.  This is partly due to the fact I have a new phone and have somehow not configured it correctly so can't use Internet based things whilst on the go ie twitter.  But mostly due to the fact I haven't felt up to it.  My Uncle has just recently been diagnosed with terminal Lung Cancer at just 69 years old - doubly heartbreaking as he has never smoked in his life.  One tends to assume that if you don't smoke then you won't get Lung Cancer.  I have tried to blog about it before now but it has turned into a bit of a long rambly self pitying post not really relevant to my business so I spared you all the details.  It was however really helpful just the act of writing down my feelings so I feel that I have now better dealt with the news and can now forget about the sadness and concentrate on just being there for my Uncle.

The whole process has made me realise how little I really know about my family.  My parents met and had children later in life, which was not usual for the time in the 1980's.  As a result of this their parents and my subsequent relatives are that little bit older than usual.  For example, I have no grandparents, the last died when I was 10 years old.  So as I grew older and appreciated them and their stories more, they weren't around to tell me.  With my Uncles imminent passing, it will be the end of one chapter of my life as he is the last of my Dads side of the family that are blood relations.

My Uncle lives in a beautiful old house in East Sussex.  Most of my fond childhood memories are from the times that we visited him and my Grandma at the house, particularly at Christmas and in the Summer.  So for it to suddenly end it has filled me with great sadness.  One of the positives from these past few weeks however has been the discovery of some of my Grandparents furniture that my Uncle has kept.  I have a very rose tinted view of my Nanna as she was the only Grandparent I knew, so to be able to see some of her possessions is really exciting;  Most of her large possessions such as furniture were sold or thrown when she died in 1998 when I was too young to know that I may want them later in my life.  Or so I thought anyway!  Turns out my Uncle had kept them!!  I happened upon a few things whilst I stayed with him a couple of weeks ago, just before he went into hospital.

This is what I like to call her 'Boudoir Couch'.  It is a beautiful dusky pink sofa with a cream pattern all over it.  It has a little wear to one of the arms, but other than that is in completely pristine condition.  It is super soft as well, I imagine it is feather filled rather than foam.  But it reminds me of beautiful 40's stars reclining in fluffy robes........hmmmm may have to borrow this so it can appear as a photo shoot prop in the future ;-)

Excuse the sofa, radiator and bed in this picture!  This dresser and wardrobe belonged to my Nanna and Grandpa.  It was their bedroom suite that they bought in 1939 the year they got married.  My Dad believes that it may have been WW2 Utility Furniture which would fit in with the date of their marriage.  My Dad also thinks that the stool in this pic was my Nanna's although it may have since been reupholstered.

I closed the curtains here to show you the depth of colour this furniture has.  Again speculation, but my Dad seems to think it is Walnut veneer on ply wood.  Whatever it is, I think it is pretty :-).  Oh and it wouldn't surprise me if the vase of silk flowers and the table lamp were my Grandparents too.

The wardrobe is a little tatty inside and it does seem a little unsteady, but this is well used furniture (my Uncle runs a B&B and this is in one of the guest rooms).  The other door which is open but cannot be seen has a full length mirror on it, ever so handy to check ones outfit full length!

I have to say this is my favourite piece, the dresser.  It looks to me the perfect size to hold and store ones beauty items.  I love the fact that my Nanna would sit with this very glamorous dresser and perfect her pin curls!

Another view for you.  It is nice to know that these items are still in the family and not either chopped up for fire wood or sold/thrown away.  Whilst I was there I did take the opportunity to have my photo taken with these items for a new product I shall be popping up on my website soon.  I wasn't sure if I liked the photos though as the product wasn't that visible - I was taking the photos myself using a tripod, the self timer and trying to pose at the same time haha, but we shall see!

The final item that was my Grandparents was the matching bed surround.  It isn't in its original form which is a shame, but it has a lovely story to its current form.  The bedhead was quite large and bulky, so my Grandpa took it apart.  He moved the foot panel to become the bedhead and used the wood from the large head to create two bedside tables.  Et voila!

Anyway I could go on and on about this furniture as I love it so much, but I shall save you the rambling.  All I have left to say this post is, talk to your relatives whilst they are around and able to respond.  I feel a great sadness that I don't know much about my Grandparents, or my Uncle really.  I know the little that I remember and what my Dad can tell me, but my Uncle is now too weak to hold a conversation of any great length.  So there are probably lots of things I will never know about him or his parents.

I hope to add some new products in the next few weeks, but this is dependant on my Uncle's condition.  But either way I shall keep you all updated :-)

Betty xxx