boo-tiful burlap pillows / the nest

burlap pillows seem to be the new must-have. they are chic and unassuming (and they go with everything). i was delighted to spot samantha's simplistic, stylish pillows (you can never have enough throw pillows) stocked in the nest, an etsy shop. she uses linen, burlap and other fine treasures found in flea markets in the UK. the quality and construction are lovely and her simple throw pillow designs can easily coordinate with any style (or lack thereof) of furniture. this post is part of my home is where the ART is series. samantha has kindly sent me the jack-o-lantern pillow which we have yet to name. i can't wait to set him on our sofa. (that is if i can sneak it out of benji's room. he is loving halloween this year.) these opinions are all mine; learn more about my handpicked sponsored series here.

samantha, what is halloween like in the UK?
I love how kids get so excited to dress up for Halloween and go out trick or treating. Halloween is not as big in the UK as it is in the States (but it's getting there!) but when I was a child I lived in a village where, for some reason, it was huge. Every kid in the village would dress up and it would be like a scene from ET. My mother worked as a nurse and in the UK in the 70's nurses wore black capes, so my sister and I were always witches or vampires so we could wear the capes. My father was a very good artist and he always used to paint our faces long before face paints were heard of - he used to use a felt pen on us! I moved from there when I was 10 and never lived anywhere that celebrated Halloween at all until we moved to our current home 14 years ago. I had a party when my son was a toddler and the party has grown and grown year on year until it's now like some huge street carnival with all our neighbours involved and kids coming from all over to join in with our street party. I go all out on decorating, street games and party bags etc. We usually have a graveyard in our garden and a skeleton on our toilet. I just love it!

dig in: samantha's blog & etsy shop. (order now, shipping to the states takes 1 week.)