My Block

 

Yesterday I took a walk around the block to get a coffee. I do this many times a week, but the light was so beautiful today I wanted to capture it. 

I have only lived in this area for a short time but have loved it the most of all the places I have lived in Bournemouth and Poole. I will defo live here again when if I return. There are so many huge trees and beautiful streets.

 The shopping area has great coffee places, grocery stores as well as many, many charity shops...which I frequent like a territorial animal *wink*

 The buildings are full of character and history.

 And this is the only place I have ever been to where the traffic stops for you EVERY time at a Zebra Crossing. I love the staff at my local Costa, they know me a bit too well :)

I have a spot I like to sit and drink my soya-sugar-free-syrup-latte and do some Art Journalling.

 Is it wrong that I fall in love with things like this? A manky drain and a cul-de-sac sign...Nicola seriously?

 I pass this sign on the way home, I love the fonts. My street is so pretty, I find a little walk really inspiring and often just what I need to kick start an idea or some creative project.

This shadow was spooky looking, but the light was so lovely through the trees, I wanted to take a billion photos.

 What is your local area like? Where do you go to get inspired or just to re-connect with you?
Love, me x

Ps - photos taken with the awful camera on my Blackberry for purposeful poor quality, then transformed into Polaroids using this FREE software which I heard about from another blog I love to read.

busy bee and giveaway preview

Hello you.
I feel like it has been ages since I blogged, I have had withdrawal symptoms. I have barely had time to read blogs never mind write one. I have been a busy bee.
I had a deadline to meet for Monday - art cards for Coastal Creatives...

I am such a huge fan of music of all types. Held within the lyrics of songs are many answers and touching sentiments, as well as profound and insightful words of wisdom.
If you have any song lyrics that could add to my collection please leave a comment, especially if you have a special song. I am taking commissions privately and through Coastal Creatives for my lyric pieces. Art cards are £8 and canvases are £40.

A really exciting first for my partnership with Coastal...a piece on canvas...

...here's some detail.

I love this song, and it has a deep spiritual meaning for me and has brough me great comfort though some difficult times in my life.

As well as this I have been making some exclusive Art cards for my freshly decorated and spring cleaned Etsy Shop. Listen to it *ping*

I love it. Is it ok to love your own shop?

I even had time to whip up a knitting needle case for a special someone's birthday...

Featuring fabrics from: a stash a friend gave me that used to belong to her amazingly talented Mother (she stitched the cross stitched flower fabric), a charity shop pillow case and an old pair of PJs! I love the stories my works tell, to me, through the fabrics I use. Often it makes me laugh too, if it holds a special memory - like the amount of time I spent in those pjs.

So....as you can see a busy week or so.
I am so excited to show you all the things I have been making. If you have any feedback I'd love to hear it. Blog comments are awkward but once you get the hang of it they're oki doki.

Oh, and good news is Coastal Creatives have asked me to make another 4 canvases!!
Back to the sewing machine then.

What have you been up to?
Love, me x

P.s...keep them peeled for a very first giveaway this week!

---Outfit Post: Walk in the Park---

It has been unseasonably warm so far this winter in Blighty. So far from last year's big freeze. This week we made it to the park for a picnic after a morning at the sales. We ate smoked salmon sandwiches and cucumber sticks, cream cheese crisps and satsumas - the most christmassy picnic menu I could put together.

This is what I wore:

Outfit Details:

Blouse - gift (Next)

Skirt - Charity Shop £1

Belt - Charity Shop £1

Cardigan - Charity Shop £3

Leggings - Primark £3

Boots - Christmas Pressie

Bag - hand-me-down

Olivia commented that I looked like a cowgirl. I guess she was looking through the lense and thinking 'woman on a ranch', I can live with that!

We have been in town a lot this week, as it is a tad rainy and we love coffee shops. I was so please today to find a stall selling gelato. I have been moaning on Twitter for ages that we don't have it here and all the American bloggers post Instagrams of delicious looking Gelato cups...I now know where to get me some.

Have you been to the sales yet, madly I quite like it.

Love, me x

New Makes

I have just delivered a lovely bundle of freshly made goodies to Coastal Creatives for a pre-Christmas restock. In the mix were a few new ideas: embroidered badges and rosettes. I am working on some more of these for upcoming events like Valentines and Mothers day.

I had a little commission yesterday to make some personalised versions of these...hmmm good idea!

Once I made this dinky little brooch I fell in love with it, then had to part with it soon after. Although this is a massive close up, it is in reality only about 6-7cm accross.

I restocked on all the hair clip duo sets, these are always really popular, and each set is one of a kind. I have been using more embroidery stitches on them, inspired by this blog.



And I restocked on the large clips, these have alligator attachments so can be worn as a brooch or shoe clip too.

These little beauties are very popular too, all sold out from my last stock update - Coastal call them pompom earrings.

Lastly...dropped a few more of these in for good luck. I originally made them as wrap around bracelets, but Coastal sell them as hairbands. In fact one of my Year 11 students came into school with one a couple of weeks ago and it looked amazing. How sweet of her to buy my wares...aw!

I love this new colour combo - claret and blue, very Aston Villa!

I wanted to show these ready for sale so I could share my packaging ideas. I make all my packaging out of old card: magazines, postcards, flyers etc. I cut them to size and apply my simple labels. I love it. It is born out of pure poverty and a desire to re-use as much as I can to make in an environmentally friendly way. The reverse has a label too with my Etsy shop address (which is empty at present...oops! Bad marketing!)

This is from a series of pieces: 1,2 and 3. Framed and ready to go...somewhere.

Lastly for today. I saw a funky idea for wrapping ribbon on a Google search and decided to give it a go. Hand stamped ribbon. Yes all my presents this year will be sporting it. Packaged with old Christmas cards to my daughter from her friends. I will post some images when I have done some wrapping with it. It's a super easy and satisfying little make, I just happen to have rolls upon rolls of ribbon that I bought in a charity shop bundle one lucky day.

Have you got plans for your wrapping or making this Christmas? My creativeness is on overdrive at the moment...

Love, me x

Blog Lovin'

I spend a lot of time reading blogs, as I have said before. Today I was inspired to blog about blogs as one of my favorite writers is having a giveaway. This happens a lot I find, in the blod world, people give away amazing things all the time. I always enter, one day I'll win.


::I Might Just Explode::



So let me introduce you to Kara Haupt from I Might Just Explode. She is incredibly beautiful, fantastically talented and downright lovely too. I follow her blog, and Twitter. I have even chatted to her on Twitter as she is a friendly kinda gal.
Her blog inspires me to keep my creativity going. She sometimes shares about how hard it is, and I understand that as it is hard to keep up your creativity and promote yourself as well as meet deadlines.
So check her out. Enter her competition (a large part of the prize is to win art-journal classes she has written) - but if you win I Might Just Explode...haha



::Art Equals Happy::

Next up: Kim Smith from Art Equals Happy.
This is the blog I first became addicted to. Kim doesn't know this but she got me out of a bit of a fug with my Textiles work. Reading her blog gave me courage and determination to believe I can fulfil my dreams of being a successful artist/ maker. Also what I took fom her work is that its ok to mix Art and Craft...this was a big deal for me. I am now happier with my work than I have ever been, and still loooove to read all about her work and life. She will be at the Renegade Craft Fair in London on the 8th October which I am going to take my friend Anna to. I hope I can get a picture of myself with her and get to say thanks in person...eep!



::The Dainty Squid::
Now for a treat - if you are just getting into blogs you must check out Kaylah from The Dainty Squid. I love reading about her adventures and style. She is super cool!
Kaylah is the absolute Queen of 'Outfit Posts' which is where you just blog about what you are wearing. One day I hope to have a better camera so my outfit posts can look as sharp and pretty as hers.



::My Girl Thursday::
Recently I got into a blog by a cool chic called Thursday: My Girl Thursday.



She writes a lot about her obsession with thrifting -- what I call Charity Shopping, and recently she started trying out a Vlog, which showed just how funny she is as well. I talk to her on Twitter, she is super nice and has inspired me to start buying retro cameras!

I got my first Polaroid Swinger in the post today and it cost me £3. Haven't a clue how it works yet but I will find out. It looks just like this one, except mine is cooler just because its mines!

 

I follow many more than that in both blogs and Twitter, so will save some for later. Check them out, they are the pros! Me x

Fringe Benefits

Against all better judgement I have attacked my own fringe. Every time I go to my hairdressers I say the same thing: please give me a thick blunt fringe. What do I get: a whispy graduated fringe!
I have taken matters into my own hands, obviously £45 isn't enough money to get the haircut you actually want.
I loves it!
Here I am sporting one of my elasticated headscarves (more of them below), and a new (old) cardigan that I bought yesterday for £3.00 at the Charity shop. I am actually in my pjs...but don't tell anyone!

This morning I took some photos of the latest work I have been producing for the Boscombe Art and Craft Bazaar and the It's All Been Done Before Vintage Festival, both in September. Both of which I am buzzing about, getting my stall ready for it's debut proper...nervous too. Make sure you come down and support me with hugs!

Below: elasticated headscarved, earrings, bracelet and brooch - all from second hand and RE:Loved fabrics.

This weekend is all about -

• making more of the same: stocking up on product whith whatever time I have!
• dressing up in my NEW vintage finds from the Charity shops (yes I have even more)
• working in my Art Journal (maybe post some pictures of this next week)
• hanging out with Olivia - maybe a beach picnic with a hot flask of tea (its a bit windy down there)
• plus an old, old friend has a plan to come and visit...but I will only believe it when I see her. Fingers crossed!

What are you up to?

Me x

Charity Shoppee!

Olivia is with her Dad for the day. What better thing to do than to go Charity Shopping. OF COURSE it was meant to be for fabrics for my work (more later about my involvment with the Boscombe Art and Craft Bazaar)...but it turned into a day to shop for Meeee!

Sometimes I go Charity Shopping and find NADA, and then...there are the sweet magical times when things are flying off the racks shouting 'Take me home!' Well, that is what they say to me anyhoo.

Anyhoo...
Sharing the joy here, as I hope it will encourage more people to get out there and rummage. I find it thrilling to say the least when I find something beautiful, my heart literally raced today when I found an old cigar box full of black and white photos and old postcards...sweet! Similarly my heart skipped a beat when I found an 80s Chelsea Girl dress...oh joy!

First up, the dresses I found:

Clockwise from top left:
M&S dress - £3.00
80s Dorothy Perkins dress - £1.00
Unidentified red number (not sure about this one) - £1.00
Unidentified Khaki number (for work probs) - £1.00

And some more:

Clockwise from top left:
80s Chelsea Girl dress (can't see detail but it is sooo pretty with belt and little turned cap sleeves) - £3.50
Zara tiny cress (need to be a tad thinner for this one me thinks!) - £1.00
Unidentified black tunic (for work) - £1.00
My outfit today - Dress Primark sale £5.00, Cardi - old Charity purchase with new buttons (all different colours), Asda shoes (again) - £4.00

And some Top Tops:


Left to right:
Polka Dot Banana Republic - for work £1.50
Next vest top - for travelling £1.00
Vintage Gap Tee (cute print) - £1.00
Wallis Blue wide neck top - £1.00

In total I spent £30, and there is more than photographed here; some 5 pairs of earrings and a bunch of bangles as well as one top which won't slide up my chubby arms (Grr). Oh, and 2 polka-dot ties that I actually WILL make into something for the Bazaar. So there you go, I spent one out of thirty pounds on what I set out to...sigh, I wonder if I can wear ALL my dresses to bed tonight!

I did plan to do loads of other stuff today but I think I'm gonna head out on my bike for a ride to the beach. Love me x