Happy Halloween

love BD and me xx

I made: a cup candle

Ta dah!  Look at what I made.  Doesn't it fit in niceley with my other blue and white ceramics?  I bought some porceline tea-cups a while ago with the idea of turning them into candles.  I saw a tutorial somewhere online and decided I wanted to give it a try, and I must say I'm pretty chuffed with how they turned out.
It's good to have a project sometimes that's just for fun.  Most of the time I'm thinking about new products for my shop or gifts for friends and family.  Saying that, this would make a great gift and I may end up making more for friends.

p.s. I made a little video on photoshop to go with this post, but I haven't quite figured all the technical stuff out yet and I'm not sure if it can work??  Basically I'm not sure my laptop has the power I need to make the magic happen just yet :(

Threads: new kicks

It's been a while since I've done an outfit post, and this is quite a casual one I suppose.  I just wanted to show off my new trainers to be honest.

Sorry about the picture quality - they were taken with the 'wrong' side of my phone camera which has made them look like they were taken in the early noughties.  I'll get cracking with my proper camera soon.

Quiet weekends

These last few weekends have been comparitavely relaxed, for us anyway.  We've spent our precious days off sleeping in, cleaning the house, watching films, trying new recipes and seeing friends.  I've loved it!  Being at home and catching up on everyday chores may sound boring, but I've needed it after the whirlwind of a summer I've had.

I love putting my energy into this space I call home.  As the nights draw in and the weather turns cooler, home becomes a more comforting place.  When there's a gale blowing outside I love to be snuggled under a blanket, or when it's throwing it down with rain I love to be soaking in a hot bath.  These are the comforts of the cold seasons, which here in Sheffield we are edging further in to.
Saying this, I am fully aware how short lived this will be as Christmas loomes ever closer.  These quiet weekends have been a complete luxury, and one that I have cherished.

What I'm reading

Since I was a teenager, I have had a thing for Japan.  I think it started with an enjoyment of Manga and Anime, then blossomed into an interest in Japanese history, culture and society.  At university I chose to write my dissertation on an element of the Japanese cultural psyche.  I had posters on my wall of manga characters, regularly watched Japanese samurai films and ate at my favourite Japanese restaurant whenever I could afford to.

For my 21^st birthday I was given a trip to Japan.  The best birthday present I have ever had.  The trip cemented my love of this part of the planet and made my interest in its culture and history even greater.  It just so happens that my brother-in-law (ooh it’s still funny calling him that!) has the same love for Japanese history, specifically feudal Japan, so we bought him this book one Christmas.  He has since claimed it is the best book he has ever read and lent it to me promising that I would enjoy it too.

I am about three quarters of the way through and thoroughly enjoying it.  It is a work of fiction, but includes well researched glimpses into what it was like to live in Japan in the Elizabethan times.  If you are at all interested in Japanese history, samurais or even just a good old fashioned adventure story, you may find something you like in this book.

New Season

Autumn is now officially upon us which means a new season filled with new ideas, new passions and new beginnings. I’m also a new person, kind of. I have a new name (married – yay!), I’m living in a new house and working on lots of new projects. I’ll give more of an update on that soon.
 

I’m sad summer is over. This year’s has been particularly amazing for me. Not only did I celebrate the most important day of my life so far, I followed it with the holiday of a lifetime. The house we’ve moved into is also a big plus of the summer… we now have 3 bedrooms (one is a makeshift craft room at the moment), an upstairs, a garden and NO MOULD!! Woop woop for a dry house!

There is so much to catch up on, that I’ll leave you with this small update for now and fill you in with more details in a future post.
 

Oh and err… sorry for the absence *guilty face*.

My first craft fair (part 1)

Nearly a year ago (July 2013) I attended my first ever craft fair as a vendor.  I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to show you – oops!  It was one of the hottest days of the year, the Wimbledon tennis final was playing and my legend of a mother helped me set up my first craft stall.  If you knew my mum you would know how much of a sacrifice this was for her, especially as Andy Murray ended up winning!  *thanks again mum – I love you!

I was a little anxious at first.  I had spent the majority of the week leading up to it frantically making more stuff thinking that I didn’t have enough.  It was a beautifully sunny week that I had booked off work.  With hindsight I should have chilled my boots a little and enjoyed the sunshine, but hey-ho!

Once we got there I was really excited.  We were allocated a great spot, and I couldn’t wait to get set up and have a wander around all of the other stalls (I do after all love a good craft fair).  As you can see from the pictures, there was soooo much on offer.  There was the sound of vinyl records playing whilst girls had retro makeovers at a mobile vintage hairdressers, all kinds of different arts and crafts and plenty of antiques and vintage for the second-hand junky.

I took about a million pictures, so I’m writing this post in pieces.  Special thanks to: Greenside Deli, Juniper Creates,  Studio Aitch, Me and Thee, and Vintage Rosie For allowing me to take their picture for this (extremely belated) post.

Save the Date

Because I was away for a little while on my blog break I feel like there's so much I haven't shared with you, including our Save the Date cards.  They're nothing flashy... in fact they're obviously home-made - and I love that!  I scoured the internet for ages looking for inspiration for something a little bit different.  I went back and forth between a few ideas, but in the end opted for something relatively simple.  I found the picture on Pinterest and just had to use it as it's just full of personality!

The most difficult part of the process was carving my own rubber stamp with the text you can see on the back of the postcards.  Oh my days it took ages!  But that wasn't the only painful thing about it - I knew that if I went wrong at any point I would have to start completely from scratch.  No thanks to that!!  I also didn't realise how small some of the text actually was... it wasn't the easiest craft task I've set myself; there may have been a few swear words, but I got there in the end (with only a few minor mistakes).

After painting a spotty border, printing the back (I wanted to print the text with white ink, but that ended up being far too much trouble than it was worth - and the results were not great!) and sticking the cheeky wedding pic to the front they were good to go.  Just sprinkle a bit of home-made confetti in the envelope, stick a stamp on and voilà.  A good effort by all I'd say (thanks Floyd).

Spring Fever

Are you feeling it?  Spring is in the air and suddenly I'm drawn towards muted shades and pastels, floral everything and pops of colour.  I'm loving these bright mornings - what a difference it makes having actual sunlight when you wake up!  My energy levels are rising and with it a desire to eat more green food.  Spring is the season of new beginnings after all, so I'm embracing the natural desire to refresh my system.  Smoothie maker here I come!

30 before 31

About a month ago I turned 30 (yikes!).  I had a little freak-out at the time, but I'm feeling okay about it now... mostly.  As is my yearly tradition, I have made myself a new list of goals to accomplish before my next birthday.  See my past ones here, here and here.

As is also tradition, I'm sharing it here with you in the hope it'll give me some extra incentive.  I've not fully completed a list yet, but here goes...

1. Create a routine - in the hope of getting a few simple things done.
2. Find 'the dress' - no, I still haven't found my wedding dress.  Time is ticking...
3. Enjoy the gym - I joined in December and really need to work on my fitness.
4. De-clutter - kind of standard, but necessary nonetheless.
5. Keep in touch - I am the worst at this.
6. vintage shopping - I love this and want to do more.
7. Make cake - I got loads of cake maing stuff for Xmas and want to crack it out.
8. Go to the llama farm - a personal ambition of mine since discovering there is one near Sheffield.
9. Clean eating - less processed foods = healthier lifestyle.
10. Read before bed - to get me back into reading regularly.
11. Worry less - harder than it seems.
12. Practice ukelele - I taught myself as a previous birthday goal... now I need to practice.
13. Make paper/fabric flowers - possible wedding project.
14. Cut down on meat - for mine and the planet's benefit.
15. Home videos - my new camera has video (!)
16. Craft my wedding - saves money, adds personality and is fun!
17. Rotate my wardrobe - I always end up wearing the same things.  I plan to change this.
18. Betty portraits - well, she is gorgeous.
19. Eat local produce - another effort to help the planet (and local economy).
20. Purge my craft supplies - I have too much stuff!
21. Weaving - I bought a lap-loom ages ago and haven't used it yet.
22. Spa Sundays - taking the time each week to pamper myself.
23. Less personal shopping - in an effort to save money and cleanse my wardrobe.
24. Stop my bad habit - since I was a litte girl I have chewed the skin in my mouth.  I really, really want to stop.
25. Find a new home - our flat is lovely, but mouldy.
26. Get back into yoga - a past hobby I would like to revisit
27. Use less heat on my hair - I'm trying to grow it.
28. Refocus logii - something I have neglected recently :(
29. Experiment with tofu - there are so many possibilities
30. More craft fairs - one down, more to go.

So there you have it.  I'll try and update as often as I can with my progress.  Do you do anything similar?  I love making lists!

le weekend

...I've been testing out my new camera and the verdict is - I love it!  It's been an enjoyable weekend here in Sheffield.  Lots of good food, reading in the park, getting dressed up for date night as well as dressed down for comfy Sunday.  Pretty much perfect.  I also managed to get a new blanket started - bonus.

I watched this film on Friday.  It was fun and an easy watch - you'll like it if you enjoyed Love Actually (although not as good in my opinion).  It's always good to veg out to some light-hearted comedy, but I'm ready to immerse myself in something more serious next time.  I'm thinking either Melancholia, Capote or Amour for my next watch.  Any recommendations?

Optimism

(image source)

This week has been an optimistic one for me.  I’ve started blogging again (yay!) which has given me a great feeling of motivation for all sorts of areas in my life.  I wrote a new birthday list the other week (as it was my birthday), and I’m keen to get cracking with it!  The sun is out for longer, which always makes things a little easier and is giving me much needed energy.  I also have a new camera, so am feeling really excited about using it at every opportunity.

I feel that in life your energy, creativity and inspiration naturally ebbs and flows and it seems I’m going through a stage of positivity – which can sometimes be difficult at this gloomy time of year.  I’m so excited for the year ahead… I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be the best year ever!