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.