Some Late Lovely Things

I'm a bit late with my Lovely Things post this time around. I blame super fast weekend, I am so sure it was shorter than normal. This last week has been a good one with lots of new and exciting things going on. Here are some of my favourites...

1. New job.  I started a new job this week. This was one of my aims for 2012 so I'm quite pleased I achieved it early on in the year. Highlights of my new job include more hours, better pay, no weekend work and an opportunity to use my Gremlins lunch box. I've been taking this in each day and it's safe to say all my colleagues are very jealous.

2. Bright mornings. Getting up for work each day has been made so much easier by the fact that it is light outside. Not only that but it was rather sunny through out last week. If only it could be guaranteed for every morning.

3. Adding my first postcard set to the shop. During my 2 weeks holiday I designed a set of postcards, each showing a different compliment. I love the idea of sending little surprises through the mail, especially if they say nice things. The set of 6 different designs is now available in the shop, for the rather reasonable price of £4. I already have another set in the pipeline so hopefully they go down well.

Package of Pretty Things

I recently received a lovely package full of goodies from the fantastic Zoe of Ladybird Likes.  Included in it was the CD I won as part of a giveaway she held on her blog.  I love the packaging and the record texture of the CD, very fancy indeed.  

All the songs are now on my phone so I can enjoy them on my way to and from work. This seems to be the main time I listen to music so I really need to get a lot more songs to avoid listening to the same few over and over again.

She also, very generously,  included some super little penpal gifts. I love this collection, the lavender bag is already positioned in my underwear drawer and I will definitely be making use of the cute owl hook.  My favourite thing has to be the tiny toadstool.  I'm a big fan of miniature things and this would look great in a plant pot. I may need to work on my green fingers or it may be the only thing left in said pot.

Lovely Things - Week 6

1. New hair.  After 25 years I've taken the plunge and dyed my hair for the first time. I've always quite liked my natural colour but for quite a while now I've been wishing it was more ginger.  It's not a drastic difference but I'm taking things slowly. Also don't I look great with antlers? These are provided by our awesome fabric stag head made by A Wooden Tree.

Photo by Sophie Cameron found here.

2. Ladies that lunch.  Headed through to Edinburgh to meet up with some of my favourite ladies. We're all living in different places across the country so getting a group together can be difficult but worth it. We went to Eteaket for tea, cake and a longer overdue catch up. This very cute cafe had some great artwork on display and a vast section of teas, definitely worth a visit. 

3. Birthdays that go on and on.  I've received some more lovely birthday gifts this week including these books.  They are filed with lots of interesting crafty ideas that I'm looking forward to trying out.  I am also now the proud owner of a Wonder Cat print that I featured in this post. 

It's Nice to be Nice

I've been seeing a lot of great Valentines DIY's out on the web at the moment. I'm not really one to celebrate 14th February but it is nice to be romantic once in a while. So, since I'm abandoning him to go off to Edinburgh this weekend, I thought I'd make a little surprise to leave for Ross. I was inspired by this DIY but didn't have a spare cup and saucer lying around. I did, however, have some empty GU jars and got to work with the trusted Sharpies. 

I wrote ' love you lots like jelly tots' around the side. I know it's a bit sappy but it's been a constant saying in or flat after hearing it said on Casualty. I then filled the jar with said jelly tots and have left it out for him to find. Hope a) he likes it and b) the cat doesn't eat all the sweets before he gets up.

Jolly Jewellery: LOVE and Giveaway Winner

It's February and the other important celebration, apart from my birthday, is Valentine's Day.  I've never been particularly into this special date but that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate some awesome love themed jewellery!  These would make great gifts at anytime of the year and can help you to avoid the cheap fluffy heart themed tat that is currently filling the shops.

1. Dude Brooch by Havock Designs. Super cool brooch for all the super cool dudes and dudettes in your life.

2. I Love You Necklace by Lauracet Cowan. Saw this necklace at the Vanilla Ink launch and liked the graffetti style writing. It makes the message much less lovely dovey.

3. Secret Message Necklace by Renaissance Life. I'm always a big fan of secret compartments, even better if they contain secret messages.

4. Next Level Brooch by Vangloria. One for gaming fans and a great way to let your valentine know you want to take the relationship up a notch.

5. DIY Heart Ring by bRainbow.  Nice bright colours and a bit of DIY fun, what's not to love?!

6. Braille Ring by MaaP Studio. Gorgeous porcelain ring that spells out the word love in braille. Can also be customised to feature a word of your choosing.

7. Organic Love Ring by La Chica de los Anillos. Simple but beautiful.

8. Heartbeat Rings by NO jewelery. Personalised rings that can be made in one or two sizes for sharing.

And the winner of the Lucky Penny Necklace giveaway is.....(drumroll please)....

Zoe Jade aka Ladybird Likes.  Congrats!  Just let me know your address and I'll get it in the post to you.

All images taken from the makers websites. Click on the links to find out more about each piece.

Lovely Birthday Things

Yesterday was my 25th birthday.  Yes I have now joined the 1/4 of a century club.  Popular opinion has assured me that this does not mean I have to start acting like a grown up, phew!  I had a very pleasant day which involved a visit and lunch at the DCA as well as a charity shop rummage and cinema trip in St Andrews.  I also got a number of lovely gifts...

1. Faux plastic cups. I got two of these ceramic beauties from Ross so we can enjoy a drink together. They are currently filled with a nice Rosé number (another birthday gift).

2. Jewellery.  A pretty and practical necklace from my big sis. At the moment the top one is set to the actual time. Not sure what time to set the bottom clock to?

3. Jewellery. Cute little animal rings from my lil sis. The set also includes a squirrel who is not quite in proportion with the other two creatures but I love him anyway. Who wouldn't love a giant squirrel?!

 

4. And more jewellery. It's a zombie and it's a kitty. It is a ZOMBIE KITTY!

Vanilla Ink

         

Molly Ginnelly.

Top of my to do list this week was heading to the launch of Vanilla Ink's online shop.  This real life event allowed a closer look at the collection available online and marked phase 2 of the Vanilla Ink plan.  Set up by Kate Pickering, Vanilla Ink aims to help, advise and showcase new jewellery graduates. It started with the website launch in July last year and future plans include a workshop space based in Dundee.  Going along on Friday night, I was definitely not disappointed.

On display was work by a number of different jewellery designers, all of which was amazing. The selection offered a diverse look at modern jewellery design, with a range of different materials, influences and price brackets available.  I tried my hardest to pick a favourite but, with a selection like this, how could I pick just one?

 

Jane Gowans. 

Katie Lees.

 

Zoe Duthie.  

 

Stephanie Bates. 

Ok, so if you put a gun to my head and forced me to pick a favourite piece it would probably be the ring above by Stephanie Bates.  I'm not very sure why as it's certainly not my usual style. There is just something about it that made me want to try it on which, in turn, catapulted it to the top of the 'things I'd like to treat myself too and won't be able to stop thinking about until I do' list.

Kate has done an excellent job of bringing together a great selection of jewellery graduates from around the UK.  Seeing the craftsmanship of the pieces was extremely inspiring and has given me a desire to get working with metal.  I will definitely be watching out for the jewellery night classes that the website promises and am very excited to see what else is hidden up the Vanilla Ink sleeve.

Happy February!

Last February I took part in the 28 Drawings Later challenge.  The challenge was set up by artist Victoria Evans and invites all participants to share their work over on the facebook page. I was a bit unsure whether to take part in this years challenge, February is set to be a pretty busy month, but looking back at last years attempt I thought I'd better try and improve on it!  This is my Day 1 creation, 'Home Sweet Home'.

It's not the best image as it's been photographed rather than scanned. My plan is to copy my drawings properly when I get near a scanner.

This week also saw the result of some January drawings as I received some new cards from the printers. I added them to the shop this evening. A great way to tell someone special just how sensational, fantastic, wonderful, super, terrific, marvellous and tremendous they are.

P.S. My giveaway ends on Friday so don't forget to enter by leaving a comment on this post.