Creative Café #6 ★

apologies for the lack of posts, i spent Monday asleep (mostly) and was at college aaaaallll day yesterday finishing off written work for assessment/printing/hanging out with the HND's

anyway, since i haven't made anything today and i haven't been anywhere, let's have another Creative Café post shall we!!!

go on put the kettle on, get your tea/coffee/beverage and DON'T forget the cake and/or biscuits because you know that's the most important part!

ready???

ok today's Creative Café post is all about an awesome artist/logo designer/illustrator/graphic designer/picture book illustrator i recently discovered via tumblr, her work is super duper gorgeous and i just know you're going to love it! 

so today's post is all about Kyra Kendall from Toronto, Canada

like i said i only came across her work recently via her tumblr blog but i liked it straightaway

her loose, colourful style i so fun and vibrant and she draws such quirky things that it's kind of hard not to like her stuff!!!

she has so many styles ranging from loose sketchy watercolours to flawless vectors and yet each of her pieces have their own unique vibe and character

in fact you know what, i always ramble on and on, just see for yourself . . . have a nice scroll through it all because that's the point, it's ALL gorgeous!

ah don't you just love it!!! i could look through her work all day

it's all just so fun and girly and gorgeous! 

i genuinely do luuuurve her stuff! she is so super duper! for more of her work you can. . .

check out her tumblr blog/website here - Kyra Kendall

'Like' her stuff on Facebook - Kyra Kendall Illustration

follow her on Twitter - @hellokyra

pop over to her flickr photostream - kyrakendall

or check out her dripbook portfolio here - Kyra Kendall Illustration

big BIG thanks to the lovely Kyra for letting me feature her work here, if you liked her stuff then i definitely recommend that you check out her tumblr site, it's awesome!

All images featured in this post belong to Kyra Kendall © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her written consent. All Rights Reserved.

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nothing else to report today dearies, i've got to make a stack of greetings cards for the shop tonight, i'm literally surrounded by Sweet Ginger Strips girls and Sugar Skull prints!

until next time, that's all folks . . . ★ ◕‿◕ xX

Cute Cupcakes ★

so. . . i failed to mention this yesterday or earlier because i had other stuff to post about but on Friday afternoon i came home to find a belated Birthday present waiting for me by the gates!!!

it was off my best friend Courtney and inside the pink tissue paper wrapped bundle i found a cupcake maker!

yes you read that right, she got me my very own mini cupcake maker!!!

a cupcake maker that allows you to make cute mini cupcakes in minutes!

i'm not gonna lie, i fully squealed when i realised what the present was! i'm not the world's best baker and to be honest i often struggle just to make decent cupcakes so this is a real god-send!

it's kind of like a little toastie or waffle maker except you pour cupcake mix in instead

according to the instructions, it's not necessary to use cupcake cases but i'd seen a few blogs and sites online showing people using cases with their makers, and luckily my cousin Mandy bought me a lovely little cupcake making kit for my birthday that i have been dying to try out!

the cases fit perfectly, so now all i needed were the ingredients!

like i said. . . not the best baker! i didn't trust myself with completely raw ingredients (measuring wise i really suck) so my dear mama got me some simple 'just add eggs/water' kits instead.

the maker itself is actually really awesome, once i'd mixed the batter and heated up the little maker it cooked the cupcakes up in no time!

+ it was an absolute doddle to clean (as you can see i spilt some of the batter) and super easy to use!

i actually cooked up 15 mini cakes altogether and then of course, came the fun part. . . decorating them!

i mixed up a bowl of buttercream icing with a dash of strawberry milkshake powder. ok so i failed to buy any proper vanilla essence or flavourings but the milkshake powder actually worked really well! it made the icing a sort of blushed peachy pink and it piped out really easily onto the cakes

even if my piping skills aren't quite as good!!! i threw on some sprinkles for good measure though

before promptly running out of buttercream icing!!! luckily my star of a mother whipped up a batch of chocolate icing for me to use

so i ended up with some strange sort of marbled iced cakes as well

but at the end of the day the proof is in the taste and these taste delicious! even if i do say so myself . . . and i do!

a mini cupcake success i think!!!

thanks to Courtney for the amazing gift, thank you deary xX

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in other news, i've spent the afternoon writing and editing my digital logbook ahead of assessment next week, 

planning on watching a movie or something now but to be honest i've been at a bit of a loose end since i finished my re-watch marathon of 'Supernatural' which means i now have nothing to watch!!!

any suggestions for a show i could maybe get into and watch/re-watch would be greatly appreciated!

i was thinking maybe 'True Blood' or 'Misfits' but i'd quite like a new show to watch

anyway, enough rambling! enjoy the rest of your Sunday

that's all folks . . . ★ ◕‿◕ xX

Creative Café #5 ★

hey folks, hope you've had a nice Saturday so far, i spent the day cooped up inside watching old movies and relaxing, it's been utterly blissful!

i decided it was about time for another Creative Café post so get you tea/coffee/cocoa ready, grab some biscuits or some cake and settle down for some creative loveliness

today's post is all about a wonderful local artist here in the Isle of Man, it's all about Karen Tomlinson aka Purplecatscorner

i first discovered Karen's work in about February or April last year, her whimsical, girly style of painting just appealed to me straightaway and then last August i won a little giveaway on her blog

her work is always very sweet, pretty and wonderfully coloured, her delicately painted girls and fairies are just so lovely you can't help but like them! 

here's a bunch of some of her gorgeous paintings which are all available as prints via her etsy shop

Karen also creates pretty little bottle top necklaces featuring her work, i have one and it's the perfect accessory to brighten up an otherwise gloomy day

she also makes lovely printed tote bags, pretty bookmarks, greetings cards and fridge magnets

and recently she also started making these lovely fabric hearts

ah everything she creates is so pretty, i just love it all!

here's a photo of all of the lovely Purplecatscorner stuff that i personally own. . .

i won most of this in the giveaway last summer, in fact. . . 

Karen is currently holding another Summer giveaway on her blog!!! it's running until the July 4th

so for your chance to win some lovely Purplecatscorner goodies, head over and find out how to enter - Giveaway

if you fancy treating yourself or someone else to a pretty little something then head over to Karen's etsy shop - purplecatscorner

you can also check out her blog - Purplecats Corner

'Like' her work on Facebook - Purplecatscorner

and Follow her on Twitter - @purplecatcorner

big thanks to the lovely Karen for letting me feature her work here

all images and pieces featured in this post belong to Karen Tomlinson © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her written consent. All Rights Reserved

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not much else for today dudes and dudettes, i have some more stuff to share but i'm afraid it will just have to wait until tomorrow!

in the meantime why not head over to my new candy coloured tumblr blog, it's full of stuff i like (only without all the boring rambling written bits!) - jadeboylan

until next time, that's all folks . . .  ★ ◕‿◕ xX