Sunday 31 July 2011

♥ curiouser and curiouser...

 so i've been a little quiet this week blog wise, i have a lovely new creative café post for you tomorrow but in the meantime i thought i'd share what i've been working on recently

i was looking at some of my old 'Where's Charlie?' picture book characters and i thought i'd have a go at re-inventing and altering some of the characters

so i ended up drawing two little princess style girls, and kind of like the last princess image i worked on, i imagined that these two were sisters, one very girly and pretty, the other a little bit more gothic


but as i coloured them i realised that they actually reminded me of something else... and so this was the next result!  with the lovely Ballaglass Glen acting as a makeshift Wonderland!


i'm not sure why, but as i coloured them it made me think of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, so i tweaked them a bit and added in a re-vamped 'cupcake princess' as the Red Queen!




i'm not gonna lie, they were a lot of fun to work on! i haven't really done any fan art for a while so it was nice to incorporate colours and details from existing characters for a change! 

* * *

a short but sweet post today, like i said i haven't been up to much!

look out for the creative café post tomorrow!

but until then, that's all folks... ★ ◕‿◕ xX

Thursday 28 July 2011

Polka Dot Love ♥

so yesterday afternoon for no particular reason other than the fact i was a little bit bored, i sat down at my desk and started sewing!


not entirely sure why but who cares! i ended up making 3 pretty little lavender hearts using polka dot felt, lots of embroidery floss, some ribbon and looooooads of dried lavender!


they're all hand stitched with the word 'love' (in my own handwriting) and blanket stitched but i whizzed them through the sewing machine as well to make sure none of the lavender will spill out! 

i messed up the lettering on the first one though so it's whip stitched while the other two are just stitched normally.


the only problem now is that my room absolutely stinks of lavender!!!

they're kind of cute though right! well i enjoyed making them so that's what counts i guess, they're all hanging from my wardrobe doors at the moment


not really sure what to do with them! should i gift them or make some more and sell them?!

who knows!

* * *

in other news, i got kind of bored again today so in between working on commission files i ended up having a go at some weird little text manips using photos and magazine scans and craft knife cut out letters smoothed out on my macbook


 i made about 10 altogether but these were my favourites, using some quotes from song lyrics, Shakespeare's Macbeth and a quote from Mary Poppins

not sure why i made them! boredom clearly does crazy things to my mind!

* * *

that's it for today i think, i'm heading out this weekend to pick up a few more goodies for the giveaway bundle but apart from that, no exciting plans going on in my world!!!

that's all folks... ★ ◕‿◕ xX

Tuesday 26 July 2011

design stuff + blog news ★

so... today i got a lovely little comment on my blog from a girl who it turns out... is the blogs 100th follower!!!

yaaaaay party on the blog!!! 

so you know what this means right?!

it means i can kick off the Giveaway officially now! 

now it won't open for entries until Monday 1st of August so don't start bombarding me with comments and messages... just yet!

so stay tuned for the big ol' Giveaway post on how YOU can enter for the chance to win some groovy goodies!

* * *

in other news...

today i stumbled across the most awesome and frankly, genius looking iPhone cover i've ever seen!

as far as i'm concerned it's just further proof that i am DESTINED to own an iPhone, and ideally this cover too!

basically the cover is made with a cross-stitch like grid weave on the back which you can embroider with a pixel style image of your choosing!!! 


a DIY embroidery iPhone cover... actual complete and utter GENIUS!


i can't even begin to tell you how much i need this in my life! true that i don't own an iPhone but i would still LOVE one of these to sew into!


what a clever idea!!!

in fact the site i found it on was full of super duper design ideas, it's a Korean wsbsite that sells the most ingenious little gadgets and gizmos

like the watch diary



(need this as well... asap)

and the 'sprout' book mark



so cute and soooo simple!

the site is called Connect Design and i spent most of this morning on there flicking through all the amazing things they have in the shop!

absolutely brilliant! if anyone owns an iPhone 4 and loves to sew... get one of those covers and send me a snap of the finished design

* * *

not much else to report on today, i've been working hard today on a new set of designs for a new project i'm not going to mention... yet!

to be honest though, i'm just HAPPY that i've finally hit 100 followers! 

and i'm excited about the giveaway times, i can't wait to start gathering up more gorgeous goodies from shops here on the island + when i go to Ireland next month

i'm thinking the giveaway will run all month, or at least until i get back from Dublin/Cork/Waterford, that'll give me the chance to get lots more prizes to add to the bundle!

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


ps - meant to mention, my parents got back from their fortnight away so the house is messy again (bloody parents!) but they did bring me back a HEAP of presents so it's not all bad :)

Saturday 23 July 2011

♥ Jade's blog needs YOU! ♥

yes well... it turns out i've somehow reached 96 followers (you are all insane and i thank you for that) and you know what that means...

when i reach 100 there will be another GIVEAWAY!!!!!

aha NOW i've got your attention!

the last 2 giveaways have been sooooooo successful (and fun!) so i'm determined that this one will be just as awesome (if not even more so) 

so far we've had winners from the USA and Canada, proof of my willingness to ship the prizes anywhere! 

so who knows... maybe this time it could be YOU winning a big bundle of cute goodies!

anyway none of this matters because i'm NOT at 100 followers... yet!

this is where you come in my humble minions... sorry, i mean 'followers'! 

if you think you know someone that might like my blog (think.. hard!) then recommend it to them, 

suggest they 'follow' it and then we can get going with the new Summer Giveaway Extravaganza!!!

i only need 4 people... just 1-2-3-4 come on! that's not too tough is it!

and in a last ditch attempt to entice you to help me get these 4 followers, i'm giving you a sneak peek at some of the goodies up for grabs!

now if you've entered past giveaways you'll know that i buy a HEAP of awesome stuff to giveaway, i buy stuff for many weeks/days before i ship it all off so this is just the start of this bundle...

so, since i have a lot of followers from many different parts of the world, the first set of goodies have a British Summertime theme


ooooh don't they look pretty!

it's a groovy little set of jewellery bits and bobs from a shop here on the island

there's a little ceramic Union Jack teapot (and check out that cute polka dot bow!)


a (sort of) matching pair of dangly polka dot bow earrings


a sweet itty bitty ice cream necklace with cute charms


and my personal favourite.. in keeping with traditional British Summers... a teeny tiny little wellington boot! (+ a cute tartan bow and pearl charm)


aren't they divine!

it's further proof of my devotion to you all that i'm giving these beauties away and not keeping them for myself!!!

so... now you know what's up for grabs so far, and believe me... there will be a lot more stuff going into this bundle, as if these gorgeous bits and bobs aren't awesome enough!

ok, go forth my darlings and get me those 4 followers! then i can start the giveaway and YOU (yes... you) could be winning these pretty little treats!!!

you know what to do...

that's all folks ◕‿◕ ★ xX



ps - just heard the sad news that the singer Amy Winehouse has died! sad news, she was an incredible singer! what a voice :(

such a shame! she was so talented! here's my fave Amy Winehouse song, 'you know i'm no good'


Tuesday 19 July 2011

Rescue Times ★

so i've had a busy few days since the weekend, anyway today my wonderful big sister Nicola came to rescue me and we had a smashing afternoon wandering around Ramsey

Nic lives in the South of the island so she doesn't really come up to the North unless it's to visit us so she'd never even been to most of the gorgeous Ramsey shops!!!

i took her to Sweet Ginger (of course) and the Tide, the Snug, Shakti Man, Miss Gawne's, St Paul's Bookshop and Pure Inspiration.

we had a super duper time and i even managed to pick up this darling little cupcake patterned cake stand!!!


isn't it sweet! 

now all i have to do is bake up a batch of yummy little cupcakes to display on it!!!



i failed to mention it before but on Saturday my lovely (fairy) godmother Kath came and rescued me from chateau boylan and took me out to lunch and shopping in town 

what a life saver!

we had a great afternoon pottering around town handbag and shoe shopping and i even ended up treating myself to two pretty new outfits in the Summer Sales

this gorgeous Yellow summer dress


and this floral and sort of nautical themed skirt



i also forgot to show you all this brilliant set of Scrabble magnets i got from Tynwald the other day!!!


i've had great fun spelling out stuff on the fridge... as you can see!

so what else?!

well to my utter delight my new book arrived today!!!


i ordered this ages ago but living in the middle of Narnia (well i practically do!) things take ever so long to arrive in the post!

anyway it's a great book, chock FULL of gorgeous illustrations of architecture


it's a book i've wanted for ages and was a sort of end of term treat i guess!


so far... i LOVE it! as i knew i would


but unfortunately a bad migraine has struck and not only am i seeing double typing this, i can barely concentrate on the pages so i'm going to go and have a nap i think!!!


i feel really ill and haven't a clue what's wrong with me!!! here's hoping i get well soon!

hope you're all having a lovely week so far, 

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

Sunday 17 July 2011

★ Award Times ★

so to my delight and utter astonishment i got a nice surprise yesterday morning when i found out that the lovely Kate over at Vintage in a Modern World had given me a 'stylish blogger award'


the award is a sort of meme thing where if you're awarded it you have to list 7 facts about yourself then pass the award on to 7 other bloggers that you think deserve the award

so here goes... i tried to think of things that you might not have necessarily known about me, or maybe not known as much about

7 facts...


1. i'm a little bit (a lot) obsessed with classical art and architecture. 

ahaha thought i'd kick this off with a cool fact! no but seriously, i'm not even sure why! 

all i know is that i can happily sit and flick through books of classical stuff for hours and hours! 

don't get me wrong i love contemporary art and architecture as well but there's just something about the old stuff that intrigues me. especially the way it's helped shape and form today's art and architecture. 

i have more books on Greek and Roman architecture and art than i do on any other subject. you might not think stuff like that matters nowadays but go to an old big city and look around, you'll see architecture inspired by the classical style all over the place! honest...

2. i'm kind of addicted to buying and reading books! 

seriously, about 85% of what i spend goes on books alone, i rarely visit town without making a trip to the book stores and whenever i'm away anywhere a book shop is usually the first place i'll go to! 

unless i'm in a foreign country... but honestly even then i head in for a skeet and have even, on occasion bought books in foreign languages! 


i have so many books in my room i've run out of shelf space so they're just stacked about the place or lined up against the wall all along the floor. 

in fact i have books in most rooms in the house, i don't think there's actually a room in Chateau Boylan that doesn't have at least one or two books in it! 

i wouldn't change a thing though since  "a room without books is like a person without a soul"

i'd also like to say that i have one of those memories where i can remember everything i read, but i don't... i just love to read! whatever and whenever, hand me a book and i'll be happy


3. i've (secretly) always wanted to be an actress! sounds mad i know but although art was always my favourite class at school (right from age 4) growing up i always secretly aspired to be an actress!!! 

for as long as i can remember i'd sit and watch movies/musicals/shows and while my friends saw the magical characters and wanted it all to be real, i just wanted to be an actress so i could play characters like that too one day! 

at school i joined all the drama clubs to be in the school productions but i took private piano lessons instead of private drama lessons and as such most of the top parts always went to the private drama students in the auditions, which is understandable.

so eventually i guess i just sort of gave up and worked backstage instead where weirdly i always ended up being in charge of costumes, props, scripts, sets, blah blah blah regardless of my age. 


so apart from reading/writing plays at school for drama and English lit classes + playing a few characters in class while reading out Sophocles, Shakespeare, Brecht, Clark and countless other playwrights, i never really followed it properly! 

people always say it's never too late to follow your dreams but i wouldn't have the confidence to pursue it now!!! looks like i'll stick to art instead :)


4. i used to a complete and utter tomboy. now i know what you're thinking, every time i post a photo of myself on here i'm always in a dress and i usually have red lipstick/nail varnish on, so how can i be a tomboy?!

well i'm not a tomboy any more, i just used to be! i grew up spending my time playing outside in the river knee deep in muddy water, or playing with my toy train set (told you i loved trains!) and cars. and if i was indoors i was usually watching scary movies or playing racing games on various games consoles.

school didn't help. you see at my school there was no trouser option for girls so far as the school uniform went. at primary school it was tartan kilts in the winter and striped dresses in the summer. and at high school it was pinstriped pencil skirts all the time. no choice.

so at the weekends and days off i pretty much lived in hoodies, t-shirts, jeans and converse/trainers. in fact the thought of wearing a dress or skirt in my spare time horrified me. 

the only time i got to wear trousers at school was for (some) sports lessons and CCF training. 

you see as if i wasn't enough of a tomboy already, i was also in the CCF (combined cadet force) at school. 


which basically meant crawling in the rain drenched mud, marching about during drill training, lying on the floor for weapons practice at the shooting range and shining up boots and buttons before going on parade. 

a lot of my (girl) friends resented it all but i loved it! the combat uniform, the beret, the camouflage gear! running through marshes covered in camo paint practicing orienteering. 

we even went to a British Army camp across, it was great! i really enjoyed my time in the CCF.

all cadets started off in basic Army training and then you could stay in the Army or switch to the RAF (Royal Air Force) or the RN (Royal Navy) 

so i ended up in the Royal Navy which was also brilliant! learning to sail boats and kayak, what's not to love!

anyway by the time i reached Sixth form and started studying for the IB, i still hated skirts! sixth formers get to wear skirt and trouser suits so naturally i LIVED in trousers. even my first year at college was the same. jeans. day in day out. 

and then for some reason around summer 09 i started wearing dresses...

i'm still not entirely sure why! all i know is that i lived in them for the rest of the summer... and the winter... and have been wearing them non-stop ever since!

funny how things turn out :)
5. i don't really have any proper hobbies. like most people maybe go to a dance class or join a choir, play a sport, take a cookery or painting class etc etc i do... nothing. 

i mean obviously i have hobbies (of sorts) but they're not really proper hobbies. for example. other than reading all the time, i study art history as a sort of hobby. 

i also study classical mythology of the ancient cultures from around the world. see what i mean... they're not really 'hobbies' are they. 

to be honest i've never really had any proper hobbies! so far as after school clubs go, at school i always went to art club (surprise, surprise), drama club (sad but true), tennis club (no joke), football club (yes really), fencing club (honestly) and scrabble club (i had no choice in the matter). 

but i haven't played tennis, football or practiced fencing for years! and i grew to loathe scrabble because of aforementioned scrabble club. 

no dance classes for little miss boylan. i was already in the choir so that doesn't count. however, i can't help but think i've missed out on hobbies a little over the years. i should probably try and find a suitable hobby now but i'm too stuck in my boring ways to want to!!!

more of my current boring 'hobbies' include: astrology, divination, symbology, mythology...  and writing. 

well i told you i lived a boring life...
6. i am a useless jack of all trades, or a 'jade' of all trades! i was taught French at school from the age of 4 and i STILL can't speak/write/understand it fluently. not even close!!! i studied Spanish for 3 years and can barely remember any of it now. I've been learning Italian for a year and am also useless at it. languages are clearly NOT my forte. end of. 

i took piano lessons for 5 years and still can't read sheet music. i can remember notes and small pieces but sheet music makes my head want to explode. i have to decipher and translate it note by note as if i were reading a page in French/Spanish/Italian. music also clearly not my forte.

i can name all the orders of Greek Architecture and draw out a diagram of them explaining the various parts and their names... but i can't drive a car or bake a batch of cookies without burning them

i can tell you the history of the Sistine Chapel and how Michelangelo painted it or explain the stories behind most of the Pre-Raphealite masterpieces... but i can't change a bulb or fix a fuse without the serious possibility of electrocuting myself to death

i can remember all of the words to Habanera and Seguedilla or recite the prologue of Romeo and Juliet word for word... but i can't remember when my sisters/nieces/cousins birthday's are

WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY LIFE!!!!!!


7. FACT: writing these 7 facts has been one of the most difficult things I've undertaken in a long, long time! seriously i must have spent about 3 hours sitting here trying to think of 7 useless facts. here's the proof, i genuinely couldn't think of a 7th so i wrote this instead!

what an ordeal...

phew!

anyway i have to pass it on to 7 bloggers as well, so here are my seven, a fabulously mixed bunch of lovely ladies













anyway thanks for stopping by to read up on the 7 random (aka boring) facts about me! 

that's all folks... ★ ◕‿◕ xX