Trip to Town ★

so today i got up at the crack of dawn (8 am... it was like dawn to me!!!) and head into town for a skeet round the shops

i picked up a few new bits including...

2 more mini lalaloopsy dolls (i guess this means i'm officially collecting them now!)

meet mini Mittens Fluff n' Stuff and mini Crumbs Sugar Cookie

that means i have 4 now including the two from last Saturday's post - Shops & Stuff ♥

they are sooooo sweet! 

my brand new blue dress from asos (see pic below) arrived this morning, oh and well i was out i also got this amaaaaaazing new cooking apron!!!

now i love the super duper amazing little 50's style polka dot pinny my friend Charlotte got me for Christmas (check it out here - Family & Friends ♥) but i've wanted a full size apron for a while as well, just because i'm a messy cook/baker and i don't want to ruin the polka dot one!

so when i spotted this i just had to have it!

it is soooo colourful and fun! with pink gingham pockets, orange ties and lots of floral patterns, so cute and girly!

LOVE it!

* * *

ok so the Giveaway ended last night/this morning at Midnight on the dot

by 12:00 am i'd recorded entries from precisely 44 people counting 51 entries altogether but 2 more appeared on tumblr about 5 minutes after and since this was my first proper giveaway i counted them as well

because i'm too sweet for my own good

anyway using random.org the number 13 was randomly generated

so big congratulations to number 13 on the list... Tiffany 

she is the lucky winner of all the cute Kawaii stuff and i shall be posting it all out to her first thing Monday morning

i still haven't managed to get in contact with her so if you're reading this Tiffany, please email me your address so i can send you all the goodies - info@jadeboylan.com

* * *

those of you that have visited my website www.jadeboylan.com in the past 24 hours may have noticed the new welcome page has a bit of a girly yet slightly creepy theme...

my girly college project has taken a spooky turn since i finally decided to have a go at drawing a Mexican Sugar Skull

it's a little different to what i usually draw but it was great fun to work on (albeit time consuming to colour) 

Sugar Skulls fascinate me and i've been wanting to draw one for a while so i'm glad i finally had a go

* * *

not much else to share for today

until next time

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ♥ xX

Farewell to a Friend ★

so i actually meant to post this yesterday but when i got home i was really tired and just ended up watching a DVD and going to bed!

those of you that are regular readers of my blog will have seen me mention my friend Charlotte quite a few times (as well as posting links to her blog - Loretta Jane's Vintage Boutique)

she's a total 50's fashionista who loves all things pinup and vintage just like me, 

she's one of my best friends and subsequently one of the only friends i ever really hang out with here on the Isle of Man (i'm not very social but she's a fab shopping buddy because we both love the same stuff)

anyway, she is moving back to Sheffield tomorrow which means i won't see her again for aaaaaaaages!

i'm sad because she's only lived here for about 12 months and i sure am going to miss her! 

but i know she has to do what's right for her + her family because it just so happens that she is pregnant and expecting her first child (due in August) which is part of the reason why her + her husband Rob are moving back to their home town of Sheffield.

i got to say my goodbyes yesterday when we met up for a farewell lunch at the Alpine (after all, where else would we go?!) 

it's her Birthday in a few days so i had to hand over her present as well

here's the super duper Pinup gift bag i've had since my trip to Ireland last Summer! i bought the bag on my first day in Dublin, i hadn't got Charlotte a present yet but i just knew she had to have that gift bag!

isn't it cute! pinup perfection!!!

it wasn't her Birthday yesterday but i let her open the presents anyway since she won't be here for her actual Birthday

yay for presents!

and bless her! Charlotte got ME a present as well!!!

as soon as i walked into the Alpine she held out this gorgeous bracelet for me to put on straight away

it's like a Juicy Couture style charm bracelet with a stiletto heel, a sparkly 'J' and even a little cupcake charm!!!

just like the cupcakes i've been drawing lately it even has pink icing and a cherry on top!!!

i LOVE it!

speaking of cupcakes, i treated myself to one of the yummy freshly made cupcakes in the Alpine (the picture is quite fuzzy but i think you can still appreciate how cute it is)

yum yum!

after lunch we wandered around some of our fave shops in Douglas before parting ways in the afternoon

i really really REALLY am going to miss her! but i guess Sheffield isn't too far away, it's kind of like when my friends from college all went off to uni in the UK and i still talk to them all the time via skype and facebook so i know we'll stay in touch

have a safe trip home Charlotte + thanks for being such a super duper friend x

* * *

in other news...

i got an email yesterday in broken English/Italian from one of my blog followers asking about the little cupcake painting i did for my college exhibition

i guess i never really posted anything about it so here's a little photo (it's not great quality but it's the best my camera could do)

technically it's still not quite finished, there's a bit more shading that needs to be added to the icing but i had to have it ready for the exhibition so i ran out of time, i'm hoping to stock up on more of these mini canvases while i'm across in Coventry so who knows, i might even put a few of them up for sale on my etsy shop

the email also asked about the little cupcake embroideries i posted about ages ago

they're both fully finished now and will remain in the embroidery hoops since i think the hoops frame the pieces rather nicely

thanks for the email anyway, molto grazie xX

* * *

i meant to post this yesterday as well,

a blog i follow called 'popartrockgirlyeah' chose me as their Friday 'TwitPick' via twitter and did a mini post on me including one of my cupcake pictures

here's the post - Friday TwitPick Jade Boylan

big thanks to Michaela for picking me, i've added a little homemade 'pargy' banner (using the fab pargy illustration by Liz Adams) to the sidebar of my blog by way of thanks

you can check out her awesome blog here - popartrockgirlyeah

* * *

and that's pretty much it for today, i'm on the early morning boat tomorrow across to Heysham then it's a couple of hours drive to Coventry to see my sister + her family 

my mum finally persuaded me to come with her by promising me a day in Birmingham

i still have commissions to finish though so i'll be spending a few days in the hotel by myself while i get everything done

no rest for the wicked! even on holiday...

ok time for some tea now

that's all folks...

 ◕‿◕ ♥ xX

Ευχαριστώ πολύ και aντίο

(that's thank you and goodbye in Greek on behalf of Cyprus, i visited Cyprus when i was little so i'm afraid i don't remember too much about it, i remember the sunshine and the beach though... i really must have been young! hopefully i'll get to go back there one day and see it properly Ευχαριστώ ♥)

Sweet Saturday ♥

so today i decided to actually leave the house and head into town for some retail therapy

at least that was the plan, would you believe it... i came home without buying ANYTHING!!!!

insane...

anyway, i went in to meet Charlotte (shameless plug link to her blog here - Loretta Jane's Vintage Boutique) and my friend Alex who goes to University in Australia and is on the island at the minute visiting her grandparents.

i know i'm not the most social girl in the world (more of a social moth than a butterfly!) but i really enjoyed today, it was nice just to spend time with some friends and have a nice catch up (in 'the Alpine' cafe... of course)

+ i hadn't seen Alex since last September time so it was extra nice to see her again

big thanks to them both for keeping me company

* * *

ok enough about my Saturday

i also have 2 brand NEW little illustrations to share with you

those of you that follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook will probably have already seen them but... oh well!

i was sitting in my room yesterday morning listening to some music (Disney songs... again) and i started sketching little doodles of things i'd quite like to make embroidery pieces of

and what do you know... i ended up drawing these

the first one is rather yummy looking and clearly wants to be eaten...

and the next one is very super duper 'Sweet'

i'm still determined to at least have a go at embroidering them both

i have some new smaller embroidery hoops to work with so we shall see whether or not i can manage to sew a couple of cupcakes

* * *

in other news, i appear to have re-discovered my sweet-tooth!

i don't know if it's a result of the cupcake drawings or something else, all i know is i have eaten far too many sweet things today!

all i can say is so much for the New Year diet...

i'm currently surrounded by a packet of Reese's Peanut Butter cups

because i fully looooooooooove LOVE American sweets (candy? sweets... same thing) and i could literally sit and eat things like Reese's, Hershey's, Flipz, Twizzlers, Butterfingers, Nerds, Red Vines... etc etc ALL DAY LONG!!!!!

sadly the only one on the list i can find locally is the Resse's goodness

if i want anything else i need to visit sites like this - USA Candy

but just to show that i am still ever so slightly British (not that it matters anymore since the company isn't even owned by the British any more...)

to my right i also have a bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs

add to this the Caramac ice cream bar...

and an iced donut...

+ a can of Sprite...

well i don't need to tell you this isn't the healthiest bunch of snacks in the world!

suffice to say, i am clearly going straight to dieters HELL!!!

* * *

oh before i go, i noticed earlier that i've recently had my first every page hit from Jersey!!!

this is awesome news to me since i luuuuuurve Jersey very very much!

i've been lucky enough to have visited it twice in recent years and i love it there

i guess coming from an island myself i find it all very familiar visiting a place like Jersey, but that doesn't bother me, just makes me appreciate the place more!

thank you, whoever you are x

* * *

that's it for today i think, it's a Sunday tomorrow but at the moment i can't think of who to dedicate a Super SUnday post to so i might have to skip it this week! 

i tend to post one every other week anyway so maybe i should just make it a fortnightly thing?!

ah well we'll see!

that's all folks...

 ◕‿◕ ★ xX

muchas gracias y adios

(that's thank you and goodbye in Spanish on behalf of Venezuela, gracias to you all x)

Family and Friends ♥

so today i FINALLY made it out of the house and into Douglas town!

it's been almost a week since i last saw civilization and i was soooo excited to be heading towards it once again!

we were in town by 9:25am which is ridiculously too early if you ask me!

however today was no ordinary day... for today was a 'red lipstick day'

now i adore red lipstick but truth be told i hardly ever wear it outside my own home.

yes i wear it to do the housework and the hoovering but what's so wrong with injecting a little glamour into an otherwise rather un-glamourous task!

but apart from that... the red rarely makes an appearance, unless it' Christmas time!

the lipstick in question today was a base coat of my favourite Shiseido matte pigment

with a top coat of glossy Revlon red and a dash of cherry Carmex

gosh... the glamour!

anyway, the early trip to town + the red lipstick extravaganza was all for a good cause... we had to get the xmas food shopping!

well i say we... myself + my dad abandoned my mum at Tesco and headed off to run some errands

i say errands... i actually mean 'a trip to B&Q' for some paint and DIY bits

oh i also i finally got to see Mike after 3 months of him being away at uni like the fool that he is!!! 

it was a flying visit but at least i managed to hand over his xmas prezzies BEFORE xmas day!

he was wearing a sparkly silver santa hat which only added to the festivity of the occasion

and yes... in case you were wondering, he did look ridiculous in his glitterball santa hat!

* * *

after that, a few more errands, then we collected my mother and made a bee-line for the town centre!

we met up with my cousin Mandy and mooched around the shops for a bit, to escape the frrrreezing weather!

i got a nice chance to catch up with Hayley (my 50th blog follower) and met up with Charlotte and her husband Rob for lunch

Charlotte INSISTED that i opened my present in front of her so you all get to see the gorrrrrrgeous little polka dot apron she got me for Christmas!!!

isn't it divine!

i just love it, so kitschy and cute! now all i have to do is go and bake some cupcakes or cookies or something!

she had to open hers too (of course!), i got her a cute strawberry Hello Kitty beanie + a cupcake luggage tag (from Fluff) and a little cupcake/lipgloss/flannel set

the weird thing was that the Hello Kitty had polka dots as well! just like my little apron!

what can i say... we BOTH love polka dots ♥

* * *

after town we gathered up the bags and bags of presents and popped over to my cousins house to drop off all the xmas goodies

it was so soooo lovely to see my little god-daughter Bonnie, she was wearing a red tartan kilt that matched my tartan headband perfectly!

coincidence... i think not! great minds always think alike even if she is only 5-years-old

she handed me my xmas presents plus an adorable card which she'd written for me herself with lots and lots of kisses (and a small smudge of biscuit, how charming)

cue massive emotional overload from the massively proud godmother!

she got a big red lipstick smooch on her cheek for being so adorabubble!

as it is, i'm already a ridiculously proud godmother anyway, Bonnie is not only a gorgeously sweet and super duper little girl, she was also crowned 'Little Miss English Diamonds' earlier this year

a star and a stunner... a doll and a diva... all at the age of 5!

Brilliant Bonnie xX

* * *

then we dropped Mandy off at home with all of her xmas presents, after that i'm not really sure what happened since i fell asleep in the car!

to be fair though i was listening to my 'oldies' playlist so the darlingly divine hits of Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, the Chordettes, the Ink Spots and the Andrews Sisters lulled me off to sleep

luckily by the time i woke up we'd arrived in Ramsey for some fish and chips (YUM)

we also caught the start of the annual Ramsey Lantern parade through the main shopping street of the town

it was so pretty! colourful lights were strung up everywhere and all the children were carrying wonderful home-made willow lanterns in all sorts of shapes.

i spotted a rocket, a yacht, lots of big stars and even the planet Earth!

there was also an amazing old steam powered truck 

+ a steam roller and a big festive float lit up, belting out xmas songs!

it was really festive and despite the cold, there was a great atmosphere and everyone seemed to be having fun = good times!

* * *

i got a nice surprise when i got home as well, not only had my new contact lenses been delivered (early) the book i ordered a few days ago had arrived as well!

i was sooo excited to get this book and it hasn't disappointed me whatsoever!

it's by the embroidery and super sewing dudette, Jenny Hart (whose work i've admired for some time, her work has also recently inspired me to have a go at my own embroidery)

she is beyond legendary as far as i'm concerned and when (and if) i finish my pinup style embroidery i shall dedicate a proper post to her on here, but until then this should give you a taste of her epic sewing skills

the book is just chock full of wonderful sewing ideas + embroidery transfers and fun projects to have a go at

i love love LOVE it! cannot wait to get started on some funky new projects!

her work is so awesome! if you've never seen any of her stuff then i suggest you check out her site, it's super duper FABULOUS! - Jenny Hart

* * *

in other news, i made a weird sort of new illustration thing last night

it's hard to sum up really since it's basically just a set of silhouettes showing some of my favourite 'Girl' illustrations

i'm not entirely sure what to do with it yet, for some weird reason i keep seeing it on a fan or a t-shirt or something...

oh AND i also got a few more bits to add to the Giveaway Goodies pile today!

 here we have a sweet little silky mirror that comes in a matching bag + a set of cute monster badges

if you STILL haven't entered the Giveaway comp then get yourself over to THIS post and read up on how you can enter to win LOADS of cute stuff - Giveaway

get going dudes and dudettes! enter the Giveaway and YOU could win a bundle of funky stuff for the New Year x

* * *

there's not much else for me to add to todays post

it's just been such a lovely magical fun and fabulous day! it's a long time since i've hung out with my family all day and i have to day, i've really enjoyed it

catching up with good friends and family = super duper times indeed

so i'll leave it at that today i think

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ★

ps - i haven't forgotten about the 'farewell in every language' thing, i've just decided to put it on hold until after Christmas

i'll end this weeks 'Super Sunday' post with another language ok, peace out xX