the Satchel, the Lionheart & the Anchor ★

so it's been a funny old week! those of you that follow me via Facebook or Twitter might have seen me raving on about my College assessment, well long story short the Art Dept printer broke down meaning i couldn't print ANYTHING off for assessment!

though it didn't actually matter in the end, my tutors were fine with me showing all my work on my macbook and the assessment went really well (i think...) they normally last about 20 mins for me but this one was almost an hour-and-a-half + i got lots of units ticked off which is a good thing!

anyway, in light of the assessment and the fact that leading up to it i pretty much didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night, i decided to take the rest of the day off on Wednesday, so my friend Jenny came to collect me from college and we had a fab afternoon mooching around Douglas

i believe in rewarding people when they've done well so i decided to treat myself to some yummy chocolates from Thorntons + i spotted this gorrrrrrgeous satchel bag in Curphey's in town

and well... i sort of HAD to have it! i mean look at it! it's so lovely + my macbook/kawaii case fits in it PERFECTLY along with the charger + my wacom tablet and a notebook

in short, the bag is perfect :)

another thing that fits into the bag is my fab copy of BRAND NEW 'Lionheart Magazine' 

i've been hearing about the magazine on Twitter for the past few months so once the Magazine launched i knew i'd have to treat myself to a copy of it!

it's absolutely gorgeous inside and out, filled from cover to cover with beautiful illustrations, fab photos and interesting articles all sourced and pulled together by genius editor and creator Helen Martin

i had a lovely time flicking through it and although i haven't had chance to read all of the articles so far, i snapped some photos of it as i looked through...

get your own copy right here - Lionheart Magazine

* * *

in other news, this pretty little necklace arrived in the post for me the other day!

it's a necklace by Razorblade Mermaid that i won it in a little giveaway comp via Betty Bee Towers

a truly brilliant blog that i love to visit after a long day of college, it's full of fabulous crafty ideas, gorgeous rockabilly and Pin-up style stuff and all manner of other loveliness

isn't the necklace cute though! i'm very chuffed that i won it, it's very 'me' i think! pearly beads, a cute anchor, red and pink + that little birdy charm that matches my fave birdy dress to perfection!

* * *

right, tomorrow i'm looking after little miss Sienna so we will probably be baking some cupcakes at some point or drawing some felt tip masterpieces!

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

Awesome Assessment ★

short but sweet post today...

so today it was the dreaded college assessment!

i kind of messed up the last one, mainly because i didn't really know what my project was about, so i was understandably nervous about today's assessment...

i ended up being the first one assessed (which didn't help the nerves) so i was freaking out quite a lot!

however, it went really REALLY well!!! (at least i think it did...)

my tutors seemed to like the work and the 30 minute assessment period ended up lasting well over an hour!

here's a snap of the exhibition for your delight and enjoyment...

as you can see, i kind of cluttered up the boards!

traditionally, we're supposed to space things out as sparsely as possible so as not to cram all the work together

but i thought everything fit together better this way so i did it like this instead

luckily, my tutors agreed that it worked rather well as a cluttered mess!

i had quite a lot of work to exhibit this time as well so i wanted to make sure it all fit together and linked properly etc

it was a very girly exhibition i guess, most of the people walking past in the corridor were guys so i'm not sure they appreciated it quite as much as the girls!

i pinned the lollipops and the dolls to the boards as well (as you can see... obviously) just to liven them up a bit, the two little paintings are finished as well, in fact the cupcake one was finished in time for the exhibition with seconds to spare...

people seemed to like it all though which was after all... the point!

i'm still relieved that it's all over again, at least for a few months...

* * *

in other news...

i'm supposed to be heading off to Coventry for half-term on Sunday with my mum but i'm still not 100% sure if i want to go or not

i have a few commissions that i need to work on/finish asap and i just know i won't get ANY work done if i go away!

it's a shame really since it would have been nice to get away for a bit but this work desperately needs doing and if i stay here, i'll be more likely to get it done!

what to do, what to do...

haven't a clue!

and on that note i'll bid you all adieu

i'm off to watch some 'Family Guy' and enjoy some neapolitan ice cream in celebration of the successful assessment

tata!

that's all folks... 

◕‿◕ ♥ xX

terima kasih dan sampai jumpa lagi

(that's 'thank you and goodbye' in Malay on behalf of Brunei, i've always wanted to visit Brunei! it looks and sounds like such a fabulous place! hopefully i'll be lucky enough to go there one day ♥)

Curvy Corsets and Pretty Pinup Photography ♥

so... i have once again failed monumentally on the 'Super Sunday' post times

i spent most of Sunday trying to work out who i could dedicate a post to and although i could think of quite a few people i think deserve a post, i couldn't decide on who to choose so...  i ended up not posting anything at all!

i apologize for this, the 'Super Sunday' posts are supposed to be a reprieve from my normal (read - boring) day to day rantings so i'm sorry that i didn't post one last week, i'll make sure i write one this week (promise)

anyway, on with todays post...

it's my day off today and since i had my college assessment yesterday i've been researching new things to draw and make for my Pinup project

i've been officially banned from using my macbook to create work (unless it's loosely painted on a tablet... however, i don't even OWN a tablet!!!) up until my next assessment! (panic, panic... SCREAM)  

this may seem strict (not to mention impossible) for me to stick to but i am willing to do my best and give it a go

hopefully this means i'll start creating work using other means and do you know what... i'm actually pretty excited about the idea of getting back to arty basics and cracking on with some proper mixed media pieces!

anyway, on Sunday evening i posted a picture to my Tumblr and i got so many reposts and notes i thought i'd dedicate a post to the same sort of thing on here

you all know how much i luuuuuurve all things Pinup and Burlesque so today i'm going to share with you some stuff that i have only recently discovered

namely, a wonderful Corset Couturier AND an incredible Pinup Photographer

let's kick it off then shall we!

here's a bit about the wonderful 'Jupiter Moon 3' custom corset couturier...

Jupiter Moon 3 is run by the super duper Designer/Seamstress Jennifer Gonzalez who is currently based in San Antonio, Texas. 

she is utterly fabulous and promises to make quality corsets, for tightlacing, waist training, weddings,  burlesque, prom, Renaissance Faire, historical fashion, stage costume, everyday wear, club wear, fetish, pin-up, cosplay, Lolita, retro, belly dancing, gothic, steampunk, cyber...  The list goes on and on! 

i love to draw corsets and i get a lot of my inspiration for illustrations from sites like this but normally, sites that sell corsets just show photos of the finished corset, not all sites show the pieces actually being modeled.

the photos on this site however, are unbelievable, not only are the corsets completely bespoke and unique, they've been photographed so beautifully as well

in fact... i realise that i often talk too much in these posts so you know what... i'm going to let the photos do the talking this time...

those of you out there that are keen Pinup fans may have noticed that the fabulous Pinup Model Masuimi Max appears in most of the shots, doesn't she model those corsets to perfection though!

this is the image i first posted to Tumblr, the one that got loads (well, loads for me) of reposts and 'likes'. 

i haven't a clue exactly where i'm going now with my Pinup project at college but all i know is that i cannot WAIT to start creating some work inspired by these images!

sadly i don't own a corset but i would give anything to own a bespoke custom made 'jupiter moon 3' corset! aren't they divine!!! here's hoping that one day i'll be able to order myself one!

anyway, while collecting research off the Jupiter Moon 3 site i also learnt about another amazing Pinup photography site called 666Photography.

666photography is lead by the photographer Gayla, it's based in Austin, Texas (hence it's link with Jupiter Moon 3) 

all of the sets used in the photo shoots are created especially by the team at 666, they strive to create only the most awe inspiring sets for their shoots as it says on their site

 'There is no concept that you can throw at 666 that we can't create!'

i spent a lot of time rooting through all the gorgeous images on this site, i've seen some stunning Pinup photography before but some of these images are truly incredible!

Dia de los Muertos themed Pinup's are something i've wanted to have a go at for a while and i've seen a few wonderful Pinup shoots and pieces of artwork with Muertos themes before, but i've never seen a set of images quite as super duper as this!

aren't they stunning?! Seasonal Muertos Pinups, what's not to love!!! the detail in them is phenomenal, every little petal and ruffle only adds to the magic of each image.

you can check out the stunning shoots here on the 666photography site

* * *

and that's enough gorrrrgeous corsets for today i think

the house is starting to look all festive since my mum has spent the morning putting up all the decorations, i'm not allowed to help... since apparently i do it wrong

sorry.. WHO'S the artist in the family?!

ah it's ok, she does a smashing job

right, i'm off to do a bit of college logbook work (shock horror!)

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ★ xX

Salamat at Paalam na hô

(that's thank you and goodbye in Filipino on behalf of the Philippines, paalam xX)

mega stressful times!

gosh i haven't posted since the 4th of March! that might be because i've been ridiculously busy trying to get stuff sorted for my LAST ever assessment at college (well... last one this year!)

i literally slept for about 3 hours all weekend!

anyway the assessment was yesterday and it went rather well i think! my tutor said (quote) 'it was a very GOOD assessment' and i got all Merits and Distinctions so... yeah, i guess you could say it went well!

so today i skipped college and basically slept for the entire day! haha it was ok, they're assessing all week at college so i didn't miss any classes or anything!

my current super duper obsession is anything 'Alice in Wonderland' related! i went to see the new movie last Wednesday (one word... AMAZING) i'm currently re-reading 'the looking glass wars' (cannot wait for the moive!) and i spent all this morning watching the utterly fabulous and awesome 'Alice' 2 part mini series from the American TV channel 'SyFy' (the geniuses behind the Wizard of Oz inspired mini series 'Tin Man') it was sooooooo good i may have to go and watch it again right now!

hahaha i can highly reccomend it for any AiW fan, it's a very cool modern take on the old story, with an ass-kicking (literally) Alice and a chivalrous (not to mention bloody adorabbubble and gorrrrgeous!) Hatter (played by British actor Andrew Lee Potts).

so anyway... i may just go and watch that right now! lots o' luv from an incredibly rainy Isle of Man! :-D xXx

ps - next week i am going to do a week of blogging. the plan is for me to post something new every single day! maybe a new illustration or just a weird insight to my oh so entertaining (hah!) world! stay tuned loyal followers :-) x