Don't Panic ★

so i've got a new desktop wallpaper i wanted to show you all . . .

for those not in the know, it's a quote from my favourite book 'The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' by Douglas Adams

i saw it while browsing on Louie Mantia's website and knew i had to have it as my new background! it makes me smile every time i open my macbook + i think it's working . . . i haven't panicked about a thing since i picked it!

anyway, i was back at college today and after hanging out with my friends Quinn and Chris at their FMP desks for a bit, i nipped upstairs and rediscovered a bag of paper cranes i made last summer for a girl in the year below me at college

she asked me to make 100 paper cranes as decorations for a party she was having, so i managed to make 70 cranes in my last week of FMP but she ended up not using them, they've sat in the tutors study for a whole year undisturbed so i thought it was about time i claimed them back!

aren't they fun! i've been making cranes since i was about 11 when a teacher at school taught us how to make little origami boxes, most of my friends weren't too fussed but i was fascinated with learning different techniques to turn a plain piece of paper into a wonderful little 3D shape or object so i went out and bought a big book on Origami and i've been making stuff ever since!

i also hang garlands of paper cranes around my room since they are a symbol of peace + i think they brighten up the place

anyway i decided to give the bag of cranes to Ciara and Julie at 'Sweet Ginger' so they can scatter them around the shop in little colourful displays

speaking of Sweet Ginger . . .

check out the extra special felt fawn plushie i made for them on Wednesday/Thursday

isn't she a cutie!

red with white polka dots is 'the shops trademark style so i thought a polka dot fawn was in order + obviously it needed 'Sweet Ginger' on there somewhere as well!

now some people have told me it looks like a giraffe because of the dots but i want to point out that it is in fact just a pretty crazy awesome gorgeous funky dotty little fawn

here she is hanging out with 'Amelia' before i send 'Sweet Ginger' to her namesake shop and post 'Amelia' off to the Birthday girl she was made for

 anyway i actually dropped the new polka dot fawn in at the shop this afternoon and Ciara and Julie absolutely LOVED IT!!!

they danced about excitedly before popping her in the window display for all the world to see . . .

they also handed over a Birthday gift for me, i'm FORBIDDEN to open in before my birthday but i wanted to snap a photo of the gorgeous 'Sweet Ginger Emporium' gift bag it came in

so cute!

yay!

* * *

speaking of Birthday gifts however, check out what i got this afternoon . . .

that's right folks, i now own a sewing machine! at long last!!! it's actually off my dad for my Birthday but because i sew so much he's let me open it early, how grooooovy eh!

here's hoping i can actually work out how to use it. . .

* * *

this afternoon after visiting 'Sweet Ginger' i also popped into 'the Tide' to have a quick skeet, glad i went in because i found these 2 cute little ceramic bucket pots reduced because they're chipped, chips don't bother me though! i'm always in need of more funky pots for my desk so i can stash buttons and pens and be all organized

* * *

also, look what had arrived in the post when i got home this evening!!!

moooooore stickers!

but ultra awesome ones this time because i got 2 sticker books full of nothing but my logo. . .

yaaay sticky stickers ahoy!!!

* * *

in other news, i've come up with a fun new project to work on but i'm a little conflicted because i honestly haven't a clue whether or not i'm supposed to exhibit work this June at the college exhibition or not?!

if not then there's no problem, i cam crack on with my new idea

if yes. . . well that complicates things a bit since my exhibition will end up a big messy mish mash of candy coloured digitally designed girly stuff

oh what to do!

when i figure it out i'll let you know!

but for now, that's all folks . . . ◕‿◕ ★ 

p.s. - have you entered the May Giveaway yet??? in honour of my Birthday at the end of this month i've decided to hold a little giveaway again, there's a bundle of cute prizes up for grabs and you have until my Birthday, the 31st of May, to get your entries in -

 ENTER THE GIVEAWAY NOW

Buttons n' things ★

oh hey folks

how's everybody's Monday been so far?!

surprisingly mine's not been to abysmal, i've had a nice productive day + i've gotten a few things sorted and i even managed to have a nice chat with some old friends

anyway . . .

guess who went button shopping this morning!

that's right! ME! just for a change!

i popped to Just Enough for a button dash then on to college to get cracking on some sewing times

i also bought a rather adorable tomato and chilli pin cushion since i'm SICK of losing all my pins

anyway on with the sewing times, i finished the last little detail on the Fawn first

(and yes you can see my stack of Doctor Who DVD's in the background, kindly supplied by Mike)

her name is Amelia just so we're clear here . . . + in case you couldn't guess! and that's all i'm telling you for now!

anyway she's all done now although unfortunately one of my friends wants me to make her one before she goes off to Uni . . . we shall see Quinn, we shall see!

nah i'm kidding, i'm happy to make one for her just not right now! tooooo busy getting other stuff made + messing up my desk

in other news though, when i arrived at my desk this morning i found this little fella waiting for me 

turns out that this guy was a present from my lovely fashion tutor/last years tutor/friend Billee, she randomly brings me back these lovely little doll charms/brooches from her trips to Spain

here we have Juanita, Roberto and Alfredo (yes i named them. . . what of it!)

i'd also like to thank Billee for lending me a big stack of 'Selvedge' magazines

i've only flicked through about three copies so far and i've already spotted a bajillion amazingly gorgeous things!

not to mention dozens of amazing artists/makers to research and blog about in posts to come!

the tag on their site says it all really . . .

"Selvedge Magazine... offers the world’s finest textile photography, unparalleled design and peerless writing. Open a copy of Selvedge and you sense there is a philosophy that Selvedge readers subscribe to. A belief system based on a cerebral and sensual addiction to textiles in all forms. Readers share a belief in the importance of their material surroundings and a passion for the beautiful and beautifully made. Our aim is simple: to provide a textile publication which fits seamlessly into their creative lifestyle. Directed towards an international, discerning audience, Selvedge covers fine textiles in every context: fine art, interiors, fashion, travel and shopping."

if you haven't heard of the magazine, check out it's website here - Selvedge

thanks Billee xX

* * *

not much else to report on today, tomorrow i have to go to college (on my day off no less!!!) to print out lots of candy stuff then in the evening it's my friends (Liz, Ben and Sharon) exhibition preview in Port Erin

exciting times!

now if you'll excuse me i must dash off to watch Family Guy, adieu!

that's all folks . . .  ◕‿◕ ★

Candy Colours ♥

so despite the fact that i haven't left the house in days + the fact that i haven't blogged in aaaages tonight i thought, what the hell! let's have a blog post, why not . . .

wanted to share my latest candy coloured illustration with you all

the aptly named 'C A N D Y'

yes she's a little bright

and yes, for those who've followed this blog for a while, that is the modern Alice in Wonderland Girl i drew when i was bored one afternoon

but as you can see this one is a little more crazy in the colour department

moving on from the garish colours, check out what i FINALLY finished making this afternoon!

i swear my hands have been deliberately naughty today, it took 3 attempts for me to stitch the head together since i kept sewing parts up wrong

anyway it's done now

ahem . . . check out the tag

well actually truth be told, this lovely little fawn isn't 100% finished yet but i need to buy the finishing touch tomorrow so it soon will be!

what else?!

well i also finaaaally glued on some anywhere clips this afternoon, 

then i went a bit loco trying them all on (ignoring the VILE quality of the photos!!!)

this is my fave though (even if i say so myself! and i do) 

i will be making some of these rosette clips available in the etsy shop soon but i think i'm going to have to keep one of the nautical ones for myself!

* * *

nothing else to report (i think) tomorrow it's off to college to get some sewing done + finish off my critical study essay + print out a bajillion candy prints

bye bye dear readers!

that's all folks ◕‿◕ ★ xX 

Fawns and Fabric ★

so i've spent the past few days cooped up in my sewing lair (aka my room) working on new stuff to sell on the etsy shop + stitching together the current orders for the shop

so without any further ado i'd like you all to meet 'Fifi the Fawn'

she's Felicity's big sister, if you haven't met Felicity you can pop over to this post and say hello - Felicity the Fawn

Fifi was a custom order for a local friend of mine that i chat with on Twitter, her name is Carla and you can check out her awesome blog here - life, love and lashings of fun!

anyway, Carla asked me to make a little Fawn for her daughter Gemma only she wanted it to be pale pink and purple, so voila . . . Fifi was the result

now as you can see, she's a little bigger than Felicity + a lot more sturdier

she also has a little pink gingham bow on her front + a fancy little felt flower button on her head

so that's it, she's all done now all that's left to do is hand her over to her new owners, i just hope Carla and little Gemma like her

fyi - i will be making a listing for these Fawn's on my etsy shop soon so if you fancy owning your very own fair little fawn then you'll be able to order one in whatever colours you want verrrry soon 

* * *

in other news, look what arrived yesterday from one of my fave websites. . .

ok so that's not all that exciting but look what was wrapped up with it!

yeeeeah that's right, Liquorice Allsorts fabric!!!! (ah fabric excitement overload) 

so basically Spoonflower sells all sorts of gorgeous fabrics but it will also prints custom patterns of pretty much whatever you want, well i've always wanted to see what one of my illustrations would look like printed on fabric so i thought at least if i used a repeating pattern i could make a purse out of it . . . or something

so i used this image . . .

and got a square yard of fabric printed up with it back!

ah my camera quality is poor but trust me, it looks fab i'm v pleased with how it turned out (even if it did take a full month to get here!!!)

the only problem is that i have absolutely no idea what to make with it!!!

ideally i'd like to make little purses since i think it would be cool to sell purses printed up with my own fabric design, but i'm not sure yet, should probably show it to my tutors at college before i do anything with it so i'll have to wait a few weeks

* * *

ok that's it for now, i need to finish making a little plushie lollipop tonight so that i can pop it in the post tomorrow morning

facing a small dilemma on the lollipop front though since i appear to have nearly run out of fancy little patterned tags to tie onto the lolly sticks!!!

it's a tag emergency that i'm not sure how to fix since the tags i have been using are from America and no-where in the UK seems to sell them!

hhhm, i shall have to search for new tags!

and on that random note, that's all folks . . .  

 ◕‿◕ ★ xX