Desk Life ♥

hello chums, just thought i'd throw together a quick blog post before I head off on my annual travels through the UK to France and on to Andorra and Spain. I don't leave until Thursday but i'll be super busy tomorrow packing and stuff (or more likely reading all night and then packing at the last minute!) so I'll do a blog tonight instead.

i've mentioned it before on here a few times but last year I FINALLY bought myself a proper desk so that I have a place to work and also to display some of the random colourful junk i've collected over the years. You might be thinking 'who cares about a stupid desk' but it's my blog and I really like my desk so I'm gonna talk about it a bit and post some photos so if you're dead inside and hate anything fun, then you don't have to stay here...

 

So back to the desk. As an artist i'm quite a visual person (wow there's a surprise!) and I like to have lots of inspiring things near or around me when I work to help give me ideas or just to brighten things up a bit. I'm fortunate enough to have a retired painter and decorator for a dad which means the wallpaper in my room is utterly hideous and won't be replaced any time soon. So I long ago resolved to cover every available inch of it with as much random crap as I can muster. Hence the walls full of stuff!

 

I tend to keep a mix of items around my desk, you'll notice quite a bit of my own work pinned up along with designs from other artists I admire or just general bits n' bobs people have sent me or i've collected on my travels. Although I have a separate space to paint in (which sadly has walls i'm NOT allowed to decorate with cool stuff!) my desk is where I come up with most of my ideas for designs and products. It is for all intents and purposes, precisely where the magic happens.



I know i'm not the only artist that works this way, in fact most of my arty/illustrator/designer friends have similar desks or studio spaces chock full of items they've acquired over the years. I'm not sure about them but I know that I find it really helpful to have a heap of cool stuff in front of me while i'm working on a design or making something.



I'm lucky enough to have some very generous creative friends who've sent me all sorts of nice stuff like fun prints, postcards and groovy stickers! I stick most of this stuff up next to my desk to help with colour palettes and you know, because it looks pretty! And if YOU had hideous skin disease wallpaper then you'd probably slather pictures all over your walls as well.

I'm a big kid at heart and i'll probably never really grow up, so you'll also spot plenty of daft toys on my desk, like my trio of Monster High girls and my mini popobe bear collection. There's quite a lot of Geeky stuff as well, like fanart and other homages to various fandoms. I also keep my 'thinking crown' handy for those times when creative block strikes, I pop on the glitter crown and issues usually resolve themselves. And if they don't, who cares, i'm wearing a crown, nothing matters.

The desk is also home to my beloved Pullip doll and a whole host of other critters including Catbug, Puppycat, Paddy the gnome, my Lego Ghostbusters set, Moomin family, Sailor Moon, Toothless the dragon, Maurice the monkey, Arale, Jack the giant Popobe bear, Tofu Dolls, Dunny figures, oh and a Tardis because why not?!

it might look like a cluttered nightmare but it's surprisingly well organized (for me!) and I have quick access to all of the bits I need to create stuff and if I can't find something then I just shuffle through it all and swear profusely until I can. It's a very successful if entirely inelegant system of organization, typical to most artists. 



you might also spot Tom Hiddleston's face lurking on the desk as well, this was a recent gift from my friend Lorna as sadly the real Tom Hiddleston wasn't available, apparently. You might ask 'but Jade, why so much stuff everywhere?' and all I can say is that as far as i'm concerned, if it's not teeming with stacks of random stuff then it's not a real desk!

you might also think that i'm not left with much space after all that junk, and i'd like to take a moment to ask why on earth you're so judgmental but instead I will tell you that despite the clutter I manage just fine...

Now onto the other reason I wanted to do a post tonight, yes that's right, I lured you here under false pretences only to ambush you with something else entirely! As I mentioned at the start, i'm off on my holibobs this week which means i'll be closing the shop for a bit. However, i'm going to the post office in the morning so if you've been hankering for a treat or need to buy a present for someone, this is your last chance until the end of the month!

And as a special sweetener, i'm throwing in a FREE Girl Gang sticker with every order + EVERY purchase gets a 20% off voucher for their next order!So i'm not sure what you're waiting for, go buy something cute! SHOP NOW

and on that happy and colourful note i'll say goodbye, I won't have proper internet access while i'm away but i'll do my best to post stuff over on my Instagram page so if you want to see what I get up to on my holiday, then maybe you should follow me on there!

so until next time, that's all folks! speak to you all again soon...

Paper Dress-Up

Hello there, yes back again, not blathering on about the Glen again this time, although i DID visit it last Sunday with three of my friends, we picked a few blackberries and had far too much fun spinning around on the rope swing in the middle of the Glen and hurling conkers and sticks at one-another. But that's a tale for another time, maybe.

Anyway, you might have noticed that we're already into October now! That means a few things, 1) I can now wear boots, hats, gloves, scarves and coats in public WITHOUT getting weird looks from people, 2) the nights are getting darker, it's colder and leaves are all turning orange and falling off the trees and most importantly 3) it's Halloween this month!!!

so... LET'S GET SPOOKY!

oh they look a bit familiar right?! Well you remember those paper people cuties Little Aalish and Little Illiam, well what better way to celebrate Halloween (or Hop-Tu-Naa as it's known here on the Isle of Man) than with a super special spooktacular dress-up sheet!

So, that's just what i did, and I'm rather happy because the clothes sheets got delivered today which means I spent the past half-hour snipping out the costumes and playing dress-up with the little paper people.

i had a lot of fun designing this sheet and even more fun actually testing it out on the dolls. What makes this sheet so fun is that every single costume on it is interchangeable for both paper dolls, so that means you don't have to get a sheet for each doll, they can share!

Don't get me wrong, I had a whole brain full of wondrous outfits specifically suited to each character, including a fancy Witch and a Sailor costume for Aalish

but then I thought it would be more fun to make the costumes suitable for both Aalish AND Illiam, saving on paper and snipping costs!

I also didn't want to make gender specific sheets of clothes. I know there's nothing wrong with being girly and feminine but I don't like the way most costumes for little girls and women nowadays are overtly sexualized in comparison with the nice normal sensible boys ones. Case in point, here's a Ghostbusters costume for boys vs the one for girls.

 and yeah, ok so it's not as terrible as some out there but still, it's hardly as practical as the boys one is it! You might be thinking, 'it's just for kids, it doesn't matter' but what about when they grow up, look at the Adult versions for men and women! er... I don't think so. WHERE am I supposed to keep my PKE meter and hook my ghost trap while i'm chasing after spooks in a getup like that!

i'll shut up ranting. So yeah, gender neutral costumes were the main agenda for this sheet! And that way there's none of this 'is it for boys or girls?' nonsense, because it's for EVERYONE! yay!

I love Halloween and i'm sure most of you do as well, but I remember when I was a kid (who am I kidding, I basically still AM a kid!) every Halloween I would dress up in generic creepy witch costumes, or a bin-bag monster (thanks mum) with a cheap plastic frankenstein/devil/ghost/werewolf mask and some glow in the dark vampire teeth from the local newsagents. My point is that it wasn't about being girly or pretty, it was about being scary or at least a little bit spooky! BOO!

so that's what this sheet is all about. And in case you're wondering what that thing in Aalish's hand is, it's a TURNIP lantern instead of a pumpkin, because for Hop-Tu-Naa Manx children carry little carved turnip lanterns around as they go trick or treating and singing Hop-Tu-Naa songs to collect their sweeties and treats.

Once again these lovely dress-up sheets are available to buy exclusively via Sweet Ginger Emporium in Ramsey, hence why the sheet is titled 'Hop-Tu-Naa' and not 'Halloween'

so if you want to get your hands on a set, you'd better head to Ramsey or Laxey!

and on that pumpkin themed note, i'll head off. Expect more Halloween stuff later in the month, but for now that's all folks!

I ain't afraid of no Ghosts!

Hello dearhearts, can it be, am I really back again so soon with another blog? 

Oh you betcha!

I'll get right to the point. Regular readers might recall me having mentioned one or two (or perhaps several) times in the past how I happen to be quite a fan of a certain film called Ghostbusters...

Actually, I'm a flipping MASSIVE Ghostbusters fan! I've seen the movie so many times I can practically quote the ruddy thing (yes i love GB2 as well, but GB1 is my fave), add to that my heap of Ghostbusters t-shirts + uniquely customised Converse (see those here) and various other bustin' related merch, well yeah, I guess you could call me a bit of a fangirl (well that's an understatement).

Anyway, those of you with a love of all things geeky might be aware that this year is the 30^th anniversary since Ghostbusters was first released at cinemas, and that part of the celebrations this year include the release of a very special limited edition Lego playset

now I know what you're thinking, 'Jade you weren't even born when Ghostbusters came out, why should you care about some daft Lego?' and i'm going to stop you there because although it's true that in 1984 I was a good seven years away from even existing, that is entirely beside the point.

Growing up in the early nineties most of the music, films and TV shows I watched were all from the 80's, so it's no surprise that my favourite movie is from that decade (my second favourite film is the Blues Brothers, which came out in 1980). 

And if you're now thinking 'yes but Jade you are twenty-three years old, you are a grown-up, why would you waste your money on a toy?!' and i'll stop you there again because I will literally never grow up.

And furthermore... I got the Lego. So there.

It arrived yesterday morning from Denmark and although all I wanted to do was tear the box open and crack on with the build, I had to spend the day packing up books and things (i'm moving home soonish, hopefully) and then in the evening I had a cinema trip (to see Maleficent, which was brilliant!) so alas, I haven't had chance to carefully assemble (aka play with) the Lego kit until today.

First of all, the box is actually brilliant! I'm keeping it. Forever. Inside the box everything was bagged up alongside the instruction book, which is also brilliant! There's a whole bunch of quotes from the movie scattered throughout the assembly guide, it was great to glance down to see which parts were next only to spot a funny quote sitting in the corner. I would have taken some photos of it but I was too busy BUILDING!

In the general flurry of excitement that was opening the bags of bricks I didn't really find the time to keep snapping progress shots, but here's one of the carnage before the build. Literally the FIRST thing I did as soon as I opened the box was build the characters. Before I even thought of assembling the car, I built the guys, so that they could watch Ecto-1 appear next! 

And appear it did. In truly magnificent style! What a beauty...

When I found out that the set was being brought out in time for the anniversary I was determined to get myself one regardless, but I was so so SO pleased to see just how much attention to detail the kit has. The car is brilliant inside and out (it even has space for the proton packs in the boot/trunk) and it was SO MUCH FUN to build!

The guys though right? Lets talk about them! BRILLIANT attention to detail on the fellas, they each have their initials on the front of their uniforms and their names on the back (hidden beneath the proton packs) the uniforms on the front are all ever so slightly different as well, with little quirks for each figure in keeping with their movie counterpart.

 
They also all have two expressions, happy and scared, so I suppose a pre Ghostbustin' face and one for when they're trying to wrangle a ghostie down in to the darn ghost trap!

I'm not gonna lie, this is probably one of THE best things i've ever bought in my life! In a way i'm kind of glad i'm an adult (I couldn't even type that with a straight face) because I wouldn't have been able to afford something as awesome as this when I was a kid, and i'm pretty sure no-one, not even Santa, would have got me this as a present.

Once the kit was assembled and finished, it was kind of a sad moment because I didn't have anything else to build. But I DID have a lot of fun  posing and playing with everything.
I might have put three of the guys inside the car and trundled it all over my desk for a while, while singing along (loudly) to the Ghostbusters theme tune. But nobody witnessed it so it might not have actually happened.
(spoiler: it did).

After that I also might have plucked my little Lego Loki off the shelf and introduced him to the Ghostbusters. He didn't seem to pleased about new Lego folk invading the neighbourhood (of my desk) but they've managed to beat a God before so I think they'll be okay.

All I could think when I took this shot was 'Ray, when someone asks you if you're a God, you say Yes!'

Anyway as if you couldn't already tell I'm really happy with the set and it's brilliant and I LOVE it and i'll be quiet now. 

For the time being Ecto-1 + the busters have taken up residence on my desk, along with all the other fun junk I keep piled up on it (for inspiration).

And on that sickeningly colourful and rather merry note i'll draw this post to a close. I have a few others lined up in my mind shed (some people have mind palaces, at the moment I can just about manage a barely cobbled together wooden hut) so look out for those over the next week or so.

And as always, until next time, that's all folks...

ps - Watch this. You're welcome!

Certified Book Addict

Hello again chums, what's this, another blog post already!

That's right, here I am, back with yet another thrilling installment of 'Life: as Jade Boylan'. Perhaps one day i'll discuss my uncontrollable online shopping addiction with you all, but for today i'll be telling you all about one of my most recent purchases, a rather fab custom laser cut necklace and brooch. 

I love a good laser, and I love a good book, so what better way to combine the two than with a pretty special laser cut necklace declaring my LOVE of books to the world! And a cute brooch to match. 

After all, I AM a Librarian so i can totally get away with wearing these at work sometimes. Or EVERY SINGLE DAY! Possibly.

Anyway, here's a closeup of the necklace. Yes I know... it IS rather flipping brilliant isn't it!

When I ordered the necklace I couldn't resist getting myself one of the speech bubble brooches as well! I knew I had to pick a quote about books, so this one by 'Frank Zappa' seemed like the perfect choice. Ah such is the eternal struggle of the book addict...

I often treat myself to various pretty bits n' bobs while perusing the internet, but this time I wanted something a little more personal. I've been going through a bit of a rough patch lately so I was looking for a little treat to try and cheer myself up a bit. 

Luckily, while trawling the interweb late one evening one one of my frequent shopping quests I found the incredibly marvellous Sugar and Vice shop online and as soon as I clicked on the custom options I knew I wouldn't be leaving without placing an order! 

The items available are all absolutely gorgeous and I have to say, super good value for money. I can't actually believe how reasonably priced everything on the site is! The designs are super cute and yet still totally affordable to the point where if you visit the shop (and you're like me) you'll probably be tempted to order more than one thing. 

BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS SO DARN LOVELY!

Both the necklace and the brooch are great quality with a really neat finish and a nice sturdy feel to them. I've bought laser cut jewellery in the past and it's practically fallen apart after a few wears, but these items feel built to last. 

I daresay i'll still be rocking my brilliant bookworm accessories for years to come!

  

Sugar and Vice offer loads of super duper customising options for necklaces, brooches and rings.You can get pretty much any phrase, name or word custom made into a funky accessory for you or someone else. What better way to celebrate how awesome YOUR name is than to get it made into a necklace so that everyone who sees it knows that YOU know who you are, even if they don't. (And let's face it, if they don't know you, it's obviously their loss!)

As well as tons of groovy custom options, Sugar and Vice also offer a whole bunch of sweet ready made accessories and treats. Scroll down to see a few of my personal favourites from the shop...

Yeah... okay so maybe i've kind of got more than a few faves! So much lovely stuff though! I'm already bookmarking things on the site for Xmas gifts for friends and family + the custom items make great Birthday gift ideas for anyone and everyone. 

I can prove it since My necklace and brooch were both Birthday gifts to myself and I just LOVE them!

Anyway I think i've posted more than enough gorgeous examples of smashing accessories to effectively tantalise and tempt your online shopping taste buds! 

To see even more of what Sugar and Vice have to offer, check out their Website

You can also follow them on Twitter, keep up with their news on Facebook or follow them on Instagram for lots of fab snaps of lovely stuff. 

And on that delightful note I shall bid you all adieu!

Now that i'm officially back in the world of the blogosphere I shall do my utmost best to try and maintain a regular routine of fun posts for y'all to feast your eyes on.

So until next time, that's all folks

Post Birthday Blog!

Well... it certainly has been a while since I last posted anything on here! Lets see, it's been just under seven months since I last published a blog. Yikes!

Never mind, i'm here now anyway, that's what counts. In fact you may or may not have noticed that the blog has a brand new look. That's right, here it is resplendent in all of its eye achingly colourful glory. Yay!

So what's THIS post all about I hear you cry? Simple really, on Saturday I celebrated my 23^rd Birthday and I thought what better time to re-commence my blogging habit than on my birthday. Or a few days after it as is actually the case.

Anyway, I thought i'd share a few snaps of Birthday related bits n' bobs with you all. I don't really have anything else to talk about at the moment. so it's going to be a mostly picture laden post. And there will definitely be a significant number of exclamation marks used throughout. Enjoy.

For starters, feast your eyes on this terrifically tasty treat of a Birthday cake! (i can verify that it is indeed delicious)

i was also surprised with a lovely bunch of flowers from my Aunt and Uncle. i hardly ever get flowers so these really were a lovely gift + Gerbera daisies are my absolute favourite flowers.

i got ever so many cards this year, by the end of the day on my Birthday i was beginning to run out of room for them all!

I was very VERY excited to find a little parcel of Birthday cards from my fellow Librarians waiting for me on my Birthday. I was even more excited when i opened the parcel to find presents as well! Even more so when i realised just how brilliant the presents were.

It's no secret at the Library that i'm a bit of a Sherlock fangirl (understatement!) so imagine my delight when i opened up the parcel and find this BRILLIANT Benedict Cumberbatch colouring book 

If i'm not busy fangirling over Benedict and his glorious cheekbones, i'm bound to be rambling on about my other fangirl crush Tom Hiddleston. I'm not sure if i could ever choose between Benny and Hiddles and decide which one is my absolute favourite, so these pencils really are the best thing ever because now i don't HAVE to choose! It's printed on the pencils so it MUST be official.

And as if all of that wasn't fabulous enough, there was even some of my favourite sweeties in the bag! what a lucky duck i am. Yum!

After spending the day at home (in my pyjamas) I made my way into Douglas to meet my friends for Birthday drinks.

My super duper pal Lorna gave me this luuurrrrvely Mary Poppins necklace (which i immediately put on and wore ALL evening). Mary Poppins is one of my favourite characters (i think i secretly want to be her) so i couldn't NOT love the necklace. + it's a locket, so Lorna says i have to put pictures of Benny and Hiddles in it. Obviously!

My flatmate Matt got me a Ghostbusters mug (and a Lady Raincorn wristband) which i was v chuffed with. Ghostbusters is my favourite movie, i can't believe i didn't already have a mug. Well, now i do!

For my actual Birthday outing, i celebrated the same way i did last year, by heading out on the Promenade with my friends to enjoy the atmosphere of the Funfair and the TT beer tent + music stage. Luckily it was a sunny day and a balmy evening so it was all good. As has become Birthday tradition, i slathered on some red lipstick and got vaguely dressed up, i debuted my latest purchase, a lovely vintage circle skirt. 

Here's the obligatory Birthday selfie...

All in all it was a good Birthday. i got to celebrate it with my family and friends which is exactly who i'd want to share a day/evening with. So i'm another year older now, definitely not any wiser and undoubtedly still a big kid at heart (the highlight of the evening for me was getting a big bag of pink Candy Floss on my way home from the beer tent!)

So here's the being 23, completely immature and as ever, utterly oblivious to what the future might bring! Fingers crossed it's a good year...


And on that typically peculiar note i'll say goodbye, i can't think of anything else to write so this will have to do for now!

farewell folks xX