Felicity the Fawn ★

wow so long time no posts eh! i've not been out much this week so i guess there's just not been that much for me to blog about!

yesterday i abandoned my macbook (shock horror) and spent the day making a new plushie to add to the collection i seem to be building

this particular creation was something i'd never really attempted before, so it was more of an experiment than anything!

i didn't finish it until about 2am this morning, and it's still not perfect but i might as well show you anyway

this little lovely is 'Felicity the Fawn' (hence the post title) and she took foreverrrr to make!

my plush making skills aren't the greatest so why i attempted this i'll never know but there you go

she's about 9 inches tall and is quite soft really, her head is anyway!

she has a little bow on her front and a rose quartz + glass seed bead necklace to match her baby pink/baby blue colouring

her ears and tail are blanket stitches and her eyes are painted felt 

her markings + eyes are glued on whereas everything else was stitched by hand

at the minute she's just standing on my desk fitting in with the general colour scheme of the colourful clutter that fills my room

i left the 4 little Lalaloopsy girls with her though for some company . . .

i'll make some more of these if anyone would like their own little Fawn but i think this one might just have to be a present for my friend Charlotte's 'soon to arrive' baby girl Lily ♥

not really sure what to have a go at making next, i might go back to some embroidery again i think, but who knows!

* * *

in other news . . .

the only place i've been this week is to college (briefly) on Wednesday before heading out to Milntown Estate in the North of the island with most of my HND class to look around the gardens

Milntown is this beautiful old 16th Century house built in an expansive estate surrounded by manicured gardens sitting on the land below Sky Hill

we were there to research a possible class commission and despite the rain and the cold it was a great morning

the gardens are closed to the public until April so we had the place to ourselves really which was nice

we wandered around the pretty gardens which were full of gorgeous flowers, manicured lawns, water features and woodland areas

it was brilliant + we stayed there for lunch in the Milntown cafe

for more information visit the Milntown website here - Milntown

the gardens are officially open to the public as of today, April 1st

* * *

that's all to report for now

i'm heading into Douglas tomorrow to look for a 'mother's day' gift for my mum + a trip to the book shop to gather some new reading material, because let's face it. . . you can never have too many books!

that's all folks . . .

◕‿◕ xX

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

Wedesday Weather ★

so i don't know WHAT is going on with the weather here at the moment! it's really sunny outside then ten minutes later there's cloud and rain! it's super windy yet if i look out the window i can still see blue sky and sunshine!

WEIRD

anyway today's post is going to feature some of the gorrrrrrgeous little bits i got at 'The Tide' in Ramsey on Monday afternoon/evening

now 'The Tide' is without a doubt my absolute favourite shop on the Island!!! 

i L-O-V-E it

now sadly i'm not allowed to take any photos of the inside of the shop due to copyright and such but all i can do is urge you to go and see it for yourself if you ever get the chance to visit the Isle of Man

it is the most super duper place ever! (fact)

it really the most delicious little treasure trove of a store, just bursting with sublime goodies! 

they sell everything from handmade one off jewellery pieces, vintage teacups, saucers and teapots, hand sewn dolls, bunting and aprons, the most amazing ornaments and decorations, delicate little crocheted toys and amazing fairytale snow globes, sparkly chandeliers, big ornate mirrors, hand sewn patchwork bags, ribbons, cards and wrapping paper in every pattern you could ever want + big luscious floral quilts, ruffled cushions and polka dot bedding!

it is heaven in shop form as far as i'm concerned and i could literally spend all day in there!

anyway let's get on with what i bought during this visit...

here we have little 'Peanut Big Top' kindly modeling in my new purchase

is it not the most fabulous little hot air balloon ever!!!

they had two hanging from the ceiling and i just had to have this lovely little blue one

should explain, the delightful cloudy sky behind is in fact a sheet of fabric i bought for an embroidery project, i ironed it out nice and neat to take these photos though. not sure what i'm going to make with it yet but i'll keep you posted!

but that's not all i got

i also chose this adorable little handmade doll

every time i visit the store i see these dolls hanging about the place or tucked away on shelves and i always want to get one but have to leave or can't afford one

so this time i thought what the hell, and got one for my room

i also got this teeny tiny little wooden charm...

why?! well because it's says' sweet like candy 'on it of course!!!

anyway the shop is magical, go and visit it or if you can't make it to the island, pop by their websites

the Tide.net     or    the Tide.co.uk

or you can follow them on twitter - @thetide_friends

* * *

so what else have i been up to?!

well i got some new books out of the library on Monday and i was flicking through one of them today

it's a big old 50's scrapbook full of old advertisements, book covers and movie posters

there are some awesome pages in it full of all manner of fabulous 50's things

the fashion pages are particularly super duper

there's even a travel section showing UK holiday destinations, so imagine my surprise when i spotted something else that was on the page...

can you see it there in the middle... maybe this will help

yep there's even an old ad for the Isle of Man! the Island used to be a MASSIVELY popular tourist destination so i wasn't that surprised it was included, it was just nice to see that it wasn't forgotten!

 i also visited the craft shop the other day as well and came out with some candy coloured bundles of fabric

ooooooh i wonder what they're for!!! (wait and see)

and AND my new embroidery hoop arrived in the mail today

it's PINK!!!!!

i've no idea what i'm going to stitch into it but who cares... it's pink!

* * *

that's it for today, i'm off to try and work on these essays now 

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ♥ xX

PS: only 2 (yes 2) days left to enter the Giveaway!!!

enter now for your chance to win some cute little kawaii prizes including a hello kitty notebook, some cupcake themed goodies from Paperchase + a pink poodle necklace

GO GO GO - ♥ Giveaway ♥

Fruity Fun ★

so yesterday i finally went back to college!

i am a naughty HNDer for missing a whole week last week so i tried to be good yesterday and start a new sewing project

now you are being warned... this is a sewing based post so if you came her looking for colourful fruity times and stuff like that, i'm sorry to disappoint you! it's about embroidery so yeah, you've been warned!

right so my friend Annie left some wonderful old embroidery books on my desk so i thought it was about time i had a go at some different stitches

so i actually left my desk (shock horror) and crept upstairs to root around in the textiles room for some printed fabric

i found an old sample book full of funkily printed swatches so i picked this fruity little number...

aren't the colours in it gorgeous! i just loved how rich all the red and oranges were!

now i'm not the best stitcher in the world, i can just about do blanket stitch and after about an hour can produce a wonky french knot, so before i attacked the fruit bowl i did a tiny chain stitch sample

success!!!

after that it was the fruit bowls turn

next i fancied a bit more colour so orange got added in to the mix as well...

i intended to whip stitch it (since i can actually do that...) but decided on another stitch called pekinese since it looked like fun

leaves next, whip stitch and a lovely shade of green

i also got the chance to test out my new mini flexi hoop (i know... this post is SO exciting!!!) since the pattern didn't fit on this hoop properly

so this is how it all looked by the end of the day

and that's how it still looks since i have spent all of today working on another logo design commission which (fingers crossed) is almost finished!

* * *

in an attempt to cheer myself up i also brought two new friends along to college with me

these are mini 'lalaloopsy' dolls i bought while i was away in Coventry

yes i know i might be too old to be playing with dolls but i just thought they were so cute!!!

there's a whole bunch of them and each one has a different name and back story (you know how much i love a good back story...) and they're designed to look like they've been hand stitched together and made from buttons, ribbons and bows (now you'll understand the appeal)

there are also HUUUUGE versions of the dolls which have the most adorable outfits and big lolita-esque dresses

they're each supposedly made from a different type of garment that relates to their hobbies and likes

now i'm not going to lie... i bought one of the big dolls as well!!! (don't hate me)

i have this one, apparently her names is Crumbs Sugar Cookie, she was sewn from a cooking apron and she loves to bake cupcakes... 

oh i wonder why i chose that one! hhmmm

she's happy at home on the shelf in my room now and i have to say, she's brightened up the place superbly

anyway, the two mini ones i took to college are called...

Peanut Big Top (sewn from a circus performers costume)

and Bea Spells-a-lot lot (sewn from a school uniform)

anyway, they kept me company and i urge you all to get one since they are so goddamn adorable!!!

i intend to get as many of the mini ones as i can! judge me all you want but i do not care... i always said i'd never truly grow up!

for more info about the crazy colourful world of Lalaloopsy Dolls, check out their website here - Lalaloopsy

* * *

not much else to tell, busy busy busy at the moment

logo design commissions and tattoo design commissions and all other manner of new commissions

+ 3 college essays!

until next time

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ♥ xX 

ps - have you entered the Giveaway yet??? well you'd better hurry up because there are only 3 days left to enter!!!

GO GO GO - ♥ Giveaway ♥