Elephants and Everything Else ★

greetings dear readers from a rather chilly and wintery Isle of Man.

yesterday i spent the afternoon with my friend Jenny and i remembered that i completely forgot to show you all what i made her for her 20th Birthday last week!

i couldn't think of anything to get Jenny but i know she really likes elephants so i had a go at stitching up a little plushie elephant for her

so i'd like you all to meet Ethel the Elephant! isn't she a cutie! it was so much fun to make her, it's been ages since i've made any plushies and i think this is one of the biggest things i've ever made (she's about 30x18cm)

Jenny seemed to like her anyway, which is what counts i guess!

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so yesterday was my last day at college before half-term and in the afternoon Jenny came to collect me and we whizzed off to Tynwald for a little mooch around the shops and the gallery

as a sort of end of term treat i got this little cutie to add to my mini Momiji collection

she's from the 2010 'book lovers' collection by illustrator Luli Bunny, and i just couldn't resist!

she fits in perfectly with the momiji girls i have already

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it seems that yesterday was a day of treats because when i got home i found a lovely little parcel waiting for me from the Isle of Man Soap Company

firstly... i couldn't get over how adorable the packaging was! so sooo cute! i'd ordered a cherry lipbalm and an apple martini soap and they arrived all wrapped up in pretty tissue paper inside a funky metallic green jiffy mailer

i haven't opened the soap yet but i can't stop using the cherry lipbalm! it's so moisturizing i just love it

the Isle of Man Soap Company is a fabulous local business run by the equally as fabulous Irene, she hand-makes the most glorious goodies using the finest ingredients and her own individual fragrance collections unique to the IOM Soap Co

some of the goodies available include: soaps, candles, soft soap body polish, bubble dust, bath salts, cold process soap, lipbalms, bath bon-bons 

and my personal favourites... the cupcake bathbombs!

they truly do look good enough to eat, but are a treat for your skin, not for your tastebuds!

for more info + to check out the full ranges on offer, you can check out the website and online shop right here - Isle of Man Soap Company

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yesterday i also had to mail out a postcard ordered from my Etsy shop. i realised that i don't really explain my packaging very well and that unless you've ordered something from me in the past you don't really know what to expect

very simply, i post all postcards out in special 'do not bend' print mailers + every postcard comes in a protective cello sleeve along with a complimentary 'JADE' postcard and a Sugar Skull sticker, all bundled in a sweetie bag before being popped in the envelope and posted off to wherever

anyway, just thought i'd share that little snippet of info with you all. you can see all of my postcard designs available in my shop here - Jade's Etsy Shop

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nothing more to report on for now, i've a week off from college full of research and drawing ahead of me 

you still have just over 4 days left to enter the 'Blog Birthday Giveaway'

in case you missed the last post, i'm giving away a stack of super duper cute goodies to celebrate my blogs 3rd Birthday/Anniversay...... Blogiversary this month!

to find out how YOU can enter to win some prizes head on over to the Giveaway post here - Blog Birthday Giveaway 2012

i'm picking 3 winners this year as well so you never know... you might just be one of them!!!

so get entering! and until next time, that's all folks...  

◕‿◕ ★ xX

Creative Café #5 ★

hey folks, hope you've had a nice Saturday so far, i spent the day cooped up inside watching old movies and relaxing, it's been utterly blissful!

i decided it was about time for another Creative Café post so get you tea/coffee/cocoa ready, grab some biscuits or some cake and settle down for some creative loveliness

today's post is all about a wonderful local artist here in the Isle of Man, it's all about Karen Tomlinson aka Purplecatscorner

i first discovered Karen's work in about February or April last year, her whimsical, girly style of painting just appealed to me straightaway and then last August i won a little giveaway on her blog

her work is always very sweet, pretty and wonderfully coloured, her delicately painted girls and fairies are just so lovely you can't help but like them! 

here's a bunch of some of her gorgeous paintings which are all available as prints via her etsy shop

Karen also creates pretty little bottle top necklaces featuring her work, i have one and it's the perfect accessory to brighten up an otherwise gloomy day

she also makes lovely printed tote bags, pretty bookmarks, greetings cards and fridge magnets

and recently she also started making these lovely fabric hearts

ah everything she creates is so pretty, i just love it all!

here's a photo of all of the lovely Purplecatscorner stuff that i personally own. . .

i won most of this in the giveaway last summer, in fact. . . 

Karen is currently holding another Summer giveaway on her blog!!! it's running until the July 4th

so for your chance to win some lovely Purplecatscorner goodies, head over and find out how to enter - Giveaway

if you fancy treating yourself or someone else to a pretty little something then head over to Karen's etsy shop - purplecatscorner

you can also check out her blog - Purplecats Corner

'Like' her work on Facebook - Purplecatscorner

and Follow her on Twitter - @purplecatcorner

big thanks to the lovely Karen for letting me feature her work here

all images and pieces featured in this post belong to Karen Tomlinson © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her written consent. All Rights Reserved

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not much else for today dudes and dudettes, i have some more stuff to share but i'm afraid it will just have to wait until tomorrow!

in the meantime why not head over to my new candy coloured tumblr blog, it's full of stuff i like (only without all the boring rambling written bits!) - jadeboylan

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