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 . . .  ◕‿◕ ★

College, Cupcakes and La Catrina ★

so today i went back to college seeing as i only managed to make it in for one day last week! 

i spent the day working on some new stuff including a sort of 'la Catrina' + dia de los muertos inspired pin-up girl 

initially inspired by the Calavera de la Catrina 

she's also based on one of the 666 photography shoots i wrote a little about in this post - Curvy Corsets & Pretty Pinup Photography

i've used an old lingerie pin-up girl from a commission as the base

 and started adding Catrina/sugar skull style make-up and tattoos using the sugar skull design i drew out the other day

still can't make up my mind about the colours though...

and i keep mixing it all up

i'm sure i'll work out how to fix her eventually!

* * *

i also painted my nails today (who knew this post would be SO interesting...) 

i used the new Barry M 'nail effects' varnish i bought during my trip to Coventry a few weeks ago

i hadn't used it until today but it works really well! makes the most awesome crackled patterns on your nails! can highly recommend it to you all...

* * *

oh as well as the Catrina style girly i also started a new embroidery piece today,

they're legs by the way... bizarre i know but i never said i was a good sewer or embroiderer!!!

seeing as this is my first EVER attempt at hand sewn applique it's bound to be rubbish though... right?!

ah it's a work in progress anyway and still has a LOOOONG way to go!

 it's supposed to be an embroidered + appliqued version of this

only time will tell as to whether or not i succeed...

* * *

in other news, my mum came home today with a goodie bag of... goodies for me from town

i absolutely loathe Monday's (who doesn't...) so it was extra awesome of her to gather this stuff for me today

we have...

a cute mini kokeshi doll...

...that opens up into a lipgloss!!!

+ a pack of yummy strawberry cupcake scented mini-wipes (genius!!!)

awesome sets of earrings

totally awesome in fact...

and last but not least, a REAL cupcake...

so cute (not to mention downright delicious) 

isn't she a total star! thanks mum x

* * *

s'all for today, i need some food now seeing as i haven't had any breakfast or lunch to speak of...

until next time

that's all folks...

★ ◕‿◕ ♥ xX

Manic Monday ★

so today i woke up at 5am (ish) feeling really ill! this = bad times since i actually planned on doing some college work today... at college

however, the whole being ill factor ruined that plan so i stayed at home and did college work instead (yay... thumbs up) 

also noticed that the blog hit 10,000 page views overnight...

wow and wowy wow W O W

thank you to everyone that has come to have a skeet at my weird and slightly colourful little world

i'm quite literally beaming hugs to you all as i type this...

* * *

anyway back to the post, i drew a couple of new Pinup Illustrations and then what do you know...

i decided to RE-DRAW some old ones as well

as much extra time and effort as it is, i secretly love re-drawing my old illustrations, especially if the originals weren't very good, it gives me the chance to try and fix them

like my 'Bubbly Burlesque Girl' (as she was originally known). when i first drew her, her face was all messed up (it was... really) and the cocktail glass i drew for her was just awful (well and truly rubbish) so i sat down with my fineliners and drew her out again from scratch and THIS time she isn't half as bad as she was

still not maybe 100% perfecto but hey... i AM a perfectionist! i'll let you make up your own mind about little Miss 'Shaken not Stirred' ... 

ah i don't know, i'll probably re-draw her again next year and start hating this version! anyway moving on...

the next one i had a go at re-doing was my old Betty Boop fan art piece 'Pretty in Pink'

the original was cute but i guess the massive Betty Boop head kind of distracted you from the little 50's style outfit, so i had another go and this was the result, 

little Miss 'Dreaming of You' (because of the wind swept hair, the dreamy look in her eyes and the heart in her hands)

once again, i'll probably hate her this time next year!

what about the coloured backgrounds though? are we liking these or loathing them...

i just fancied a change seeing as i almost ALWAYS submit my pinup girls with plain white backgrounds (BORING) and in pinup photography, if it's not a location shoot they usually use brightly coloured lit backdrops like these so... tah-dah

if everyone hates them i'll stop using them but for now... voila!

also... are we liking the new blog background???

i added a few little 'snapshot' type pictures of a few of my own illustrations + a few tiny snippets from my picture book 'Where's Charlie?'

i thought the background needed brightening up a bit so... let me know what you think!

* * *

in other news... i got a message a while ago off Mike, he was glad to let me know that his FCP has arrived!

those of you that are regular readers of my blog will know all about the wonders of the FCP site but in case you're new here, just check out this old post and all shall be revealed - my Free Crappy Portrait ♥

basically, after my super FCP arrived, Mike got all jealous (he did... ) and sent off for one as well

now... i'm a big fan of the ol' 'free crappy portraits' off the FCP site but come on!!! 

MY portrait took over a month to arrive and he got his after about 2 weeks... grumble, moan, sulk!

ah i can forgive it, just this once!

anyway i'm pleased to report that his FCP is actually rather super duper, i shall explain it on his behalf

basically... Mike is a MASSIVE 'Doctor Who' fan (if you don't know what Doctor Who is... go and bang your head against a wall, then get your bum to a computer and learn to Google fast!) 

i mean he loves Doctor Who more than life itself (he really does... he'll never admit it but it's true) so the picture he sent in was one of him leaning out of a red telephone box brandishing a sonic screwdriver (once again if you have no idea what that is... go and google it) and that is exactly what his FCP delivered...

and look... a Sphinx, a half built Pyramid AND Ancient Egyptians too! this drawing has everything!

and in case you're wondering if it's a good likeness of Mike... i can tell you that it is

yes, his hair REALLY is that tall... no joke!

good times

* * *

and that's it for tonight dear dudes and dudettes, 

apparently it's snowing somewhere here on the Island but i've yet to see any snow...

oh and i just heard a loud beeping from somewhere in the room which i think means i've received a text so i'm off to try and retrieve my phone from the pile of junk it's apparently buried in!

that's all folks...

♥ ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Thank you and Goodbye

(no... i didn't get mixed up and repeat the farewell from yesterday's post! the next country on the list was the USA so... it's an English goodbye again, the NEXT post will have a different farewell though, promise)