Friday Stuff ★

so i've been quiet this week i guess! back to college on Wednesday = uneventful day

ill on Thursday = also uneventful

then today i had a niiiiiice day :)

i met two of my best friends for lunch, Becky who i've known since i was twelve and Courtney who i've known since i was thirteen. it was great to see them especially since Becky will be dashing off back to University this weekend and i rarely get to see Courtney because she's always so busy at work

so we had a nice catch up in the Alpine (of course!!!)

and it was raining sooooo much outside that i decided to stick around a little while longer after lunch so treated myself to a cheeky cupcake to pass the time!

before the girls left they also helped me organize the stickers on my macbook...

i got a few of my own designs mainly because i was curious to see how they'd print out. as it happens they all printed out fab but my camera takes such godawful photos you can't really tell...

i'd quite like to see my CMYK cupcake and Matryoshka stickers though so who knows, i might be tempted to get them next...

to see the full range of stickers available, click here - red bubble

anyway after that i ended up in Waterstones book shop (just like always) and couldn't resist getting a few new Picture Books

i've built up quite a picture book collection over the years but i'm always looking to expand it and i knew i just HAD to have these books!

there's 'Little One's Bedtime' illustrated by Rosie Reeve and written by Suzi Moore

a very cute book full of adorable illustrations!

then we have 'A Bit Lost' by Chris Haughton

a really fantastic book, wonderfully simple yet effective illustrations + an amusing story. amazing colour scheme for this book!

then we have 'You Can't Scare a Princess' illustrated by the fabulous Sarah McIntyre (who was very helpful to me, giving advice during my own FMP picture book project) and written by Gillian Rogerson

Gillian's stories are always so cleverly written and Sarah's illustrations are always divine so i knew i had to get this one!!!

it didn't disappoint! i love love LOVED it!

and then last but not leaste we have 'Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble' illustrated by Joe Berger and written by Tracey Corderoy

it's another fantastic picture book! bursting with colour and wonderfully drafted characters

really super duper stuff!!!

* * *

after that i ended up at Tesco helping with the weekly shop, cue me getting ridiculously excited when i  spotted a pack of Hershey's cookies n' creme kisses in one of the aisles!!!

i know, i'm sad but i LOVE Hershey's chocolate! i've mentioned my eternal love of American sweets before so there was no way i wasn't going to get these!

anyway that was my day, not the most thrilling of days but i enjoyed it nonetheless!!!

* * *

ok so i've spent the past few days working on a couple of new candy characters + a special spooky pinup girl, hopefully i'll get these finished this weekend so i can share them with you either tomorrow or Sunday

so until then, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Topsy-Turvy Day ★

so this morning i woke up ridonkulously early to get ready/packed for college, i got there early and found my tutor Andy in the corridor moving boxes, he said "oh, didn't you get the email?!"

and that was when i knew i'd wasted my time going to college!

so according to the email that i definitely DID NOT receive, the September term officially begins today BUT all HND students don't need to be in until Wednesday at 9:30am

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

honestly i don't know WHY i even bother sometimes!

it wasn't a total loss though because i got first pick of the desks (heck yes!!!) and after my five minutes in college i skedaddled off down to Douglas town and settled in at the Alpine for some breakfast

it's been miserable weather-wise on the island lately and today's been no different so it really was the perfect time to cit cosy in a nice warm café

i cracked out my macbook to show Melanie (café's owner) the Matryoshka edits, she's off to get her tattoo coloured soon so she's planning on taking a copy of the coloured image to help the tattoo artist colour it all in! exciting stuff

i also spent some time working on a few new 'candy character' sketches as you can see here from this shot of my makeshift desk this morning...

what can i say?! the Alpine really is my café home from home!!! i realised today that i mention the place ALL the time yet i've never snapped any photos of it to show you all, well i fixed that today since Melanie let me  run around with my camera!

this is the pretty spiral staircase leading upstairs...

...where it's all airy and bright! 

and all homely and comfy! you can see why i like it so much here! there's so much red and blue around as well...

+ Melanie picks the most awesome stuff to go on the walls, almost all of the items framed are vintage postcards, book covers, record sleeves and posters. this is my favourite, an old copy of 'Heidi' box framed in a pretty rococo style frame

even the chairs are pretty! there are lots of mismatched vintage chairs but all of them are upholstered with this super funky stars pattern!

 as the café's name suggests, there's a big mountain chalet type vibe going on here, and as well as a few pairs of vintage ski's on the wall there's also a whole bunch of retro Ski-ing posters

and as if the decor wasn't gorgeous enough, you can take my words for it that the food is just as fabulous! the rosy cupcakes are a personal fave of mine, for obvious reasons...

and here we have the lovely Melanie busy writing out today's specials! so big BIG thanks to her for letting me run around cheekily snapping photos!

she also promised me i can take a photo of the tattoo to show you all when it's fully coloured!!! so be sure to keep an eye out for that :)

* * *

i spent the rest of the morning wandering around Douglas where i ended up buying a lovely little Picture book

"Dear Fairy Godmother" by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Nick Sharratt (and yes... i did buy it for the pictures!)

the story is very cute but i'm not gonna lie, it was the adorable illustrations that made me pick it up in the first place...

i really will NEVER get tired of Nick Sharratt's illustrations! i love his work so much

for more info about Nick Sharratt + to see some more of his lovely work, be sure to check out my old 'super sunday' feature on him here - Super Sunday #7

and to get your own copy of the book you can go here - Walker Books

* * *

last but not least, this afternoon i nipped up to Ramsey to visit Sweet Ginger to drop off some new cards and stuff

it's been aaaaaages since i last visited the shop so it was lovely to see Julie and Ciara + to have a skeet at all the pretty new things they have in stock

i ended up treating myself to this adorable little garland, i just couldn't resist it!

apples are my favourite fruit and you all know what a sucker i am for anything polka-dotted so it was pretty inevitable that i was going to get one of these!

* * *

nothing else to report on for now, it's very gloomy outside so i'm planning a nice chilled evening cooped up inside reading picture books and my new issues of Vogue and Elle

enjoy the rest of your Monday wherever you are + whatever you're up to

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

Sunshine and Rain ★

so i got back to the Island yesterday afternoon, completely exhausted, sad to say goodbye to Ireland but undeniably glad to be home!!!

today i got up bright and early to head into a very gloomy and rainy Douglas, so it was boots, trench coat and umbrella weather again!

anyway i wandered around town for a bit before meeting my cousin Mandy and my little cousin Sienna

Mandy had to dash off so i got to look after little miss Sienna and then all of a sudden it was time for us to head to the Alpine to meet my friends Mike and Quinn for some lunch

Quinn's lovely little sister Elan came along too and we all had a yummy lunch in the Alpine (aka my café home from home!) where i also bumped into Melanie (the café's owner) who is in the process of getting some of my illustrations tattooed onto her foot!!!

i'll snap some photos once it's all done but it's looking soooooo awesome! it's crazy to see MY drawings on someone's skin! weird but very VERY cool!!!

anyway by the time we all left the café it was really sunny and bright! cannot handle this insane weather, how are you supposed to dress for a day like this?! we all stood chatting in the street for a bit while Sienna played with her new toy

it was a lovely afternoon though, we just wandered around town, looking in shops, chatting, generally having a laugh! i clearly don't get out enough... that's why i always enjoy it so much when i have a day out like this with friends/family!

we sat in the Strand Shopping Centre for a while too, well... Quinn and Mike sat while i mooched around the toy stores with Sienna and Elan, i really will NEVER grow up!

but alas at long last, it was time to go!!! i met them today because Mike is heading back off to University in Kingston on Friday so i wanted to say goodbye + hand over his belated Birthday present (a 'Back to the Future' t-shirt) 

luckily Quinn doesn't head off to start Uni in Falmouth until September so hopefully i'll get to see her again before she vanishes until Xmas! + i'm going to make her a very special little plushie fawn as a going away present!

anyway, after town we went up to my cousin Mandy's flat for a bit where Sienna tried on her pretty new dress

we actually went there because my mum had to pick up her pet birds (two cockatiels called George and Sid) but it was nice to relax for a bit watching MTV and playing in the garden with Sienna

and i guess that was my day! apologies for the uber personal post!!!

i have 3 amazing new creative café features lined up, in fact i don't know which one do do first they're all that good!!!

so be sure to look out for the first of them tomorrow evening

until then... that's all folks ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Happy Birthday Mum ♥

so today is my mum's Birthday . . .

for those of you that don't know, her name is Joy and she is totally awesome! (fact)

here is a charming photo of my mum + me taken in Leamington (last year) by my darling niece Madison

so i'd like to take a moment to wish a big ol' Happy Birthday to mama Boylan . . . Happy Birthday mum! x

also, here is the deliciously yummy big toffee cake i got made especially for her Birthday

the letters are kind of ruined now but it will undoubtedly taste wonderful! 

big thanks to the lovely Liesl at 'The Alpine' cafe, for making it for me

* * *

in other news . . .

in a strange twist of fate and utter madness i decided to wear trousers today (shock horror!!!)

i'm really REALLY not a jeans kind of gal but today i didn't feel like putting on a dress (which is odd for me) so i grabbed some jeans + a pair of wedges + the lovely yet hideously bright coat i got in Cork, Ireland last August

and look . . . i also wore one of my new ribbon flower corsage anywhere clip thingymabob type things

and last but not least . . . i also now have slightly darker hair!

i always feel somewhat left out since pretty much all of the women in my family have really dark brown hair and i just . . . don't!

well, now i do!

* * *

wasn't that a thrilling post!

geez louise i really need to stop writing such boring blithering posts, it's a wonder i have any readers at all! 

we're supposed to be going out to dinner tonight for the Birthday celebrations but i am literally falling asleep here so i might have to be bad and stay at home like the boring person that i am!!!

thinking i might have a nap then get to work on the new plushies i have to make + pop some tunes on, maybe Sliimy or Mika or something, i need something bright and happy

and now i'll stop rambling on and on and on and on and on and on

until next time, 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