And the Ivy

Pain

2011-09-07T21:44:00.000+01:00

Unknown Source

I shall make these one day!

2011-08-15T23:39:00.002+01:00


Unsure of source

I wonder

2011-08-15T00:32:00.000+01:00

Too True

2011-08-11T14:45:00.000+01:00

As seen on Yes and Yes

Blog Cloud!

2011-06-21T00:02:00.003+01:00

Click to see larger

Isn't this wonderful? There's a site called Wordle which does it for you! You can get anything put into a cloud of words in different styles. Anyway, it kind of speaks for itself so go and play!

☺

British

2011-06-03T22:22:00.000+01:00

I am loving the Union Jack right now. I have no idea why, I mean I know I am English - British, but I've never really felt much towards the flag. Maybe I'm just getting a bit more patriotic as I get older haha.
But yeah, I have a:

Union Jack phone cover.

How British is this? Lol

Two union jack mugs

From Past Times

A small round union jack pillow in my car that reads "Where there is Tea, there is hope" that I got from Robert for Christmas. I want just about EVERYTHING that Past Times has to do with the union jack, and just about everything else in that shop actually. It's all wonderfully vintage and retro.
And if I had enough money I'd have bought two union jack rugs that I saw for £7.99 each in a shop. Crazy.

Ah well, are you loving on your country recently? ♥

Yoga

2011-06-02T21:22:00.000+01:00

Today, I did many things which I wasn't supposed to do:

I read Black Beauty as part of my book challenge.

I tried Yoga.

Now, I was supposed to do some more college work but I felt like I needed to stop thinking about that for the time being and just have a day of whatever came to mind. Reading and yoga apparently heee.

So, Black Beauty. I was impressed. I'd had this misconception from when I was a child that it was a horsey story for horsey people who liked horses. Well, wrong. Obviously. But I've finally read it and I couldn't put it down. I started reading at about 10am and finished at 2pm. Lovely narration of the character and how his life unfolded and I was so glad to see a happy ending. I only wish I'd read it sooner to be honest.

Yoga! Well, myself and a friend were talking about trying it out together last night, so spurred on my that conversation I thought I would try out some yoga, just to get a feel for it and see if my body could bend in those ways (considering I'm overweight and have a belly to compensate for hehe). It turned out well, I tried three 10 minute long beginner sessions from youtube and with only a couple of things I couldn't completely do, I guess I time (and if my stomach goes away lol) I'll be able to do them completely, but despite that I was sweating and felt like I'd made some progress. Whats more, it doesn't feel like it's hard work, it's relaxing and doesn't seem as daunting as say a jog or going on an exercise bike. I think, maybe, that is the key to my losing weight. I need it to feel like an everyday part of my life in order to incorporate it. It needs to relax in me at the same time as being useful as I already have enough stress in my life, I do not need the added pressure of "Oh god, I've got to pound my heart out on an exercise bike for 20 mins" or something along those lines. After the yoga I felt ready for more, and I'm looking forward to incorporating it into my day tomorrow. I'm just hoping now that it'll work and I'll gradually get better.

So, toodle pip guys, have fun and try yoga too! Woo!

Zombie cucumbers

2011-05-31T21:39:00.000+01:00

As see on Kawaii Not

Worth It

2011-05-31T00:29:00.000+01:00

As seen at Yes and Yes

Well

2011-05-22T15:59:00.000+01:00

After that rage yesterday, I'll share some pretty things. Namely being;

Nightdresses

Old fashioned ones, granny ones, whatever. They're lovely! And I want some, but I think it's going to come to the point where I'm going to have to make one myself (which would count towards my 21 things, hooya! lol) That's not such a bad thing though, it'll mean I'll be able to get it how I want it, hopefully.
Anyway, here's my inspiration:

Love the top of this one hehe

Love the bottom of this one!

Love everything about this one

So yes. Nighties! Big love for them right now. Also this weird windy weather, it's kinda freaky after all this "END OF THE WORLD" rubbish lol But I love windy days, they're lovely ♥

Oh, PS: I keep coming across this section of writing in various ways

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God."

Three times, in the last two days. I'm not religious so I have no idea what it means or anything but really? It just keeps popping up. I'm probably getting all strange because of this Labyrinth book I'm reading about the crusades in France and it has so much religion in it, it's hard to breath.
Ah well.

Lets talk about...

2011-05-21T23:36:00.000+01:00

The world ending today people...
Really? This american guy predicts (no less than 3 times) that the world is going to end and yet, after the last couple of times it didn't end, you would have thought people wouldn't take it seriously still. For the past year or so, maybe year and a half, and at least since we hit 2010, there has been an inundated amount of naff about the world ending. Isn't this a lovely thing to keep popping up at the moment. Because the economic crisis, or the state some countries are in from poverty, or the natural disasters in other countries aren't enough bad news at the moment, lets get the whole world going with "Yeah, you better watch out, the worlds going to end. You might as well give up on life now while we have a small amount of time left!"

Spewing all of this, it's just so unnecessary. Can we have some nice news please? Something heartwarming, or hopeful, perhaps about spring or where someone has helped someone else, or even where a breakthrough has happened.

OH. talking of breakthroughs. Did you know Canada has found a cure for cancer? Yep. The one shred of good news and there isn't much coverage on it. Why? Because the pharacutical companies won't fund it because if they do they will lose literally billions because the cure isn't anything fancy, it's just a pill to boost something your body already naturally produces. So brilliant eh? Just because companies will lose money, millions of people will still die of this completely horrid disease.

Urgh, this world....I'm completely disgusted.

Done & Done

2011-05-06T20:21:00.000+01:00

It puts twinkles on my walls :)

Oh hey~
So I'm getting to the end of college. We only have something like five weeks left. Stress, stress, stress!
The sun has been shining non-stop. I didn't think I'd want a storm to come so badly or for at least one rainy day, just to watch the water fall continuously and hear the sounds. We really have had sun for the whole of April....but isn't it supposed to be April showers? Hm~
I've had three books on the go, Alice in wonderland, Treasure Island, Labyrinth (by Kate Moss) and Grimm's fairy tales. Ok well that's four I guess, but the fairy tales I'm just reading when I'm bored or feel like a change.
Alice in Wonderland...What can I say other than "what the..." I mean I'd heard that it was a bit crazy but seriously? At some stages I found it a bit of a challenge to read as it was so confusing, but I trucked on. It was rather brilliant actually, in a whimsical, peculiar kind of way (well certainly, a bloke who did acid while writing it kind of way, anyway...) I found it lovely, and a trip back into an imagination of a child! So that's another crossed off my list.
I wish I could say the same about Treasure island, I'm finding it hard to reach the end as I'm just not getting into it. I keep putting it down, and trying to come back to it, but...it's just, not, that, good? That can't be the right words. But I'll see, I'm determined to finish it.
As for Labyrinth, I've just started it, I'm not really feeling the jump-y-ness in the way Kate Moss writes, that's a little bit annoying as the flow of the story is interrupted by this sudden change of narration, Other than that though, it seems like a compelling story! I shall get back on that one as I'm barely 7 chapters in.

I WANT A STORM!
-Does a dance to bring the rain!-

Toodles! ♥

Easter

2011-04-24T21:05:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

Yesterday...

2011-04-12T16:37:00.000+01:00

It's a shame about the light reflection on the glass

Well, yesterday was the exhibition opening...:D

Unfortunately it wasn't organised well. It could have been so much more exciting and interesting but never mind. My work is now up in our town hall for a week and bidding is taking place all week. I really wonder if I'll get any bids.

'Beneath'

This is my piece, I didn't get a straight on image as this suggests, I've edited this so it looks normal again as there was a window right behind my work, not smart placing on the head tutors part but can't do much about it now. Underneath is my little bit of writing that you see along with the work. I'll paste I here hehe.

Holly Morris
“Beneath”
Seven Plate Collagraph Print with added textiles

How often do we think about what's beneath us? Do we see it as a disposal centre, treasure hunt, a fuel resource or something to be marvelled at? Can you honestly say that you think about this on a daily basis? I sought to try and portray what was beneath us in the form of a collagraph print which was then worked upon with textiles. With each layer and process, I could contemplate it's reality, longevity and life of our world. If we are going to carry on, on this planet, we need to acknowledge the unseen, respect it for it's power over us, and what we'd do if we didn't have it any more. This is the land and earth that feeds us. We keep abusing our world with all sorts of destructive actions, it is not enough to stop at the surface. We dig deep, deep as we can go, to seek out resources or to bury our waste.
Sooner or later the world will reject all of this.
Sooner or later we need to stop.

I hope, that through trying to portray what lies beneath us, we can see that it isn't just a chunk of rock. It is beautiful. It is powerful. It's to be cherished, for it is far wiser and alive than we'll ever be in our tiny lifetimes.

It's our future in our hands.

They muffed up the placement of words on my little square, I specifically wanted the first set of bold writing where it was so it flowed, but again that was changed without my input. I wish they wouldn't do that. It may be my first exhibition but seriously, I know how I want things...

ANYWAY apart from that lol, I'm happy, exciting, apprehensive and just thankful that my work got chosen and the chance to exhibit. It's an amazing opportunity that I didn't think I would have and words can't express how I feel about the matter.
I'll be invigilating on Saturday which I think is the last day of the exhibit, so I'll get to see what's happening and how the week has gone ☺

So, until we meet again!
Toodle-loo ♥

Lovin'

2011-04-10T23:11:00.000+01:00

Loving this song right now.Love it too ☺

Sun

2011-04-08T20:28:00.000+01:00

I'm completely obsessed with this blossom tree.

It's been another beautiful day with lots of sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.

The smell of summer is in the air.

Every time I look at the blossom tree at the end of the garden, I smile warmly at nature.

Two more days until the opening night.

Can. Not. Wait.

☺

Hi

2011-04-07T14:54:00.000+01:00

I lost sight of my blog for a while.I don't know why. Perhaps there were other more important things happening? In some cases yes, in others, no.

I could have blogged...but I shant go on.

Flyer for the exhibition

SO! I had assessment, it went well enough, I passed and they liked my work. I didn't realise how much until last week when I got an email saying my final piece was going to be in the Your future exhibition! I mean wow...I can't even express how I feel about it other than a big ol' ball of OH MY GOSH. Hehe.
So preparations have gone along, writing an artist statement for the show, making sure my final piece is top notch, watching it being framed by our artists in residence. It looked amazing once they'd finished. I was so impressed. It's well worth the £25 for framing.
Whats more, at the show our work is availiable for auction in the dutch auction system. (I'm told this is where they write what they'll pay on a piece of paper and then put it in a box) Exciting no?

GADFINDFHKNDFLN BLIMEY!!!
-Spazz out-

-Cough- excuse me....Anyway hehe I kind of want to sell it and kind of don't. It'd be nice to have a piece of my work up on the wall in our house. But alas, I really could do with the money and as I've been advised to price it at £120 minimum I can't really let that slide by. So, thats my reasons for wanting to get a really good photograph of it.

Our building site back garden and next doors.
We need to build the fence still.

It's spring but it feels like summer, and what am I doing? sitting indoors on the pc of course. But, I have the most amazing view of this tree with masses of blossom on it. It's really lovely to just look out the window and see all of this green and white and flowers!

BLOSSOM ♥ Love it

Happies

2011-03-20T11:50:00.001Z

Daffodil from a few years ago ♥

Happy Spring Equinox Everyone!

Things that I'm thinking about lately and making me happy:

Pub Quizzes

Leggings/Jeggings

Spring....today...yes!

All of the flowers that are finally waking up and showing their heads - Hello flowers!

Trying to think of a theme for my final major project - worried :S

Enjoying the weekeneds to the full

Making a list of which flowers we should get for when we sort out the garden

Reading with my other half in bed before we go to sleep

What are you loving on lately? ♥

Today is a new day

2011-03-16T21:40:00.000Z

Do the Robot~

Today I revamped my 21 things list. I wasn't really content with the list ever since I made it, I'm not sure if I am now, but it does feel a whole lot more right than before.

I'm steadily selling things on eBay - this pleases me. I stress about whether I've sent the items to the right place or not, even when I have a meticulous system to make sure I don't go wrong. I keep second guessing myself. But this is a good thing right? Because if I didn't care about these sorts of things I wouldn't be a very good seller.

Ah well - over and out~

Hm...

2011-03-15T21:37:00.003Z

Something I'm selling on eBay

Hm, well the past week has been a bit odd. It feels like it is was a hell of a lot longer than it has been...I uess it's been a good timeout though as I haven't really paid much attention to the internet world as we know it.

I :

Made some cake

Sent off packages of eBay things

Been to college and began a new project

Went to work

Wasn't very impressed with the post office ladies attitude

Enjoyed the spring smell

Was really ill for a while

Seemed to have gotten everything dumped on me in one go, but it's slowly ebbing away now, thank goodness.

Went to a quiz night

So yes. Also, I really want to re-write my 21 things. Am I allowed to do that? Who knows.

My gosh...

2011-03-08T19:20:00.000Z

Leads to a pancake recipe too! :D

Well I did want to start this post with "PANCAKE DAY" but...something far more strange has happened...

I've had two...TWO really bad nosebleeds today. I know right? Most people only get them like once every million years or something but twice. My mum said that if it happens again I'll have to go to the doctor, these weren't the normal 2 minutes bleeds either, the first one went on for about half an hour before it managed to stop and the second one went on for 20 minutes. A whole new epic level of bleeding man...
So yes, that was a bit distressing and I'm quite light headed and headachey now.

So after that excitement -

PANCAKE DAY

- Yes, it is the nom day of all nom. I made the pancake batter last night as it tastes a whole lot better when it's left to sit for a while and my nan recipe which has been passed down to me is still the most amazing tasting pancakes I've ever had ♥
So yummy.

Are you having pancakes right now? As we speak? In this precise moment?!
Tell me how scrummy they are! :D

(Can you tell I'm not really myself today? lol)

I think...

2011-03-07T22:33:00.001Z

Really awesome Tissue box cover on etsy ♥

I'm getting ill, you know the signs. Urgh, this is like the 5th time in 6 months...I usually only get one cold a year....ONE...or sometimes two but seriously, what the hell?

Le sigh. Some of my things are selling well on eBay. Yay, although I think I'll have to relist a few by the time they all end. Never mind. It still means I'll have funds to get things on eBay without eating away at my bank balance. If I keep this up, I should be able to fund my eBay addiction just by selling things I don't need any more.

I'm trying to get into habits. I've heard it takes three weeks to pick up a habit (or before something becomes a habit) So I'm currently trying to have breakfast, do exercise, make the bed every day - stuff like that.

Anyway, my head is feeling a bit heavy so I'm going to get an early night, rest and hope that this cold doesn't come out during the night.
Toodles sweety. ♥

My Neighbor Totoro

2011-03-06T20:49:00.000Z

Leads back to a really good review/story aswell

I've always loved Studio Ghibli films. It's from my days of obsessing over anime and manga. But, there's something more to the Japanese way of life that has always appealed to me, and this comes across subtly in their cartoons.
Morals.
There is usually always a lesson to be learnt in these cartoons or films. They're not simply made to slowly make their brains go blank like our utterly rubbish western culture, they show something and at the end of watching one of the films or episodes, you feel like you've learnt how to be a better person. Whether this is by soaking in the appreciatation and power of good animation or if there's been a message in the story.
Ok, so this may be me over analysing, but my goodness I love it. It's just a whole better, more intellectual child entertainment.
Anyway, I'm going on about this because I've just finished watching My Neighbor Totoro. What a wonderful film! It's so heart warming and nice! You need to watch it, even if it's not your type of thing, you'll still be smiling at the end of it.
Go watch some Ghibli!
♥

JLo

2011-03-05T17:55:00.002Z

Gosh, I'm loving her at the moment!
Plus she can act, the movies she's in are wonderful and just yay :3

Fierce!! But then there's the original...♥ ♥

Oh my...but this, om nom! I guess this is the reason why I like the JLo song. I had this little toy that you'd create a motion with and this round thing would spin along two metal tracks and play a tune, the tune was this Lambada song. I was obsessed with it. It used to make me think of an exotic dragon story ( have no idea why, that's the workings of a child's brain I guess?) But from that it's fascinated me ever since. It's only recently that's it's resurfaced in "On the Floor".
Well thank you JLo for bringing out this awesome anthem! ♥

Bleep

2011-03-04T19:03:00.000Z

Such a lovely sunny day today - Spring, hurry up. Your teasing is not fair!

What are you thinking about today? :)

Exercise

2011-03-03T21:03:00.000Z

Today I exercised - woo?
I plan (HUR~) to do this more often, but I feel pretty good at the moment even though I feel kinda floppy. I started out with some stretching so I'd hopefully not pull a muscle, followed by 10 minutes on the exercise bike (I'm starting small people, I haven't been on the exercise bike in years!) followed by 20 sit ups to try and sort my tummy muscles out, then 20 of those backwards leg ups, then 10 each of those side legs ups, 10 woman push ups and then that weird backwards arm thing 10 times. I have no idea of the proper names of these, obviously lol. But the fact of the matter is, I did it, and broke a sweat and finished by some stretching on the floor :D
So if I keep this up I can begin to lose this extortionate amount of weight I put on while we were doing up this blooming house and living on take aways. Urgh

On another note, today has been really productive. I got the room cleared up, sorted out some eBay listings, sorted out some tings for charity while clearing up, hoovered the upstairs. :D
So yes, yay.
How has everyone elses day been?

They Came!

2011-03-02T22:03:00.001Z

So, do you remember me blogging about the awesome UgChug Mugs by NelsonStudio? Well, mine have turned up! And they're even better in real life! And whats more, as I was the first international customer, they gave me Puck free!! I was overwhelmed with appreciation and awesomeness!
Anyway, I basically only have the word "SQUEEEE" in my head at the moment so I'll share some pictures of these amazing mugs!

Meet Troy and Puck!

I put this one in too, even though it went wrong I find it amusing

Gosh, that was long!

2011-03-01T23:12:00.000Z

Sneaky peak and stupid expressing lol God knows why my mouth looks so...upturned? lol

Well I've just spent my evening listing items on eBay. So time consuming, in the past I've only listed a couple of things at a time but this time I've gone all out and listed 22 items! All at the starting price of 99p or less. Woohoo.
My plan is if I can sell some stuff on eBay, it'll fund what I buy off of eBay s I won't eat away at my bank funds :D In theory this is brilliant, but we all know that this could not go to plan hehe.
Anyway, I have a more exciting post tomorrow highlighting the best part about today? Strange eh? hehe

Have a nice night everyone :) ♥

So...

2011-02-28T21:21:00.001Z

I passed my assessment :)
Here is my final piece. And the plate which created it!

The print

The plate

The plate is so much better looking than the piece above hehe. Even though there are a couple of splodges, I can always window mount it, it print it up again. But I like the colours in this print the most, even if I did manage to miss a couple of marks. I would mind but I wiped everything a million times each print and it was only the very last palest print that came out completely clean! hehe Anyway, overall a good enough day :)

Officially

2011-02-27T17:53:00.000Z

Well I can say I've failed this 365 challenge. That's 2 days I've missed now. But I guess they're not for terrible reasons, the first was around the funeral and yesterday was because I was working so hard to try and get this assessment work done - it's tomorrow, I'm freaking out here hehe.

Anyway I'll just share some snappies which I've taken on my phone of little bits from the project. Not too exciting but who knows, they may be? My life's been consumed by this project for the past 9+ weeks so I'm just done with the whole thing hehe.

I'll keep you wondering about them for now :)
Toodles ♥

I am so...

2011-02-25T23:59:00.003Z

Various sources

The Hippo out of fantasia. Actually loving this movie right now, can you tell? hehe

Dun dun DUN dun DUN dun

2011-02-24T19:26:00.000Z

Just wanted to share this today because I'm writing an essay and Fantasia has something to do with it. Enjoy.

2011-02-23T19:53:00.000Z

Really want summer just about now...

Solitude

2011-02-22T19:21:00.001Z

I find myself seeking comfort in solitude lately. Don't mind me.

Kind of craving pretty things
Spending too much instead of saving
Wanting more friends but not being able to find them
Thinking a lot - too much.
Feeling like every time I'm sorting out my possessions I'm putting my affairs in order. It's beginning to creep me out slightly.

Dwelling on things that never were

Longing for things that'll never be.

Oh well, life goes on I guess.

2011-02-21T23:50:00.000Z

Imagine

2011-02-20T17:35:00.000Z

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
- Mark Twain

Today

2011-02-19T09:00:00.001Z

Unknown source

I have no idea where the original is from but I found it while looking for something on google. hehe ♥

Fill in the blank Friday!

2011-02-18T10:50:00.002Z

Woo - love doing these :D Head over to the little things we do to join in the fun!

1. I am a friend, a lover, a daughter, an only child, a student, an artist, fat & everything I want to be.

2. The bravest thing I've ever done pull myself partly out of depression and ring my school to go back and finish my education.

3. I feel prettiest when I've just got out of the shower and everything naturally falls into place. Hair, make up, clothing. It all goes very well and I've hardly had to think about it.

4. Something that keeps me awake at night is everything. I'm a terrible worrier

5. My favorite meal in the entire world is I don't have one as I like everything and try to keep an open mind about food so I'll enjoy it

6. The way to my heart is seeing past my outside image and genuinely wanting to know me.

7. I would like to be able to learn everything there is to know and actually remember it. My memory is terrible and I curse it every day!

Life

2011-02-17T20:35:00.000Z

Unknown Source

Dost thou love life?
Then do not squander time,
for that is the stuff life is made of.
- Benjamin Franklin

Love letters

2011-02-16T21:54:00.000Z

I've had this in my bookmarks for ages, I think I stumbled upon it ages ago and saved it. Whatever, it's really interesting to read. They're love letters from this person who wanted to be able to write love letters to anyone, strangers, family and project that love onto them. The project was to write 300 but she ended up writing 400 as she felt 300 was unsatisfactory. There is the explanation on the site. Each colour has a meaning, there's a key on there as well. They're so interesting though, each click is like finding a new treasure to behold. They're brilliant, truly.
Go explore and love it. :)

Kindle

2011-02-15T21:49:00.001Z

Just have a very good video to show you today, it's rather strange and interesting considering different ways of creating something with paint. Enjoy.

Also on another note; Kindle - I want one!

Slacking, tired and meh today. Really not feeling it. Got my car scrapped though so that's a weight off my mind.
Guess that's it really, sorry.
♥

L - O - V - E

2011-02-14T12:03:00.000Z

Happy Valentines Day

everyone :)

♥

I made a homemade card this year with the word Love Blind embossed on some card and a splash of watercolour over the top. Unfortunately the emboss kind of went away once I water coloured it - Note to self :- watercolour before blind embossing.

Anyway, he liked it, I think, I hope hehe. I got a little panda card, it's cute :3

I realised the other day that we tell each other "I love you" at least once a day, even when we've been arguing or something isn't going right.

So I wish you all love for today, relax, don't get too hyped up on this commercial holiday and love each other and everyone every day no matter what.

♥

Songbird

2011-02-13T11:20:00.000Z

I can hear the song of spring this morning, this very grey morning. I've just heard from the scrapping guy about my car and that should be being lifted this coming week.
I'm extraordinarily busy as assessment is in a couple of weeks and I have one week left of proper lessons before half term. I wanted to try and fit in some real work so I could earn some more money this half term but that doesn't look like it'll happen. Such a shame.

Anyway, chin up, chug on - My UgChug mug is swiftly trekking it's way across the seas to me. Horay! And things are going a bit more smoothly. Today is sewing day!

Now where's that bird gone that was singing such a lovely song...

Twilight

2011-02-12T23:19:00.001Z

I subjected myself to those films today...I'm conflicted but it's still kind of like pulling teeth. The pace of the movies is so slow it's painful.
At least with the movies I don't have to subject myself to the terrible writing in the books. But - despite all of the shit about it - I do want to know what happens next now.
I guess it's like any story really. I like to know how it ends, even if it is rubbish. I once read a whole series of really rubbish books because of my thirst to know what happened next. It's terrible.

Anyway, that and work has been my day.
Woot.

KA KAA - UgChug Mugs!

2011-02-11T14:54:00.002Z

To be honest, I have to share these amazingly awesome mugs!

This is an amazing cup (which reminds me of my best friend Lol) I can't express how brilliant I find these cups. They're by the very talented people over at UgChug. I'd love to be able to buy the one above with the other coffee mug to give to my friend and her other half. They represent them so well.. Curse you lack of moneys.

I'd probably buy this one for myself. It's in a whole new form of epic with the tooth and the shocked expression - Gosh I just can't get enough of these mugs! Hehe. Perhaps I'll try saving up for one and then getting in contact to see if they'll ship one to me in the UK.

But really, go and have a look at their shop, it's a whole new awesome experience in the mug world and you're sure to love every quirky mug they have!

EDIT: So yeah, turns out I'm buying Troy xD Woohoo ♥

Staring

2011-02-10T18:01:00.000Z

I'm really bogged down at the moment. I'm not sure what my mind and mood is telling me. All I know is that I'm gaining something through quotes....maybe

Close up of a piece I did for an art exam

"Figuring out our gifts in life is part of our journey to becoming enlightened human beings."

- Alison Dubois

Inspiration

2011-02-09T19:23:00.000Z

"Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true."

- Leon J. Suenes

Sharing

2011-02-08T12:12:00.001Z

Thought I'd just share a couple of little things today. One being the confirmation word from a comment I posted a long while ago but I never got round to posting it here and the other being I've gotten 1000 hits :) 500 of those being in the last two months so yay, that's interesting to know :D

I erased the comment to draw the attention to the confirmation word - isn't that lovely? Hehe

I've been sorting out old files on my computer and came across this one from 2005...

I'm the left baby and my best friend is the right hehe

Things like these make me smile and all happy inside and bring me back to the memory that I've tucked away at the back of my memory filing cabinet. See, I imagine my memory bank as a big Victorian looking library filing place and each section has subheadings. It's great really hehe.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day, have a little think back to good memories that you thought were in the files, tucked behind the current happenings.
♥

PS. Good god, I'm obsessed with the song "Do it like a dude" by Jessie J Lol....

Growing is Forever

2011-02-07T12:37:00.003Z

About a month back a came across this short video and I've had it in my bookmarks since then. I can't remember where I first saw this but I have an inkling it was on Yes & Yes.
I shan't say any more but just let you watch it - it's lovely on so many levels.

Growing is Forever from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.
Watch it full screen and in HD for a better experience - enjoy ♥

Art and a mini project by a follow blogger

2011-02-06T13:37:00.002Z

Click the image to go there

Hey all. I came across this new ( it may not be new but it's new to me hehe) feature on Google where it seems to do these interactive walks through art museums. I, for one thought this was a fantastic way to see art all over the world, without the costs specially if anyone is like me and can't afford to go into the big cities for the big museums and shows.

Art project
Powered by Google

Currently I'm "walking"around a gallery in Berlin. I find this idea so fantastic. Google really are useful in so many ways, I wonder what they will think of next.

Anyway, I'd like to highlight a little project on the blog Eating a Tangerine which I urge everyone to go and take a look at. Also, stick around and have a read of the rest of Holly's stuff. She's very enlightening and will often bring a smile to your face with the intelligent thoughts and beautiful imagery of her Week in Photo's feature.

Eating a Tangerine: A little project, just for fun and to see what happens

So go and have a look and take part. You may get something through the post, whats the harm in trying eh? ♥

Spoons to rings?

2011-02-05T14:07:00.001Z

From these....

I came across this amazing idea recently and it really inspired me. What do you do with a bunch of old cutlery that you no longer use, or someone gave you many moons ago? Why, make them into jewellery of course :D
That's exactly what they did over at Milomade! The idea is fantastic and helps to recycle those things that may not have a use any more. But the outcome is what is truly amazing.

...To this!

Isn't it beautiful? I think the one above is my favourite. Go and check out the original post and marvel at how lovely those rings are. If only I could afford them I'd buy so many! The process in which they are made is brilliant too. You can purchase these rings at the Milomade Shop too, so go and find one for someone you like (or yourself of course ;])
Who'd have thought someone would think up such a great idea for old spoons? ☺

Have a great Saturday!

Love & Kindness

2011-02-04T12:51:00.001Z

When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of love and kindness.

- 14th Dalai Lama

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

2011-02-03T11:50:00.000Z

It's Chinese new year ☺!

How do you feel about this holiday. Do you celebrate it, appreciate it, not even know about it? (Although you'd have to be living under a rock to not even have an inkling to this event) I like to think of this as a second beginning and a chance to smile, think about the things I'm lucky to have and remember that there are those out there that aren't so lucky. It will be the Year of the Rabbit we are going into.

Rabbit

On this note, do you know what year you were born into? I was born into the Year of the Horse. Click on the Rabbit or Horse link to find out which year you were born into and a little info about each animal. I love the story of how the animals were chosen, although there are many variations I think it is a good little read. Here's just one I found (Scroll down a bit) but have a look around for the other ones too as they're all slightly different but the concept is the same.

Anyway, have a wonderful day and take a peek into this wonderful tradition.

Kung Hei Fat Choy

恭喜发财

Creative small ways to involve nature in your life

2011-02-02T11:22:00.002Z

Mini Terrarium Necklace pendants by Hollyrocks

So while clicking through various blogs to find interesting new things I came across these mini Terrarium. These are basically small plants that are put into pretty containers and they basically look after themselves once you put the lid on. They create their own weather system so they constantly have enough water (somehow...the concept amazes me to be honest) and they look brilliant and often like small landscapes. You can learn how you make one here. I did blog post about this before a looong time ago at my amazement but the feeling has not died, I still think they're truly fantastic and the fact that someone had made them into a piece of jewellery is awesome! Hollyrocks appears to also have an Etsy shop where you can buy her creative jewellery, so head on over to have a longer look at her fab stuff.

This second thing goes along the lines of Guerrilla Gardening in a sense that they could be used for it. Well I'd assume so considering it's concept, but I like it for the fact that if I made these up it'd make gardening a bit faster or more of a lucky dip if I just threw them around soil patches.

Seed Bombs! By {Every}nothing Wonderful

Isn't this a great idea? Well for all of us gardening junkies it is hehe. I love the simplicity of it and how it could bring such life and beautiful flowers.{Every}nothing Wonderful shows us how to makes these little bombs of delight in a step by step guide with lots of pictures (just what I like to see :D) Just imaging how much nature and pretties you could spread with some of these babies? It could be wonderful.

Anyway I hope you're getting involved a little with nature as spring comes along, even if it's just to admire the flowers popping up through the soil finally. I can't wait to see the first snowdrops of the year.
Are you going to try to plant anything new this year? ♥

Softly Does it

2011-02-01T09:00:00.001Z

'Queen' - Archen089 2010

I'd like to share some art I've stumbled across recently which I'm rather impressed and awed by. It is the work of Archen089 on DeviantArt. DeviantArt (or DA) is an art community where artists can upload their works for others to view and give critique, comment, favourite, etc. I'll have been a member for 6 years this coming June, but I was more active in the old days. I wish I browsed it as much as I used to in the old days as I forget that there are these gems in the millions of submissions just waiting to be discovered and swooned over.

'Christmas Spirit'

Anyway, I thought I would share some of her work as I find the pieces captivating and the amount of skill of her watercolour painting is beautiful. Watercolour paintings are among some of my favourite mediums to use and I admire anyone that has developed a skill of laying up the colours in the right way to make such a soft yet striking image.

'The White Rose'

So I leave you with a link and urge you to go and browse through her gallery and admire. There are some soft, wonderful pieces of work which are just waiting for the eyes to linger on them.

'The Swan Maiden'

Enjoy ♥

Sustainability

2011-01-31T16:21:00.001Z

Well there's just 3 weeks to go until I have to have my work in for this Sustainability project. Stress, stress, stress. But, I'm confident that it will go well and I'll have something by the end of it.
On relating to the subject of recycling and sustainability I thought I'd share a couple of clever little ways to help with certain things.

Firstly there is this little origami, newspaper seed box from Sculpted Light.

Fantastic!

I Think this idea is wonderful. I'd found a small tutorial about rolling paper up and putting it in an egg box but this is even better, it leaves out the egg box and think about how many seedlings you could have growing with the amount of news papers we purchase or receive free throughout the week. Also, it would save a fortune on buying the little pots for seeds to germinate in.

Going along the origami route in a sense again there's something I've come across recently called Furoshiki folding.

The Japanese really do amaze me in the way they think of a brilliant idea BUT also make it look pretty at the same time. It saves having to use that extra plastic bag from the supermarket and comes in handy if you ever have too many things to carry. And it's much nicer carrying around a decorative piece of fabric on you than a horrible branded supermarket reusable bag, not to mention looking a site more appealing.

These were just a couple of things that I came across but I'm sure there's many more clever and good looking ideas for recycling and using less. If you know of any more really interesting ones, please, tell me, I'd love to know!

How do you help to waste less? ☺

Have a little heart

2011-01-30T14:15:00.001Z

In order to know my deepest secrets, you must break my heart...

So I was browsing Etsy yesterday and came across this truly strange and fantastic thing. It was a ceramic heart 'Corezone' to keep your thoughts and secrets in and in order to return to those and read back what was there you had to literally break your heart to do so. The concept is brilliant and I haven't come across something like this in such a long time. If only I had enough money I would buy one, although I wouldn't want to break it open as the craftsmanship is fantastic.

Intrigued, I then searched for some more heart themed things on etsy to see what came up. Well sifting through all the normal heart stuff was both nice and quite tiresome. Was there anyone else that made or sold real heart themed things in such an interesting manner? Well sort of. Towards the limit of my patience of ♥ shapes I found pins and necklaces with a real heart on made out of metal with the inscription "You are here" very poignantly punched into the metal.

Lovely, I knew the wonders of Etsy before but never thought there could be such interesting items on there, labeling it down to crafty people selling craft things of felt and buttons, hammered metals and knitted items (don't get me wrong, I like those things a lot but I like difference too) I really should start browsing the site more, even if I can't afford it hehe.
Anyway, have a nice Sunday, and relax your day away ☺

Lovely

2011-01-29T13:57:00.000Z

Hey~

Click to go there

I'd like to draw your attention to a photograph blog that I came across recently. I'm surprised it hasn't got more followers yet as the photos are few but lovely, there's this little extra something to them that leaves me staring for a while admiring the lighting and the angles. Seriously, go check it out and admire her photography skills.

Happies today! It's valentines soon! I know it's just a commercial holiday but I still like the red and the hearts and flowers at this time of year. I'm hoping I can print up some small cards in college to give to people with a chocolate heart. Ehehe. ♥

Colour! ♥

Pow! Colour!! Love it

COLOUR!!! I think you got the point that I like the colours lol

Anyway yes, I'm all excited, and I don't know why. Hehe.

Have a happy Saturday ☺

Fill in the blank Friday!

2011-01-28T11:45:00.000Z

When I get a chance to, I like to participate in the little things we do "Fill in the blank Friday". It's great. Go over and check that out and join in the blanky fun too! :D

1. If my house was on fire and I could only grab 3 things I would grab I really can't chose! Err...My cats, my memory box and my very old bed throw. That throw means a hella lot to me.

2. A smell I really like is the first spring/summer smell in the air and the first frost smell. They really are magic and a real indicator of the seasons.

3. Something you might not know about me is I have depression.

4. Some of my favorite websites to putter about on are Icanhascheezburger, Blogspot blogs - just surfing through blogs for ages, eBay - not that I'll buy anything but I'll look for interesting things for crafts and items for hours heh.

5. This weekend I will be probably not much. College work, trying to figure out some way of hanging pictures, stuff like that really hehe.

6. Nothing makes me happier than Having a really productive day where I've wanted to get up early and everything has gone really well and I've achieved a lot for that day.

7. A bad habit I have is not keeping up good habits like moisturising my face or drinking enough throughout the day or eating properly. It's not really a habit but the habit is not doing things that I should be doing and that I want to do. Does that count? hehe.

Give-aways

2011-01-27T19:23:00.001Z

I've noticed a fair few give aways recently but one that seems intriguing is the Broach/ring giveaway over at MISS-MAKE-A-MESS who I started following the past few weeks for the charm and art-y-ness. Check it out and go visit to find out more and look through this lovely blog!

Have a little...

2011-01-27T00:47:00.002Z

Coping

2011-01-26T22:09:00.001Z

Just Breathe...

You'll never live this moment again

- Unknown Source

Woe

2011-01-25T16:42:00.000Z

Well I'm slightly ashamed and disappointed, but I guess it couldn't be helped. I couldn't get a blog post out yesterday and I felt so bad about it once I realised. I feel like I've failed my challenge 10-fold.
Sigh, but never mind, yesterday was the funeral, it was a nice service for what it was.
The flowers were wonderful and the place was appropriate.

On a brighter note, I really want a food processor as I've found out the wonders of baking with one. It makes life so much easier, and with less things to clean! And the rate at which I can pump out cakes with it...well, it's amazing hehe.

Amazing Cake

I did want to get a picture before it was eaten, but yeah hehe, it was too scummy. It's not even the hardest recipe in the world.

Cake:
8oz of Butter
8oz of Caster Sugar
8oz of Flour
4 medium Eggs
2 tsp of any flavouring you like (I like to use vanilla extract liquid)

And yeah, that's it. I use that for a base of most cakes or cupcakes I make, just a generic cake mix, which just happens to be very yummy too. It's hard to go wrong really.

So happy Tuesday and enjoy the rest of the day ♥

Cooking for love

2011-01-23T15:51:00.000Z

Today I've offered to do the cooking as it's the day before the funeral. I'm cooking something warming, loving and filling so there is no need to worry about anything else today than the situation at hand.
I'm making a big pot of Beef & Barley stew/soup. I last made it on Christmas eve and it's so lovely and yum, I just hope they all like it as much as we did.
At the moment I'm only using my phones camera so apologies for the bad picture but this is how much I'm making, and the nom inside the pot

Beef & Barley

So, this is my Sunday. I'm hoping you're having a thoughtful day and that the new week brings you good things!

Giant Cupcake!

2011-01-22T22:12:00.000Z

Well, today has been filled with tv movies, and CAKE MAKING! :D
can you tell I was delighted by this fact.

This particular cake making was a giant cupcake!

I shall get this post done properly soon as I can't get to a computer at the moment. I shall also have an amazing photo for you too.

Have a lovely evening :)

One of those...

2011-01-21T22:29:00.000Z

It's been one of those weird days that starts strangely, has a kinda of crappy middle and then ends really nice.
I've spent the day freezing, then playing on the Wii, starting with wii sports, finding out my wii fit age is 39 (lol) and then 62 (LOL) and ending it playing brawl and winning epically.

I am pleased, it was nice. Hopefully baking a huge muffin tomorrow, photos will be provided.

Have a nice night ♥

Happies

2011-01-20T19:36:00.000Z

A few things making me Happy:

'The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart.'- Helen Keller

OM NOM I love this stuff!

Sunny days in Winter

+ A full tank of petrol in my car
+ Digestive Biscuits
+Tea!!

What's making you Happy? ☺

2011-01-19T21:10:00.002Z

Source Unknown

Where does the time go?

2011-01-18T15:39:00.000Z

I'm gaining great inspiration from the guest post over at Yes and Yes.
Keeping up the blogging is the key for me, even if it's just posting something that makes me smile if I' stuck for words helps me recover. Maybe it does for others too?

I really need to go buy some black clothing for a funeral. I found that I really don't wear black smartly or formally, if at all really. Most of my clothing is blue or pale colours and some vibrant but no key pieces which are black. Would you say this is a good or bad thing.
At the moment I'm finding it a frustrating thing as I haven't got the money to buy something new just for one day so I'm trying to be wise and buy something that I can wear over and over for everyday wear as well. It's proving tricky. But I've narrowed it down to a couple of things.

From Next

Now I like this but does it seem a bit too showy? I would wear it with black trousers and a black coat/lose cardigan.


From Next

Or perhaps the second one which looks a bit more formal but it might be too clingy.Although I could wear this with tights/leggings and heels with a black coat. I really don't know but both are at the limit of my budget, if not over it.

From New look

This seems a lot more workable and a bit cheaper. But is it a bit boring? And I'm not sure which size to get. This too I'd wear with trousers because I think it's length is shorter than it looks.

Sometimes I wish I was a bloke so I could wear a suit. Still. I wish I didn't have to think about these sorts of things. It's not something I should be thinking about right now. But in blogging it it's helped me to decide a bit more. I shall have to take the plunge and probably get either the top or the bottom one as they seem more appropriate.

Anyway, check out that guest post on Yes and Yes, it's great if you're in a rut. Have fun today and take care.
♥

Lovely

2011-01-17T18:29:00.003Z

☺

Ghrr, Arrgh

2011-01-16T12:40:00.000Z

Omg isn't is cute?! Click for the story

So, I'm not pleased. I drove round to the car boot sale site to find a sign saying:

Car boot sale cancelled due to poor planning

I mean really? What a waste of time. I'm only so annoyed because I really do love the car boot sales and was hoping to get some interesting things. Disappointment :(

Anyway, my plans for today are to try and sort out some boxes now that the house is just about finished. I need to find all of my books and my sewing machine. I don't think I can last much longer without it after this coming week so it's getting desperate now. Also, I know I have a decent little notebook somewhere that I can use, I just need to find it.
I miss my books.

Have a nice Sunday! ☺
♥

Whoopsie

2011-01-15T19:08:00.000Z

Well I've been so busy for the past couple of days that I've fallen behind a bit but never mind hehe.

Though, today has been a day of thinking, contemplating things that could drastically change my life because of a silly mistake, stuff like that.
And also things that act as an advantage to life, planning a career path, how to support myself and possible more than myself in the future. Who knows.
We've been busy trying to do the food shopping on a budget today too, we're not as well off as we used to be and tightening the belt is difficult when there are people in this household that can't seem to understand the meaning of "No, you can't have that" and addictive personalities.
-Le sigh- But never ind, another day rolls by.

There's a car boot sale on tomorrow and I really want to go and see what it's like. I'm an avid car boot sale person and love every aspect of them, they seem so British and country-side-y.
Also, I've noticed I'm not making as many spelling mistake in my blog now that I'm writing more frequently. When I press the spell check, only a few words where my keys aren't working properly (Like my G key for example) come up as wrong. This pleases me so much as I've always thought I've had terrible spelling.

Also, I have the list of 100 book in a link at the top of the page if anyone is interested how I'm getting on with it. I'm currently reading "The Hobbit". It's shameful that I haven't read it yet, but it seems lovely so far. I heard a rumor that they're going to make it into a film too, whether this is true or not is another thing but it'd be lovely if they do.

Anyway, hoping for tomorrow, I'm going to have to prepare next weekends blog posts as I won't be around.
I'll see what inspires me in the next week to come.
Toodles ♥

Never

2011-01-14T13:36:00.003Z

Various Sources

100dth Post!

2011-01-13T10:00:00.013Z

Yes! Finally my 100dth post! It is monumental. Well, not really but woohoo hehe.

Anyway, I thought I'd share the things that are making me happy at the moment.

My Profile view

The Rain

Print work

My silly wet cats coming in

and washing their feet in the bath

Painting my nails

My Frog broach from my boyfriend

Making people smile with silly jokes

Listening to the radio

Sunrises

What are you enjoying at the moment? ☺

♥

Thankful

2011-01-12T10:00:00.002Z

I thought I'd take the time to write about what I'm thankful for recently and not so recently.

I'm Thankful that I have a roof over my head, even though what goes on under this roof may stress and depress me at times I'm still greatful for it.

I'm Thankful that I get to eat and drink to the point where I'm fulfilled and happy. There are places in the world where that is a luxury even though it's a basic human right.

I'm thankful that I have people who love me, even when I'm an arsehole.

I'm thankful that I have people to love in return and to show my affections to.

Lastly I'm thankful for everything advantageous in my life; My college placement, my job, everything. It all helps to make my life what it is and keep it ticking.

What are you thankful for?
♥

Touching

2011-01-11T10:09:00.005Z

While doing a browse on facebook I noticed someone had linked to a rather interesting site. At the time I thought, 'Should I bother?' But I'm glad I did. What I came across was imagery of many women, some holding scars, others smiles, some not. They seemed raw and true. What I came across was a project held in a Romanian Women's prison in which the cell mates were given a camera for a period of time and they were told to take pictures with two rules: They were not allowed to use the flash, and they were not allowed to use the zoom. There is more information surrounding the project on the site, if you scroll down there is a section about it in English.

Once I got onto the site I clicked through every image there was, I was curious, very much so and managed to look through all of them without noticing till I jumped back to the beginning quite suddenly. I thought they were wonderful and very touching and more to the point, truthful. It is not often we see imagery which looks like they're going about day to day things but they're imprisoned, the only clue to this is an image of two of barbed wire and bunk beds. Why were they there? What had they done? Just two of the questions that ran through my head.

So this is what I'm thinking about today, I'm glad I'm free, I get to live my life how I chose. And yet, there is a small part of me that can't help but wonder what it is like to live in that small community of women all sharing one common trait: Prison.

Motivation

2011-01-10T18:47:00.000Z

Angry bread is angry

So we've finally got the extension just about finished, the carpet (which is totally the wrong colour but we can't afford to change it now) is down, some furniture is in there, all we have to do is start cleaning up everywhere properly and fixing and finishing other little bits like skirting and floor tiling in the kitchen/utility room.
We've come a long way since June and it's pretty impressive with what you can do to a house in that amount of time.
I'm finding this 365 blogging hard already, aren't I a fail? :( Most days I forget to write down what I mean to say on my blog, because I usually get an idea during times when I can't write about them. I'm going to have to start using a notebook or something. I thought that blogging every day would be a good thing and help me get more motivated, but when my time slowly caters for my college work and such, I tend to not think about the other things in life (other than going to work as that is a must hehe).
So, how can I battle this? How do I get home and begin to write about great, inspirational things like I so want to? I have no direction with this blog yet and it's partially frustrating but I just haven't the time to think about a direction with college themes to trying and think about and with an Art & Design course, it's 24/7. The work doesn't end after a quick homework task.

So yes, whine whine, whinge whinge, I'm sorry hehe. It's actually helped a little to write about this, it made me realise I should have a notebook specially and only for blog stuff and that I should probably make time for this blog, more so than I am at the moment if I want to succeed at this 365 challenge thingy.

How do you tackle blogging? ♥

Sex in the City

2011-01-09T19:44:00.000Z

So, I've just finished a big sex and the city marathon. I've watched series 1 - 6 and the first movie, but I don't own the second movie, booo :( Although from all accounts the second movies is disappointing)

When I've spoken about it over the last couple of weeks people have said "that is such an un-Holly like thing to say/do" but why? Why should something be unlike a person just because they don't share it with the world? I appreciate the clothing and the talking and the funny moments in the series, it gets me more in touch with my girly side, as sad as that may seem. Lets say it's a guilty pleasure.

Anyway, I thought I'd post a poem, as I think it is sweet. It doesn't really have anything to do with my mood or such but I just like to enjoy something just because.

When I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I'm as clever as clever.
So I think I'll be six
now and forever.

-A.A. Milne
♥

Blogs

2011-01-08T22:03:00.001Z

I realised today that I hardly read many blogs, and though I try to read more, I just can't seem to find many more that inspire me daily.

Where do I find blogs to read?
Really? Hehe

Anyway, here's a couple of things and images that are inspiring me lately:

Seems to be a neat tutorial on this site too

Frost and snow

Arm Warmers

Sex and the city boxset ♥
British winters
My charming city of St. Albans

Have a lovely weekend ☺

Fill in the the blanks!

2011-01-07T11:49:00.004Z

Inspired by the lovely Lauren over at the little things we do. Give it a go too!

1. Winter is Full of sparkling frost and heart warming meals. Crunchy grass and birthday, Christmas, new years! Wear cute big scarves and wrapping up warm.

2. Summer is Sticky, sun tans, flowers, and coca cola! That smell which is so lovely on a beautiful cloudless morning.

3. If it were summer instead of winter right now I'd be finding out when the next car boot sale is and trying to find new interesting things to buy for hardly a £1. Having barbeque's and spending time with neighbours.

4. My favorite thing to do in winter is Cook a nice hearty meal and feed everyone and Wrapping up from head to toe in warm fuzzy things that look cute.

5. My favorite thing to do in summer is watch hopefully as my plants try and grow and attend car boot sales.

6. The ideal outfit for a sunny summer day is pulled up leggings, strappy top with a billowy lose thing on top of that and some sandals. So comfy.

7. The ideal outfit for a frigid winter day is Jegging's, big woolly socks, my sand boots, long hugging dress top under a nice big jumper.

♥

One of those...

2011-01-06T16:54:00.000Z

Catnip Plant

It's been one of those days where the early darkness is getting me down and I just can't be bothered with the responsibilities of life.
Anyone else getting tired of winter and the dark?
At least it's gradually getting lighter now rather than getting darker, we've got spring to look forward to, growing plants, and fresh mornings.
Also, I bought some catnip seeds. I plan on growing a couple of plants for our kitties. If we put them in some pots we can dot them around the garden and have one in the house for when they want a silly moment. I hope they grow, and by all accounts the plant is part of the mint family, so I'm definitely not planting them in the ground around the garden like I first planned. Apparently they grow like weeds in some countries, and I'm not surprised considering mint.
So yes, I'm going to try growing them once I've researched the right time to grow and I'll probably update on all of that at some stage hehe. -vague Holly is vague-
Toodles ;D
♥

Mmm print

2011-01-05T19:28:00.002Z


Mono printing with black ink and white spirit to try and create bubbles

(Click the images for a closer look and more detail)

I now dub Wednesdays my favourite day of college. Going from hate to love of print and having tutorial in the morning and print for the rest of the day. It's rather nice a relaxing, and at the moment I'm going along my oil spill route and experimenting with mono printing and marbling. Yup, marbling. It's truly amazing to do and it's such fun. Also, it feels so retro hehe.

Marbling with yellow and black for petrol-y type look

Some of my favourites, the flash really does them no Justice.

But with the black and the yellow, I really feel like it's getting to the point where I'm happy with what I'm portraying for this oil spill thing, it's a technique that really is perfect for the swirls and dirtiness of oil on water. I tried some different colours because it was so fun and yeah, those are the outcomes. I really recommend doing this as it's such fun and creates pieces with a certain oddity. I would have taken better pictures but I'm in a bit of a rush as I need to do some homework and make some dinner.

Experimenting with different colours

So yes! Toodle pip!
♥

Ehehehe

2011-01-04T21:53:00.000Z

Every now and then I come across 'The daily What' with it's wonderfully strange things that are sure to create a "lol" or "lol wtf?!" But I've come across this one today and it's uncanny.

Enjoy ;D

♥

Blowing Smoke

2011-01-03T19:16:00.001Z

So, I've been trying to get some college work done one day before I go back, this is not a good plan, I felt like I had all the time in the world last week but when it comes down to it I had hardly any at all.
It's only research work and I've done plenty of looking up people and I think I've chosen what I need to do for this unit but hm, the subject isn't the most inspiring in the world...

Recycling - Your future in your hands

Help. I'm trying to twist this into something enjoyable but I'm having a few clicks along the way. Never mind, hopefully once I get into it more I'll start to let the experimentation grow into something fantastic (And hopefully sell-able at the end of unit show)

So, into this theme I've gone down the route of Oil spills, cutting down forests, carbon footprint, water conservation and nature preserves/extinction. I'm trying to keep this as openly accessible to natural stuff as possible because I like those sorts of things, and I should be creating pieces that I like and enjoy doing right otherwise there's no heart in it. Or is this wrong?

Never mind, I'm sure I will be able to develop print more than textiles but I hope to develop them into something that clashes but in harmony, perhaps in colour or texture, etc. And all of this has to portray our rapidly changing world. Joy

Ah well, the books that are inspiring me so far, (and I recommend looking through for some really awesome work) are:


Beautiful prints

Inspirational footprint prints

Truly fantastic prints in here

There was this other book, but I can't remember it now, I'll upload a link back an image when I'm back at college and can find the book again, it's got a lot of interesting textiles in it.

But yes, that's how my life is going right now, work tomorrow, yay.....

What do you Resolve to do?

2011-01-02T13:28:00.001Z

icanhascheezburger.com

Resolutions...

I really don't like the word. Why do we need to wait for a new year to start doing something?
Putting that aside we are into a special year, it is the start of a new decade, we have successfully lived through 10 years of the 2000's! Isn't that a lovely thought? Although we're all apparently going to "die", "Have an Apocalypse", "See new beginnings", "experiences a change of calender" (That last one is the most likely) In 2012 on December 21st. I look forward to it. It's such a shame that everyone hypes up these sorts of things because it could have been embraced as a turn of a calender or something better and exciting other than "We're all going to die! Oh my, Oh my, Oh my!!!" -Sigh-

Anyway! Heh, enough on that weird note, What do I resolve to do then?

1. Typically - Lose weight.
Ok, So I know everyone puts this, but I really do need to lose the weight I gained while we moved house, I may be happy with my body but this extra weight is really making me feel odd as it's come on so fast :S

2. Give more
Sad to say, I'm one of those people that doesn't really give the time of day to those poor people who are just trying to get their message heard for a charity or earn a few pounds doing surveys or selling the 'Big Issue'. I tend to be very cynical about it and really, lessening that cynicism would be a big bonus for a more positive year.

3. Show more gratitude!
Sending more thank you notes to people after I receive gifts, hugging people, thanking them for doing a good job. I am polite and say please and thank you for normal things but I don't say hank you properly when it really matters as I tend to get caught in the moment.

4. Smile more
Apparently I'm grumpy a lot. I try stop this now, k? :P

5. Clean through my PC properly
As in, go through every file I have and delete all the unnecessary naff that's in there. File photo's, get some printed off and framed, sort out word documents. Just general backing up and cleaning out.

6. Develop more Art
For my blog, for the art communities that I neglect, for everywhere!

7. Drink more water!
And be more healthy in general. This is a pretty hard one as no one else in my family will even bother trying to be healthy but I shall try extra hard this year to get myself and everyone else eating better food.

That's all that really sticks out for me. What are your new years resolutions?

♥

Bring on 2011

2011-01-01T18:38:00.000Z


London fireworks 2011 (Click for article)

Happy New Year Everyone!

So, true to form, we watched Jule's at midnight, but the programming was a tad behind, someone must have been fired last night hehe. Despite that, the fireworks in London were a real treat and they seem to have outdone themselves this year. It was fabulous watching them on a big TV with the music up loud and singing along to Auld Lang Syne with the girls.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable New Years and one to remember and let 2011 be better for everyone.

Good luck,

Be Merry,

And make the most of 2011!

Appreciative

2010-12-29T17:27:00.001Z

One thing I lack (which is really rather bad :s) is appreciation. I take a lot for granted until it's gone and don't stop to say thank you often enough. I'm not sure why but it seems to slip my mind as I know I definitely think "Omg thank you, this is so thoughtful" But I have to actually make an effort to get those words out.

But why?

I think this coming year and from now on I shall conciously resolve to say 'Thank you' more for the things I really aught to, and not just think it but show it, say and express it more openly. Maybe it's just I'm not very good at showing gratitude? I mean, my parents never show gratitude for anything so perhaps this has spread onto me; it's such a shame.

What are you thankful for?

♥

No other time

2010-12-29T01:22:00.002Z

There is no other time when one gets most creative with outfits than when you have a massive pile of washing to do. We try and make items of clothing work which we wouldn't usually put together in our "favourites" piles of clothes that we usually fancy wearing at that stage of time.
This truly fascinates me how I can manage to come up with some strange but kind of quirky outfits when I have (apparently) no clothes to wear. I have a fairly limited wardrobe as it is, being quite large and not being able to afford the clothing in the shops that actually make decent clothing for me (decent being that it won't fall apart after 2 washes and plus size)
Ah well. I just thought I'd share this. eBay is a fabulous place for clothing if you're a different sized body shape than the "norm". Thrifting can be interesting, it's rare to find anything but when you do it's a real gem of a plus size piece! Sales are fantastic for people who will pick up that garment that no one else like because it's not following the current fashion stream.
So yes, just to end, here are a pair of cherubs my boyfriend got me for Christmas; I love them :)

♥

So it turns out...

2010-12-28T15:26:00.004Z

Well, I get one of my things on my list crossed off a lot sooner than I thought possible.

11) Save and buy a Ford KA!

Dad was just walking away from the car lol

I mean OMG. It just by chance that a guy crashed into my parked car during the icy/snowy weather and by chance I got some money because of it and by chance I managed to save up enough from birthday and Christmas money to buy a Ford KA! :D
I'm so pleased, this was one of the points on the list that I didn't think I'd even cross off before my 21st birthday but looks like it's dubbed and honored as the first and what a wonderful first one it is!

Now time for the long phone calls about insurance and tax.

Yay!
♥

Interest

2010-12-20T13:00:00.002Z

Most have link backs embedded in the images but some I don't know where the source is, so if anyone knows where the image is from please leave a comment :)
Enjoy.

Nice

2010-12-18T16:01:00.003Z

Source unknown

♥

Snow

2010-12-18T12:43:00.007Z

Neighbours back garden

So, the part of England I live in has finally been hit with the bad snow. It's softly blizzarding outside at the moment. I wish I could say "woohoo" but it's terribly inconvenient. And to add to that some stupid boy crashed into my parked car yesterday, so I'm not sure how that pans out. I may not have a car and we were supposed to be driving to my other halves family this Monday.

So as I write this the snow has gotten worse and is now really blizzarding. Please snow, go away for next week, I need to get things done :( Come back on Christmas eve. -nod-
At least I've gotten all my Christmas shopping done :)

Update: The snow has built up on my windows hehe.

Update: Biiiig flakes. lol

Cake

2010-12-16T21:51:00.004Z

I want cake

I shall get cake

...

I now have cake

Plus Tea & Vicar of Dibley box set.

What more could one ask for? :3

♥

21 things before I'm 21

2010-12-16T00:48:00.018Z


O mai

So, I've hopped on and finally thought of 21 things, they may not be as exciting as some of them but I'm really excited about it and actually following through with it.
I first saw this on the Blog, Yes and Yes and thought it was a really neat idea at the time. Now that I've turned 20 I feel I should actively do things that I haven't really been doing so much of before and trying to involve myself and the people around.

So here it is:

1) Drive to the Beach

2) Go for a Fish Pedicure

3) Raise at least £100 for a good cause

4) Make a 3D effect photo image

5) Grow some vegetables and make a meal with them

6) Lose the weight I've gained in the last 6 months

7) Hold a car boot sale stall

8) Get a professional massage

9) Make some paper

10) Visit my best friend in Sweden

11) ~~Save and buy a Ford KA car~~

12) Go on a random road trip

13) Learn how to make a curry base so I don't have to use a recipe every time

14) Go to the cinema on my own

15) Grow my Hair long and dye it lighter

16) Give Blood

17) ~~Sell some things on eBay like a real seller~~

18) Make a trade by post package of cute, creative and fun things with someone

19) Read as many of the books as possible on the BBC's 100 list

20) Spend an day/night under the clouds/stars - Or both

21) Save up £2100 (Hehe get it? 21 - I'm so witty)

EDIT: So, I've re-thought my list as some of them seemed quite similar. Bring on the funz :P

PS: I tend to change random points for less selfish ones when I think of them. 'kay.

Wish me luck! And tell me if any of you are trying this too? :)
♥

First off...

2010-12-14T12:04:00.004Z

My bunch of flowers from my boyfriend for my birthday :)

So the Birthday was nice, I came home from work to a lovely "Sagittarius" bunch of flowers. They smell lovely.
And really go well with the colour of my room xD I was impressed the boyfriend managed to get that.

So yes, I've been wanting to try this for a while now, but limitations, limitations. I know that's a poor excuse :P
Anyway.
It's the "X number before I'm X age" challenge.
I'm going to see if I can think of 21 things to try before I'm 21. Forgive me if they aren't so adventurous or anything, it's my first time! Hehe.
I shall think of them today and more than likely post them in the new post. :D

♥

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

2010-12-13T00:26:00.006Z

I'm 20 today, no longer a teenager, hehe. Good ol' 12 days before christmas, it's a time when deck the halls really comes into play!
Anyway... ;)

At the moment I'm loving:

+ Stars +

+ Fishtail braids +

Source Unknown

+ Tribal and interesting earrings +

And just stuff like that really :P
Have fun everyone :)
x

1940's

2010-11-28T20:29:00.004Z

I like old fashion hairstyles...
They are so much more interesting than the hair styles of today, the majority of people either want poker straight hair if they have curly hair or weird curls/"waves" that usually drop out because they lack the curly gene (har har fail for them).

My only regret is that I don't experiment with my hair as such as I used to, as some people have truly fantastic styles and all the time and money they put into it is certainly worth it. PLEASE, give me the will to do something interesting again! :P

Either way, curly hair trumps straight all the way because it's so much more diverse.
And back in the 1940's you could look like this ♥♥ I'm sporting this style at the moment with a passion.

Well a little bit like it but mmm I like those styles ♥

Me :P

Ah well ;D

Beaker

2010-11-23T16:47:00.006Z

I love him! ♥

Guy Fawkes!

2010-11-06T19:27:00.004Z

(Click image for source)

I love this time of year. Fireworks, hot drinks and food, displays, bonfires, Fireworks! Love it. It's so magical and the history is amazing. The colours are inspiring and it really brings people together for some fun around this time of year.
Where the Americans have Halloween, we have Guy Fawkes night and it truly is a magical holiday.

On another note;

HARRY POTTER IS COMING OUT ON THE 19TH!!! Lolololololol!!!

Oh my gosh, I really shouldn't get so excited but mwehehehehe, this has spanned half of my lifetime. It's a pretty big deal. Mwuahahaha. Ah well. I hope everyone else is as excited! x3

Toodles.

Mixture

2010-11-02T22:24:00.002Z

(Click image for source)

So I guess it's a mixture of college work and life in general that's really getting me down. I don't know if college will understand this and how flexible my time frames are. -Sigh-

Don't know what to do :(