Mollie Makes & Huffington Post Feature Vivid Please!

Hooray!
Today our beautiful Envelope Clutch Tutorial was featured on the Mollie Makes website! Needless to say we are over the moon :) We created this project a while back and it's so lovely to see it get attention from our favourite crafty magazine :D Doesn't it look great?!

A massive thank you to team Mollie Makes for having us, it's been wicked!

Most importantly, we hope you all enjoy it :)

We're also extremely excited to share that our Berry Infused Vodka recipe is also featured in The Huffington Post today! We can't believe what a week it has been, and we are so delighted to be able to share all of these special achievements with you :) 

Thanks to the lovely Kitchen Daily team at The Huffington Post for having us round for drinks too! 

Check out how to make your own envelope clutch bag here and concoct your berry infused vodka here.  We'll be making use of both when celebrating this weekend!

Yay!x

Wordless (Thurs)day

Etsy Front Page!

Make & Do!

Last night our lovely Make & Do note pad made it onto the front page of Etsy!We were really excited to see it live and super proud of ourselves to have managed to get on there. Like all achievements, we felt it deserved a wee treat and a good pat on the back!Partake in our celebrations and join us for a giant frappachino and a cookie the size of my head :D Good times and happy days!Thanks for all your support lovelies x

DIY: How To Make A Stuffed Rabbit (A Plush Pillow One That Is!)

Today we thought we would show you how to make an awesome stuffed rabbit!

I made this for my studio wall, but they also make great pin cushions... if you don't mind sticking pins into a rabbits head! They are also great door hangers and lovely little gifts, and you can make them with any good silhouette shape. Want to know how to make your own? Here we go...

First up, draw a silhouette of your favorite animal. I love a good bunny and thought that every studio needs an animal head on their wall! Cut it out of the paper leaving a little rim all the way around it for guidance.

Then choose your fabric!

I've decided to use a couple of old scraps of material, a floral one for the front and a plain one for the back. You can use two of the same pieces of fabric if you prefer, but this way gives a lovely option when you're done.

Pin your illustration to the fabric and cut it out. Bear in mind that you will be sewing this inside out, so make sure you cut it out correctly...

For instance, I would like quite a specific part of the floral pattern on my bunny, so I have cut it out the right way, un-pinned it and pinned the two fabric pieces together with the patterns on the inside for sewing. Always remember to pin back to back (or front to front if you are that way inclined!)

Using your paper illustration for guidance, stitch the two pieces of fabric together to make the rabbit head. This can be done by a sewing machine if you are some kind of wizard, or by hand like the rest of us :) Leave a couple of centimeters gap at the bottom of your new 'rabbit pocket' so you can flip it inside out through the hole. This magic way of doing things will hide all those loose threads. Lovely!

 

Here we go!

Now our rabbit is the right way around again, we can get to stuffing it and making all plush and lush...

We used good ol' polyester toy stuffing for our rabbit, which can be picked up at good craft and fabric shops. If you would like, you can also add in some lavender to make an adorable scented rabbit for your lingerie drawer. So many great uses for this project!

Once you have filled up your rabbit until it is really full and fluffy, you are ready to finish!

Carefully hand stitch the small gap at the bottom closed and you are all done. Brilliant, right? Give yourself a pat on the back, you have just made an incredible plush bunny!

You can easily stitch in a little looped piece of thread at the top for hanging and add a couple of lovely little embellishments to finish, like a cute little button for an eye :) 

Adorable!

We'd love to hear what you think of this tutorial and what other animals you would love to try!

Happy Making x

Stall Success At The Market!

We had an excellent day at the market on Saturday, despite the hardcore weather!

That's right, the winds were so bad in Edinburgh that we all had to go inside for the day. 

We are really happy to share that despite all the challenges that faced us our day was a great success and our new set up looked incredible!

A big thank you to all that braved the elements to make our day - we hope you enjoy your new goodies!

Edinburgh Market, Stall On Saturday!

We will be attending The West End Summer Solstice on Stafford Street, Edinburgh on Saturday!


It's going to be an amazing event with lots of designers & crafters taking to the streets as well as vintage clothing sales, busking, Peppa Pig, cake tasting and even some awesome facepainting. You will be spoilt for choice for how to spend your day!

The days events are free and will begin at 11am. We will be selling our prints, bags, stationery and accessories till 5pm with an extra special limited edition bag up for grabs too. First come first served :) We hope to catch you there!

Wish is luck 'coz its our first outdoor event too :B

Visit Facebook for more details:
www.facebook.com/westendefinburgh

Make sure to say hi if you spot us!

Featured: Zyzanna's Illustrated Wonders!

royal tit bird brooch

Today we are hanging out Zyzanna, one of our absolute favorite illustrators, and we are really excited to share this interview with you :) If you haven't discovered her yet, you are in for a real treat! Zyzanna creates the most whimsical drawings of birds, trees and creatures from the deep that you'll want to fill your wardrobe with all her beautiful brooches... and then start filling everyone elses!

tree brooch

So Zyzanna, tell us a bit about yourself...

My name is Zyzanna (or at least that's what everyone calls me since school). I live in beautiful yet rainy Edinburgh. I graduated from Illustration at the Edinburgh College of Art and now I am trying to Live the Dream! It is harder than what everyone thinks ;)

My little business at the moment goes by the same name as me ;). Right now I mainly make brooches with my illustrations, that most of is based on animals and natural things. I am in the middle of setting up textiles printing facilities to make more accessories with my illustrations! And then ultimately I am planning to take over the world! :)

beluga whale brooch

How do you work?

I like best working whilst sat on my desk, or cosy on the sofa with a cup of tea. I mainly draw with ink, sometimes colour it on the computer. Sometimes I go wild and get out my paints or make 3D things or sew, but the bulk is the inky stuff. I have a separate sketchbook for every aspect of what I do. I.e. I have a separate one for the trees thing, separate one for future possible designs of stuff and website design stuff, separate one for random scribbles, and another 5 for all sorts of different things. (As you know) I also have a bunch of separate pens for every particular thing I do.

On an Ideal Day I get up fairly early and go for a swim. Then I check my e-mails etc, (half an hour to an hour on an ideal day, but quite often more :P) and then look at The List. I am a notorious listmaker, and I really like things organized (or at least pretend that they are). I have a special notebook dedicated to lists! They normally are too full to archieve, but if I can get done half of the things that is pretty successfull (to my mind anyway!). And on the Ideal Day I will get lots of things done, so I can score them off the list (and this is superbly satisfying). Sometimes I will get distracted with something, not even internet related, and will end up finishing that book or drawing something random that's not related to any current plans.

octopus bag

Is there anything you would love to illustrate but feel like you just can't quite capture (for me, it's pug dogs!)

Probably 90% of my illustrations come to life in my head and then when they are put onto paper they look nothing like what I imagined... It is notorious with Illustration Friday themes. I would also love to be able to draw proper superhero comics (like Wolverine), but they never look quite muscular enough!

What has been your biggest challenge so far?

Moving out from home with a one way ticket and surviving! (And not having to go back!)

apple tree brooch

When you're having a crap day, what do you find motivates you?

I don't have crap days very often, I try to be too busy to notice. Otherwise I look at my List of what needs doing and try to move on to the next point! If one thing is not working out, try another.

What have you found has been the best piece of advice you've been given?

Work hard, but have time to rest too. 

chaffinch brooch

What are your top 3 ways of finding inspiration?

Biology stuff, reading books, going for walks.

I love animals but a lot of it is from the weird scientific factual point of view. I remember reading a massive biology book when I was 10 for the entertainment values. Fact I remember from the book: If you cut a starfish in half it will grow back. There was a time somewhere sometime when starfish were doing a lot of damage to the fishing places, so whenever the fishermen would catch starfish they would cut it in half and throw it back in the water... Little did they know! Anyway, I love drawing animals and could do it all day long... Particularly marine ones. For me watching an Attenborough documentary is more entertaining than an action movie.

Reading books is probably my number two. And not just the earlier mentioned biology textbooks! My favouritest books ever are the Moomin books. Partially because of the illustrations which are probably my Ideal Illustrations and I am sure you can see lots of influence in my own pictures. But I like anything that draws you in and you have to finish the book before proceeding with your normal life ;)

Going for walks clears my head and I like forests and trees and wild berries and picking mushrooms (which I haven't done in years and would probably pick all the poisonous ones). And sometimes you get to see a deer! What more to ask for? :) 

long tailed tit brooch

Do you have any advice for other people starting their own small business?

I feel it is too early for me to be able to give people advice! But I try to set myself small archievable goals with a Big Goal further on in mind.

zyzanna's shop

Where can we find you?

I try to hide from general public, so most of the time you can't! However, some of my work is available in Drill Hall Cafe in Leith in Edinburgh, or if you don't live locally it is available on my etsy page. I'm really into the online presence, so I have personal website, blog, twitter, tumblr and facebook accounts. I also ave a separate tumblr account fully dedicated to my latest project: Grow A Forest (a tree a day for 365 days). As of now I can't think of any more links to things to include ;).

narwhal brooch

Finally, tell us what your guilty pleasure is... 

Footwear. I have a particular love for cowboy boots, but I can't wear them very often here in Edinburgh (they get ruined in the rain!)
I also overuse emoticones. Particularly :), ;) and :P. (I hate :-) etc).

our very own vivid please tree, growing in zyzannas forest!

Thanks so much for taking the time to come and share with us today Zyzanna! It's so great to get an insite into your beautiful work, we find your illustrations super inspiring and we're sure everyone else will too. You make us want to draw more for sure! We particularly adore your Grow A Forest project, which is possibly one of the greatest "one a day" in cyberspace, especially now the Vivid Please tree has started to sprout!

Are you as big a fan of Zyzanna's land of whimsy as us? We'd love to hear what you think :D

Pop over to her etsy boutique to discover more incredible creations that will brighten up your wardrobe in a snap (we'll take one of everything thanks!) And be sure to hit up her all her awesome links to see what she's been working on lately... Whether it's a tree a day or a skeletal masterpiece on Fridays, we're sure you'll be obsessed before you know it!

Enjoy :)

Wordless Wednesday

Giveaway Goodies For June-July! *CLOSED*

It's giveaway time!

This month we have 3 brilliant goodies up for grabs, including our new print, one of our keepsake cards and a set of our amazing engraved pencils. It's too good to miss out on!

good things come to those who make print

One lucky winner will receive one of our new 'Good Things Come To Those Who Make' prints, which is pastel pink and blue in colour and is perfect for the home of anyone who loves to make and do as much as us! Our beautiful print is 10 x 8 inches in size and comes un-framed and un-mounted. 

I love you a latte card

Our 'I Love You A Latte' keepsake card is also included in this months giveaway! That's right, it's not only an amazing card, but you can also pop the print out and hang our little artwork on the wall too! It's the perfect card to send your favorite person; not only will you make them smile when they get it, they can hang it on the wall and be forever reminded by your wit and love. Perfect!

words are for nerds pencils

Last, but certainly not least, we also have a set of our wonderful red 'Words Are For Nerds' pencils up for grabs too. Well, you'll need something to write your lovely new keepsake card with of course :D Pretty brilliant, right?!

Fancy winning all of these wonderful prizes? Our giveaway is open to everyone and is super easy to enter...


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our awesome giveaway will close on the 20th of July and the winner will be selected through random.org. We will contact the lucky person via email by the 23rd....
How exciting!

Good luck everyone :D

Rollercoasters From The 1900s: Inspirational Images

We recently came across these wonderful photographs of rides and roller-coasters from the 1900s and we are totally in awe. They're not just beautiful pictures, we think they are incredibly inspiring and fascinating too.  Check out that sign; 'Re-modeled, Not as rough as last season'! Crikey, imagine how hardcore the folk were that got on that ride before this photo was taken! 

We both love a good thrill, but only when we know that the ride has been stapled down to the ground. I've never been one for those traveling fun fair rides as I fear the bolts will get jiggled loose during the transportation. Give me a theme park any day, but you will never catch me on something set up over night in a public park! Clearly, if we lived in the 1900s we would be completely fearless. Check out that loopty-loop. Do you think they had seat belts? Haha! I don't think the term 'Health And Safety' had even been invented yet! It just goes to show how sheltered (and wise) we have become over the years.

I don't even know how you would get on this ride, but you gotta admit that it is an impressive structure! There is some debate over when the first ever roller-coaster was created. Some argue that it we owe our kicks to Russia who built the first one in 1784, whilst others believe it was in Paris, France in 1812. Either way, we are blown away to discover that our obsession of being dropped and racing along some tracks dates back that far. Can you imagine the guy who pitched the idea? 

It just goes to show that if you have an idea, no matter how crazy, someone will still like it. And if you work hard and develop it and 'roll with the times' you can build it into something that everyone knows and loves. We hope these images inspire you to take challenges and risks and dream of what could be in the future. Anythings possible!

DIY: How To Decorate Ceramics With A Sharpie!

Hello!

Today we thought we would share how to customise ceramics on the cheap...

Be it a mug, some plates or a tea pot you want to decorate, you can do it in a snap. How?

Well, using a Sharpie of course!

As you can see, I have this incredible mint green mug, which really is Vivid-tastic, but it is crying out for a little bit of love. This tutorial is perfect for up-cycling and refreshing your home-wears without breaking the bank and it takes only 30 minuits to do. Sounds brilliant, right? Well then, lets get on with it!

All you need is your plate or mug (or anything ceramic for that matter!), a Sharpie marker pen and an oven.

Start by giving your little project a quick wash with soap and water, and dry it off completely. Then, draw your design on using a pencil to start with. Some guidance is always useful with these things, especially if it is rounded or shaped funny.

When you're happy with it, use your Sharpie marker to draw over your incredible design.

See here, I have gone with my Tea-Total banner. Classic :D

If you make any mistakes you can easily wipe it off with a little bit of wet kitchen roll. 

Awesome, I know!

 BAKE!

Then, when you're done, pop it in the oven for 30 minutes at 180 degrees celsius...

Baking your lovely creation will make the ink permanent, so be sure you are good to go before you heat it up. You will need to let it cool down for some time after it has finished in the oven as it will be as hot as the sun! Make sure you use some gloves to take it out too as you don't want to burn your hands with your new project either...

Once it has cooled, you will have an awesome decorated mug!

The perfect DIY just in time for Fathers Day :D What do you think? I say we're going to have the coolest kitchen set in town...

Happy Making!