We're 'Featured Brand of the Week' on Storenvy!

This week we are totally thrilled to have been featured on Storenvy's front page as one of their 'Brands We Believe In' as well as being featured in their emails. We're particularly proud to have a Scottish shop getting attention on the site because it's mainly American. The competition is seriously stiff! 

Sending a big thank you to Storenvy and their ongoing support :D 

What I wore... to the Post Office!

Whoa! It's been a long week of making up Valentines Day orders at Vivid HQ which has been totally spectacular, but it's left me with no time to organise a date for ourselves! There has been several visits to the post office and to various places across town to garner supplies which has been nice, but it's been absolutely freeeeeezing. I was going to do a new dressy 'what I wore" outfit post for you, but it would have been a bit of a lie! This week I've either been sitting about in jeans or rushing off to drop off orders... needless to say, my outdoor get up is much more interesting than my indoor one! Heehee

I'm usually the worst person ever at buying warm clothes. I hate it with a passion - thick layers on a short person is just not flattering. This is the first time in my life I've ever felt like "Ok, I give up, hand me that sweater and a coat that covers my butt" ... it has just been TOO cold; I don't know, maybe I'm getting old. So this year, for the first time ever, I invested in a 'proper coat'... I'd be lying if I told you I didn't fall in love with it after the first outing. For as much as it is a 'proper coat' it's styled on a biker jacket. Awesome, right? The best thing about it is that it's long, but it's two toned - I feel like I'm wearing a coat-skirt and not getting drowned out by 'sensible coat', you know? It's actually from Next (I think they're gone now...) though I did see several other *slightly more expensive* versions of the same thing in a lot of other shops. It was the cheapest - and the cutest. Worth the investment!

Owning a grey coat is amazing because you can pair it up with pretty much any colours you fancy and it won't clash. Last year I mentioned that I wanted to get a white tartan scarf, which has pretty much been my scarf staple since it was acquired. What can I say - I'm a true Scottish bird! Living in the capital city means that you can pick these up really cheap (to me, £7 is cheap for a wool scarf!) if you go to the tourist shops. It has been the only time I have ever been to one in my home town - and it will probably be the last time unless I loose this scarf.

My shoes are REAL bowling shoes! I got them resoled *I did try going out with the leather soles, but taking them out in rain and on concrete it was possibly my worst idea ever* and they have to be the most comfortable shoes I own. How did I get them? .............. I'm going to let you decide ;)

Whilst I do love a good hat, recently I've been wearing these ear muffs which were a gift from David's mum at Christmas. They are great if you don't want to ruin your hair but you do want to keep warm. Plus they make me feel like a Muppet -- and I'm ok with that :D

And last, but not least, my favourite gloves. These are my "Shady Lady" gloves from Kate Spade. Who knew mittens could be bad ass?!!

So, it turns out that making the sensible decision on outdoors clothing wasn't as painful as I initially thought. Yesterday morning the woman at the post office told me she loved it when I came in because I always looked so happy ... I'm starting to think it's because I was the only one who listened to their mother and dressed for the weather!

Art Sale at Victoria Bar! 13th February, Edinburgh

Hello Edinburgh friends!

This Thursday Victoria Bar in Leith will be hosting an Art Sale to raise money for the Mtondia School in Kenya. This is the second year they've run the event and the money raised has been used to help build classrooms for children at an orphan school. 

We're pleased to share that we will be involved in the event by participating with a stall where we'll be donating money for the table and some of the proceeds from sales made during the evening... 

If you're free and would like to snag some awesome local art whilst supporting a great charity, we'd love to see you!

Victoria Bar

265 Leith Walk, Edinburgh, EH6 8PD

Thursday 13th February 

7pm - 9pm

Free Entry

There will also be a raffle at the event where you'll be able to win goodies from each of the makers there :)

For more information, visit their facebook event here

We're looking forward to making a night of it!

Snail Mail Trade - Calling For Applicants!

Hello lovelies!

If you've been following us on twitter, you might have noticed quite a few tweets going out about swapping post. This year I've decided that snail mail is going to be higher on my list of priorities and I've been participating in a few of trades with strangers from the UK and America... It's been a huge amount of fun thus far - not only to you get to find fun things to send and get some fun surprises in the post, but you also get the chance to meet people from all over and make some lovely new friends!

Sounds pretty good, huh!

So, after  tweeting to ask if anyone else is interested in doing a swap and getting a great response, I've decided to create a *Snail Mail Trade* project of our own. Hooray!

How It Works

Interested in swapping post?
This project is open to people based in the UK and USA... if you're in another country and are interested, please let me know by commenting below - should enough people want to get involved we might be able to hit your country too... I can't make any promises yet, but you never know!

If you're interested in getting involved, please place a comment with your email address on this post by the 16th February.

I will email everyone after the closing date to check you're still wanting to be involved - it's OK if you change your mind, but it's NOT OK to flake - if you get involved please follow through, this project is all about good karma!

If you're participating, I will need your name, your postal address and any links to your blogs or pinterest account etc. This information will only be shared with who you are partnered with - under no circumstances will it be shared with anyone else (by agreeing to participate, you agree to this rule too - no sharing peoples info, it's mean!)

How does it work?
The deadline date for sending your items to your partner will be the 2nd March. That will give you 2 weeks to shop, wrap and send your package of happiness. Depending on the response to this blog post, I might push back the date a little, but I will keep you updated with the deadline when I email you individually.

There will be a £10 budget (or if enough of our lovely American friends get involved a $16 budget; same difference) to spend on your snail mail project. Over spending is fine as long as you do not expect the same in return. Please do not spend less - we'd like to keep it as fair as possible!

You cannot include the price of postage in the budget. This is to cover surprises only :D

Your partner may be in the same country as you ... but they might not be. I will try my best to organise it so no one is stuck with a hefty postage bill! Your partner will be paired with you at random - it might not be who you're sending your post to (it depends how many people want to get involved). If there is a random number of people involved, I will trade more than once - no one shall be left behind!

*SUGGESTIONS* perhaps you would rather swap with a partner in another country? Should enough people apply, I will be asking what you all think. I know this means it'll cost more to send, but it will mean surprises from somewhere new!

What to send?
This is a surprise project so you can send pretty much anything! Once you have your partners information, you'll be able to stalk visit their blogs and pinterest accounts to discover more about them and what they love the most :) The aim is to tailor your package to their interests and hobbies etc.

Please do not send any used items, any dirty items or any items that may get stopped by the postage system (UK see here) For instance, no liquids - there is special rules about nail varnish etc so please do not send any as it might not get through. Gifts from Poundland / dollar stores are discouraged - it's better to get 3 great things than 10 not so great things, you know?!

Possible sends could be: washi tape, stickers, notecards, lip balm, brooches, necklaces, something handmade, tote bags, cute socks, sprinkles, sanrio toys, sweets / candy, stationery... Please add any suggestions into your comments below :D

Please include a handwritten note to your partner too - it can be as long or as short as you like, but remember to say that you're swapping from the **Vivid Please Snail Mail Trade** so your partner know's that it's from you! You're also encouraged to dress up your package with doodles and stickers etc. The brighter the better!

Dont fret! I will ask you if you have any allergies or really dislike anything when you confirm you're getting involved in the project to make sure you don't get something that you can't play with. This information will only be passed onto your partner.

...And Then?
Once you've made up your package and posted it out, please email me to let me know you've done your bit... then wait for your surprise to arrive!
Once you get your package, email me to let me know. . . We'll be keeping this project anonymous but perhaps you can all take a picture of what you got and I'll do a big blog post to show off everyones trades (no one will be named, it'll just be an inspiration board for the next *snail mail trade* round 2!)

The idea is to send items you'd like to receive...

Please treat your partner as you wish to be treated!

Unfortunately I will not be able to police this project - I will be checking in and sending out reminders, but I cannot be held responsible for people who flake or packages that get lost. This project is all about good karma and random acts of kindness :) 

Ok, I know that's a lot of information to get us started, but I just wanted to make sure everyone knew the sort of thing that they were signing up to... It's not all set in stone yet - if anyone has any comments or suggestions please let me know! Hopefully some of you would like to get involved and get this project off the ground... if all goes to plan, this will happen more than once :D

Want in? Comment below with your email address by the *16th February*

Feel free to pin, blog and share the link to this blog post - the more people getting involved, the more fun it will be :D

.... Watch this space!

Inspiration: Field Of Light by Bruce Munro

Last night was the launch night of Bruce Munro's outdoor installation 'Field Of Light' in Edinburgh's St Andrews Square. I've been extremely looking forward to seeing the sea of bulbs all light up as I've been seeing it slowly coming together over the past week or so. To begin with I was totally dumbfounded as to what these weird objects were doing in such a pretty garden area, but nearer the end of the week posters started popping up to say that it's an exhibition of light. I was pretty blown away by the concept, but to see it in reality has just been sublime!

Isn't it incredible?

To be surrounded by hundreds of little glowing globes is pretty spectacular, like a little swarm of fireflies. They slowly change colour too, which is a really lovely touch.

The balls of light are on sturdy rods. Each one has a wire that connects into a power box. During the day they don't look that enticing, but as soon as dusk falls St Andrews Square becomes a whole other land!

I took these pictures on my phone, but I'm planning to go back when it's a little less cold to photograph it properly. Fortunately this installation is on until April - if you get the chance to see it it's a must do!

It was really great to see so many people out taking photos and creating their own pieces of art with this installation too. Interactive artwork has got to be the best; it might not be classical, but everyone can get in there and gain something personal from it... Needless to say I'm a big fan, and I hope you're a bit inspired by it all too :)

If you'd like to discover more about Bruce Munro click here. To read a little more about the project click here. For those of you far away, I'm really pleased to let you know it's been installed in different spaces all over - defo worth keeping an eye on for a town near you!!

New Products! Cute n quirky illustrated notecards sets

This year I've made a resolution to send a lot more handwritten notes through the post. As you'll probably know, I adore receiving snail mail. Surprises in the post are possibly the greatest gift ever! To get fully in the spirit of the challenge and to spread the love, we've created two special boxes of notecards for our shop too... 

cute vintage and retro notecards

Each box contains 10 different cards. They're all blank inside and come with their own envelope - all you need is someone to send them to! 

Both boxes contain 2 geo and 2 scalloped patterned cards which are perfect for all occasions and one of our 'We Lost Count' birthday cards - I've found it's always useful to have a birthday card to hand as I'm terrible at remembering dates!

The first set also includes our classic marshmallow Fluff jar and vintage hair salon illustrations, our 'I Think You're Wheely Special' bicycle illustration, and two new designs - one with the phrase "Ever notice that 'what the hell!!' is always the right decision" and the other with 'All fur coat and no knickers"! hee hee

quirky and funny notecards

The second set includes our classic Tamagotchi illustration, bunting on the moon and our 'Just because you rock doesn't mean you're made of stone' cards as well as special cards made with our 'Let's Dance' waltz footsteps illustration and our best selling 'I Pugging Love You' pug dog as a greeting card...

Aaaand each box is emblazoned with our brand new Snail Mail stickers too :D You have no idea how happy these stickers are making me right now! hee hee!

visit our cards here

We'd love to hear what you think!

And if anyone's running trades for getting post / sending letters / surprise gifts / pen pals or any kind of snail mail projects we'd love to check them out! 

Post us your links lovelies :D

What I wore... to afternoon tea!

Following the wonderful comments and love from my first ever outfit post, I thought I would try and keep the ball rolling and sneak in a secondary one just before the month is out. This week I thought I would share what I wore to afternoon tea! It was my mum's birthday so naturally we had to get dressed up and out to somewhere nice to celebrate.... Like I need an excuse!

It's amazing how much better a girl can feel with some make up and a pretty new skirt on! I am totally in love with this beautiful Mad Men skirt, which I snapped up in the Tara Starlet sale for just £10 (if you get in there quick there might be one left!) I actually bought it a size larger than I needed (a size 10) but when I tried it on I could barely breath - it was more like a 6! So I took it down to my local tailor to let it out a little. It wasn't a big job, but it's such a beautiful vintage fabric that I didn't want to risk damaging it! Considering I spent so little on it, I didn't mind paying the extra too :) I love that the belt came with it also - sometimes it's tricky to find a cute belt to fit through those hoop things. I'm big into a cinched waist so I know it'll come in handy for other outfits too!

The top is a staple classic from Vivien of Holloway - you can never go wrong with a black halter top with a sweetheart neckline! I love the shape of how these are made - you can't see it in this shoot because I'm wearing a high waisted skirt, but the top is boned and creates an hour glass shape at the waist. Don't fret, you'll no doubt be seeing it again soon in another wardrobe mash up :D

These are probably my most extravagant pair of vintage spectacles too -  not for the faint hearted! I try not to wear big earrings or bling necklaces when I'm wearing them because it can be a little full on. Balance is key to a vintage look!

Last but not least, a picture taken especially for Sally - my shoes!

These are the ones I created the Glitter Heel DIY with... they're super high and therefor perfect for sitting down in! With little splash of gold when I walk away, they're just perfect for this outfit... Swoon!

DIY: Birthday Cake Bark Recipe

Make every day feel like your birthday with this delicious Birthday Cake Bark recipe! 

I finally got my hands on some vibrant sprinkles - I've been after these for ages and had to order them online (in the UK we only have bland coloured ones, no doubt because of naughty E numbers!) And to celebrate I've whipped up a fresh batch of Birthday Cake Bark :D A ridiculously easy diy that's bound to bring even the grumpiest of people a smile...

In America there is so many awesome boxes of Funfetti cake batter - thats how everyone is making adorable cakes with sprinkles in them. Multicoloured happiness in a box! Unfortunately here, we don't have such a concoction. Our cake batter is a yellow colour for a start as the ingredients haven't been bleached (truth!), so if you try sticking sprinkles into a standard batter, it'll probably turn out tinged green and a little bit sad. I've only heard of sad tales from friends and thus have been royally put off!

Needless to say, I'm not going to give up on bringing some funfetti joy into my life :P In the spirit of chasing rainbows, this little recipe is quick, easy and definitely very Vivid!

You'll need:

100g White Chocolate

1 heaped tablespoon cake mix (sifted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence (add more as you go along if you have a sweeter tooth!)

I thought it would be best to start you off with a small batch *I say you, I mean me - I won't be sharing* but this recipe is easy to make for people in their hundreds by doubling up :) Do your worst!

To make, break up the white chocolate into small pieces and place in a heatproof bowl over boiling water (a bain-marie). Stir until the chocolate has melted and take off the heat. Add in the cake mix (I used just a regular sponge mix, nothing too fancy) and stir until mixed well. Finally, add in the vanilla essence and give it another good stir. The mixture might be a little bit grainy, but it shouldn't have any lumps or anything in it (sifting helps!). Have a little taste to see if you need a little more vanilla or cake mix; mine is pretty sweet already, but it depends how big your celebration is ;)

Once you're happy with the flavour, pour the mixture out onto a tray lined with a baking sheet. Using a spatula, spread out the mixture till it's 0.5 cm thick (I like my bark like shards!) and go WILD with those sprinkles! Give them a gentle pat down when you're done to make sure they're stuck in and set aside to harden in a cool place (takes around an hour)

*TA*DA*
It's like Jazzies! Now all you need to do is eat it :B Cute, sweet and oh so darling - definitely a treat worth ordering sprinkles for!

Happy Making!

PS! If anyone fancy's sending me some of that Funfetti cake mix, I'll trade you a print :B

Photo A Day {January}

 

Can you believe it's almost the end of January already? It's been a slow start for me thus far - I just started to feel better and on Monday I got some other bug and now I'm sick again! I'm not having the best of luck with the lurgy I guess... but I'm doing a little bit better with my resolutions! I thought I would share a couple of pictures from my 'Photo A Day' project today... I've actually used several in posts this month but here are a few more that I thought I would share with you :)

veggi haggis for Burns Night!

Good times & happy days!

Last Orders For Valentines Day!

Hey kids!

Just a wee note to let ya'll know that our last order dates for Valentines Day are on Friday 31st Jan for USA & Europe and Monday 10th Feb for the UK. That's this Friday if you're far away! If you would like to pay extra for Special Delivery (or if you leave it a little late!), give us a shout and we'll do our very best to get your order out as soon as possible.

We've got a special edition Valentines Day gift set available till the 14th too - get your mitts on one of our I Pugging Love You cards, a pair of 'Love' & 'Hate' pencils and an ampersand brooch for only £12! Nothing say's I love you more than a bargain ;)

Oh Snap! A catch up on our week...

This week I've been working on some new prints and stationery, which I'm getting really excited about! Since I've been working on my 'illustration a day' resolution it's been really great at opening up new ideas and slightly different ways of working which is really fun. It's quite challenging to think something up each day, but it's definitely made me do a lot more research and  more 'creative hunting' which is only a great thing. I'm having more success with that than taking a photo each day - I missed one out on Thursday and was super gutted about it. I'm going to persevere though - I've still taken a crazy amount of photographs in comparison to what I usually do :)

David and I also went through to Glasgow this week which was really lovely. I studied at Glasgow School Of Art so it's like a home away from home for me - we don't normally get the chance to discover new places (I love my old haunts!), but this time we decided to go on and adventure. We sat and drew in The Black Sparrow which has mostly booth seating (I LOVE a booth!) and is really chilled out and relaxing during the day. Sometimes the best thing to do is to go somewhere quiet and draw anything and everything.

We also had dinner in my favouritest new place, The Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn Being obsessed with anything tiki and kitsch, this place was naturally high on my to do list as soon as I discovered it existed. Their menu is all Thai food, which is my favourite type of food... for me, this place truly is heaven (outside of Hawaii of course!) I had the tofu and veg red curry and it was honestly the best thing I've eaten this year. I was not surprised to hear that they'd won awards for their food after tasting it, and will definately be working my way through their menu now (surprisingly it's pretty affordable!).Seriously good. Plus their interiors in the restaurant upstairs is super rich and classic 60's, it's like stepping back in time :D I hope the next time I go back it's quiet so I can photograph the heck out of it! 

They also have a really excellent drinks menu and serve your pina colada in a pineapple mug... You wouldn't believe how much joy this brings me! There's even a cocktail made in honour of Scarlett Johansson - they filmed a little bit of one of her movies in here called Under The Skin (it's about an alien in Scotland and it looks pretty dark!) which is a really great Fun Fact. 

So, if you're ever going to Glasgow for the day, you'll know where you can find us!

The only bad thing about a trip to Glasgow is the trip back home, though it's nice to come back with a little inspiration and some new drawings. I'm planning to do more trips through this year to find more new amazing places to go. Hopefully I'll find some more fun places in Edinburgh too, though it's much harder to go on an adventure in your stomping grounds. 

If you know any amazing secret places worth visiting we'd love to hear about them!