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!

DIY: Confetti Lined Envelopes

oOoh! Pretty! Being a total sucker for anything confetti, I thought I would share a cute and simple diy to spread the love. These envelope liners are a great way to bring a pop of sunshine; the best part is it'll never be expected. Post and confetti - life doesn't get much better than this!  

For this tutorial, I've used some of that clear plastic that you used to use on your school books; it's adhesive on one side and glossy on the other, like tape. You can get it in most craft and stationery shops and it's usually pretty cheap. You'll also need scissors, a pencil and plenty of confetti! 

To create your lining template, use your pencil and trace around the envelope on the paper side of your adhesive plastic. To make the envelope look totally filled with confetti, I've traced to just below the bottom flap. This will make it easier to slot in and line up correctly (and will save on wastage). 

Once you've traced, take about 5mm off each vertical side; the flap will fit perfectly as it is, but you'll need to trim the sides so it will fit in. Test it fits before proceeding to the next step.

You've probably found that the plastic wants to roll up all the time. To combat this, blue tack the glossy side of the liner to your table and peel off the paper backing. This will hold it steady for you :) Next have a little celebration and throw down all your confetti ~ hooray!

As you'll see, I've left a little rim all the way round where there is no confetti; you won't need to glue in the lining this way, the adhesive is strong enough to hold it all in place. 

The easiest way to stick down in is to line up starting at the top point; remember to leave some of the envelope glue free so it shuts, then press it down to stick and slide your hand over it to smooth down the rest...

Tuck in the bottom half and give it a good press too...

Lovely! 

Now, carefully fold over the flap so it lines up closed properly and give it a hard press. It'll crease the plastic lining inside and be ready for action!

*TA*DA*

Now you've got the prettiest stationery on a shoe string budget! What I love about these linings is that you can customise them to match party colour schemes or use metallic confetti if you're feeling particularly lavish!

Now all we need to do is find more pen pals who appreciate surprise post :D

Happy Making!
xox

What I wore... to my first outfit post!

Hello Sailor! 

Recently you've probably noticed that I've been sharing posts on much more of a personal level. Our blog is usually quite brand focused, but as I've been having a lot of great feedback about my more open posts I've decided to try and get into the swing of it more. Quite a few of you lovely bloggers have asked for some outfit posts... so I thought I'd bite the bullet and give it a try! 

To be totally honest, I've been debating about sharing some outfit posts on the blog for some time now, but I've always felt a little bit shy about doing it. Whilst my style is definitely quirky and a little bit different, I'm a fairly shy person. Last year I worked really hard on coming out of my shell and making more of an effort to talk to other makers at craft shows, and I was so proud of how much my confidence has grown, especially when we held the stall at Renegade. Whilst I was super nervous chatting to people I think it was pretty well hidden. I always feel like a bit of an idiot! There is no way I could have done something like that before - I would rather have run a mile! With that in mind, I have been debating what other steps I can take to grow my confidence. Thanks to your support and a boyfriend who is immensely supportive (and a great photographer!!) I'm really proud to share my very first outfit shoot...

*TA*DA* hee hee! 

I foresee this section being a little sporadic to the blog, but I'd love to do a couple a month in theory... should they be going down well of course. I wont be doing many if they go down like a lead balloon, that's for sure. I figured I could test the water and see what you think :)

In this post I'm wearing my new favourite jumper, bought in the sale from Sugarhill Boutique. It's a really lovely fine knit and I adore the sweethearts around the neckline. I'm really into the breton look, so if you ask me this is a total steal! They have it reversed (white stripes on black) too, but I actually think this one is much easier to wear. 

The shorts are from Tara Starlet - my secret weapon! I have a lot from her clothes in my wardrobe so be prepared to see more of that name in the future. My sailor shorts are one of my favourite pieces; the button details are really adorable and I can dress them up and down really easily for most occasions. I tend to stick to black tights underneath for casual day wear. They look fab on because they nip in at your waist and create a lovely hourglass figure! The only tricky thing about ordering from here online is the sizing; make sure you meausre to work out exactly what size you need. The clothes are all made in house and I've found I tend to need a bigger size than usual. Don't let the numbers put you off! You'll look so much cuter if you get the right fit :)

The glasses I wear are vintage and you can find out more about my obsession with them here. As for jewellery, you can't really see but I have on a cute watermelon necklace that I bought from a Juicy Couture outlet in America. I'm not really into their clothing, but their charms are super lust-worthy! Oh! And last but not least, that's my new cockatiel iphone case too. How darling!

So there you have it! I hope you like my very first outfit post. I'm a little bit nervous to see what happens after I click 'Publish Now'... I hope it involves confetti! Getting out of your comfort zone is always challenging, so I'm proud I took a small leap today :) I hope it inspires you to do the same!

New Products! Cockatiel, Confetti & Bunny iPhone Cases & Love Hate Pencils!

cockatiel iPhone case

Tweet tweet! Check out our brand new phone cases! We've had 3 new iPhone covers swoop into the shop this week. Available for both the 4/4s and 5/5s, our latest editions include are pretty in pink cockatiels, bounding bunnies and a sprinkling of confetti... Aren't they sweet?

confetti iPhone case

The only problem with launching these new prints has been that I've been struggling to pick which one I love the most. Guess I'm just going to have to rotate them throughout the week! With 6 designs available they're almost like my 'day's in the week' pants. Sunday's will be anyones game! 

bunny iPhone case

On top of our new designs, we also have more donut iPhone 4 cases back in stock as well as our chevron, kitty, watermelon and 'I Pugging Love You' pocket mirrors. These have all been so popular over the holidays we're delighted to have them back in time for Valentines Day :D

Last, but certainly not least, we also have a new set of engraved pencils in the shop especially designed for February 14th; our LOVE HATE pencils! I've been having a lot of fun with these over the weekend and can't wait to hear what you think. They're a little bit tongue in cheek, but so are the best things in life :D

Want more? Why not take a little look in our accessories section to see what special offer we have in store for Valentines Day... I'll be updating you all about that one later on in the month :)

We'd love to hear which your favourite is and what you'd love to get for Valentines... it's only a few weeks away already!

DIY: How to make Boozy Gummy Bears

I've been seeing a lot of these Boozy Gummy Bears pop up on pinterest and I couldn't resist having a shot to see how well it actually turned out! For this DIY I decided to trial a few different kinds of spirits and worms as well as bears to see what came of it. The bears are just your standard Haribo variety which I can tell you now work a treat. Marks & Spencers' Colin the Caterpillar (my favourite kind of wiggly worm) didn't take to this at all... It must be something to do with the gods of gelatine, so if you're a veggie and wanting to give this a shot, try and get as close to the real thing as you can :)

Many of the tutorials involved flavoured vodka, which I can imagine works super well and is defo worth trying out. I opted to hark back to my past and bought a bottle of Apple Sourz; not only does it remind me of my student days, but I'm totally addicted to that fake apple taste. I figured if I was going to make alcoholic candy, I may as well go all out and make it real classy ;)

Whilst my main batch of bears was soaking in that, I also tried a few cocktail options to see how they came out. A few lined cupcake cases work perfect if you fancy testing out a few different combinations without breaking the bank. So, all you need to do is pop your bears in a bowl or jar, put in enough booze to cover them all, clingfilm / saran wrap closed and sit them in your fridge for 2 to 3 days till the alcohol has virtually gone. I found that it was good to give them a stir each day so ensure each one got good coverage and I wasn't left with a big gummy lump at the end!

Cocktail Flavours:

Orange Bears + Sailor Jerry

Raspberry Bears + Hendricks Gin

Pineapple Bear + Chambord 

The Verdict? These bears have got some kick to them! The Apple Sourz ones turned out really well, the flavour is perfect for those of you with a sweet tooth and a love of candy. I really enjoyed the Sailor Jerry flavoured ones too, but their not for the faint hearted. If you're not into strong spirits I would say this flavour is not for you. Being a lover of our local Hendricks Gin, I couldn't resist giving this a bash; it's still quite a strong kick, but I foreseeing these being made again in the future. Unfortunately our Chambord bears weren't as successful as the previous flavours. I'm pretty certain this is to do with the consistency; it's quite a thick liquor and therefor harder to be absorbed. They still taste lovely, but there was a lot of left over alcohol from the trial. I do like how the clear bears are now pinkish though! That is a top tip for next time - maybe a little flavoured vodka and some food colouring for themed parties!

Taste aside, the sweets themselves have definitely grown in size and are still quite gummy in consistency. They're more jelly like when you first bite into them and then get more chewy towards the centre. Good times if you ask me!

Overall, I'm really pleased with these and will defo be making them for adult parties in the future. They're a great throw back and really novel, but remember not to put these on the table if there's going to be anyone under 18 / 21 in the room! 

Also, I think they look totally fab when in a jar - wouldn't they make a great hostess gift? Or how about whiskey ones for your boyfriend on Valentines Day... or even your dad on Fathers Day... Oh! Gin on Mothers Day too :D As you can switch up the flavours the possibilities are endless. I think I might try popping some in a glass of lemonade to see how that turns out. How fun!

We'd love to hear what combos you think are worth trying!

Remember to eat your candy responsibly.

Happy Making
xox