Tie Dye - Joanna Fowles

Slight sense of deja vu perhaps..... but I couldn't not post about this. A few days ago, I came across Joanna Fowles, this amazing textiles designer / artist. I probably don't need to say any more, just look at her work. So frickin cool. 

  
She's a tie dying EXPERT! And the way she has hung the garments is so inventive. Sgot vat noice rustick feem innit. (For anyone who may not have picked up on it already....I like to talk in a Cockney accent sometimes. Just for kicks.)

Beautiful! 


Do you like her work? I do. 


Hope you've enjoyed,


Have a lovely day! x

Tie Dye Fun

Do ya know what I love at the moment? Tie dye. I'm particularly lusting after this little number  which is sadly out of my budget,  but GORGEOUS no?

Remember Whitney from the Hills? Its from her line Whitney Eve, Spring 11 collection, and it is amazing! I was however slightly disappointed to find out that its made from jersey material and not silk like it looks in the picture. Those sneaky tie dye patterns are deceiving, and make it look like it has a satin-y shine, much like delicate silk. Anyway, I still love it nonetheless. 


So I was inspired innit. I decided to do some D.I.Y.-ing on a plain and quite frankly, boring maxi dress that I'd bought from Primark. It was just a plain blue jersey maxi before, and I transformed it into THIS!

Who knew that twisting and tying a dress with some elastic bands and dunking it in 300ml bleach mixed with 300ml of water, then leaving it for a couple of minutes, then hand washing it to get the bleach out, then letting it dry on the washing line, could create such GLORIOUS  results! I realise it isn't to every one's taste, but it is to mine and it didn't cost a thing (except for buying the actual dress ages ago, but that was like 8 pounds anyway) so WIN WIN eh? 


I just want to tie dye everything now! ...Well actually I suppose its not really tie dye though. It's probably more reverse tie dye, but still. 


What's your take on D.I.Y tie dye? 


Have a lovely day! x

Easy Like a Sunday Morning

I'm genuinely so content right now. My current status is: student, home from uni for four months, nothing to do but work, see friends, do crafty things, play piano and just generally relax. I think the nice thing about it is that I know it won't last because eventually summer will end, and I will go back to uni where the serious work start! So I suppose I'm just trying to soak it all up! Don't get me wrong, I love university, but I'm starting to realize that next year will not be as easy and relaxed as last year was because the marks will actually count! (In the UK, first year of university marks don't count...you only have to pass to get through to second year) 

So like I said just now, when I'm not working, I have been really enjoying playing the piano! We haven't had a piano in a long time, and I used to play when I was younger so it's nice to be have the chance to try and pick it up again. It's amazing how much I can actually remember about reading music and actually playing the piano itself. Muscle memory is a wonderful thing you know. The two songs that I've been attempting to master at the moment are 'Easy' by Lionel Richie and 'Someone Like You' by Adele. I'm getting there, slowly but surely! It's funny - when I was little, my Mum used to have to remind me constantly to practice every day and it was a huge chore for me. I was always looking for ways to get out of it. But now that I'm older, I suppose I can appreciate it a lot more, and it is enjoyable sitting down at the piano and trying to figure out a piece of new music or practicing an old one. I'm glad she nagged! 

Haha, totes sound like I think I'm a pro now don't I.... I'm definitely not. But I'm enjoying the fact that I can actually appreciate it now. That's all I'm sayin'.

What have you been up to recently?

Have a lovely day! x

Cupcakes Galore!

So anyway, cupcakes. How nice are they? Really nice. 


Yesterday, I was at work and I got a lovely treat. It came in the form of a small lemon meringue......CUPCAKE! You thought I was going to say pie didn't you! Cheeky. 


But it was just glorious you know. So glorious in fact, that I felt that I needed to share it with you! Apparently they are very tricky to make, "but it is SO worth the hassle" she said. I think it might be a fun little activity for the weekend! Although, actually, maybe not. I'm trying to eat healthily in some deluded hope that I will achieve a toned 'beach bod' in a matter of weeks. Unrealistic much? 


But anyway, back to the cupcakes. They were lovely and light, and apparently to make them, you have to do a layer of cake mix and then a layer of lemon curd and alternate it like that. And THEN there's the lovely meringue gooey goodness on the top, which is just delightful. I wish I had a photo of said meringue on cake...but alas, they were too good to waste any time photographing!! But here is a photo which I pinched off the Internet 

How nice does that look! My mouth is watering. Its just cute. Cupcakes are cute!

This is one I took of some butterfly cakes that we had, a few weeks ago. Yum!

And of course I had to have a look on Weheartit for some cupcake pictures which are also Uhh-mazing! 

I have a bit of a sweet tooth if you hadn't already noticed... Do you share the same passion for eating cupcakes as I do? Hah, I totes seem like a greedy little pig now...

Hope you have enjoyed this sugary sweet post! 

Have a lovely daaay! x

Paper trail...

In my recent internet travels, I found this awesome video on a blog called Paper Crave. The blog is written by Kristen Magee, a paper enthusiast, who blogs about all her stationary, craft, and paper findings. For anyone who loves Paperchase and Hobby Craft like me, this is a really cool blog! Check.It.Out. Soooo, anyway as I perused the recent Paper Crave posts, and I came across this post on an artist called Bianca Chang who does cool things with paper. 

Oh my dizzleee...right? Right?! How cool is this!...and how does she do it?! I know that's what you were thinking...don't pretend you weren't. 




And THEN I remembered this guy, Peter Callesen who also creates amazing paper art like these bad boys... 

His work has been around for a while but it still amazes me every time I see it! Wonderful. 


Hope you've enjoyed, 


Have a lovely day! x

Eat, Pray, Love.

I watched this film the other day and enjoyed it quite a bit actually! I wasn't sure if I would at first, but I mainly enjoyed it for the way that it was filmed. 

(image found here)

"One woman's search for everything, across Italy, India and Indonesia." 'Eat, Pray, Love', originally a novel, is the true story of a woman and her discoveries as she travels to Italy, India and Indonesia, after a painful divorce. As the title dictates, she eats in Italy, she learns to pray in India, and she finds love in Indonesia. Each  section of the film is so beautifully shot, especially in the first leg of her travels where she discovers great food!  The camera close ups of the food, and the music/ sounds together make it all look so mouth watering and delicious! I read a review of this film a while ago when it first came out, which suggested that you should eat before you watch this film because it will only make you more hungry if you haven't! Very true. 

Not only the food part in Italy, but the parts in India and Indonesia too... I know this sounds a bit amateur but the colors were amazing! Simple things like this can help me enjoy a film 10x more! The same can be said for 127 hours which I watched the other day with a friend. Its pretty gruesome for about 10 minutes, but I really enjoyed it! And what really stood out was the beautiful scenes of the desert and the bright vivid colors that were depicted! 

(image found here)

This poster really doesn't do it justice, and neither does the poster for 'Eat, Pray, Love'. I digress. So go and watch these films is what I'm saying, they're both glorious and delicious meals for the eyeballs. See what I did there? ...I didn't say a feast for the eyes like I always do! Oh wait...


Have a lovely day! x

Gustav Klimt

Look what I got!!

Finally bought some Barry M cracky black nail effects polish, which I used over the top of Models Own Gold Rush nail polish. I love this combination!!! (This is day 3 or 4, so doesn't look quite as fresh and lovely as it did when first applied) 

I did find however that it is best applied thinly, as otherwise it goes kinda lumpy... Also, you should probably do a layer of clear over the top, as when it dries, which is VERY quickly might I add... (you must be speedy when painting) it is a matte black, so doing a top coat will give it a gloss, and strengthen too! 

I really love the combination of the black and gold. It kinda reminds me of like old antique gold frames, and vintagey things. It's got that old look about it, doesn't it? DOESN'T IT?! It does. 


It got me thinking about the artists Gustav Klimt. I know....its a shady link, but my mind works in mysterious ways! He uses a lot of gold in his work, and I absolutely LOVE the way he paints with such technical skill in his portraits, and combines it with intricate pattern and colour. I would describe his work as luxurious and very grand, but not in a traditional way like many of the portraits of the 17th and 18th century. That said, he was an artist of the 'modern' era and hence his work is much more innovative and experimental than that of the traditional painters. 

(image found here)

This is one of Klimt's most famous paintings, 'The Kiss' (oil and gold leaf on canvas) which was painted in 1907. See the link now? Okay...so its a tenuous link....but there's a link nevertheless! I absolutely love the way that he used gold leaf and bright colour so generously as if there can never be enough! A feast for the eyes if ever there was one! Yes, I knowww, I've used that phrase before...but it applies its self so WELL to so many different situations. I will use it again, just so you know. 

(image found here)

See what I mean about the luxurious-ness! Amazing. I used his work as inspiration for a piece that I painted during my A levels! 

Here are some more of my favorites which I stole off of da internet. Innit. ...Must.Stop.Saying.Innit.      Innit...

Hope you have enjoyed this kind of post! I have. I might do more.

Have a GLORIOUS day! x 

Life in Technicolor

I went to a funfair in Cambridge last weekend and took some photos while I was there. I was SWELTERING in the heat, and was NOT dressed appropriately. Note to self: Wear breathable fabric....preferably a dress, in 30 degree heat. Trousers with any percentage of viscose or polyester are not acceptable. Anywho here are the pictureesss, there's only a couple though. 

I love all of the coloursss :) so perrddyy. The colours and sounds and smells at a funfair are so unique and quite exciting I think. Especially with amusements like the dodgems, and games where you win colourful toys. It's old school fun innit. Only down side of this afternoon was that I lost my phone, :/ damn you shallow pockets! I'm still getting used to this camera thing, and still learning about different settings...but right now I just love the manual focus! 


Found these on weheartit / flickr. This is what I aspire to! 

Lovely. 




P.S. LOVE Coldplay at the moment. So 'Life in Technicolor' / 'Every teardrop is a waterfall' are on repeat. 

Enjoy


Have a lovely day! x