edwina.simone

Mellow Yellow

2011-04-27T08:53:00.000-07:00

Well hello

A few weeks ago I was featured in the Not on the Highstreet Newsletter. This is only a little part of it. Loving the mustard colour, in fact my bathroom is this colour! (Just need to take away the old avacado colour bathroom suite) Currently the bathroom looks like a pineapple, all yellow & green, awful!

There are also some new things over in the NOTHS shop.

Also there's a little something new I'm working on & blogging here. Something a little bit different, I felt the kind of things I was planning needed a new home, so head over if you feel like it.

Is everyone enjoying the sun? Whenever I have a free day it's always cold! Well not cold but cardigan weather, instead of shorts weather!

x

snog

2011-01-23T02:34:00.001-08:00

Hope you're enjoying your weekend

X

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Going Missing: Part 2

2011-01-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

Another quick catch up...

Not my actual wisdom teeth, however!

Where I've been: Part 1

2011-01-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

Just a few reasons for my rather long absence recently...

2010-08-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

My house is a mixture of particularly placed, delicate, beautiful items & scary but cute characters. It has a slight identity crisis. Some of it belongs in a trendy fashion mag (yeah, that's what I like to think!) & some of it's just a jumble of scary/cute.

Little pink clogs brought back for me from Amsterdam last week sit alongside my scary car boot kitties, cat from Tokyo & a hand painted tile.

Cute little ice lolly moulds, from this shop, you should really go check one out if there's one near you! Just a shame it doesn't seem to be sunny anymore!

This little Japanese paper balloon I brought back from Brighton, he sits with all my Pepe & Friends. The turquoise clock was an ebay bargain.

Things that make me smile...

2010-08-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I bought this wintery ear warmer & manicure set from Primark. The manicure set has files, scissors, clippers, cuticle trimmers, loads, for £1.50 & it's leopard print too, amazing!

I've had this little teapot for a while now, I love the little illustrations, I especially love the dressing table (third pic) what a find!

cold, windy & shiny

2010-07-15T03:30:00.000-07:00

There's so much you can do on a day off when it's sunny. There seems like there's nothing to do on a wet & windy & humid day that follows weeks & weeks of hot weather.

So we went for a wander around the biggest antiques shop. And bought a few things.

2010-07-07T05:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Tate & also the Science Museum. I always like the Science Museum so much more than any gallery, maybe that makes me a geek... who knows!

They had a time piece exhibition & also a plastic through the ages feature. I love all the old phones, hairdryers and bakealite kitchen things. I would love a hair dryer that looked like this!

Morphy Richards hair dryer 1960

Folder of wallpaper samples 19353 - Arthur Sanderson & Sons

I'm sure these chaps need no introduction. I LOVE this wallpaper. Years ago when I was first at college I discovered Warhol's cow wallpaper, it's everything I love.

Victor Pasmore

2010-07-07T05:23:00.000-07:00

Have been in the very sunny & warm Brighton this weekend. I couldn't believe we were on the beach in swimming costumes.. in the UK... amazing! Had the best time & so did the special hen :)

We've also had a mention on a couple of blogs last week, one here & one here so thank you, lovely ladies.

This week I'm loving...

2010-06-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

This amazing necklace.

My Vivienne Westwood earrings

My henna
Kelly Osbourne's new figure.

Lots of badge making.

Leopard print nails

x

C C C - Changes...

2010-06-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

You may have notice a half price SALE over in our folksy shop (if not, guess what? There's a sale on... many things are HALF PRICE, so why not buy yourself something cute!)

This is to make room for lots of lovely new & a little bit different things. New to the shop that is, not new to me :) So once those cute little illustrated earrings are gone... they're gone for good!

I'm really enjoying the hand cut jewellery at the minute, it's really popular.

I've been revisiting things I've worked on a lot in the past, here's a little sneaky peak.

2010-06-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend. College Fun Day. Sun. Good Coffee. Daschund. Birdy plates. Henna'd foot.

Dangle

2010-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

New to the shop today & also on Not on the Highstreet are these hand cut aluminium leaf earrings. I think they're pretty cute, even if I do say myself :)

x

2010-06-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

A while ago edwina.simone supplied some fused glass earrings for The White Box Co's red boxes for London Fashion week.

Here are some images from the day, check out Zandra Rhodes (number 7) she loved my little earrings!

Click to enlarge

Pink Phones, Shakespeare & Cream Teas

2010-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went away for the weekend to Stratford upon Avon & stayed in a lovely Gothic hotel, if you ever get a chance to stay in one of these hotels, GO! You get dinner, breakfast, champagne & canapes (& this time we got a cream tea too) thrown in with the price of the room. It's pretty reasonable, but depends in when in the week you go, weekends are a little more expensive... obviously, we went on a Sunday night. We went on an open top bus & learned a little about Shakespeare, looked in lots of little shops & managed to stay out of all the fudge shops & little cafes.

This is where we had our cream teas, in the drawing room.

This is where Shakespeare was born, interesting, eh.

Cute little footprints in the pavement.
Wanted this pink phone a lot.

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

x

Saturday

2010-06-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's 6.25am & I'm up finishing some bits ready for the new week. Yesterday was a boiling one & I was at work, booo. Have just gone outside so see where the cat was, called her name & was greeted by her running from a few gardens down squeaky-miaowing a little hello. Cute. That makes up for the early morning.

I remember this time last year, I lived in a flat & couldn't open the windows as she kept trying to escape. At least we won't have a flaked out hot kitty again...

Have a lovely weekend whatever you're doing :)

x

Yummy yummy in my tummy

2010-06-02T03:19:00.000-07:00

Two lovely ladies bought me a bread maker for my Birthday... up until now the bread has been a bit sunken & salty! Apart from this one... which is mostly gone now...

x

Buy one get one freeeeee, yep, FREE

2010-05-25T07:44:00.000-07:00

Illustrated earrings are buy one get one free in the ol Folksy & Etsy shops until Sunday 30th May. Grab the little chaps while they're still there, as there'll be some lovely new things replacing them! Just purchase one pair & let me know which other pair you would like. They could be the same, or different, a little present for yourself, or for someone else :)

Get them before they're all GONEEE

x

Phew

2010-05-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an amazing weekend. I'm sure it's what everyone is talking about. I'm really having trouble with the fact I had been wearing a cardigan for weeks & now it's too hot to just remove the cardigan,but the socks are off & flipflops are on! I have lots of clothes for warm, but not boiling days, but nothing really for sizzling-fry-an-egg-on-the-patio-hot, so I'm really having trouble to know what to wear. I have lots of nice summery tops & dresses, that now are a bit thick for this kind of heat. (Hey, I'm probably being slightly excessive... but still) What does a girl wear on such hot days?

This weekend we took a trip to lovely & sunny Devon, and had out first (sunny, not raining) bbq of the year. And two ice creams.

We spent a lot of time at the beach, it felt like we were abroad. I would love to live by the sea.

This little guy came too :)

I've been wearing an aluminium version of this necklace over the past few days, it'll be available in the shop this week. I quite like the jewellery I've been making from aluminium, it's super light & gives a less expensive, modern alternative to silver.

Hope you had a good weekend

x

Bracelets, pink & pickles

2010-05-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

It's nearly the end of the week again, how did that happen?

A couple of months back, I talked about the spoons I'd picked up. Here's what I've done with one of them. Flattening & bending it was no mean feat let me assure you... it took two of us! Exuse the quite poor pictures.Pickles has had her head somewhere... she's got a black mark on her head that won't come off. Very odd.

And some pink

Friday

2010-05-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

A little while ago I talked about lino cutting. I love screen printing & the delicate lines & detail you can get, but there's something really special about something that's been hand cut & printed. Below is a jersey fabric scarf printed today. I carved a square block, leaving it square & then tiled across the fabric with mostly black ink, but some yellow highlights. This one is for me :)

Weekend

2010-05-09T11:45:00.001-07:00

This weekend has been mostly catching up on a big stack of half finished bits, some yummy food, oh & meeting this little lady :) Read about her HERE, she's beautiful.

Now for the rest of Come Dine With Me. Enjoy the est of your Sunday

x

2010-05-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Meet little Phoebe, she's the black & tan daschund puppy. My mum picked her up today, I'll get to meet her tomorrow. It's making me want a little red one to go with my little LuLu. Not sure Pickles would be impressed though.

Sloths, squiggly things & cute monkeys

2010-05-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

As part of what turned into a birthday, well long weekend, we had a trip to London Zoo. It was quite cold. & I spilled tea down my dress within about 10 mins of being there. Smooth. My favourite little chap was the sloth that was snoozing leaning right backwards... too cute. He had fruit all over his nose too.

Cake.

2010-05-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

It's my birthday this bank hol monday. So I'll be busy eating cake, having bbqs, spending time with lots of lovely people & generally having a rather lovely time. It's edwina.simone's first birthday too in a couple of weeks, since things changed somewhat.

So stay tuned for some birthday offers & special things happening over the next couple of weeks!

source

It would make my day is pickles wore a little tee like this.

PS check out kitty n dog blog for some cute new posts.

Have a good bank hol weekend, lets hope it's sunny!

Bangle dangle

2010-04-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

You may remember, a little while ago I wrote this post about a couple of resin bangles I made. Well, they're still not finished, having taken a back seat for the mo. But I wish they would end up looking like this beauty from Triian. The Deep Sea Bangle is made from a blend of textured resin pirces, is hand sanded & shaped & then Swarovski crystals are added. Each one is unique as they are made by hand & from scraps of previous bracelets. I'm a sucker for plastic, well crafted jewellery. I love diamonds as much as the next girl, but I believe an item of jewellery can be special, valuable & precious without being silver or gold.

I also like this . Quite a lot.

And this too.
Together. Too much? Noo

2010-04-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

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Available to buy on Not on the Highstreet. Been working on some new egg cups today featuring the same kind of Aztec/geometric design.

Fascinator fascination

2010-04-27T04:52:00.000-07:00

This ALMOST looks like a wedding post... wow... who knew?!

There are so many beautiful fascinators around at the moment, especially with the wedding season. They range from the delicate & soft to the huge & crazy. Team them with curly, beachy hair & you're set for a long summer's day. (I usually hate my curly hair, but in the summer, when as soon as you've straightened it, it's all a frizz again, there's no option but to give in to the wave. Invest in a good salt spray... I've used pretty much every curl product throughout the years and Label M Salt Spray made by Toni & Guy is a pretty good option. Failing that, fill an empty refillable spray bottle with water, add a generous helping of sea salt & there you have yourself some home made salt spray. Just ruffle it up a bit, or use a hairdryer for a couple of mins for a curlsome boost.

Here are a few of my favourites:

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Philip Treacy Vintage Inspired Black Fascinator

I love the grey with the bright yellow these bridesmaids are wearing.

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I've wanted to make my own for a long time, the ones on the highstreet are just a bit too bridesmaid, or a little but to, well, who wore a hat made of fruit & bananas & flowers? Oh yeah I remember...

I had no idea there were so many millinery supplies available, even the veiling & sinamay bases. In such a variety of colours too.

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I ended up buying supplies from ebay. I spent about £10 inc. postage & am going to use a few bits I already have, hairband, pearls etc etc. The colour scheme I'm going for is this amazing coraly/orange, grey & white & pale green. I may even do a little How To on how I made mine... if it turns out ok :)

Things that make me smile...

2010-04-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

I don't think I own anything white. At all. But I love these. I had a pair of cherry red ones of these when I was abot 12/13. I was so cool then. I'd love a pair of these now... why do I always like boots in summer & strappy dresses in winter?

kitty n dog blog

2010-04-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

You probably already know this, BUT, Laura of SheDraws & I have started ourselves as top pet blogger/reporter/writer types. You'll find all the hot pet news over at http://kittyanddog.blogspot.com/ There'll be reviews, recipies, cute & furry features. We blog a couple of times a week & also feature readers pets in Furry Friends Friday.

If you'd like to be featured, you could always drop us a line at kittyndog_blog@hotmail.com

PS the above blog banner is grabbable, if you care to pop it onto your own blog ;)

Double Whammy

2010-04-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

Well, well, a few days ago I was given a couple of blog awards, so here they are...

The first by the lovely Kateepie. The task is to tell 7 things about me that I haven't told before... you'll just have to be ok with things I don't think any of you know.

Here are the rules...
1.Copy the award to your blog 2.Insert a link to the person who nominated you 3.Tell seven things about yourself that you haven’t told before 4.Nominate seven other bloggers for the award 5.Link to their blogs 6.Tell the nominees about their award

Ok so here goes:

1. When I was 16 I gained a black belt in Karate, I started when I was about 7 or something. I reached 17 & pretty much never did it again, was pretty demanding & at that age I just wanted to then go out with my friends & have weekends back. And no you cannot fight me, and I won't karate chop you. So don't ask. Ok? I'm really unfit now & haven't done any exercise since then. Does swimming count? On holiday. Once?

2. I don't own a brush. People get a bit freaked out by this & look at me a bit weird, like I'm grubby or something. I have curly hair, if I brush it, it frizzes. I straighten my hair most days, with this, I find I don't need to brush it, only straighten it again the next day. When I have my hair curly, I'm pretty lucky, as it's kind of beachy & wavy now, as opposed to full o frizz like when I was younger.

3. I'm 5ft 10 but only have size 5/6 feet. Yes I know this is weird. And no, I don't have very good balance.

4. I only passed my driving test about 18 months ago. And I'm 26 in a couple of weeks. I just never needed to drive... I wasn't useless or anything.

5. I'm an only child. My mum is an only child, so is my dad. I don't want children, I never have. I had soft toys in my buggies as a child. I tried to like dolls, but didn't. I liked barbies though.

6. I lost 3 stone last year. & I didn't realize I was all *that* chubby. Looking back, yes I was. But then Ive always been a tad. And still am. Must work on that.

7. I secretly want to be a hairdresser. It'd just be cool. I wouldn't talk about holidays. Or rubbish.

.......................................................................................................................................................

The second is from Nerys at Crafty Jemima. I need to share with you 5 things that I love & then pass it on.

So here goes:

1. Cheese. I could eat it all day (& night) & get rather fat.

2. My little cat & dog family. They make me super happy & give the best hugs. & the boy (of course)

3. Straighteners. Quite frankly I think I'd be a frizzy sobbing mess if these weren't in my life. (That or I'd need to find a good frizz serum)

4. Curry sauce & chips. My (not really guilty) pleasure.

5. Having picnics in the sun. It's going to be a good summer, I can't wait.

All my things are food or material things, wow.
:)

Ok so the lovely people I'm nominating for both (because I'm nice like that) areee...

Hayley at Ruby Wren Designs
Laura at SheDraws
Helen at Storeyhshop
Sar at GlitterySah
Anna at Anrk Designs
Sami at Teasemade
Jennie at Sailor Jennie

2010-04-20T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of pictures of the necklace I talked about in my last post. The first is of it on & the second is of the finish, shimmery, but textured.

Last week I spent a lot of time drawing out & cutting, filing, sanding & generally sweating over a matching bracelet. & here's the finished outcome. The silver I used is a bin thin & has a bit too much flex in it, so makes for a very delicate bracelet, but I'm happy over all.

& here's them together. These babies are for me, as I never make anything for myself, but similar things will be popping up in the shop over the next month or so.

Hope you like them

x

Sketchbooks, flipflips & sausage dogs

2010-04-13T09:25:00.000-07:00

So, the pierced silver necklace that I talked about here is finally done. You can't see quite how shimmery the finish its, really, it's a brushed effect, but it really reflects the light, unlike the brushed matte effect I was going to do.

I will be introducing this style of jewellery into the shop over the next few month & am already working on a bangle using a similar design. I've included some images from the sketchook for the project, before it goes off to be marked at the end of the course.

Here are a few pics from over the weekend:

We had quite a bit of hot weather, this little lady doesn't fare well when it's slightly warmer than freezing. She's really not that fat.... & she's cute too... just photographs badly!

I worked quite hard over the weekend & the sunny weather also persuaded me to buy a few summery bits for my wardrobe too... only from the best boutique in town, mind. Haha.

The salmony coloured flipflops are a lovely coraly/peach shade & were only £3. I know, splashing out. But they don't really last very long anyway, wherever you get them from.

Look at all my dremel attachments & my overflowing toolbox, bet your jealous aren't you?!

In other news, my parents are going to go & look at some little daschund puppies this weekend. They spent so long looking after mine while I wasn't able to have her, that they now want their own. (check out the puppies in the box to the left!) These little ladies aren't as pretty as my little LuLu, but I think they just don't photograph well. Perhaps it's a sausage dog trait!

& one of Pickles looking furry & smug. Don't you just wanna chub her cheeks.

Oh & by the way, you should definately check out kitty n dog blog.

Just a quick update

2010-04-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Had a really nice evening with lovely food & company, just before I go to bed, the teacup & saucer are now available in the shop. The Blonde Girl Plate is now available in the folksy shop, as is a custom set of 2 20cm x 20cm plates & set of 2 24cm x 24cm plates.

I think I might make myself some.

Cups & saucers & plates

2010-04-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

Today has been such a warm day, I can't believe it!! Yesterday I wore a denim jacket to the post office, today I wore a sleeveless dress & have a slightly pink shoulder from working in the sun! Here are a few designs I have been working on for & while & today I finally drew them out, I think I quite like them a lot!

The first is a little weather inspired teacup & saucer. The saucer has a cloud, cute little rainbow & tree. The cup has rainy clouds a big shiny sun. This is a one off (at the minute) I'm not sure if I'm going to make anymore.

The second are some face plates. They make me laugh, they will come in sets of 2, the small ones measure 20cm across, so side plate side, or sandwich size & the larger ones 24cm across, so dinner late size.
While drawing these I thought of an excellent wedding present I could make for one of my friends, whose getting married this year, custom 'his & hers' dinner plates, genius! Which lead me onto thinking I could offer a custom plate illustration, fancy having you or your loved ones face on a plate? I'd try not to offend anyone...

A few pics from the weekend

2010-04-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

Days were spent in...Northampton, the New Forest, Bournemouth. The little Cheshire cat below was won on one of those grabber machines, he's now in my car. Excellent.

Having an icecream, one of many of the sweet things I ate this weekend, oops. I look like I have hardly any hair here, I do.

My mum bought me this cute silicone baking set. She bought me choc too, which I ate.

Picklecat blends with the duvet.

Zak, my mum & dad's dog hugging his bunny. He's such an oaf.

The chandelier of my nan's that my mum is cleaning up to sell

How was yours?

2010-04-05T13:41:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd write a little something on nails, since they're my new fascination. Hey, I know I'm not 12, I'm a little late with this, I know. Unfortunately I have exactly the same hands as my dad, but smaller, obviously. Cute he says, BUT not really too girly. Mix that with them constantly being used as creative tools & not aesthetic beauties for the last, I dunno, 10 years & that's not really a happy mix. I had a phase about 3 years ago after I had acrylic extensions that I had my own, real nails for a while... but just always nibbled them off. Bitten nails aren't a good look, I know that & my dad always asked what I had to be nervous about. Nothing...I just like biting them.

So. About 3 months ago I decided to let my scruffy babies grow. I'm forever hiding my hands, i have a million amazing rings & always felt my hands were to horrible to show them off. (I'm *blessed* with rather chubby sausage-esque fingers too & generally just small hands) I just kind of stopped biting them really, as they were pretty short, when they were allowed to grow, it happened pretty quickly. When you see an immediate difference, it's easier to keep going (or not going, in this case) Think after the first week of a diet, enthused when you start noticing that slightly smaller muffin top... or even better someone else does, as opposed to the "I'll start the diet tomorrow" (I may write a little something on this too at some point!)

I'll have tiny nails, I'm ok with that, it's a strange sensation to walk around with a nail file in my bag, I may even turn into a propper girl.

This is one of the varnishes I got a while back & they are super dooper indeed. I find that the more the varnish peels & chips, the more I want to nibble & peel it off, so that;s my tip for keeping your nails looking too good to chomp on. INVEST IN A GOOD NAILVARNISH.

Essie - cute as a button

Now this colour is way brighter than it looks in the bottle. In daylight it resembles a neon highlighter colour that was rather in fashion last summer. But hey, it's nearly summer, so it's slightly more acceptable at the minute. (If I have anywhere important to go, I'm sure I'd take it off though)

Essie - eternal optimist

I love this colour & used it when my nails were super short, I've had it for a while in the hope of my nails growing sometime. Good for sensible occassions when bright red just won't do!

Essie - tart deco (new for spring 2010)

I ordered this colour tonight on ebay. YES I know it looks very much like the above two. But in fact they're all really different, this is more of a coral/peachy shade, rather than the first, highlighter pink shade. Hmm.

Essie - mink muffs

I love the name... & the shade. I ordered this tonight too. I'll let you know how I get on.

I have bought SO many products over the years & been disappointed almost as much. Recently I've found a few products that I'm really impressed with. There's nothing more annoying than spending money on something that promises you the world & leaves you unhappy. It's wasteful & often leaves you with a drawer full of foundations that make you look orange. I've got a few products I have in mind, so watch this space, if you're interested!

I'll leave you with some amazing nails...

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I saw loads of these nails & bits & bobs to do your own when I was in Tokyo a couple of years ago, I love them! Possibly not practical though. But cute.

Love these Wah nails too, matte effect & contrasting gloss is a winner.

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Have a lovely easter from all of us here over at edwina.simone (all the post office runners, tea makers, financial advisors, cute entertainers, cushion plumpers, maths wizzes)

Whatever you do, make sure you spend it with important people & stuff yourself silly with easter food. (Every holiday for me means that)

(I would love a cute box of these)

cut. out.

2010-04-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

This week has been a busy week of making cushions, designing new prints, spending time with friends & as of this weekend, spending time with family too.

I have also been perfecting my silver piercing pieces. I love working in aluminium, it's light, easy to cut & modern. On Tuesday, however I started to cut out the design below, but in 0.8cm silver. It was tough going. It's hardwearing but looks delicate, I love it. The finish I have planned for it is a brushed finish, but quite shiny, I always thought I likes matte best, it's very textured though. It's for a metalwork course I'm doing, but this style jewellery will definately make it into the shops.

I have been looking at the amazing Rob Ryan's paper cuts for inspiration... these are super delicate & I would love to have the patience to create something this beautiful.

Also the work of Tord Boontje. I first came across this chap in about, I don't know about 3 or so years ago in Habitat where they sold his beautiful lights (see below) They came flat packed & you basically wrapped them around your light bulb, creating the shade, such a lovely idea. Love how delicate & intricate it is.

Love these necklaces too

Spoon

2010-04-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, spoons. So...

I've been to many places & seen many beautiful spoons that I like (oddly enough) but have never known what to do with them... it's quite ok to just have pretty things just to look at, I know that. But spoons? Come on.

I saw someone with a spoon bangle ages & ages ago & thought some day I'd rather like to make myself one. Bash it around a bit, how hard can it be. So on Monday I bought myself not one, but three spoons. Why not. One is pretty & would look lovely shaped into a bangle, the other is pretty but heavy, not sure I could ever form it into anything & the last is plain, just wondered if I could pierce a pretty design into.

But I need more tools for that, so in the meantime check out these spoon bangle beauties & I'll let you know how I get on

& these too
& these...

These are my lovely spoons. A £14 well spent

2010-03-28T02:15:00.001-07:00

Just a quick one this morning to say that these are now available here & here too.

Cute

Hello Saturday

2010-03-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Here's the cushion I made a couple of weeks ago out of some ikea fabric... you can see the (expertly sewn) curtains in the background that I made ages ago too.

Today has been mostly updating the shop, sewing, illustrating some plates & list making. A lot of that. There are some really exciting things coming soon.

Also this week, I finally opened an Etsy shop. I had a shop there a few years ago & I have to admit, I didn't really *get it* so there are a few things in there, which will be updated next week.

Have a good weekend x

Lino cuts

2010-03-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

I love hand printed things.

Don't get me wrong, I love a stack of smooth, matte paper just fresh back from the printers, all perfect & ink smelling, but there's just something special about something that's hand printed & not *quite perfect*

I've had a stack of soft cut carving blocks & lino cutting tools, for about, I don't know, over a year at least. I haven't done any for about 7 years or something it must be. (I don't count the attempt I had when I first got the blocks & tried to cut out something round, had a paddy & threw them to the back of the draw!) I;ve been practicing carving & printing for ages now, I think I've got the shapes & kind of things that work now. Delicate, kind of, not too fussy... but not to plain either.

So here goes...

The weird umbrella shape thing is meant to be a mushroom... doesn't work so well. The little leaf... I love.

Lovely on fabric.

pigs & chickens

2010-03-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

To aid my recovery, I was bought this little lady this week. Peppa pig in a little scout uniform... she even snorts when you push her tummy. Cute. I'm feeling rather better now, thanks for all your well wishes, you lot of lovely people, you make me happy.

This week I also added this little chap to my bookcase of little creatures. I don't think I've talked about where it came from before. Now, it's one of my most favourite stores ever. That's right, EVER. Here. Tiger. I have bought so many things from there before, I think even the little ceramic pot, in the picture behind the chicken is from there too. The little cuckoo clock in is from there, & was £2, yep.

So here it is... my £3 chicken...
These babies can also be found on the cabinet...
weird cats from a carboot sale, someones gotta love them.
lucky cat brought back from Tokyo
a tile I painted at one of those paint your own... places

and these chaps:
lucky pig brought back from Tokyo & a little cute beautifully made mousie from Treacle Zoo, seriously, check out the shop, so cute!

AND THE WINNERRRRR ISSSSSSS....

2010-03-24T05:45:00.000-07:00

.... Nerys of Crafty Jemima

Thanks for all your comments, tweets, DM's & emails, they made me laugh.. I'm glad I'm not the only one that ends up sitting on needles! I picked the winning entry out of a err... teapot after swizzling them all around... very scientific! Sorry about the slight delay... feeling a little bit better now, I'm really not good at being ill at all, I hardly ever get ill!

I'll contact the lovely Nerys & get the goodies sent off

x

2010-03-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

Really feeling all the springtime colours that are around at the moment. I love colour, and love using them together. I'm the kind of girl that has a stack of wrapping paper/fabric/papers, far too lovely to use.

Cards

2010-03-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

New to the shop last week is a set of 2 little cards. Featuring donuts & a little ball of yarn & knitting needles, they're blank inside for your own message & come with a brown envelope.

2010-03-23T04:19:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for all your emails, tweets & comments for the giveaway, I've been ill... but I'm on the mend now I hope. So the giveaway is now extended it to mignight tonight & then that's it!

GIVEAWAY...

2010-03-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

Thought I may do a little giveaway!

Until Sunday 21st March 12 Midnight you have the chance to win this penguin needle case, with 4 felt pages to pop your needles & pins in, to keep them safe! Ties with a little spotted ribbon. AND an aluminium tea pot pendant lovingly cut out by me! Has a matte brush effect finish & I'll even pop in a little silver plated chain to wear it on!

All you have to do is tell me why you would like a little penguin needle case... it could be to stop the cat pinching your pins, or simply you just love the little penguin chaps. To do this you can...

leave a blog comment
email at hello@edwinasimone.co.uk
or tweet it to http://twitter.com/edwina_simone

You have until Sunday midnight to enter & a winner will be randomly selected on Monday morning.

Good Luck!

teapots, lamps, leaves...

2010-03-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

I saved this lamp from my parent's garage full of stuff destined to go onto ebay. It has been in there for years, it was my nan's, she brought it back from Spain when she lived there about 50 years ago or something, its made from alabaster. I love the veins that light up when you plug it in, it goes oddly well with the old look we have going on in our living room! I just hope I don't break it or anything!

Here's a little tea set & milk jug I also claimed from the ebay pile.

My finished pierced aluminium leafy necklace. I know it's not the most original or revolutionary design, but I quite like it.

And also a little alumium teapot that I love too. I'm undecided how I'm going to sell these, as a charm on their own, to attach to what you like, or as a pendant with chain. I like how light it is, especiallu if you're going to put it on a bracelet with lots of other ones. Has a brushed satin finish.

for me

2010-03-09T07:27:00.000-08:00

I never make jewellery for myself, ever, whenever people say, did you make what i'm wearing I always say no, everything I make for me always ends up being given to someone else, or for sale, this is a cute little ring with transport stickers I had, the little helicoper is so cute. Not sure if I'd ever wear it though...

This one is also for me, it has lots of lovely old lace shoved into it. It's so chunky. here's my little leaf bit of metalwork too. I love chunky and I love delicate too.

Custom hamster earrings; tiny tiny.

a few things from last week

2010-03-08T05:29:00.000-08:00

A few doodles & bits from the last week. Maybe some new designs for some fabric from new doodles.

Little houses for some metal pierced shapes I have in mind.

Egg cups in our shop & folksy shop too
cat brooches
larger cushions

One table is sanded & painted, the other one is waiting to be done, the stain is particularly thick so is pretty difficult to take off, so will do it another day when I'm feeling extra strong!

ouch

2010-03-05T05:06:00.000-08:00

This week I have sanded stuff until my poor hands have bled, kind of literally really, got a bit over excited with sanding my little nest of tables... which I'll take a photo of when they're done. I've also done A LOT of metal sawing of tiny tiny shapes, one day I'm worried I may go completely blind. Especially as I rarely really wear my contacts/glasses anyway! So today i have really really rough hands & think I'm just destined not to have very nice hands at all. Oh well.

Here is a pair of little enamelled heart earrings I made from copper, I really like the effect of copper when it has been heated, although hate copper for it's tarnishing. Yacht varnish or something similar coating the bare metal bits will stop the skin turning green. These little babies are for me, I like how big they are. I'm toying with buying some enamels myself, (these were finished off at my metalwork class) but I'm just not sure.

This is how big they are, I like them a lot, please excuse my horrible ear. In the background you can see some bigger cushions ready to go into the shop over the weekend too.

These are some little pierced leafy/bud shapes I have been cutting out this week, mostly for my metalwork final project but I have some ideas for something like this to go into my shop within the next month or so hopefully.

I'm really excited about the little leafy shape below, it is in fact really quite tiny, although you can't really tell. It's not filed there, that's why it's not looking very pretty! I'm a massive believer or jewellery not having to be made of precious metal to be special, or worth a lot, but having worked with silver quite a bit the last few months, I'm starting to realize there really is something special about creating with a valuable metal (if not a bit scary.) Saying that, this isn't actually silver, I wanted to create this out of something light and a bit flexible (maybe too flexible, I'm not sure yet, I'll probably cry if it breaks before I'm finished) so it's aluminium. It's destiny is a necklace.

Half price until Sunday eve!

2010-02-26T06:11:00.001-08:00

You're it!

2010-02-26T04:25:00.000-08:00

Righto, I got tagged by the lovely Sarah over at glitterysah, I'm always one to be nosy & have enjoyed reading other peoples, so here's mine...

Here are the rules...

1. open your first photo folder
2. scroll to the tenth photo
3. post the photo and the story behind it
4. tag five or more people

This photo was taken in Summer 08 at the Royal Berkshire Show. It was sooo so hot! And crowded. As soon as I got there I got a fly in my eye & had to wait in line in the queue for the toilets for ages until I could get the fly out/see the fly eyeliner damage. (I had probably 'reduced' the size of my bag & the amount of rubbish I was carrying that day & took something useful like my mirror out)

This is a pic of all the moos being paraded round, not sure why really, but I loved it, look how cute & tiny some of them are!! Were lots of people in country type hats & binoculars there, lots of wax jackets being sold... I think we had a hotdog :)

I'm tagging

Hayley at rubywren
Laura at shedraws
The extra patient STOREYSHOP
Samantha at Littlegamgee/Sarah Eynon
The lovely littleclouds

Creative Boom

2010-02-25T06:46:00.000-08:00

We're featured by the lovely people at Creative Boom: Reading this week, it's always nice to read a little something about yourself!

We'll also be appearing in a well known magazine in a couple of months too!

weekends

2010-02-23T10:03:00.000-08:00

It's really nice to have weekends back after having a job for ages you're not only working the weekend, you're there to make sure other people are having a good time while on THEIR weekend off. Don't get me wrong, I never want to be the kind of person that *wishes* for friday, but at the minute it's just nice to have the same time off as everyone else... to do not a lot on sunday if that's what I want to do. Have a late breakfast & perhaps a wander round the shops, lots of tea & then Come Dine With Me & a roast.

This weekend we went off to a lovely country hotel for the night, we had cream teas & lots more teas & a little swim, float around in the jacuzzi & got frizzed up in the steam room (my hair, that is) had some really good food too. If you're looking for somewhere a bit different to stay Hand Picked Hotels are really good, usually can get dinner & brekkie & maybe some canapes thrown in too :)

Teapot & tea in a compartment in the wardrobe, now that's my idea of a wardrobe. They never give you enough milk though. Why IS that.

Massive room, so nice to walk around while you're getting ready, rather that having to dodge the wall/chest of drawers/wardrobe/cat/dog/both.

Really nice thick curtains.

This is what the rest of the hotel looked like too, a bit like a castle... this is the health spa, actually bigger than it looks!

cushions

2010-02-17T09:49:00.001-08:00

So here they are, the first of our limited edition cushions. They're 30cm x 30cm are printed with either penguin or birdy fabric on cotton on the front & a thicker unbleached cotton on the back. A duck feather cushion is included & the cover is washable, it secures with an envelope closing at the back. I want to keep them all myself!! If you fancy one of these chaps, you can get them from the shop & on NOTHS too.

I'm trying to work out which ones I like the best... think it may be the little birdy one... just!

You can see the curtains I made from ikea fabric a while ago too in these pics. The fabric is really thick, almost canvas & is 1 1/2 metres wide, so makes excellent curtain material. They're not lined or anything... they let the light in a little in the morning, but they're in the lounge, so it's no biggie.

pppppp pick up a penguin..

2010-02-17T07:08:00.000-08:00

..yummy. Just don't try to eat these ones!

These little chaps are made using the fabric I had printed a little while ago. So cute, you can get them in our folksy shop & our shop too.

Northampton College Fun Day

2010-02-17T03:15:00.000-08:00

my mum's helping to arrange the crafty bit of the Northampton College Fun Day, so please get in contact if you're interested! (Last year it did rain for about 2 weeks when it was on though... but we've been promised a super scorching summer this year, yay!)

I'll be there, yep, definately.

Craft Fair in Daventry, Northants
On Saturday 12th June 2010
At the Daventry Campus of Northampton College
Badby Road West, Daventry, Northants NN11 4HJ
10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Craft stalls free!

Following the success of previous years’ events, The Daventry Learning Partnership has come together again to promote another Community Fun Day. This event raises the awareness of education in Daventry and surrounding areas. It provides an opportunity for organisations, artists, crafters and entertainers to promote themselves and we only ask you to give a donation to our nominated charities:

1. Pete Spencer ‘Helping Hands’ – a local charity making dreams come true for serious/terminally ill children.
2. The Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance – whose service covers in excess of 3m people and motorists.

Among the many attractions there will be:
Traditional fun fair
Food
Exhibitions,
Live music
Dancing
Demonstrations
Pet’s corner.
Craft Fair

To apply for a stall please email me and I will send out an application form and further details.

jeannette.kendall@northamptoncollege.ac.uk or Phone: 01624 736334
(Northampton College Daventry Print Room)

jeannette2682@yahoo.co.uk

teeny weeny red earrings

2010-02-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

It's very exciting...some of our teeny red fused glass earrings are being put into The White Box Company's sample boxes at Pierre Garroudi's Show at London Fashion Show this week! The White Box Company create little boxes with yummy goodies in; they can range from jewellery to sweets, to vouchers for manicures to magazines... I'd quite like to have a little box of goodies myself!

bangles n earrings

2010-02-15T07:50:00.000-08:00

So on Saturday I popped along to an Antiques Fair & bought myself this cute little orangy/mustardy coloured bakealite bangle.
And tried to sort out some of the massive wardrobe I seemed to have now, but still have nothing to wear. Put loads of stuff on ebay... but kept this little mustardy coloured dress & little beret :)

These little earrings are teeny tiny & also (yep) a lovely shade of mustard. Not been able to photograph them so they show what a nice shade they are yet though.

Here is one of the nest of tables that I found at our local dump to pretify! I got them & a lovely big glass pot & another little blue & white jug all for a fiver. woop. It's destiny is yellow!

wednesdays are ok.

2010-02-10T10:58:00.001-08:00

A set of 2 plates with a new for 2010 design are in our NOTHS shop today! I like them a lot :)

x

love is sharing a patch of sun

2010-02-10T06:15:00.000-08:00

cute

x

create your own.... chicken, car, pig

2010-02-07T08:13:00.000-08:00

create your own... anything you want really, with this kit.

Contains all you need for many small projects.

This little pack of goodies includes:
needle & thread
brooch pin blank
ring blank
felt shapes
faux leather
elastic
ribbon
string
buttons
seed beads
sequins
chequered fabric
leopard print felt
flowery felt
mini brads
stick on velcro

Also included is an ideas leaflet, you could make a ring, a car, a turtle, a flower brooch, a train, a worm... anything!

Largest piece of fabric measures approx 16cm x16cm, includes some good sized fabric/felt pieces, you can easily get a few projects out of this kit.

Thursday

2010-02-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Today has been a day of researching, sourcing materials, sums and lists. It's not all bad though, as I've had mu trusty calculator friend, deff makes scary maths slightly more cute.

In my metalwork course, we've also done a bit on glass, plastics & porcelain too. Here are some buttons, now I like them just plain porcelain, but also with a slight touch of colour, I added a bit of colour this afternoon & like the yellow best, so spring like.

Do you know what...

2010-02-02T05:41:00.000-08:00

I think I've never really blogged about Tokyo, no idea how, every single other person has had my photos & tales thrust upon them! Maybe a little odd seeing as it was a year ago or so, but I think I haven't unveilled my collection of dogs in trousers pics... and of course the amazing buildings & sites.

We came across people having a wedding at one of the temples. Such a sunny day. An hour before it was so dark & grey.

This, I believe is in that Channel 4 advert, didn't realize until we got back. Funnily enough this is the really dodgy end of town!!

View from the Government building, where a day or two before I tried to find out where I could get some money out & no cash points had taken my card. Subsequently HSBC has blocked my card as they thought it has been cloned back in the UK & never told me. Thanks HSBC.

This is the cutest little shop. My dream is to have a shop, just like this one in fact. The starbucks next to it is where a man wanted to take my photo, first of about 3 times. Odd.

Small room, yep. But amazing hotel.

There are signs & little characters just everywhere, they're just so cute! even if they're telling you not to do something!
It's really difficult to pick, but here are a could of my (close) favourites...

Tamagotchi shop. So so so cute!!!

I love these penguins, they were an xmas decoration outside the best Krispy Kreme shop. There was a massive queue & they gave you a donut while you waited... for free!

Cat bus. hahah. Or is it a dog bus??

The arcade games were amazing! We spend most of our nights scouring all 5 floors of each one for these little beauties

And yes we collected quite a few... yes & brought then home, jammed into suitcases & in hand luggage, haha oh dear.

Can't forget all the little dogs. SO many of them. As soon as we got there I saw a little sausage dog in a bike basket, amazing! They have special doggy parks & a dog isn't dressed unless it has clothes on! I have a video of a dog park, but I can't get it to upload, will keep trying, as by not seeing it you're seriously missing out!

& here's one of when I had longer red hair, I kind of miss the colour but it was so hard to maintain.

hello tuesday

2010-02-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

Hello February. How are you here so soon?

x

A Spot of Mustard

2010-01-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the snow I can deal with, fresh, freezing & bright, still love. But dark, dismal & grey, no thanks. How about a spot of mustard to brighten things up...

My hat from Japan. Oh look & there's Mr Britain

(source)

I love little berets. They never suit me though.

This really amazing Eames chair

(source)
(source)
This little baby

This would look amazing with lots of curly hair

embroidery

2010-01-26T03:58:00.000-08:00

ok, so I've been working on some little pdf embroidery patterns of my little birds, I love their bodies, just not 100% with the way their little faces look. Here are a few amazing stitchy things.

(source)

These by Emma Smart
(source)

& this little chap

birdy tray

2010-01-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

*ONE OFF* four birdy tray, this is by far my most favourite illustrated ceramic I've done so far, there's only one of them... HERE.

There will be one other similar one coming, perhaps with some little owlys

x

Grumpy dogs & little clouds...

2010-01-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

A few new things this week to take a little look at:

Grumpy dog earrings... available from our folksy & not on the highstreet shops

Also, our first set of badges, featuring a little bird, "tweet", an unhappy cloud & a penguin! Available in our folksy shop & on our website.

things that have caught my eye this week...

2010-01-17T04:55:00.000-08:00

This little Peas in a Pod necklace & Owl Bandit necklace by Made By White

I love these lampwork beads by pinocean, I like how matt & delicate they are, I've ordered myself these lovely white ones.

penguins & birds

2010-01-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

These little guys are being made into fabric as we speak... hopefully! Brushing up on my sewing skills to make little clip frame purses from them, so cute. There were going to be bears too... but they just didn't look right as a repeat pattern, will probably make cards out of the chubby little fellas instead.

I'm also working on these little birds being available as an embroidery pattern in pdf format, exciting!

ten...

2010-01-11T14:39:00.000-08:00

... free things.

I've been tagged by the lovely Hayley of Ruby Wren designs to name 10 of my favourite free things. Go & read hers here! To be fair, I was surprised there wasn't a cake related one!haha.

So here we go:

1. Having an unusually good hair day: now I have naturally curly hair, I remember having the first (pretty much) straightners back when I was 16. A new world of smooth, slightly (less) uncontrolable hair opened up to me. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I love having curly hair days too, although sometimes it'd difficult to look like 'tousled' & end up more 'twig like'.

2. When the cat & dog get on & they come for a snuggle on the sofa with me & the boy: again, like the first, doesn't happen very often. They're pretty good friends but rarely snuggle together, it's a good feeling when they do.

3. Cake: that's it, just cake, love it.

4. Cuddles: they're pretty good.

5. Tea: a fair few of you know that as well as cake, I am rather partial to a lovely hot cup of tea. Not too strong, not too weak with a sweetner please, sometimes none. Perhaps with a biscuit too.

6. Getting a parcel/text message: I love opening an exciting parcel, the way it's all wrapped up. I get a bit excited when I see "1 message received" etc etc & that little envelope. With emails, not so much, as often they're just rubbish, a good email however is just as good.

7. Caching up with people I've not seen for ages: preferably with numbers 3 & 5!

8. Nice fresh sheets: the sheet has to be nice & tight & smooth over the mattress, the duvet cover has to be over the duvet cover correctly, no spare fabric at the top or bulging/folding.

9. Lie-ins: with or without the cat & dog, nothing better than being tucked up in bed on a weekend.

10. A good weekend film: maybe a cheesy one, perhaps an actual good one, while eating a yummy saturday evening dinner. When I lived at home my mum always used to go food shopping on a saturday, meaning dinner was also jam packed full of treats.

Right, passing this onto:

The lovely Laura at SheDraws
The cheerful chappy Sarah at glitterysah

x

things that make me smile...

2010-01-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

my little alessi monkey salt & pepper chaps that I got for christmas. I love these little guys, so cute.

They sit on our tv cabinet with my pepe & friends guys. I can safely say none of these little beauties will ever be used!

Our massively snow covered washing line, amazing how snow sticks to the thinnest of things. We have had SO much snow.

Little dog & cat foot prints. When you have a cat with very long legs & a dog with unusually short legs, its easy to spot the cat's footprints & the dog's foot/belly prints!

My little cat & dog family.
This little blank face.
The shape of this cat. Always. Plus she always steals the dog's bed.

This amazing scarf by sara carr that I got for christmas. (excuse all the pics if me, I seem to have come over all vain)

Reading anything by Mo Hayder. Not that dark/thriller books make me smile, oh nonono, it's just nice to spend some time reading, just reading with tea. Not feeling guilty about what needs to be done.

What kinda things make you smile?

cute

2010-01-05T06:43:00.000-08:00

on my (lengthy) searching around the internet for cuteness, I came across this amazingly lovely little pug embroidery by sublime stitching. So cute, they even do little chiuaua ones too! I bought this little forest friends one a while ago, not had a chance to do it yet though.

fresh new year

2010-01-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

This was going to be a post about new years resolutions, diets, changes, yoga, no sugar, carbs, bring extremely saint like etc etc. Basically not eating anything that I like/doing anything I know I shouldn't.

I do find it slightly weird when come January, you're expected to forget the whole cheesecake you ate in one go, 3 mince pies you had one after the other & be more thin, toned & healthy than before.

You're meant to ignore all those piles of cakes, biscuits, cheese etc etc you went to 3 different supermarkets to wrestle to get. I like to use the term "use up" all the naughty food before starting fresh. (yeah I know if I didn't eat it all in the first place the new year healthy eating wouldn't be so bad, or so needed!)

There are loads of things set to change in 2010, things have been really busy towards the end of last year with unexpected things taking up lots of time, there are lots of new things working their way over to the shops shortly, more designs, more little birdys, more home stuff & accessories, it's very exciting!

Ok, so resolutions, I don't think I've ever kept one in my life before ever. Usually its, sort my life out, spend my time being more creative, read, see friends & family more, don't procrastinate, make the most of my time, lose weight, be healthy, spend less, exercise more, get a better job, be generally happy, more excellent individual, you know how it is.

Last year however, I set myself only one & managed to get a good way to being a lot more healthy & lost quite a bit of weight... I guess. So for this year I just need to exercise really, not really gone any in about 10 years... yes I know that's bad! i do remember the gym a few years ago, but that was followed by the pub afterwards, doesn't really count!

I would also like to use my time a little bit more usefully. And to feel a little bit more fulfilled... do people ever feel content with their job & what they do?

And I guess all that other stuff too, but small steps!

Also, I've bought this little cute shade of blue twine on the end for some revamped packaging & also some recycled manilla gift boxes, they'll be like little bundled up packages, lovely!

that's it

2009-12-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

looks like that's it for orders for christmas then! what a snowy christmassy day today has been too! After not being ill for about 6 months I seem to have some kind of siusy cold, just in time for christmas, as usual!

Here are a few pics showing what's been going on throughout december...

We were in the drawing issue of Anorak magazine.

Christmas ornament swap

Bright white christmas tree

A fair bit of snow

last posting dates for the big day!

2009-12-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! Yay! So to make sure you get your bis & bobs in time, please order before 12 noon. The dates are below...
I can't believe it's the First of December already & I also can't believe I haven't got an advent calendar!

Me & Tea

2009-11-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

Although I simply love tea, I must admit, I haven't tried all that many. Every brand of normal tea, yes, lots of herbal teas, yes, some chinese teas, yep. I can drink my good old assam everyday about 5 or more cups a day, I can often get to work at 6 & realize I haven't actually had anything else to drink. not good.

Having entered the lovely SheDraw's tea swap a bulging package landed on my doorstep this morning, The equally lovely Marnie from the Spotted Bikini duo has send me a MASSIVE host of exciting loose teas, such as chai mumbai etc etc. I don't know which to try first! They smell amazing, my kitchen now smells so woody & yummy. Also included was some choc, which *ahem* I ate with my *normal* tea with lunch, little cute stickers, a little mushroom & tiny little biccies too, ahh! I feel rather spoiled, I'll update you all with my new favourite tea once I've tried them all. OOhh how refined!

Thought I might include a pic of the little enamelled copper cloud I made in this weeks metalworking class. I've done loads before at college, but I'm brushing up on my skills slightly, I have always *loved* piercing & after a couple of mins, whizzed out this little cloud fellow. It's making me wish I had done something slightly more jewellery/silversmithing for my degree, but never mind.

When I did some at college, I don't know, about 7 or so years ago (phew) there were massive blow torches attached to the ceiling with a rubber tube, where the gas came from, they were massive, I often felt like I was putting out a fire or something!! I always felt a bit afraid of these, they were so noisy & large & I'm a bit clumsy... only in situations where I can't be though!! Now, I have this tiny little hand blowtorch, so cute, so small, so easy & not scary. So that makes me happy. I also break a lot less piercing saw blades than when I did it before, less frustrated, also happy about that. And soldering, no more snipping off some solder & mixing the flux, blobbing on in the hope it will look neat (& stick!) There is now solder in syringes! Squidge it out in the right place & wa la! Very happy about that.

So I may be asking for a tiny little enamelling kiln for xmas then. I have an idea for a whole host of little cloud chaps with rain, shine, rainbows etc as brooches etc etc.

cute.
Also, I thought I'd give you a little sneaky peek at my fused glass earrings in action. Don't worry, these will be my pair, they're meant to cool slowly, rather than the kiln just being popped open. I love how they glow.

things that make me smile...

2009-11-11T08:10:00.000-08:00

this cute foxy scarf from lazy oaf. i love lazy oaf, they have absolutely everything, something one day I would like to do. I can never stick to one thing you see, one day I want to be sewing, the next jewellery making, the next you can't get me away from my wacom.

This little chap is the perfect mixture of a fun, yet sophisticated illustration, I sometimes struggle with the idea of that for new items. I can actually draw "realistically" but prefer my style, but perhaps feel I should draw something a little more serious sometimes!

things I like

2009-11-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

knitted clocks.

here. so cute.

robins & new cups

2009-10-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

you can buy these little beauties here & on my website too shortly. They're 5 assorted robin designs, keep an eye out for packs on one type & also some penguin ones!

Also, I ordered my new set of plates, cups & saucers from H is for Home they have lots of handmade & vintage things for the home, there's so much more I would love!

teapot

2009-10-26T06:49:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to find the PERFECT teapot for ages. Most are either too big, too small, half cup/half pot, too spotty, not stripey enough, to posh, to cheesy, to ugy, to pretty, too red, not pink enough, not the right kind of flower/dog/cat (haha)

My mum has a huge collection of this stuff (see below) & also lovely browny 70's heavy spotty stuff too. I went home a couple of weeks ago & remembered she'd promised to put this beauty aside for me when she was sorting some things out. So now I have a pretty teapot to have multiple teas from! Yes, it is a bit flowery, a bit posh, a tiny but cheesy, but I like it because of that!
IKEA fabric that I'm going to (attempt) to make curtains from.
The sausage dog has made herself at home in the kitchen with her million-blanket-habit, the princess & the pea has nothing on her! The light is really nice in the kitchen, this was taken this morning.
The wallpaper in the living room, I LOVE IT!!! When my other friends see it, I think they may think I'm slightly mad for liking it so much, but with the fabric (see above) it's going to look amazing. (even if the fabric is slightly more poo brown than I first thought) Yes, the dog is a little bit chubby ( obese body condition the vet calls it, haha) she's been ill for a while & has been constantly on anti-biotics which MAY have made her pile on the pounds somewhat. (ok she's really fat, I admit it, over a stone of pure blubber, bless her!)
This cactus is about 14 years old, it's about 4ft high, I got it when it was about 20cm from the Gardener's World show at the NEC years ago. It's name is fred.

I love my little magnets from the lovely Jo Heckett LOADS, they're so much more pretty & glossy than this pic.

what i found...

2009-10-26T06:02:00.001-07:00

...in the little garage at the bottom of the garden at the house we've just moved into I found this amazing kitchen cabinet. The kitchen before it was redone by the owner was all like this! A little old lady used to live in the house last, so there are loads of old-ish looking things left! For example, by the fuse box (where is has been replaced) is a little hint into what the wallpaper used to be like, a floral, highly patterned, with leaves & bamboo(?) The house is old, but has character, but has been done up in all the important places! The upstairs floors seem to be slightly slopey & we put a shelf in the built in wardrobe... all the walls in it was wonky! If you're lucky, you may even get to see the old fashioned gas fire in the living room one day! I quite like the old textured wallpaper & all the weird old things here!

Here is the super pretty cabinet & the cobwebby, yucky garage, it may be knocked down, so I thought I'd take pictures of it while I could, I'll be quite sad when it's gone, I like it's dirt & charm. However, neither of us can get our cars in there, so at least we'll have somewhere to park our cars! I was going to clean it & pretty it up, but I'm not sure if it's possible, where I'd put it once it was fixed up, and more importantly, if it has woodworm or not!

I really like the peeling wallpaper & the lined shelves, part of me would like to keep it just as it is, but once the garage has gone, there's no point keeping it. Can anyone give it a good home?! If it doesn't have woodworm that is!

2009-10-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

I'm always interested to see behind the scenes of people's workspaces & processes, my little studio is still a work in progress, so here is a little look into things until we're fully back on track after the move...

plate & frame getting ready to be photographed. love the old biscuit barrel that I keep bits & bobs in now & my ancient mac. Haven't used it for years but I just like the way it looks... will pop it in the loft as it's a pretty, but takes up a lot of space.

Glueing new & vintage buttons from my massive collection for button rings. Made these a while ago & they tend to come out at fairs & sell really well, perhaps I should pop them into the shop?

Glass ready to be fused. love this process, I have stopped cutting myself every time I cut glass now, I have lots of lovely autumny coloured glass ready to be made into earrings.

2009-10-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while again, but I've been moving, nearly sorted now, all the things in my new little studio space just need to be sorted out & then there will be lots of new things popped into the shops again! It's a cute little end terrace with a big back garden & front one too, so there's loads of space for Lulu god & pickleskitten, who is not so much a kitten now but a cat! She's at home with my parents at the minute while we get sorted, terrorizing the dogs, I think my mum & dad's dog is actually in love with her!! She is definately the superior race!

In other news, I HAVE WON a blog giveaway, yay! it's so exciting!! Think the last thing i won was a colouring competition for a leisure centre when I was about 10 & got free swimming lessons!! I'm lucky enough to have won the very dashing Mr. Britain from the lovely SheDraws, check her shop out, it's super cute. I have promised to do a little diary of his new home with me, been a bit hard to get us doing anything but being surrounded by boxes, so you will see his travels within the next week or so, I promise!!

button swap

2009-10-07T05:58:00.000-07:00

here are the lovely goodies I recieved in the lovely sam from incy wincy stiches button swap.

there's a cute little wrap around bracelet, a buttony pendant, little buttony clips & a lovely turquoise button ring, that I'm wearing today, it goes with my turquoise leopard print cardi nicely. there are also lots of lovely buttons & beads, that are too nice to use! there was also a nice bar of milk choc included, that went in rather a short time, with teas!

here's the stuff I sent, buttons made by myself, which will be available in the shop within the next few days after many requests! a variety of papers, stickers & vintage lace. & a buttony bib necklace made from fabric I brought back from Japan & also lots of lovely old & new buttons. I may start making more of these, I have made a few in the past but may start again, what do you think? I like how chunky & fabricy it is.

after a long wait...

2009-10-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

You may remember I talked about a little cabinet I bought a while ago & didn't know what to do with it really, I was unsure wether to paint it matt white, turquoise, red, pink, black? The red drawer was suggested by a lovlely lady, I like the red, I'm just not sure on the finish, maybe it would look better matt white, hmmm.

I do love the spotty handles though! The inside of the lega still isn't painted as I've been unsure about it for a while. Please excuse the slightly grubby carpet, we're in the process of moving!

birdy plates flying everywhere!

2009-10-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

you can now buy our birds plates at two more exciting places!

firstly from hunkydory home, there's loads of exciting home stuff there, I like the clocks!

and
anorak magazine's little shop. i opened the latest issue this morning & spent rather a long tome reading it! get your copy of the insect issue here. there's some exciting news regarding the next issue too!

buy one get one free

2009-09-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

for one week ONLY fused glass earrings HERE will be buy one get one free. please purchase two & I will refund the second pair. they can be two the same or two totally different pairs. the offer will end at midnight on 6th october!!

2009-09-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

i love jewellery, i always have, i thought it was about time i showed you part of my own, vast collection of overflowing from everywhere jewellery items.

this is the first of many posts i think, this is only a small section of MOST of my favourites. doing this has made me realize how little handmade jewellery i own, & i feel a bit bad for that really. i often make things for myself & then feel bad for keeping them & they often just end up for sale.

i have a few handmade bits & some pretty old bits that i like a lot, just don't ever really wear, i may do a little something on thise soon.

ok, so:

1. My Ana Lou of London corgi necklace. i bought this in topshop in london this summer when it was stupidly hot! i like this a lot, although have to wear it with the right thing.

2. haematite ring that i've had for years & vivienne westwood studs. the boy got these for my 25th bday, along with the notorious pickleskitten.

3. these rings were bought in tokyo last december, they came flat packed & you could build them yourself. there were a few choices of colour, style size etc, but these were the only ones that didn't come in a small. (whether it's because i have fat fingers or the japanese are just so slight, probably the first!) i like the colour anyway, i would have chosen the black/white combo anyway. they are pretty chunky to wear & make your fingers stick out like you're trying to do some kind of star trek hand gesture.

4. tiffany necklace, xmas last year, i like it lots, despite nearly the whole world having one. it;s a bit scratched & that makes me sad.

5. vivienne westwood studs, the boy bought me these for my bday last year, we went to cambridge that weekend & it was sooo warm.

6. now this little beauty i got in devon a couple of weeks ago, the colours are really nice, although it doesnt photograph quite so well. i can wear it on my 3rd finger, as they are quite chubby, but big rings on that finger tend to pinch slightly. but for this lovely resin lovely i don't mind.

7. vivienne westwood necklace, for my birthday this year from my mum! i like it as it's a little bit longer than 18", shorter necklaces like that sometimes make me feel like a granny, i don't know why.

8. this bracelet i love, i wear it loads, although it turns me green slightly. (all my favourite jewellery seems to do something to me) my mum had it in her jewellery box for ages & never wore it, i think her aunt bought it back from india many many years ago. it's different & old, i like it.

9. ok so more vivienne westwood, this time a necklace, it's super long & goes right down to my waistband, i have a bracelet that matches it too, the bracelet the boy gave to me in japan & this necklace was just, because!

10. these earrings are from malta, they're traditional filagree silver. i don't wear these enough, i get spoilt for choice as to what to wear & often end up wearing the same thing.

11. lots of bangles at once, a pain to get off, but i like the jingle. i work at a bar as the other half of my job & we serve food, so i never really wear any jewellery there, however when i'm not there i like to wear lots. these metal babies are from primark! the creamy one i think must be from somewhere like matalan.

I get annoyed when I lose my page

2009-09-07T08:41:00.001-07:00

the first of our bookmarks, he's so cute, you can get him here & here too

been making some jewellery for myself recently, the first is a failed bangle & the second is a little something I will probably attach to a bracelet

badges

2009-09-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

we now do custom badges over on folksy. They come in quantities of 20, 50 & 100. they can be used as little promos, to sell or just for yourself!

they're 25mm & we can do up to 5 designs, here's an example..

its been a while

2009-08-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

been rather busy with, well lots of things recently. here are a few pics to fill you in. we are sorting things for notonthehighstreet.com too, it's soooo exciting!

new glass mugs from poundland & lots of earring making:

inside cardiff castle:

amazing cardiff hotel:

friday.

2009-08-07T05:49:00.000-07:00

been taking & retaking photos today, here's a little sample of them. Been setting up some dressing table scenes. All of the bowls/plates have been re photographed especially, as they will be appearing in a few new places over the next few weeks!

2009-07-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

got a tree thing going on at the minute, i'd quite like my little print as wallpaper or something, that would be so good. until then it will probably have to do with being made into fabric first though!

owls...

2009-07-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

ok so here are a couple of owl plates (& a cat one!) that will be for sale in a couple of new places soon! they're all hand drawn, so will vary slightly, they're made in a limited quantity.

here is some more owly goodness. i have been thinking about some laser cutting for a while, just not perspex, wood perhaps...

bride&wolfe wall hanging

this little papercut envelope by design night is really cute, i've been wanting to do something papercutty for a while, but i'm not sure i have the patience. i feel like there are million things i want to learn, do try, i feel i can do lots of things ok, just nothing really well, know what i mean? i feel if i spent time mastering one thing, or a couple, rather than lots of things, i'd feel more, you know, satisfied, rather than always wanting to do the next thing. rubbish attention span perhaps? ambitious? who knows...

xx

i like...

2009-07-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

i like these, i like them a lot... see