Donkeys, Ducks and Goats, Oh My!

 Ok, so here in drizzly Britain there isn't much in the way of lions, tigers or bears, and I'm not sure donkeys, ducks or goats have quite the same thrill factor. But they are adorable!

One of my dissertations is a collection of poetry inspired by nature, so in a bid to get inspired I took a walk through my favourite park. Of course I had to stop to pet some animals too, and I was the only grown up not supervised by a child in the petting zoo!

I wasn't planning on uploading these photos, they were just meant to be visual recording to look over when writing, so they're not fantastic by any means.

Now I'm off to carry on writing!

Easy Peasy Bruschetta

I love bruschetta! I loooove it. It's posh toast essentially, and I love toast, and pretending I'm posh. I made this as a post-gym snack and wolfed it down (but not before I had time to take a sneaky picture). I think this would probably make a pretty good starter, if you're dinner party inclined.

You Will Need
Cannellini beans,
chorizo,
lemon,
olive oil,
balsamic vinegar,
mozzarella,
spinach,
green peppers,
bread.

Method
1. Mix everything but the bread and salad in a cup and let it sit whilst you toast the bread.
2. When the bread is toasted, pile everything on top of the toast and drizzle over with the left over marinade from the cup.

Now, how simple was that? And it's tasty, and maybe a little bit good for you, maybe.

Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts Expo

 On Thursday I headed down to the Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts event in Manchester to try out some new crafts and have a nosey at the stalls. I had a free ticket through volunteering at Oxfam which was a super duper extra bonus of loveliness. I wasn't sure what to expect as I'd never been to anything like this before, the closest I'd come to anything of this ilk was going to The Clothes Show live, and in a way it was similar in the way it was set out.

When I first went in I did reel back in horror a little, all I could see was paper craft. Now, I like some papercraft, Rob Ryan for example is excellent, but this was Grandma's super cutesy card making type papecraft and enough to make me want to gag, just a little. However, when I moved through the isles I found that there was loads of really interesting things, and not just in textiles either.

One of the things I loved doing was creating a keychain at the Pressed Flower Guild booth. It was really fun and looking at all the amazing artwork that some of their members had made was insane! Who knew that you could make such amazing things with dried flowers?!

Creating the keychain.

My finished design.

I also had a go at lacemaking, which is nothing like I expected! It's quite close to knitting in that you use two "stitches" to create a pattern. I had no idea how lace was made before this so it was really eye opening and fun to have a go at, although I don't think I'll be doing it at home because it's pretty labour intensive.

Making lace.

I got a sticker!

One of the best parts was an a tunnel created out of knit and crochet! It was a sea scene inside with a seaside scene outside. Just thinking about the amount of work that must have gone into it made my head spin!

 

Seaside scene.





























Amazing handmade mermaid at the entrance of the tunnel.


Anyhow, I'm not going to be posting a whole lot this week, I've got two dissertations to be getting on with!

Lemony Lovelies

I love muffins! Muffiny muffiny goodness. I joined a gym last week and made these muffins in celebration of my effort. Yup, cake to celebrate exercises seems like a good balance to me! I'll be totally honest about this one as well, I'm a TERRIBLE baker. Just terrible. I can make desserts, savoury food, but I'm just awful and making cakes (although I do try). So I found a recipe and followed it to the letter and it worked to perfection. You can find the recipe here, and I urge you to give them a try even if you have less of then baking, more of the eating, type relationship with cake. Easy peasy simple pimple.

Anyone got any other cake recipes for those who are less than talented in the kitchen?

Art Adventures: Tablet Drawing

 So, I'm going to try and include more of my artistic endeavours on this blog! I recently spent ages going through Cynthia Shaffer's blog and it reminded me just how important the element of play is in creating. I'm a stickler for things being right, so this is a hard one for me; despite going through art college and having drawn and made things since I was a wee one, I'm still struggle with the idea that "it's the journey not the end result" that's important. Then again, I guess anyone who's ever done anything creative knows that one minute you feel as if you've created something amazing, then the next minute you want to scramble it up and hide it from human eyes for all of eternity. I used to call it my artistic temprement but really it's just the self doubt that comes with creating something that is essentially a part of yourself.

Another reason I guess I'm shy in showing people anything I've created is that ultimately people see me as a writer, not an artist. My degree is in writing, I've had work published, won contests; it's what I feel I should identify as. However, I've always been a cross-border creative type and never able to stick to one thing (why should I? there are so many amazing processes out there, I want to try them all!)

So, without further blabbing, here are some of my tablet drawings. Over Christmas I indulged in a Bamboo Graphics Tablet and have slowly been getting to grips with it over the past month.

Emma of Nifty Little Number, who is, coincidentally, one of my best-est friends of all time, and a magical unicorn.

Coffee Bunny Needs Coffee. A caffeine deprived lapin inspired by Pusheen The Cat.

Just another doodle. I was going to draw her in a cameo, but found there to be something weirdly peaceful about her just drifting there, torso-less, in blue space.

Since I haven't yet got the shop up and running just yet, (soon, soon!) if anyone would like a doodle of them self (why not have one for your blog? would make a cute addition in a side bar!) I'm currently only charging £2.50 for one! You can get hold of me through the website link in the right side bar. ---->

I would absolutely love to see anyone's art projects (or writing projects for that matter), so stick a link in the comment boxy-doo-dah and I will have a look!

Bows, Milkshakes and Icky Anxiety

I went out for my friend's birthday the other night and this is what I wore. Anyone that knows me in "real life" (because the internet is apparently not a real place) knows that I live with pretty icky anxiety. If I know I have to do something I'm usually fine, but sometimes going out of the house  leaves me tense and wanting to scrunch up in a ball and hide under a duvet (which actually sounds pretty cosy).This is something I had been reluctant to talk about in my blog; like some deluded 50's housewife I wanted to project an image of constant happiness. But, life just doesn't work like that, and that's all cool yo.

The point of this long winded glimpse into the inner workings of my brain box is this: feeling comfortable in what I'm wearing can go a little way to making me feel comfortable in public. A little way. But even just a little bit can make a big difference, if you see what I mean. This outfit definitely went a little way into making me feel more comfy in the presence of other human-type people.

Now we have all le formalities out of le way, onto le outfit! It's made up of items I never wear! Yet I feel I created something cosy, comfy and princessy. And we like princessy. The skirt is Topshop, although I got it second hand (as usual), the pink shirt was £1ish from a Vintage By The Kilo event, and the white shirt was a gift. I'm also wearing lace tights over white tights. The whole shabang was based on creating a slightly more princessy version of Mori Kei style, which I have since discovered is called Cult Party Kei. I'm spending waaaay too much time looking at gorgeous J-fashion outfits on the internet.

Also, whilst at the birthday do, I had a doughnut milkshake. Yup, blended doughnut and cream and icecream and cinnamon sprinkles *drools Homer Simpson style*. It was deliciousness.

Super Healthy Cookies!

"Super healthy cookies?" I hear you cry, well yes. Well, ok, maybe not super healthy but they're sugar free, vegan and tasty! A few days ago I stumbled across The Burlap Bag a really fantastic blog that included a recipe for 2 ingredient cookies; bananas and oats! As I'm trying to get healthier, I thought I'd give them a go in place of my usual chocolate cookies. I made up a batch with a little alteration and they are delicious and perfect with a cup of tea and a nosey at lots of pictures of adorable kittens.

 All You Need Is....

 The amounts are pretty dependant on how big the banans are, I just kept adding oats until I thought they were a good consistancy. I used one big spoonful of peanut butter.

I used a stick blender to mush it all up, but you could easily do it by hand with a fork.

Then just scoop up spoonfuls and pop them on a greased baking tray for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.

They're not as sweet as conventional cookies but they are doughy and delicious!

What are ways that you guys are using to try and get/stay healthy?

DIY: Paper Animal Bunting

I have been wanting to make this for a while now, I got some pretty pieces of paper free with issue two of Homemaker magazine and pondered what to do with them. I love bunting, but it seems a little over done, however, I LOVE animals, so animal bunting seemed the logical step!

 You Will Need

Paper: 1x White, 3x Patterned
Scissors
Sellotape
Twine

1. Print out animals onto white paper. I used these:
-bird

-squirrel 

-bunny
-deer

 then cut out.

2. Stack patterned paper on top of each other. Then take a length of tape and place the sticky side on some fabric to make it less sticky.

3. Place template animal onto card stack and tape into place.

3. Cut out and continue in this manner with the other animals.

4. Take each animal and lay it on top of the length of twine. Take a piece of tape and tape the back of the animal to the twine.

5. String up and your done!

Has anyone else got any ideas for cute paper crafts?

Pastel Dreams

Another outfit from when I was staying at my Mum's over Christmas. Yup. I'm really dragging these out. I just love outdoor photos over indoor photos of outfit so much, it seems worth only having one a week instead of having a couple of indoor ones a week.

This ensemble is another vaguely inspired by Mori style; floaty, ethereal, or at least that was the aim! The jumper was a gift, it's glittery and gold and loveliness. The skirt was from Zara, one of the few high street stores I actually quite like.

Heheee. I'm having so much fun with my new Bamboo graphics tablet, I love being able to write and draw on photos (as well as doing illustration!).

What's everyone got planned for this week?

Have A Pomsky

Blogger has been playing up for me recently, but to compensate look at this adorable pomsky puppy (pomeranian/husky mix)! Have a great weekend!