Christmas Eve 2013

Christmas Eve is here, and its a great time to reflect on what an amazing year 2013 has been for me. A big two-one birthday, graduation, summer Spanish trip, and recently got myself a new job! It's been such a wonderful, exciting year and so much has happened. I have so many highlights! I just hope that 2014 brings just as many wonderful memories. 

I have been compiling a bucket list for 2014 so keep your eyes peeled for my January post; 14 for 2014, when I will reveal all! Hopefully scrapbooking, drawings and arts and crafts will play a huge part of my year and hopefully I will be able to make time for all my necessary craftiness! I have definitely missed it. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and it will be full of food, fun and family. Mine certainly will as our usual christmas day tradition consists of visiting my auntie and uncle, and sitting down to the best Christmas dinner ever! 

On another note, here's a final update of my advent calendar. Nail polish to body scrub, and hair bobbles to lip balms, it has been great fun opening it every morning to find what little beauty gift I will receive each day. 

Lots of love, and happy Christmas bloggers! 

Knitted Christmas!

I can not believe that it's just TWO weeks until the big day, and i've still yet to complete my shopping let alone wrap any of it. 

Today, I spent the day catching up with my very good friend from Uni with a hot chocolate and good natter. We had intended to visit some local exhibitions in the hope of feeling inspired to get back into the swing of drawing, although ended up picking up some extra Christmas bargains. 

We visit The Forum Library which is currently home to this beautiful knitted tree. Each and every section was knitted by a team of 600 local people with such love and care. The tree included almost 2,000 wonderful little knitted decorations from snowflakes to puddings and presents to angels. I particularly love this little crafted Santa Claus, complete with knitted sack. The tree has so far raised an amazing 10,000 pounds for John Grooms Court, a local residential care home for young, disabled adults. It's a fantastic cause and this Christmas tree is definitely worth a visit, and donation towards the charity, if you are in the area. 

Just A Minute DECEMBER

I can't quite believe i'm saying this, but December 2013 is upon us! It doesn't seem like five minutes since the last one. Here's another Just A Minute post, Christmas style! 

In DECEMBER I am

Opening..

My Amazing advent calendar courtesy of my lovely Mum. It's packed with a cute little beauty gift each day and i've already got some lovely treats to pamper myself with, including a very festive red nail polish!

Listening to..

Classic Christmas tunes. Nothing beats a helping of Gary Glitter, Brenda Lee or Band Aid to brighten up the mood and welcome December in style..

Drinking..

Hot chocolate with all the trimmings! Cream, marshmallows, chocolate sprinkles. Perfect for this time of year, especially when the weather turns colder! This little beauty was a limited edition white hot chocolate topped with cherry sauce! It was INCREDIBLE!

Looking forward to.. 

Putting up the Christmas decorations! We might not be having a real tree this year like our usual tradition, due to the chaos of having building work going on. However, i'm sure my handmade Christmas bunting will bring some festive cheer somewhere at home! 

Studio love!

This week i've managed to squeeze in a fair amount of crafty things, amongst the chaos of Christmas and organising our new extension! I don't have much space to work in other than my bedroom floor, or my craft mat so have been dreaming of having a wonderful studio space like these!

I love the simplicity, and pops of colour as well as the light and space. I love the idea of having lots of moodboards, vintage combined with contemporary and using lots of white space. However, i'm sure that mine would be far less organised!

What do you dream of?

Rescheduled crafting!

I planned to get back into drawing this month after rekindling my love of Pinterest and feel inspired once again! However, my black sketchbook is still empty and my pens are still hidden away in my drawing bag, despite really wanting to crack on with everything again. 

Not only has drawing been pushed aside, but so has my Christmas crafting. The past month has been one of those, that despite not being busy, I've just had so much to do. Although, this is definitely going to change with the thought that Christmas is only 34 days away! November is definitely going to be full of all things Christmas crafts, and am really looking forward to when I can hang my handmade bunting with pride after spending so much time creating it, as well as sending my felt cards to all my friends and family! I absolutely love Christmas, and everything Christmas related from decorating the tree, to all the wonderful Christmas food that gets eaten, and of course.. Getting creative with wrapping presents!

What are you most excited for this Christmas?  

'See Things Differently' - Tony Hill

Yesterday I visited the 'See Things Differently' video and projection exhibion by Contemporary artist, Tony Hill. The exhibition challenges our normal perceptions and celebrates the innovative ways in which video can be recorded through the use of simple, yet unusual viewing devices, that make us view the world from a different perspective. Four of these filming rigs can additionally be viewed at the Forum where two of Tony Hills short films, 'Sea' and 'Bike' are exhibited along with clips how the rigs were designed and produced. For example, the simplicity of a mirror coated light bulb combined with a seesaw mechanism is so simple, yet creates the most beautiful filming effects when known how. The exhibition later continues at the NUA Gallery, where more of these inventive rigs can be seen, alongside more of Tonys video installations. 

I love how the use of film can change the way in which we think about different places, objects or people and make us react in a completely opposite to how we would normally. The exhibition really allows the viewer to become part of each installation, and I had great fun experimenting with the various rigs within the gallery. 

If you are in the area you should definitely take a visit to both the forum and NUA Gallery as the exhibition truly inspired me! I can not wait to see the rest of the exhibition which opens on Novemeber 12th. 

Just A Minute NOVEMBER

Here it is (As promised) my very first Just A Minute post! I'm really excited to have discovered this way of blogging as it isn't always easy to compile a blog post, although this is a really simple way to summarise what i'm enjoying each month! So here goes, Enjoy bloggers. 

In NOVEMBER I am

Reading..

The Undomestic Goddess, by Sophie Kinsella. It was given to me from my Boyfriends Mum, who read it on holiday this year. She really enjoyed reading it, so passed it on to me. I haven't been reading it long, although I am already enjoying seeing what chaos London based Lawyer Samantha gets herself into!

Wearing..

Cosy jumpers, winter boots and my tartan scarf. Nothing beats the cooler weather when you can just wrap up warm and layer up! I am really loving the Joules Autumn collection. It's full of bright colours and beautiful prints. 

Drinking..

Far too many Iced Caramel Frappes. They are super delicious and are perfect with lots of cream!

Looking forward to.. 

Christmas crafting! Its that time of year when the glitter, sparkles and christmas fabric make an appearance. I'm currently crafting lots of cards and bunting and am so excited for when I can decorate the house with all things festive. Heres a little sneak peek of one of my most recent creations!

Happy Halloween

I can't believe i'm saying this as 2013 seams to be flying by, but.. Happy Halloween bloggers! This week has been full of halloween, pumpkin fun including carving my very own, to seeing the biggest one I have ever seen being carved and also hearing local ghost stories being told at the Fusion Gallery. 

My local library took part in some really fantastic Halloween events this year, and the giant pumpkin carving was definitely one to watch! The pumking itself weighed a massive 92 stone and carving took part over two days, in which sculptor and designer Ray Noakes created beautiful designs within the flesh of this gigantic vegetable. The designs were not only influence by Halloween, but also from local emblems including the cities logo. I visited the pumpkin at various stages of carving and here are photos from each of my visits!

As well as this, local ghost stories were being shown in the library's Fusion Gallery. It was actually really interesting and I learnt so many things about the cities history and people. 

I hope you've all had a fantastic Halloween and are celebrating in style? 

Day one

Visit 1: Possibly the biggest pumpkin I have EVER seen!

Visit 2: Initial stage of carving

Visit 3: Adding details to the pumpkin design

One tooth is removed because Ray Noakes, the pumpkin carver, wanted to see how deep the flesh of the pumpkin was. I was shocked to see that it was so thick, although the skin on the outside was so delicate and was so easy to cut through even though you might not expect it to be!

 

Day two

Visit 1: Adding extra elements to the design

Visit 2: The finished pumpkin

My own attempts at pumpkin carving are not quite as spectacular although personally, i'm really pleased with how my little owly design turned out. Me and the boyf had great fun creating it, he possibly had more fun than me as it was something he'd never really done before!

Autumn is here!!

I can't believe that it's that time of year already, when the trees turn various shades of orange and brown, and the winter wardrobe makes its first appearance of the year. This week I've been lucky enough to take some beautiful photographs of autumn in all its beauty thanks to a tree outside my boyfriends house. Each and every year it looks so beautiful as it sheds it leaves! I can not wait to get scrapbooking these photos alongside some of my newest gold, sparkly embellishments that I recently purchased. 

Another autumn highlight of mine is the beloved hot chocolate. Me and Mum had a fantastic one with all the trimmings from our local BB's coffee shop last week and is definitely one to try. 

The triple chocolate muffin was just an added bonus! 

You also know it's autumn when the winter jumpers begin to emerge from the back of the wardrobe, and here is my newest addition to my evergrowing collection. I absolutely love the colours, textures and patterns within the knit. It's so cute especially with my winter boots! Can not wait for more of the cooler weather when more of my jumper collection can be worn with pride. 

Not only does autumn make me want to make me cosy up in a chunky jumper, but it also reminds me of pumpkin carving with my Dad. A recent trip to Tesco resulted in purchasing one of these little beauties, and I am so excited to see what (hopefully) amazing creation I can produce with help from the Cath Kidston blog for some innovative carving ideas!