Monday 25 November 2013

Handmade Mondays #5: Ohh Deer



Hello lovelies, I can't believe another week has passed already. It's edging closer and closer to Christmas! Has anyone started/finished their Christmas shopping yet? I'm almost finished! I hope these little Handmade Mondays might provide you with some gift inspiration (even if that gift is to yourself!). This week's Handmade Monday is featuring Ohh Deer, an artist collective currently working with 35 illustrators across the globe. Ohh Deer is full of quirky illustrated gifts, clothing, homeware & more.



01. Fox Tree Phone Case by Sandra Dieckmann
Sandra Dieckmann is one of my favourite artists, her work is beautiful and her Huntress work is one of my favourites. I'm
sure you won't be surprised when you see that her work is full of bears and other animals. This phone case is available for
a variety of phones, and would definitely make me smile if I saw it every time I picked up my phone. I actually already own
an A3 print of the Fox Tree (and maybe a few Sandra cushions..!). The details are so intricate, I notice something new
whenever I look at this print.

02. Forest Friends Women's T-Shirt by Kris Tate
Kris Tate's designs are recognisable for her bold use of colour, which often remind me of the patterns in a kaleidoscope. I
love the shapes and patterns she uses, and of course the animals. I love this design, which is almost symmetrical but not
quite. The patterns Kris adds to the animals faces and fur add something very unique to her designs, and they look
particularly fabulous on the t-shirts and jumpers I think.

03. Bear Necklace by Black Bear / White Bear
There are so many amazing bear related products on Ohh Deer that it was hard to pick just one, but this is my favourite and
I love, love, love it! Does it get any better than wearing a bear on a necklace? It does! This bear necklace is hand carved and so
each one is completely unique. You can choose beech or teak wood, and a leather cord or sterling silver chain. Best of all, he
comes with a little leather pouch and a hand printed blanket so you can tuck him in and keep him warm at night.

04. Christmas Cards by Jamie Mitchell
Jamie is the co-founder of Ohh Deer, along with Mark Callaby. As I mentioned before, Christmas is sneaking up on us! What
better way to celebrate than by sending out these awesomely illustrated cards by Jamie Mitchell. You get 9 in a pack, 3 of
each design. Animals wearing clothes!! I know my sister Willow really loves Bob the polar bear with his woolly hat on. You
can find Jamie's designs on all manner of items, and again his designs are very distinctive of his style. If you like Grumpy
Cat, you should definitely check out Jamie's Grumpy Cat design.

05. Lights Out Cushion by Jamie Mitchell
Another wonderful design by Jamie Mitchell, and this one is my favourite of his designs. I ordered a greeting card with Lights
Out on just so I could stick it above my desk to admire. I love everything about this design, from the dark to light gradient of the
circle to the fact that the foxes are interacting with one another via string. The foxes' fur reminds me of waves which just makes
me love it even more if that were possible.

I can foresee my own house being filled with Ohh Deer products, is there anything you'd like?

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Thursday 21 November 2013

OOTD: Trusty old tartan dress



Bowler hat - Helene Berman Ebay £7.50
Tartan dress - Primark (about 5 years ago) £11 ish
Oversized coat - Warehouse £30 in the sale
Super cosy black opaque tights - Primark £3
Daffodil pin - Marie Curie a donation
Honey fox brooch - Tatty Devine (gift from Mark) £35
Leather Chelsea boots - TK Maxx £35

Hello lovely readers, I'm back again with another tartan OOTD! I bought this tartan dress from Primark over five years ago for something silly like £11. I loved it at the time and I still love it now, I think it's so versatile. I even wore it on a night out once (that statement just led to Facebook night out album reminiscing!). It has a cowl style neck which is not usually something I like, but it just sits right on this dress especially if I pair it with a chunky black jumper.

Despite having bought it 5 years ago, I'm one of those lucky ones whose weight doesn't seem to change much. The only thing I will say is that the arms are definitely a bit tighter and more restrictive, but other than that it's still perfect with the nipped in waist and flared out skirt.

I was tempted by this year's tartan Primark offerings, but realised I probably didn't need to buy another one as I don't wear dresses all that often. I've seen some lovely OOTDs featuring tartan lately. This OOTD was actually a couple of weeks ago - when the weather wasn't as bitter as it is now and I could step outside bare armed without them falling off!!

Have any of you snapped up a tartan dress this season?

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Monday 18 November 2013

Handmade Mondays #4: Wolf & Moon



Hello my dears, I'm so excited to share with you this weeks Handmade Monday post. I couldn't be any more in lust with
the fabulous creations by Hannah Davis of Wolf & Moon. Hannah is a British artist & designer with an aim to create
unique, wearable jewellery at affordable prices. Even better, everything is handmade in her studio in Hackney. The
materials Hannah uses are what make the jewellery so stunning; perspex, wood, metals all in beautiful patterns and
colours. You can find Wolf & Moon on Facebook and Pinterest.



01. Crest Necklace in Gold
I don't own a statement necklace, and I don't very often put a necklace on, which is funny seeing as three out of four of
my choices from Wolf & Moon are necklaces. They have converted me, and I am craving this gorgeously crafted necklace
to sit on my collarbones and be the envy of everyone. Gold, black and cream with tortoiseshell, this necklace could be
worn with anything as it is so versatile in colour.

02. Crystal Collar Necklace in Blue
There are matching Crystal Drop Earrings to go with this necklace, and I think the set would look stunning both together
or worn alone. I think the gentle golds and glitter combined with the small shapes of this necklace make it quite dainty,
whilst the hints of the most beautiful shade of blue toughen it up a little. The great thing about this particular shade of
blue is that it is such a flattering and stunning colour against both tanned and pale skin, whereas with some colours I
find they are too much against my very pale skintone. Blue is the perfect addition of colour to this necklace.

03. Chevron Point Necklace
There is something quite striking about triangular shaped jewellery that always grabs my attention, and these lovely
little necklaces are no different. They are available in a wide range of colourways (if you can get your hands on one!)
and you can choose between a gold/silver chain. I love the use of glitter in Wolf & Moon jewellery, it's so pretty!

04. Double Triangle Earrings in Tortoiseshell
My favourite jewellery to wear by far is earrings, I can choose to wear tiny studs or bigger statement earrings and they
don't have to take over a whole outfit if I don't want them to. It was no surprise that I fell in love with this particular
pair, featuring both triangles and beautiful tortoiseshell. It was Hannah's use of tortoiseshell in her jewellery that led
to my current (and long lasting) love affair with Wolf & Moon.



05. Little Hex Studs in Black, Gold, Glitter
A couple of weeks ago, Hannah announced on the Wolf & Moon Facebook page that some of the sold out items were back in
stock. I've had my eye on the Little Hex studs for such a long time, I was thrilled when I managed to order a pair. I dithered
because these weren't the colourway I originally wanted, but I'm so glad I took the risk because I am completely and utterly
in love with them! They are my new favourite earrings, and add just the right amount of sparkle. They came packaged on a
Wolf & Moon card, with wadding behind to protect the studs (one was a teensy bit bent, but still perfectly wearable), and
wrapped in tissue paper complete with care instructions.

I can't wait to order more! Has anything caught your eye?

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Saturday 16 November 2013

Make your own: Leaf crown DIY
















Hello lovely people! This post is later in the week than I'd planned, but such is life! I've given it my best shot, but I'm not all that good at explaining things. I used this diagram/video to learn how to do the knot, it's very helpful! It took me a good few tries before I got the hang of it. This make was inspired by Kristen and her very own leaf crown. I bought my string for 50p from Wilkinsons. If you'd like to see how I wore the crown, click here. Below are a few of the photos I took of my littlest sister Indigo, and my little sister Phoebe wearing the crown. How pretty!



What do you think, will you be giving it a go? :)

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Monday 11 November 2013

Handmade Mondays #3: Nook & Cranny



Hello again lovelies, this week the items are chosen from Nook & Cranny, an independent gift shop which you can find
online or in Liverpool if you're a local. It's so important to support the indie shops, and I hope you find something you like!
Nook & Cranny 'specialize in handmade UK designed products made by the best of British talent'. They also have a blog,
a Facebook page and a Pinterest (hurrah for all us addicts!).



01. Tea and Bears Mug by Nicholas John Frith
Ok, ok, I'm sorry! Another bear related item! But I could not resist this sweet little mug, and I know Mark would absolutely
love it. What better than bears on a mug for a tea-drinking-bear-loving-boyfriend?

02. Thank You Tea Towel by Hazel Nicholls
If we're going to be making tea, we're surely going to be needing a tea towel. How lovely is this pretty offering by Hazel
Nicholls? I love the colour of this one, and the sweet note of appreciation. I also really love it when type is incorporated
into the illustration/design - it looks fab!

03. Knit Your Own Zoo by Sally Muir & Joanna Osborne
If only I could knit, this would be top of my list! I thought of Jojo of Miss Jojangles when I saw this one - possibly due to her
recent swan creation! I know a lot of little (and big!) people who would love a zoo of knitted animals. With bears. Definitely
with bears.

04. Teapots A4 Notebook by Nook & Cranny
The illustrative style of this notebook is absolutely gorgeous! I adore the contrast between the brown cover and the gorgeous
soft pink. Even better is the fact that it is hand silk screen printed - how wonderful! The perfect outlet for your thoughts
and doodles. We all know I'm a stationery addict!

05. Random Notes of Appreciation by Nook & Cranny
This is probably my favourite choice, a little box of notes to make someone's day. With designs like 'You are my cup of tea'
and 'Keep smiling it suits you', I think these are just the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I would love to give/receive any of these
lovely compliments!

Which was your favourite? :)

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Friday 8 November 2013

OOTD: Autumn leaf crown







Blue velvet smock dress - tba via Ebay around £50 I think
Autumn leaf crown - handmade (string 50p from Wilkinsons)

It's officially Autumn, now that I've been out and collected lovely golden leaves :) Mark & I have spent the past two days at home at my mum's. A few of us used to have a weekly craft night, and the organiser Lynn decided that we were going to have one again this Thursday, at my mum's. I used this opportunity to finally get around to making this gorgeous leaf crown, which I am absolutely in love with! I only had an hour at craft night as I spent a couple of hours with my best friends afterwards last night, giving baby girl gifts to my best friend who is due later this month (very exciting stuff!).

For this reason, I did half of my leaf crown last night & half this morning. I picked these leaves up from the green over the road from my mum's, you can see that some of the leaves are a bit crunchy and curled up today. It definitely would have been better if I'd have made and modeled the crown in the same day, but I don't love it any less!

I'm going to attempt a bit of a 'how to' for my leaf crown, including my inspirations and where I took the idea from. It will be up next week and I will link it here then too :)

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Monday 4 November 2013

Handmade Mondays #2: Ohh Deer



Hi lovelies, I hope you don't mind but this week for Handmade Monday, I'm cheekily featuring my own design on a
cushion competition that ends today on Ohh Deer. Ohh Deer is a wonderful website full of artsy products, and I've
quite a few things that are on the website. My particular favourites are two cushions by Sandra Dieckmann. Oh, guess
what one features? You got it, a bear! I'll definitely be featuring Ohh Deer again on Handmade Mondays, but for now...


01. dear Suzy, dear Sam... by yours truly
The first design is a full sized illustration of Suzy Bishop & Sam Shakusky, as originally drawn and painted in watercolour
by myself. These cushions are absolutely gorgeous, as I said before I own two already. The quality is fantastic, they're
Vegan and the back is made from super soft faux suede, with a fibre insert. They measure 43x43cm and are machine washable.

02. Suzy, Sam, Suzy, Sam by yours truly
This cushion is the same again, but there are multiple Suzy and Sams! What more could adventure loving folk want than the
best adventurers themselves on a cushion?!

If you love Moonrise Kingdom, or your friend/partner loves Moonrise Kingdom and you'd like to buy one of these cushions, you must act quickly! They are available for one week only, the shop closes 11th November.

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