Handmade Mondays #6: Mama San

Hello lovely readers, it's so nice to be back and with a wonderful Handmade Monday feature to share with you all. Mama San
is an online shop trading in all things kitsch and cute! They are supporters of independent designers and illustrators, and something this feature has hopefully shown us is that handmade and independent is as good as (definitely better!) than
mass produced. Knowing that I'm supporting an artist/designer/creator when I buy something from an independent shop,
to whom my purchase might make all the difference, makes me happy.



01. David Bowie Brooch by andsmile
I've just noticed that this cute little brooch is sold out on Mama San, but no fear there is still one for sale on the andsmile
Etsy shop. Each brooch is hand drawn on shrink plastic which means you get a unique piece from anyone else. My mum
is a Bowie fan, I think this is a great little present to adorn any Bowie lovers jacket or bag.

02. My Pug Mug by Gemma Correll x Mama San exclusive
I've turned to Gemma Correll's animal related goods a lot lately when it comes to present buying, her quirky illustrated
wares are perfect for any animal lover. I personally can't get enough of my copy of A Cat's Life and would love to read A
Dog's Life too (which I bought for a friend's birthday present last month!). This pug mug is exclusive to Mama San and
says 'My Pug Mug' on the other side. Could you say no to those puppy dog eyes?!

03. Insect Shard Drop Earrings
I seem to reference Suzy Bishop a lot these days, but I still like to think that she'd love these earrings nearly as much as
her little beetle ones. The emerald green stone at the top against the pastel pink drop is perfect for this season - Christmas
green and Winter pastels all in one go!

04. Fox Ring
This sweet little foxy ring is also hand drawn onto plastic with love. The detailing on this little fox is wonderful and so
in depth. Ever since I fell in love with Fantastic Mr Fox (first as the book when I was a child, later as the film which had
me in stitches!) I can't resist foxy goodies. Does anyone else do that? Find themselves obsessing over certain objects/animals
/films etc? Mr Fox really is a fantastic character indeed.

05. Peter Pan Collar in blue
Despite my love of the peter pan collar, and the fact that these types of collars are everywhere, I still don't own one. This
particular one has me converted, as has the gold version. The dandelion print of the vintage inspired printed cotton is
my favourite, so beautiful and dainty. Blue isn't usually a colour I wear either, but this shade is particularly lovely. The
reverse is white canvas and you can wear it either way as it's reversible, which is pretty nifty. The collar ties with a lovely
black ribbon to complement any outfit you choose to wear it with.

Which item on Mama San is your favourite? :) I've still got lots of blog-reading-catching-up to do, but this weekend was spent celebrating my mumma bear's 45th birthday! This is such a hectic time of year in my family with still more birthdays to come!

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Oh hello, I've missed you!

Hello dear readers, I took a little impromptu blogging break, but I've missed you all and I'm so glad to be back. There were a few things happening in the last week or so that just meant my attention wasn't focused on my blog and I didn't find any time to post (even though I had planned to!). Sometimes these things happen as I'm sure you all know, and I can't wait to catch up on everything all of my favourite bloggers have been up to (yep, that's you!).

On Sunday (1st December) it was my 25th birthday. I had such a wonderful day with Mark at the Harry Potter studio tour and I can't wait to show you some of my photos and tell you about it. Happy advent everyone!

I also met my best friend Leah's new baby, Belle Hope, for the very first time on Monday. Both mum and baby are so beautiful and I can't believe how well my best friend looks - you wouldn't believe she had a baby just over two weeks ago!! Belle was born on the 20th November at 7.46pm, I'm so proud of my bestie.

Health update
I'd like to take this opportunity to write a little update about my health lately, as I haven't done for ages and this is my little spot for keeping track of things as well as sharing them. I understand not everyone wants to read about this stuff so if not then skip to the end, I promise I won't mind!

I had my last ever appointment with my ear consultant (hopefully!) in October. I was discharged - hurray! At first I felt a bit disappointed with being discharged and not really knowing what happened to me. But I realised since that my consultant's diagnosis is all that can be said, that my tinnitus, balance problems and vertigo are side effects of my bout of labrynthitis in December 2011. For over a year now I haven't had a vertigo attack (touch wood), only slight dizzy episodes. My physio said that the best thing I can do is to live my life as I would, and if I need him he's only a phone call away. My hearing had stabilised in my last few hearing tests and definitely seems a lot better now. I still have constant tinnitus in my right ear, but it's something I've learned to live with. On a slightly less positive note, I've got to have another colonoscopy. I had one a year ago and to be honest the worst part was the preparation you have to go through beforehand and the way it makes you feel afterwards. I'm not booking that until well after the new year though so I'm choosing not to think about it for now! I've also got four spinal rehabilitation classes in January.

How have you all been? Are you feeling festive?! I'm loving all of the Christmas lights I've seen so far and had my first Christmas drink in Costa the other day, a chocolate orange mocha latte, delicious!

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