Wise Wednesday Words.

We made it to Ireland! There's something about the air here that's really good at blowing out the cobwebs and I'm looking forward to the next few days before getting back on the work wagon next Monday.

But before I wish the week away, here are a few wise words to brighten up your Wednesday.

Have a great day!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4
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:: Have you entered my giveaway to win tickets to the Royal Berkshire County Show on the 20th September? ::

Adventures in Graphic Design.

Since just after Christmas, I've taken on a lot more 'graphic design stuff' at work and I suppose I've felt a bit weird about it for a time now because it's not something I ever really considered as an option before. That said, I bloody enjoy it.

Here's where I think having a blog can be a really wonderful thing, I can express myself creatively and ultimately it doesn't matter all that much. I can change my header and background and the way I do things and it either looks better or it doesn't but nobody really cares. Obviously it doesn't work quite the same way when doing things 'for someone' but it really has helped me practise.

That's why, and I'm a bit nervous about it, I'd like to share a few things I've worked on with you. I've just given my blog a little spring facelift and changed a few things too but I'm quite proud of these things. Sure, they're just silly emails and flyers but I'd like to think a little part of me can shine through with them in terms of style and tone.





It's not like I want to jump head-first into freelancing or anything but I've been thinking that it would be cool to take on a few side-projects. Depending of course on whether there's any consensus that I'm even any good, it would be good to know what you think.

Give It Some 'Get Up and Go'!

With my first full week at work of 2014 almost done and dusted, I'm already feeling the itch for a drawn out weekend walk to blow the cobwebs out. I think I'm on a search for somewhere new.
When I first stumbled across Veronica Dearly's Terrific Year Calendar, it seemed like the perfect one for me, full of prompts to keep me busy. Unfortunately my spotting it came after we'd already chose our calendar for the year - a pretty fun (read: nerdy) world facts one - so alas, it wasn't meant to be.

That said, her calendar did allow me to stumble across her beautiful website, complete with enviable handwritten graphics, a wonderful portfolio and fun blog - as well as a more 'Internet-friendly' version of her Terrific Year Project. It comes hand in hand with the idea that it's just better feel a bit happier, whether it's through doing things passively or actually getting out there.

I figured I'd pick a couple of her nice prompts from her recent Enjoy the Great Outdoors post, firstly because they're things I'd like to get doing and secondly because I think you really need to see them. I really think taking note of 'Terrific Year' will help me work towards making a bit more of my lunch break too!



I'm a big fan of Veronica's style and it's been easy for me to completely forget about my interest in actual creative things when I'm so busy working and sleeping. Hopefully this marks the beginning of taking a bit more time on this part of my brain.

Tuesday Tabs #20

It's been an eventful week, and once again I've semi-failed to keep in touch with you, and if I wasn't working today, tomorrow and the day after, I would hope to share lots with you. I still do want to do that, I just don't want to make any promises, although I'm sure I'll get around to it all at some point.

Did you have a nice Jubilee weekend? Moon and I went down to Devon to stay with his Gran for a couple of days. It was okay, it's just a pity that the weather wasn't more on our side, but it was nice to grab a change of scenery. On our way back from Devon, we made a slight de-tour to Portsmouth and had a spot of lunch with Moon's brother and his girlfriend, Charlotte, before have a peak in Pie & Vinyl, which is just about the most fun idea for a shop. Anyway, I have a more visual method of sharing my adventures with you coming up, as well as a few treasures I picked up along the way, so I won't say much more.

I suppose that it's back to reality today, as although it's still the bank holiday 'weekend', certain muggins need to return to work as the masses need to be entertained. I don't mind so much but the weekend was quite busy so it would have been nice to relax and take stock for one more day.

I really haven't even got a lot to show you this week as I've been either Internetless or working, so I suppose this is just a slightly lazy way of letting you know I have some nice things to come, which I hope I do.

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(via Things Organized Neatly)

How perfect is this pantry cupboard? My favourite feature is the apple drawer at the bottom.


White Car-Print Prom Dress, £17.99, New Look
I spotted this out in Exeter on Sunday and if it had been my size, I definitely would have snapped it up, sadly it wasn't meant to be. I do have enough dresses, but this one is so cute, and the fabric is much nicer in real life than you would expect for a standard New Look dress.


'Social Media' by Paul Worm, $14.99, Society6
A dilemma I have often found myself in.
Part of a series by Paul Worm entitled, 'The Worst Thing is...'.


Lipstick Dinosaur
I can't even begin to describe how sad I am that this is now sold. She always has the nicest, most reasonably priced vintage items though, so I'm hopeful that something else I like will come up.


Narwhal & Pirate-print tights in Turquoise, £17.12, Teja Jamilla
These tights are so beautiful, but I'd be so worried about ruining them I don't think I'd be able to handle it.


Vintage Telephone, £23.36, Good Merchants
If only I had seen this before we bought our plain (and boring, as well as confusing) Tesco-Value house phone.


'Can We, Shall We' Lasercut, £90.11, Mister Rob

(via The Daily What)

Apparently I'm actually quite the semi-fan fo Robyn, and this is both adorable and incredible good, so I really like it.

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Link Love: ♥

Key Lime Pie Marshmallows — I'm not a huge fan of marshmallows, and the recipe is such a crazy, American one that these would probably be almost impossible to replicate. However, that doesn't stop me from at least thinking it would be fun to give them a try.

Hannah Curson's 3D Rainbow Cupcakes — Hannah's blog is one of my favourites, as she post such nice photographs using so many different cameras. Our first connection was through baking though, and this is a fun post showcasing some cakes she's made, as well as some cakes she'd like to make. I think these are a fair effort, even if Hannah was a bit disappointed.

'The Silent Evolution' by MUSA — Images of an underwater sculpture park I researched whilst working on the picture desk of Ink Global. They're a bit spooky but beautiful in their own way at the same time.

Pop Chart Lab Prints — I would love to get myself at least one of these, but there are so many good ones. I think my favourites are The Splendiferous Array of Culinary Tools and A Visual Compendium of Notable Haircuts in Popular Music, both under $30!

DIY Tiny Polaroid Magnets — At some point, I need to have a serious update of printed photos as I don't think, aside from ones for other people and University projects, that I've printed any photographs for display in well over a year and a half. This is a fun way to display images and seems relatively easy so definitely something I want to try out.

Rachel Bone — Lovely illustration, so happy that we have so much wall space.

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What a gloomy day, and over the weekend, something the cover of darkness hid from us last night, the lilac tree in our garden has fallen, I have no idea how to deal with this. Stay tuned, I'm going to try and make time for your because I definitely have a few things to share now.

Tuesday Tabs #18

Only a couple of hours before I have to leave for work, and the whole flat needs a clean, it's doable, I'm just so hungry right now. Everything is going quite well at the moment, I'm feeling like I'm settling into things, although I made a silly mistake regarding my other job yesterday which will hopefully easily fixed come Friday.

Some news regarding Little Cat, she is officially completely better following her adventure and she's not pregnant! She was but now isn't, something I am pleased about. I would jump at the chance to look after newborn kittens, but it's just not the right time and she's still a baby, I think it's much safer to wait a few more months before making that kind of decision, plus she's not going out again for a very long time.

I've not been up to much in terms of online activity as most of last week consisted of working, complaining about how much my feet hurt and then going to bed before doing the same thing again. I don't mind, it's just is a bit of a shame that I can't indulge this kind of activity as much. This is just one of two real downsides to this job so far, the other being that I'm not allowed to paint my nails; normally I would just paint them in between but because of the scheduling it's not really worth it, but it still makes me sad.

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Yellow Kite Print Day Dress, £36, H! by Henry Holland for Debenhams
This was recently featured as part of Project 10, but I must say I didn't take as much notice of it as I did when I spotted it in-store yesterday. I think this photo doesn't nearly do it justice and it's much nicer in real life, it also differs quite a lot from other Henry Holland designs and just seems more whimsical than usual, it would be great for a summer walk.

(via Toothpaste Kisses)

(via HelloYou Creatives)

A fun and silly animation, the end made me crack up, so I had to share ♥


Yet another Rob Ryan item that I'd love to have in my home. I spotted them on a one of his recent blog posts and I don't think they're even available in his shop yet. I have a feeling that they'll be a bit pricey but I don't see Rob Ryan as ever really being unaffordable so I hope to snap them up.


This is very good, I'm a bit sad that I was working and not able to catch the full show. Will Smith is very high on my list of favourite people.


iPhone 4 Case, £11.01, On Your Case
I'm not that bothered about iPhones, but this is such a pretty case. I can't wait to pack in my Blackberry for something more trendy.


Puppy-Kitty-Love Tote, £11.67, Leah Goren


From the series, 'Typography Jokes' by Gary Nicholson

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Link Love: ♥

Lovely Lists from Goodnight Little Spoon — As a listmaker myself, I love this list of different lists.

9 Lives by Twenty-Seven Names — So many pretty prints and cuts from New Zealand-based company Twenty-Seven Names blogged about on Style Paws. It's not the only nice collection they have but this one includes cats so it's an obvious choice.

A Thrifty Mrs' eBay Amnesty — Another great list including some of A Thrifty Mrs' favourite eBay stops for all sorts of different requirements.

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A bit shorter than usual but I kind of like it. Now it's time for some lunch, and to sort out the flat, just under an hour and a half to go, I'd better get it together.

Tuesday Tabs. #3

I don't think that I know how to deal with my life at the moment, it seems like the second that I lose my motivation is the moment that I suddenly get loads on at once, weird. This happens every few weeks and in my 'lack of things to do' this morning, I sort of noticed a pattern... Shut up.

Anyway, there's a lot to do now. No, stuffing envelopes is not what I would hope to be doing but at least it's a sustainable job that allows me to save up some money for my upcoming internship.

This should be a good week, I'm seeing my favourite band of all time on Thursday and then I'm meeting my friend Abbie for a day in Shoreditch on Saturday, exciting.

Poor Chrome is so backed up this week, I totally put it down to hanging out and cat-sitting at my Gran's for the majority of last week. But sometimes being on the Internet is fun and you can find some really neat stuff. I kind of really love how my blog has morphed into this scrap-booky place where I dump cool things I find and my wishlists, it's going to be fun to refer back to once don't feel like I'm on borrowed time, which is totally what I'm blaming my terrible nerves on. ♥

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(via Design Cove)

Dragon necklace, £30, Tatty Devine

So, to celebrate the fact that it was Chinese New Year yesterday and the fact that this year is the Year of the Dragon, Tatty Devine have released this cute dragon necklace. Slightly different to their normal stuff but still pretty cute.

(© Holly Exley)

I've liked Holly's work for a while now but recently I've been really into it, and loving the work she's putting out there. This image, and a selection of great other ones are available to buy on her Society 6 page, I think this one and it's brother are definitely must-haves for my future kitchen.

Chocolate Wicker Bag, £11.88, Circus Bear Vintage

Semi-fallen for this wicker handbag on Kaylah's (from The Dainty Squid) Etsy shop. I think it would be lovely for spring and I've been looking around for something similar for a little while now. Circus Bear Vintage also has some of the prettiest shoes, but I think I have too many, luckily I'm not too hot on working out the size differences.

Umming and ahhing over whether to buy tickets to see him in October, where will I even be (probably still here)? But I thought this was yet another great video from him, I really hope that the 'talking' cat is a reference to 'Beginners' because that would be nice.

Slowly but surely discovering the immensity of Kitties & Bullshit.

(via Being Little)

These are all over London, I think they're great and they're so neatly organised. I think this one is my favourite.

(© Gemma Correll)

(via Interior Porn)

Shelf Porn.



Best episode of 'New Girl' so far. Dammit!

(© Marc Johns)

I think it makes everything better when you have a healthy amount of Marc Johns in your life.

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Link love: ♥

Design Cove — A really great blog I found which features some great branding and graphic design. I can't find much additional information about it because it's in 'new Blogger' format, but it's worth a look if you're interested in design and fonts, there are some pretty inspirational pieces.

We Are Handsome — Awesome bathing suit designers who have perfected the art of bringing together photographs and swim wear, classic. For those who don't have enough bear on their swimwear.

The Girl with 7 Horses — Interesting photography series combining clothing, imagination and beautiful landscape. It's tough to explain, but it's also a bit brilliant.

Etsy Play On: Being Alive — A great blog series that I must pay more attention to. This one is presented by illustrator Julia Pott as she guides us through a playlist featuring the likes of Rob Ryan and other neat artists that show us how great it is to be alive.

Noted: The Unseen Tours of London — Definitely going to start reading the Etsy blog, I feel like it's very important.

Unpaid Internships: Rights and Wrongs — A fab guide to unpaid internships through the eyes of illustrator, Holly Exley. Really summed up the pros and cons on unpaid internships perfectly, and helped me put some personal things into perspective. Her blog is quite good anyway though, you should just have a look.

Top 10 Best Disney Sidekicks

Kitties and Bullshit — Bookmarks staple for any budding cat-lady.

How to Dye your Pet — I wouldn't, ever, but white is apparently a great colour to work with...

How to make an 'Up' pincushion

Little White Lies - Drive edition.

Those who are regular readers may have read that I now love Drive and pretty much everything about it, from the cinematography to the soundtrack.
Before watching the film, but knowing I would have to resist reading it, I bought the latest edition of Little White Lies.


"LWLies is a bi-monthly, independent movie magazine that features cutting edge writing, illustration and photography to get under the skin of cinema."

And it's beautiful, I love it. I love the paper-weight, I love the graphic design. Urgh, I think I loved this issue nearly as much as I loved Drive. I also love that I pretty much agree with everything Little White Lies is saying, it's very rare for me to find a magazine that contains reviews that I don't want to chuck away, we clearly have similar taste in film.

I bought the Jan/Feb edition Black Swan issue, and I did enjoy it, I just was never able to get another issue after that. I think I may spend money wisely and subscribe because it's lovely. I really like that it's not too hipster as well, that aspect of it really appeals to me.




The current issue of Little White Lies is now sold out in stores, but it can still be viewed online, along with other back issues and you can also still purchase a copy at the Little White Lies online shop.

Little White Lies also sells prints, which are just as beaut, I have my eye on the Steve Zissou one, but for the next 24 hours you can get 10% off a print of the current Little White Lies cover of Ryan Gosling (below), just use the code: LOVEGOSLING10.

(via Little White Lies on Facebook)

Little White Lies print shop

Keep Calm and Arrive Late to the Party.

After coming across what is now my latest desktop wallpaper via Hello You Creatives, I became inspired to write a post about the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' brand which has been growing in popularity for two or three years. I became aware of 'Keep Calm and Carry On' after The One Show featured a story on Barter Books.

Barter Books, a second-hand book shop in Northumberland, discovered a copy of the poster in 2000 and due the image being in the public domain, subsequently reprinted the poster for customers, a trend later transferred carried out by others, mugs bags and clothes soon followed. The popularity of the phrase has been linked to a sense of nostalgia for stereotypical 'British-ness' and the ability to keep going, particularly in the times of trouble from which this 'motivational' poster originates. The phrase has also been transferred back onto recent times of hardship in Britain regarding the current recession.


The design was initially printed by the Ministry of Information in 1939 as part of a series of posters sending the message of King George VI to his people that all capable measures were being taken to defend the country. Only a few of these posters actually made it onto walls and the prints remained largely unseen by the general public until it's discovery at Barter Books. The origins of this iconic expression and it's designer are unknown.

With the popularisation of 'Keep Calm and Carry On' not only came a stream of homewares and clothing but also a seemingly endless amount of phrases playing parody to the original. I for one enjoy the phrase as a simple framed poster, but it has to be said that the Etsy shop, Keep Calm Arsenal really have outdone themselves with their wide range of Keep Calm parody prints.


I can't wait to do some proper nesting and have my very own Keep Calm Arsenal print as part of my interior landscape. Here are some of my favourite related Keep Calm and Carry On images that I found while researching for this post (yes I researched it, I used Wikipedia and everything, just because I'm allowed to now).

(via Google)

(via Matt Jones)

(via IamTh3q)

BBC - Who owns 'Keep Calm and Carry On'?

A wide range of Keep Calm and Carry On merchandise is available from numerous different sources. I would recommend 'Googling' it but I found that Etsy comes out on top, particularly for un-cheesy original parody designs.
Keep Calm and Carry On Shop
Keep Calm and Carry On at Heal's
Keep Calm and Carry On at Etsy