1. my Nanny passed away - it was one of the saddest times in my life, because she was such an important person in my life. I still miss her every day.
2. I finished my photography diploma, and ended up being awarded a merit, which was a very pleasant surprise.
3. I put on my first ever photography show as part of our class end of year exhibit - it was one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done, and it was so nice seeing my work up on a wall for everyone to see.
4. I started buying and selling vintage knick-knacks through Ayoka Charity Shop Boutique in Bethnal Green - it's the most fun job I think I have ever had, and it's inspired me to go back and retake my driving test so I can try and grow my love of thrifting into a business.
5. I visited lots of seaside towns on the South East coast - Havant and Hayling Island, Whitstable, Eastbourne, Hastings, Brighton, and Brighton again!
6. I did a photoshoot for Lazy Oaf which also got featured on the Lomography website!
7. I became a regular at hip hop karaoke (but I am yet to make my rapping debut...)
8. I started shooting almost entirely on film using my Canon AV-1
9. I crocheted Valentines for my favourite people
10. I visited the Museum of Everything
11. I celebrated 10 years of Lazy Oaf by drinking too much and getting in a photobooth
12. I passed a diploma in Beginner's Japanese
13. I made a penpal who would quickly become one of my best friends
14. I thrifted one of my favourite ever (and most useful) car boot sale finds
15. I had the best night of my life at the Harry Potter Premiere
16. I participated in Rhianne's 2011 photoswap
17. I picked a whole load of blackberries and then made a lovely crumble from them
18. I celebrated turning 25 years old with a week long holiday
19. I spent a lot of time in the Natural History Museum
20. I made chocolate dipped pretzels (and posted my first ever step by step on my blog!)
21. I wrote a guest blog post over at For the Easily Distracted
22. I went to the 2011 Frightfest Horror Film Festival with my sister
23. I visited the chocolaterie opened up by one of my best friends
24. I bought almost entirely handmade Christmas presents at the Renegade Craft Fair
This year has been slightly surreal. So much has happened, yet it feels like nothing has changed. I loved reading back through my old blog posts to compile this list - I've done lots of things which I probably wouldn't have remembered had I not written about them on this blog. That is one of the reasons why I started blogging in the first place, as a kind of virtual diary, and I feel motivated now to blog even more next year!
Currently I am working hard to realise one of my biggest goals, which is to have my own little business, and to work for myself. 2011 has been a pretty fun year, but I'm hoping that 2012 will be even better! I'm working on a list of goals for the new year, which I will be posting next week xoxo
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Friday, 30 December 2011
Friday Favourites
1. Untitled, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Sunny sunday afternoon calligraphy practise, 5. Untitled, 6. nibbles, 7. Untitled, 8. just this morning, 9. old animal stamps
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
ladybird likes
this idea for DIY tea towel covered stools
the gorgeous packaging on these vintage typewriter ribbons
this idea for stamping onto iced cookies
this amazing storefront (source unknown)
this how to for watching movies in your garden
this incredible owl illustration
Friday, 23 December 2011
Friday Favourites
1. Betsy, 2. kerry's new shoes, 3. Im Sorry totoro..., 4. Untitled, 5. morning light, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. Another year later, still the same boy. <3
Thursday, 22 December 2011
List 21: reasons why I love autumn and winter
It's no secret that although summer is great (particularly love all the sun, because without sun pretty much everything would die, and that would be bad) I much prefer autumn and winter. Here are just some of the reasons why...
1. gingerbread lattes at Starbucks
2. waiting for snow
3. autumn leaves
4. wearing wellies without feeling silly
5. driving in the dark to look for Christmas lights
6. snuggling under knitted blankets
7. drawing on the condensation on bus windows
8. baking things with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg in
9. being able to see my breath as I walk home
10. fairy lights in trees
11. crocheting in the evenings
12. buying a new coat
13. log fires in old fashioned pubs
14. seeing the sun set from Northala Hills
15. spiced warm cider
16. wrapping Christmas presents for my loved ones
17. wearing big thick socks all the time
18. cups of tea at home
19. not needing to shave my legs every single day
20. making paper snowflakes and paper chains
21. lighting candles every evening
22. glittery pine cones
23. movie nights with my sister
24. ice skating outdoors
25. visiting the Christmas room in Libertys
26. knitted jumpers
27. cooking big pots of chilli for dinner
28. snow days
29. dressing Jasper in his doggy coat
30. spending Christmas with my family
1. gingerbread lattes at Starbucks
2. waiting for snow
3. autumn leaves
4. wearing wellies without feeling silly
5. driving in the dark to look for Christmas lights
6. snuggling under knitted blankets
7. drawing on the condensation on bus windows
8. baking things with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg in
9. being able to see my breath as I walk home
10. fairy lights in trees
11. crocheting in the evenings
12. buying a new coat
13. log fires in old fashioned pubs
14. seeing the sun set from Northala Hills
15. spiced warm cider
16. wrapping Christmas presents for my loved ones
17. wearing big thick socks all the time
18. cups of tea at home
19. not needing to shave my legs every single day
20. making paper snowflakes and paper chains
21. lighting candles every evening
22. glittery pine cones
23. movie nights with my sister
24. ice skating outdoors
25. visiting the Christmas room in Libertys
26. knitted jumpers
27. cooking big pots of chilli for dinner
28. snow days
29. dressing Jasper in his doggy coat
30. spending Christmas with my family
Friday, 16 December 2011
Friday Favourites
1. Untitled, 2. Cameras for Public Use at Levis Workshop, 3. svanjävlar, 4. birthday, 5. ath-fw5,audio-technica,headphone, 6. Untitled, 7. Untitled, 8. betty in cloudland, 9. Untitled
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Lazy Oaf x Lomography (part 2)
Here are the second lot of photos from a recent photoshoot I did for Lazy Oaf, in collaboration with Lomography. They are all shot on the LC-wide, using cross-processed slide film, and none of the photos have been edited (except for some slight cropping.) You can see the first part right here, and you can also see the photos from this Lazy Oaf shoot that I took on my Canon AV-1 right here and here - I love how totally different the photos feel, even though the locations and outfits are identical!
love these ones of Jade - her outfit is perfection, and I am a bit obsessed with photos in doorways/on stairs right now! (Jade has also agreed to do another shoot with me in the new year, so you'll be seeing more of her lovely face on this blog soon!)
these photos were a kind of 'girls as boys' - we basically wanted to style up some of Lazy Oaf's men's t-shirts on girls, and I love how 1990's they turned out
and finally some photos that are so far from what I normally do that I can't believe I took them.... I NEVER use flash normally, but these flash-lit nighttime photos turned out amazingly well, and I love how the bright colours of the clothes look against the black
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Lazy Oaf x Lomography (part 1)
I'm super super proud of this shoot because it was blogged over on the Lomography site right here which, me being a massive Lomography fan, is a huge honour and very exciting (yup, I did a little dance when I read about it, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) You can also read more about the shoot over on the Lazy Oaf blog here and here. These are from the same shoot I blogged about last week, but these were taken on a LC-Wide (kindly loaned to use by the lovely people at Lomography) rather than my trusty Canon AV-1. I'm always hesitant about shooting on two cameras at the same time, as I worry they will end up looking a bit samey, but these couldn't be more different!
these photos right here are probably my favourite photos EVER - such an unexpected result from using slide film on a backlit subject, but definitely something I want to try and recreate!
we ventured outside for some of the shoot too, these looks were shot down a little alleyway, and I love the distressed paint, and the exposed brick as backdrops (and that worn away vintage sign is perfection, I want it in my house!)
Monday, 12 December 2011
List 20: places I have been to
It's no secret I love exploring new places. If I was given lots of money I would spend it on travelling. Although I don't consider myself well-traveled, I'm definitely working on it! This is a list of some of the places I have been in my lifetime....
1. France - first time was for a school trip aged 11. I remember almost nothing about it, other than being chased by a dog, having a baguette fight on the coach, and drinking those spray refresher bottles of Evian. My second visit was much more memorable - I spent a week in Paris with my sister. We did so much sightseeing, walked miles and miles, ate crepes every single day, and took hundreds of photographs. Although Paris is one of the most beautiful cities I've been to, it's also one of the most expensive!
2. Iceland - I studied A-Level Geography, and one of the benefits of this was being invited to go on a field trip to Iceland for a week. My Nanny, the absolute angel she was, offered to pay for me to go, and so I spent a week exploring glaciers, and waterfalls, and geysers, riding Icelandic ponies, and NOT seeing the Aurora Borealis (still a very sensitive subject, it was one of the things I was looking forward to the most about the trip, but hey ho!) Iceland is an incredible country, it's like being on another planet, it's so barren and empty. I'm a total geology nerd, so loved every second of the trip. The highlight was being in an outdoor swimming pool (heated by the thermal energy that's abundant in Iceland) and all I could see for miles on either side of me was mountains with snow capped peaks.
3. New York - there aren't enough words to describe how much I love New York City. I fell in love the first time I visited, it feels like my second home, and is the only place other than London I've ever felt sure I would enjoy living. I have only visited twice, but stayed for 2 weeks each time, before traveling to Washington DC to stay with friends for a further 2 weeks. It's such an amazing city -the second time I visited we arrived in the afternoon, went to bed for a few hours and woke up really disorientated, and I have weird jumbled memories of wandering up to Times Square at about one in the morning to get something to eat, and everything was open, and there were so many people milling about!
4. Thailand - this was in fact my last trip abroad (need to sort that out asap!) After breaking up with the boy I thought I would be with forever, having a complete breakdown, and somehow graduating university, I decided I needed a break. So when a uni friend told me he was going traveling and would be in Thailand later in the year I thought, what the hell, I'd like to lie in the sun for a bit! So I flew out to Koh Samui, an island off the coast of Thailand. We were supposed to spend three weeks there together, but sadly he had major visa issues and had to go home after two weeks. I decided that, rather than stay on Koh Samui alone I would head to Koh Tao and take a scuba diving course, something I have always wanted to do. I spent a week learning all about scuba diving, living in a little straw hut with other people from the diving school. The daytime was spent studying, diving, or messing about on a boat, and the evenings were spent watching bad TV, playing card games, and doing more studying. Although I had no idea at the time, it was during this holiday that I realised who I really was, and that I am a lot stronger than I thought.
5. Barcelona -again, I visited this city with my sister kind of on a whim. I've always wanted to go, mainly because I'm a big Gaudi fan, and it certainly didn't disappoint! We spent a week visiting as many Gaudi works as possible (although we missed Parc Guell due to having to catch an earlier flight!) and trying to fit in some beach time in between. It's so weird being in a city and going to the beach.... I'm not a huge fan of the beach but my sister is, and our arrangement was she would come with me to the art galleries and museums, and I would go with her to the beach and to Camp Nou (she's a big football fan.) Although I've to New York during summer, Barcelona in summer is completely different. The heat was unbearable for most of the day, hotter than NYC, and very few places are properly air conditioned. We took our cue from the locals and had siestas during the hottest part of the day whenever possible.
6. Morocco - this was basically a relax holiday for me. I went for two and a half weeks with my then boyfriend. It was after a really tough period of my life; I'd just had to move home from Northampton (where I had been studying Psychology) and had been looking for a job, and generally feeling really out of sorts. We spent the whole trip lounging by the pool or on the beach, wandering around little markets, and exploring the area.
7. Florida -when I was nine years old my parents surprised me and my sisters with a three week holiday to Florida. I say surprised because they didn't tell us until the morning that we were leaving! There is a video showing them telling us we are going to Disneyworld in Florida and it's the funniest thing EVER! My little sister goes and hides because she can't handle all the excitement! We spent two weeks staying in the Walt Disney resort, visiting the parks and everything, and then we had a week staying in a relative's beach house in Key West. It literally backed directly on to a private stretch of beach. As a nine year old it was the holiday of a lifetime, and it's one I will never forget.
1. France - first time was for a school trip aged 11. I remember almost nothing about it, other than being chased by a dog, having a baguette fight on the coach, and drinking those spray refresher bottles of Evian. My second visit was much more memorable - I spent a week in Paris with my sister. We did so much sightseeing, walked miles and miles, ate crepes every single day, and took hundreds of photographs. Although Paris is one of the most beautiful cities I've been to, it's also one of the most expensive!
2. Iceland - I studied A-Level Geography, and one of the benefits of this was being invited to go on a field trip to Iceland for a week. My Nanny, the absolute angel she was, offered to pay for me to go, and so I spent a week exploring glaciers, and waterfalls, and geysers, riding Icelandic ponies, and NOT seeing the Aurora Borealis (still a very sensitive subject, it was one of the things I was looking forward to the most about the trip, but hey ho!) Iceland is an incredible country, it's like being on another planet, it's so barren and empty. I'm a total geology nerd, so loved every second of the trip. The highlight was being in an outdoor swimming pool (heated by the thermal energy that's abundant in Iceland) and all I could see for miles on either side of me was mountains with snow capped peaks.
3. New York - there aren't enough words to describe how much I love New York City. I fell in love the first time I visited, it feels like my second home, and is the only place other than London I've ever felt sure I would enjoy living. I have only visited twice, but stayed for 2 weeks each time, before traveling to Washington DC to stay with friends for a further 2 weeks. It's such an amazing city -the second time I visited we arrived in the afternoon, went to bed for a few hours and woke up really disorientated, and I have weird jumbled memories of wandering up to Times Square at about one in the morning to get something to eat, and everything was open, and there were so many people milling about!
4. Thailand - this was in fact my last trip abroad (need to sort that out asap!) After breaking up with the boy I thought I would be with forever, having a complete breakdown, and somehow graduating university, I decided I needed a break. So when a uni friend told me he was going traveling and would be in Thailand later in the year I thought, what the hell, I'd like to lie in the sun for a bit! So I flew out to Koh Samui, an island off the coast of Thailand. We were supposed to spend three weeks there together, but sadly he had major visa issues and had to go home after two weeks. I decided that, rather than stay on Koh Samui alone I would head to Koh Tao and take a scuba diving course, something I have always wanted to do. I spent a week learning all about scuba diving, living in a little straw hut with other people from the diving school. The daytime was spent studying, diving, or messing about on a boat, and the evenings were spent watching bad TV, playing card games, and doing more studying. Although I had no idea at the time, it was during this holiday that I realised who I really was, and that I am a lot stronger than I thought.
5. Barcelona -again, I visited this city with my sister kind of on a whim. I've always wanted to go, mainly because I'm a big Gaudi fan, and it certainly didn't disappoint! We spent a week visiting as many Gaudi works as possible (although we missed Parc Guell due to having to catch an earlier flight!) and trying to fit in some beach time in between. It's so weird being in a city and going to the beach.... I'm not a huge fan of the beach but my sister is, and our arrangement was she would come with me to the art galleries and museums, and I would go with her to the beach and to Camp Nou (she's a big football fan.) Although I've to New York during summer, Barcelona in summer is completely different. The heat was unbearable for most of the day, hotter than NYC, and very few places are properly air conditioned. We took our cue from the locals and had siestas during the hottest part of the day whenever possible.
6. Morocco - this was basically a relax holiday for me. I went for two and a half weeks with my then boyfriend. It was after a really tough period of my life; I'd just had to move home from Northampton (where I had been studying Psychology) and had been looking for a job, and generally feeling really out of sorts. We spent the whole trip lounging by the pool or on the beach, wandering around little markets, and exploring the area.
7. Florida -when I was nine years old my parents surprised me and my sisters with a three week holiday to Florida. I say surprised because they didn't tell us until the morning that we were leaving! There is a video showing them telling us we are going to Disneyworld in Florida and it's the funniest thing EVER! My little sister goes and hides because she can't handle all the excitement! We spent two weeks staying in the Walt Disney resort, visiting the parks and everything, and then we had a week staying in a relative's beach house in Key West. It literally backed directly on to a private stretch of beach. As a nine year old it was the holiday of a lifetime, and it's one I will never forget.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
a total renegade
When I visited New York, a whopping four years ago now, I discovered Renegade Craft Fair after reading about their Brooklyn one on a blog. It coincided perfectly with my visit to New York, so me and my sister made the commute over the river to Brooklyn to check it out. I'm pretty sure that's the moment I really fell in love with the crafting community - seeing so many creative people making businesses and lives out of their talents really stuck with me. So I literally shrieked when I found out that this year they would be holding a Renegade in London for the first time ever! And I was even more excited to discover that two of my blogging friends Kim and Zoe (yes, another Zoe, I like to pretend we are twins!) would be selling their beautiful wares there.
I tried to resist spending every penny I own there, but I did buy a few Christmas presents (which I won't show on here in case their recipient spies them) plus a few treats for myself because I mean it's only fair to support other crafty businesses, right? (I can literally justify buying ANYTHING, it's a bad habit)
You can also read Kim's post about Renegade, and Zoe's too, they have much better photos than I do because, once again, I only took photos of signs and silly things. Seriously, I'm going cold turkey on sign photos from now on.
I tried to resist spending every penny I own there, but I did buy a few Christmas presents (which I won't show on here in case their recipient spies them) plus a few treats for myself because I mean it's only fair to support other crafty businesses, right? (I can literally justify buying ANYTHING, it's a bad habit)
You can also read Kim's post about Renegade, and Zoe's too, they have much better photos than I do because, once again, I only took photos of signs and silly things. Seriously, I'm going cold turkey on sign photos from now on.
Friday, 9 December 2011
Friday Favourites
1. Great White Lights, 2. I ♥ Cookies, 3. Creationism, 4. candy-truck, 5. ?, 6. ath-fw5,audio-technica,headphone, 7. The Magical Mystery Box and Co., 8. birthday, 9. svanjävlar
Thursday, 8 December 2011
christmas crafts
For me Christmas is a time for nostalgia, and what is more nostalgic than making salt dough ornaments? Under the guise of helping Phoebe, I got to relive my childhood by making salt dough ornaments using cookie cutters, although I do like to think my crafting skills have improved considerably in the last 20 years!
If you've never made salt dough ornaments before then firstly, shame on you, and secondly, go make some! It was such a fun way to spend an afternoon, plus you get something you can keep and hang on your tree (unless, like most of ours, they are so big and heavy that they practically pull the tree over!) What Christmas crafts have you all been up to?
we got these awesome forest creature cookie cutters from Ikea
yeah I made a squirrel - I'm almost definitely going to pimp it up with loads of gold glitter...
the little lady made an ornament with her name stamped into it - I swear sometimes I can't believe she is a child, because I love her so much and you know how much I normally hate kids....
I made some super cute little salt dough button things which I stupidly forgot to make a hole in so instead of becoming ornaments I need to find another use for them...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)