It's time for a little bit of classy with just a dash of sophistication...

Well, as you my faithful followers may have noticed, my blog has been undergoing some renovations over the past couple of er.... hours. Anyway, I am aiming for a cleaner more 'sophisticated' look. That makes me sound like a snob, but really I'm not. Guess What!? In the weekend I went to a Tea Party! This was to celebrate the 17th birthday of the friend I made the book for. She's so cool - check out her tumblr here.This is a pic of us and our uber Indie haircuts from a few weeks ago.. (I am the ginger on the left)

I know, I know. Gentlemen (and ladies, I'm not bothered) please line up in an orderly fashion...

Here is me at the party:

You may be thinking 'Wow what awesome friends Diva seems to hang out with!', and I would be too, because they are pretty gosh darn awesome. Hear Hear! But alas, for internet photo posting purposes I have used my horrifying photoshop skills to super impose cats over their faces, also I just wanted to super impose cats over their faces... Here is another.

^That is me at my most enthusiastic for those wondering. It doesn't get much more exciting than practically starring in a scene from 'The Secret Garden'! Because it was a birthday celebration and on birthday celebrations rude jokes can be made (actually, apart from church type scenarios, rude jokes can be made the majority of the time) I decided to do this:

This contained a giant gobstopper. Funny? Yes. Classy? Maybe not so much. 

Moving on... A few posts ago you were exposed to some of my first attempts at resin jewellery and you lucky young lads and lasses now have the pleasure of seeing some more...

I love the fact that no one else will ever be seen wearing the same necklace as me. The tiny scissors were just too adorable to sit unused in my bead box.

That is a flower brooch that my exceptionally brilliant and talented mother crocheted for me. You can check out more of her magnificent makings here. SO CUTE! 

A song that I have been addicted to lately is this one:

Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle and Sebastian. Is it actually humanly possible NOT to be addicted to Belle and Sebastian? I think not. In fact I have been so addicted to this song that I had to, just had to learn to play it on my trusty guitar. Just for kicks, here is a pic: 

Isn't she a beauty? I wouldn't say that I am particularly musical but there's nothing better than coming home after a long day of school and strumming it out like no one can hear you (which actually, they can, and often do complain about it). 

Now, as I love you all very very much I am going to try and start being a bit more committed to this blog of mine. That means less time sitting on my ass and more time getting out into the world and taking pictures and having adventures! (Do forgive me if these adventures include wafting upstairs to make some toast and the pictures are mostly of my cats, i promise I will give it a bit of a go)

That's all for today though folks. Stay in school, don't do drugs and remember to smile once in a while er... Mr Crocodile... I feel that I'm getting slightly off track.

Goodbye x

Oh...

And here is a song:

Interesting Video but EPIC sound!
Enjoy x

Blobbing about.

Good day to you all!

It has been far far too long, but as I suspected from the get go this was never to be a regular thing! Ah how I can kid myself with promises of commitment and self control... Excuses, excuses you may say to me, but in fact I have been completely weighed down by various different art assignments that may sound fun, but believe me when it is 60 billion pages of research it is not. I hate to admit it but my writing of this post is mainly due to procrastination and unwillingness to make a start on photography analysis (blah..) Although I do love you all, don't get me wrong!

Moving on.... I have been busy busy and so most of my recreational art activities have been put on hold, however last week was a good friend's birthday and I decided to make her a hand decorated diary (my speciality, some would say). 

I did decorate the pages inside, but I feel she would be a bit embarrassed as some of it is vair personal (its boys basically) - haha. I have also been doing a wee bit of painting, here is a watercolour (giving it a bit of a go - don't judge, I'm a beginner) of some roses, a bit plain but good to explore the media blah blah blah....

And here is a painting/drawing I have started (notice how none of my work ever gets finished..) for a friend, it is Florence Welch from Florence and The Machine, you may have noticed I have a bit of an obsession already.

Aside from that I haven't really been up to all that much, school and everything. However I have got some pics of what I call  'Inspiration Station', aka a corner by my bed which I have decorated in a whole bunch of random shit but that is nice to look at. 

So yeah, that's inspiration station for ya. I hope you enjoyed it. You may also notice that my header has temporarily changed to some records (the ones that hang above my bed for anyone who is remotely interested). What do you guys think of the change? Did you prefer the owl twins? I am undecided.

I will leave you with some pics of my fav. girl couple; Emily and Naomi off Skins 2nd generation.

Image from: http://s659.photobucket.com/albums/uu315/elle_ela/skins/?action=view&current=183722.jpg&mediafilter=images

Image from: http://www.google.co.nz/imgres

Lily Loveless and Kathryn Prescott, why you be so cool? 

Anyway that's all for now. Have a marvelous evening and a happy new year or something...

Bye.

Home again, home again jiggity jog...

Hullo again all!
You will be happy to know that I have arrived back home safe and sound! My four weeks up in Auckland seeing family and catching up with old friends was lovely lovely lovely but it is good to be back in my own bed. Now, here are some photos...

A little bit of Christmas cheer found on the front door.

My Granny's perfect roses.

Home-baked brown bread featured on the menu each day. Nom nom nom...

A collection of books to scare off boredom.

Christmas treats fill this bowl and insure that I maintain a healthy and varied diet.

I also painted my Florence design onto a singlet with handy dandy textile paints! Yay!

A spot of painting... (yet to be finished)

Plus a drawing I have started of Michelle off Skins seasons 1 and 2.

Oh and some new music to see me through this not-so-sunny summer!

That's all for now folks!

Toodle Pip x

Happy Holidays!

Hello there everyone! And might I say, if a bit belatedly, Merry Christmas! 

Internet access has been limited due to me being away with family for Christmas but to be honest I wouldn't have found the time to start with! I have been far too busy stuffing my face with Christmas ham and trifle and chocolates and coffee and all sorts of delightful snacks that would keep even the fussiest person entertained for hours. This will be a short post but just letting you all know that normal blogging procedures will begin again on return home as I am enjoying a bit of relaxing time and all projects have ceased until further notice. Oh and for those wondering, I did not finish my squares blanket by Christmas and it is a New Year’s resolution of mine to stick to something once I have started it (yeah right!). Sorry no photos today, forgot to pack my camera cord…. But I assure you plenty of holiday pics when I get back!!! Stay safe and have fun.

Adios x

Rain and Resin

Bonjour everybody!

Today it has been truly horrible weather. The kind that means you never want to leave your bed, or makes you long to be in front of a fire, or go to Fiji or something. This is odd for December, but I think that despite the fact that it has been a rather wet day we shouldn't let the weather get us down. Here is a lovely flower plant thingy to cheer everyone up.

Now, as is expected on rainy days, much eating is to be done. To get everyone into the right frame of mind I have some photos from a pasta date I had with a friend last week. She had bought me this amazingly beautiful coloured pasta and sauce for my birthday and so I invited her around so that we could both enjoy it's magnificence.

YUM! It was honestly the coolest meal I have ever eaten in my life! Except for maybe the time me and a friend made pacman pudding out of a lemon and a bag of icing sugar..... But then again that probably couldn't be classified as a 'meal' as such. Anyway, while we are on the topic of food (as I always seem to be) I have a life saving piece of information for you all! Now, I think that it is a widely known fact that a large percentage of the population relies on Betty Crocker's ready mixed mixes when it comes to baking. BUT! Fret no more, because I have for you the easiest, most mouth wateringly tasty vanilla cake recipe ever. And..... photos! I used it to make a cake for my friend's birthday yesterday and it was mixed and whisked and in the oven in no time at all!

Tasty Vanilla Cake Recipe  - unknown source

Ingredients:

-1 Cup of Sugar

-100g butter

-2 eggs (free range are the best!)

-2 tsp vanilla essence

-1,1/2 cups all purpose flour

-1, 3/4 tsp baking powder

-1/2 cup milk

1.Preheat oven to 170'C (350'F) and grease a 9x9 inch cake tin. NOTE: this recipe can be used as muffins or cupcakes too! Obviously though the cake tin is substituted here for a muffin tray...

2. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time and then add the vanilla essence.

3. Using a sieve add the butter and baking powder together and mix well. Finally stir in the milk and stir until you have a smooth mixture.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or for cupcakes for 20-25 minutes. Cake is ready when it springs back when touched. Leave to cool on a tray and then decorate to your heart's content!

Ta-da! A cake! 

Today me and mum had a bit of a play around with some resin jewellry stuff which we ordered off trademe, and so far they appear to be a success. It is so rewarding being able to make your own stuff to wear and the options are infinite! This time around it was dried rose buds and buttons for me, with lace and fabric from the vast ever exciting fabric box, hopefully they turn out ok! I shall have to post pictures later on of the finished products as they are left overnight to dry.

They are so much fun to make, although my hands are still sticky from the process! The past few days I have been addicted to a song by a band called the Fleet Foxes. It is incredibly hard not to dance to it...

Oh and here are some clown faces I made out of polymer baking clay. I intend to turn them into earrings at some point in the near future.. 

That's it for now really, I hope you all enjoy lazing about and watching the rain, according to the weather forecast it's going to last a while! Oh and if you actually are in Fiji then please try not to get too sunburnt.

Cheerio x

Break Time

Hello hello hello!
I have been the most lazy blogger ever and so I apologize profusely for my absence from the internet. You will all be delighted to hear that my party was a triumph darling, an absolute triumph! But unfortunately due to the stress and pressure of organizing an Oscar worthy Medieval Extravaganza (if they had Oscars for that sort of thing that is) I have had to spend the last few weeks lazing about like the sloth that I appear to be, and consuming vast amounts of chocolate and carbohydrates... However, good news is that I am back and I have lovely things to share with you. Now, as we all know, children can often be extraordinarily cute and caring and I am pleased to tell you that I am the neighbour to two such children, except... wait for it.... better! My mother has warned their mum (Kate - check her blog here-it's amazing, like her!) that I may actually kidnap Archie and Hugo  (the children in question) at some point in the near future. She has been warned. Anyway more to the point, on my birthday which seems like years ago now, they arrived unexpectedly at the door to my bedroom, having tackled forests and climbed mountains to reach it (they cut through the paddock basically) with arms of flowers, and in Hugo's case an actual plant 'so that I could plant it and it will never die'-too cute! The roses were wrapped lovingly in tin foil and handed to my by a shy Archie along with Hugo's card, a masterpiece of self portraits, collage and cut outs. These two never fail to brighten my day..

You will be happy to find out that I finished the book cover for my friend's birthday, he seemed to like it which is always a plus! I decorated the edging with red thread and slipped it onto the book with a message inside. You can see the hand painted print on the front - Florence and The Machine - in more detail in my previous post.

I have also been a busy bee making some earrings for another friend's birthday tomorrow. She is exceptionally stylish and fashionable so they needed a bit of thought, but I reckon they have a certain Aztec feel about them which I think she will like!

So that's it on the creative front really, hopefully this week will provide an opportunity for more arty endeavors, but for now here is some glittery tinsely stuff to get everyone into the Christmas spirit! 

Oh and of course a song (although it is anything but Christmasy) because music makes the world go round! -and gravity and the sun and moon and stuff but those aren't as fun to dance to.... This is one of my favourites of Florence's new album 'Ceremonials', although they are all so fantastic it is impossible to really pick a favourite as it is constantly changing! Anyway, enjoy!

I hope you all have a lovely evening!

Ciao x