Week in Photos

While I may not have Instagram (*sob!*) I do love the pudding camera app, particularly the Fantasy Noir setting which is what I took the above photos in. I'm just crazy about the sepia blurry foggyness of it all. Most of the time I forget I have my phone on me with a better camera than my first digi one so its not a proper week in photos, mainly the nicest of the few I've taken, but you get the gist and 'Week in Photos' sounds better than 'Photo Dump of Randomness'. Also, I've been a bad blogger not uploading again so sorry for that.

Top row - February's Glossy Box which I still need to review and the lovely new Harrods one, which is awesome btw. I was going to do one today but it was too dark and I wanted natural light, and there was none! My friends engagement party invite, its really pretty and the colours were grey and yellow. The card I made for them. Not great but still kinda sweet yes/no? The party was fun and I got to see my friends fiance drunk for the first time which was very funny. I'm super happy for them :D

Bottom row - A Bagpuss card I sent to my friend for her birthday. When she was younger she loved Bagpuss and still kinda does so when I saw it I had to buy it. She lives in Scotland so I had to send it by post! Only one day late lol. My ticket and drink before I went to see the History Boys. My boyfriends in the uni drama society and I know loads of people who were in it/directed it. I've never seen it before and it was awesome, if a bit shocking (pervy teachers anyone?) The History Boys after show, were I got very drunk and took loads of blurry drunk photos on my phone. I liked these lights which were in the kitchen, it felt like I was back in a school disco (sorta, but not really!)

So... judging by my week in photos I just went to an Engagement party and to see a play and the after party but I have done more than that, honest! Just no photographic evidence.

Owl love you to the moon and back

I know its not much, but I really do enjoy making my own cards for people, when I have the inspiration. I made an owl card for my boyfriend for Valentines day (and an owl teddy) and carried on the theme for our year anniversary a few days later. I wanted to practice using paints on cards instead and it got a bit messy but I quite like the overall effect for the sky, which turned out completely wrong! I need to get some more ink pens instead of using a thick sharpie, take more time and be neater, and I need to practice my writing! It was never great, and my handwriting has gone downhill since school, college and uni! Not that I wrote much then either, welcome to the internet age! Oh yeah, I know this is a bit of a random post, but I really do have a few blogging ideas up in my head, I just need to get them all down on paper! Or rather, on the internet!

Valentines Love Owl

This a a very belated post about Valentines but I'm still going to go ahead with it, sorry! For Valentines day me and my boyfriend agreed to make home made presents for each other and stay in since we both don't have that much money, and our one year anniversary was only a few days later, which the same applied for. I decided I'd make him an owl, which is the one above, named lumpy, since, well, he is rather lumpy! I tried to pick manly colours but still make him look cute. He was very wonky too, and I need to practice using my sewing machine some more and buy lots more fabrics! I used felt and he was pretty easy to make if a little rough looking. I also sprayed him with the perfume my boyfriend got me for Christmas which I also sprayed all over his card! I was going to make him some cupcakes or something, but he's being healthy so hasn't really tried anything I've baked :(

This is the card I made him, which does look better in person, but yeah I need to be more neat with this too! I really like owls, so now he does too, but he likes the cheesy owl lines so I'm happy. I went over his after he finished uni and he'd put candles everywhere, a singe rose by my seat, and made me a meal and said we could watch whatever chick flick he'd said no to before, but we ended up watching High Fidelity in the end on NetFlix which was a weird choice about breakups haha. He also made me a bracelet and got me a mini photograph for me purse and little chocolate love bugs :D

For our anniversary I made him another owl card saying "Owl love you to the moon and back" and I painted it with watercolours for a change, and I painted a small canvas and a photoframe for him. The photo I put in it was the exact same photo he'd picked for the card he made me, n'aww. It's just a random photo from a gig that we both liked but hadn't said to each other so I liked that. He also hand picked love hearts with messages on them, got me matchsticks and wrote me a story, which I found very sweet and funny. We also went out to watch a film, which was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, another random choice! But I'd wanted to see it, its very good and WILL make you cry, or say you have something in your eye!

All in all I'm a very happy girl and even if we have loads of money next year I think I want to carry on with the little homemade things, and buy nice things for him for Christmas and his birthday!

Oh yeah I've changed the layout of my blog and hope you all like it, I felt like something new and almost changed blogs! But I made a decision to keep this blog, and I can always revamp my content and delete older entries for a fresh start if I want to. Hopefully I'll get better at this blogging marlaky and blog more!

Polkadotty

It was my friends 22nd birthday today and this is what I gave her for her birthday. A cute little purse, her initial and I painted a card. Can you sense a polka dot theme? I tried the card a bit in the style of the outfit posts I draw, but changed the feet. I don't like how the legs and feet turned out but oh well. I really like how the hair turned out, and prefer it being simpler with less lines. The scene makes sense to us, a memory from the Summer, so it doesn't really look like a typical birthday card. She said she always looks forward to my cards on her birthday, so that makes me feel like people do enjoy my home made cards!

I was meant to be doing something small like ice cream if warm enough, or coffee if cold enough for her birthday, but I'm ill. Bleh! I have horrible cramps and the left side of my hip is hurting when I move, so I'm walking with a limp. Why yes I am an old woman it seems! I'm hoping I pulled something without realising and it'll be better soon if I rest, so yay to having a few days of work! Ideally I'd love to clean my room, like a huge spring clean, or rather Autumn clean but I am relying heavily on pain meds at the moment!

Anywho, my plans for today are to put my pajamas back on, and to snuggle in bed watching films, maybe reading and checking out teh interweb!

Birthday treats for the Brother

My older brother turned twenty four the other day, and I put a lot of effort into the presents and card I gave him this year. Normally me and my three brothers don't put that much of an effort into presents. We just ask if they want any films or books and get them. My older brother however would put more effort and money into the presents, since he could afford it in the past. 

When he came to visit, he usually does about once a week to get a home cooked meal, we'd asked him what he wanted, and he said he didn't know. When he left the room his girlfriend said she was going to get him a remote controlled helicopter. When he came back him, awhile afterwards said that's what he wanted. I had to say "no, i'm not getting you one" to him, and told him he wasn't responsible enough, since my brothers always break the flying presents they get usually in one day. After he'd gone home, my mum said he was a bit upset feeling like no one was bothering about him and I felt bad, he does get us really nice things.

I decided to get him things from his childhood since he's really like a big kid, it was more like he was turning four than twenty four. My boyfriend just turned twenty five a few months ago, and I went for a childish theme too, it's more fun! Anyway, apart from one grown up thing he did mention, a game of thrones book, I got him things he enjoyed when he was younger. 

• Mulan was his favourite disney film, I remember seeing it near his birthday in the cinema, Mulan rocks! But now I'll be singing "I'll make a maaaan, out of yoooooou!" for ages now. 
• I also got him bubbles, since bubbles are always fun! For my twenty first birthday I had a big fancy dress party for superheroes or villains, and the best dressed people won bubbles! People of all sorts of ages were there and all loved them!
• I got him "retro sweets", I used the quotes since they still sell them now, but it reminds me of those part bags you used to get at parties. 
• A mini wooden diablo! He used to have a giant red plastic one, but this was cute, but a bit harder, so I felt a bit bad about that lols.
• And then the book was a grown up thing but I got that first before the childhood theme.

I also made him a card, I've been making cards for people for awhile now. I started with generic ones for birthdays and christmas, but now I try to make them more personal. I'll have to upload some photos I have of them another time. Anyway this is the card I drew for him.

• Flags cause they remind me of birthdays and are cute! Love bunting flags! 
• A hat since you used to wear them at parties.
• My brother as a little kid and holding a helicopter since he made such a fuss about it.

I know its not much, but I'm working on being more creative and I do like to make an effort with presents and cards. I couldn't find any pencils to do this though, so drew it in inky pen, and then realised I had to colour in around it and that's why it's a bit... smudged, dirty or not coloured in properly. I also did it quickly before he arrived, my quick sketch before this was much better, but on paper and not coloured in, oh well.

Anywho, I hope to make cuter and better cards in future rather than buying them, it is one of my 101 things to do, and I'll post some of the old ones and new ones I make :)