Summer Cat Silhouette

A beautiful photo taken at 6.30am. This is our cat Rosie, sitting behind the curtain, watching the world go by.

Sorry again for the lack of posts, I really intend to get back to it a lot more this coming week.

I also have another blog that is more about travel and shopping. I started it because I work in the Fashion industry and because I love to travel and buy unusual gifts from around the world.

Check it out:-

akuaku

For now though, I'm off to enjoy the gorgeous weather that we are having. Hope you are having good weather too :)

Sorry for not posting in ages...

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post, definitely no excuses what so ever!

I've been really lazy by not bothering to take my beloved camera with me so I have very few exciting photos to show you today, except for these 3 different colourful things...

My garden, cakes and cats.

Hot pink Peony.

Another vibrant Pink flower in my front garden. Not sure what this is exactly. Never been a gardener!

More Hot Pink, this time a geranium.

There's masses of Rhododendron in my back garden right now.

It's taller than the fence.

Just bought this gorgeous cup and saucer tea light holder from 'Habitat'. Just need to find the right spot in my garden to hang it from.

Patisserie Valerie has just opened in Kingston Upon Thames. They do the best tea and cake.

The most popular cake seems to be this mixed fruit and custard tart, absolutely delicious. 

The cakes even get put in a proper cake box with ribbons, very French. Why don't we do that in this country?

Cats.

Did I tell you that I have adopted 2 rescue cats? They are 11 month old tabby sisters called Pixie and Rosie. One is really skinny and the other is a bit greedy and chubby!

Pixie and Rosie. 

Right, I'd better try to do my next post within the next week! I'll try to find something inspiring. x

Rescue Kittens

Hello and sorry for the gap in posting.

I've adopted two sister cats from the local Rescue centre. They are 10 months old and had a miserable time prior to the rescue place.

They have settled in very quickly and seem to be very happy to have a comfy, sunny new home.

Rosie, the bigger, bossy sister.

Pixie, the naughty little one.

My next post will follow sooner!

Blossom in my Neighbourhood

I adore that time when blossom finally appears and makes even the dullest streets look pretty.

Here are some photos of the blossom in my neighbourhood that my other half took. 

I've made them look retro and dreamy by using Poladroid.

Cool graffiti in Valparaiso, Chile

I went to South America in February and one of the places I visited was Valparaiso, Chile.

It's a coastal town, 1  1/2 hours drive from Santiago. The town is so cool because it's covered in the most awesome graffiti.

There are also loads of individual little boutiques, cafes and bars. The food is excellent and very cheap and the red wine is by far the best in the world!!!

Have a great weekend.

x

Another day, another sketch.

Not the best but I think there's a slight improvement. I'm going to work on this on Adobe Illustrator now and see what magic I can come up with.

I did a fashion figure drawing course at Central St Martin's several years ago, it was really enjoyable and the tutor was very experimental. We were sometimes told to keep drawing without removing the pencil from the paper at all,  he also used to tell us to love every bit of our drawing! 

There are loads of really good evening / short courses at St Martin's, ranging from fashion design to millinery and pattern cutting. Have a look :)

On the way home...

After a lovely weekend in Somerset and Dorset, I saw two inspiring sites on the drive home...

Sorry about the blurred photo, I was moving in a car. Stonehenge is one of my favourite sites, I always enjoy driving past it towards the South West, I know I'm on my way home.

I then saw this very sweet, old bus in Surrey. I adore the old style, you can just imagine what fun it would be to catch this bus somewhere. I'm guessing it's from the 1950's?  Why don't they make them like this anymore? I hate those new bendy buses!

English Country Cottage

I just had to take some snapshots of my parent's beautiful country cottage as there are so many lovely things that I would like to share.

My Mum is extremely creative and also loves to collect unusual bits and bobs, as you can see.

My Mum the artist

I love this painting that my Mum has created, she's entering it into a local exhibition and I hope she gets first prize!

It's a scene of two wealthy woman in their fur coats, staring into the Cartier window, deciding which jewels their suffering husbands will have to buy them this week. 

To the right is a very modest lady with her checked shopping trolley who happens to come across these two lavish women and is probably a little jealous but also a little disgusted by their lavish attire and hair do's.

Keep up the good work Mum!

Catsuit Girl

Chloe jumpsuit girl has a friend, her name is catsuit girl!

My sketching has become rusty of the last few years but I have really enjoyed starting it again and know that I've got a long way to go before I'm really happy with the finished drawing.

 It's weird, it takes me ages to find a model pose from a magazine that really inspires me. I tend to go for a slightly retro look, you know, girl with big fringe and quirky shoes. Vogue and Lula tend to have the best poses for me.

This weather's amazing, hope you are enjoying it too wherever you are :)

 

Sketch of the day, Chloe Jumpsuit.

Dreamy, soft pencil, Vogue April '09, Chloe Jumpsuit.

Reminds me of a 70's inspired summer's day.

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a great day trip location. You can buy a ticket to view the palace itself or you can just wander around the huge gardens.

As you can see from the photos, there are loads of interesting things to see and it gets even better in the summer with horse and carriage rides, Hampton Court Flower show, and live music and dance in the evenings by lots of top names. I once saw Jouquin Courtes dancing there, it was magical and he is gorgeous :)

There are several cafes and gift shops in the grounds if you fancy a rest and a cuppa.

It's easy to get to, by train it's only 35 minutes from Waterloo. By Car it's 5 minutes off the M3 junction 1.

Lula

Lula Magazine

Issue 8

www.lulamag.com

This is the most beautiful, quirky, magical fashion magazine in the world. It's full of inspiring photo shoots, interviews and articles. I just love it.

Here's a taster of what's inside this gorgeous magazine.

 Magical, cool, beautiful images.

Stephen Jones Hat exhibition.

I love this photo, it's the 'Occupational' section. The Gold policeman's hat is fantastic and I love the cheeky photo in the background.

This Union Jack top hat is by Stephen Jones and is in the 'London' section. There is film footage showing the step by step process of making this hat by hand.

The Queen Mother photo is really complimented by the citrus, bright coloured hats.

Sorry about the poor quality. This is a snap shot of the millinery studio that has been re created in the centre of the studio. It's very authentic, with pins on the floor and postcards on the walls.

Feather creation by Stephen Jones.

Check out the giant feather creation in the background.

I must be honest and say that I took these photographs without knowing that it is strictly forbidden. There were lots of other people taking photos and there weren't any signs to say not  to. It wasn't until a student was told off by a security person that we found out. 

Anyway, sorry, I hope it's ok to show them!

The exhibition was really crowded but I definitely enjoyed seeing the collection of hats that varied from a hat worn by Queen Victoria to one made out of a shoe.

All the hats are in glass cabinets and are in themed sections such as Felt, Flowers, feathers, London, Occupational, Embellishment.

There's a fun section where there's a dressing table, mirror and selection of hats to try on and play around with, great for all ages!

It's definitely worth a visit but I would advise booking in advance.

Sketch template

I needed a new figure template to practice some designing on. I've become very rusty and need to practice a lot before I'm happy with my drawing, but I guess it's a start.

I'm off to the V&A 'Hat exhibition' today, I'll be posting photos and sketches soon.

Spring inspiration at home

Some gorgeous plates that were a gift from my friend in America. Also note the hand embroidered table cloth that I found at my local charity shop.

The snowdrops are from my garden, the tiny vase that I love so much, is from a car boot sale.

Audrey.

Vintage compact with two cute Parisian girls taking a stroll.

Marc Jacobs 'Daisy'. I've been a fan of Marc's Essence perfume for about 6 years now and still wear it. I just had to buy 'Daisy' because I love the bottle but I'm afraid to say that I don't actually like the scent, it's too strong and sweet.

Paul and Joe cat eyeshadow and a vintage Chanel No5 bottle.

My faithful Robert's radio and my car boot vase with Spring snowdrops. Thank goodness that Spring might just be on it's way.

Doodle of the day

A doodle a day keeps the doctor away.

Hello and welcome to my new blog.

Hello, this is my new blog. I used to have another blog but never managed to keep it going as I had a full time job and very little spare time so I'm going to give it a go and see what happens.

Anyway, I love fashion, craft, art and travel and I hope to be able to use this blog as a place to express my creativity.

Little things can obsess me like a Marc Jacobs pair of shoes or a really cute Japanese stuffie. I hope to show these quirky loves to you and hopefully inspire you too.

Here's a few things that have tickled my fancy lately...

I was given this beautiful butterfly soap, it's almost too good to use.

I was given this rather unusual Valentine's gift, it's a quirky Japanese sketch book that will be great for scribbling down all my design ideas.