Daydreams

Here's a bunch of low contrast images I whipped up from some photos I've taken the past couple of weeks because everyone seems to be into low contrast these days and I don't see why I shouldn't have some fun with it myself, dammit.

Drawing in the studio with a coffee and a winter spice scented candle. 

It turns out that coffee plus a little drop of rose extract equals turkish delight hot chocolate. Who knew

Crystal corner in the loo. Most of these were given to me by my dad at some point over the years

My sister got me this ring. I love it because it reminds me of the nome king from Return To Oz

My make-up mirror. This is how I know how to put all the slap on my face so it looks ok

Researching sacred geometry for a logo I'm doing for a client right now

The malachite ash tray where we keep our wedding rings and some of my ear studs

My Studio

I thought I'd upload some photos of my studio here since that's where I've been spending a lot of time lately.

♥

Anyway, here's where I spend my time scribbling away and making a mess. Having worked in my bedroom in my parents' house all my life, it's been a real blessing to finally get a studio all to myself. I moved into our lovely flat when we got married last October and I've been busy, since then, trying to get the studio sorted out and all my art materials tidied away in places where I can still find them. It's still a bit messy, but that's what studios are meant to be like I guess and I'm trying not to anal about dirt and untidiness since about a quarter of the room is also my husband's general bike and bike-paraphernalia space!

I'm storing the candles from our wedding above my computer desk until I can think of a better place to put them. That's my make-up mirror, by the way.

The nice, big window lets a lot of light in which is great for drawing. My dad made me that white desk on the left. You can lower it and tilt it which is incredibly handy.

Ikea storage is gooood.

First tiny patch of inspirational artwork etc. There's a flyer for the film Antichrist and some prints I got in an art trade with Justin Barlett.

Small skull collection

It's a bit messier on this side, but that's my computer desk on the left and on the right is more art materials and bits and bobs stacked on ikea garden shelves, believe it or not.

Here's the window sill with some heart boxes, a very retro clock (I can't read analogue clocks) and the ring holder I painted with palmistry signs which I still have to post some photos of actually...

Baked Camembert

My brother-in-law showed me how to make this really easy starter the other day so I decided to try it out at home. Yay!

1. Take the lid off a box of camembert and cut little 'X's over the surface with a knife ♥ 2. Slice up a clove of garlic and stick the slices into the crosses. Stick in some sprigs of thyme if you have some (we didn't, as you can see...) ♥ 3. Pour a little white wine over the surface (water will also do) ♥ 4. Bake in the oven at 200C for about 15-20 minutes or until the inside is melted ♥ 5. Serve with crusty bread or vegetables for dipping

Valentines Day

Last year for valentines day I made my husband (then just my boyfriend) a heart shaped box full of Earl Grey tea cupcakes. This year, I managed to find a heart-shaped cake tin just in time to make a cake for our first valentines day together as a married couple. It was a chocolate fudge cake and, yes, our initials are indeed 'T' and 'A' which is kind of awesome!

I made some heart bunting too because I had about ten seconds free time and thought it would be cute (I think this is what having pinterest does to you).

It seemed pointless to try to go to a restaurant for dinner since everywhere would most likely be fully booked. Instead, we walked to our usual coffee shop in town which was happily nice and empty. I even decided to dress up a little (I don't need much of an excuse really). I'm wearing the cross pendant my friend Ruth made for us as a wedding present. My husband has a matching one too.

We got a free valentines cake slice thingy with little hearts on it from the cafe. They were handing them out all day to customers. How cute it that?

Lavender Cake Pops

Here's my attempt at making lavender cake pops. I've given up on using the sticks lately so I guess these aren't technically cake pops, I guess. More like cake... "fancies"? Hmm, I'll have to work on this idea some more. Anyway, I used my cake pop machine for this (like a toastie maker but it bakes little round cakes instead!) and the recipe for vanilla cake pops that came with the machine. I just substituted the vanilla extract with lavender extract and added a little red and blue food colouring to make it purple. It turned out a bit more grey instead, but you get the idea.

Everything Reduced In My Store And More On Sale In La La Land

To celebrate my little star brooches now on sale in the La La Land website, I've reduced prices on all the brooches in my etsy store. I have gothic pvc hearts, little jam tarts and giant-sized twee vintage fabric hearts too. Check 'em out here.

My etsy store.

Sometimes I wish I could spend all my time making little brooches. It's so relaxing to just sit and sew away. That doesn't seem likely though as it looks like I'm going to be getting a lot of work to do very soon. I don't want to say much until it gets underway properly, but it could be something really awesome. I'll keep you guys posted, but, for now, all I'll say is that it's very different from these little brooches here and involves the other side of what I do. Very exciting!

My felt stat brooches available to buy from the La La Land website.

The Best Pizza In The World

Ok, it's not really the best pizza in the world, but it is our favouite pizza to make at home. My husband or I make the base following Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's "magic bread dough" recipe. You make it up, divide into batches and freeze it so you can have it whenever you fancy. The toppings are just courgettes, green peppers, ricotta and cheddar. If you think that all sounds pretty ordinary, it's only because you haven't tasted it yet, my friend....

Yup...