Wednesday 25 July 2012

Cake Porn (sic)

It's quite possible that I am a cake pervert. Looking at cake porn makes me happy. It's not a good idea to search for cake porn on the internet though, unless you are of a certain persuasion.Which I'm not, I just like cakes. Not naked people throwing cake at each other.

 You can follow my Cake Porn board on Pintrest if you like the cakes here :-)


Kawaii cupcakes! Love the detail on these, must have taken ages, I really don't think that I could bring myself to bite into one!! This is the link I have for these...here....I don't think it is the original link, so if you know the baker, drop me a comment.


Ombre, pink and flowers, I don't actually think I could love this cake more than I do already. Unless it turned out to be chocolate. From here.


If these don't make you want to fill your belly then there is something wrong with you, I don't think I would make these in little squares, I think I would make these a BEAST of a cheesecake, with a thicker layer of chocolate. Gosh, I want to eat these right now.


I wouldn't be able to eat these, I wonder who did?


This actually looks like something that I could feasibly manage to create. I love the colours and also, I think it would be super impressive to present at a kids party. I also had the idea of using different shades of the same two colours to fit in with a theme. Shame I can't actually BAKE.
It's super hot here today, and I'm in the office doing work stuff, mostly wishing it was 6 and I can leave and go to the outdoor pool to sun my poor white skin and soak up some much-needed vitamin D. I've decided it's only fair if we now have a super hot September and October too...all the rain has been so depressing, it's nice to see that unfamiliar yellow circle in the sky.

Monday 23 July 2012

Paint Chip/Swatch Punch-Outs

This is a sweet little project that could be useful within more complicated projects. I made a bunch of these teeny hearts today when I found a stash of paint sample cards in a box. I saw something like it on Pintrest so it's definitely not my idea!


I have no idea what I was planning to paint when I picked these up. But I'm a huge advocate of free stuff, so I probably just grabbed them in a free-stuff frenzy.


I also happen to have one of these. It's 99% likely that it came from a sale bin, as I usually find craft punches to be too expensive for the rather limited use of one shape. It's an 1.5inch heart.

I quickly realised I was going to have to cut the colour samples off the strip to get the most amount of hearts from each colour. I love the combination of mint & mustard. In paint, not food. Obviously.


I haven't decided what to use them for yet...


 ...this could look quite sweet in my hallway...


...since I don't have a baby right now, this probably won't be much use. Unless I make it in Batman colours. In the shape of Batman. Still, I like this for a present...


...this is where my dream for these hearts lies, but I'm slightly scared to get the sewing machine out after quite a long separation from her...

I'll let you know when I decide :-)

xx

Saturday 21 July 2012

All The Fun Of The Fair

We had a trip to Carters Steam Fair today. I love the Steam Fair because of all the old fashioned stalls. They have a real coconut shy, where you can win an actual coconut! This impresses me greatly as I am used to leaving fairs with smelly, moth-eaten teddies and a blow-up hammer.

The fair gives plenty of opportunity for taking photos of beautiful details...and beautiful little boys on chair-o-planes.











 'Joby' is the name of the guy who originally taught John Carter how to do such beautiful and distinctive typography. I love the signwriting at the fair, and today I picked up a leaflet, a five day intensive course run by John Carter. I'm going to look into it. Yes, I know there are hardly any jobs in the fair-themed sign writing biz, but it sounds like such an interesting thing to do! Plus it will sort of allay my life-long dream of running off with the circus.

I love the fair :-)

x

Responsible Consumerism

I'm just as guilty as the next girl of popping down to Primark, spending 2 pounds on a top and then wearing it once and never again. But there are some amazing, beautiful and fun things available online that do something nice for the world. Here are some of my total favourites :-)


This tiny terrarium is made from recycled glass using a stained glass soldering technique. I can just image a tiny succulent in there, sitting on my desk, making my air happy and oxygeny (is that a word?) and generally looking just perfect. Megamyers has a bunch of awesome terranium's in her shop. Feel free to go there and buy me (or you, I suppose) something.

Although I would inevitably lose one, as I do with all earrings I buy, however big or small, these are possibly the most beautiful earrings I have seen. They are created by designer Catherine Nicole. Part of the profits of every sale go towards providing microloans for girls in developing countries to help them escape an impoverished life by running their own business, avoiding becoming a child bride and generally making a better future for themselves. There is lots more information and beautiful jewellery here.

This 100% organic Fairtrade certified cotton dress is from People Tree. People Tree's policy is that they support farmers and workers through the entire production process, often paying 50% of the payment in advance, as well as offering finance for educational organisations in areas where children are not entitled to a free education like here in the UK. I love it, although I already have like, 29 navy blue dresses. One more can't hurt right?

Hope your weekend is going well, I'm about to start a DIY chevron wall in my living room, kind of putting it off because I'm scared - I'll share photos when it's completed :-)


Thursday 19 July 2012

On being a Working Mum...

Today I am missing out on my son's last day of nursery school. It's making me feel tearful and sad...I can't concentrate on anything and I feel like a piece of my heart is missing.

My sweet, sweet little Sonic The Hedgehog obsessed boy.

It's super hard to know whether you are doing the right thing being a Working Mum. The reason I work is purely financial, I don't believe the living off benefits offers a very admirable lifestyle. Our oven has been broken for a year now and we haven't replaced it. The issue here is, being on benefits doesn't afford you the option to buy a £200 oven one week. In fact, £200 is more than you get for two weeks. People who say that those on benefits are living a life of free luxury are mistaken.




I want my child to have a nice life with nice things. I don't want to live in a council flat without door handles on my doors for the rest of my life. So therefore, I have to work. These things are not MORE important than time with my son, but they are things that make my son's time better.



I guess this all sounds a little like my priorities aren't right.  Maybe I should be happy and poor instead of stretched and...well...I'm actually still poor. I know I am missing out on a number of things that I really believe he will remember I wasn't there for. Sports Day. A Teddy Bears Picnic. Immunisations. But the thing for me is that being a Mum doesn't define every single little cell in my body. I am still person with needs and wants and ambitions. Being a Mum doesn't mean that I no longer have those feelings. It just means I have to compromise. So, I can't go travelling, but I can take a beach holiday with my little guy and watch him playing in the sand and be proud that I am have paid for it myself. I can't run away with the circus but I can take him to the Steam Fair this weekend and he his face light up when he spies the huge carousel.

source

Money isn't the most important this in the world. It's certainly not more important than the moments I have with Ramsey having fun and hearing him laugh. But on days like to day I kind of feel a little bit more torn over my priorities than usual. I feel like I am missing out, when all I want is for my son NOT to miss out.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on being a working mummy x

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Hump Day

This week feels super long.

I saw a hot air balloon taking off!

 I am such a total dweeb and I find this kind of thing exciting. Don't judge me!

 I was sitting in the park one afternoon when this magical even occurred and I happened to have my camera on me and it was working, which is a bit of a rare occurrence as I'm rubbish at recharging the batteries/remembering to take the SD card out of the computer/bringing it at all.



I want to go on an adventure with Adventure Balloons :-)

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Tuesday Loves

Things that I am loving this week..


For a mama with a Spidey-obsessed 4 year old, this pic makes me chuckle. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I showed it to my boy. The little one said 'MUMMY HE HAS EYE BOOBIES' This is a good day. You can see more of Olly Moss' amazing artwork here.


This girl makes every other nail tutorial blog on the web look massively crap. I only discovered her this weekend and I'm hooked. Some of her taped designs are totally amazing, I'm going to give one a go later today and let you know how it goes. I always see her popping up on Pintrest too.

 This may be a bit out there for some less immature readers. But I'm going to go for it anyway. I just started a new board on Pintrest. It has a very serious and intense theme. The theme is Things That Look Like Poop That Are Not Poop. I'll hope you will follow it and my journey into all things poop-a-like. This is a perfectly innocent fudgesicle that a small child is about to enjoy. (I should probably add that I would immediately remove an image if the owner was upset by being added. I'm not a bitch, I just like poo jokes.)

This image is from here, but I'm not sure that it is the original source. If you know the original source, please do let me know :-) I see a lot of motivational images posted on Pintrest and on various Tumblrs, but this one really rings true. I am a massive victim of the the whole 'Grass Is Always Greener' philosophy. The second line really rings true with me.

I hope you are having a lovely week x




Monday 16 July 2012

Ombre French Manicure

This weekend I wanted a bit more of a natural look after a week of changing up my nails every day.

I actually saw a few like this on Pintrest and thought they were cute, so I gave it a go using the same technique as I did in this tutorial.


I think they look okay but I seriously need to sort out my cuticles, and I know my lengths are mismatched. I'm going to do something about it tonight. Unless I get distracted by fruity cocktails and watching Ice Age with small fidgety people.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Pink Sparkly Nail Tutorial (Glitter Free!)

Let me prelude this post by saying, I have always hated nail glitter. It just never looks right on me. I feel like I'm 12 and wearing free nail polish from Shout magazine.

But I do like a little bit of spangle...so I did these cute nails last week, please leave a comment if you like them!



I used a Barry M Gold Metallic polish and my base coat was hot pink NYC. It's actually a little corally in real life, and I like to use it as an accent nail with the rest pale pink too :-)


Base coat. Ewww my cuticles look shabby here, I think I need to give them some serious TLC.


Get your supplies ready - I'm using a make-up sponge, as it has a very dense texture compared to a bath sponge, and it's just the right size. For a more mottled look, you could cut up a kitchen sponge. Just remember, you will have to throw it away after (I use all the sides first). So, like, if you have a sponge with sentimental value or something, don't use that. If you do have a sponge that has sentimental value, I'd love to hear THAT story.


Make two thick lines with your base colour and your metallic on a flat plastic surface with no texture. I used this wipies pot because I happened to have it next to me, but an old CD case or a piece of acetate from a strawberry punnet would work just as well. You can use a cocktail stick to blend the two colours together slightly for a more ombre effect. Press the sponge into the polish and sort of bounce it up and down a little. Then put more polish down and do the same thing again. Load that sponge right up!


So your sponge is loaded and now you can stamp the colour onto your base coat.  I like it heavier in gold at the top and pink at the bottom but you could easily sponge the whole nail gold, or even a mix of gold and silver! Lightly press the sponge against the nail (It helps if your base coat is totally dry) and 'bounce' it slightly a few times. Lift the sponge up to view your handiwork.


Now you have a cute ombre effect. I turned the sponge around and stamped a little more pink over the gold, and hey presto:


The tiny raised bits that you see in the second picture from the bottom, by the way, are little bubbles from the sponge. They don't last long!

You can check out my other nail tutorials by clicking here :-)

Thursday 12 July 2012

Positive Mental Attitude

Yesterday I saw the best double rainbow that I have ever seen. This isn't my picture, but it's pretty beautiful. And the picture I took on my phone of the tiny crack of sky that you can see from a rainy busstop in Hertfordshire doesn't really convey the right message.
 wow.
When I started this post, these two images didn't seem related (it's been a long week!) but now...I see a message.

A message of hopefulness :-)

Katie

Sunday 8 July 2012

Typography Rules


 Some inspirational quotes to see me through...






1.here 2. here 3. here 4. here 5. here 6. here

I love all of these, there is so much awesome typography online, and so much inspiration <3

This week I will be sharing another cute nail tutorial - you can also follow me on twitter, pintrest and bloglovin'.


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