Etsy Love - Pugs!

Continuing with my Dog Etsy Love series, here's an adorable pug themed Etsy treasury! I was spoiled for choice with so many amazing pug themed items on Etsy, but here are some of my absolute favs.

1. Ladybird Likes / 2. Yeah Bunny / 3. Kaeselotti / 4. Charm Amulet / 5. Tache Crafts / 6. Napkinitems / 

7. Maustudio / 8. Kiwihen / 9. Appendage Accessories

Do you have a fav breed of dog? Let me know in the comments and I might make an Etsy post about that breed :)

Etsy Love - Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is one of my favourite artists, her creativity and use of colour and imagery has always inspired me. So following on from my previous Mexico inspired post, here's a Frida Kahlo inspired Etsy treasury! If you haven't heard of Frida you can learn more about her here, she had such an interesting life and was an inspiring woman!

1. Sketch Inc / 2. Rougepony / 3. GGs Pin Up Couture / 4. Kilkenny Cat Art / 5. Andsmile / 6. CaraCarmina / 

7. MiZen Designs / 8. Object Apparel / 9. JaneFoster

Etsy Love - Prickly Plants

I recently went to the Made in Mexico exhibition at The Fashion and Textile museum in London. It was a small, beautifully curated exhibition that immediately got me inspired for my latest uni project. I think I'm going to team together Mexican imagery with modern illustrative styles, so prepare for lots of Mexican inspired posts!

Here's the first one, it's cactus themed!

1. LittlePeanutThreads / 2. JordanSondler / 3. SimkaSol / 4. Land of Pines / 5. MarinaFINI / 6. Insoulblue / 

7. Nice Hot Cuppa / 8. CushBarcelona / 9. Vivie and Ash

Tape Parade!

Today I want to introduce you to Laila from Tape Parade, one of my fav new blogs. Laila is a musician & vegan from London. Laila likes to blog about her outfits (which are awesome and so unique, I would 100% steal this girls wardrobe) and her explorations around London.

Here are some of my fav outfits/pictures from Laila's blog:

Don't forget to visit Laila and say hi!

Tape Parade Blog // Tape Parade Facebook // Twitter // Bloglovin

Love, Teacup Kisses GIVEAWAY

If you follow me on Pinterest you'll probably have noticed me basically stalking the this Etsy shop. Love, Teacup Kisses sells the work of the incredibly talented illustrator Tatyana Vogt. 

Tatyana's art often involves lots of pastel colours and cheeky curvy girls in adorable outfits with awesome hair. She's even done some amazing Princess Bubblegum inspired art.

I think I'm going to be very jealous of the winner because this prize is so awesome. The winner of this giveaway will get an original drawing in the theme of their choosing! Good luck guys!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gipsy Dharma

Today I want to show you the awesome work of one of my lovely sponsors, Gipsy Dharma. As a shoemaker and cordwainer in the making, I always admire shoemakers and shoe designers that manage to go it alone and make beautiful shoes. Gipsy Dharma's shoes are hand made and aim to give you the comforting feel of walking barefoot, made with flexible and long lasting materials.

Here are a few of my favs from their shop:

You can follow Gipsy Dharma on twitter, facebook or pinterest too.

Rupaul's Drag Race Matryoshka

This was a really fun custom order for someone who loves Rupaul's Drag Race. I based these particular dolls on Rupaul, Bebe Zahara Benet, Tammie Brown, Nina Flowers and Jujubee.

Remake & Remodel - The final design ideas part 2

You can find part 1 of my designs here. After discarding my heel designs I decided to focus on sneakers as I think eventually I'd like to go into sneaker design (Hello Nike? I promise I'll treat you good, I won't leave you for Adidas like Kanye did!).

I explored different ideas for the sole, the stitching, laces, materials etc before I settled upon my final design. My final design ended up being the bubble platform, I then had to create a 3D prototype of an element of that particular design which will be in the next post!

You can see more of this project here, more of my uni work here, and more of my illustrations here.

 

Fashion Love - Skinny Bags!

Today I want to share with you a new up and coming brand that I'm totally drooling over, Skinny Bags. Skinny Bags make beautiful quality clutch bags that look like books. These bags can be customized with your own text, making them a perfect and personal gift for a special person.

Skinny Bags believe it's important to contribute to their nations economy, so every Skinny Bag is designed and produced lovingly in the U.S.A. They made their debut during LA fashion week 2013 and have already been a big hit among fashionistas.

I'm head over heels in love the the "Holy Bible" clutch bag, I could see Taylor Momsen or Kelly Osbourne styling it with a rocky outfit.

You can find more info about Skinny Bags on their website, twitter, facebook and instagram!

Remake & Remodel - The final design ideas part 1

I feel like I've been pretty absent from blogging recently, but my last deadline is tomorrow so normal blogging will commence shortly!

In the mean time here's a sneak peak of part of my design development for the Remake & Remodel project. I discarded this shoe design as I wanted to work on a sneaker style shoe in the end.

You can see more of my uni work here, and more of my illustrations here.

Maqaroon Giveaway

 

Remember my Meme Gifts giveaway from about a month back? Well the super talented creator, Johanna, also has an adorable kawaii style shop; Maqaroon.

The winner of this adorable sweet giveaway will get:

- Bunny Tote Bag
- 3 Sticker Sets (Harajuku, Lolita, Urban)
- Mini Pistachio Macaron Necklace 
- Koala Lucky Bracelet

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blogwatch - 6/10/13

Things have been busier than usual since moving to London, and I feel like an awful blogging friend for not keeping up to day with my fav blogs. So it was a nice relief this morning to spend a couple of hours preparing this post and browsing through some lovely blogs.

Diana from Parents and the City took her son on a trip to Brooklyn Bridge and took some beautiful photos.

Mo from Fleur De Moi always posts brilliant Wednesday Wishlists, her blog is bad for my bank account.

SD Photography took some very unusual wedding photos in Malta. I love the dramatic and spooky look of this one.

Jessa from Caked Vintage has a new family member, and he's just too adorable for words.

I think Alex and Paige from Whimsy Darling are so stylish and sweet. I'm very happy I stumbled upon their blog this morning.

Talented illustrator Avo shares her Great Gatsby inspired business card design. I think it's perfect for a vintage shop!

Don't forget to enter the Meme Gifts giveaway! You can click on this link or enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lizzie and Jaqueline - Two more designs for Yull Footwear

As I'd explained in my previous Yull Footwear post, I entered a British themed footwear competition at Yull. My first design was based around the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly, these two are more regal and feminine. I think these fit the feminine and classic Yull Footwear style really well. I wanted to name them very british names, so Lizzie is named after good old Queen Liz. And Jaqueline is a female version of the Union Jack.

You can see more of my shoe designs here.

High Top Bootception

Yo dawg, I heard you like boots, so I put boots on your boots so you can wear boots while you wear boots. Before you class me as insane from reading the last sentence, read this.

These designs are based on my High Top Boot pattern, because who wouldn't want shoes with shoes on?! They're inspired by Dr Martens, my fav kind of boot. I did these for my portfolio when I found out I had an interview for London College of Fashion, I also got the opportunity to show them to the lovely people at Dr Martens when I had an interview for their factory internship. I'm really happy with how these turned out. I love combining classic shoe designs with busy patterns. I think the lilac ones are my fav but I am a little bit biased towards anything lilac.

You can see more of my shoe designs here.

Piccadilly Boots - A design for Yull Footwear

A few months ago I entered a competition with Yull Footwear to design some British themed shoes. This was the first pair I designed, named Piccadilly, so I thought it was pretty apt to share these with you since I've only just moved to London. I wanted to capture the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly with the red buses. I also wanted to keep my bright and fun signature style, but to incorporate Yull's elegant, practical and classical style into the design too.

You can see more of my shoe designs here.

Warby Parker Fall Collection 2013

As a kid I never needed glasses, I remember looking at my friends who needed them and being a little envious of theirs. I wanted to be able to wear bright turquoise "The Little Mermaid" glasses to school. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful I don't need glasses yet, but I see the way glasses can frame someones face, make a statement or pull an outfit together. When the "nerd glasses" trend started I was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon. I don't think I was even being ironic, I just loved the way I could wear an extra accessory on my face!

Today Warby Parker launches their fall 2013 collection of eyeglasses, and I'm smitten with each and every pair. They look like something you'd be delighted to find in a vintage shop, like they have a history to them, they're timeless. I could imagine a 1950s business man (or every male cast member of Mad Men) smoking a cigar in a pair of these glasses, which, weirdly, makes me want to wear them even more.

Here are some of my favs from the new collection, there are plenty more amazing styles of eyeglasses and sunglasses available on the website. They even have a pair named Preston which remind me of my home town, Preston.