Monday 20 August 2012

Teachers...



So today I finally began my PGDE. It feels like it has been such a long time coming and yet the weeks leading up to it have simply flown by. I could genuinely not be more excited at the prospect of finally starting out on this journey and I practically skipped home from my first day. That said, I am under no illusion as to the amount of work that lies ahead of me: to say it is going to be a hard slog is perhaps a huge understatement: I've never seen a timetable so jam packed. The thought of finally qualifying as a primary teacher 100% outweighs that however and so I thought I would share with you a video that one of the lecturers played today. I had seen it before but it was just as marvellous this time around. On those days where I will no doubt want to crawl back under the duvet and ask myself what on earth I was thinking going back to university, I think this will be one to watch.

Please do watch it and I'd love to know what you think.

Love B x

Friday 17 August 2012

I love lamp...


I am little bit obsessed with all things crafty and stationery {something that those of you who know me well can attest to!} Indeed, tucked away on a shelf are more than a couple of boxes filled to the brim with craft stuff, blank cards for printing and stamps. I love them {hence the 'I love lamp' title - I fear I sound similar}. They're the perfect way to personalise notes, stationery, gift bags etc as well as being incredible easy. I've got a couple that come out time and time again - a Paris set and a set of vintage letters - but I often find that the stamps for sale over here are a bit naff to be blunt. A bit Clinton cards esque for my own personal taste.

I've been reading the Besotted Brand blog for quite a while now and it is safe to say I am obsessed with her beautiful line of stamps and notes.



{all available here}





The spoon and fork or the finger would look fantastic on gift tags wrapped around a bottle of wine or used at the dinner table, and the pencil - well, I'll blame that on my wanting to be a teacher. It's appropriate, lets just leave it at that. I love the simplicity of the written stamps too, they would make perfect cards simply on plain white or cream card. Oo, and the picture? I've just thrown that in for kicks but isn't it sweet?

Have a look for yourself - what are your favourite stamps?! Any ideas as to where I can buy decent ones in the UK?

Love B x


Thursday 16 August 2012

Wedding...


We spent last weekend at the wedding of one of my good school friend's. It was beyond beautiful and I am thrilled that we could share it with them. Tradition meant it was a whole weekend of celebrating and the bright colours, dancing and huge grins didn't subside all weekend.


It was wonderful too, to spend time with some of my oldest friends: something that doesn't happen often enough. The photos below are just a brief snippet of the weekend but I think they go a long way towards showing the sheer joy of the weekend. The beauty of every part really blew me away: there was sparkle and colour everywhere you looked, including on us as my friend had so kindly bought us all outfits!

Incredible! I'm so thrilled for them.





Love B x

Monday 6 August 2012

I love this city...

I've got my eyes peeled at the moment for some new art to add to our home. I've got a couple of projects up my sleeve that I'm looking forward to making but for all my well meaning, crafty intentions, I am somewhat limited on the artistic front. Word art and stencilling I can do, actual pictures? Not so much. I'd love to add some Edinburgh based art to our home, as this place means so much to us. Luckily Etsy has plenty on offer:

{here}

{here}

{here}
{here}

{here}


Which is your favourite? They all remind me of how gorgeous this city is. It's too easy to take it for granted sometimes so I like the idea of having a piece of art around to constantly remind me. There is so much incredible art on Etsy that I would love to have in our home. There's also plenty of 'interesting' pieces. Ahem...

Love B x


Friday 3 August 2012

DIY: EAT sign

I got the creative bug yesterday and decided I wanted to make something to add to the kitchen. I adore this metal sign here but I just can't justify the price tag. I love the punch of colour and the playful feel it has. I think I'm just a big fan of word art full stop, which is something I have to sit on for fear that our home could turn into a walking pinterest cliche.

There is serious inspiration over on Pinterest though. Like these lovelies:





I hadn't realised at first but the last set of letters are done in exactly the same manner as mine! I love how they've been finished to look metallic - definitely an idea for the next time I change them up {I say, less than 24hours after I've made them. So fickle.}

Anyway, instead of spending a fortune I nipped over to Hobbycraft and picked up some of their decoupage letters for £1.99 a pop. I grabbed a small tube of red acrylic paint too that came to about £3. So all in, you're looking at less than a tenner.



It took be about 30 minutes to do a coat of red on all the letters and I found I didn't really need a second, though if you're being particular you could. You could finish them off with a layer of varnish or PVA too but I quite like the matt finish.



What do you think? I love them! Plus, I love the fact they were cheap enough that if I want to change the colour {with paint of decoupage}, it's no big deal!

Love B x

Thursday 2 August 2012

Eat: Fish Supper


Well, not quite. Not in the traditional sense, at least. Whilst I do love a fish supper, this was such an easy, healthy dinner to knock up and it only took about 15 minutes all in - less time than it takes to pick up a fish supper from the chippy.

First up the sauce - tomato, garlic, onion and chorizo. Use a tin of chopped tomatoes and then play around with quantities depending on what you like most. We love garlic and chorizo so we maybe went slightly overboard on those ingredients but it was delicious. Soften up the onion for a couple of minutes first {in either oil or a spray} before chucking in some garlic and a generous helping of diced chorizo. Let it fry away for a few more minutes until everything is softened up - keep stirring it so nothing burns! Then add your chopped tomatoes and some seasoning, turn down the heat and let it bubble away.

Whilst that is heating through, spray your fish and pop it in the oven for about 15-18 minutes. I used haddock but I'm pretty sure you could use any white fish and it wouldn't make a difference.

Lastly, in the last 5 or so minutes, pop some green veg {we used purple broccoli} and some new potatoes on to cook through before draining and serving with a little bit of butter, salt and pepper.

Really simple, really healthy and really tasty.

LoveBx

Wednesday 1 August 2012

DIY: Sock Monkey


A dear friend of my sister's is expecting her first baby in the middle of August. They threw her an incredible baby shower {that I wish I could've attended} and there has been constant baby chatter ever since everyone found out. I knew that I wanted to make a small gift for the baby, but seeing as they're choosing not to find out whether it is a girl or a boy, it needed to be neutral. That and I knew I wanted it to have plenty of character and handmade charm.

Cue, the sock monkey.

before he got himself some eyes...
This chap has a seriously endearing face and is lovely and soft. I love him rather a lot. I followed this great tutorial here and whilst it wasn't particularly difficult if you're ok with a sewing machine/needle and thread, it does get quite fiddly in places. There were definitely patches on my monkey where my sewing skills could've used a bit of help! He does make a rather great gift though, I can totally imagine making them for all the 'little monkeys' {see what I did there...} that my friends will no doubt be having in the future.

If you want to up the character of your monkey, use patterned socks. For the baby though, I picked the softest socks I could find in a nice neutral colour. Hopefully it finds itself at home in amongst the, slightly more chic, aspects that will be making up the baby's nursery!

LoveBx

Stationery geek


Clearly, in practical preparation for going back to university, I have bought these pencils. Aren't they brilliant? I should, infact, be reading a rather large text book. Priorities, people, priorities.

Total Geek.

Love B
x


blogger template by lovebird