Midnight Shopping!

Mum and I are true shopping addicts (we admit it) and yesterday proved this to be very true!  I arrived home after work last night, at around half 10, and sat talking to my mum, with a cosy hot chocolate, about her day shopping with one of her good friends collecting magazines at http://www.cottonpatch.co.uk/ as well as visiting a garden centre. Plants are another one of my mum's many hobbies but only when the weather is warm so 'crafting' wins as the favourite as it can be done in the warmth all year round! Lucky for her.

We were still talking away when, at half 12 in the middle of the night, we thought we would head out to do our weekly shop at the BIG 24 hour. As I myself had just finished working the 'late' shift I did sympathise with these people who were all busy ripping open boxes and pushing heavy trolleys down the aisles when most of us are tucked up in bed.  It is a funny world we live in with unnoticed hubs of activity, hero's, well wishers, trouble makers, lives, dreams that are all  round of us. Helping the world to tick.



However, it was handy to shop at such a random hour as it meant mum and I could both have a day of crafting and blogging (!) undisturbed today (apart from when I do go off to work again- but at least I   have had most of the day).







So even for me and mum, two shopaholics, this trip was quite an unusual experience walking around in the peace and tranquillity of the massive supermarket. (To think right now, in the middle of a Saturday afternoon, there will be trolley wars and hardy anywhere to stand with jammed aisles; a far contrast to yesterday)!

Overall I really enjoyed our night time excursion! On departure we were armed with a big clear plastic box (which mum has bought to store her fabric) croissants, lots of cheeeese, coffee and even a magazine- we both could not rest! http://www.cloth.co.uk/ A fashion, craft, upcycling and lots of
D-I-Y projects. It probably was our best purchase with it's eye catching Hot Pink cover and lots of inspiration threaded through it's pages!

So far I have enjoyed looking at:

• Beaded jam Jars made into lanterns= LOVE
• Lot of stories of homemade crafting businesses
• Quirky house improvements such as making a table from a vintage brown suitcase (also useful for storage) and now I want to visit lots of charity shops and vintage fairs.
• There are many handmade clothing ideas and D-I-Y tips, beautiful patterned fabrics (which matches a few patterned pages in the magazine) also I enjoyed the section about peoples interesting wardrobes (good for nosey people hehe).
• Also I love the display of quirky photos amongst every page to keep me enticed. The only fault has been that I can't put the magazine down so I have not yet done any crafting with all my new ideas.

Crafty Tip: Put midnight shopping on your list of things to do and find out what treasures you will buy when normally you would have dreamed the night away.

Baking Blue Biscuits

To continue with my 'blue' theme for this summer, today, I baked blue biscuits.  I particularly like the blue dolphins! 

Feeling Beautifully Blue.

Throughout the summer my wardrobe has transformed into a Californian Ocean of deep waves and fresh spits of  sea salt.

A fresh new start?

Planning

Coming soon! Two new ranges by The Daring Daisy and Lilac Rose. We plan to launch them with a creative photo shoot - so we will keep you up to date over the next few weeks! 

At the moment I am planning initial ideas!!  I am very excited! 

Whimsical Inspiration- Fairy Tale

'The grotesque, which differs from it's colloquial usage can take on a number of guises- crude, vulgar, and monstrous, but also whimsical, fanciful, and humorous.'

Extreme Beauty in VOQUE (2009)

Paradox and Provocation By Eva Respini

My favourite Inspiration at the Moment:

Enchantment creates a true fairy tale especially amoungst these whimsical images which juxtapose both the fairy tale fantasy with the beautifully bazaar!!!!!  

  

LOVE Magazine

Currently in the Autumn/ Winter edition of LOVE, which is the 5th anniversary issue, is an enchanting photo shoot entitled The Lion King. Portrayed is an inquisitive story of beautiful dresses, innovative painted hair decoration and the elegant yet enchanting set at Shotover House.

I love that the unclear-clouded images emphasise the quirky- bazaar sets and over-the-top costumes. 

Feathers, Glitter, Paint, Rope, Straw, Elegant material, Hand Painted dresses, Dramatic hair, Lights, Props.  

Photograper Tim Walker

Fashion Editors Katie Grand and Sandy Powell 

Head Stylist and Body Painting Julien D'ys

Models Edie Campbell and Karen Elson

Birdy - Wings

Flamboyant costumes, top hats, colourful netting, messy hair, face paint all makes an awesome music video!

I love this dazed fairy tale picture framed by a big flower in the right hand corner which all adds to the whimsical image.

 Every fancy dress party needs a jilted bride...

Love the giant lions head, especially the hat, best costume! haha

Just a Little Tea Party By Shona Coyne

Whimsical Inspiration- Tea Parties

I love to plan, organise and create tea party settings- picnics, garden parties, even photo shoots but this one was for my birthday celebrations.

So I looked through my folders of tea party inspiration:

 

I also love this beautiful video 'One Dreamy Day' which is promoting the 2012 new range of girly summer clothing from British clothing brand Dahlia. From the twirling dresses, glittery accessories, adorable bags, to props including a lace umbrella to vintage cameras and beautiful table decorations.  I defiantly love everything about the video.

So bubbling with ideas I searched the house for decorations for my summer garden party:

Lavender bouquets in vintage lemonade and coca-cola bottles
Tea cups and saucers
A tier of cupcakes from Raspberry and Mint to Lemon Curd which I frantacley made in the morning hours before my friends arrived!
Glitter
Sequins
Sweets

Flower chains, Glittered Coats and Buildings with Creative Personalities! By Shona Coyne

Photos taken on a shopping day-trip with good friends to Birmingham visiting the beautiful shop named Cow Vintage and followed by the Custard Factory.  Take a visit to both some time soon. You won't be disappointed with the creativity!

Room span of Cow Vintage Birmingham with the vibrant flower chains connecting the many rails of cool clothing treasures patiently waiting to be searched through!

The amazing rail of glittery garments- wish they made up my wardrobe!

 Window Display at the front of the Custard Factory! Floral decorated chest of dresser, a hill of vintage suitcases in different sizes and colours and pretty green wallpaper patterns all entice me in!

 Mint green, cerise pink and purple paint accessorize the interesting buildings.

Wonder how long it took to paint the man on this quite tall building?  I really like how a contemporary male, with a cigarette and coffee cup  in his hands, has been placed next to The Green Man. A Pegan belief where faces were mysteriously found in trees and believed to be The Green Man. He represents life found in the nature within the world itself.

Woop! I love this sign for the bead shop made from lace tea cosses.  Very eye catching and will need to pay the shop a second visit!

You Have To Love Studio Space By Shona Coyne

This is an old post that I am re-blogging because it sums up the amazing year that I have had studying an Art course (which me and mum have both now completed!!)  

Coming to an end.

Gosh, I have been an Art student (studied Foundation Art and Design at Coventry University) for a year! It has been a crazy yet exhausting time, making weird (but inspiring) friends, involved in bazaar fashion photo shoots in church halls to wedding dresses in fridges and parks at night time, having a birthday tea party in the studio, baking lots of cake, participating in a conga line of computer chairs down the corridor, dancing with flowers on a stressful day and creating a collection of coffee cups in my jig saw plant pot. In one line- it has been a creative time!

It has to be said that one of my favourite things, to date, has been having a second home in the studio. I have literally had it cluttered with my belongs (4 pairs of shoes, 9 magazines, 4 mugs, a box of sugar and more, much more... But sadly we all have had to move out.

Re-painting, re-decorating, removing any remnant, trace of our existence (well it is not that dramatic as we are still in the studios until the exhibition!)

Clearing out for the new year when we will all start a new adventure.  Also a time when I plan to find some spare centimeters to relocate my 'studio'.

Water colour Outfits

Day Trips = On a Monday in June Mum and I visited Goldsmiths University of London BA Media & Communications and BA Fine Art third year exhibitions.
On this day I woke up with the aim to wear an outfit of miss-matched clothing that would resemble a water colour painting of a flower field! Bazaar I know but it was a fun outfit! Light-washed floral denim jeans, a blouse with a floral blend of lilacs and blue, an orange and red floral silky scarf with little healed red wedge shoes.

Both exhibitions were really interesting!

  

 

NEC Quilts

Sunday again and the three M's out for a day trip to the NEC Quilt Show. Usually I enter but not this year as I decided to send a quilt to Grosvenors Shows www.grosvenorshows.co.uk for a change.
It was a great show with lots of interesting quilts plus my favourite bit- the shopping mall! However I did try to restrict myself from buying beads and buttons Instead I bought:

• A long awaited white ink pen for my journaling which works great
• Lots of fab fabric from Doughty's www.doughtysonline.co.uk in a palette of blue and grey for my daughter
• A second book from the talented Ineke Berlyn Journal Quilts- Dye and Print (but she left her hubby holding the fort) www.inekeberyln.com

I first bought Ineke's Sketchbooks and Journal Quilts (2009) at the 2012 Quilt Show amoungst Victoria Macleoad's DIY Embroidery (2008) and Isobel Hall's Textile Adventures (2011). May time, this year, I bought Rebekah Meier's Collage Fabric Art (2000)

I also really liked Mandy Pattullo's big exhibition! It featured unusual pieces of vintage clothes that she distressed and altered to create a colourful and imaginative collection.  www.mandypattullo.co.uk

Far too many stalls- such a good day out! On all weekend.
 

Palette of blue, grey, lavender from Doughty

Luscious Japanese fabric and 2 interesting and unusual zips!
www.eurojapanlinks.com



A selection of needles from Mary Arden's stand.

Quirky squares of digitally printed fabric on the Kemsal's stand
www.fingerprintfabric.com



Lots of goodies!



More paper! Where to I put it all!

Teacup Tuesday; By Shona Coyne

Stumbling across a little Tea Room (whilst out taking photos of pretty flowers)  on a summer walk today, felt like quite a magical discovery as it was hidden behind the long grass and lavender!  I love going out for coffee and cake- or anything involved with this hobby! haha   :D

So here are a few of my favourite tea cup pictures that I have found on the internet! Teacups and coffee.

Sunny Sketchbooks By Maria Coyne

So far we have had beautifully bright and hot rosy days with deep blue skies. Just right for lazing in the garden with a book or two dreaming away pleasant hours with my sketchbook in hand. But thinking of all the things to do!

Also deciding 'cake or ice-cream' while trawling through the plethora of super interesting artistic websites but again settling on Diana Trout's videos again! www.dianatrout.typepad.com    I have recently signed up to her newsletter and read her fab book Journal Spilling a couple of years ago but only bought it in March. What a great book, easy to dip into-bright, colourful and very enjoyable.



Peach Dahlia

Japanese Anemone

Canterbury Bells