this is my favourite thrifted item...

...it's my pigeon hat of course!


Here's my entry for this weeks 'This Is...' topic. It's a recent buy (in fact I've only recently posted about it) but I am such a fan of pigeons and have already got a lot of usage out of it (people may start calling me a crazy pigeon lady soon). But it is a great fancy dress item & makes me smile.

I picked it up for £2 at snoopers paradise in Brighton. It's really meant to be used as a hunting decoy I think but the fact that it fits perfectly on my head proves it was meant to be!

Check out more 'This Is...' entries by clicking on this lovely badge:



x

odds & ends

I seem to be posting quite often at the moment (I have a lot to say!) so I thought I'd get up to date and post some of the stuff I've been meaning to share for the past week or so.

Firstly, the promotional postcard for my MA course show from the students who are leaving this year. The end of year exhibition is in September so I know it's a while away now, but I thought it was best to promote nice and early - I'll give a little reminder nearer the time I'm sure.


What's next...oh yes! I got a bike at the weekend!!!!! I've been borrowing Derek's bike for the past few months and he finally took it back so I had to go on a bike hunt. It's a very nice bike, although a tad creaky and squeaky. I think that gives her character though.


Here's a nice sugar pot I bought in the flea market the other day:


And finally, I've been having a go at drawing with paper:


Most pleasing!
x

this is...

...the space in which I create.


It's a bit of a jumbled mess I know but I do love my desk (it's called Johan & is from Ikea).
I've only recently stumbled across the 'this is...' project as featured on the three buttons blog, but I hope to join in regularly from now on. I think it'll encourage me to take more photos as well.

x

a bit more journal wrecking

The line on the left hand page of this image traces my car journey from sainsburys back to my house (it's a bit bumpy in places).
x

stickers in the shop

I've updated my etsy shop with these A to Z sticker packs!

a NEW blog

You may remember the other day I posted about how I like to collect shopping lists. Well, I've finally gotten round to setting up a new blog for this project, which you can take a look at here:

I'm going to use it to document my finds and develop ideas so if you are interested please take a look!
Here are some recent finds to wet your appetite:


x

p h o t o g r a p h y

I need to start taking my camera out and about with me more as I'd like to become more of a photographer.
I'm attending the private view of my brother's photography degree show on Friday so hopefully that'll inspire me further.

x

finds from the weekend

On saturday I went for a wander around Brighton with a few friends and ended up picking up a variety of treats (mostly unnecessary but delightful items). Here are the highlights:

some flowers to decorate derek's my bike with


an inflatable chicken for the kitchen
don't ask what possessed me to buy this - i like the bright colours though.


a floral patch to decorate some clothing
i bought a mens cardigan from primark for £6 (i figure BIG cardigans are in at the moment) and i thought i could add some flowers. these yellow ones are especially lovely.


a new dress


and last, but definitely not least my new pigeon hat


how amazing is this??? I found it in snoopers paradise for £2. of course it's not meant to be a hat, it's a hunting decoy, but i think this is a much friendlier use for it. I've put up a picture of me modeling it here.
I bet you are all very jealous, no?

x

lunch

last wednesday i had my lunch in the park and practiced drawing with my left hand.
i think i'll try to do it more often.

x

i like sitting down

all in a row

For a project I am working on at university.

today i feel slow (like a snail)

book fair

Just an update to let you know how I got on at the recent Press & Release artists book fair in Brighton. I held a stall there with a group of friends from my MA course so we had quite a wide selection of books & ephemera for sale which I think was a good plan. I made some books & cards & stickers:


I wasn't sure how popular the fair was going to be, or what kind of crowd it was going to attract, so I went down the small & inexpensive pathway (as there are oh so many students in Brighton) and I did quite well. I managed to sell quite a lot of items and I even sold one of my books to a representative from the Tate library. This means that in a few weeks time my book will have been catalogued and will be part of the Tate Artists' books collection. Exciting news!

The books I made were based around the topic of collective terms for animals as I found a lot of the names were quite interesting & often a bit bizarre (e.g. a parcel of penguins). I created 4 different mini-books - jellyfish, magpies, snails & mallards - all using a variety of illustration techniques, and I packaged them up with a gift card & some stickers. Here are some spreads from the books:


I think this is a series I'm going to try and add to over time as I really enjoyed illustrating the animals and there are a lot more interesting collective terms to explore. In fact a lot of people didn't believe that they were real terms and thought I'd made them up.

Now I'm considering listing some of the left over items from the book fair in my etsy shop, but I'm not sure how well they would sell on etsy - any opinions? Thanks in advance.

x

i saw three ships...

i collect shopping lists

Since moving to Brighton I have started picking up shopping lists whenever I spot them on the floor at Sainsbury's, or anywhere else around town. I've now accumulated quite a collection and I am planning to create a mini-project about them (or using them) at some point.

They are really rather interesting objects and it's nice to notice the differences between a very neat & organised list and the ones that are a lot more messy and confusing. I also love the different scraps of paper that people choose to write their lists on.

So, I just thought I'd tell you all about my project in case any of you happen to find any lists while you're out and about. I've already had a couple of friends bring my back lists from other parts of the country and I am looking to make my collection a lot BIGGER.

So if you do find any and you fancy contributing then drop me an e-mail or leave a comment - i'd greatly appreciate it.

super!
x

things that i find pleasing

this AMAZING cuckoo clock my dad brought back from switzerland for me:


flowers on my wall:


RSPB charity badges:


lucky finds in the open market:


I found this cardigan for £2. It needed a bit of fixing up as the sleeves were very wide, but I've put some elastic in now and it's looking much better. Perfect for keeping warm at an evening barbecue on the beach.
and finally...a JELLYFISH costume for my end of year party (here are some sneak peeks):




I'd just like to thank jane asher!

x