Nail Polish Organization

Hi all,

I recently got an order from amazon, which was a few organisational pieces to hold make up and things. I got a nail polish organiser stand thingy, which I had been very tempted to get for a while (to hold my ever growing nail polish collection)

If you are interested this is where I got the acrylic nail polish holder : Click here

I was really pleased with the actual container. It said online that it holds 30 nail polishes (this isn't O.P.I sized polishes, I think its maybe essie sized bottles) The OCD part of me had so much fun putting the bottles in order of colour and brand, and looking at it makes me feel happy (I am aware I have a problem!!!)

Here is how my collection looks now that it is beautifully organised :) ....

I had pre-measured my bath room cabinet to make sure it would fit. Always do this before ordering new furniture or other items, as it is such a pain if they arrive and don't fit!
I have really been enjoying the new lay out, and its great because I can actually see all of the polishes :)

Hope you enjoyed

xox Niamh xox

Butterfly Fashion

Hi all,

So, for a project at college I designed and made a butterfly cape which I sharing with you now :) It was only a three week project so I didn't have a huge amount of time to make it (only 1 week!) But I gave it my best effort and I quite like how it has turned out.

I discovered that symmetry is really hard! The front doesn't line up perfectly (which annoys me as I am a perfectionist, and I have been tempted to unpick the whole thing to re-do it... but then I realise that there are more important things in life) The back lines up okay, so its not a complete disaster.

Its got appliqued sections which I embroidered using dissolvable fabric and stitch to 'fuse' the two colours together. And the little white blobs, I painted on with acrylic. Some heavy duty interfacing is helping to hold the shape.

Hope you like it...........

I am hoping that if we get some nice weather where I live I am going to do a proper photoshoot with the cape. I really want to photograph some one wearing it in a forest with sun-light streaming through the branches.... that is if we get any sun this year! :)

xox Niamh xox

Fassbender & Rausch - Chocolate in Berlin

Hi all,

For the last week I have been in Berlin (which hopefully explains the lack of posts!) I was on a 'study trip' with my art college, and we saw so many amazing things in Berlin (museums, galleries....) Berlin is such an amazing city, and I will definitely be making a return trip some time, as I feel I have only scraped the top of all there is to see there.

One place we went was the Fassbender and Rausch chocolate shop (chocoholics prepare yourselves!) They have chocolate replicas of lots of different berlin landmarks, and other amazing things. I got a few things (mostly for my parents, but I also got myself some hot chocolate... which I am trying today!)

I took some pictures to convey the amazing-ness of the shop. Unfortunately you can't smell through a computer screen, but go grab a bar of chocolate and smell it as you scroll :)

The Titanic... in chocolate

This stunning cherub was so amazing, its cast in the round so it has a face and everything.

CHOCOLATE PLANE... it was flying above our heads.

The Reichstag Building, I have to admit the large buildings in chocolate looked like they were kind of melting.

Brandenburg Gate in chocolate.

Yum... 

I am going to go and make that hot chocolate now :)

xox Niamh xox

Bobbi Brown - Pink and Red

Hi all,

So, as a devoted Bobbi Brown junkie I am always excited to see the new collections that come out. The latest collection only recently released is the Pink and Red collection. It features... you've guessed it... Pink and Red!
There are two lip sticks, two lip glosses, two cheek tints and two nail polishes. All of these items are limited edition, in other words if you like them get them now (or they will be gone forever!!!)

So, I had a look through the collection, and went to my nearest Bobbi Brown counter. I tried out the red cheek tint, which has a really pretty finish (gives you a flushed glow) Its quite like a cream blush, but in a tube form. I think it would be really handy if you were on the go, and wanted to pop it into your makeup bag. I didn't buy it however, as I have a cream blush that I am working my way through.

Now onto the lip products of which I bought two:

I tried on the red lipstick called heart. It is really amazing, the colour is your classic red lip, and as it is a slightly blue hued red it makes you teeth look that little bit more white. The matte finish is really nice, but not drying, and you can build up the colour to as strong as you want (depending on how daring you are with your lip colour) The formula of both these lipsticks (pink and red) are the long lasting one, supposedly can last up to 8 hours. I love it!!

Now, to add to the lips I also got the pink lip gloss in Pretty in Pink. It is a very sheer gloss which you could wear alone to give a shine to the lips, or over another lipstick to amplify the gloss. Thats what I have done with the red, which I can wear matte, or with a shine. The lip gloss is a really nice consistency (i.e not sticky) and has a slight minty flavour to it, which makes your lips tingle a little. It kind of wakes them up :)

Swatches below:

If you are interested in this new limited edition collection from Bobbi Brown I recommend you to go and check out some of the products. You might find something you like :)

Hope you enjoyed

xox Niamh xox

Knitting Sample

Hi all,

So here is the little knitting sample I made in the knitting workshop I did. I knitted with both net and a yarn I made up. I had never thought of making my own yarn, but it is really fun and gives you so much more control over the design and outcome.
I combined three existing yarns (a black wool, blue chenille yarn and a grey mohair yarn) I stitched them together using the zig zag stitch on the sewing machine, and every 10 cms or so I included a little strip of the same netting (or a white cotton)
I knitted it up on 5mm needles, which I think might be a little too small for the net. I am cursed with being quite a tight knitter, so I did struggle in a few places to get the needles through the net!

Here it is...

So...who loves knitting???

xox Niamh xox

Knitting BIG SCALE!

Hi all,

Yesterday I took part in a knitting workshop at college. I though we would just be working with our knitting needles, but to start the session we knitted in a circle, using out arms as the needles! It was so fun. We used clear and black plastic on a reel, and looped it round the circle to make this huge knitted cylinder.
Here are a few pics to better explain it :)

So you can see... super fun!! It was quite cool to look through it like a tunnel. (kind of reminded me of the intro to doctor who) :)

xox Niamh xox

Annabelle's Butterfly Dance

Hi all,

I am very sorry for how long I have left without posting! I have been super busy with Uni applications, which are slowly becoming less busy. I am very excited as I have had an offer from UCA Epsom, after I did an interview there last week!

I have also been busy with college work, and I have made a butterfly cape thing... which I will be sharing with you shortly. But until then here is what I did yesterday in a watercolour workshop. I had to choose a film still (based on my project) so I chose a beautiful film still from Annabelle's Butterfly Dance (which is a restored Edison film) I highly recommend you look it up on youtube, its quite an early film and I believe that the stills were hand coloured.

So here are my loose interpretations of this beautiful image. I mostly focused on the colours...

Bleeding in the black ink, with some fine liner over the top.

Completely wet on wet process, and I softened the overall image by using brown ocher rather than the harsher black.

I really enjoyed the workshop, and I think I will definitely be experimenting more with watercolours, to try to improve my skills with them. As someone who loves precision, watercolours are really pushing my limits as they are quite unpredictable, but I loved watching the colour seep over the page like little veins.

xox Niamh xox

SNOW

Hi all,

We have had Snow!!! Yesterday my college was closed, so apart from catching up on all my work I also went round to a friends to enjoy the snow. Here are a few pics from my day:

I cant claim the rights to this igloo. But it was pretty awesome. The people who were making it were using actual snow bricks! And they had little windows in it!!!

Our headless snowman :)

Have you had any snow where you live?

xox Niamh xox

Felt Making

Hi all,

So recently I took part in a day workshop making felt. It was quite labour intensive but I really enjoyed it. I made a big piece of felt (which I am yet to do something with), some felted beads, and a weird shaped felted bag thing... enjoy...

To do the felting we laid down an old towel onto the table, then put a similar sized piece of bubble wrap over the top (with the bubbles facing up) I then laid down pieces of wool tops, in relatively thin layer alternating the direction of the layers as I built them up.

I added a few bits of yarn and muslin for added textural interest.  

I then laid a piece of cheap netting over the top, and with washing up liquid, warm water, and a fair amount of elbow grease I felted the fibres together. It did take a while to fully felt. I also used a rolling pin and rolled the felt around it whilst rolling at the same time, just to increase the amount of friction the felt was being attacked by.

So this is what it turned out like. Keep in mind when you are felting that the size of your piece is going to shrink as the fibres contract and lock together.

Here are the little (well not that little) felt beads that I made. Building up the layers on a small ball of wool tops, until the ball is stable. I am going to stitch into them with a metallic thread to make them look a bit more pretty.

And then here is the 'interesting bag' that I created. I basically made it by making a single layer of felt, then laying down a cut out piece of bubble wrap (the size of the bag I wanted) then building up on either side of the bubble wrap. When I got the the thickness of felt I wanted cut the parcel shape open and removed the cut piece of bubble wrap. I then attempted to shape it into this rather attractive bag shape.

I think I might shove it into the washing machine, to see what happens when it shrinks (an irreversible process!!!)

So, that is what happened on my day of felting (along with getting very sore arm muscles!)

xox Niamh xox

Tim Walker Story Teller

Hi all,

'What I am photographing is an imaginary place that never existed but is often connected to something that has already been. Fashion photography is the dream department of photography.' - Tim Walker

In November I made a day trip to London with my art college, and I went to the Tim Walker Story Teller exhibition which was at the Somerset House. It was AMAZING!!! Unfortunately there was no photography permitted (which some people still disobeyed... (disappointed shake of head) ), but I can kind of describe the scene. The first room had the spitfire which was used in a shoot he did, coming out of the wall, and the photos from the shoot were on the walls of the room. Every now and again there were areas of text on the wall too (one of them curved around a wall.)

So there were images from shoots on the walls, and props used in the centre of the rooms as you walked through. The swan boat.. Giant skeleton man... Really big doll... band of insects playing the violin, cello and viola. It was so incredible. All of the photos are beautifully lit and staged. They all have a very theatrical, dramatic and sometimes quite romantic feel to them which I really appreciate. Also BIG plus, a lot of the photos have models wearing Dior (by John Galliano) or Alexander McQueen designs... which for me sold it!

I was very lucky that for Christmas I received the book that went along with the exhibition, and I am going to share a few of my favourite images. (unfortunately the band of insects are not in it)

Jonas Kesseler and Lily Donaldson in blue spitfire
Fashion : Bottega Veneta
Glemham Hall, Sussex, 2009

Karlie Kloss on yellow brick road.
Fashion : Dior Haute Couture
Rye East Sussex 2010

Christina Carey and apple tree bough
Fashion : Roberto Cavalli
Eglingham Hall, Northumberland, 2008

Stella Tennant and Imogen Morris-Clarke with demolished piano
Fashion : Dior Haute Couture
Howick Hall, Northumberland, 2010

Stella Tennant in hare mask and Charles Guislain in 'bird of paradise' crown with sword
Fashion : Giorgio Armani, Privé and Gaultier
Howick Hall, Northumberland, 2010

Stella Tennant as Lady Grey
Fashion : Dior Haute Couture
Howick Hall, Northumberland, 2010

Imogen Morris-Clarke as blue sprite
Fashion : Givenchy Haute Couture and Vivienne Westwood
Howick Hall, Northumberland, 2010

Stella Tennant and pink powder cloud
Fashion : Peter Jensen
Eglingham Hall, Northumberland, 2007

Sophie Srej as Beetlejuice and Evelina Mambetova as Edward Scissorhands
Fashion : Salvatore Ferragamo and Rodarte
Kings Seeds, Colchester, Essex, 2009

Malgosia Bela and crying skeleton
Fashion : Ralph Lauren
Cants of Colchester, Colchester, Essex, 2008

Helena Bonham Carter as disgruntled queen
Fashion : Vivienne Westwood
Shoreditch, London, 2010

Olga Shearer on blue horse
Fashion : Valentino
The Winter Garden, Sennowe Park, Norfolk, 2007

Laura McCone and Luke Field-Wright as floral figures
Costumes by Angels the Costumiers
Glemham Hall, Sussex, 2010

Hope you enjoyed this look at this amazing book

xox Niamh xox