Beatlemania is real!

So, last weekend myself and the lovely Louise took a cheeky trip to Liverpool in pre-celebration of her 21st birthday. I have only ever been to Liverpool once before and that was at night, so I didn't really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised (despite still being largely opposed to the scouse accent, sorry).

We had an early morning coach booked which, believe me, when you've spent the last 11 weeks of summer sleeping in til at least 12, WAS A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM. Nevertheless we were up and on it! We arrived in Liverpool and made tracks straight for The Beatles Experience which I was very much looking forward to. We found ourselves amongst a group of German tourists on our way in which was a very baffling moment, but luckily the nice lady at the museum plucked us outta there and sent us in the right direction. The museum was great, although we opted to not have the audio commentary headsets (which if I go again, I'm definitely avin'), but there was plenty to see regardless. The place was packed with memorabilia and a steady stream of Beatles music was filtered through the airwaves as we wandered round, making it very difficult not to get caught up in all the hype.

Beatles tights!!

Flattering Ringo bobble-head.

60's Jetsetter Style.

Obsessed with neon lighting..

Here's me, feeling magical.

Louise Lennon

I must say as well, that The Beatles experience had one of the best gift shops I've ever encountered-- like genuinely reasonably priced Beatles souvenirs! I shall be returning in December to purchase many' a Beatles themed gift (for myself).. I bought myself a cheeky patch for my denim jacket, Rubber Soul, obviously (best Beatles album). My favourite thing about the museum though was that it only confirmed what I already thought: George was the best Beatle.

In the seperate Beatles gallery, further along the docks, I was very proud to see that the majority of photos housed there had been taken in Huddersfield, my home town. It pleased me a ridiculous amount. Later on, Louise and I got a little lost (well, I wouldn't have said we were lost but Louise said we were, I just said it was an adventure) and somehow stumbled upon Mathew Street, home to the Cavern club and plenty more Beatles related little bits. Y'know, perfect touristy photo opportunities..

Me & John reppin' similar jackets.

We did a bunch more stuff in Liverpool, I promise we weren't total Beatles weirdos.. But I thought I'd keep this post all Beatles-y. Since my return I appear to have literally contracted Beatlemania. It's real. I can't stop listening to 'em and talking about them and researching. It's weird. And as a Rolling Stones fan I don't know how I feel about it! MICK JAGGER, GIVE ME A SIGN!

Come to think of it, how come there's no Rolling Stones museum? Hmm..

More crafts!

So, for the last of a very crafty few blog posts! I would've included these last few stragglers in my last post however they were both gifts for birthdays that were occurring between then and now. ANYWAY, here they are.

First off, I know you're probably sick of hearing about my recent hype for making picture tiles but here's my last little spin on it. (I say last but you just know every one of my friends is gonna be getting a cheeky tile for xmas). I should say that this was a very personalized gift, for my friend, Helen. She's a big Quentin Tarantino fan so I took that as my starting point. I then stumbled across some really nice prints by an artist called Ale Giorgini, which you can check out here. He conveniently had a few different Tarantino inspired pieces and so I selected the ones that I knew Helen liked best and got to work composing my masterpiece gift. (steady on, Laura). I used the same technique as before for creating the tiles which, again, you can find here. I then found myself a bit of scrap wood in me' dad's shed and painted it white before mounting the tiles at equal distances (I just did this using some strong adhesive, a "No More Nails" type thing).

And here's how it turned out.

When the adhesive had set I then stenciled on the film titles (admittedly, not very well) and voila! Helen was happy enough with it and it was a very easy make.

My next make wasn't that crafty actually, but a personalized "handmade" gift technically. An easy, cheap solution to making your own presents as well. This one was for my lovely friend and ex-housemate, Louise! Twas simply a print in a simple frame. I created the text on Photoshop and formatted it for printing before sending it off to Snapfish to print for me on some matte photo paper. I specially downloaded a nice, quirky font as well, just because nothing says less effort to me than Times New Roman!

Apologies for the low quality image!

Then all I did was choose a frame, basic white was all this particular print needed, I thought. Easy peasy.

Ooh, you crafty beggar.

That's right, more crafts.

Good news, it is now Autumn! That means jumpers, boots, scarves and plenty of tea! It also means that there's not long left til I go back to uni and, I must say, I am relieved. "Summer" has just been too long. This does mean though that there will probably be a decline in crafts to update you with, and for that matter, probably a decline in posts in general. However, for now, I have another little collection of crafty bits to show you!

First off, my "Flight Of The Conchords" T-Shirt, inspired by series 1, epsiode 1 of the HBO television show of the same name. This was a very cheap make and pretty quick and easy. Well, I say that, there was one t-shirt casualty (and a lesson learnt, Dylon broad fabric markers are rubbish). For the slightly more successful tee, I chose myself a nice green top (£3.50 Primark) and got to work drawing out my design onto it. To do this I traced it through the material using a thin yellow felt tip pen. Now, I probably wouldn't recommend the yellow pen, as my white lines never turned out, well... white. However I didn't have a magic ink fabric pen or tailors chalk. You could say I poorly improvised, unless you want a yellow design in which case GO ME. I then applied several layers of white, Dylon fabric paint on top of the yellow outline (sealing with heat between each layer). I then stenciled on a quote from the scene I was depicting (in pen first) and BOOM, done, easy.

Left: My first unsuccessful attempt is now a pyjama top. Right: The finished product!

I tweeted this end product to Rhys Darby, a comedian who plays Murray (the beardy man above!) and he replied saying "very cool!" which made me very happy.

And whilst I'm on the subject of T-Shirts, I may aswell show you the tee I hand-painted for the lovely Chester waaaay back in March, inspired by Chris Lilley's comedy series, "Angry Boys". Twas a well received birthday gift.

And that's your lot for now, more to come at the end of the week (because upcoming birthdays mean I can't spoil the surprises of my other little offerings yet!)

Peace out.

Crafty bits

So for my stupidly long summer holiday (seriously, it's about 15 weeks) I have decided that, since I had no luck on the job front, I ought to get my productive hat on in other ways. And because I like making stuff, I'm looking for all sorts of crafty bits to get on with.

Apologies for the terrible quality picture.

Back in January I made this little gem and it looks great in my room back at uni. This year I'm keen to find more projects that I can try and hopefully get the same amount of satisfaction from making! (For those interested, It's a map of West Yorkshire, threaded between metal tacks that gather at a heart that's located around my hometown) It was surprisingly easy (and cheap!) to make and you can find a similar tutorial here. I couldn't find the exact one, my bad!

Last week I had a little go at making my own photo tiles, following guidance from a tutorial here! They turned out pretty nicely but I would like to give them a bit more time to perfect (I'll admit I rushed them a bit, resulting in paper bubbling!) I'll upload some pictures at a later date as I've given the pre-made ones away as gifts already. I can however show you the nice job I did of wrapping them for my friends, twins, Robyn & Ellen.

Can't get enough of brown paper packaging at the moment!

The only other remotely arty sort of thing I've been up to lately is a bit of drawing and painting, with varying levels of success! I have re-adopted my favoured style of painting portraits, in blocks of black and white. Really I think I only do this because it's my most successful way of making a painting look remotely like a face (as I'm terrible at drawing realistic people).. I've done a few different paintings, usually of familiar faces or iconic portraits. Most recently I've painted Jagger, Morrissey & Bowie and I'm pretty pleased with my results.

Thoughts?

Recent findings: July/ August

I thought I might keep you posted on some of the things that have been keeping me occupied/ amused over the past few weeks. I'm 11 weeks into the stupidly long university summer holidays with another 6ish weeks to go (what are we paying £4k for again?!). It is very boring, especially without a job/ money for activities so I've had to find a lot of new music, etc.

Music

Django Django - Life's a Beach (album)

I'm going to be honest. This is the first CD I've bought in a long time. Twas recommended to me by the lovely Chester and I surprisingly really like it. They have a really cool sound and I find myself humming their tunes to myself far more often than I care to mention. Above is my favourite song of theirs so far, Hail Bop.

Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (single)

I know the song isn't new, and it isn't new to me either but for about three weeks it was stuck in my head and so here it is in my "recent findings" post.. Good one, Laura.

I have recently found myself experiencing a bit of a disco phase. I realised this when I audibly uttered the words "oh yeahhh" upon noticing BBC4's scheduling of Disco at the BBC followed by Nile Rogers & Chic's Glastonbury set. Appropriately then the song of the summer has been Daft Punk - Get Lucky, and I'm still nowhere near over it.

Film

A fantastically inconvenient underlying health issue means that going to the cinema has become a bit of a no-go for me. I won't go into it too much, but basically the combination of a big screen and a high ceiling does something very strange to me, and I quickly find myself very dizzy. Therefore I have been at a massive disadvantage in terms of film viewing (which kinda sucks being a student of film & TV design). I'm desperate to see World's End and Monsters University, but alas, I will have to wait. My only ask is that people don't ruin these films before I have chance to see them!

Books

Jon Richardson - It's Not Me, It's You

I actually read this back in June but it definitely warrants a mention as a lovely little read. I'm a big fan of Jon's stand-up and found myself reading the book in his voice (in my head of course). It's a very sweet book and I found myself desperately just wanting to cuddle him throughout.

HITRECORD & Joseph Gordon-Levitt - The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories (vol 1)

I was recently gifted this as a belated birthday present from my lovely friend Helen and it is just delightful! It's exactly what the title describes it as, a tiny book of tiny stories, most about 3 sentences long and each with a pretty illustration. A cute little book to flick through when you find yourself with a spare few moments.

Oi Summer, naff off.

Forget August, It's all about Autumn.

I might be (possibly) a bit premature here, but I am so ready for autumn to rock up. I'm a true Brit, in that, I actually don't mind our unreliable climate and cold/ cloudy days don't really bother me. I'm not saying I don't moan about the weather when it is like that, but like I just said, I'm British.

My early longing for autumn comes this year after receiving the autumn trends catalogue from H&M. Now all I can do is wait for it to be appropriate to buy a parka. Summer brings about the debate of: "Is it acceptable to wear black tights in the day?" to which I always have to reply "sadly, no, but SOON". Here's a little visual plan of the absolute style icon I plan to be in the colder months of this year.

H&M £49.99*

I desperately want a parka. The debate (in my head) rages on; blue or green? I'm leaning towards blue. Also, It's so refreshing to find a medium length coat without that awful furry trim around the hood.

H&M £19.99 / £9.99 / £14.99*

I cannot tell you how "pro-jumper" I am. I love a good jumper. I frequently don a jumper in the winter months so I'm gonna need a few new ones this year I reckon.

H&M £19.99 / £9.99*

I don't know how adventurous I dare to be when it comes to jeans. Dark blue and black jeans suit me just fine. Just remember to check their thickness though, nobody wants chilly legs. And on the subject of chilly legs, I have decided that I'm going to venture to the world of knee high socks this year, not sure why, but there you go. A good woolly hat is a necessity as well so I shall be keeping my eyes firmly fixed on Primark's menswear section for that. I will also be on the annual hunt for some fierce ankle boots.

Autumn also brings around my favourite celebrations; bonfire night and halloween. With any luck, this bonfire night, I'll have someone to keep me warm whilst watching the firework display (!). I'm also already looking for a bitchin' halloween costume idea although it's likely to just be "mad scientist" again because that required little to no effort and I still looked vaguely attractive/ not like a corpse.

Fancy dress is a big deal at uni.

I can't wait to get back to the daily wearing of scarves. Summer, you can stay a bit longer, but not much.

*Online prices shown. I have noticed some inconsistencies in pricing when it comes to H&M online/ instore/ catalogue, just so you're aware!

Let me fill you in

So, MARCH.
I guess all sorts has occurred since then, really. I'll keep it brief!

• Friends
  Most of my friends are great, of course there are always those few that seem to fizzle out and gradually disappear, but for the most part, I have some good'uns.
  
• Lovelife
  There's a man on the scene. All I'll say is, it's not Facebook official!
  
• Birthday
  I am now 20. It's a pretty big deal. Now my niece is 0, my nephew 10, me 20 and my sister 30. OOH! Had a cracking 80's themed birthday party, totally made amazing by the effort people put into fancy dress. Received some excellent handmade gifts/ cards as well!
  
• Holiday
  Had a lovely trip to Lanzarote at the start of June with my dad and best friend from uni, Abi. It was extremely windy and sometimes a bit windy, but luckily we consumed enough cheap sangria/ cocktails to not care too much. The food was phenomenal, I don't think I've ever eaten so much in the space of 10 days.
  
• Family
  In February we had a new arrival, baby Holly. She's gorgeous, a proper smiler with a little chubby head (I can relate, I was a real chud of an infant). Otherwise though, current family relations are strained again, with several parties not in contact, which y'know, just makes you feel great.
  
• Summer
  Currently in my 7th week of the summer holidays and a little bored to say the least. Annoyed at the lack of job prospects and frustrated that many of my friends live either on the the other side of town (which is proving troublesome when you don't really have anywhere to stay) OR they live down South. Or y'know, are out of the country and totally unreachable!
  
• Plans
  All I've really got are some vague visits planned to friends across the country, that could or couldn't happen. I also really need to pass my driving test this year- I'm working on it, but funds could soon see that stunted again. I have some professional bits and bobs to design/ create before going back to uni, i.e. website and business cards, as well as some deep research into the topics I want to design for AND a dissertation topic. It's all just hitting me that this year actually counts, which is a bit scary.

I can't believe I haven't posted on here since March..

I'd like to say that it's because I've been ever so busy, but looking back, I'm sure I haven't done that much. I'm now back at home in Yorkshire, after successfully completing my second of three years at university, and it's been the best year. I finished the year with a surprising 2:1 grade and so look forward to maintaining/ improving upon this after the summer. The terrifying thing is that this year actually counts. But hey, it's only my whole life that it's going to impact.

I'm home without any real plans for the summer, after having no luck with countless job applications and a rapidly decreasing overdraft. A few day trips here and there (that I definitely can't afford) and a view to improving my artistic skills in hope of smashing my degree. Lets see how I get on, ey.

Parallel state of dissatisfaction.

Well I am baffled with my current discontent. I find myself in a situation completely parallel to this time last year in that: I would actually rather be at uni instead of home. For me, this is huge. I don't know what's come over me (apart from lust, independence and a lack of requirement to actually go home)..

This is not like me. Last year all I wanted to do, come the weekend, was escape back up North. Back to home cooked meals and the comfort of my own house. Literally so much has changed since then that I can't even comprehend it myself. In terms of changes, we're talking several romantic exploits, a breakdown of communication within the family and a complete change of heart regarding what I actually want to gain from my chosen degree.

1. Romantic exploits: I'm not going there, this is my blog, not Cosmo. You will however find me lusting all over the place when I'm at uni. Things are good.
2. Communication breakdown: Again, I shan't go into too much detail, it wouldn't be right. I can say though that in the weird arena that is my family, a good 70% of members are not in regular contact (or speaking at all). As much as this baffles me, I am not really in a position to do anything about it. I guess being away from home puts me in the neutral camp, thank goodness, I hate taking sides.
3. Degree: As much as I hate the weekly breakdown consisting of, "oh my god, why have I chosen such a stupid career, I'm not cut out for this, etc, etc" I'm actually really enjoying my degree for the first time (not that I'd admit that to my friends or myself-- wait-- oops). Hey, it's alright I guess.

I guess a big factor to this whole change in me is that essentially; I'm not sure I feel at home, at home anymore. (are you keeping up?) When I am at home, I'm counting down the days until I go back to Nottingham, which is quite frustrating as I hate to feel as if I'm wishing the time away. All I really come home for anymore is to see my dad, and that's really only because I feel guilty that he's on his own all the time.

I like having my independence now, as terrifying as I find it sometimes. I like being able to have guests round to my house at any hour without having to answer to anyone (except Miss 21 Question Lawton, my housemate! But I don't mind that at all).

I just get bored at home, god knows what I'm gonna do when I finish this degree and I actually have to get a real job..

Recent findings!

Apperently then, I'm still terrible at maintaining a regular blog. Often I have plenty to talk about however, as previously mentioned, I am quite lazy at times. On other occasions, I struggle to find anything interesting enough to talk about. SO, I  thought I might have a little natter about some of my recent findings, i.e. music, film, TV, art.. Whatever!
Here goes.

Flight of The Conchords
For ages now, FOTC has been on my endless list of things to get round to watching. I'm almost embarrassed that it's taken me so long to see it! It's so my cup of tea! It really is delightful, and yes, I cringe at myself for using that word. I've instantly fallen in love with Brett, Jemaine & Murray, I love the New Zealand accent, I love Brett's jumpers and their songs are such perfectly constructed parodies of genres. It's my new favourite thing and I might be a little bit obsessed with it.

Looper
Finally I got to see it and I wasn't disappointed. When it came out at the cinema, I was dying to see it but the opportunity never really arose. I admit that one contributing factor that stopped me seeing it for so long was that I wasn't too sure about the facial mixing of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.. If Joseph Gordon-Levitt is in a film, I pretty much just want to stare at his beautiful face. Anyway, I did enjoy the film, the narrative wasn't exactly what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised.

In Bruges
Another film on the endless list of films I needed to see. I really enjoyed it actually, the colour palette is gorgeous (sorry that's the design student in me, speaking) and I do like a surprisingly dark comedy. This film also gave me an excuse to spend the rest of the evening speaking with an Irish accent.. (any excuse)..

Foals
(also on the neverending list.. blah blah blah) Finally got around to having a browse through their discography and found some familiar tracks. I really like their newer stuff but that might be because I seem to be hearing it all over the place recently!

Young The Giant
I don't really know a lot about this band yet as I really just stumbled upon them by accident. That said, I'm looking forward to looking into them a bit more as I'm really liking their sound. The singer's voice is really nice and they're a pretty easy band to listen to. Favourite songs so far: Cough Syrup and Strings.

So there you go. WHO KNOWS, maybe I'll do this regularly (hahahahahaha)

Friendship should be effortless.

"Best friends" is a term that is thrown around a lot, often far too easily. I myself, am guilty of attaching the term to my friends fairly quickly. I suppose this is because I am quite an open person when it comes to making friends, although actually, I try to deny this.

I regularly say "I dislike people before I like them" which is true enough. I often approach new social situations with my guard completely up, unless something has indicated that I should act otherwise; i.e. I've already been given a good impression of the person who I might usually approach cautiously.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about friendship, and what determines whether or not I call someone "a friend". Some people hate using the term "best friends" as they feel it's exclusive and uneccessary; fair enough. Personally, I've always had someone who I call "my best friend" although there's usually two or three people to whom I attach this title at a time. For example, there are always two or three people from my past for whom the phrase "best friend" will always be attached, just because I've known them for so long, we've experienced so much together and I'll always make time to see them. (I refer to Jonny, Henry & Helen) I wasn't going to name names, but it's my blog, I'll do what I like!

Myself, Henry & Jonny.

 

Here at uni, I've been having a bit of a moral dilemma RE: defining friendship. I have several people here who I'd happily class as "best friends," but of course, you always have favourites. And I totally understand that you go through different phases, friends come and go dependent on your interests and attitudes, your physical location and sometimes, dependent on how much you actually have in common.

I've recently come to a definite conclusion though; a friendship works both ways, it shouldn't be one sided. It shouldn't be a case of being friends when it suits one person, or one person making all the effort to arrange things. A friendship should be effortless.

One obstacle, I've discovered recently, is finding out that you don't have that much in common that you thought you did. That's something that really chips away at a friendship and there's sadly not a lot that you can do about it. It's worse when one half of the duo doesn't realise this and so the other half starts to feel bitterness towards the whole friendship. It's a funny old situation to be in. Not nice at all, actually.

Distance is another massive contributor to dampening a friendship, this I've found though, ties in with how much effort each person is willing to put into maintaining the relationship. My best friend from college falls into this category; we were literally inseperable. Then university comes along (aswell as boyfriends) and the whole thing falls apart. Thanks distance, you bitch.

There are friends who you know you can rely on and friends you think you can rely on until they massively let you down. Needless to say, I've encountered one or two of these, too!

HOWEVER! AS MUCH AS I MAY SEEM LIKE A WHINEY BITCH, I DO HAVE SOME EXCEPTIONALLY GOOD FRIENDS.

Clockwise: Alec, Charlotte, Chester, Abi & Me.

 

This bunch here are amazing and literally, they are my favourite people here in Nottingham. Alec, because he's painfully honest! Charlotte, because you literally can't get nicer (or sassier). Chester, well, just because he's Chester and he's a badass. Then there's Abi, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, MY SEXY WIFE! But seriously, she's a genuinely excellent person. These people improve my whole life and I don't know how I've come so far along without them; I certainly can't imagine them not being a part of me now.

I'm writing this at the end of my second term of my second year at university. This has been the best term yet and I'm having the most amazing time here, all because of this lot. I love them dearly.



 

Sophie & Char.

(People that I know are definitely going to read this and relate it to themselves.. my bad.. Also don't be pissed if you didn't get a mention, you muppets, that's not what this is for..)



20 Random Facts about myself.

My friend Helen did one of these today and I found it pretty entertaining (I get a cheeky mention) so I thought I'd do one for myself. I'm also procrastinating. Enjoy!

1. I love dogs. I used to have two collies a long time ago. Now I'm painfully envious of all dog owners and can't wait to have one of my own.

2. I love photography. I love taking pictures and I'm always the one holding everyone up by lurking behind to take a photo of something. I particularly like composition and I have most experience in landscape photography.

3. I'm from Yorkshire and I'm fiercely proud of it! I think moving away to university really made me appreciative of my roots and I love visiting home.

4. I absolutely adore The Killers. They are my favourite band by miles and everyone who knows me, knows it! I've been luckily enough to see them twice, both times are highly regarded as two of the best days of my life. They're an amazing live band. I also really like The Black Keys.

5. I'm extremely attracted to young Mick Jagger. Also, comparisons have been drawn between mine and his lips!

6. I love traveling but I don't do it nearly enough; I haven't even left Europe! Road trips are amongst my favourite things to do and I hope to travel across America, Canada and Australia sometime fairly soon! (A girl can dream!)

7. I don't like spicy food. My mouth is totally intolerable towards any spice! I'd rather have something rich in flavour rather than burn my mouth out.

8. I couldn't be a vegetarian although I barely eat meat whilst at uni. I love a Sunday roast when I'm at home and also BACON.

9. I've always had something against women in bands. I think it stems from a jealousy thing and there are very few female performers I like. In life aswell, I've always got on with boys better than girls.

10. I have a fairly solid bunch of friends but also various friends dotted all over the place. At uni there are only 40 people on our course and I regularly socialize in a group of about 6-10 of them. They're all mad.

11. I've been an auntie since I was seven years old. I have two sisters; three nephews and two nieces.

12. I wish I'd been taught to play an instrument when I was younger. I love music and I have few friends in bands; I just wish I had some contribution I guess. I want to play synth!

13. I'm fascinated by accents. I can't help but imitate this around me if they speak differently to me.

14. I don't like Sundays! I find them so depressing, probably following years of dread that it was the last day before going back to school!

15. If I'm sharing a bed with someone, I can never be the first to fall asleep. I think it's all related to anxiety and self awareness. It also means though that I tend to have to put up with someone else snoring as I'm at the stage of falling asleep.

16. I'm very protective of those around me. Recently my friend's drink was spiked and I had to look after him. I found it really scary but most of all I was angry that it'd happened and I hadn't been able to stop it. Another of my friends was recently hit in the face; I was fuming! If I'd been there I don't know what I'd have done!

17. My fruit of choice is banana! I love bananas and I could eat them endlessly (if it wasn't dangerous to overdose on potassium!) I love them with bran flakes, on toast, in sandwiches, on pancakes...

18. I like a drink, cocktails are my favourite, but I just don't see the point in drugs. I sound so square! I just don't get it. Also, I have far too much of a paranoid personality for weed.

19. I want to be one of Derren Brown's projects. I find him fascinating and I just think he's a generally lovely, clever person.

20. I can't resist a man in a suit. Sharp and fitted? Good shoes? Damn.

Clockwise, starting top left:
1. Two of my nephews (Jack & Charlie) being cheeky, 2. Erin, Jack & Joshua, 3. The Killers, 4. A bunch of my coursemates, 5. A picture I took in Blackpool last summer, 6. Mick Jagger and his luscious lips, 7. Jonny & Henry, two of my closest friends from home, 8. Neither me or Brandon could evidently be veggie, 10. My lovely Abi; I'm enjoying a cocktail.

 



I do ever so hope you found this insightful and interesting!