In the Summertime...

...bloggers get lazy! Ah, at least so it would seem for this blogger. My goodness, has it really been over a month since I posted?!

I do have a good "excuse" though... things have been a bit mad outside of the virtual world!

I've moved from the fair city I call home (Edinburgh) to the Scottish Borders for work and since I've been in my new flat, I've been decorating and setting up home, whilst being sans *proper* internet for a good while (iffy 3G signal doesn't quite cut it...). I'm pleased to say I'm now firmly back in the 21st Century - with a lovely light duckegg blue bedroom to boot - hip hip hurray!

I'll confess too that I have been enjoying the sunshine - it's been such amazing weather, and it even stuck around long enough for me to celebrate a big milestone birthday. No complaints here!

I am very fair-skinned so I've been working on my summery freckles. I don't tan, I just burn (or wilt!) in the heat... but I quite like being pale and interesting - I sincerely doubt I would suit a tan anyway!

I'm quite happy with my Celtic colouring. Plus, I do feel there are rather too many girls (and even a few guys) who seem to think that orange is a "natural" look... I'll never understand it.

P.S. Since Google Reader is now as dead as the proverbial dodo:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Birthday-ness!

Just for fun, because it's my birthday today, and I happen to adore Miffy...



Enjoy!

Handmade Birthday

It's my birthday next week, so I decided to make an etsy treasury wishlist :)

Lovely Things

Oh dear...it's been a while! I've been off having far too much fun - my birthday, plus a music festival (T in the Park, if you must know) = not very much blogging at all! I have some things I'd like to share though, so I thought it was about time.

Later this month, WildCat Designs will be taking part in Handmade Haven, a Glasgow Craft Mafia market at Mono. Come and see some fab crafty creations in a relaxed Sunday afternoon setting from 1-6pm on the 26th of July. For more information, see here.

As a birthday treat, I had a mini spree on etsy - mainly because I spotted the work of Kallliopi on the front page. I had to have this...



...mainly because it's just too cute! Not to mention beautifully handmade and unique. Kalliopi is based in Melbourne, Australia and makes gorgeous little brooches from lots of funky little things but my favourites are definitely those based on plectrums for the guitar.

I also discovered that if you sign into etsy on your birthday - the bar at the top says 'Happy Birthday' to you! It certainly made me smile anyway.

Today I stumbled across two rather lovely websites full of nice things. Things which bring me dangerously close to parting with wads of cash!



First up is ModCloth which has a nice mix of retro and vintage clothing, as well as funky things to spruce up your living space. The Stitchable Stationery kit by Sublime Stitching and the Matryoska Russian Doll drinking game definitely caught my eye.



The other website I happened to trip over is Shana Logic. It has some fabulously kitsch jewellery, cute clothing, quirky art prints and even some squeezably soft plush things. Like this sweet Geisha cushion.

Wishful Thinking

Lately I've been thinking about some of the things I would like for my birthday (it's fast approaching, as it's in early July!) and somehow, it always comes back to the same, or similar things....I am of course referring to my knitting habit.

Naturally this is not necessarily a bad thing - and here are some wonderful reasons why. May I present to you - drumroll please - my wish list!

To start this off, I always seem to go back to my two favourite yarn shops on etsy for inspiration.

First are the creations of Veronika, aka Snowberrylime (great name). There are some to-die-for handspun yarns in her shop, including this one.



It's a beautiful silk and merino blend and the photograph just makes me want to reach out and squish it. I suppose it's a tactile-impulse thing, I can't help it! :)

A little closer to home, Sheffield-based Shunklies offers a truly delectable idea. Namely 'design your own yarn' and she will spin it for you. What more could a knitter ask for?



See shunklies.etsy.com for more goodies.

If you're knitting, well, then I suppose you'll be requiring a set of sticks. I found these today...I think they're fab!



Kitsch and colourful, this pair of acrylic knitting needles is handmade by annetastic.etsy.com.

I also love these candy cane stripe handpainted pins by arachknits.etsy.com.



What better way to finish off a gorgeous knit than some of the lovely unique buttons designed and handmade by Laura Walker. I particularly love this one, it's such pretty colours and the lacy surface patterning is to die for, if you love lace as much as I do.



Visit Laura's etsy shop here: veronicabuttons.etsy.com.

For the love of Print

When reading through the Poppytalk blog recently, I stumbled across this post in which I couldn't help but be captivated by Katie Muth's gorgeous lino cut printed cards, which really caught my eye.

Needless to say, I loved them instantly and wanted to find out more. So I checked out Katie's website and I was not disappointed. As I'd been looking for a special Valentine's day card, I found just that - but couldn't buy just one card, so treated myself to one of her occasion card packs as well, covering various different greeting needs. I have to say I was impressed because not only are they lovely, they also arrived v quickly all the way from Toronto!



The cake one looks a bit like the lovely chocolate cake my folks and I have been demolishing this evening, in celebration of my mother's birthday! :)

Oh! I also finished my mittens, which makes me a very very happy bunny, not to mention one with much warmer, nay, toasty fingers. Soft, cosy and stripy. Just the way I like 'em.