baby, you can drive my car

i had my first ever driving lesson on monday, eek.

it was quite the experience, even though i couldn't actually retain any of the information my instructor gave me. steering wheel, what's that again?

but yes, it was actually pretty good once i got over my nerves & that! my instructor guy (jeff) seems pretty cool, he even complimented me on my footwear choice, woo! (topshop floral trainers all the way man.)

 i have another one on friday which i'm sorrrt of excited about, but also slightly scared.

*insert scared, yet mildly excited scream here*

i didn't really want to leave this post utterly pictureless, so here are some (crappy webcam) pictures of how i wore my hair the other day.

*please excuse the strange noseness*

i've been trying to think of ways to wear the vintage scarves i posted about a while ago, & i finally figured out a nice way to tie my hair up with them!

sorry these are only rubbishy webcam photos, i'm currently getting very annoyed because the stupid camera fixing people still have my stupid broken camera which they have had for two weeks & have apparently "forgotten" to fix. question; how can you forget to fix something when it's your freaking job?! anyway, this means i still can't take any photos to put on here, which is getting beyond irritating!

hopefully next time we speak i shall have a fully functioning camera, either that or i'll have stolen mother's camera (but i hate using hers as you can't take the flash off!).

be bop a lula

last week, i posted about a photoshoot myself & a friend helped out with for dolls & molls jewellery - which you can see here. well, maxine (the model from the shoot) also makes jewellery & a few weeks later she asked my friend if she'd take some photographs for her (& i was invited along to help out!).

the shoot was for little miss delicious & if you like any of the jewellery you can see more at her website or on her etsy store. you can also follow her blog, or join the facebook group if you fancy. yes, i know i'm bombarding you with links, but i'm just trying to get all the info out there!

so, without further ado, here are a few choice pictures from the shoot;

strawberry necklace

chocolate earring studs

sushi charm bracelet

yummy popart necklace

happy pancake necklace

once bitten chocolate earrings

chocoholic charm bracelet

we carried out the shoot in stateside diner, a 50s americana themed diner near to central station in newcastle. i love this place, it's just the cutest thing ever & plays the most amazing music! i think the jewelley fitted in very well here, with the food theme & everything (:

this is one of my favourite shots!

yummy pop tart necklace

oreo cookie necklace

happy strawberry necklace

chocolate swirl ring

chocolate swirl ring

cupcake cameo brooch

pastel donut charm bracelet

i've tried to link to the jewellery in the photograph where i can, but everything is individually handmade so the stock is pretty limited edition! i think most of the jewellery pictured is moulded from clay, but she also makes plushies & sewn badges which are adorable! she adds new stock quite a lot, in fact she's just made a new hallowe'en collection in time for october 31st.

doing these photoshoots has made me think a bit more about what i want to do with my life, & how i want to set up my jewellery business. but yeah, more on that later hopefully.

sorry i've been a bit lax blogging recently, i actually do have a fair few things to blog about but without a camera that just isn't getting done sadly. as soon as i have it back, & have posted about all those things, i'll get the giveaway sorted (:

*

ps. i hope you like the new layout!

breaking rocks in the hot sun

seeing as my camera is out of my hands for the next two weeks (it's away getting fixed, hopefully), i'm posting about things that aren't really about me. i have quite a few posts scheduled with things you may like (more things like the dolls & molls shoot :) that aren't to do with my ugly mug for a change, so you may now all cheer.

one of my favourite things ever is music, which i actually rarely post about here! now, i know everrrryone says that they love music, but i am extremely into music history. i collect LPs & EPs & listen to them on my record player, i buy music magazines at regular intervals (& not nme, because it's a ridiculous pile of so-called "indie" propaganda) & often buy old issues from ebay. i hate buying best of compilations because i feel like i'm missing out on an artist's progression. i like to think i know quite a lot about the history of music, although i do try not to be too much in people's faces about it! i get extremely possessive & argumentative over my favourite artists, & will argue their case to the death.

basically, i spend huge amounts of money on music, & after receiving one of my periodical emails from lazy oaf i've been wondering if i should push the boat out & spend a little more on these lovely things.

these headphones may be the most lovely thing i've ever seen. i think i'm in love.

they are £25 from lazy oaf & they also come in black, blue & white.

these are for sure going on my christmas list.

and, because i realise otherwise this may be bit of a non-post, i've made a little list of songs for you all to listen to - hope you enjoy (:

i fought the law - the clash

sheila take a bow - the smiths

brand new shoes - she & him

hope - jack johnson

man in a shed - nick drake

instant karma - john lennon

can i get a witness - marvin gaye

where you lead - carole king

alas i cannot swim - laura marling

norwegian wood - the beatles.

*

que sera sera

i have received a couple of awards recently, which i am very very grateful for!

the first comes from harlow darling over at elegantly wasted, & involves me listing my ten favourite things;
*

one; the beatles. specifically black & white photos of them from the help era.
two; planning my outfit for the midnight showing of harry potter & the deathly hallows. luna lovegood glasses & a lion hat, you shall be mine.
three. album art on all my itunes albums.
four. getting a question right on university challenge, especially in the celebrity mugshots round.
five. the thought of a trip away with all of my friends next summer.
six. flight of the conchords
seven. doing a scouse accent all day for no reason at all.
eight. drawing things with oil pastels because i am a child.
nine. vincent van gogh's self portraits.
ten. making fun of the illustrations in physics & chemistry textbooks.
apparently i have to pass this on to ten blogs, but to be frank i actually think it's better when you only give it to one or two, so i'd like to pass this on to kayla hadlington, because she's kind of amazing.
*
i also have another award from a blackbird in a cherry tree - so thank you very much also!
for this one, i have to sum up my bloggind philosophy in five words;
i write about pretty things.
& pass this on to another blog (actually ten, but you can see above for why that isn't happening), & for that i would like to choose kat from sequin buttons because she is really lovely & finds the most amaaazing things at charity shops.

sweet bird of paradox

warning; many images & extreme lovelyness ahead.

*

remember that surprise i told you i had, the one which i never posted about? well, slap me on the wrist because i'm a terrible blogger, but not before i - finally - reveal said "surprise".

since february of this year, i have been doing on & off work experience with emily, a friend of my mother's who makes & sells her own jewellery. for a while, she's been wanting to get some sort of lookbook together for her jewellery range, so she asked me & a friend of mine to help her. we planned this for a few weeks, deciding on what kind of look to go for, & where to take the pictures. emily's jewellery has a very quirky, vintage feel to it, so we thought a fairytale/woodland type shoot would suit it the best. the model emily chose was also perfect, she's very 40s-50s with her make-up, & she was lovely! oh, & she has some pretty kick ass tattoos.

you can find emily on her website or her etsy store, or you can join her facebook group or follow her on twitter - which i advise you to do as a lot of the time she'll give out exclusive offer codes, or details for where she'll be selling next (:

so, without further ado, here is the result of our little shoot for dolls and molls;

see what i mean about the tattoos? i'll try & put a link to each item of jewellery where i can, but i think emily has now sold out on these as i can't find them on her website.

pretty leather hair bow

tell me the time

swan lake

so charming

coral reef

through the looking glass

afternoon tea

feathered friends

english rose

i hope you enjoyed those, & they were worth the wait! this isn't all of the photographs, so if you'd like you can see more on emily's facebook page (link above).

most of emily's jewellery is made with vintage or reclaimed pieces, which means every item is a complete original. i think i shall be doing some more work experience with her later this year, mostly hands-on how to  make the jewellery kind of stuff, which i shall update you all with.

also, my friend joanna who took the photographs has a tumblr which you are all very welcome to check out here, she posts quite a few of her own photographs.

adieu my dears.

viva la vida (or death and all his friends)

holaaa! as you can see, i have now returned from spain!

i must apologised for the slightly delayed post (i arrived back on saturday), there was a bit of a water/laptop incident but it's all sorted now!

thank you for all the lovely comments while i was away, i shall reply to all of the soon & wrap up the giveaway post soon! unfortunately, my camera got a bit of sand in the lens while i was on holiday & doesn't work any more (although i'm getting it fixed tonight!) so sadly new photographs on my posts might be a bit thin on the ground from here on in. not to worry though, i have plenty of things to post about anyway! beginning with a few holiday snaps that i was able to take;

the view from our little residence

our friend the gecko.

the underground caves we visited one day.

we also visited the pablo picasso museum in malaga while we were there, which was really amazing. i'm not a huge fan of picasso's work, but i respect him huge amounts. there were quite a few sketches of his that i found very interesting, because he could actually draw. i know that sounds a bit silly, but i didn't realise how good he was at just drawing - i mean, you'd never guess from his paintings that he could recreate the human form so well. i managed to spend nearly 8 euros on postcards of his work!

tomorrow is my first day back at school & i haven't done all the work i was supposed to, eek! goodbye until next time (: