Thursday 31 January 2013

liebster award


I received the 'liebster' blog award from Evdokia who is the owner of 'have a kookie' blog. Thank you E. So firstly I must tell you 11 random things about myself, followed by answering the 11 questions Evdokia asked me and then finally I must pass this on to 11 blogs that I follow that have less than 300 followers, with 11 questions of my own, so here goes.

Bits about me


  • one of my toes is bent a different way from the other toes and I blame my mum
  • I always sing in the shower and it often ends up me singing the same three songs, Mr Sandman, Baby mine from dumbo and or Que Sera Sera sometimes songs by Mirah or NIna Nastasia pop up every now and again oh and Dusty Springfields 'The windmills of your mind'
  • Every single Wes Anderson film is amazing
  • I was an East 17 girl not a take that one
  • Sometimes I stay in bed until 12
  • I wish I was in a band sometimes
  • I love to eat crisps
  • I eat too many crisps
  • the sound of leaves crunching under my feet in autumn is a favourite
  • I've found the person I will grow old with
  • I really enjoy making popcorn but always get the kernels stuck in my teeth

Questions from Evdokia

1. day or night?    Day and night? Can I put that? I enjoy both equally for different reasons, day is good for beautiful walks and night is great for films,food,wine and cosiness.

2. the song that makes you feel good.  this song

3. big city or small town? small town, I have lived in a few big cities and enjoyed my time there very much but now I prefer more rural areas and familiar faces

4. if you could choose your name which one would it be? Rocky

5. your favorite animal? snow leopard 

6. round, triangle or square? tricky one, I guess square is what I use post, I like framing something, but I do love circles on clothing and triangles for jewellery.

7. which was the last movie you saw? this one and it was beautiful 

8. your favorite smell. I enjoy smelling my partners neck when we hug, it's familiar and comforting

9. a cup of tea or a cup of coffee? tea always, from a pot preferably 

10. first thing to do in the morning. feed my kitten

11. first thought comes to your head. was checking whether feeding my kitten was the first thing I did, and realised putting the heating on is the first thing at the moment because it's so cold, then feed kitten.

The blogs I choose not including yours Evdokia, but I would choose yours if you hadn't sent it to me;

Lucy
Natalie
Saida b
Alchemy
Satsuma-satsuma
Ivan
Lisa


more than 11 but some rules are there to be broken


My 11 questions to you are

1. Have you tasted snow?

2. What was the last thing you ate that you had cooked?

3. Would you rather work on a farm or in a factory?

4. What memory do you have about one of you teeth falling out?

5. What couldn't you live without?

6. Three songs you like?

7. Film you think everyone should watch?

8. Food staple?

9. Favourite smoothie combination?

10. trousers or dresses?

11. flowers or plants? 

I look forward to seeing your responses, thanks again Evdokia xxo 



Friday 25 January 2013

looking back


I've been looking back at the work I created for my the final year of my degree, it's nice to look back and to see how you have changed and progressed in your practice, and to see the similarities












Hammering


a hammer and a leaf results in beautiful prints and if you iron them the print stays 

















Veg-box and cheese on toast


our organic veg-box came which has some great things in, looking forward to making supper tonight, cheese on toast today for lunch 






Sashiko inspired mending


I'm not opposed to a hole in the knee of my jeans in a Jordan Catalano kind of way, but I wanted to have a go at some Sashiko stitch mending and this is how it went. I have them on now, no longer just my summer jeans, I can wear them when it's cold too as no breeze anymore.

I first heard of Sashiko when I stumbled upon Cocos blog, I realised I had seen this form of stitching before but I did not know what it was called or anything about it. I have since begun research into Sashiko and it's origins and have also discovered there are many artists who work in the realms of Sashiko making the most beautiful items.

I will be spending more time discovering Sashiko and will keep you updated on my findings xxo 







Wednesday 23 January 2013

flowers



how is this year so far for you? going fast no? i feel busy

below is a posy i made today 




it's still snowing


these were all taken at the grounds where I study




















Sunday 20 January 2013

'Mitsuko Delivers'

just watched this film, it is excellent, ends quite abruptly, leaves you wanting more and becomes progressively more surreal,  a really uplifting film

Puy lentil salad


Puy lentils with carrot, lemon juice, toasted mustard seed, spring onion, red cabbage with a pinch of salt, pepper and sugar 






Saturday 19 January 2013

French knit necklace

I finished the necklace I was making using the French knitting doll, or spool knitting some people know it as, a bright red and simple piece of statement jewellery, I think I shall make some more xxo






Friday 18 January 2013

The Quik Maximilian




snow, french knitting, food


The snow has arrived and we took a very quick visit to the sea because it was incredibly cold couldn't have stayed long.

Conker isn't quite sure what snow is!

I french knitted myself a necklace today, very enjoyable

Beef stroganoff and matchstick potatoes made using a Rick Stein recipe

Watercress, pea and spinach soup (the spinach is from the allotment, I froze it in little bags when it was plentiful)

















Thursday 17 January 2013

dymo label maker





i've had this quite a few years and never tire of it, comes in handy for so many creative ideas, all the jars with pasta and flour and the like in are on a shelf in the kitchen and labelled using the dymo label maker.

the brooch was a gift from my friend George, not sure who made it, shall find out xxo

season cravings - winter











what we've been eating lately,

chicken broth which I made from Sophie Dahl's 'soul soothing chicken' recipe, I have made it many times now and consider it the way I will make broth forever, it is delicious and the roast potatoes are made using the fat from roasting the chicken, it really is 'soul soothing chicken', if i know i'm going to make this I feel giddy all day

bubble and squeak with bacon in and red wine and onion gravy, the best recipe for using up everything that needs to be eaten soon or will be wasted, I love it and it's a great form of comfort

mushrooms with a stilton sauce and crusty bread for dipping, delicious, we received a lot of cheese as our christmas present and we are working our way through it nicely

we crave for the seasons, at the moment all I want to eat is comfort and warmth


Friday 11 January 2013

Paintings and veg-box

Done another watercolour of one the hand ties I  made, really enjoying doing these paintings, I'd quite like to have a go at doing someones wedding bouquet, if anyone has a good photograph of a bouquet from any occasion and they'd like me to draw and paint it for them leave a comment or email me on helensarahvaughan@googlemail.com.

My veg-box arrived, we get one once a fortnight, I absolutely love it, always a surprise what's going to be in it and then you can be creative with the dishes you make using the ingredients.

It's Friday!! Happy weekend to you all xxo 







Thursday 10 January 2013

Flower Mosaic

Flower Mosaic


made my first gif, it's of the flower mosaic I made in the community allotment over summer

Sunday 6 January 2013