make do and mend

Film Friday: Incendies

2012-01-27T08:30:00.000Z

I hadn't heard of this film until Kate recommended it to me. Incendies is a film set in the Middle East, about a brother and sister who are sent on a journey to discover their past, in order to fulfill their mother's last wishes. It reminded me a little of the Kite Runner, which had similar themes. Parts of this film moved me to tears, and although some scenes were upsetting to watch the story was gripping and there is a twist at the end which I didn't expect.

The last time I used a Satnav.

2012-01-26T21:34:00.000Z

I was looking through some old sketchbooks the other night and came across this little comic i drew in 2009 about driving through rural Lincolnshire at night using a Satnav to guide me. Sorry it's a little rough, i thought I'd share it anyway, if anyone's had a similar experience let me know!

January Photo a Day - Part 4

2012-01-26T20:17:00.000Z

I have to admit I have struggled a bit with some of these, the dark January evenings have made it rather tough to get nice photos but here's part 4 of the photo challenge!

16. Morning

17. Water

18. Something you bought

19. Sweet

(Yes i still have Christmas coins left over!)

20. Someone you love

Something to brighten up a grey Wednesday

2012-01-25T08:13:00.004Z

This art installation really brightened my morning. Thanks to hula seventy for the link.

Kodak Moments

2012-01-20T18:03:00.000Z

Today I read that Kodak has filed for bankruptcy. Quite sad really considering the historical impact Eastman-Kodak had on photography and the film industry. It seems they just couldn't keep up with the way digital photography has taken over. In tribute I thought it'd be nice to share some photos of historical Kodak moments from the past 130 years. You can see more here.

1895: A woman holds an early Kodak camera which was sold with the film already loaded. The entire camera was returned to the factory for film processing

An advert from 1900

Film Friday: Adventureland

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000Z

As it was available on iPlayer I decided to give Adventureland another watch. In case you didn't see it when it came out, the film stars Jesse Eisenberg as a high school graduate who needs a summer job, so applies to the local theme park. He then meets Kristen Stewart's character and learns a lot about life, love and how to win at fairground rides. As the film is set in 1987 it means there is a brilliant soundtrack along with it.

The Chromatic Typewriter

2012-01-17T20:11:00.000Z

I just stumbled across these images via narry likes and thought I'd share them with any other typewriter fans out there! Painter Tyree Callaghan modified this 1937 typewriter, replacing the letters and keys with colour pads, the idea being that when you type it produces paintings instead of letters. Not sure how practical this is but it sure is pretty!

January Photo a Day - Part 3

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000Z

11. Where you sleep

12. Close-up

13. In your bag

14. Something you're reading

15. Happiness

This Thursday!

2012-01-16T17:32:00.005Z

Tom's band Nordenfelt will be playing an acoustic set at Jumpers for Goalposts this Thursday evening. It's a monthly night held at the Alley Cafe here in Nottingham.

The idea of the night is that there will be live music and everyone will take part in a creative competition. Tom has been working on a set of comics (the front page of which is above!) which will be handed out to the first twenty guests. I'm looking forward to it!

January Photo a Day - Part 2

2012-01-15T18:54:00.000Z

6. Makes you smile

7. Favourite

8. Your sky

9. Daily Routine

10. Childhood

Heroes of Film #1 - River Phoenix

2012-01-15T14:49:00.000Z

In order to improve my drawing skills, this month I decided to draw a few of my favourite actors, starting with one I admired growing up, River Phoenix. Phoenix starred in one of my favourite films of the 80s, Stand By Me. He seemed to have a talent beyond his years and it was a shame that his career came to an end so early. If anyone can recommend any other of his films do let me know.

January Photo a Day - Part 1

2012-01-14T14:32:00.000Z

I'm a bit late in starting this one but after seeing Bianca's photos I decided to play along too! (Which meant taking half the month's photos in one weekend, oops!)

1. You

2. Breakfast

3. Something you adore

4. Letterbox

5. Something you wore

Film Friday: The Artist

2012-01-13T08:00:00.002Z

Last weekend I went to watch the much anticipated new film, The Artist. It's been in the news a bit this week due to one of it's stars, a little dog called Uggie. I have to admit Uggie's skills were very impressive indeed! As was the whole film - set in the 1920s, this is a silent movie about a struggling film star who doesn't want to lower himself by starring in 'talkies'. The film itself has only music on its soundtrack but still manages to keep you involved throughout the story. I really enjoyed The Artist, (and boy did I want Peppy Miller's outfits) it was a very good film to start off the new year!

** p.s. new Wes Anderson film trailer alert! It has a treehouse, a dog, a record player and Bill Murray in it. Yahoo.

My website is up!

2012-01-12T17:47:00.003Z

My lovely friend Sarah has been busy making a portfolio site to showcase some of my illustration, design and photography work, check it out here! Any feedback always welcome.

Just a minute - January

2012-01-11T21:45:00.003Z

Currently...

watching old top of the pops episodes (ok i do quite miss it)

listening to nirvana - incesticide (this song has been cheering me up on my boring commute)

eating leftover chocolate pudding, oh yeah

planning places to visit this year (scotland, croatia, scandinavia, brighton.. the list goes on!)

looking forward to tom's gig next week, visiting friends at weekends (and more chocolate pudding)

Time trades

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000Z

Just thought I'd share this song, from the new album by Jeffrey Lewis. It's a really nice song to listen to when if you think you've been wasting time and you want to encourage your creative side.

Dragonflies: The final comic

2012-01-10T18:20:00.003Z

This month I finished colouring the comic I gave to my grandmother documenting the years she spent in her old house before she moved, here is the final version. I really want to illustrate more true stories like this one this year. Just working on ideas!

January, lately

2012-01-09T20:32:00.000Z

January has never been my favourite month, it's always a bit dark and gloomy after Christmas. However I've been getting through the post holiday period by staying in, making nice homely food and watching lots of films. Had a perfect relaxing Sunday going swimming followed by a game of Scrabble and some warm soup and bread. It's what the winter was made for.

Goat's Cheese tart - recipe here

Film Friday: Once

2012-01-06T08:30:00.001Z

I'm not quite sure why it took me a few years to get round to watching this film. Once is the story of a busker in Dublin who meets a big issue seller who persuades him to fix her vacuum cleaner. When he hears her play piano he can't take his eyes off her and they spend a week together making music.

It is a short but sweet film, apparently 60% of which is just music, so it could perhaps be seen as a modern-day musical. However the only thing I found whilst watching was that the songs didn't seem to grow on me and some seemed perhaps a little overblown. Did anyone else find this too?

Favourite Graphic Novels of 2011

2012-01-03T19:58:00.002Z

{image above by craig thompson}

I've been enjoying reading other people's summaries of their favourite reads of 2011 so I thought I'd do a little post on some graphic novels I've enjoyed this year. I'm not very good at sticking to most fictional novels and often start books without finishing them. But I seem find reading graphic novels a whole lot easier these days!

Here's a few I enjoyed reading last year.

Habibi by Craig Thompson

Tom and I were both eagerly awaiting Thompson's latest graphic novel, which took him six years to complete. When you see the book you can understand why - each page is so intricately detailed, it really is an amazing piece of art. The story is set in the Middle East and revolves around a young girl, Dodola who is sold into slavery by her parents as a child. She meets Zam and forms a deep friendship with him. If you enjoyed Blankets you should definitely read Habibi, it is a truly beautiful book.

Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs

Although it didn't come out last year I read Ethel & Ernest for the first time and found it ever so moving. It is the story of Briggs' parents, from their first meeting to their marriage and lives together in old age. This book definitely helped inspire me when writing the comic for my grandmother last year.

Paying for It by Chester Brown

A rather different subject matter here, this autobiographical graphic novel is all about Brown's experience with prostitution. After his girlfriend leaves him for another man (both of whom Brown strangely chooses to live with for a long while afterwards) he decides that relationships aren't for him and starts to browse the personal ads section. I wasn't sure what to feel when I began reading but it was definitely an eye opener and a very honest account of what goes on in the world of prostitution.

Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz

I bought this book in Chicago and it was a fun read on my journey home. Julia Wertz is the slightly sarcastic author of Fart Party, and her first graphic novel details her move from San Francisco to New York. A funny memoir of losing jobs and drinking heavily, my only complaint was the chapters did seem a little similar after a while but I love hearing tales from different cities and Wertz makes for a very entertaining author.

How to Make a Totoro iPod Case

2012-01-01T13:30:00.001Z

For Tom's Christmas present I thought I'd make a little case for his iPod (it's the same size as an iPhone I think so this would work well for those too!)

It's pretty simple, all you'll need is:

White & grey felt and blue felt for the back

Needle & thread (black and white)

Scissors

Sticky velcro pieces (optional)

Firstly measure out your iPod/iPhone/MP3 device. I initially measured mine out too small in the sketch above, and had to re-do it to allow for a bit of room round the edge.

For an iPod touch the final measurements I used were: 8.2cm wide by 14.5cm deep (including the room for ears!) for the grey piece and 8.2cm x 12.5cm for the blue fabric on the back. Draw a rectangle this size onto both the grey and blue fabric. On the grey piece (front) cut out some ears at the top (about 1.5 cm deep).

Next cut out 2 white circles for the eyes and a big one for the tummy. Sew these onto the front along with the nose, mouth and whiskers. I used a black pen to do the dots for the eyes! Now sew the front to the back using blanket stitch. Finally if you want to secure the top just use a piece of sticky-back velcro. You're done! (Note, felt isn't the strongest fabric so you may want to use something a bit more hard wearing if your iPod gets a lot of rough & tumble!)

Film Friday: Favourites of 2011

2011-12-30T17:50:00.000Z

As it's the last Friday of the year I decided to round up my favourite films I saw this year. They are, drum roll please..

Did I miss out any good ones? Have a lovely new year folks! x

Monsters & Cluedo

2011-12-29T14:05:00.003Z

Hello and how was your Christmas? Just wanted to share my Christmas present from Tom. He made me this amazing little animation, do take a look as it is really sweet and very much worth a few minutes of your day! It involves a scary monster! Handmade presents are definitely best. xx

Highlights of 2011

2011-12-26T09:58:00.000Z

Well, another year is coming to a close, which is a good excuse to look back through the photo archives and pick out a few nice things from the past twelve months. In February I moved into the Convent with Tom. Since then we've enjoyed making it into our home and throwing a few parties in the adjoining Chapel to boot. Also this year I visited friends in Chicago for the first time, went on a rainy but fun camping trip to Wales, helped my Nan move house and met up with other nice bloggers at the London Craftacular. I hope next year brings more fun travels and the chance to meet up with other bloggers out there too.

Thanks for reading and have a very happy new year all! x Laura

January - taking Baby Blue for a tour of Nottingham

February - moving day takes its toll on Tom

March - pancake time!

April - learning to fly in Anglesey

May - getting the Chapel ready for my birthday party

June - A walk with my Aunt & Dad near my Nan's house just before she moved

July - Lighting lanterns at Tom & Ollie's annual shimmy in the shire

August- Skimming stones on the Blue Lake, Wales

September - Tom's first gig with his band, Nordenfelt

October - We visited friends in Chicago

November- Showing my Nan the comic I made for her birthday

December - Merry Christmas one & all!

Merry Christmas time! x

2011-12-25T08:30:00.002Z

Film Friday: It's a Wonderful Life

2011-12-23T07:56:00.000Z

Well what better film to watch the night before Christmas Eve? Tom has never seen it so I won't spoil it for him (though I think he has seen a lot of clips over the years, this must be the most common film to be referenced in other things!). I love James Stewart and this is of course one of his greatest roles.

8 Singers of Christmas

2011-12-22T18:48:00.000Z

My illustration, above, is up on the ace Amelia's Magazine today accompanying an article featuring Amelia's favourite Christmas albums of 2011, go check it out! I quite fancy getting hold of the 'For Folk's Sake' album, it sounds really good.

Today i dug out my Sufjan Stevens boxset though which always makes it feel like Christmas, this song being a favourite. What's your favourite Christmas album to listen to this time of year?

Rocking around the Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T21:03:00.000Z

Well we're all festived up here in our corner of the Convent. We've got the tree decorated as you can see in the slightly manic animation below! And we've made our way through quite a few Christmas films already (home alone, jingle all the way, national lampoon's christmas vacation, bad santa, scott pilgrim- not strictly christmassy but features a lot of snow!) and a few TV specials (the office, simpsons, seinfeld).

Apart from that these past few weeks have been pretty darn busy with Christmas shopping, birthdays and other events and I'm more than ready to just relax for a few days over the Christmas break. Not long to go now!

Messing around with the zoom!

Getting a bit excited dancing around our tree!

Film Friday: Bad Santa

2011-12-16T08:13:00.000Z

Watched this for the first time recently and really enjoyed it! Bad Santa is a comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton who poses as an in-store Santa in order to plan a massive robbery in the mall on Christmas Day. This film isn't really aimed at kids, as Santa swears a lot, drink a lot and er, likes women a lot too. But when he meets a misfit kid, who gets bullied on the way to school he starts to change his priorities. Well, a little bit anyway.

A Portrait

2011-12-14T08:00:00.001Z

Kate was the lucky winner of my recent giveaway. I drew this portrait of her and Thom and posted it out to her earlier in the week. They make a very sweet couple so it was fun to draw.

If you would like a similar portrait of you or a loved one just drop me an email to missmillward at gmail.com for more information!

Laura x

O Christmas Tree

2011-12-12T18:53:00.000Z

On Saturday we bought a tree for the flat, here is a quick little comic I drew about it (although i come across as a bit whiny, poor Tom!). (Also, apologies for the lack of a proper ending!) You can see how happy we were about it in the picture above! Although the tree is quite small it's potted so we can plant it afterwards and it will hopefully grow over the years.

Winter meals

2011-12-11T15:20:00.000Z

Lately we've had a few nice wintery meals I thought I'd share here. (I've realised 3 out of 4 inolve cheese though, I seem to find it hard to cook without it!)

Macaroni Cheese

Yesterday I made Macaroni Cheese from this recipe and it was delicious! For some reason around Christmas we tend to cook this, it's becoming something of a tradition!

Welsh Rarebit

Love a little bit of Welsh Rarebit for lunch. In case you've never tried it (not sure if this recipe is popular outside the UK?) it's toast topped with a mixture of cheese, egg and Worcestershire Sauce.

Chunky Winter Broth

Tom made this last week and it was a healthy and tasty winter's meal. (Someone in the comments suggested adding pasta which I think would make it a bit more filling as it seemed quite watery at first!)

Potato Dauphinoise

I've wanted to try this for a while, it was a lovely way of using potatoes without resorting to the usual mash/roast combinations. Yummy! Here's the recipe I used.

Film Friday: 50/50

2011-12-09T08:00:00.001Z

This week I went to watch a new film, 50/50, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young man called Adam who is diagnosed with serious cancer of the spine and given a 50% chance of survival. It is a story based upon the true life experiences of writer Will Reiser, a good friend of Seth Rogen who plays Adam's best friend in the film.

I was a little worried that the film would be upsetting, and it was. But along with the harrowing moments of watching Adam struggle with his illness there are moments of laughter and comedy too. Overall it's a story about friendship and survival through tough times. I thought the acting was really good and I would really recommend it. Has anyone else seen it yet? What did you think?

What's on your bookshelf?

2011-12-05T21:07:00.000Z

Back in May I started a series of posts documenting what lies on our huge bookshelves (do you see tom in the picture above? He's busy recording music in his music cupboard!).

A few lovely readers joined in too, and I thought it would be nice to bring the series back for the winter. So here is another shelf from our cabinet, this time containing things I got from my grandmother's house when we were having a clear out when she moved a few months ago. She had to give away quite a lot of books but luckily I rescued a few favourites that needed to be kept.

1 A photo of my grandmother on her 21st birthday, isn't she pretty?

2 Old Ladybird books

3 I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - this was recommended to me by my grandmother and I remember reading it when I was younger and really enjoying it. It's now one of my favourite books.

4 Swallows & Amazons Series by Arthur Ransome. I loved these stories as a kid and as an adult I think the book covers are so beautiful, they definitely add to the books' charm. These copies belonged to my mother who passed away when I was a teenager. I hope to one day pass them down to someone who appreciates them as much as I do.

5 Painted stones. These were painted by my mum, there is quite a collection of bits and bobs she created. She was brilliant at art and hopefully I inherited a bit of her creativity too.

***

Would you like to contribute to the bookshelf series? If so just leave me a comment or email.

Lovely things I spotted recently...

2011-12-03T17:52:00.004Z

Dancer peg-dolls, spotted on She Draws

How to make glittery Christmas banners via Katie's Pencil Box

Is it too late to make an advent calendar? This one is made by petit pot

Hand stamped gift wrap, via design sponge

I'd really like to try this watercolour lettering, how pretty? via apartment therapy

365 Lucky Days

2011-12-02T16:50:00.000Z

I just discovered the blog of Lucky Jackson who is creating a hand made embroidery every day for a year. Each week has a different theme (80s teen idol week is a personal fave) They are pretty amazing, see more on her blog here.

Film Friday: The Station Agent

2011-12-02T08:00:00.000Z

This little known film was recommended to me by Tom a while ago and when we saw it was available to watch in iPlayer I finally had chance to give it a watch. The Station Agent is about a man, born with dwarfism, whose friend has just died, leaving him with his house - a train depot in rural New Jersey. Although he craves solitude, he can't seem to avoid bumping into several friendly characters who live nearby - a hot dog vendor, an artist and a librarian (played by Michelle Williams). I'd definitely recommend searching out this film if you haven't already seen it, it is a very simple yet sweet story with some really moving and funny moments too.

Giveaway Winner!

2011-12-01T19:13:00.004Z

And the winner of the giveaway is... person number 6 to have commented - ThatKate! Hurray, I will drop you an email soon Kate.

(And if anyone wondered what the top Christmas films were, I totted them up and Home Alone and Nightmare Before Christmas both came out on top! Good choices!)

The Bust Christmas Craftacular

2011-11-29T18:46:00.001Z

On Sunday I attended my third Bust Craftacular, held at a venue in Bethnal Green, East London. I also had the opportunity to meet some fellow bloggers; Adeline came to meet me and was (as expected!) lovely in person, and it was also really nice to bump into London-based bloggers Jess & Siobhan.

Adeline with her Diana Mini!

Hand illustrated plates by jim bob art, i loved these!

There was so much hand-made prettiness on show, we had to do a few loops round just to let it all sink in! But in the end I bought a couple of Christmas presents for people and a nice handmade necklace for myself. As we entered the hall we noticed a huge queue stretching round the venue. When I had a peek at the front it was popular illustrator Rob Ryan, selling signed screen prints for the bargain price of £5. I couldn't resist joining the queue and am now proud owner of one myself. It was a lovely day and I'm already looking forward to the next Craftacular in the summer.

My print - it's huuuge!

Making Peppermint Creams!

2011-11-28T18:18:00.002Z

Last Friday I invited two of my creative friends round for an evening of wine drinking and sweet making! Peppermint creams are one of the easiest recipes to make and can make good gifts for people in the festive season.

All you need is icing sugar (plenty of it!), peppermint essence, water (or cream for a nicer taste) and anything else you fancy to decorate them with. We used melted dark chocolate (made them taste a little like After Eights!) and glitter icing. You can find lots of recipes on the web, my only suggestion may be to curtail the wine drinking until after they are made so you don't end up with slightly oddly shaped sweets as we did! Still, we really enjoyed playing with glitter icing and it made for a very fun evening in!

300 Followers Giveaway!

2011-11-26T12:20:00.001Z

I'm so happy I've reached 300 followers I have decided to do a little giveaway to celebrate and to say thank you for reading!

What you could win: A hand drawn portrait of yourself or a loved one (like the self portrait I did above!) I did a portrait like this a while ago for lovely Adeline and you could win one too! I shall also throw in some other Christmassy goodies to go along with it. [How it works: You send me a photo which I then draw in ink and add colour digitally.]

To enter: ~~Just leave a comment below saying what your favourite Christmas film is (it'll help me with ideas for a future film night I am planning!) Oh and you must be a follower to enter!~~ This giveaway is now closed, time to pick the winner!

Once again thanks so much for reading!

Laura x

Film Friday: Mermaids

2011-11-25T08:00:00.000Z

Last week me and some friends had a little food & film night and decided to watch Mermaids, a 1990 film with a stellar cast (Cher, Winona Ryder, a young Christina Ricci and er Bob Hoskins! Who we decided basically is Danny DeVito...)

Mermaids is set in the 60s and of course includes the Cher hit, The Shoop Shoop song. The film focuses on the relationship between Cher and her daughters who are constantly made to uproot to a new town to suit their mother's whim. It was the first time I'd seen this film and I really enjoyed it, I love Winona Ryder's early films anyway and Christina Ricci's character was really cute. The end scene is really sweet as well.

Dream Boat

2011-11-24T21:15:00.001Z

One of my dreams for the future is packing everything up and moving on to a barge, sailing round the canals of Britain with Tom and a little dog for company! So when I saw pictures of the Book Barge it got me dreaming again. It's stocked full of new and second-hand fiction. Doesn't it look amazing? (Also it would be perfect for andrea's 'amazing bookshops round the world' series!) You can find out more on their blog here. Spotted via oh comely.

Just a minute - November

2011-11-22T19:32:00.000Z

[Just a minute is a meme first posted on august street, i thought it would be fun to play along too.]

Wearing... my slippers again, and a duvet - winter is here!

Reading... One Day by David Nicholls. I'm a bit late to the game on this one but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So far though the characters haven't really grown on me, should I keep reading? (*I am notoriously bad at finishing novels)

Listening... to Yo La Tengo, they seem to suit this time of year

Going... to the Bust Christmas Craftacular this Sunday. Anyone else going too? Would be good to meet up!

Eating... Halloumi. Went through a bit of a break but now am addicted again!

Watching... this documentary on Art in America and enjoying learning more about the paintings I saw in Chicago in October.

Guilty Pleasure Movies

2011-11-21T17:49:00.001Z

Recently I bought a DVD from the charity shop, I won't divulge the name of it for now (clue: it stars John Travolta and Bruce Willis, but it's not Pulp Fiction..) I'll just say I wasn't overly proud of my purchase. But it made me wonder what it is about some films that turns them into 'guilty pleasures'.

There are some films from childhood that I still love, and don't seem to cross over into 'guilty' territory. The Princess Bride, Big, My Girl and Home Alone are still brilliant, but others... (Turner & Hooch?) seem to fall into the guilty category. I remember as a kid my brother loved Mission Impossible and was dead proud of the fact he had watched it a whopping 32 times. But then tastes change over the years!

Maybe a good way of judging whether a film should be classed as a guilty pleasure would be how highly it's rated on IMDB. Anything less than a 6 doesn't seem too good... My Girl would scrape by with a 6.4, whereas Look Who's Talking (my guilty purchase) only gets 5.6. But I enjoyed it anyway! Another category would be the genre commonly known as 'chick flicks' - Dirty Dancing, Pretty Woman.. both pretty enjoyable still, I reckon! Sex & the City 2? The 3.9 score is about right.

Do you have any guilty pleasure films to add to the list? Or should we just be proud of all the films we enjoy?

Sunday Sunday

2011-11-20T17:55:00.004Z

The past couple of weekends I felt the urge to go some walks in the countryside and enjoy the colours of autumn. Last weekend it was Wollaton Park, a lovely warm Sunday spent jumping in leaves and spotting toadstools in the undergrowth. And today I took a trip with my friend Sim, in his beautiful old mini, to Attenborough Nature Reserve (which, despite popular belief is not named after Sir David!). It's been a very misty weekend but it made the lake look lovely and spooky. How was your weekend?

Tom dreams of owning a dog! One day...

Film Friday: Withnail & I

2011-11-18T08:00:00.001Z

Okay I admit, I have watched Withnail & I countless times but we thought it was due a rewatch. If you've never seen it, the film stars Richard E Grant as Withnail and Paul McGann as 'I', two out of work actors living in squalor in a London flat in 1969. They decide to try and escape to the countryside for a while and try some clean living (err, which also involves some heavy drinking). What they don't realise is that Withnail's Uncle Monty is about to pay them a visit. I love this film and each time I see it a new part makes me laugh. (Although I remember putting it on in my halls at uni and several males who had never seen the film looking rather uncomfortable during some of the scenes with Monty!) Oh and it has a brilliant soundtrack too.

[Stumbled upon the picture here where there are some other nice images from the film, including one of Ringo Starr dropping by the set!]

Bits of my living room

2011-11-16T17:01:00.000Z

Recently Tom decided to rearrange the living room to make it a bit more spacious, and we added a few new vintage items I thought I'd share. We picked up a vintage milk bottle from a flea market in Chicago (bargained down to $2!) which works well as a vase and last weekend bought a couple of old suitcases to match the one I had already, to pile up in the corner and store things inside.

NAE Workshop: African Storytelling

2011-11-15T17:30:00.000Z

On some weekends I volunteer at the New Art Exchange, a gallery in Forest Fields. Last Saturday I helped out at a family workshop run by Panya Banjonko, an artist who is extremely good at storytelling! The workshop eventually filled to around 30 people who were treated to a story about why the cat chases the rat (it's all to do with pineapples!) and afterwards given the chance to try on African clothing, play on drums and eventually make an African-style mask out of recycled materials. All the kids seemed to really enjoy it and afterwards there was a little show & tell about the masks they'd made. The workshops are all free of charge and great for families who live locally, see here for more information.

Camera Envy

2011-11-14T22:47:00.000Z

Since watching the Martin Scorsese documentary on George Harrison at the weekend I've been fascinated by the pictures of Astrid Kirchherr , then girlfriend of Stuart Sutcliffe before he sadly died aged just 21.

Astrid took many photographs of the Beatles at the time using a Rolleicord, a twin-lens camera which uses medium format film. After a bit of research I found that Lomo used to produce a similar camera called the Lubitel, which is now out of stock.

There were a few twin-lens cameras on ebay however. I would love to try medium format film but am not too sure how easy it is to use, has anyone else experimented with it? Either way I really want to take more black and white pictures so some films will be on my Christmas list this year!

Croissants in a can!

2011-11-14T08:00:00.001Z

Last week I saw an unusual item in the chilled section of the local supermarket; croissants in a can! Both Tom and I love croissants for breakfast so I thought I'd try it out this weekend. It's all so simple; the can splits open and out pops your dough which is handily perforated into triangles. You roll them up and bake for 10 mins and voila!

Verdict: Not quite the same taste as regular croissants and they come out a little small but despite this a very tasty treat to start the day! (Though i hope no French readers are horrified by the thought of canned croissants?)

My favourite tree

2011-11-13T17:42:00.004Z

A couple of years ago, on an autumn walk through Wollaton Park our friend James introduced us to this oak tree. Its trunk is huge and its branches stretch and twirl. Perfect for climbing, or if you're like me, sitting in a little cubby hole at its base, feeling very safe and taking in the autumn sunlight that surrounds. The tree is a little hidden away, meaning only the odd jogger or explorer will find it. My dad also has a favourite tree, in Melbourne, Derbyshire which he has photographed so many times over the years in different seasons.

Do any of you have a favourite tree?

Film Friday: Please Give

2011-11-11T08:00:00.000Z

I put this on my lovefilm ages ago and had forgotten about it since but I'm really glad I had chance to watch it finally. Please Give tells the stories of several characters who share the same apartment building in New York.

Two sisters are looking after their cranky grandmother who is reaching the end of her life. They keep bumping into a family who live in the same building who are waiting for the chance to expand their apartment into hers when she 'moves on.' I wasn't sure at the beginning but ended up really liking the characters in Please Give and it was a good film to watch on a dark Autumn evening.

A few fisheyes..

2011-11-09T18:21:00.003Z

Some fisheye photos taken in Chicago last month.

This record shop was cool, and reminded me a lot of the one in hi fidelity which sits vacant nearby.

Eating sweet potato fries in the Chicago Diner (meat free since '83!) yum.

The LomoKino

2011-11-08T18:00:00.001Z

Have any of you guys seen the latest Lomo camera, the LomoKino? It apparently uses 35mm film to make a short movie, by turning the crank at the side. Looks interesting! Read more here.

Mix CDs!

2011-11-07T18:19:00.001Z

A few months ago I asked if anyone fancied swapping mix cd's. I ended up swapping with three other bloggers who made the prettiest cd covers for their Autumn mixes which I thought I'd share here. [*Special shout out to my friend Tom who also made a lovely mix which I've recently been playing lots in my car!]

Gini made this amazing fold out cd cover, inside was the sweetest little booklet containing the tracklisting.

Another great mix from Sharni in Australia (from her Spring to my Autumn!)

And a super great cd from Nicola which makes me smile too!

Also wanted to include this crafty cover made by Bianca for me a few months ago!

Thanks musical peeps! I may sort out another cd swap sometime soon so watch this space.x

Sunday at my Grandma's

2011-11-07T17:44:00.006Z

Thanks so much to everyone who read and commented on the comic I drew for my Nan's birthday. I spent Saturday frantically colouring it in and yesterday finally gave it to her. She really enjoyed reading it, hurrah! She started talking about all the memories inside the comic and it was really lovely to hear. I have decided I must spend more time drawing and I'd love to start some similar projects inspired by people's memories.

Film Friday: Midnight in Paris

2011-11-04T19:00:00.000Z

I'd been waiting to watch this for some time as I think it came out in the US and Europe months ago, but I finally had chance to see it on the flight to Chicago.

Midnight in Paris is the latest film by Woody Allen, starring Owen Wilson who is engaged to a woman (played by Rachel McAdams who is not my favourite actress in the world..eep) who doesn't support him in his dreams to become a writer. He then fantasises about going back in time to the 20's when his favourite writers such as Hemingway and other great artists were living in Paris. I really enjoyed the flashback sequences and I could identify with the feeling that looking back things seemed a lot rosier, I've also been told I should be living in another era (the 50s maybe?!) when typewriters and jam making were still popular! Definitely one of the better Woody Allen films I've seen in the last few years.

Dragonflies: The Story of a House

2011-11-03T19:29:00.002Z

In September this year my grandmother moved out of the house she'd lived in since she first got married. I wanted to make something to document the years spent in this house, (which she named 'Dragonflies' after her favourite creatures that lived by the pond there). So I decided to draw a comic about the memories of Dragonflies, using a phone call to my Nan as a starting point. I am giving it to her for her birthday this weekend, I really hope she likes it. I still need to bind it and add colour, but here is the comic as it stands. It makes me sad thinking we'll never go back to the house but at the same time it's been really amazing to hear my Nan's memories and to document the great times we had there growing up. [If you have trouble reading it just click the image and you can view larger on flickr, sorry about that!]

Recipe Love: Blackberry and Apple Crumble

2011-11-01T18:06:00.003Z

Last month my dad told me he'd collected some fallen apples and ripe blackberries, so one Sunday I had an urge to make some blackberry & apple jam. However when I realised I lacked certain equipment for it (jars.. er, muslin..) I decided to plump for making crumble instead. The fruit turned a lovely shade of red whilst cooking and it felt great to use 'found' fruit rather than shop-bought.

The end result was delicious, I am still determined to make some jam when I find the time though! *We used this recipe for the fruit but improvised with the crumble as it didn't seem to make much!

Halloween in the Chapel

2011-10-31T08:00:00.001Z

Last night we celebrated Halloween with a group of friends dressed in terrifying outfits, inside the appropriate venue of the chapel (living in an ex-convent does have its advantages!). I decided I had to be a nun for the occasion, while Tom made a last minute mummy costume that turned out pretty well in the end!

We played musical statues to Thriller, passed the parcel and played a fun (but quite bizarre) game which involved making animal noises in the dark! My only regret was not having enough time for apple bobbing. There's always next year though eh? Happy Halloween folks x

The ghosts got a little melted!

Can you guess which movies these outfits are from?

Dear Photograph

2011-10-30T17:46:00.003Z

Dear Photograph is really worth a look - I've seen this idea before but this time people add messages to the photographs. I quite fancy doing my own. Seen via hula seventy.

Film Friday: The Craft

2011-10-28T08:07:00.000+01:00

I hadn't seen this film since I was a teenager so I decided it was the perfect time of year to invite some friends round, light some candles and watch the Craft once more. In case you managed to get through adolesence without seeing it and wanting to become Fairuza Balk, it centres around four friends who each decide to get their own back on those who anger them through various magic spells. (It was the first time Tom had seen it and his review went along the lines of "try harder next time," so maybe one to watch for the memories rather than for the first time!)

After this we watched the Halloween episode of My So-Called Life, which made for a pretty perfect spooky night in, all in all!

Five Halloweens

2011-10-27T18:00:00.000+01:00

A few photos I dug up from previous years.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Looking forward to this year's! We are having a Halloween party on Saturday in the Chapel, I can't wait to see everyone's outfits!

Bits from my Travel Journal

2011-10-26T17:55:00.003+01:00

Last year when I visited Paris & Amsterdam I started a travel journal about my adventures which I shared here, and I continued it over in Chicago. Here's a sneaky peek inside. Edit: Ooh I just read that Music Box, the cinema we went to see labyrinth in was the cinema rob visits in hi fidelity. ~geek alert~

Chicago part 2 - Vintage Shopping & Wicker Park

2011-10-24T19:03:00.000+01:00

The day we spent wandering round Wicker Park was one of my favourites. There are so many cool shops and cafe's there! We initially wanted to eat in Earwax cafe as it is a favourite place for comic artists like Jeffrey Brown to go and draw but sadly it had closed down. However we found the Wormhole cafe which was great - the inside was filled with 80's memorabilia, there's even a DeLorean in the window! Other cool shops included the strangely titled Boring Store (which was far from boring inside) and Rudy's Roundup which was amazing. I bought a few things there as gifts for people but if I'd had more money I probably would've spent a lot more inside.

The photos we took in Quimby's

Inside the Wormhole cafe

We also visited a cool shop in Andersonville called Woolly Mammoth, a vintage shop filled with curious objects (and rather a lot of taxidermy, plus a mummified cat eep!). I could've spent all day looking at the strange things inside there.

Come on feel the Illinoise...

2011-10-23T14:32:00.002+01:00

Above: us at the 'Bean' in Millennium Park

And we're back from Chicago! We had a great time there and packed a lot into our week long trip. Highlights included staying in the most wonderful B&B (full of vintage collections & old cameras), hanging out in the Art Institute (recreating this scene), visiting Superdawg's, a drive-in hotdog diner, going to Wild West Town to paint pumpkins and finding a black & white photobooth in Quimby's comic shop. Here are a few pictures, will share the second part tomorrow (and if you're not bored of Chicago by then soon I'll scan in some pages from my travel journal too!)

Holiday Guest Post # 6 - by Tom

2011-10-20T09:00:00.004+01:00

When this publishes we'll hopefully be on our plane home! I asked Tom to contribute a post about one of his most favourite places, Japan. Thank you Tom!

2 years ago i went to Tokyo, Japan. Some moments really stay with me;

1. Going to a Photobooth in Harajuku (above: with friend Rob & sister Michaela)

In this photobooth you could take a picture of yourself and then add lots of funny graphics on top!

2. Staying up all night in Shibuya and sleeping in a Manga Kissa Cafe.

Some Mangakissa Cafe's are basically huge rooms with separate little compartments which have a tv screen and a big comfy chair. You can hire out Manga or a DVD from the library and relax in your own little compartment!! The overall atmosphere was of a library,really hushed and peaceful. A lot of people use them when they've missed their last train back.

3. Going to Tsukiji fish market at 5am and having morning sushi

The fish market was totally incredible. It's the biggest market in the world, filled with stall after stall of amazing colours and flapping fish. Walking down the aisles, you're having to constantly keep your wits about you as people come hurtling along on these little trucks!

4. Mount Fuji

Although we didn't get to climb Mount Fuji, (it wasn't safe for us to climb it as it wasn't the right season!) we did see it from a little town called Yamanakako which was about 2-3 hours away on bus. Here we rented bikes and explored the town. It was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and it was really nice to see what rural Japan looked like. We also had the biggest tempura prawns, the richness of the food was just INCREDIBLE!

5. Karaoke in Karaoke Kan, Shibuya

Ok, this tops the tourist 'thing to do'! We tried desperately to find the Karaoke bar that appears in Lost in Translation. After a few hours hiking up and down alleys in Shibuya we finally found the Karaoke Kan!

6. Pachinko!

Pachinko is a game not dissimilar to pinball/fruit machines although we didn't quite understand what to do! A lot of the time we just had bizarre pictures flashing up at us as we were trying to shoot little ball bearings into holes! It's incredibly loud and yet some people apparently spend all day in there!

Overall, I can't state enough how amazing Japan was. Every single person we met was friendly and helpful, the food was the best i've ever had, and i'm desperate to go back!

Tom x

Holiday Guest Post # 5 - by Theodora

2011-10-18T09:00:00.001+01:00

This summer we drove to the Austrian mountains to spend the weekend there. It felt like going back to my roots: My family used to spend lots of time in this village when I was little. Yet at the same time I was seeing it with the eyes of a person who had travelled abroad just recently. The air, the food, the scenery, the people - it all made me realise that this is what I like best after all, a holiday that feels foreign and familar at the same time.

Theodora has a brilliant blog called Do Impossible Things, which is one of my very favourites. Thank you for contributing Theodora!

Holiday Guest Post # 4 - by Sharni

2011-10-16T12:00:00.001+01:00

Lovely Aussie blogger Sharni is our third guest poster to share memories from her favourite holiday. Reading about her adventures there really makes me want to make a similar trip!

One of my most favourite holidays was in 2008 when I went to Mexico! My friends and I had just worked the ski season in Canada and we thought we would head south to defrost before we all parted ways. We started off in Puerto Vallarta but then headed for the quieter surfer towns down the west coast and a few of the cities too. It was never part of my original world trip plan but I am so glad I went. Some of the highlights were..

-Seeing Bright Eyes at a music festival in the desert. It was quite an adventure trying to find the venue and buy tickets.. in Spanish. It was a very dusty too. It was amazing.

-Visiting the town of Tequila! We visited a few distilleries and the guides were very keen to make us try all the different types of tequila! I remember fermented agave being quite smelly.

-The ocean! I grew up on the coast in Western Australia so I was very glad to see the Pacific ocean after 6+ months of being landlocked in the snow.

-Turning 22! I remember watching the sunrise and spending the day snorkelling off a boat.

-Street food! So much better than the Tex Mex I am used to. It tasted so much fresher and less cheesey.. in a good way! Plus really good seafood and humungous glasses of margarita! Plus fruit stall on the beach, genius!

-Buses were our mode of transport. Some were really nice with free lunch bags, air con and tv. Some had chickens in (and out of) cages and buskers on board! It loved it all.

-Trying to speak Spanish. I always try really hard to speak the local language. Did you know Tlequepaque is actually pronounced kind of like “clucky pucky” We found out that the hard way!

Holiday Guest Post # 3 - by ThatKate

2011-10-14T12:58:00.001+01:00

Hej, I'm Kate and I am popping in to do a guest post for Laura while she is off on her travels. Last year I visited Copenhagen with my best friend Kaori and we had the most wonderful time. It quickly became my favourite Scandinavian destination. We spent our days drinking vanilla rooibos tea in adorable little cafes, being overwhelmed and excited by all the Moomin merchandise, shopping like there was no tomorrow in Tiger, taking photographs of everything because it looked just so darn beautiful, catching a glimpse of the stylishly dressed people whizzing past on their bikes, searching for the perfect Dala horse to take home, wandering around the magnificent Tivoli gardens until it got dark, going on boat trips and just soaking up the amazing Danish atmosphere.

Thank you for sharing Kate! You can check out more of Kate's amazing photos on her blog here.

Holiday Guest Post # 2 - by Gerdien

2011-10-13T09:00:00.003+01:00

Next up in our series of 'favourite holiday' guest posts is Gerdien, a friend from Holland who has a brilliant vintage shop I'm quite envious of! Thanks for sharing with us, Gerdien!

What do you do in the summer holidays, when you don't have money for a car yet and backpacking through Europe by train is not really your thing? You just find a 100 euro moped, pack a tent, and go!

My boyfriend René and I did that a few years ago. Despite the cold hands, teary eyes and a sore bottom, it was a really fun experience! We actually did it twice: the first year we went all the way to France; the second year we 'rolled' to Limburg, in the south of Holland.

The good thing about travelling on a scooter is that you see a lot of your country that you’d normally never see, like small villages and so many lovely landscapes. You’re not going as slow as you would go on a bike, so you can actually travel quite far without getting physically tired!

Less fun of course, are rainy days or a tough wind. We wore helmets with no windshields, so sunglasses or goggles were necessary, as well as gloves and a good rainsuit! I remember René getting blown off his moped once, on a dike in Sealand. We also survived quite some terrible rainshowers…

Despite that, both holidays were so much fun. We couldn’t bring much, so our tent was very small (and very cozy!). We lived on the ground for two weeks and dinner was mostly easy pasta, curry or chili. Holland has a good moped-tradition, so when our old mopeds (1969 and 1978) gave trouble, there were always helpful people around (“Oh I had one like that when I was your age!”).

We have a car now and René sold his moped last summer, but I still have mine. I don’t want to say goodbye to my old orange friend yet, it brings back good memories!

Thanks Laura for letting me write this guest post for you, I hope you’re having a great time in Chicago!

Holiday Guest Post #1 - by Lady Croissant

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

I asked a few of my favourite bloggers to contribute a guest post while I'm away in Chicago, about one of their favourite holidays. All round talented lady, Adeline - aka Lady Croissant - is our first guest poster, thank you miss Adeline!

Once upon a time...

I went to Iceland.

And it was magic.

No words could do any justice to its beauty.

Everything was just so... different.

And I felt tiny and overwhelmed.

I caught myself smiling.

Constantly.

It had been a dream for years.

And I was finally there.

It wasn't a dream come true.

I was in a dream.

xxx

Adeline

http://www.ladycroissant.com

Sweet home Chicago

2011-10-11T13:41:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow morning Tom and I are flying to Chicago! Plans I have so far include tracking down Jeffrey Brown's favourite drawing spots, recreating most of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and hanging out at John Cusack's favourite coffee shop! Oh and some more sensible sightseeing things as well...

While I'm away I've asked some of my favourite bloggers to share some of their best holiday memories for us, starting with Adeline tomorrow. See you when we return! x

On band photography

2011-10-10T18:58:00.007+01:00

Last week I took some photos of Tom's (relatively new) band, Nordenfelt. I went along to their rehearsal and took some shots there and we also took some fun ones with some home-made signs made a few weeks before.

I'm still learning with my photography but I thought I'd share a few things I've learnt about taking band photos so far:

Don't be afraid to direct people! I found that the band were only too willing to stand in certain places and seemed to welcome a bit of direction (even though I'm not that comfortable asking people to do things!)
A tripod is super handy!
But a wide angle lense would be even handier when taking live shots in small spaces. Sadly I don't own one but I did take a few photos with my fisheye camera, I'll wait and see how they come out!
Most of all have fun! Try out different locations and angles and take as many pictures as you can as it's invariably rather difficult to get everyone looking right in the same picture!

Do any of you have experience taking photos of bands? I'd love to know your thoughts!

A Photographic Diary

2011-10-10T18:09:00.003+01:00

Have any of you lovely folk been reading the various guest posts in Lady Croissant's series, The Photographic Diaries? Today it was my turn to join in! If you haven't already, do check out the other posts too as they feature some really talented bloggers talking about the reason they take photos. Thanks so much Adeline for featuring me! x

Film Friday: Harold & Maude

2011-10-07T08:17:00.000+01:00

I've been meaning to watch this film for a while now, and it didn't disappoint. Harold & Maude is a tale about the relationship between Harold, a teenage boy with a morbid fascination with death, and Maude, a slightly eccentric woman who is about to turn 80. Maude gives Harold lots of sage advice ("Harold, everyone has the power to make an ass out of themselves. You just can't let the world judge you too much") and she has a habit of driving off in other people's cars. I'm quite looking forward to being of an age when you can get away with things like Maude does.

Summer // Autumn

2011-10-03T21:03:00.002+01:00

A few months ago I bought a Superheadz Blue Ribbon camera, and this weekend I got my first film developed. As the camera comes without a flash it works best on sunny days so I took most of the photos on bike rides at the end of summer, and a few more on an autumnal walk I went on during my lunch break last week. It's nice to take some film photos again, here are a few of my favourites from the roll.

Morning // Evening

2011-09-29T17:53:00.002+01:00

This week we've had a mini heatwave of sorts, each day has been sunnier than the last! I've really been enjoying the beautiful light in the mornings, and the warm Autumn evenings too. I bought some sunflowers on Tuesday and their sunny yellow has been cheering me up over breakfast each morning. In the evenings Tom's been busy painting signs for his gig tomorrow night. I'm excited!

Retro Tesco

2011-09-27T20:23:00.004+01:00

I'm not the biggest fan of Tesco, but I enjoyed looking through some of these photos of a replica 1960s version of the supermarket, which popped up last weekend as part of the Goodwood Revival. Looking at all that packaging, it's interesting to see how much or how little different brand designs have changed over the years. You can see more pictures here. [seen via computer arts]

Cycling through the city

2011-09-26T18:58:00.001+01:00

On Sunday me and a couple of friends joined in on a Cycle City Ride through Nottingham. About twenty people showed up despite the grey weather, to cycle from the Toll Bridge to the University Park. It was a lovely way to try out new cycle routes and we stopped off at the old Raleigh building on the way. We finished the ride at Nottingham University cafe and had some lovely soup and cake to energise us for the trip back!

You can see me on my red bike second along! Photo taken by Julian, the organiser

Our rewards at the end of the ride, yum!

You can still see the Raleigh logo on the building, above!

The famous Raleigh Bicycle Company began right here in Nottingham in 1887. There is still a Raleigh centre in Nottinghamshire but the bikes are now manufactured in Asia. It's a real shame that there isn't a proper Raleigh museum here - some bicycles can be found at the transport museum at Wollaton Park but it would be great to see a proper place dedicated to the history of one of the most successful bike companies in the world. I also found out that my bicycle is a Triumph, and the company also began here in Nottingham, hurrah!

Scary Monsters

2011-09-25T17:18:00.004+01:00

On Saturday afternoon we invited some friends over for a spot of finger painting! Who says it's just for kids?! The idea was to make some Halloween bunting for a shindig next month (you have to prepare early for these things!) so we all painted scary characters onto some triangles to string up at the end. The results were pretty funny! Finger painting is actually pretty hard so we did resort to brushes in the end!

Film Friday: Buffalo 66

2011-09-23T08:00:00.001+01:00

This was the second time I'd watched Buffalo 66, but for some reason I'd completely forgotten how it ended. The film is written by and stars Vincent Gallo as a troubled man who has just got out of prison. He bumps into Christina Ricci's character and decides to kidnap her and take her to meet his parents. Say what you will about Gallo, the film is original and has a lot of awkwardly funny moments, such as the scene in the photobooth which still amuses me to watch!

Inspiration: Kareena Zerefos

2011-09-20T20:46:00.003+01:00

I really love these paintings by London based artist Kareena Zerefos, aren't they lovely? They're inspiring me to make more animal hats to join this one! See more of her portraits here. As seen via design work life.

Weekend in pictures

2011-09-18T20:10:00.002+01:00

This weekend we headed to Manchester to celebrate Tom's sister's birthday. We had a lovely time eating sushi at Wasabi (and trying Bubble Tea for the first time - I had a Lychee flavoured one with added 'explosion' bubbles, it was interesting to say the least!) We then went tried to dodge the rain as we explored some pubs in the Northern Quarter before ending the night dancing to a brilliant ska band. Manchester is definitely a great place to to spend a weekend, and I hope we can head back there soon to explore a bit more!

Tom's sister decorated her table with transfers of Totoro and friends, isn't it cute?

In the mix

2011-09-18T19:12:00.000+01:00

I've made my first couple of mix cd's for peeps! They'll be winging their way to their recipients this week. Two more to make after this!

Currently reading...

2011-09-17T11:16:00.001+01:00

A few books I picked up lately.

1 52 Photographic Projects by Kevin Meredith.

This book is jam packed full of great photo project ideas, and beautiful photos for added inspiration. A few of the projects I've already tried, like 'jumping' photos or experimenting with lights but there are lots of others I'm excited about doing, like taking long exposures of starry night skies or taking photos of mundane objects every day, making them appear beautiful.

There's also chapters on polaroids, redscale film and other lomo cameras to experiment with. I might try and work my way through the book soon and report back with my results!

2 Cake Days - The Hummingbird Bakery cook book

I recently picked this up from the library, the pictures are gorgeous and there are lots of great cake recipes to try, divided into seasons.

I'm most excited about making some Halloween themed things for next month and this Spider web cheesecake looks ace. Has anyone else tried making any of the recipes in here?

3 How to Be Free by Tom Hodgkinson

I recently read about this book on Words that can only be your own and decided to get a copy myself. How to be Free is a book about how consumer culture is getting the better of us, and how to lead a simpler life by rejecting supermarkets, bureaucracy and more. A lot of his suggestions we've already done; learnt the ukulele, got a piano and cancelled our TV licence!

But a few of his suggestions do seem a little contradictory, for example choosing not to purchase things but also treating yourself to fancy foods and alcohol.. hmm. But it's interesting reading how society has changed over the past few hundred years and the message of living a life free of modern stresses is a good one.

Film Friday: Better off Dead

2011-09-16T08:36:00.000+01:00

Hmm, what to say about this mid 80s comedy starring a young John Cusack... on the surface it's a film about a boy whose girlfriend breaks up with him, leading him to attempt suicide in a number of 'creative' ways. The plotline gets more ridiculous as the film goes on as Cusack's character attempts to impress the ladies with his skiing skills whilst trying to avoid a crazy paperboy. You'll have to watch it to make any sense of it, it's certainly bizarre!

Weekend in pictures

2011-09-12T20:47:00.002+01:00

This past weekend was a good one, starting with a flying visit to see my Nan in her new house. She seemed very happy, we all had a few games on the iPad (you can play Boggle on it, who knew?!) and I can't wait to visit her again soon. On saturday night Tom's band performed their first gig! At a David Bowie covers night. We all wore masks and had a thoroughly Bowie-filled evening. How was your weekend?

Goodbye old house

2011-09-10T09:35:00.000+01:00

Recently my Grandma moved out of the house she'd lived in for nearly 60 years, to a new smaller home which I'm visiting this weekend. The last time I stayed at her old house I took a few photos to remind me of the place I have so many fond memories of visiting as a child. I'm also writing a comic about the story of the house which I'm going to give to my Nan for her birthday in November.

Mix CD Swap

2011-09-09T20:04:00.005+01:00

It's got to that time again when I am in real need of new music! Does anyone fancy an autumnal mix CD swap? I've had some amazing ones in the past that are still on regular rotation on my way to work! [Pictured above: a lovely mix cd made for me by bianca a couple of years ago]

Film Friday: Freaks

2011-09-09T08:00:00.000+01:00

Last weekend a friend brought round some DVDs to watch and amongst them was the 1932 film, Freaks. It is a story about a group of circus performers, labelled 'freaks'; one of whom falls in love with a trapeze artist who is only after his inheritance. The film was controversial and was banned for 30 years in the UK due to its use of real life circus 'freaks', who act in the film. After watching it I looked up a few of the performer's lives online, many of their stories are very interesting but often quite sad at the same time.

1993

2011-09-05T21:07:00.004+01:00

I grew up in a terraced house in Derby and when I was fourteen it was time for us to move, so my Dad sold the house to a friend of his. They brought up two little girls there and recently it was time for them to move out of the little house too. The other day when visiting my Dad took this photo of a carving I did on the brick wall outside. (There were a few really old carvings on the wall already from previous occupiers so I guess I decided to add my own!)

Weekend in pictures

2011-09-04T20:31:00.003+01:00

This weekend I baked banana chocolate muffins (yum), tried an amazing cocktail at tilt (it involved Sailor Jerry's, Kahlua and ginger.. i need to recreate it pronto) and also popped to the library to get a few songbooks to continue my attempts at teaching myself to play piano. I had the perfect relaxing Sunday, spent listening to some nice songs whilst drawing a new comic about my grandmother's house. I'll share it with you guys when it's complete!

new satchel!

We can be heroes...

2011-09-04T18:03:00.004+01:00

Tom is playing a david bowie covers night next weekend so he made a puppet Bowie and we made this little video yesterday. Much fun was had even if the puppet fell apart a bit at the end!

Film Friday: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

2011-09-02T17:53:00.005+01:00

This week I thought I'd tie in one of my fave films with news that next month me and Tom are heading to its location; Chicago! Have any of you been? Any tips send them my way! We're already planning on recreating this amazing dance from the film while we're there.

Anyway I thought during the week that I'm away it'd be nice to include some guest posts by a few of you lovely readers!

If you'd like to contribute one when I'm away (I'm heading off on 12th October so there's still a month to go!) and write a post about your favourite place to holiday please send me an email to: missmillward at gmail dot com! x

Lovely things I spotted recently...

2011-08-31T17:49:00.001+01:00

Hannah made this sweet leaving book full of polaroids for her friends who were moving away from London..

I loved this tutorial on design sponge last week on how to make dip-dyed feather pens!

Gerdien now has a shop front for all her vintage goodies!

There's a new competition on the Fox is Black to capture an image of your town in a photograph - the winner gets a Sprocket Rocket camera!

Things and People is that simple; portraits of people next to things that mean a lot to them, and their stories about that object.

Camping in the Welsh Wilderness

2011-08-30T21:27:00.001+01:00

For the August bank holiday me, Tom and 7 friends took off to a camp site on the Welsh coast. On our arrival the heavens truly opened.. putting up a tent in the rain is never much fun! But despite the bad weather we had lots of fun, eating marshmallows and (slightly burnt) potatoes round the camp fire, listening to owls hooting at night and walking up Welsh mountains to skim stones on the Blue Lake.

Getting spooky in the Convent...

2011-08-26T18:04:00.001+01:00

The other day I thought it would be fun to try out some long exposures on my camera to see what kind of spooky effects we could achieve with just a lantern for light.

I set the exposure to 30 seconds and Tom and I took it in turns to pose with the lantern, switching it on for a few seconds then off again, moving to a new position and so on. Here are the results, pretty magical (who needs Photoshop to achieve special effects?!). Although it was funny when some other residents appeared wanting to use the corridor and we were there taking strange photos in the dark!

Film Friday: Girls Just Want to have Fun

2011-08-26T08:00:00.001+01:00

Well, this may just be the most 80's film I've ever watched! (Just look at the poster!) Girls Just Want to Have Fun stars a young Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt as school friends whose dream is to get on 'Dance TV' - the plotline is fairly standard but the dance moves in the film are most definitely a must-see!