My new shop, loving the royals and why Justin Timberlake does a good irish...

 Things in my head this week...

#1 This song by Lorde has been my 'lets get to work' song all week



#2  I've been pretty consumed with my new online shop that I've been building for the website. So I was pretty chuffed (and relieved) that it all launched without a hitch last week

#3 Love this behind the scene look at the John Lewis christmas advertisement. The sheer craft and skill involved in stop motion production always blows me away.

John Lewis 'The Bear & The Hare' - The Making Of from Blink on Vimeo.


#4 I read this article about the decline of the honeybee which is pretty worrying. It also means my mum could make her fortune from the  beehive she has in the garden...

#5 Picked up this vintage Road Atlas. Published by Universal Metal Products Ltd. 

#6 Love this version of The Auld Triangle by Justin Timberlake, Marcus Mumfurd of Mumford and Sons and the Punch Brothers. It is part of the soundtrack for the Cohen's new movie Inside Llewyn Davis. Check out the trailer below. Can't wait to see it, even if it's just for the music.




Until next time

xx V

This September, Listening to

September has been a crazy busy month, but in the best way possible. With lots of projects in the air and some late nights of designing and making I've been listening to my Ipod a whole bunch and making lots of youtube playlists. 

This has been my month in music...

 Castlecomer, especially this mash up cover (below)

 My favourite of their original songs has to be Heaven is Closer (below)



I was lucky enough to get to Glastonbury in June and I found some fantastic new bands namely

 Haim. You can decide for yourselves which is better the original or the cover by Castlecomer above.Controversial, I know.

Discovered the lead singer of this band at culture night a few weeks ago. He did a solo acoustic set in the Oxfam Bookshop on Parliment Street in Dublin. He's from the Irish band Shadows and Dust



Also love this one by them

And finally some Rory Gallagher for you.



Have a great weekend.

This week... space , jam, hearts and party planning

 #1
This week there was a lot of talk in Ireland about the Perseids meteor shower that was going to light up our skies. I have it on good authority that it did in fact do that but I didn't get to see it. Why not? Tall trees. I couldn't get a clear view near where I lived and at midnight I decided that a road trip was not on the cards. It is an annual event so I will have to go to higher ground next year.

But this got me thinking about the stars and that led to space which led me to Chris Hadfield.

 Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut, beamed down via social media his experiences as the commander of Expedition 35 on the International Space Station, including this rendition of the David Bowie classic.

Check out some of the photographs he took while in space here on his twitter acccount they are amazing. 

2.

I love this little shop just down from Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin.
Jam Art Factory.

#3
I love this tutorial on how to make a heart shaped cake. You never know when you'll need to whip this one out. Pinned, thank you! It came from the blog of the lovely Kate over at katiebrownhomeworkshop

Check more Party Tips on My 'For the Party' Pinterest board.

Have a great weekend.

Vanessa

The week in review...

This week has been a busy one, over at TheCraftCorner I've been busy preparing everything for the summer camps that will start next week

I wrote a post over on the Craft Corner about Tips to keep the Children busy this summer. Full post here

I was delighted when the Summer Craft Camps were featured in the Sunday Business Post magazine a few weeks ago.

I found this video on The Recycled Orchestra, which I think is a fantastic story of how you can turn no opportunities into a whole world of opportunities

"The world sends us music we send back garbage"



I popped out early this morning to go to the Dundrum Car Boot Sale. Held only 4 or 5 items a year it is always filled to the brim and today was no exception. I got talking to some of the sellers who said they had arrived at 2.45 AM to get a space. I picked up some fantastic old books (no surprise there) and lots of other 'essential' items.

This book, Newnes Household Encyclopaedia, dates from 1931 and some really cool content, including lots of old recipes.

I love the illustrations in this 1885 edition of  'Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy' (below)

 I also managed to steal some hours of sunshine.

 In an attempt to take advantage of the good weather I have been taking longer breaks in the afternoons (when I tend to lag anyway) and working later in the evenings. I actually find its working really well for my productivity.

This is my song of the week

 

Now get off your [insert relevant electrical device here] and get the hell outside. That yellow thing in the sky is the sun and it wants to say hi. 

xx V

This week...TED talks

This week I discovered TED talks. 

Well that's not exactly true, I had heard about it before and its been around for years but this week I actually listened to one of the TED talks and I kicked myself for taking this long to turn a 'must do' into a 'done' on my to do list.

To pick just one talk to show you was hard to do but I chose Sir Ken Robinson's talk on education and creativity and how we are educating today's children. It is an incredibly interesting talk but its also funny and maybe more importantly it is very easy to listen to.

"If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original"  

- Sir Ken Robinson

 

So take a moment and check out the website Please pretty please. 

Have a great weekend. 

xx V 

Music in 2012...

Every year there are predictions of who will be making it big in the next 12 months. Now I'm no music expert, but I know what I like and the majority of them don't tend to be mainstream. I'm a big fan of the do it yourself youtube trend that has taken hold over the past few years. I've discovered some of my favourite artists that way. But having said that here's a taste of who I think should and hopefully will make it big in the months to come.

Probably a very obvious choice to start off with considering the crazy amount of publicity that's been generated around her but my top pick has to be Lana del Ray. Nearly all of you will be familiar with her song Video Games but I have to say I really love 'Born to Die' (below) 



Her album will be out January 30th

A very close second is Scottish singer/song writer Emeli Sande
'Heaven'(below)



Her album's out in February. Know the name? She's already done colabs with Professor Green and written music for the likes of Tinie Tempah.

Absoloutely love this performance from her on Jools Holland (below)

I insist that you check out her youtube channel here to hear more. Notably 'Maybe' and 'Kill the Boy'

Third up is Rebecca Ferguson with her new album Heaven. I think the acoustic version of her single 'Nothings Real But Love' (below) suits her down to a tee. Would I go see her live, probably not, but I'll be getting that album thank you. Its nice to see a bit of soul emerging from something like the X Factor.

And lastly but not least we have London based singer/songwriter Daley with 'Those Who Wait' (below)

You can also download his album for free here. A dangerous gambit perhaps, but sure to generate a big fan base.

Also check out Azealia Banks a R&B star who's February gig in Whelans has already sold out along with pretty much all her other dates.

And Lianna La Havas with these top performances on Jools Holland here 
and here 'Age' is my favourite

Say cheese...

 It never even entered my head that it was possible to make cheese in your own home. But with etsy shop urbancheesecraft you can. And goats cheese at that, yum!

Hello September

For varying reasons, most of which are not very exciting, I decided to take a little break from my blog. The little break turned into the month of August but sometimes I think its really good to step back from something to get inspired by it all over again.

Having not looked at my Google reader for several weeks the overload of information is somewhat overwhelming.  But here are a few snippets that grabbed my eye as I scrolled by.

I love interactive artwork so this Anonymous Hugging wall by Keetra Dean Dixon was a no brainer. More snaps and details here

 via Papertastebuds

How pretty pretty are these flower decorations. Eye catching; the old glass bottles and tins masquerading as vases.

via thesweetestoccasion

And to finish; Say something nice...



Highlight; To infinity and beyond

As to those exciting things that have been keeping me away from my laptop... more of that later.

Hidden gems

 How badly do you want to go here. Me, pretty bad. Books; they might be an addiction.

 Full blog post here

Cocktail hour...

I asked myself before I started this post whether it was too early in the week for cocktail hour, but then I thought, silly, its never too early for cocktail hour. Inspired by this fab how-to video from Etsy's youtube channel (below). 

So now that we have the decor sufficiently themed we must deck ourselves out

To me the cocktail dress will always have some serious flare to it. Thats just the way it is, whether you go for the classic,

black vintage Christian Dior 1955

or the not so classic...

animal print Christian Dior

These I love just for the patterns

To sip from...

 Never to be found in my kitchen cupboard I'm afraid this Le Maison Desny set from the 1930's. Very little is known about the French modernist design firm save that their pieces fetch a pretty penny at auction.

Keeping the standards high, to accessorise...

from Etsy store Sunny Day Vintage

and just in case you forget how to make your favourite cocktail grab one of these from NotOnTheHighStreet seller Betsy Jarvis

 Bottoms up

Back from my travels

 I spent ta good chunk of today trying to catch up on my emails and the rather copious amount of entries in my googlereader. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by all that the www was sending my way I decided to take a break and watch some of my favourite you tube videos. Those from the laboratories of Etsy. My picks for you...

 I love watching craftsmanship at work, especially when it looks into a craft, the making of which, I had never really considered before. I give you the American football

  

 Lemonball's etsy shop also has the most beautiful baseballs, can baseballs be beautiful? I think so.

Next up we head to Cyprus...

As is always the case with handcrafted items the time spent on them cannot always sustain them as an industry. Cheaper copies can be made in a tenth of the time and generally come from that powerhouse that is China. Next time you are veering towards the cheaper version remember the ladies of Lefkara.

Yes, it may not always be possible to buy handmade, but I am a firm believer in the less is more mantra. (unless when it comes to books). Buy less, but of a higher quality and they will outlast your cheap but inferior products. Take the dress that I wore to the wedding I was at at the weekend. It was over 50 years old and it was still in perfect condition, even after I had got through altering it.

My lace collection. Almost too good to use, almost.

Just because

Adele - I find it weirdly scary that she is younger than me. I don't know why but I do, still love her voice though, and this song, and all her other songs. You get the picture. 

To Lee, with love, Nick

It does seem to be the age of the video doesn't it. I did have another post planned but when I saw this short film from Nick Knight's Showstudio I just had to share it. The film, with music by Bjork, is a love letter to the late Alexander McQueen. I think it captures perfectly the raw mix of beauty and darkness that so imbued his work and indeed McQueen himself.

 

 If you have time you should have a ramble around the Showstudio website. Its a fascinating look at fashion through film.

Handmade stories...

Every now and then I check into Etsy's youtube channel and the today I found this  'Handmade story' and I think it might be my favourite so far. It is a beautiful short film in its own right. I love the atmosphere it creates, reminiscent of a 1930's film noir. A silent figure cycling through a city at dawn, light glinting off a misty lake as the narrator quotes an E.E Cummings poem. And the scene is set. 

The etsy seller is Yokoo.
So much of what she says resonates with me. I love how she talks about her work and her process. 

Thank you for reminding me why I do what I do.
'Work to me isn't hard, it isn't tried. It's who I am'