I went and gave blood today. It was my 3rd donation. I need to remember to drink more before giving blood, you get to drink when you get there but I was already thirsty by then and I felt a bit light headed during the donation which doesn't normally happen unless I make the mistake of looking the arm they're taking the donation from.

So they now have another pint of A+ blood, and I have a big plaster on my right arm. Only 4% of the UK population donates blood, which is a very small percentage when you think about it properly. Blood isn't just used for emergency surgery, it also goes to people that need scheduled surgery (such as hip replacements), to people undergoing chemotherepy, and to people who have chronic illnesses that mean they need regular transfusions. If you're healthy and haven't had tattoos/piercings/antibiotics in the past few months then have a ponder about becoming a donor yourself! If I'm scared of needles and can do it three times, then so can you! You find out more at blood.co.uk

Anyway, propoganda over. In typical fashion I went to have a look at what blood-related things there are on Etsy. Turns out, not that many, but some are pretty cool.

Give Blood Play Rugby by geekthings

Dragon's Blood Soap by thefinchnest

Give Blood Play Hockey by snottub

Sports seem to involve blood O.o

Have a good weekend everyone!

My Talented Mum

When I was a little girl my Mum was a keen crafter. Dried flower arrangements, paint stencils and patchwork were the main things that went on in the house. Me and my brother both have a patchwork quilt each and I have a patchwork cushion as well. However as more siblings came along such things were replaced with painting, felt tip pens and ensuring none of us ran around with the scissors.

However my littlest sister is now 12 years old and able to be arty without assistance (although that didn't stop our brother helping her with glue and tissue today) and in the past year she has started to get back into patchwork sewing (and is currently learning to crochet). Both my sisters now have their own quilts, one was made as a Christmas present for my grandmother, another is being made for the living room, and at some point me and my brother have been told that new quilts will be made for us too (mine has gone all over the place, from my parents home to university and back again and now to Kew as well).

My cousin is currently at university and her walls are a bit bare, so my Mum made her a lovely patchwork wall-hanging.

Excuse the slight blurriness of the photo, it was taken with an iPad. As you can see, my Mum went with bright colours for this so it's a lovely, bright, cheerful quilt. The back is in the same dark pink and has my Mum's initials and the date embroidered in the corner. She did the edges in long strips of blue.

She alternated the thread used between royal blue, dark raspberry and a bright grass green so it shows up against the contrasting material (you can just see the green around the edge of the pink in this picture).

And for those of you wondering if we're an artistic family, my Dad dabbles in photography, my Little Brother is training to be a carpenter, Eldest Little Sister is a bit of a graphics/design fan and is a dab hand with a needle, and Youngest Little Sister is constantly doodling, painting and making things out of card and glue, and I write and also dabble in photography.

I think it's fair to say there's a bit of interest in crafts of all kinds in all of us XD

Have a good week everyone!

Postcards and Prints

When I moved to London just over a year ago I found myself living with rather bare walls for a while. I solved some of this by buying some cheap posters off eBay (I have The Boondock Saints guarding my bedroom door as a result) but I'm quite fussy and it was difficult to find posters that I liked.

However I do like postcards, especially photography print ones, and so I have slowly but surely been buying ones I like and sticking them on my walls. Some have been bought from Zazzle, but others have come from lovely Etsy shops so I thought I'd highlight a few that I've purchased already and a few that I hope to purchase in the future!

Winter Ice by Maddenphotography

Bree Madden of Maddenphotography currently has an 8 x 10 BOGOF sale going on so if you like her work, this is the time to buy! I got a lovely autumnal photo as well when I bought this print as BOGOF, they both came as photos on folded card, so I cut the excess card off before sticking them on my wall. She's got some lovely flower and shabby chic prints as well, and everything arrived really quickly in a nice secure card envelope. Definitely check her out!

Hearts All Over by AmeliaKayPhotography

According to her shop descrption Amelia Kay has been featured in quite a few magazines recently, and it's easy to see why! I love photos with light and light manipulation, which is why this postcard was one of my first purchases when I decided to decorate, but she has lots of other beautiful photos too which you can buy either as postcards or as prints.

Paris Photo Postcards by GeorgiannaLane

I always love photos of Europe, especially France as I spent many summer holidays out there as a child, and I love the bright colours Georgianna has used for this set. She's also got some gorgeous photos of Venice, and her shop also has photo pendants which you can use for jewellery making. This is one set that's definitely on my wishlist.

Postcard Set- Paris by TheParisPrintShop

When I said I love photos of Paris I wasn't joking! Nichole of TheParisPrintShop has got a whole collection of photos in various colour sets, I've chosen purple for the blog but the blue one and the red one are also catching my eye. She's got lots of lovely photos in her shop, or if you're near New York she now has a book out for sale which can be found in Anthropologie (we won't get in to how much I love Anthropologie and how happy I am that they now have a branch in London).

I'm going to go and count out the pennies in my penny jar and see what I can buy!

Have a lovely week everyone!