Lou Lou's Luxuries

Helping Charity and Winning Pretties!

2010-10-24T13:16:00.005+01:00

There is a fabulous arts and crafts directory out there called Crafts 4 Charity run by Mick of Shpangle jewellery in which every crafter listed (Lou Lou's Luxuries amongst them!) has given a donation to charity for the privilege of being listed!

A little while ago the Crafts 4 Charity blog ran a competition. The way of entering was to come up with a new idea to make the directory even better and to make more money for charity too. This proved pretty difficult as the fabulous Mick had already made it pretty perfect!

There were four entries to the competition in the end, all with the chance of winning a fabulous piece of jewellery from Shpangles! And guess what? They all won! And I was one of them!

I came home from work last week to a lovely little package:

And here's the close up!

I highly recommend having a browse of the Crafts For Charity Directory to find unique gift ideas and know that you're buying from crafters with a heart!

I'd also recommend Shpangle jewellery! Such a gorgeous necklace cannot go unnoticed! I'm still trying to decide whether to give it as a gift or keep it for myself!

Thank you so much Mick!

October Folksfest!

2010-10-03T09:48:00.004+01:00

There is another daily listings club taking over Folksy!

This month it's the October Folkfest!

I wish I could take part in this and list every day but unfortunately this weekend has been less than fruitful on the making front. This is because of a supplies order that still has not arrived after 36 days! Now, I know this order was coming from a land afar but this is ridiculous! Hopefully it will be sorted soon and some replacement orders have been placed so fingers crossed for lots of new pretties soon!

So I thought I would take this opportunity to show off some off the fabulous items already available as part of the October Folksfest!

I've been a little cheeky and included two of my own up above there! I wonder if you can tell which ones they are??

Don't forget...Those shown above are jut a small sample of all the beautiful items currently available as part of the October Folkfest! They'll be more added everyday!

You can follow a lot of the October Folkfest taker-part-erers (good word I think you'll agree!) by searching for #octoberfolkfest on Twitter!

I've been a Star!

2010-09-30T15:27:00.003+01:00

Well I thought it was about time I showed the blog world what I have been listing recently! Seen as it's been an item a day there has been quite a bit! Although saying that...I've also had three sales (yay!) so not everything is still around for me to show off!

Now, a couple of these items are re-listing so don't go thinking you've gone crazy if you think you've seen something before...you might have done! But here are Lou Lou's September Stars items!

So there they are! I hope that you like them! Hopefully (fingers crossed) there will be a rather large package of supplies waiting for me at home tonight so I can get started on making some items for.....

The October Folkfest!!

If you're on Twitter don't forget to do a search for #Septemberstars for lots of amazing products my scores of amazing Folksters!

Folksy Friday: Shooting Stars!

2010-09-24T15:15:00.005+01:00

It's that time of week again!

It's Folksy Friday time!

Now the title of this post might be slightly misleading, this will not be a night-time adventure into the glorious stars above but rather a showcase of some of the fabulous items from the September Stars of Folksy!

These aren't all items from today but they are items from the fabulous folksiers that are taking part - some of my favourite items that I think you will love too! :)

So many pretty things but not enough blog space! Keep an eye on Folksy and an eye on these fabulous September Stars Folksiers!

September Stars!

2010-09-20T14:35:00.005+01:00

There is a phenomenon sweeping the Folksy world at the moment. That phenomenon is the daily listing club! Since April (I think) a group of fabulous Folksiers have entered into a challenge to list at least one item every single day of the month and this month (well halfway through this month) Lou Lou's Luxuries is going to join in!

For the rest of this month, Lou Lou is trying to become part of....

The September Stars!

To begin with, let me show you a few of the fabulous things that have been listed today!

Bear in mind...this is a tiny selection!

So many pretties out there! I'll be adding a fair few to my favourites!

And so...with out further ado...Here is Lou Lou's first Listing as part of the September Stars!

This beautiful necklace is a total of 48" in length, it has no clasp as it doesn't need one! Made with beautiful ivory coloured glass pearls in 6mm and 4mm sizes and combined with sections of gold plated trace chain, this is a loopable necklace with a difference!

You can follow the September Stars on Twitter with #SeptemberStars :)

Hope you enjoy this as much as I expect to!

Wedding Bells, Fascinators, Gorgeous Dresses and Jewellery!

2010-09-17T13:10:00.007+01:00

Well it's been a while again hasn't it? I really must get back into the blogging driving seat, I will get there!

You may remember that Friday last week was the date of the wedding I was so honoured to be asked to make some jewellery for. No? Well OK...Last Friday was the date of the wedding that I was honoured to be asked to make some jewellery for!

As girlfriend of the best man I also got to go along to what was most definitely the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen :) Not only that...I was even asked to do a reading at the ceremony!

Last week you got to see the bride's maids jewellery before it was sent. Now you can see it on the fabulous bride's maids!

Not too long before the wedding I was asked 'what hat are you wearing?' Hat? I have to wear a hat?! No one told me!! After a little bit of chittah chattah with the fabulous folksiers I decided that a fascinator would be more than suitable as hat for the wedding and off I popped to Imogen's Imagination for a little browse :) Having never bought anything like this I was a little overwhelmed to say the least! I decided the best thing to do would be to ask the fabulous Sophie (founder of Imogen's imagination)for her advice!

I cannot thank Sophie enough for all the help she provided! There were colour suggestions, style suggestions and offers of completely custom made designs; all based on the dress I was going to wear! Absolutely fabulous customer service and I will not be forgetting it!

So after much deliberation I (we) settled on a very pretty lilac fascinator with some veiling and gorgeous paper flowers on. But no...there is no need to imagine this...of course you can see the pictures!

I absolutely loved my fascinator! And loved wearing it too. I think I need to find a good reason for wearing one every day:)

I think as well you could use some more pictures of the wedding...I don't really have a reason, I just think that the day was just too beautiful to not be shared!

Here we have me and the boyfriend, who was also one of the best men (there were two). I think you'll agree he looks very handsome!

That is the bride's bouquet that I'm holding..no I didn't catch it - she just didn't need it at the time and we thought it was pretty! hehe :)

Here is the gorgeous bride Nicola surrounded by her fabulous bride's maids and three absolutely adorable flower girls!

And...finally...to show of the magnificent dress...here are the gorgeous bride and groom.

Congratulations Nick and Nicola!

Wedding bells!

2010-09-08T11:00:00.002+01:00

A rather special wedding is coming up soon (no not mine!) and I was honoured to be asked to make the jewellery for the bride's maids :)

After some very secret discussions about the colour and style of the dresses, the bride and I agreed on some simple, delicate and rather sophisticated pieces of jewellery...if I do say so myself.

Now...as the wedding isn't until Friday I'm still not allowed to tell any of you the colour of the dresses but I am allowed to show you the jewellery! There will be pictures of the wedding soon (since I'm in it too!) but for now you will have to be happy with the jewellery!

Here is the first ever bridal jewellery set created by Lou Lou's Luxuries:

As you can see, we decided on using my signature material - ivory glass pearls in a graduated necklace with some very pretty tear drop pearls for the earrings. The necklace is 16" long with an extension chain to make it comfortable for the individual bride's maid.

The bride (I'm happy to say) was very, very pleased to see the finished items! They were exactly what she was looking for and will match the dresses perfectly, so she tells me as I haven't actually seen them yet!

The wedding is this Friday and there will be pictures! After all...I want to show off my fascinator!

Mugshot!

2010-09-01T07:28:00.000+01:00

ou may have noticed in the background of of one of the older posts a rather pretty little mug?

Well I think it deserves its own close up!

This fabuloso mug was given to me for my birthday by my brother and his girlfriend. Now, the boyfriend once told me that he loves that I make an effort to do my make up and look pretty every day. So the next time he asks me to do the washing up I will simply hold up this mug!!

I love this mug!

Your opinions count!

2010-08-29T14:10:00.004+01:00

A while ago, ok fine..a fairly long while ago, I conducted a little bit of a survey to find out what your favourite colour was.

The results were that most of you liked green, a lot of you liked purple, quite a few of you liked blue and the rest of you liked oranges, red, pinks and well..other colours!

So I did at bit of monkey thinking and thought that two colours are always better than one, so I'll make my next design with the two most popular colours: Green and purple :) I also made the decision to use the deepest versions of these I could find to create (what I hoped to be) a beautifully regal looking design.

And how to add a bit more of a vintage touch and make it even more regal looking? Glass pearls of course! A Lou Lou's Luxuries favourite!

All this royal inspiration has lead to the most sparkly Lou Lou's Luxuries creation to date:

Fit For a Princess!

A beautiful charm bracelet featuring no less than 30 sparkling Swarovski crystals in the most regal Emerald green and Amethyst purple mixed in with some rather pretty ivory coloured glass pearls. I'm particularly pleased with the mix of matt and shiny pearls.

So I'm hoping that all you lovelies out there that chose green and purple as your favourite colours will love this bracelet! If you chose another colour...well..you'll just have to wait and see what comes up next!

Get this beautifully royal looking bracelet from Lou Lou's Luxuries :)

Surprise! For me that is!

2010-08-28T17:20:00.006+01:00

I got a rather lovely surprise last weekend!

Whilst I was slogging it away at the day job, the boyfriend called to say that I had two parcels arrive for me at home. I was expecting my gorgeous new fascinator from Imogen's Imagination (more on that later) but for the life of me I couldn't work out what the other one was! I was actually wondering if I had ordered something and completely forgotten about it! I have been known to spend money like it's going out of fashion but to not even remember...that was a little worrying!

I refused to let the boyfriend open the package (maybe I bought something for him and forgotten about it??) so it had to wait until I got home! And when I got home I was very confused indeed...there was a package...addressed to me...and I still couldn't work out what it was...

Well no wonder I didn't remember buying anything...I didn't order this!

Inside the mystery package were two gorgeous candles from the fabulous Cards and Candles for All Occasions! Who you may remember from a previous blog post :) The wonderful Laura sent me two candles to cheer me up because she knows I've been a wee bit down lately! How lovely?!

I have to say that, before even opening the candles, they smelt gorgeous! And with the wrapper off...simply divine! The strawberry (blue) candle is beautifully sweet and fruity and the chocolate cake (black) smells like sumptuous home-baked yumminess!

Here is the strawberry candle in action! Now the candle had been burning for around 3 minutes when this picture was taken, the scent was instantly intensified and quickly filled the room. One thing I did notice was how little of the candle had melted..I think these candles have some serious burning time!

I also love that they're square! Something a little bit different from the norm and very pretty! Unfortunately I couldn't find my candle plates (appear to be lost in the moving house abys!)and so had to use a crème brule pot instead! Serves a purpose right?

I'm so grateful for Laura for this treat! Cheered me right and up and will make mine and the boyfriends new home smell gorgeous for hours on end :)

You can grab yourself some of these beautiful treats from Cards and Candles for All Occasions :)

I'm sure I'll be buying a few some time in the near future!

On a side note...do you like my retro telephone in the background? Was a birthday treat from my fabulous boyfriend! :)

Folksy Friday: You can't have tea without cakes!

2010-08-20T06:30:00.001+01:00

Now you probably all know that I am a coffee addict, seriously we're talking 5-7 cups a day...I know, I know it's bad for me but I can't help myself!

Except now I'm going to try. So...to cut down my caffeine in take I'm going to try swapping over to tea...not much better but it's a start right?

Great so now I've got tea, but it's not as satisfying as coffee so I need something to go with it...cake!!

So here is my 'You can't have tea without cake' themed Folksy Friday!

I expect that I'll be drinking tea for about ten minutes before I go back to coffee...but at least I tried!

The Band Wagon!

2010-08-18T09:40:00.005+01:00

Once upon a time in a land far far away (Liverpool that is!) the boyfriend used to routinely help his best friends' band move their equipment from gig to gig. One of the main problems was that they had a hellova lot of gear and he had only a Citroen C2...If you imagine clowns piling into a mini, you may get a pretty good mental image of the chaos it caused!

One day we were talking about how often he would load up his car with band gear and we jokingly said that he should start up a band transportation company; it would be a super cool company that used only VW camper vans! We also said we would call it 'The Band Wagon'...What a perfect name! It was all just a pipe dream, a conversation that lasted no more than ten minutes but we always thought that we couldn't have come up with a better name if we'd actually tried!

Now, the boyfriend's birthday is coming up (though not for a good 3 months!) and I've started planning his presents. I knew I wanted to get him something from this blossoming hand made community that I'm now a part of and thought immediately of the fabulous 1st Unique Gifts and their amazing camper van work!

I emailed Wendy with a plan for a custom canvas, fully expecting it to be a little difficult to do and that it would take a good couple of weeks or even months to come into reality.

I couldn't have been more wrong! Within a couple of days I had a lovely little envelope full of paint swatches to help me choose the perfect shade, a couple of days after that I sent some pictures of what I wanted included in the image and barely a week after that I was sent this:

How amazing is that! Wendy even went to the trouble of painting the detail onto the scratch board of the guitar (which is actually the guitar I bought him last year for his birthday)! I am absolutely blown away by it!

Now...remember I said this was an extra early planned birthday present? Well I couldn't wait to give it to him so it's become a simple 'I love you' present and is already on the wall!

He loves it as much as I do and even wants more! In fact he wants 3 more to create a Warhol-esque display! I'll definitely be going back to 1st Unique Gifts for any customized canvases I fancy in the future!

Or clocks...

Or wall plaques..

or anything I need!

Find 1st Unique gifts here and follow the blog here!

Mid-Week Whacky Madness!

2010-08-10T16:24:00.007+01:00

I have such a treat for you today!

Lou Lou has gone mad...bonkers...in fact...as mad as....

Hehehe what a great excuse to show off Johnny Depp in his finest (well maybe not finest but still looking pretty good!)

But back to the whackiness!

So today (Wednesday 11th August 2010) from 7am until 11:59 pm you are all invited to take part in Mid-Week Whacky Madness! You bend your mind a little and get a fair bit back :)

It is simple...place an order for any item from Lou Lou's Luxuries today and get a 10%refund through PayPal! All you have to do to get your refund is mention mid-week Whacky Madness at the time of payment...BACKWARDS! You got it! Bend your mind, twist and turn...type it backwards and Bob's your uncle! 10% refund! How great is that?!

That means you can get this gorgeous necklace for only £13.95!

Or these beautiful vintage Art Deco earrings for just £4.05!

So many Luxuries...so much whackiness...and 10% off!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Please note: refund does not include postage and packaging costs.

And there's mooorrrreee

2010-07-25T09:30:00.005+01:00

Custom orders!

It's such a great feeling to get a custom order!

This order came from a girl in my office, she was originally planning a gift for her best friend, but as we began discussing it, she soon decided she would keep it for herself!

As we were talking about charms and placement ideas she began to draw me a sketch...boy am I glad I already knew what I was making for her! Here is the sketch!

Hehe as I said...very glad I already knew what she wanted!

So off I went and a little while later I was ready to deliver:

Honey Beeeeeee!

I'm pleased to say that my customer loved it!

Even better than that, when her friend saw it (the original intended recipient) she promptly stole it, gave her the money for a new one and told her to get herself another one!

So I've just this second finished making a second one!

I've also commissioned myself two custom orders for my own birthday treat hehe. I'll show them once I have some pictures taken! I'm rather pleased with them too!

Sweet Smell of....Coffee!

2010-07-22T06:23:00.006+01:00

I'm not going to lie to you. I am a self confessed, self diagnosed and known coffee addict.

I love the stuff; I love the taste, I love the smell, I love the varieties and I'm sure I probably love the effect too. I drink far too much coffee for my own good, I've tried cutting down (I managed to cut down to 4 cups a day) but sooner or later I'll be back gulping down that glorious java juice!

Another love of mine is a nice smelling house. I don't mean a house that smells like it has magic cleaning fairies in residence that smells permanently like some kind of name brand cleaning product, I mean a house that smells nice, a house with a smell of love and personality.
I while ago, I began following the lovely Maryann of One Stop Pamper Shop on Twitter. She sells the most gorgeous looking candles, votives and wax melts I have ever seen (and jewellery too!).

I also began to covet one particular scent in her range: Rich Italian. You've guessed it! It's a coffee (and vanilla!) range! It comes as a tinned candle or wax melt.

A wax melt is a cross between and oil and a candle. It doesn't have a wick so you use it in a burner, but it isn't an oil so you don't add water. You simply pop it in your burner and light a tea light underneath. The wax melts and a glorious smell (hopefully) erupts from it. When you blow out the tea light (which you should do after 3hours) the wax hardens ready for use later.

I'm a big fan of burner oils, but not wax melts as much, they're not quite as easy to swap fragrances with and for this reason I stick with oils. I decided to ask Maryann if she could make an oil for me in this fabulous scent, but alas, she said she doesn't make them.

I was devastated...until...Maryann Tweeted me a little offer 'How about I send you (no obligation) a couple of free melts for you to try and see if I can change your mind?'

Free home fragrance thingies?...yes please!!

I jumped at the chance! And here are my freebies :)

I received a fantastic Rich Italian (yahooo!) and a lovely Antique Lace (vanilla and jasmine). The scent hit me as soon as I opened them, they were gorgeous.

I popped the Italian in as soon as the boyfriend left for work (he's not a big a fan of coffee as me). I was not left disappointed! The scent was lovely and strong, not overpowering and absolutely gorgeous! A beautiful smell of strong coffee with a delicate vanilla undertone...I'm in love.

The Antique Lace is also wonderful! It's beautiful and delicate and definitely one I would suggest when you have guests, it's not too strong and the lovely jasmine and vanilla scent will have your guests wondering how you have such a beautiful smelling home.

After testing out the melts I decided that the scents of One Stop Pamper Shop were amazing and I will definitely be buying some candles from there in the future but wax melts just aren't for me. I swap and change my fragrances too often to use them as getting them out of the burner isn't the easiest thing in the world.

I'm so grateful for getting the chance to try these and highly recommend One Stop Pamper Shop to all you house proud people out there! If you like to have one fragrance in your home for a long period, get some of the wax melts, you will not be disappointed. If you like to swap and change...go for the candles - they're even prettier too! I will be getting some candles in the near future!

Links: One Stop Pamper Shop
One Stop Pamper Shop (Folksy)
OneStopPamper (Twitter)

I highly recommend the Rich Italian!

And may I remind you all that it is my birthday on Monday ;)

Folksy Friday - New house...time to decorate!

2010-07-16T11:16:00.004+01:00

Wow it's been a while hasn't it?! Well I think it is high time I did another Folksy Friday!

This week's picks will all be based on the theme 'New house...time to decorate!'

All of the picks here are fabulous Folksy items that I would love to have to decorate my new home! Decorating isn't just about painting the walls (which we can't do!) it's about having things around you that make you happy...and all of these things would make me (and as a result the boyfriend) very happy indeed!

Some of these items I've had my eye on for quite some time...I'm almost sad they haven't been sold yet because they're so beautiful! I hope you love them too :)

Here they are!

So those are my picks! And may I point out that my birthday is coming up very shortly....hehehe

Enjoy your weekend everyone, I've got another custom order to be getting on with :)

With heuuuggeeee thanks to Haptree's Folksy Friday Tutorial!

Especially for you

2010-07-08T09:32:00.006+01:00

Well...these particular things aren't for you but something else could be!

I'm not making sense yet am I? OK, let me explain...

I'm talking about custom orders! Custom orders are something that really excite me, the chance to make someone happy by creating something unique for them to their own specification. And what a compliment as well! To be chosen by someone to create something because they believe you can make something just the way they want it!

So, to explain what I was saying earlier...the custom order below isn't especially for you; it's for another fabulous customer of mine, but something else could be especially for you, if you just ask for it :)

My first custom order came in a couple of weeks ago. I was asked to make a turquoise necklace and a vintage amethyst colour necklace and bracelet set. My customer was specific when it came to colours and already had the pendants she wanted me to use but told me to make the pieces in whichever way I wanted because she 'liked my style' and 'trusts me to make something beautiful'.

No pressure there then!

Well, I went for it! And here are the results:

My customer received her items yesterday and promptly emailed me to say that she loved them! Left me with a huge smile and a slightly swollen head!

I'd love to know what you think of them too!

If you want to make a custom request from Lou Lou's Luxuries feel free to send me an email at: Loulousluxuries@live.co.uk

Buy handmade!

2010-07-06T20:59:00.004+01:00

There is something special about buying something handmade isn't there?

There is something even more special about buying something that has been made to your exact specifications.

Even MORE special is having something made especially to your own design, giving it to someone else and them knowing that you came up with the perfect thing for them and had it made especially for the occasion.

I recently sent a rather demanding email to the fabulous Laura from Cards and Candles for All Occasions for a very specific card for my mum for her birthday. I fully expected her to say it was a little difficult and would be very hard in the time period given.

Well I needn't have worried! After emailing her on Friday the card was ready on Sunday! I paid on Monday and came home on Tuesday to a gorgeous customised, hand made card! Especially for my mum!

Here was my brief:
a picture of a female chef (with big hat!) sweating over an oven. the line to read: ‘Carol was none impressed with cooking her own Birthday cake, but never mind…’

Inside….’She knows it’s the only way she’ll get a decent one!’ Then Underneath ‘Happy Birthday Mum!’ Maybe with a picture of a huge cake inside too?

And here is my amazing card!

Now I don't know about you, but I don't think you can beat a service like that! And not only is the card absolutely perfect, it's a darn sight cheaper than your average High St card!

This is the second card I've bought from Laura and I will be returning! Am thinking of grabbing a candle or two soon as well :)

You can check out Laura's blog here as well!

Home Sweet Home

2010-07-03T07:12:00.004+01:00

We did it!

We moved into our own home! And we absolutely love it!

It's been three weeks now since the big move and we're pretty much all settled in now. Well, I say settled in...there are still a couple of boxes left to unpack and it is a wee bit on the messy side but it's tidier than our old room and we know where everything is so we're settled in for us! We finally got the internet and phone line installed this week and came out of the stone ages as well which is great! (must remember to actually buy a phone!...retro under £15...suggestions welcome!)

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about moving here, it was a long way from the area of London I'm used to and I was very concerned about it being a studio flat and there being a lack of space. But I needn't have worried! The area is absolutely gorgeous! Lots of green areas, easy travel links and just lovely :) And...best of all...the flat is soooo much bigger than I remembered it!

It may be a studio but it has a separate kitchen and shower room and the main room iteself is heuuuuge! Plenty of room for the bed, 2 guitars the coffee table, a sofa (although we only have two armchairs at the moment), a dinner table with two chairs, a chest of drawers, two bedside cabinets and a mahhoooosive floor to ceiling wardrobe...AND there is still enough room for me to get the Wii Fit out!

We got this flat on a 6 month contract because of our worries about size and location, but we have completely and utterly fallen in love with it and hope to stay here a lot longer!

In other news I've been a busy bee Lou Lou's Luxuries wise! Have had a few custom orders come in this month plus a personal project to make the boyfriend's 5 year old niece a beautiful jewellery set present for her birthday :)

Unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures of her present before I had to send it off but the little princess's dad has promised to take some for me so I'll be able to show it off soon :)

I'll be uploading those other custom order pictures soon as well so watch this space!!

Watch out everyone...Lou Lou's back!

And we're outta here!

2010-06-10T06:33:00.004+01:00

Hi there! You may not remember me...I'm Monkey Lou Lou and I've been a very bad blogger lately!

I'm sorry. But I do have a very good excuse!

Some of you may remember those pesky butterflies that live in the purple smoke that threatened to make me and the Boyfriend up sticks and move back to the cold, cold land up North? Well they have been put to rest! (touch wood!!...quick touch wood!)

Not only do I have my flashy new job as a diamond consultant (will never get tired of my job title!) but the Boyfriend has just started a new job as well! Two boxes ticked!

The best part is yet to come....We're moving out! We're staying in London but moving out of the nest! Spreading our wings! Yahoo!!

We move on Saturday. We should have moved around two weeks ago but a lot of things have happened meaning a hellova lot of train journeys and a slight delay in moving. Things seem a bit better now (touch that wood!!)so we're off!

It's a small studio flat but with a gorgeous big bathroom and a well sized separate kitchen, personally I think they could have utilised the space a bit better but I don't care! We're off! We've got out own place! The building is a lovely early 19th century build that's recently been refurbished, it's on a beautiful tree lined street and has great travel links! AND....it's even close to Richmond Park...my favourite of London parks!

I can't remember the last time I was this excited!!

Spread the word! The monkey will soon be leaving this building!!

One bad point....Will need to sort out the internet at the new flat...eugh! Why can't my internet contract just follow me around the world without asking questions? Like the internet on my phone does...oooh now that's the future!

Winner Winner!!

2010-05-23T20:03:00.003+01:00

Woohoo! We have a winner!

At 8pm this evening, all entries were counted, given a number and stuck into a random selecting thingamagig to provide us with a winner of those fabulous button studs!

The one condition of the give away was that one of the places you could fan/like/follow had 100 followers and you did it! 173 followers on twitter and 111 on Facebook! Well done!

In total there were actually 497 entries! Yes...nearly 500!!

But anyway...enough of that....the winner...of those Exclusive Lou Lou's Luxuries button studs is........

Elissa of Not Just handbags!

Congratulations Elissa!

I'll be running another give away at the next mile stone! So get ready for that one!!!

Dreamaid

2010-05-17T18:57:00.004+01:00

They call it 'The market place that makes a difference' and that's the reason I'm proud to say I've recently set up shop with them!

Dreamaid.com allows you to shop for handmade goodies and give to charity at the same time! Each seller on Dreamaid.com chooses a percentage of their profits to donate to charity. Dreamaid.com supports a number of schemes, recently helping to fund education projects in Brazil and promote hand crafted items worldwide.

There are plenty of gorgeous handmade items already for sale on Dreamaid.com and you'll be pleased to know that any Lou Lou's Luxuries item bought on Dreamaid.com will donate 5% to the fund!

Click on the link at the end of this line be taken straight to Dreamaid.com

Click on the link at the end of this line to be taken straight to Lou Lou's Luxuries on Dreamaid.com!

Oh and I forgot to mention (nearly) that they'll be a documentary about Dreamaid.com on BBC2 tomorrow night! How exciting! Have a look and learn more about the work they do :)

Freebie! Freebie!!

2010-05-11T07:27:00.005+01:00

Yes, that's right, you guessed it...or did you?

Well....I'm doing a giveaway!

My twitter followers have been hovering around 100(ish) for a couple of days now and I think it's time to cement them in there! As well as that I have 92 fans on facebook, 63 followers on here and 60 people favourite my shop!

So it's time to reward all of you followers out there! On the proviso (of course) that there are 100 of you!

Here's how it will work...for every place you follow/favourite/like/fan me (Lou Lou's Luxuries in case you didn't know!) you will receive one entry into the give away...that's Twitter, Blogger, Facebook and Folksy. Follow all 4 and get 4 entries! In addition, if you blog, tweet or facebook about this give away you will receive an extra entry for every time you do! You just have to let me know every time you do and provide a link!!

On Sunday 23rd of May I'll be checking to make sure that there are AT LEAST 100 followers/fans/likeables on one of the options above and I'll be picking at random a winner! Remember the more you do the better your chance of winning! Invite more people so that there are definitely 100 of you out there!

Oh yeah, an extra treat, anyone who has made or makes a purchase with Lou Lou's Luxuries will receive 3...that's 3 extra entries!

Good luck!!

Oh wait...the prize! I almost forgot!

OK enter this give away for the chance of winning....drum roll please....
.
.
.
An original pair of Lou Lou's Luxuries Vintage Button Earrings!

These little beauties are approximately 15mm in diameter, turquoise and gold and stunning! The backings are gold plated. But don't worry if you can't wear gold plated...they'll make a great (free) birthday present for someone you know!!

So Good luck everyone! Remember you have until Sunday 23rd of May to get your entries in!!

Thought I might add...you may also comment on Facebook to enter! Just in case you don't have a google account and can't comment here...how nice am I to you lot?!?!

Walking, Talking, Living Promotions Machine!

2010-05-09T10:13:00.003+01:00

So a while back someone recommended Vista Print to me as a great supplier of business cards and all things promotion.

I have to say that their masses (and I do mean MASSES) of free offers definitely appealed to my mischievous monkey self!! After spending the better part of two days trawling the website trying to decide what to go for a I settled on something I found practical, pretty and most of all...promotional!

Oooh...the three P's this may be a new standard for all my promo things? Yep...I think it is!

So this item, it conformed to the Three P's (a must) and it was free! All I had to pay for was the postage! I chose the slow postage (21 days) as I wasn't in a great rush and the whole thing (with a touch of monkey personalisation came to £4.70!

Ooohhh...I haven't told you what it is yet have I?

Well...let me show you!

Here is my brand new, amazingly practical shameless self promotion tool!

Yes It's a bag! And it's huge! The site said this was small, so I expected to just about be able to fit my lunch in it on the way to work, but I can carry everything I need (and I don't travel light!)

Wherever I go know, I'll be carrying this little baby and hoping it catches someone's eye!

Oh and I forgot to mention, I may have selected 21 days but it was here in a week! Not bad!

I'll definitely be looking for more promo tools soon!

What do you think?!

Folksy Friday: Princesses and Knights!

2010-05-04T07:21:00.006+01:00

It's that time of week again! Time for Folksy Friday!

Now this theme may seem a little strange but I couldn't resist myself! I'm a bit of a history geek, but very much a medieval to early modern history geek. Ask me about something that happened between 1649-1918 and I can't help you, the intricacies of the Lutheran reformation and the the Pilgrimage of Grace (1536)...I'm your girl!

Over the weekend just gone I spent 4 hours of my life on a speedy Gonzalez train to visit the boyfriend's family and in this time absorbed a new historical fiction novel which has reignited my desire to be a princess in the Tower of London (the White tower...not the Bloody one!...Or the Beauchamps for that matter!) I also may have had a little watch of a couple of Elizabeth films, so what other theme for my Folksy Friday could I choose other than Princesses and Knights?

OK, OK I know the days of knights in shining armour came a couple of centuries before Elizabeth I but a girl can dream!

Here are my picks!

So that was this weeks Folksy Friday, I appear to be doing this bi-weekly...so see you the Friday after next!

With heuuuggeeee thanks to Haptree's Folksy Friday Tutorial!

Treasure Trove...Revisited!

2010-05-03T08:36:00.002+01:00

You may remember that a couple of weeks ago I received a treasure trove of vintage buttons (complete with vintage biscuit tin!) from my nan to use in my jewellery.

After sifting through it for hours and hours there were certainly some buttons that I couldn't part with. For some reason I felt too close to them. Perhaps that's a little strange, they're just buttons after all, but I do and so will not be parting with them. Especially some rather special pearly ones, which are most definitely my favourites!

I decided that the ones I couldn't part with would become jewellery just for meeeee. I have a number of works in progress at the moment, in particular a little gold charm bracelet with lots of those extra special pearly buttons on it. I'm even thinking of adding a watch face to it...but as I say, that's a work in progress. I'll be showing it of shortly though, so don't you worry about it!

The rest of the little pretties will be used in my shop :)

The first thing made from my Nan's treasure trove are these little (well 20mm so not so little) button stud earrings...my first studs at that!

Here they are for your viewing pleasure :)

Sweet Buttoncup.

These are now available from Lou Lou's Luxuries! Along with a couple of other pairs of studs that I had a go at a couple of days ago...Quite proud of them I am :)

Scardy Scardy Cat!

2010-05-02T15:06:00.004+01:00

Last week the boyfriend and me (along with his friend and girlfriend) went on a little day trip to Thorpe Park. To say it was an adventure would be an understatement! There were screams of delight, screams of terror and tears about wet hair...and that was from the boyfriend's friend!

And no...that wasn't a joke!

I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to theme parks. I literally need to be dragged onto the scary rides kicking and screaming only to come off thoroughly exhilarated and begging for more! But you have to let me watch the ride for a bit first. None of this running straight on...I need to assess the safety features of the ride...i.e. the apparent lack of them on all rides! We're not meant to go upside down people!

Using this statement against me...the boyfriend pointed out that Stealth although vertical, did not at any point go upside down and so I had to go on...no arguments!

So after a bit of a panic attack in the queue, and an argument over which was higher: Stealth or The Big One (pointless but fun...The Big One won) I sat down in the seat and braced for the countdown...and did I need to brace? Oh yes! Check out the picture for proof!!

I may have braced a little bit too hard...I ended up with a bruise on the inside of my elbow!!

Oh and just so you know...the boyfriend was pulling this pose on purpose...he was going for the 'I'm so scared I can't look' pose...yet he wasn't holding on so I just don't believe him!!

All in all it was a great day and if you happen to go to Thorpe Park one thing you must believe...if you go on Tidal Wave....You're gonna get soaked!!

Brand new pretty thing! Summer Lovin'

2010-04-25T16:15:00.005+01:00

Oooh I'm so excited about this!

So far in my jewellery making it's been all about necklaces and earrings, with the odd bracelet thrown in. This morning I took a step forward and made...a ring!

OK so it may not be the most exciting news you've heard this year, but it's pretty big for me. All the better because I didn't stick my fingers together whilst making it!

So, without further ado..I'd like to introduce....Summer Lovin'!!

Summer Lovin' measures approximate 40mm in diameter and sits on a silver plated ring base. It's big, it's pink and best of all the charm is vintage! Perfect for Lou Lou's Luxuries I think you'll agree!

I'd like to send a big thank you to Bettsy's Place from whom this fab cabochon was purchased! Bettsy also has a great blog to follow as well!

Folksy Friday: Ice Cream Season!

2010-04-23T06:28:00.002+01:00

Summer finally feels as though it's on the way and you know what that means?

Ice Cream!

So this week's Folksy Friday theme is ice cream :) I hope your local ice cream van pops by soon after, because you're gonna want one!

Don't forget...if you wait until the last note of the ice cream van's song...you get some exercise chasing it down the street and can work off the strawberry sauce and chocolate!!

With heuuuggeeee thanks to Haptree's Folksy Friday Tutorial!

They don't go...but will they?

2010-04-12T06:57:00.003+01:00

I've posted a new album on my Facebook Fan page with a selection of new designs for you to have a little look at.

Now, they are nothing like my usual pieces and I can't quite make my mind up about them. I like them, I wouldn't have made them if I didn't like them, but I don't think they're 'me'. I also don't think they go with anything I've made so far, so I do feel reluctant to pop them in my shop in case it begins to look jumbleish!

The answer will probably be for me to list them all at the same time, so that they appear in a little block of new styles and then follow them with some of my more 'me' designs.

I would really, really love some opinions on them, because I really can't make my mind up about them!

2010-04-10T08:08:00.003+01:00

I know, I know.
I've been a very bad blogger lately! I had no idea that working full time would stop me doing so many things! I have no time for blogging, barely any time for jewellery making, I haven't been shopping in three weeks, the boyfriend and I haven't been to the cinema in three weeks and...and...when am I meant to be able to go to the bank?!?!

I think that over the next few weeks things will change. I'm gradually getting used to my routine and finding the time for other things as well as work. Some people might think I'm crazy getting up two hours before I need to leave for work but at least I can catch up on emails, make a bit of jewellery, give the boyfriend a cuddle before work and...and I have time to make myself pretty as well :)

I thought this morning I would show you something!
About three weeks after I began making jewellery, I was relegated to the living room floor. This was because I was too messy for the kitchen table.
But it wasn't very comfortable! So my wonderful boyfriend decided that somewhere, somehow I needed somewhere to make my jewellery. He took it upon himself and made me a craftstation!

It began as a cleared off, neat and tidy dressing table with a chair fluffed up with pillows for me, within 15 minuted of the football this week it looked like this:

If you look carefully...you'll get a sneak peak of a brand new bracelet and pair of earrings!

I will be posting some new pictures on my facebook fan page soon...as soon as my camera behaves itself on macro again!!

OK....off to work! See you soon!

Treasure Trove!

2010-04-03T11:51:00.006+01:00

No...not the kind you have to declare to the government after spending 10hrs in a muddy field with a metal detector!!

But the kind you find in your nan's back room!

After I finished proudly showing off my Button Me Up, Buttercup bracelet to my Dad the other day, he wandered off in a bit of a dream muttering something to himself about 'The Old Girl's sewing box'. The next day, when I got in from work, he looked rather pleased with himself and presented me with a pretty knackered looking, beat up old tin.

A little intrigued, I turned the box upside down, to find out it was a very old biscuit tin! After assuring myself this couldn't be a tin of the most stale and mouldy biscuits in London I opened her up...

Treasure trove!! The tin was chocked-full of allllll kinds of beautiful buttons! I quickly called my nan to say thank you and she let me know that she stopped collecting buttons some time in the 80's and that most of them were actually taken off of clothes she used to wear before and during the war!!! Some of these buttons are more than 70 years old!!

I've had a good root through them now and I definitely have some favourites! My nan told me to use them for my jewellery as she doesn't sew any more and would like them to go to god use. But I don't know if I can part with them! I'll have to have a play and see what I come up with! I can definitely see some huge button rings coming out of it though!

Here are a couple of my favourites!

And check out my nan's cool way of keeping buttons of the same type together...she ties them with cotton! I always knew she was clever!

Off to play with some buttons now!!

Folksy Friday: City Girl on the Go Go!

2010-04-02T09:10:00.004+01:00

This is my first ever Folksy Friday!!

My theme is City Girl on the Go Go! Because my daily travelling in and out of the City has made me realise there are certain things that every city girl cannot be without!

So this is it! My first Folksy Friday!

There we have it! Everything a City girl needs! A cute and styleish (reusable!!) coffee sleeve. A fabulous and pretty iphone holder. A cute, vintage inspired notepad for all those crafty ideas! A fabulous pot of lip butter (cappuccino flavoured of course! A beautiful tote for those crafty purchases on your lunch break. And the cutest oyster card holder I think I've ever seen! (that's a train/bus pass for you non-Londoners out there!)

Now then...All I need now is to get all these things to help me through my new 9-5!!

With heuuuggeeee thanks to Haptree's Folksy Friday Tutorial!

Diamond Consultant

2010-03-24T07:14:00.002Z

Oh yes....that is my new job title!

How cool does that sound?!?!

How did it happen? Well, let me tell you.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

A couple of weeks ago, you may remember that I had to leave my job due to a shoulder problem. The fact was, I couldn't lift, I couldn't carry and even being on my feet too long made it hurt. I could barely lift my arm above my head.

Well, I still can't do any of those things!

I decided to take some time off and find myself a new job which didn't involve doing any of these things. Perhaps a little office job to keep me going until I decide what I want to do and no longer have a horrible poker being stuck into my shoulder Roman style? (If you've seen the series Rome you may have a yucky mental image, but that's the best way to describe the pain I'm afraid) Yeah that sounds like a good idea to me!

I figured it would probably take forever to get a job (what with the highest unemployment rates and all that jazz) so I popped my CV onto a recruitment agency straight away and decided to spend my days snuggled on my sofa, trawling the adverts.

Well. I was wrong. Because late last week I got a call from a very lovely recruitment consultant saying that my CV had appeared in her search. The reason? Well, I did happen to pop into my CV that I've ventured into jewellery making and she just happened to be looking for someone to apply for a job with one of the UK's leading diamond specialists!!

The job is perfect for me at the moment. It doesn't involve working on my feet. It doesn't involve any lifting. And I don't need to tie my hair back! (something I can't at the moment)

I get to sit in a lovely, supportive chair and answer questions and queries about diamonds. There is a bit of sales involved, but hey, I'm good at that! It's come along really quickly and seems perfect for my situation. Hopefully now I'll be able to let my shoulder heal without having to lose out on an income me and the boyfriend really couldn't afford to lose out on!

Goodbye purple smoke and butterflies! (for now, not forever, no doubt!)

New Things!!

2010-03-20T11:09:00.006Z

As I said earlier this week (or was it last week??) I've been really busy, dashing around all over the place and haven't had much time to blog. I will explain why soon, but not today.

Because amidst all the dust clouds I've been creating as I zoom zoom around the world, I managed to create a little bit of crafty time (mostly whilst the boyfriend watched the footie so I had to keep myself occupied!.

I've made some simple, but gorgeous things recently and think its about time I showed them off here :)

So here we go!

My Sweet Nest Egg

Pearls for Mother

There Be Monsters in These Ere Waters!

And finally (not listed yet but coming soon...)..

Time for Croquet!

All (apart from the last one!) available from:

I won I won!!

2010-03-19T07:26:00.004Z

I one a blog give away!

I never win competitions, ever! So to actually have my name drawn out of the hat...well, I may have done a little happy dance :)

The competition was over at Maxine Veronica's blog and I entered for the chance to win a brooch, not just any brooch, but a brooch in any colour I wanted! So of course, once I'd finished with my happy dance, I thought long and hard (for about 0.5seconds) and decided I wanted purple with a hint of pink :)

Maxine finished it the same day she drew my name out and it was waiting for me when I got home yesterday! I must say, it was pretty good to come home knowing I had a prize waiting for me; I felt so special!

Here it is in all it's glory, my purple with a hint of pink, hand made, gorgeous brooch! (enter drum roll here)

How pretty is that?!?!

If you like this, you really should pop over to Maxine's Folksy Shop and have a little gander at everything else she has on offer!

Catch me if you caaaannn!!

2010-03-16T07:23:00.002Z

Just a quickie this morning!

I feel like I've adopted the persona of the White Rabbit recently! Or maybe Willy Wonka? Hmmm...I am partial to a bit of chocolate so maybe Wonka...anyway

Basically, I have a million and 6 things to do and no time to do it in! I'm getting up early and collapsing in exhaustion late at night. It's non-stop for me!

So I've been neglecting my blog and not frequenting the crafts forum much of late, but I'm still keeping an eye on folksy, updating the facebook page and I WILL at some point be trying to figure out this Twitter malarky.

I hope that soon I will get used to my schedule, or perhaps it will change slightly, and be able to update here a bit more regularly. This weekend I may let you all in on some exciting news...Or maybe I won't he he he

Yep definitely Wonka!

tattybyebye!

Down the Rabbit Hole....

2010-03-11T08:49:00.003Z

Yes!

On Wednesday I finally got to see the new Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland! I say finally, it only came out last Friday but I've been absolutely desperate to see it. In 3d naturally.

Now, it's received some pretty bad reviews, saying that the dialogue isn't up to scratch, that the story line isn't strong enough and that the only good thing is the seamless use of both actors and animation.

Well let me tell you something for nothing. It was brilliant! I don't know what anyone else was expecting, but this surpassed my expectations ten fold.

Correct me if I'm wrong as well, but isn't the entire film based on a poem about the Jaberwocky? And if I am right, how can you say the storyline isn't up to scratch? A 90 minute film based on a Victorian poem? That's no mean feat!

The story isn't the typical Alice in Wonderland that we're all familiar with, this Alice is 19 years old and for the last 13 years of her life has been plagued by a nightmare of a wonderful land with blue caterpillars, giant birds and strange looking people.

When she falls down another rabbit hole at her impromptu engagement party (impromptu because she isn't engaged when she arrives) she believes she's in another dream...she doesn't quite understand why she doesn't wake up when she's stuck in the foot by the courageous little mouse played by Barbara Windsor!

Gradually Alice begins to wonder if she is dreaming at all, rediscovering her 'muchness', quite possibly falling in love with the mad hatter (who wouldn't?!) and debating whether or not she really will fight the Jabberwoky and save underworld from the disaster it has become under the rule of the Red Queen (a rather strange looking Helena Bonham Carter).

Johnny Depp was amazing as the mad hatter. Mad, lovable and pretty heroic to boot! Occasionally he did sound a little Jack sparrow, but taking into account that he had to slip between three different accents and speak his lines at around 100mph I can forgive him! And...well...how to describe? The funderwhacking? Have you ever seen the mad hatter dance? You may do if you see the film!!

Even stranger than the mad hatter? Well, it could only be the Red Queen! With her bulbous head, elaborate love for red hearts and strange disposition towards using animals as furniture she is a delight to watch, simply for her strangeness! And who knew?...The Red Queen has a Jonathon Ross style difficulty pronouncing her r's!

I loved this film so, so, sooooo much! The gothic underworld, the beautiful animation, the amazing actors and the unusual take on the children's classic made a fantastic film! The seamless use of animation and real actors was a true delight to behold and it truly was a treat for the eyes, the ears and the heart, this film left me wanting more (*cough* more Johnny Depp) and desperate to see it again, in fact I may have to post a couple of pictures of the film to keep me satisfied a little longer.

Pictures coming soon!

Peeved, confused, angry? Rant alert!!!

2010-03-10T09:47:00.003Z

So I was just this second (well, maybe a bout 30 seconds ago with the time it took my laptop to load blogger), scrolling through a forum that I'm pretty active on. It's fab, gives loads of encouragement, help and advice on all things crafty, and there is a great community feel for non craft problems too. But today I came across something that has confused me a little?

I can't decide what I'm feeling. Anger? Not quite. Confusion, yes. Indignation? Definitely.

Basically, the crux of it is, someone saying that putting different charms or beads together to make a piece of jewellery isn't crafting.

Now, I'm the first to admit, that I buy my beads from online shops. That I buy my chains from shops or online. And I most certainly buy my findings in (although I did make a jump ring the other day...a little wonky, but it was a jump ring!) Apparently, this means I'm not a crafter?

What about my vintage charms? Am I meant to travel back in time, make them in the 1950's, hide them in a box under a tree and come back 60 years later to dig them up and use??

It has only been a year or so since I started making jewellery (or perhaps I don't really make jewellery? Just put things together?!!!), and before I started reading tutorials, finding articles online and asking for advice, there is absolutely no way in h...that firey place down below, that I would have known how to attach a pretty charm to a jump ring and an ear wire to make a pair of earrings! And, I'm sorry...you need pliers for this?!?

There may be a lot of the same things out there, a lot of the same charms being used in different ways, but this is the whole point of a woman's prerogative to shop around! To find the one we actually like!

My point is, that whether I make my own beads, or put beads I discover to good use, not everyone out there can do this, and doing it is a skill. Making something so pretty someone wants to buy it is also a skill. I'll put different things together in a way someone else hasn't thought of. Or maybe they have, but I'll do it my way. And if someone likes that, and someone wants to wear that. How? How I ask you, am I not a crafter?

Rainy days and Mondays....

2010-03-08T15:40:00.004Z

Well, they usually get me down but this Monday is pretty sunny and since I'm not at work isn't too bad at all!

I've been quite busy the past couple of days, a little bit of crafting here and there and a lot of relaxing and pampering (it takes time to paint a girls nails you know!) which I think counts as being busy :)

I've made a rather pretty bracelet which I'm particularly proud of, I've already shown it off on my Facebook Fan Page but today I've listed it for sale and thought I'd pop it on here for you to get a little look at as well!

So here it is, this is 'Lancaster Roses for a Pearly Queen'

Aptly named for the combination of luxurious looking glass pearls and beautiful red roses, which were, of course, the emblem of the house of Lancaster during the War of the Roses!

And a friend of mine also pointed out that this would make a lovely gift for anyone that likes a bit of Alice in wonderland as any budding Red Queen out there wouldn't need to paint her own roses...they're already red!

I'd love to know what you all think!

Something for the weekend?

2010-03-06T15:27:00.004Z

If the weekend looks a bit chilly (and lets face it...lately it's looking pretty cold!!) then I'm well prepared!!

I set my crafty hands to work a while back and made myself a seriously chunky and warm purple scarf!! It is quite possible the warmest scarf I have ever owned! This might have something to do with the fact that I used three balls of wool to make it...hehe!

It is a little on the basic side, but it gets the job done and the fact that it's purple means I will love it forever!

So here it is...my purple chunky funky scarf!

Not the best picture in the world, but you can see the scarf...so it's good enough
:-P

hello my pretties!

2010-03-06T15:14:00.003Z

In the spirit of creativity I'd like to show off something I've been playing with today!!

I'm every so slightly obsessed with make up (If you've read my about me you would know this!) and love to play with different colours and make myself feel pretty!!

I figured that whilst the boyfriend is away, the monkey can play with her make up to her hearts content!

I bought these little beauties a couple of days ago, but haven't had much time to play...until earlier today!!

I decided not to go overboard (I have been known to look a little David Bowie on occasion) but try to play up the colour of my eyes...tell me what you think!

I think I need to add a touch of liquid liner to complete the look, but overall I'm really happy! I've only used two colours of the set and will be playing with the others soon!

Wooohooooooo!!

2010-03-05T11:05:00.006Z

I've been nominated for my first ever blog award!

Thank you so much to Emma over from Urban Sophistication Designs for nominating me for the 'Sunshine Award'. I feel so honoured! I haven't been blogging that long, and wasn't really sure that many people out there were even aware of me, so to say I'm pleased in as understatement!

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose posts inspire positivity and creativity in other bloggers; how nice is that?!

The rules for accepting the award (which I most certainly will do!) are:

Place the logo within your blog or post

Pass the award on to 12 bloggers

Link the nominees within the post

Place the logo within your blog or post

Let the nominees know they have received the award by commenting on their blog

Share the love and link to the person from whom you received the award

So....in no particular order, my nominees for the Sunshine Award are:

Shpangle
Minky Magic
Scribble Chic
Kazell
PandaDoesMakeup
Owl Loves Panda
Spellbound Charms
Not Just Handbags
Pirate Treasures Jewellery
Maygreen Fairies
Top Cat
Birdcage Creative

Oooh, it does feel nice to spread a little sunshine!!

Such a productive morning!

2010-03-04T15:01:00.004Z

When I started this blog, I wanted to use it to show off all of my creations, big or small, brilliant or...not-so-brilliant!

Lately I haven't done much showing off of anything but jewellery, but that is about the change!!

Enter please....(drumroll)....the world famous 5 minute mug cake!!

A friend sent me a link to this on facebook a while back but today I felt in need of some chocolate and decided to give it a go!!

Here it is fresh out of the ov...microwave!!

I'm not entirely sure you can tell how unbelievably huge that mug is?! If any of you have ever been to Disney and bought one of these, I'm sure you know there is about a pint of cake in there!

I've also taken a picture of it once I turned it out :D....It didn't quite make it though! So I had to fish out the other half!

Please note this cake is purely functional! It is only there to satisfy a chocolate craving and is not meant to be pretty! That black slickish stuff you might see is the extra helping of chocolate syrup I decided to slather it with for extra tastiness!!

Give it a go yourself!

(I'm actually a really good cook and normally spend ages in the kitchen cooking up a masterpiece, but this was just too handy a cake recipe for me to not try! Pretty yummy it was too!)

Things looking up or down??

2010-03-04T12:59:00.002Z

I will have to change that 'about me' section that I had so much trouble filling in in the first place!!

I don't think anyone out there actually knows this, but I recently injured my shoulder and have been unable to work properly. I went back to work this week, in a more limited role, but was still in an incredible amount of pain, at one point I had to disappear for a minute so I didn't cry in front of my customers!

I made a tough decision.

Due to the amount of time I'd had off recently, I wouldn't be entitled to any sick pay from the company if I had more time off to fully recover, but it was obviously impossible for me to work with the pain I was in. So I handed in my resignation.

I'm sad to leave, I worked very hard there and was progressing well with the company. I liked what I was doing and had been there for quite some time.

But. This is a good thing! Because I can now turn my hand (not my shoulder!) to something different! I can rest my shoulder for now and look for something that doesn't require much lifting or stretching. The only question is...which city am I going to look in??

We shall see!

Off on the search I go, cup of tea in one hand, biscuits on the table, and a lovely warming lavender monkey against my shoulder to aid me! Here I goooooooo.

Wish me luck!!

Lets Talk Shop!

2010-03-03T08:51:00.003Z

Right, I've made a decision.

And that decision is......

(drum roll)

To open a Folksy shop too!

The reason for this is that I think a lot of people out there trust Folksy for buying handmade things online. It's a large community with a lot of trusted sellers and I think that it's probably a better place for me to start out.

I've put a couple of things on there for the moment and I will be adding more day by day (ooh the suspense!) The other store is still live, but it just gives anyone out there the choice of which site they would prefer, which I think is pretty nice my be really!

(It may also have something to do with me liking the pretty purple background of my other store too, but really it's because I'm nice!)

So please have a look and tell me what you think! There is a nice big box on the side bar for you to click on....oh what the hell! I'll stick it here too!

Hehehe, shameless promotion!!

On another note. I had a bit of a bad day yesterday which left me in a bit of a mood. I might blog about it tomorrow, I'm not quite sure of the outcome yet. But beware...tomorrow might be a big bad blogger rant day. Or it might not!

Oh the confusion!

I'm no elephant...I used to be able to ride a bike!

2010-02-28T18:24:00.002Z

A bit of a cryptic title there! But it's meant to point out the fact that I have a mind like a sieve and forgot to mention something that I really wanted to mention!

So before I forget again! I now also have a face book fan page. There isn't much there right about now, but it will soon have plenty of details and sneaky peaks! I'd love it if you felt like following! :)

Now, as long as I remember to add the link to this post, I should have remembered what I forgot earlier and everything should be back on track :)

Toodles!

A permanent reminder :)

2010-02-28T11:48:00.002Z

It's bee two weeks today since valentine's day and my lovely roses are just about (well more than just about) ready for making compost :( Just after my wonderful boyfriend gave them to me I decided to take some pictures and now that they're going I think I should pop the pictures on here so that they'll be an eternal reminder of the lovely gifts he gave me!

And these are the two boxes of chocolates he gave me! Two! Heart shaped boxes at that! I'm VERY proud to say that I actually do have a couple of chocolates left! But this is actually down to the fact that my boyfriend hates dark chocolate so refilled my boxes with all the dark chocolates he had and didn't want! Extra chocs for meeeeee...he is great isn't he?!

I haven't really had a chance to update on here much the past couple of days as there's been a few things going on in Monkeyville! All may or may not be revealed in the next couple of days (which will also be very busy!) So you'll just have to keep looking to find out!

Now seen as it's Sunday mor...afternoon; I'm off to go and get a bacon sandwich..well, I'm off to see if the boyfriend wants to make me one!

Wow, Wow..omg...Wow!!

2010-02-24T15:48:00.002Z

I've jumped into the deep end!

I've bitten the bullet!

I've taken a big bite of something chewy!...

I've opened up an online shop!

I figured I may as well give it a go!
I'm actually shaking a little with nerves right now! Will anyone look at my shop? Will anyone like anything I've made? Will anyone tell anyone else about it? Will anyone buy anything?!?!

I've got the bellows at the ready to fight off any purple smoke and if I see a butterfly within twenty feet (would that have to be a super large butterfly? I do wear contacts afterall!) I'll get my net out too! This venture will NOT go up in smoke! I'm going to make a go of this!!

Well...here goes...all or nothing....here's my shop!

Lou Lou's Luxuries

In shock

2010-02-21T18:41:00.005Z

I'm still reeling from a film I saw last night.

My boyfriend and me settled down last night to watch The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Now, don't get me wrong, I was under no illusion that this was going to be a happy film. I knew it was one that looked at concentration camps during WWII and I knew that it wasn't going to be a happy ride.

But I just wasn't prepared! It completely devastated me from the moment I first saw one of 'farmers'.

Looking at the holocaust from the view of an 8 year old was a completely original idea. Bruno doesn't know what a concentration camp is, he doesn't understand why he's being taught to hate 'the Jew', he doesn't understand why his older sister has posters of Hitler on her wall and he doesn't understand why his new friend isn't allowed to come and play him and why he has to wear striped pyjamas all the time.

The ending of this film is brilliant. Not in a happy ending way, believe me, there is nothing happy about this ending. I was crying ten minutes before the credits rolled just anticipating what was happening. I was so scared I was nearly strangling my pillow! The ending is brilliant because you genuinely feel the horror of the situation.

This film is not entertainment. But it is a must see.

I can't even review this film to you because I'm just overwhelmed by it.
Find a real review here

My new Lovelies :)

2010-02-21T16:26:00.003Z

I found my camera :) I swear it has legs of it's own and runs away because it takes me so long to take a decent picture!

Here are a couple of the things I've been making. Like I said before I'm very proud of them! I'm not going to put pictures of them all up because I don't want to bore you!!

I'd really love it if you could let me know what you think? (That's if there's anyone out there!)

'The key to my heart is a red rose' And you get both with these earrings!

'Psychedelic Seventies' Vintage inspired drop earrings.

These are my favourites so far :) They're made with vintage 1950's lockets and bows and I call them 'Keeping you locked in my heart'.

I popped a little ruby red glass pearl in to add a little colour. I love them because they're so unusual, I've never seen locket earrings before and think it was a pretty clever idea by me! They're surprisingly lightweight and as you can see they're fully functioning so a little picture can be locked away in there!

So they're my latest earrings, I have a couple of necklaces too but I'll show them later...OK I admit it, I just haven't managed to take a good picture of them yet!

Feel free to comment on the pictures as well as the jewellery!

If you look really carefully....

2010-02-20T15:57:00.002Z

...you'll see that I'm actually yellow with black stripes!

No, I having been eating too many blue smarties, I've just been a very, very busy bee!

Firstly, I've been planning Christmas presents! Yes, I'm well aware that it's still February but I found an amazing site that sells kits for making your own bath bombs/lip balms/massage bars and a whole lot more and it's gotten me v.v.excited! I love giving these things as presents anyway but I think that they'll be a hundred times better if they're home made! I'm pretty sure that once they're made they'll have to be used pretty quickly so I'm not stocking up yet but I've been mentally listing (I like making lists, don't judge me on this) what I'm going to make and who's gonna get it!

Oh...AND they sell Singapore sling flavoured shower gel....this is also a reason for excitement!! Cocktail flavoured bath and body treats...it doesn't get much better!

I've also been a busy bee crafting away :) So much so in fact that when I got in my lovely, hot, strawberry scented bubble bath this morning I discovered (through experiencing extreme pain) that I've got a rather nasty pliers-induced blister on my hand!

The things we suffer for hey?

Well, it doesn't matter, the pieces came out gorgeous! I'm very very proud of them and will be showing them off shortly! They are all vintage and vintage inspired pieces this time round and I'm sure I'll not be the only one falling in love with them!

Now I'm off to find my camera and possibly some smarties now that I've mentioned them!

The Romantic Rabbit

2010-02-18T17:22:00.004Z

'He might be late but at least he brings you roses' :)

I was expecting more post than the one small padded envelope that fluttered through my door this morning and I have to say that I was a little disappointed that everything didn't arrive at once. But never mind! I still managed to create this little beauty today :)

What do you think? Personally I'm pretty proud of it! Putting those pearls together is no mean feat I tell you! It's approximately 20 inches long and made with graduated cream glass pearls. The links and clasp are gold plated. My favourite bit is the little red rose.

After all, we all know that if a man shows up with roses we're that little bit more likely to forgive the ten minutes we've been waiting!!

And...breathe....

2010-02-16T17:24:00.004Z

Panic over!

Well, it was a panic for me...probably not for anyone else out there!

As of about 2 hours ago I have a couple of bags of gorgeous vintage goodies winging their way to my door! I'm so excited! My fingers are itching to play with everything I've ordered and see what I can create!

I'll be sure to put the pics up the second they're made!!

I've also been busy and updated my profile. I'll probably go and change it again tomorrow, I don't know about you, but I always find them really annoying and difficult to do? There's probably a disturbing psychological explanation for an irrational fear of explaining details about oneself but I shall choose to ignore this possibility and just change it as and when I feel like it.

Ignorance is bliss :)

Anyone got any spare horseshoes??

2010-02-16T12:45:00.002Z

I could really use some better luck!

Every time I find the perfect item for making some jewellery with...it's out of stock!! It's driving me loopy!

I wish websites would label thing out of stock before getting to the check out!

Maybe I should rename this website Loopy Lou Lou's?? hehe

Rings of Roses

2010-02-15T17:47:00.007Z

Ok, so these were the first pieces of jewellery I ever made! Well that's a lie, when I was ickle I made plenty of bracelets and necklaces (mostly of the friendship kind), but I like to push those to the back of my mind and truly believe that this is the beginning of my jewellery making!

I really like them, I wore a set myself almost all of last summer and received lots of compliments! But Like I said earlier, I do want to move towards a more vintage feel with what I'm making so I don't think I'll be doing much more like this.

I'm still really proud of them because I think of them as 'real' jewellery if that makes sense? I'd love to know what other people think of them?

Valentines and Vintage

2010-02-15T10:06:00.006Z

Well, I needed a little rant this morning, it's just so annoying when things don't work out.

But anyhow, enough of that! On a very happy side, I had a great valentine's day yesterday! amidst our startling realisation that we might need to move back up north, my boyfriend and I had a lovely day, eating chocolates (from a heart shaped box no less yay) smelling beautiful roses and cuddling in bed.

It doesn't get much better than that!

And it was also the perfect remedy for a bit of a nightmare I had the day before; Like I said before, I love all things vintage and have recently discovered a love for making jewellery. My first pieces were little floral lovelies (which I shall post some pictures of soon)but I've recently decided that I'd like to make some vintage and vintage inspired pieces.

The perfect opportunity arose on Saturday! A vintage jumble sale in brick lane! Pay £20 for a sack and fill it with whatever you can find, from dresses to shoes to bags and jewellery! I went with a plan, to stock up on as many necklaces and charms as I could find to harvest for my own jewellery and if I found a couple of pretty dresses along the way...even better!

So early Saturday, I donned my favourite vintage faux-fur coat and head down to brick lane to pop into the sale, I got there 10 minutes after the shop opened thinking I'd snag all the best pieces....

Oh how wrong was I?? Cue a line at least 100 people long, a three hour wait and a basement left with nothing but trampled on, ripped and generally unusable clothing, not a bag, boot, or pair of earrings in site......purple smoke with butterflies.

Back to the drawing board.

Must remember to show you my floral beauties :)

The best laid plans...

2010-02-15T09:39:00.002Z

Always seem to go up in a puff of purple smoke! (well my smoke is purple...other people's smoke is usually green or blue. Mine also has butterflies floating in it, but that's just irrelevant)

The plan, if you were wondering, has been in the pipeline for over a year. The plan was for me and my boyfriend to move to London (check) for us to get decent jobs (check) for us to find our own flat (at the moment we live with my parents)for us to take courses in things we love, for us to set up our own business....not check, not check, not check.

What is with the prices in London?!?! I just don't get it? When I lived up North (yes I've done a bit of moving around in the last couple of years) I had a nice(ish) flat not 15 minutes away from the city centre, next to a park and pretty close to all transport links and it cost less than £400 a month! We can't even find a grotty studio down an alleyway for less than £800!

How do people do it??? Do they pay rent and live off raw carrots?? And how could we ever afford the courses we want? More loans?? And do NOT even get me started on travel costs!!

We've come to an almost decision now; Either we find better jobs here in the next two months or we're packing up and going back up north. Where I've already seen a 2 bed, furnished, city centre HOUSE for £525 a month!!

So much for plans :(

Here I go!!

2010-02-14T13:54:00.003Z

So this is my first ever blog post and I don't really know where to start?!

Maybe I should tell you a little about myself and why I've set up a blog? Yes I think that seems like a good place to begin!

Well, I go by the name MonkeyLouLou a lot of the time, but you're more than welcome to just call me LouLou if you want to be more conventional! I'm 21 years old and live in London.

I'm slightly obsessed with films, books, make-up and fashion and have recently discovered I'm actually quite creative!

This is a bit of a revelation for me as I've always been more academic than creative, but apparently you can be both! (Yet another stereotype gone a-ry).

Ok that sounds a little full of myself.....

Back on track. I've set up this blog as a place for me to air my thoughts on anything and everything that comes to mind and to show off any of my creations.

My most recent endeavour is jewellery making...so expect a lot of pictures of that!!

I think that's enough for now. I'm going to try and make posts as often as possible and let you know a little bit more about me and the things I do as I go along.

Bye for now!!