by Carla Louise | Sep 17, 2014 | At Home, carlalouise, Crafting, Creating, Gratitude and goals, Jewellery, Projects & Challenges |
I’m sure I start every post like this, but how fast is 2014 disappearing to?! It’s turning out to be such a funny year – a mixture of ups and downs both big and small.
A few days away from the day job, in theory to work on my businesses and get myself organised again after some reshuffling, have ended up being gorgeous but not as business focused as I’d originally planned.
I’ve house hunted with a dear friend (and found one!), discovered I can drive a Luton van, experimented with glow in the dark paint, got Poppy through her MOT, visited my Gran, had a whole day with Mum mooching round the independent and charity shops of Maldon, fixed some jewellery, had lots and lots of kitty cuddles and started sketching out and playing with new jewellery designs. Which is exciting, as that’s been on hold since about February.
I’m planning to focus my new work on the printed pieces (wooden and dominoes) as talisman jewellery, to go in my shop here and also probably over on my Etsy shop at some stage. From trees to keys and owls to ravens (and of course typewriters and campervans and wings!), I hope that everyone will find something that helps them keep their beliefs and secret wishes by their side always.
Annastasia and I have also been having a glorious time choosing new stock for Ink Drops, and one of our new artists lives just down the road from me – truly local!
Back to the day job tomorrow but I’m feeling ok about that – campus is so beautiful as we approach autumn and though there’s a huge amount of work to be done between now and Christmas, at least I’m busy… my Creator and Scanner selves don’t deal well with boredom!
And this afternoon I’ll be adding more stock to my shop… so keep your eyes peeled.
Have a wonderful Wednesday afternoon!
by Carla Louise | Nov 13, 2012 | Memories, Personal Development |
It’s been, amazingly, a whole month since my first ever burlesque performance. Cabaret night had been excitedly planned, panicked over and squeaked about for quite some time, and then crept up on us quite suddenly!
Any of you who know me in real life or follow me on Twitter will be aware that although I’ve loved burlesque, corsets and the pin up style most of my adult life, and have danced most of my life, joining a burlesque dance course was quite a big step. A step that, once taken, I couldn’t understand why it had taken me so long – I think was born to prance about in a corset and high heels with feathers in my hair!!
I dance with some of my closest friends, and lots of lovely friends turned up to watch us dance, among them Lou and her sister, who also ran a Contrariety Rose stall on the night… 
and some of my uni girls who schlepped all the way up from Oxford, Kent and Southend… bless them! Was lovely to see them though I was far too overexcited to actually have a proper conversation!
Here are some more pics of us dancers…
And we made it into the Essex Chronicle the following week!
It was a glorious night (I also had a Ducking Fabulous stall) and I came off the stage wanting to go and do it again, preferably immediately! Definitely have the performing bug back again after so long away from the stage – and can’t wait to start classes again in January!
by Carla Louise | Mar 13, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Ok, I know, it isn’t Thursday, but I’ve had a very productive morning in the day job and decided it was time for a well-earned break. So here are some bits and pieces from around the web and the real world that have made me smile…
I’m wearing this dress today. It’s possibly the most pin up thing in my wardrobe apart from my corsets, and I LOVE it. Would never have gone for the bodycon trend until I tried it on by accident, but it does wonderful things for my curves.
My logo proofs have arrived, from the very talented Jamie at Fresh Lavender Designs. So exciting! Go and have a nose at her Etsy shop, it’s lovely!
Why I am at work, battling spreadsheets, when I could be at home with a kitten and a tortoise is beyond me…
Adding to my Pinterest board – some favourites…
*EDIT* Oops, something bad happened when I tried to embed my Pinterest favourites… *runs off to try and fix*
And adding to my Project Pin Up alter-ego’s style scrapbook – inspiration and bits and pieces that help me form and maintain her persona. I’m planning a paper scrapbook, too.
And not forgetting: rediscovering strawberry water * reading actual fiction books * dreaming and planning for Ducking Fabulous’s relaunch * lunch with my lovely manager * catching up with old friends * puppy goodness * chocolate cheesecake * finally getting to grips with my temporary phone (it’ll be gone by April!) * a sense of happiness and contentedness that has stolen over me in the last week or so.
by Carla Louise | Mar 4, 2012 | Creating |
Something I’ve been meaning to try for ages, but had somehow not got around to, these were the best of my first batch of bottlecap pendants – but there will be more,I really enjoyed making them. And have been looting bottlecaps to upcycle from all over the place.
Card and buttons or charms seem to work well, as long as there is sufficient medium to cover them – it does shrink as it dries, which I’d not anticipated. My current favourite (a silver tree on a sparkly green background) is most definitely a second quality-wise, but has taught me a lot for the next batch.
Printed photos, however, on normal paper, do not work. I tried to make one with a photograph of Rusty McLusty, and on inspecting it this morning, the colours have run quite drastically. I will be investigating and testing better paper/ink/printing methods – watch this space!
