Stationery Obsession

I think I have decided that next year I am going to go back to college, I took a few years out and have been working full time in a cafe, but I feel like now is the right time to go back as I am a much stronger and more self motivated than I ever have been before. In making this decision I have reopened the doors to my love of stationary, I haven't had much use of a good planner or pencil case while working in a cafe, but I certainly will at college. I have to say paperchase is by far my favourite stationery store of all time and I have been spending half of my life on their website recently.

The Spora Neon Pencil Case

This is simple but bright, I like the little mushroom detail on the zip as well. I'm not sure how I would feel about having something so vibrant all the time though, so I might opt for something a little less orange.

Warm Wood Week Diary

Again a simple design, I love the wood effect on this, the front is not made of wood but actually faux-leather so its flexible enough to use but has a nicer cover than a plastic. 

Cat Highlighters

These are just really fun, I love cats and I love stationery so I mean I kinda need them. 

Theres the first few things on my list for college! Truth be told I'm really excited about going to college again, it feels like the right time for me where I won't be controlled by anxiety and am studying something I really enjoy! 

Hobbies I want to learn

I think it would be really interesting to enrich my life as much as possible when I have free time, I want to take up new hobbies every passing day and I want to learn what I enjoy, so here is a little list of the things I think I would enjoy learning:

Writing a novel
Beekeeping
Roller skating
Hulla Hooping
Surfing
Scuba diving
Photography
Embroidery

And I have some hobbies I would like to improve which I already have basic knowledge on:
Knitting
Yoga
Jewellery making
Illustration
Graphic design
Running
Writing poetry

This is more of a little list for myself to remind myself of what I would like to learn in life.
H x

Worriers are warriors

I am a worrier
and by that I mean
there are these little demons in my head
that try to occupy more space than they're worth.
They tickle away at my brain,
and at night they really come alive,
for they thrive off the darkness
when the light has gone from my big ideas.

The first one
is so big I'm not too sure how he fits,
he tells me that I am never going to get anywhere in life
that my job as a waitress
will be long term.

The next
likes to tell me that I don't have enough talent
to do what I love.
Forget drawing or writing,
there is always someone better.

After that,
there's this little one
that tells me I don't have the money
to move out, or travel
and I will be stuck in this place forever.

The next one has been with me so long
that I almost consider her a friend,
she tells me that I'm not pretty enough
or skinny enough
for anyone but her to like me.

I hate them,
and they terrify me,
more than any horror movie or spider
but I am fighting these little monsters every single day.
therefore,
I am a warrior.




inspired by this video 

Musings of a lost girl

I run a blog about nothing in particular and just write about whatever I want to. I don't know if anyone even bothers to read it or if I am just writing these musings to myself, I don't think I would read my blog if it wasn't mine. But because it's mine maybe I will figure some stuff out about myself, or maybe it'll remain as a lost little piece of the internet. But at least it's completely mine.

Truth be told, I don't know what I'm doing on here. I think I like to write, but I don't think I'm any good at it. I like to draw, but I'm pretty average at that as well. I think I'm hoping for some miracle in the form of blogging. I am a perfectionist but I want to be happy with this imperfect blog. 

So heres what I'm going to do: I'm going to keep writing on here, some posts might be pretty bad (like this one) but maybe I can build up my writing skills, maybe I can talk about my illustrations more. I don't really know. 

Thats all for now, 

love from a lost girl

Drink

When everything is drunk

You look through it with one eye

To concentrate on what you see

Even if it demands a 2D perspective 

Because in reality everything is disorganised 

Lazy

am I ill 

or am I just sick 

of getting out of bed 

maybe I enjoy having no schedule to follow 

a day to just stop. 

I can lie and lie 

and think of all the ways my body pains me 

then I will believe in this sickness 

maybe 

it is made up 

or real 

in my head 

I long to travel

I long to travel and see the world, I have never had the bravery to organise and go on a trip but have longed for it all my life. Over a year ago I was meant to be traveling by myself to Indonesia, unfortunately my anxiety had a lot to say about that and it began to be more stress than it was worth, but I promised myself that I would go when I was ready.

Indonesia was put on hold but then a few months ago I decided I would give traveling another go, I organised for me and my best friend Bethan to go to Morocco (just for a week), it is now 20 days away and I have never been more excited, I have organised this trip myself and it has been so rewarding to do so as my organisation skills are normally not the best! However I have proven to myself that I am capable of being organised when I put my mind to it when it's for something I will enjoy.

I have only been abroad on family holidays besides one party holiday with friends, and have only been out of Europe once to visit Florida (which has a very similar culture so I don't count that as traveling) so this will be a totally new experience. It is a stepping stone towards Indonesia, and a manageable one that my anxiety hasn't controlled.

Morocco is the beginning of this aspect of my life, and I believe that once I've conquered it, I will be flying everywhere across the world in years to come, hurrah!

Cardiff Concert - McBusted (OMFG)

I was thrown into a whirlwind of nostalgia when I attended a McBusted show earlier this week, it was an explosion (quite literally - there were pyrotechnics everywhere) of famous songs from the Noughties which had me singing along from start to finish, mixed with a Back To The Future feel, the band McFly being named after the movie's main character, Marty McFly.

I'm going to be honest, I was hesitant when I first heard about the collaboration, I was nervous (but also very excited) about what this announcement might mean for McFly, who in themselves are still hugely successful and current. I was met with people saying that they were going to go "only for Busted" and it really upset me, I am a massive fan of McFly as a band (I also love Busted so it's all good) so I didn't want them to be shadowed by this return of Busted. However I realised it would be a chance for McFly to prove to the people that never gave them the chance as they were seen by some as "the second Busted" that they were equally as awesome, because having seen them live 7 times before, people could realise how totally amazing they were to watch, and I was right. Every single person who has been to the shows who wasn't already a fan of McFly that I have spoken to now loves them. Obviously there will still be the people who say "Busted are better" but I will choose to ignore those people as they upset me and I prefer not to compare the two bands as it's not a competition (especially not anymore because they are now one Supergroup - yay)

McFly were the first band I saw live, they were my first ever concert, and I saw them at Westonbirt Arboretum for one of their Radio:Active forest shows back in 2008 (I think) and ever since that moment I was hooked! I liked them before the show, but after seeing them on stage I kinda had an obsession. For those who haven't seen these guys live, you need to. I have never seen a band with such good stage presence, they always know how to act with the audience and their songs are just so awesome played live, just trust me on this, I have seen loads of bands live but I keep coming back to McFly, I will never tire of their shows.

For this show I actually won tickets to see them from Global Citizen, I entered the competition on the off chance I would actually win, having already bought tickets for one of the shows in Birmingham (I still have that show to come, on the 17th of May.) I was absolutely shocked when I won the tickets, but my biggest shock was when I went to pick them up on the day with my friend from the box office and we were given "OMFG Zone" passes. For those who don't know, the OMFG zone is the VIP zone for the shows, in a little area between the stage and the walkways around the stage. Me and my friend looked at each other on being handed them and the first thing which came out of my mouth was "holy shit", and thats pretty much the only words I muttered for the next few hours after that.

We didn't have to queue and when we went in we were practically on the stage, we couldn't have been closer if we tried. After the support bands (who were all really good and pretty cute) there was a short wait before a video came on showing the press conference of Busted splitting - I'm not gonna lie I almost cried, however it was quickly transformed into a hilarious clip which led to their entrance. I won't ruin it too much for those going but it includes a Delorean... awesome. From the OMFG zone they were walking all around us on the stage, you could pretty much touch at least one of them at any one moment. You could feel the heat of the pyrotechnics, hear every word they sang, and saw every drip of sweat on their foreheads (kinda gross but you get the idea).

They had some great on-stage banter as always, if a little rude at times *cough* Dougie *cough* but it was all lighthearted and hilarious, and the inclusion of the audience was fab!

They played a great mix of both bands' songs so it didn't matter who was your favourite, all the classics were in there, sung by all of them, along with a few other gems. Honestly I couldn't recommend this concert any more highly if I tried, it was truly fantastic and I am so glad I have another show yet to come otherwise I think I would be curled up in a ball somewhere crying about how I want to go back.

Priorities

Hello my dears, sorry for not posting! 

So today I thought I would have a little reminiss on things I have learnt to be important to me in these last few months.

I have learnt to only make time for people who have time for me, everyone I have in my life at the moment is extremely important to me, I don't have any "fake" friendships and am a lot happier for it, I spent too much time on people that didn't deserve a second. The people that make you happy and value you as a person are the only people you need, cutting off toxic friendships is important. I am so happy to say I love everyone in my life right now with all of my heart, I am so happy with the friends I have and they mean the world to me!

I have been learning to make the most of my time as well, on my days off, instead of lying in bed all day like I have in the past, it is so much more memorable to do things, last week on my days off I met up with friends and bottle fed some lambs! So much more memories than having a lie in!

Learning skills and hobbies is so enriching, I have taken to illustrations a lot but I have also been learning how to knit, make candles and lots of other little skills! It pleases me so much to learn something new.

Lastly, sunshine is the best mood changer there is, having heat and light on your face is just delightful, enjoy every single sunny day there is, it is so important to catch those rays! It's the beginning of pimms season (my favourite season) so I will be absorbing all the sunshine I can and probably having lots and lots of fruity cocktails. I spent my day off yesterday on the common - playing rounders, eating ice creams, flying a kite, having a picnic. It was perfect. 

I have learnt to value my life so much more recently and it truly is the most wonderful skill I have ever learnt. 

H x

My First Product

Hello my lovelies, sorry I've kept a bit quiet from blogging for a little while, I've been very busy!
If any of you read my post on Holly Berry Red Company you will know I've been setting up my own shop for my illustrations (if you haven't, go check that out now!) so that is an ongoing project I have going at the moment.
Well my biggest news that has come along so far is that I'm selling my first product myself! Previously I've had other companies printing and selling my designs for me, something to get me going but meaning I don't get much profit as all I'm doing is uploading the art.
Well I have been in touch with a lovely phone case company called giant sparrows who have sold some cases with of my designs on to me wholesale, meaning I can go on to sell them myself!
This is my first design I have had printed onto a case, one of my earliest prints and still a favourite of mine:

I wanted my first product to be true to me, I love puns and I love cats, so I combined the two together to give you guys an idea of what sort of products I will be making. It's a pretty turquoise which is slightly brighter than this picture gives off, I'm really excited about selling it! If you're interested in this design, it is for sale here at only £11, I only have the design for iPhone 5 at the moment, but I am planning on getting it printed for the iPhone 4 and other phones soon so keep your eyes peeled! 

Please feel free to check out my facebook page on my prints, 

Lots of love, H x

Perfume review - Diptyque, Do Son

I just bought this gorgeous perfume, I don't own very many perfumes at all because the nice ones are often so expensive, so this was a bit of a splurge for me! I didn't buy it off the official website but an ebay site, hence the old bottle style, (but which meant reduced price which is good for me and my bank balance.)

I love the brand diptyque but hadn't heard many reviews on this particular perfume, only going off that it smelt very floral, (my favourite type of perfume.) I instantly loved it from spraying it, its light, fresh and sophisticated and seems to last a reasonable amount of time.

As you can see the bottle looks stylish and pretty simple, I really love it as a product, if you get the chance, have a look at Diptyque's range, they have some lovely scents and I would definitely recommend this one. 

H x

Holly Berry Red Company

I have some very exciting news for all of you! I am in the process of setting up my own little shop!

This has been coming for a while now, I have been making little illustrations and scanning them in to make cute designs for things like t shirts and phone cases, it's a slow process but I have finally got the starting base for my graphics pieces.

The company is called Holly Berry Red (I've used this name for a while for things like my tumblr and more recently my blog) with my name being Holly and all. I love finding little quirky sites with illustrated goods on, and one day I was like "why don't I make some myself?!" and so it begun.
Heres a few of my designs for you to check out:

f you wanted something custom made or were interested in one of my designs, pop me an email at holly.astle@hotmail.co.uk (or tweet me etc) I am doing custom designs a lot right now and if I like the sound of yours I am most likely to do it FREE! (I need all the inspiration I can get at the moment!)
Check out my society 6 website here (where you can buy some of my designs)
Lots of Love, H x

Makeup review - the great and the gorgeous, ted baker

I received this late Christmas gift just yesterday and let me just start by saying it is up there as one of my favourite presents this year. It came packaged in a beautiful Art Deco inspired box of rose gold, baby pink and a deep purple. It is obviously aimed to grab the attention of "the great gatspy" fans after the film came out, and also the fashion of the time, which I absolutely adore. 

The box includes (from left to right) 2x nail polish, shimmer eye cream, eye glitter, false lashes, bronzing compact, liquid eyeliner pen, 2x lipstick crayons and 2x illuminators. (Also includes set of 4 cosmetic brushes.)

It is priced at £20 from boots (down from £40) so is reduced massively. Full price it's a bit pricey but for the amount you're getting and the quality of the products I would say it's well worth it. 

 

My favourite product is probably the deep lip crayon colour - I sampled both above, it is super pigmented and rich and looks absolutely gorgeous on my lips. I also love the pink one of course, but I have lots of loved pink lip crayons for it to compete with before I decide if it makes the cut.

My other favourite is the compact bronzer, I love rose gold anything so this product immediately caught my attention by the packaging alone. When I opened the box though it was a different matter - I am completely in love. It has a lot of shimmer so is ideal for a night out, and the colour and design of the whole thing is just stunning! I can't even begin to describe just how much I adore it. I have been opening and closing it all day just to admire it some more, it's become a little obsessive.

It is such a luxurious, gorgeous collection and I am utterlly smitten, so if you have £20 spare anywhere definitely go buy this! I love every single one of the products in there and all of them are of a high standard. 

Lots of love, H x

Happy New Year

I absolutely loved this new year, I was surrounded by some of my favourite people and we had such a fun night full of drinking, dancing and a few cheeky games. I am of course one of those who makes my New Years resolutions, so I thought I would share some with you!

1. Look after and love my body.

I have taken recently to eating whatever crap I want to, don't get me wrong a good treat is exactly what you need sometimes, and I'm not cutting out a good opportunity of a fast food chicken burger any time soon, but I am definitely going to be more restrained when it comes to snacking on chocolates and cakes. For many years I have struggled with low body self esteem, and last year I think I overcame the worst of it (which led to all the junk food eating as I decided not to give a crap how many calories were in what) so this year is about actually choosing to love my body but to care for it properly: lots of fruit and veg, less alcohol and to stop the petty habit I have seemed to pick up of smoking on occasion.

2. Get experience and figure out some career goals of mine.

I have recently aquired an interest in all things graphic design and advertising, I don't know if this will last but at the moment I am truly excited at the prospect that I might have found a potential career path to go down. This year is about finding experience, working my butt off and hopefully having a lot of fun with it!

3. Read more books!

This one is a last little goal to have on the side. It's nothing big and it's not tricky, but I think reading is one of the best things you can do in free moments. There are so many good books out there which I really really want to read, so it's time to get my head down and start discovering some of the ones on my list! 

Hope all of you have a fabulous year! Make 2014 a good one! Lots of love x