indie make-over

As you can tell, for want of something new - i am in the process of hacking up ye ol' blog and dare i say a more "mature" look. lol. You can see some of my little scribbles in the background but it's still a work in progress at the moment and there are a few different things I'm going to be trying out in the next little while. There will probably be strange things appearing all over the place aka green phenomenon on the right. Do not be afraid of these creatures - They are our friends. But those HTML gremlins that eat your code?  Yeah, you can smack those guys in the face.

What if Wednesday

What if...

original idea sourced from pinterest.

quick one

one of my favourite analogue pics of London, Hyde park. Taken with this awesome camera:

You can find it at the Photojojo store. My camera is bright yellow "peace" version given to me by the lovely Dom - yippee!
 More analogue pics to follow.

happy Tuesday friends :) I blew half my bank account on shopping yesterday.
"i needed it"

Package Project

Things I love:

• Crafty Things
• Gift wrapping
• Finding awesome new blogs
• Random notes and stationery
• Cool designery things
• Packages
• Snail Mail

in fact, i love sending packages so much, that sometimes i just send them to random strangers. True story. I am good at the packages.

Anyway now we have a chance to do ALL these lovely things at once! OLLEH!

Nadia from Cupcake Couture is hosting a Package Project where creative, crafty like minded bloggers from around the world can swop packages with each other filled with all things awesome.

Click over to Nadia's blog and get involved :)

7 things

1. The more strawberries you whack into your smoothie - the more delicious it will become.
2. It is not a good sign when you have to change your summer slippers for big woolen winter ones :(
3. Sometimes you have to learn to be patient. 
4. If you think your evening couldn't possibly get any worse, you could always smash open a large glass bottle of cinnamon all over the floor. (two days after you exploded four eggs all over your kitchen.) [yeah, high five me.]
5. Grammar and spelling are important, capital letters - i feel not so much.
6. When you have six year old second language students asking you what a predicate is, you know you're in for a rough year.
7. Sometimes if you're feeling low - you need to adopt this mantra:
   "You have five minutes to wallow in the delicious misery. Enjoy it, embrace it, discard ...and proceed" - Elizabeth Town.

RWC 2011

Last week, I found out the Rugby World Cup was starting and that South Africa were playing against Wales on Saturday. I don't know much about rugby, (read: i know pretty much there is a ball, and there are a bunch of teams and they smash each other. a lot.) But since I support South Africa with all my big proud heart, I decided to join the little group of Saffers and watch a bit of RUGGER.



(edit: not really that skinny IRL)





So i put on my lovely green shirt in an "I support the Bokke" fashion.





After I tweeted about my unfortunate Christmas tree fashion faux pas. I found out that Wales is in fact red. Why would I support Wales?! dumb-dumb. I changed.

Nicole came to fetch me before the game.

Nicole: are you ready?
Me: yes, I just need to get my sketchbook.
Nicole: you don't need your sketchbook.
Me: I do.
Nicole: Why do you need your sketchbook?
Me: To make the rugby more fun.
Nicole: fine.
Me: Oh! Nicole! look at me! I have a green shirt!
Nicole: well done.

Nicole has a "real" rugby shirt. She is fancy. She is a "real" supporter.

We arrive at rugby watching venue:



Ah, this rugby thing, I could get into it....


lala laa la.... Rugby is so lovely... la laaa laa lalala... doodles, pretty pictures
and then!



For someone who has just been minding her own business and quietly doodling to herself,  it is a most surprising and frightening experience to have grown rugby men jump up towards you and scream at the same time. I nearly jumped out my little green t-shirt.


Something must have happened with aforementioned "rugby game". When cheering and shouting and screaming has subsided, grown rugby-men look at you curiously because you are now a skitterish nervous-wreck. You think they are expecting some kind of remark about the "rugby play" that just occurred. Good thing you know exactly what happened.



In this situation, use the above phrase. You will know you have succeeded with this phrase if the rugby-men say nothing, focus back on screen and continue to drink beer. (beer = compulsory. Even if you are in a neck-brace. [Tim].)

Now, you're "in".

Ladies (and men) of the "non-rugby" variety, I would like to loan you this win-win catch-all rugby phrase. With careful emphasis and correct use of tone, it may be applied to ALL rugby situations.

(Fantastically my win-win catch-all rugby phrase was also highly appropriate for the outcome of the Wales game. i told you.)

Man-friends wearing green shirts = green moving team on field = your team. Simple.

However, you may run into some complications using this method:

In this very tricky scenario,

That's it. 

When the hot one gets excited and cheers, you get get excited and cheer, when the hot one gets angry and says things like "THE REF IS BLIND!", you get angry and say things like "THE REF IS BLIND!" When the hot one gets sad and emotional, you... console him.  ("it was so close.")

This will work for you.

You will still win.

If all else fails and you would like to support South Africa, pick the green team, the one that blends in with the field. We're camo like that.

In my internet searching for the World Cup Time Table (yeah, i'm a fan of this screaming-at-the-TV thing now) - I did come across something great.... I may not be a rugby guru, but i DO know, that you do NOT name your rugby team 

"The brave blossoms."

David Shrigley

David Shrigley is an artist born in 1968 in Macclesfield, UK. He attended the Glasgow school of art and now lives and works in Glasgow. I first discovered Shrigley on my recent trip to London - when I spent (bascially) the whole afternoon in the Tate Modern and I've been a little obssessed ever since. His website is quirky and awesome and he even has a page dedicated to people who have tattooed his doodles on their bodies.

Here are some of his quirky art pieces that I saw at The Tate:








Follow David on twitter @davidshrigley and Check out his website here. (Try the help desk)