Sunday 26 July 2015

Portfolio Update - Art Deco Style Birthday Invitations






Gina approached me to design the invitations for her 40th birthday party, and I was over the moon when she dropped in the conversation that she was thinking of an art deco style. This is the kind of design I've always wanted to try and never got a chance to!

After a bit of research, we decided not to go down the route of the typical gold & black theme, but to use a much softer colour that would still go perfectly with gold. The decision to use a pastel mint colour came quite quickly and Gina didn't need much persuasion as she loved it!

I think my favourite part of this project was creating a bespoke pattern to go on the back of the invitation and the RSVP card. It can be quite difficult as I really wanted the pattern to have a nice feel but not be too similar to all the other ones out there.

The best reward was the look on Gina's face when she saw them printed, it makes your hard work all worth it!

PS: Just a bit of advice here, don't use tiny pieces of glitter unless you don't mind having a glittery carpet. It goes absolutely everywhere haha!


Tuesday 21 July 2015

My First VIDA Collection Available for Pre-order now!

Hey everyone! I'm sooo excited to share this with you!

A couple of weeks ago, VIDA (see who they are and their story HERE) contacted me as they really liked my designs and were interested in collaborating with me. I have to say, I was quite chuffed as I never thought my designs could ever go on some pieces of clothes, and then when I started to think about it, I was actually really excited to start this collaboration! All this is really new to me, but I liked VIDA’s ethic and the fact that they’re helping designers from all over the world, well-known or not.

Take a look at my collection HERE! In order to have one of these produced, it needs at least 3 pre-orders within the next week. And just because you’re nice, you can use the code VIDAVOICES to have %20 off your order!




This would mean the world to me, so thanks for helping me launch my collection!



Sunday 19 July 2015

Special Giveaway for my Birthday!

Happy Sunday everyone! Today I'm a year older and I thought, what would be best but a giveaway to celebrate it? To be honest, I've been meaning to share this one with you for a while, but I guess it makes it extra special that it's on my birthday!

You remember when I said I would turn some of the patterns I created for the 2015 calendar into wallpapers? Yeah, ages ago. Well, I selected my four favourites, and they're now available to download and cheer up your devices!








We just came back from a long weekend in Edinburgh and we had such a great time! We've taken looooads of photos, so I'll definitely share them with you soon. Stay tuned!

Hope you had a great weekend and have an amazing Monday :)

Download:
FOX SET // STRAWBERRY SET // ICE CREAM SET // ROSES SET


Monday 6 July 2015

Our Holiday in Rome! (part 3)

Get ready for the third and last part of our adventures in Rome! The last few days were definitely feeling like a treat for us as we knew that we were lucky to get more than just a week in this beautiful capital.







On Sunday morning, the sun was shining but the weather reports were telling us that it would get quite stormy in the afternoon so we thought it was the best day to spend around the Appian Way. This area is well known as it's just outside the city walls and seems to be concentrated with fascinating catacombs. Before walking all the way to the catacombs though, we stopped at the San Sebastiano Gate, where there was a small exhibition (and it was free!). It was quite nice to walk around the walls and from the top, we had some nice views of the area.


I think we're a bit crazy because even though my feet were still not feeling that great, we walked all the way in the heat along the Appian Way, and by the time we arrived we were dehydrated and desperate for food!





After eating a massive panini, we took the time to visit the Villa di Massenzio ruins, which was previously a palace built by a rich family who decided they wanted to offer their sons a nice place out of the city as some kind of retreat. Nice! The best part of the day though (and Jason would agree more than me!), was when we got to explore the Catacombe di San Callisto (the biggest one in the city as there's almost 20km of underground tunnels). We obviously got to see only a little section of it, but it was great to have a guide who could explain to us when and why this place was created. Long story short: before Romans became catholics, the people who were practicing this religion were persecuted. The Romans however were allowing them to bury their dead in these catacombs. It was a little spooky and you definitely can't be claustrophobic as it's all a bit narrow inside, but it was another face of Rome and certainly quite different (sorry we weren't allowed to take photos)!









For our last full day in Rome, we wanted to finish with a high and arrived really early in the Trevi area where we were looking forward to see the famous fountain. But when we found it, we were absolutely gutted to realise that it was undergoing some maintenance! It wasn't even a fountain anymore as the water had been drained. Oh well! It didn't stop us exploring the area and we had a great time. Palazzo Barberini was closed but we managed to stroll around the pretty garden, and Chiesa di San Carlo was nice to explore as it's completely different from all the basilicas and churches we'd seen. Before stopping for lunch (where we had the best pizza ever!), we went to the huge Piazza di Quirinale and watched the change of guards, which was actually quite funny as it felt a bit amateur compared to the one in Buckingham Palace!










In the afternoon, we climbed the steps into Il Vittoriano, and we were surprised at the views we where getting from the terrace! The sky was already turning grey and it made the whole city look a lot more dramatic. We couldn't resist but enter the church on its side, and we couldn't believe the amount of chandeliers that were hanging from the ceiling! They were absolutely everywhere and we thought it was a bit over the top. Inside Il Vittoriano, there was an exhibition about the political and military past of Italy which was really well presented.

At the end of the day, we just relaxed, feeling so lucky to have done so much in the past week and taking it all in before going back to our apartment and getting ready for our flight the following morning.

Thank you for following and I hope it inspired you to book your own adventure in Rome!