Meanwhile

a little more positive reinforcement available in the shop in the form of a brand new* nice advice postcard set. pretty sure i make these things for myself as much as anyone else. *after almost four years, the old style is on it's way out! get 'em while you still can.

After some requests for one, I've created a Bolden mailing list. The first update goes out tomorrow with a lil' discount as a thank you - sign up here: http://www.boldenceramics.com/mailing-list

hello internet. i hope you like lions.

pushpin bookmark

i was pretty happy to find an email in my inbox last week from marceline of asking for trouble, querying whether i'd like to produce an artist's bookmark for her new zine distro, pushpin zines. of course, i said yes. above you can see some detail from my image, a girl engrossed in nick hornby's high fidelity whilst curled up in a cosy reading nook. you can get one of the bookmarks from pushpin for £1 or free when you spend £6 or over on zines.

what i wore today

s'fun to do one of these every once in a while.

currently waiting on a flight in christchurch so thought i'd share this; i've got a couple of things in issue two of sad girls. much thanks to lovely leah goren for having me.

Jen Collins in Sad Girls Issue 2

iced tea

hello sun! the weather is treating us well on the east coast of scotland today & it inspired me to try making some iced tea for the first time this morning. boiled the kettle, steeped the tea, put in some lemon then left it to cool whilst we went & lazed in the park for a couple of hours. added a little sugar & some ice cubes when we got home & there you have it. easy, cheap & a lot healthier than bottled stuff.

26 things

i'm blogging this a little later than usual, but i've been trying to whittle this list down & i think i'm there now. since 2009 i've come up with to-do lists that coincide with the age i'll turn that year; some things on the list are big, some are smaller. i managed to complete just over half of 2011's list, which is what i did the previous two years, so here's to 2012 being the year i do everything.

1. train to run 5k 2. get used to having tinnitus 3. reach 700 sales on etsy 4. do taxes quarterly 5. make a minimum of ten things on my sewing machine 6. including a dress 7. including a tie for alan 8. find a dentist & doctors in glasgow 9. start flossing again 10. join the library 11. make a recipe box/book 12. make at least two out of three of my workday lunches a week 13. organise and manage my freelance days 14. learn a new knitting stitch 15. start blogging more regularly 16. escape the city at least once a month 17. read thirty books 18. host dinner for some friends 19. experiment with limited colour pallets 20. get my wardrobe down to 200 items (clear out/manage over time) 21. take a life drawing class 22. take up yoga again 23. finish my needlefelt fox 24. learn to love (or at least like) cooking 25. get some plants for the flat & become greenfingered 26. get better at coding

i've made a start on several things already, & you can help me nudge goal three in the right direction - there's just a couple of days left of my etsy sale - enter coupon code 'hello2012' at checkout to get 20% off your order.

spring clean

things that april has taught me so far:

clutter is detrimental to your bank balance

clothes moths are rude & do not wait for an invite into your home

my mother was right all along; hoovering is important

a postcard that i sent off to urban graphic last week for their big draw charity postcard auction. as you can see, i played it safe with the topic (a girl! with a plant! woah!) but got out some colouring pencils that i've not used for years, & scribbled with abandon before inking with a brush on top. i also added a little gold to the plant pot, because i just want to add gold to everything lately. gold gold gold. so there's you have it. she ain't nothin' fancy, but i like her. ps. couple more days left of my sale! 15% off until sat 1 june.