Craft Party

On Sunday we had a party at Shipshape Studio, where we tested out some new classes. It was a lot of fun coming up with different classes, parties, and some parties that are tailored towards hen parties. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you. It was fun making all the decorations too. It's not a party without decorations, right?

The next crafty party on the horizon is our Valentine's Crafternoon on the 11th February, and you can get 10% off with the code MOLLIEMAKES10 to celebrate our feature in Mollie Makes magazine. Hope to see you there! 

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Recipe :: Tomato and Spinach Toasted Baguette

A nice and simple lunch recipe, and a good way to use up slightly stale bread. It only takes 5 minutes to make, including prep, and is delicious, too! I had this for my lunch on Friday. It was one of those make it up as you go things, but they're often the best kind.

You will need ::

• Olive oil
• Stale bread
• Tomatoes, sliced in half
• Spinach
• Parmesan or or Grano Padano, a few flakes
• A medium egg
• The usual seasoning :: salt, pepper and dried herbs.

Equipment ::

• Frying pan
• Griddle pan
• Saucepan
• Grater
• Plate and cutlery, unless you're feeling adventurous.

What's you gots to do ::

• Slice your bread and cut your tomatoes in half. Season the tomatoes with salt - you only need a small amount - and herbs.
• Heat a little olive oil on a medium heat in the frying pan. Add the tomatoes and after 30 seconds add the bread. The stale bread will soak up some of the tomato juices.
• After 1 or 2 minutes, remove the bread and toast lightly on a hot griddle pan for a minute.
• Whilst you're cooking the tomatoes and bread, poach an egg in a saucepan filled with 4cm of boiling water. Whirl the water around before dropping the egg in and turn the heat down to simmer once the water's boiled.
• Add the spinach to the tomatoes. Stir in and cook for about 30 seconds.
• Turn off the heat and you're done! 
• Grate a few cheese shavings, assemble on your plate, top with the poached egg, parmesan, and freshly ground pepper, and enjoy! Feta would be delicious if you don't want to use parmesan. 

This is my first foodie post - I hope you like it! Let me know if you give it a try. I always like to know when people have made things they've seen on my blog.

P.S. There's still a chance to enter the celebratory giveaways over on the Shipshape Studio blog if you haven't entered yet. We're excited for Ella's Fashion Illustration class on Thursday evening too. It's going to be a good one, for sure!

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Saturday Link Love

 

I don't know about you, but I stumble across things online and think, 'That looks good! I must remember that' but, inevitably, the remembrance trails away out of my mind and it's as if I never saw it. I find my Pinterest boards are a cool way to document things, especially as I know that if I bookmark something it means I'll probably never look at it again. With Pinterest, the things you like are right there for you to see. Do you use Pinterest? Come and pin with me!

As it's nice to share, I thought I'd start a weekly series of posts where I can share some of the things that've caught my eye during my internet jaunts from that week. A bit of link love is a good thing. So, here we go.

I came across My New Roots via a delicious looking cake on Ez's Foodie Pinterest board. I was instantly drawn in by the photography, then Sarah's witty style of writing, and then I realised that all the food is vegetarian, with a lot of it being vegan, too. This is a big bonus for me as a life-long veggie who doesn't have an interest in meaty concoctions, and especially good as I'm always trying to find vegan recipes that I can share with my brother who made the leap from vegetarian to veganism about a year or two ago. The focus of the blog is good food, that is nutritional and healthy. I like that. Not obsessive calorie counting or the latest fad, just being healthy.

Image from My New Roots via Pinterest

Flicking through Sarah's blog, I saw that she'd linked to a magazine called The Weekender that she'd been featured in. I headed on over to take a look and I liked what I found. A focus on the beautiful things, the good things, but seemingly without being fraught with emotional urgency that sometimes flies alongside. Just calm. It's a German magazine who's tagline translates to 'The magazine for insight and excursions.' That sounds good, right?

Image from The Weekender

Another magazine that caught my eye this week was Kinfolk magazine. The Kinfolk Manifesto sounds like a really interesting idea, and a printed embodiment of it is something that I'd like to see :: "Kinfolk is a growing community of artists with a shared interest in small gatherings. We recognize that there is something about a table shared by friends, not just a wedding or once-a-year holiday extravaganza, that anchors our relationships and energizes us. We have come together to create Kinfolk as our collaborative way of advocating the natural approach to entertaining that we love. Every element of Kinfolk—the features, photography, and general aesthetics—are consistent with the way we feel entertaining should be: simple, uncomplicated, and less contrived. Kinfolk is the marriage of our appreciation for art and design and our love for spending time with family and friends." 

Image from Kinfolk

This led me to Spartan, a concept shop with stores in Austin and San Francisco, as well as a webshop. It looks like a beautifully curated place and right up my street, if it wasn't for the hundreds of miles and the Atlantic Ocean to contend with.

Image from Spartan

Pssst, the second issue of 91 Magazine is out next week and I've been hearing rumours of Lionheart Magazine's second issue being made. Good magazine times!

We've been playing some videos at Shipshape Studio this week whilst working on the launch of our webshop. Here are a couple that have been delighting our eyes and making us chuckle.

Moby - After from Watergun on Vimeo.

Look at the lights!

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared from This Is It on Vimeo.

A cautionary tale of creative woe, with some super stitching.

So, that's what I've been enjoying this week. What about you? Are you having an inspired day? I'm making decorations today for a party at Shipshape Studio tomorrow and taking inspiration from Kinfolk :: make the everyday exceptional.

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Recording Session

These are some photos I took last night at a recording session for a new and as yet un-named band. I've not been to a recording session or music practice room before and was expecting something like those fancy recording studios you see on TV. This one was a bit more, um, rock n' roll. Wood cladding, carpeted walls and a bit of mould around the edges. It was fun playing at being a photographer and I'm enjoying trying out different things. Each time I take a set of pictures I try and make it just that little bit better than the last. That's the way to learn, right?

I videoed a couple of the songs and was really surprised by how good the sound and image quality was. Camera's are pretty amazing these days, aren't they? I've been playing the music in the shop today and have been bopping away. I'll post some more once the songs are available online and you can have a listen. Oh, and, that boyfriend of mine plays the drums in the band. He is a very talented fellow!

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Feature :: Mollie Makes

I'm looking forward to sitting down and reading Mollie Makes today, especially as we were lucky enough to be asked to be part of their Creative Couples feature alongside lots of creative and inspirational folk. We're SO happy to be featured and appreciative of all of the ongoing support and good vibes we've received since the launch of Shipshape Studio at the end of November 2011. You all bring a smile to my face!

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We're Having a Giveaway!

Following on from yesterday's post, another thing that I thought you'd like to know is that we're hosting a giveaway to win Pip Lincolne's Make Hey! While the Sun Shines book over on the Shipshape Studio blog. You might remember that Hardie Grant sent me a copy of the book to review a couple of months ago and I thought it'd be a great book to stock in our shop. It's in our bricks-and-mortar shop in Northwood, London, already and it's also going to be available in our soon-to-be-launched online shop. We're holding lots of giveaways in the lead-up to the launch of our online store so be sure to head on over and check them out!

I'm trying out Rafflecopter for the giveaway - have you tried it yet?

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What a Week it's Been!

This week has been crazy busy! There were Dreamweaver lessons, photoshoots, seeing some good friends and family, ooh-ing and aah-ing over a delivery of new books, and being featured in a national handmade craft magazine that hit the newstands on Thursday. Phew!

I'll update you over the next couple of days so that I don't bombard you with lots of info in one post. 

The first are some photos from a little shoot I did with Ella Masters at my shop last weekend. She brought in lots of her illustrations and we picked out a few to photograph. I think they look cool hung up under our self-built display unit! There were lots of pieces to choose from, and it was really interesting to see that she has lots of different styles and personalities that she uses in her illustrations. You can tell that she is someone that loves to draw! The photoshoot was for her upcoming Fashion Illustration class at Shipshape Studio on Thursday 2nd February, and there are still tickets available to buy here.

Happy weekend everyone!

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Make :: Pom Poms

These are a couple of shots I took whilst on a break from photographing products for the soon-to-be-launched Shipshape Studio online shop. Adam and I have been making these at Shipshape Craft Club and I thought they looked good all piled up together. You can make them from different yarn for different textures, although acrylic wool works well. And there are so many colours to choose from!

String them together, pile them up in vases or sew them on to a hat to create a cute bobble hat. They're easy to make and a nice way to customise. What do you think? To pom pom or not to pom pom?

Oh, and you might have noticed that I've done a little bit of a blog redesign lately. I hope you like it!

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Small and Stylish Homes

Did you see the homes feature in the Guardian Weekend supplement this weekend just gone? I was reading it whilst having lunch yesterday and was amazed. Surely that whole place can't be 85 square foot?! That seems a bit impossible! You don't get a whole lot of square footage for your money in London so I was reading it with great interest - inspirational stuff. And a baguette fresh out of the oven with raspberry jam and cheddar - yum!

Thank you for all the positive vibes and kind words about mine and Adam's appearance in Mollie Makes magazine's Creative Couples feature. We're so excited to be featured and happy that the Shipshape Studio word is spreading!

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Vintage Haberdashery

I took these photos a few months ago when I was rehousing my fabrics and haberdashery after yet another house move - I just counted all the times I've moved house: a lot! I just discovered them on a memory card and thought they may catch your eye too. This little collection is made up of some vintage bits I bought in Upper Gardner Street market in Brighton (I miss that town!), some collections of lace and buttons given to me by my Nana, who is very generous. She gives precious things away to people if she thinks they'd like them without a second thought. The rest of the group consists of antique lace, ribbons and buttons that I inherited from Adam's granny. You might remember these quirky dolls that we were lucky enought to have from her too.

I've pinned up some of the lace in my living room, as it's very beautiful to look at, but I don't seem to be able to bring myself to use the rest of it. Lots of the things have a story behind them and it feels like I have to find the right thing to do them justice. Perhaps they're like my Sunday Best of sewing supplies.

Do you ever find that?

P.S. Adam and I are featured in the latest issue of Mollie Makes. The magazine isn't in the shops yet but subscribers already have their mitts on a copy. Have you seen it? I haven't got a copy and am a bit nervous. Argh! Thanks to Zoe for letting me know it was out, and to Fran and Samantha for tweeting a picture. Big brrrraps all round!

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Evening time at the studio

Last night I was stitching some embroidery after the studio had closed. Four Tet was playing on the record player and I was enjoying the last cuppa of the day. I looked up and had a little moment of realisation - this is my studio! I can't quite believe it sometimes and it still feels surreal when people ask me about it.We've had lots of local people coming in to the studio this week and it's been great to meet people excited about creativity. We've also had requests for classes and are currently looking for a crochet tutor at Shipshape Studio - drop me a line at hello@shipshapestudio.co.uk and spread the word!

I thought I'd share some photos of it in the evening light. Lots of good vintage books, vintage fabrics, delicious drinks, cool illustration and much more. Feel free to use these photos on your blog/facebook/twitter and link back to this post.

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Photo Round-Up

Some photos from the past couple of weeks

1. New year drinks at home

2. My mum taught me the basics of knitting over Christmas and I'm practising my stitches. We have a great knitting class coming up at Shipshape Studio at the beginning of February, so be sure to take a look.

3. Love the print on this fabric.

4. Afternoon coffee at home.

5. Colours on cosy knitwear

6. Caught red-handed after painting some chairs for the studio.

7. Learning to use Dreamweaver so that I can tinker with my website.

8. This vintage wildlife book in my shop really caught my eye. It's full of colourful illustrations.

9. I like the idea of this wildlife spotting scorecard in the back, too.

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Things to look forward to in 2012

Writing a book I am very excited about this!

Posting more crafty tutorials I've got so many ideas and am looking forward to sharing them with you.

Taking a trip to visit my Nana She is a knitter extraordinaire and has a lot of stories to tell. Plus she makes the best Welsh Cakes.

Building a new display unit in Shipshape Studio and putting my DIY skills to the test!

Reading more books I often used to read at least 3 books a week whilst studying but recently I seem to have been watching a lot of television and telling myself I had no time to read, which is a little bit silly. 

Offering advertising on my blog This is something I've been thinking about for a while and it seems like the right time.

Hearing more live music I used to go to gigs quite regularly but it seems to be something that's slipped off my radar recently. 

Creating a seasonal lookbook for my shop This is going to be fun! I haven't styled a photoshoot for a couple of years and am looking forward to getting back into the swing of it. 

Discovering new music I like the kind of music you can get lost in, and will listen to a favourite on repeat for a good while.

Designing and launching new collections of home and fashion accessories for Shipshape Studio Adam and I have been working on this for a while so this is going to be a good 'un.

Exercising again, which I've missed since damaging my knee in a bicycle accident.

Having flowers at home They brighten things up and look fresh.

Spending time with good friends

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Saturday Morning

I picked up a few of these plain vintage milk bottles in a scrap yard a few months ago and think they make good vases for a simple bunch of flowers. We've got quite a lot of the printed type, as you can see in this post, in Shipshape Studio and I think they're pretty darn cool. 

I took these photos this morning before heading off to work and, even though the flowers are simple, they brighten the room up, especially since we took our Christmas decorations down. I'm working in my shop today and designing a new Shipshape Studio product range so be sure to say 'Hi' if you come along! Adam told me a blog reader visited the shop yesterday and bought some super cool printed raw silk fabric. It's one of my faves and I'd love to see what you make with it!

I hope 2012 is treating you well.

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Fireworks

We caught up with old and new friends last week and they brought some indoor fireworks with them. I had fun playing about with the exposure settings on my camera. Pretty cool, huh?! Unfortunately some of the fireworks weren't that impressive but there a couple of good ones in the lot.

I've been thinking a lot about goals and ambitions for 2012 and will be sharing them with you soon.  2012 is already shaping up to be a good year and I'm looking forward to lots of hard work and fun times.

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More Christmas Snaps

I thought I'd share a few more photos from Christmas Day. I had a nice and chilled out day, spending the morning at home and the rest of the day with my family. We kept presents to one or two each so there wasn't any pressure. Lots of presents were homemade with a few from my shop, Shipshape Studio, too. I love giving presents to people - finding something that they'll really like and watching their face as they open it are my favourite things. I wrapped and decorated the presents with brown paper, black paper, embroidery thread, coloured pens and vintage tickets, which was fun to do whilst watching movies on Christmas Eve.

My brother made a delicious vegan dish for lunch and I think a merry day was had by all. It was very nice to spend a few days with my family as it doesn't happen that often these days.

How did you spend Christmas Day?

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