Erstwilder Beagle Brooch Review

Hello! I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas.
One of my favourite presents was from my twin sister. She got me a beautiful beagle brooch designed by Erstwilder. Erstwilder jewellery is designed by Melbourne artist, Louisa Camille, so it's traveled a long way to see me. Her jewellery is full of fun and each character in the collection has its own personality. It brings sunshine to my day.

The layered resin brooch has such a cute and quirky appearance which I really love. It's so different and I have already been complemented on it. The beagle's name is Beatrice and she sports a pink and blue leopard print coat. Super stylish! It's such an appropriate brooch because we have a beagle named Honey so I'm no stranger to these cute creatures.

My only worry is that I'll break it because it is made from resin, so I have to be extra careful not to drop it, but I don't think I will. I'm always cautious and the brooch is of a very high quality and makes a fabulous gift. Erstwilder is also on Facebook and Pinterest.

If you're interested in Erstwilder jewellery, you can find all their stockists here.

What animal would you like to see as some jewellery?

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Cute Portrait Giveaway

I've decided to host my very first Giveaway from my blog, DearDaffodils. I've been using the blog for just over half a year now, so I thought it was about time!

When I'm not blogging or reading other people's blogs, I'm usually drawing for Buttercrumble. Buttercrumble is one of my passions and is something I'm really proud to be a part of. It's the name that my sister and I use for our illustration business. We have had experience designing for posters, websites, logos and even for our own merchandise which you can find in the Buttercrumble store!

By taking part in this giveaway, you could win a custom cute portrait by me! You will receive it digitally in a high PNG format. The portait can be in the style I have shown below or in any style shown in our portfolio. Please scroll down to find out how to take part!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please use Rafflecopter above to get involved. Don't forget to leave me a comment if you take part and let me know what your dream portrait would look like. Thanks for taking part!

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Coming Up Roses Review

If you're a big fan of Cath Kidston like I am, you will know that it's the business' 20th birthday and to celebrate Cath has released the book, Coming Up Roses. Her new book describes all the trials and tribulations of setting up and running the business. I think it's amazing how it grew from very tiny acorns.

When I visited the York store on Tuesday, I saw the book and just had to buy it! I've had my eyes on it for a while. 

The book gives an insight into Cath's early days and how she didn't really have any training for running a business or designing, but it was more of an instinct. She describes the many hurdles she faced from starting in a little shop in Holland Park, London to expanding into an international and famous brand.

The book is full of beautiful photographs featuring the first store and where Cath Kidston found most of her inspiration as well as her wonderful floral patterns and prints. The book is a piece of art itself!

If you are an enterprising individual, a crafty artist or just a fan of the brand, then you'll love this book! I just couldn't put it down and finished it very quickly, but that's because of how interesting and inspiring it was.

Let's hope for another 20 years of modern vintage prints and lovely florals.

You can purchase the book from Cath Kidston's website here or why not search for a store near you?

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Paperchase Haul

Recently I made a big purchase of Paperchase stationery. I love Paperchase, their stationery is always stylish and I love using their notebooks and pencil cases (perfect for college). I'll be going to university in September so I've started to stock up on everything I'll need. Here are pictures of what I bought:

I bought the Lino Floral Triple Pencil Case (no longer on the Paperchase site), Duck Push Pins, Bird Canvas Mid Year Organiser, Helen Dardik Sticky Notes (no longer on the Paperchase site), Pink Flower Masking Tape, Red Dot Masking Tape (no longer on the Paperchase site) and the 5 Subject Project Notebook.

Oh and I have filled my pencil case with the Triangle Eraser, Diamond Gel Pen and just some plain gel pens too.

One of my favourite purchases is the Bird Canvas Mid Year Organiser. I've been looking for an organiser for ages! This one has inserts for July 2013 to December 2014 so it'll last me for a good 18 months. I could even decide to buy more inserts after December 2014 because it is refillable.

It is really sturdy and feels durable. I have no worries about throwing this into my bag when I'm on the go! The design is beautiful and I love the colours (I'm a fan of anything pink). It's floral, feminine and full of organiser inserts. There are inserts for your timetable, a full year planner, addresses and notes. The diary inserts are one week per two pages.

I love the illustrative birds!

As you can see from the inside, there are 5 slots to hold your cards and their is a pocket at the back to hold loose pieces of paper or whatever else you may find useful. The dividers say: information, agenda, planner, diary, addresses and notes. I can't wait to write all my important dates in it.

You can purchase the organiser here.

So what do you think? Are you a fan of Paperchase? What's your favourite item?

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Kitty Flats and Knockoffs!

I'm sure we're all aware of Charlotte Olympia's gorgeous shoes! I'm especially in love with her kitty flats. I'd love to have a pair, but at £465 a pair... It's a bit out of my price range! That's why I've been on the lookout for alternatives!

£495? I best save up my pennies up.

Clockwise - 1. Brave Store, 2. Chic Wish, 3. ModCloth, 4. Topshop.

I think that 2. is the best match! These are $42.42, so not very expensive either. The only problem I am having is finding shoes in my size. I'm a UK size 8 in shoes so that's quite big (but not uncommon). Let me know if you know anywhere else which has kitty shoes in my size!

What do you think of this cat fad? Which are your favourite shoes featured? Finally, do you know any other knock-off kitty flats which are as good as these?

Just leave me a comment below! ♥

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Let's get Organised!

1. Bird Canvas Organiser Mid Year 13 - 14 Paperchase
2. Owls Birch Large Notebook Paperchase
3. Animal Stick-It Notes Artbox
4. Chococat Pen Artbox
5. Floral Mail Kit Present & Correct

So at the end of June, I was planning on getting myself a mid year organiser from July 2013 and Paperchase has a lovely collection of organisers at the moment. I especially love the bird organiser featured in this post, it's very pretty and includes pockets and a card holder.

In September, I'm starting university so I need to get myself organised! I'm such a stationery geek and I love to have a pencil case full of pretty pens and pencils which I can use in my notebooks. I also am a great fan of sticky notes because they're great for reminding you. Everything needs to be colour coded and in order... Maybe I have OCD?

Do you have a love for stationery? What's your favourite item featured?

Let me know what you think!
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Five Favourite Finds

I've been browsing a lot of shops online recently and I've come across so much I love! ♥ I wish I could have it all, but I'll have to wait for payday (not long now). I want to share with you some of my favourite items:

12:40pm by May28th
Found at CultureLabel

Snow White Seven Dwarves Necklace by Les Nereides N2
Found at Little Moose

Rydell High JumperFound at TruffleShuffle

Delicious Apple Bag
Found at Ollie & Nic

Duck Egg Cambridge Satchel by The Cambridge Satchel Company
Found at Paperchase

What's your favourite item? I'm in love with anything cute and kitsch at the moment such as the Snow White necklace and the Delicious Apple bag. Can you recommend any sweet shops?

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Passion for Pattern

A few weeks ago I posted about how I'd been taking photographs of farm animals (you can read about it here). I'm still beavering on with my project where I've been creating patterns featuring the animals. I thought I'd share what I've made so far...

 

I have been inspired by 60s patterns and designers such as Orla Kiely and Angie Lewin because I love the colours and shapes that they use. I created these designs using card, pen, pencil, printing and Photoshop! It took me a while to get the patterns to repeat and to be seamless (that's always the hardest part) but now I think it's impossible to tell where the pattern starts and stops.

The first pattern features the highland cattle, and the second one shows the sheep. Which one do you prefer and why?

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New Leaf

So, I am a big fan of the Animal Crossing games. They are just the cutest. If you don't play the games, basically you turn up in a new town and move into a small house. You have to improve your home, buy furniture and decorate, as well as designing or buying your own clothes, chatting with the other animal villagers, catching bugs and fish and filling up the museum. That's not all though, there's so much to do.

Some of the new features of the game include: diving, community projects, more mini games, more ways to play using Wi-Fi and more shops. The community projects are where you're able to build your own benches, lampposts, fountains and rose arches like the one above.

Japan and Korea are currently busy playing the game and New Leaf became the first 3DS game to pass two million units sold. Currently, the game has sold nearly three million copies so it's a big hit! The game will be released in Europe on June 14th and in America on June 9th so there's still a bit of waiting time yet.

All the pictures in this post were taken from here.

Let me know if you own a 3DS and we can exchange friend codes. I use swapnote a lot! Mine is 3780-9295-5437.

Thank you.