Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  The end of the working week is here again... except for people who work in retail, like me, who have work tomorrow and very possibly on Sunday too, but I can hardly call my time at the haberdashery work can I, when I enjoy it so very much!  Anyway, spare us a thought as you go about your weekends.

Things that have been making me happy this week:

The teacup scarf I bought for a song today

Eating icecreams in the rain

Buying a bunch of my favourite flowers - ranunculus.

Finding a ginkgo tree in the Botanical Gardens in Cardiff 

Pretty doorknobs

Even prettier tiles

Building Lego toys

Receiving a cupcake shaped present from the lovliest of ladies (technically this happened last week, but  you won't tell anyone will you?)

Polishing off this yummy dark chocolate bunny

Enjoy your weekend.

Much love,

Emmalemonade x x x

Featured artist: Jodi of JM Photography

Hello y'all!  I hope you're all having fun-filled bank holiday weekends.  It's a little grey and wet here this morning, but I'm making up for it by surrounding myself with bright and cheerful things, and drinking tea.  Lots and lots of tea.

I've been wanting to write this particular post for a while now.  Ever since I struck up a new friendship with a lovely lady called Jodi, via Twitter.  Ah yes, Twitter again.  It really is the most marvellous place to meet like-minded people.  I think I am particularly lucky in that I belong to a crafting community on Twitter where so many talented and inspirational people chat to each other, help each other out, and give advice.  It really is the most wonderful thing, especially when you find out that some of them live close by and you can actually meet them in real life!  And that's exactly what happened with Jodi.

So Jodi and I had been merrily tweeting each other for a while, when one day she asked me if I would consider crocheting her some items to use as props for her new baby photography business.  "Of course!" I said, "I'd love to!" I squealed, and away I went to scour the internet for the perfect patterns, and to source the most sumptuous yarns.

Two weeks later, the items were complete:

Owl hat for a newborn in pinks

Newborn cocoon

Pixie hat for a newborn in neutrals

Owl hat for a newborn in blues

Since we live so close, I thought what better way to hand over the goods than to do it in person!  Jodi agreed, and we spent a leisurely couple of hours drinking tea, eating cake and chatting away like we'd known each other for years.  Perfect.

And I'm happy to say that Jodi was absolutely thrilled with the hats and cocoon I'd made, and I was super excited to see them being used in her photoshoots.

So without further ado, I shall hand you over to the lovely Jodi herself, who has very kindly written a few words about herself and her business, and provided some photos of her work for you all to see.  Be prepared for utter baby cuteness!

"My lovely friend Emma has asked me to write a little bio about myself.  I've never really written one before, so here goes:

I started Photography when I was studying Fine Art and Design at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College in 2006.  I took a major interest in digital and film photography.  Many of my college projects included portraits, which is where I found my forte.

After completing my course I started doing portrait photography, mainly as a hobby.  It wasn't until I fell pregnant with my son that I took a great interest in Pregnancy and Baby portraiture.  I had my own pregnancy shoot with a lovely friend of mine called Andy; I was so comfortable and felt incredibly beautiful and natural posing for the camera.  It was then that I realised that this is what I wanted to do: to create beautiful portraits for women to cherish forever and remember their pregnancy.  After Finlay was born and my maternity leave finished, I decided to be a stay at home Mum and continue with my photography work as much as I could.  I invested in a lens suitable for portrait work, and after getting some lovely shots of Finlay, I decided I'd like to try baby photography.


I don't use studios unless that is what the customer wants.  I feel that both parents and babies are more comfortable in their own homes; they can use their own blankets, toys and props, and it's easier for a change of clothes!

A friend of mine had just had a little girl so I asked her if she would like some pictures done.  This was to be my first proper home shoot with a newborn.  Skye was just 10 days old and was the perfect model - I managed to get some really beautiful shots.  Skye's mum was so impressed with the photos, she ordered two canvases, a set of prints and a CD from me.  I was incredibly touched.  She loved my images and it certainly sparked a passion in me to continue with and promote my work.  As soon as I made a Facebook page, customers came flooding in wanting shoots booked for their bumps and babies.  I had done about 15 home shoots before getting in contact with my friend Emma at Lemons For Lemonade on Twitter.  I had seen her gorgeous crochet work before and knew that she was the one to make some beautiful props for my shoots.  I felt having something handmade and unique would add that special something to each portrait.  I had found some lovely items online, and asked if she would be able to make them for me in specific colours. Two weeks passed and I cannot tell you how excited I was when I got the message saying they were finished!  I could not believe how beautiful and perfect they were when I received them! 

I offered a free photoshoot to promote my page more and show off my new crochet items.  As you can see from the photos, they worked really well.  I am so pleased with them, and I will definitely be returning to Emma for more handmade items soon.  She has helped me gain more business and more interest than ever before, and I cannot thank her enough.

I was so pleased and touched when she asked me to write a short bio (So I hope this is OK!) and I'm glad to share my work and Emma's beautiful creations with you all. Thank you xx"




Isn't Jodi just the sweetest?!  Thank you so much Jodi for your kind words.  And here are some examples of her work:

Gorgeous!  Thank you so much Jodi for sharing your work.


If you would like to get in touch with Jodi about the possibility of her doing some photography work for you, she can be found on Twitter: @OhSewBeautiful, or on Facebook: JM Photography.


Enjoy the rest of your Bank Holiday everyone, I'm off to finish crocheting some finger puppets....more about those another time!


Much love,


Emmalemonade x x 


:: Edited to add: Jodi has just alerted me to that fact that I have omitted to provide you with a link to her photogaphy blog!  Oops!  Big sorry to Jodi, here's the link: jmphotographyblog.blogspot.co.uk ::

In short.

Oh my goodness me, has it really been nearly 3 weeks since my last post?  I really don't know where the time is going these days.  And how is it May already?!

Many things have been keeping me away from my blog:

Happy things - my brother got married!  I got a sister-in-law!

Sad things - I won't go into it here, suffice to say that it has been occupying a lot of space in my brain recently and consequently not leaving much room for anything else.  I seem to have lost enthusiasm and inspiration lately, which has knocked me back a bit.  I need to find my mojo!

Busy things - I have been working some extra days in my day job, which means less time for crafting, and even less time for blogging.  And I have received several commissions over the last couple of weeks, so working on those has been keeping me out of mischief too.

During the quiet moments I have been thinking about this blog and the things I'd like to share with you, and I am pleased to say I have some pretty exciting posts (well, I think they're exciting!) lined up for you, starting on Monday, so I hope you will pop back and join me then.

Enjoy your bank holiday.

Much love,

Emmalemonade x x x

Darn It & Stitch

Hello there!

I'm popping in from my Happy Home Day (baking, crochet, music, tea, chocolate - it's cold, blustery and showery here so these things help keep my pecker up) to tell you all about the place where I work every Saturday.

I work in a little haberdashery (don't you just love that word?!) shop just off St Aldates in Oxford.  It is owned and run by the loveliest most delightful lady called Jo, who employs a small team of friendly, arty crafty creative types to look after it for her.

I am the Workshop Assistant.  I make sure that everything is clean and tidy and set up for each workshop, look after the person who's taking the workshop and ensure they have everything they need, and provide the attendees with sandwiches, cake, fruit, biscuits, and enough tea to sink a battleship!  And if the shop downstairs is quiet, I get to take part in the classes too - recently I've learned how to do patchwork, and also the art of lace-making which has been a particular highlight.

The workshops vary enormously - from beginners knitting to making friends with your sewing machine, and quilting through to making fascinators.  There really is something for everyone, and in my humble opinion it really is the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and make new friends at the same time!

More information can be found over on the Darn It & Stitch website and Facebook page, where there are links to the Pinworks page which lists all the workshops and details how to book a place.

Please hop over and take a look, it'd be lovely to see you at one of the classes!  And if those links aren't enough to whet your appetite for learning a new skill, then this selection of photos of the shop that I shall leave you with probably will be!

I'm off to bake some cupcakes now, ta-ra!

Much love,

Emmalemonade x x

Absent

Hello there!

I've been absent lately.  It's not that I've forgotten about you, or got tired of blogging.  Quite the contrary actually.  I think about my little space on the World Wide Web every day, but I just haven't been able to make the time to write you a post until now.

I've been busy lately.

Busy organising birthday parties...

Busy making presents...

Busy being on holiday...

Busy being at work...

And busy crocheting wedding favours and designing and making packaging to put said favours in for my brother's wedding which is... NEXT WEEK!  Eeeeek!

Time flies when you're having fun, 'eh?!

See you again soon for some posts that I am very excited to share with you, that I have been busy conjuring up in between all of the above.

Much love,

Emmalemonade x x

Bute Park

Bute Park in Cardiff is one of my favourite places to go and have a walk around to get fresh air into my lungs.  When you're there it's hard to believe that this big green space is in the heart of Wales' capital city.

Much love,

Emmalemonade x x