AJ Loves: art

Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Bitesize Travel Review | Madrid

Sunday, January 13, 2019

I've never really wanted to be a travel blogger, but I do LOVE to travel! Damian and I are lucky enough to get to go to some beautiful places so I thought I would do some simple, bitesize posts about the places we visit. First up our whistlestop trip to Madrid in October 2018. This trip was organised just so I could see two of my favourite pieces of art which both happen to be in Madrid.

Flights: Aberdeen to Heathrow (British Airways)-----Heathrow to Madrid (Iberia)
Madrid to Heathrow (Iberia)-----Heathrow to Aberdeen (British Airways)
£324* return for 2 people

Never Meet your Heroes

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

You know that saying "never meet your heroes" the one that is supposed to show you that we are all human and we all have flaws and that placing people on pedestals can only end in disappointment? I think we need to update it for 2018.

Social media is a wonderful tool, one that I genuinely enjoy using, it opens the world up way wider than I ever thought possible as a young girl who grew up with Encarta discs as my only "internet". It brings people together, and puts the world's knowledge at our fingertips, and even in our pockets-and it allows you a glimpse into the lives of your so called heroes. All of these things sound wonderful, until you realise that a person you have admired for years is not a person you could actually like in real life.

I could go on and on about the countless actors, bigwigs, and celebrities who for whatever reason have attracted admiration only to turn out to be the absolute worst kinds of people- in fact I'll mention the fact that I went to college and university chasing a dream based on the job of a man who turned out to not just be a dick, but also an actual, bona fide, (and later, convicted) sexual predator-it leaves a horrible taste in the mouth, and genuinely left me hating the idea of following in his footsteps. But this post isn't about the insidiousness of predatory men, or the systems that allow them to perpetuate their crimes. This is about following someone on twitter, and admiring their work, and being grateful to them only to find that you disagree so fundamentally on the things that mean the most to you.

My Top Shops Run by Independents!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Do you know what I love about the internet? It's not the memes, or the gifs, or even the amazing people I have "met" through blogging and twitter, it's the ability to type in a few words and buy something designed or drawn or made with actual love! Something that somebody put together in their living room and are selling to make a living.

I love knowing that the art on my walls was created by that really bloody loud and really bloody lovely scouser with bright green/blue/purple (delete as applicable) hair. And that the money I spent on the 574639262th piece of Harry Potter merch I've bought this year went to a genuinely lovely artist who had the most amazing wedding.

You choosing to shop independent could mean that a struggling artist can heat their home this winter, it could mean that they can afford to go on that trip they've been planning-but you can be assured that no matter what, it will ALWAYS mean the world to each and every one of them.

I don't know about you but I would much rather give my money to that strange (in the best way) lass that makes me piss my pants laughing every other day, than the faceless CEO that takes a 60% cut of every sale and doesn't pay their taxes.

So please, please check out some of my favourite independent sellers:

Jemma from Dorkface Blog is one of my favourite illustrators ever! Her shop on Etsy is always my first port of call when I want to expand my desk area a little further, or stock up on handy little stickers for my "not quite a bullet journal" planner.
The best thing about Jemma's store is that she is just so creative that her shop has such a wide range that there is likely something for everyone, but at the same time her stuff is instantly recognisable as hers.
Someone handed me their business card at an event and I knew straight away it was "a Dorkface original"! I see big things for this girl- get in before she gets all famous and stuff ;-).

Learning to Relax // Art Therapy

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Hi guys,

So apparently I suffer from stress! This will probably come as no surprise to those who know me best, I've always been a tightly wound little bundle of pent up emotion, and I am notoriously bad at relaxing. It's not even funny tbh, I can do nothing all day, and get stressed out about the fact I've done nothing all day. I've been for massages to release some of my tension only to be wound up agan 5 minutes after leaving the spa-my last masseuse actually gave me an free half hour on top of my last massage because she was determined to work out the particularly stubborn knots in my shoulders, yes it took 90 minutes to work out the stress I carry in my shoulders! I try and sit with a good book but I get stressed out about the little things that need done around the flat, I try and de-stress by reading my favourite blogs but get annoyed at my perpetually slow-running computer, I have mad half hours where I gut a room in the flat and clean from top to bottom only for my back to have a fucking fit and decide it wants to kill me and render me useless for the rest of the day! You get my point right? I'm a big wound up ball of stress that doesn't know how to relax- GO ME! I always just thought "well screw it I'm a stressy person, it's only affecting me so I guess I'll just live with it" but recently my doctor told me that my stress levels might be why we aren't pregnant yet, and I knew then that something had to be done. So I searched out new ways to relax, and boy did I find the best remedy.

Art Therapy is a magazine, full of colouring in pages for adults. There are notes on how to relax your mind, how to use colours for their calming properties, and so much more AND it's only £2.99 an issue! I figured why not give it a try, and my God am I glad I did. I love it, you never really realise how relaxing colouring in is- probably because it's a hobby that stops after a certain age- but it truly is. Granted my need for perfection and symmetry cause me to get a bit to wound up about it every now and again, but it's progress at least.

Basically I wanted to sing the praises of colouring in and show off some of my pages that I've done recently, and I hope you like them.

What do you think? Do you suffer from stress too? Have you tried art therapy, or do you have suggestions to help this wound up ball of craziness relax? I'd love to hear from you, so leave me a comment- or you know tweet me or even message me on my Facebook page!

Much Love

March Madness

Friday, March 28, 2014

Wow I hadn't even realised it had been quite so long since I posted! I am very sorry, I can only blame a combination of Uni stress and being very very ill :-(. But there is an upside to being sick and living in front of a computer...shopping!!

So I thought to tide you over until I can concentrate long enough to give you a real post I would share my Best Bargain Buys-the March Edition, with you :-).

Gorgeous from H&M (£29.99) although I used my 25% that I got free in Glamour!

Had gone into town to get the Michael Kors version of this but it turns out that Aberdeen's FOUR floor John Lewis isn't classed as a big store, and thus they don't stock MK in store :-(...but hey BARGAIN!

Yeah because I need ANOTHER bag! I love the shape on this and because Internacionale have gone into administration this beauty was free! That's right it's buy one get one free on ALL bags and none cost more than £20.

Love the colour of this (in real life it's a soft duck egg blue) and it has the studded bottom that I love about Alexander Wang bags but at only £20 plus the added bonus of the one above this is much more purse-friendly.

Daisies!! I have a bit of a crush on daisies at the moment so when I saw this beauty in Primark (kids section again i'm afraid) I had to snap it up...only £8!

Denim and denim effect is going to be huge this summer I'm assured. So I of course promptly went out and snapped up my favourite style (skater of course) in a totally retro shade of denim.

Pretty, pink, and baggy enough to cover that 4th year bulge that is slowly developing :-(. I love this and because it's from H&M Kids it only set me back £7.99. If you're after one though I suggest buying the smallest size you think you'll need...I bought the age 10-11 and it's MASSIVE!

I have been tempted to dye my hair pink for a long time and then I keep remembering that im almost 27 and about to enter the world of real work so keep deciding against it. With these however I can be whatever colour I want for as short a period of time as I want...colour your hair in then wash it out, simples!! I got 24 colours here for £3.99 from Amazon.

You might remember I bought John Green's The Fault in Our Stars last month, well I LOVED it!! So as I usually do I went right on a bought all of his novels so far!! (not including ones hes written with other people).

These are: Looking For Alaska- £3.07 (incuding postage) from Amazon

An Abundance of Katherines- £7.99 from Waterstones

Paper Towns- £3.98 from Waterstones (buy one get one half price)

Everyone knows I love to draw and paint and make things so I decided to make something cute for my sisters birthday. For that I needed a canvas...I headed to Hobbycraft (my third favourite shop in the world) and picked up a pack of three for just £4 in their sale :-).

SECRET CRAFT PROJECT HINT!

SECRET CRAFT PROJECT HINT NUMBER 2

My best girl Alexandra saw a print with this saying on it and instantly knew I would love it, unfortunately I couldn't get the print without travelling to Brechin :-(, fortunately though Amazon had this cute little plaque that will fit perfectly on my wall of art!

Sometimes you just want to play a computer game that requires little brain power and a steady trigger finger...Ratchet and Clank is the perfect game...this is the next game in the series which I picked up today.

This was the game that came before that which I bought on Tuesday, and finished on Wednesday!! Oops!

Anyway that's what I've been amusing myself with during this horrible month. I promise much more frequent postings as soon as I can.