Spring Wish-List

1. Nadinoo 'Right as Rain' dress.

2. Essie 'Tart Deco' nail polish.

3.Temporary Tattoos by Burrowing Home.

4. 'Everyday Adorable Flats' in Mint.

5. Rose Patterned High-Waisted Panties.

6. American Apparel Scrunchie.

7. The 'Portrait' Backpack.

Spring is here and to celebrate I have put together a list of things that I'm wishing for this season. I think I'm going to have to treat myself to a few things on this list (those shoes are a must!). What's something you're wishing for this spring?  

How to Create an Inspiring Workspace

I find that having an inspiring workspace is one of the most essential ways to stay creative and motivated while working. Here are a few things I do to keep my space inspiring:

1. Keep it tidy. One thing that really motivates me and helps me get started on work (such as uni assignments or dress making) is a neat and tidy space. There is nothing worse then wanting to get started on something only to find you have to clean up your workspace first. A great way to keep your space neat and tidy every time is to clean up at the end of everyday, so that it is clean and ready to go the next day.

2. Choose a space with great natural light. I'm a huge fan of natural light. Not only does it make a space more inviting but it also helps you see what you're working on a lot more clearly, preventing you from having to strain your eyes. If your space doesn't have a lot of natural light, I'd suggest finding a space that does, as it really is easier to get started on your work when you have a lovely light and inviting space to work at.   

3. Stay organised. Having a calendar and some notebooks close by is a great way to stay organised. A calendar in your space (mine is a freebie that comes with Frankie magazine) will help you keep track of deadlines, and notebooks are always handy to write down lists in and little reminders in. I also use a handy downloadable to do list that really helps me to stay on track with the things that need to get done.

4. Fill it with things that inspire you. I think this is the most important step to create an inspiring space. Filling your workspace with things that inspire you will create a happy environment and will give you the creative boost you need when you are feeling a little unmotivated. I like to fill my space with inspiring magazines and books, teacups, flowers and little pops of mint green.

5. Flowers. A jar of flowers really freshens up a space and makes it a much better environment to work in. Not only do they look really pretty, but they smell amazing too. Surprisingly, these flowers lasted a good two or three weeks so it doesn't even require that much effort, as you don't even have to change them every few days. I'm definitely going to keep flowers in my space more regularly from now on.

I hope these tips were helpful for you! What things do you do to keep your workspace inspiring?

Cherry Blossoms

On Saturday I decided to take a break from studying and went on a nice outing with Matt to the local farmers market and to a cafe that I hadn't been to yet called Sweet Brew. I chose to wear one of my favourite dresses, a lovely Princess Highway number that Matt bought for me while we were in Melbourne a couple of months ago. I love this dress and have been wearing it basically non stop since I got it. While we were walking through the park on our way to the farmers market, I thought these beautiful cherry blossoms would make a pretty backdrop for some outfit photos. Everything is so beautiful at this time of year, and the days are getting a lot warmer lately which is very exciting as I'm really looking forward to summer this year!

Retro Floral Dress

As mentioned in this post, I have been working on a new dress design, and after a few months of perfecting it, I finally felt it was ready enough to cut into some of my good fabrics with. I picked up this amazing retro floral fabric from an op shop months and months ago and I loved it so much that I knew I would have to make myself a dress out of it. I used my new 50's inspired dress design to make this dress as I wanted to test my new pattern and happily, it turned out just as I was hoping it would!

So I guess this is a little sneak peek of my new dress design I've been working on! As I said, it's a 50's inspired dress and features a gathered full circle skirt that sits at about knee height, a snug fitting bodice, cute capped sleeves and v-back neckline. I'm really happy with how it has turned out and I hope you will be too! I'm hoping to make this dress in sizes 8-18, so once I've tested each of these sizes to see if they all work as good as this one did, and have collected some pretty vintage fabrics to make this dress in, I will have it available in my Etsy shop. I'll keep you posted!

Love Eat Make

LOVE | Now that spring is here, I realised that I needed some new clothes for the warmer months. So last week, Matt and I did a bit of shopping and I picked up a few spring pieces including these new jeans. Usually, I really don't like wearing jeans because I have quite short legs and I find they don't really suit me but at last I've found a pair that I don't mind! They are high waisted, therefore making my legs seam a little bit longer then they actually are, and they are surprisingly really comfy, which is unlike any other pair of jeans I've ever owned!

EAT | My lovely friend Kristy makes the most delicious cupcakes, and for my birthday she gave me a huge box full of turkish delight cupcakes. They were delicious, and didn't last very long at all, as my family also loved them! It was so nice of her to go through the effort of making them for me.

MAKE | Lately I have been working hard on perfecting my new dress design and this week I made one in my size, and I'm happy to say that it looks exactly how I wanted it to! I used some amazing, retro floral fabric that I found at the op shop months ago and I love it. Now I'll just have to check if all of the other sizes work as well as this one and then I'll be able to make some for my Etsy shop.

August Favourites

Here are a few of my favourite things from August...

1. The new Party Party app by A Beautiful Mess. I love this app so much and even though I haven't used it that much yet, I just really like the whole concept of it and how it is completely different to any other photo editing app that I have seen. It's basically a photo booth on your phone and has lots of cool features to edit your photos to create things like this. Love it!

2. My Essie nail polishes. I've talked about Essie a lot this past month and that's because I really love them and have been wearing them all month long. I only have two in my collection so far but I'm hoping to get some more of the pretty pastel shades for spring soon!

3. My new Peter Alexander pyjamas that the lovely Coby gave to me for my birthday. They are so comfortable and pretty that I actually considered wearing them out! I also love the fact that we have a Peter Alexander store in Launceston now. It is also very pretty!

4. A set of postcards from one of my favourite artists, the Black Apple. Matt gave these to me for my birthday which I think is such a thoughtful gift considering I've probably only mentioned to him once how much I love everything by the Black Apple. I'm going to maybe frame them and hang them up because they are just so adorable.

5. This months Frankie Magazine. It's no secret that I love Frankie, and this one is a real good one full of things that inspire me such as cute crafts, creative stories and, to top it off, a poster of cats!  

What are some things you have really loved in August?

August Moments

Here are a few snaps from my phone of some of the things I've gotten up to in August. Some of the highlights were seeing the signs of spring more and more everyday (in particular the pretty cherry blossoms and the longer days), making daisy chains in the afternoon sun, and celebrating my 22nd birthday! Here are a few more things that I have been up to...

EATING | Turkish delight cupcakes by the lovely Kristy Hooper, Raspberry pancakes from the raspberry farm, sticky pork belly bun by Eats with Beats (my most favourite thing to eat ever!), Vietnamese food from the restaurant Mekong, and Tacos de Pancho's tacos, just to name a few! Let's say I won't be needing to eat much during September!

MAKING | My granny square blanket, a pattern for my new dress design, a new quilt featuring squares of my favourite vintage fabrics to be able to keep a piece of them all forever. 

BUYING | A new pair of jeans that I actually like, top deck chocolate, a new Essie nail polish, and vintage sheets to make into dresses.

LOVING | Being half way through this semester already, getting back into blogging again, that the days are getting warmer and longer, the fact that I have finally convinced Matt to read Harry Potter, and that I have mid-semester break this week!

Hope you've had a lovely month too!