Saturday 8 July 2017

Personal and home made baby shower/ christening gift ideas

If you have a friend or family member that's just had a baby or is expecting one and don't know what to get as a gift have a look at the handmade and personalised prints I'm selling on my Etsy store here -  

All these prints can be personalised you can either message me on Etsy or Instagram or email eviewarddesigns@outlook.com

My prints in my friends baby's nursery! How amazing is her nursery?!

Please feel free to leave any comments!
xx
Share:

Tuesday 20 June 2017

Office Tour

Now that my office is almost complete I thought I would share with you what it looks like now and how its progressed since my last post, and a bit about where I get my office accessories from!
Poppy loves my office!

I recently blogged about my office transformation, which you can read about here,  if you like reading before and afters you will enjoy this post!
All the prints mentioned in this post are for sale and you can buy them here...

A big, important part of my office is storage. The reason I first created my office was to use as a storage space, and from there it turned into somewhere I draw, store invoices, print, create and more. My office still has a lot of storage in boxes and drawers which I still really need to go through and sort out again as I think I still have too much stuff! Mostly just fabric I collected throughout the three years of my degree!

All prints here are my own, available here
Thank you cards are handmade by me and are available from my Etsy store 
Rose gold basket is from B and M.

I don't really use this desk as I tend to draw on the other table where I also do my sewing, this desk/space is again used for storage and a way of keeping everything in their own place. It may look a mess but I promise I can find everything I need to in this space!
Chalk board weekly list is from Primark. 

My dad first painted this blackboard paint on to one of the office walls a few years ago when it was first built, I find it so useful to write little notes on this and feels so much more creative than just writing (and probably forgetting about it) in a little notebook.

The embroidery threads are from B and M
Print is my own available from my Etsy store here
Sewing area and also where I keep bits and bobs!
This lamp was from a charity shop which I spray painted grey, lamp shade is from Wilkos. 
The print is my own illustration and is available on my Etsy store here

Please feel free to leave any comments!

xx
Share:

Tuesday 13 June 2017

5 things I've learnt since having a dog


Photo of Poppy by Gary Walsh for my parents 25th wedding anniversary - how cute!

Number 1

Puppies are hard work.


It might not come as a surprise to some people, but puppies are seriously hard work! They require constant attention and are full of energy, nothing still seems to wear Poppy out. Now Poppy is seven months old, we seem to have got her in some sort of routine, she wakes up at 6am has her breakfast and goes back to sleep for around an hour. She then goes on a really long walk then comes back to the house and has a short nap. She spends the rest of the day chilling, playing with toys, eating and watching out the window! Poppy will then go for another really long walk at about 4:30/5pm, have her dinner and then relax again for the rest of the evening until she goes to sleep at about 9:30pm. Sometimes if she is really hyper we have to take her out for another long walk at about 8pm, this doesn't usually happen but if it does she normally falls asleep straight after!

My essential list for when you first get your puppy - 

  • puppy pads - essential
  • a blanket that they've had since they were born and has the scent of their mother
  • lots of cuddle toys
  • patience! 
Poppy and Tom 

Number 2

Puppies need walking - a lot


Another obvious point to some, but I honestly did not realise how much dogs needed long walks. Before our last dog passed away she was so small and quite old - so she would only go on a five minute walk on a evening and was quite wore out after that. At least once a day Poppy will have to go on a really long walk - preferably to the field or beach where she can be let off her lead to have a proper good run around! We have to walk Poppy whatever the weather - sun, rain, wind, snow! She must be walked whether you're going to get wet or not. You should definitely invest in a good, waterproof coat, especially if you live in England, good walking shoes and a good harness for your dog.
Poppy at the beach!

Number 3

A sleeping routine is hard


When we first got Poppy, she was very much like a baby. She cried throughout most of the night and would wake up super early. A lot of people would say this is what its like to have a human baby!
Poppy is now pretty settled into a routine, as I said in number 1, she falls asleep at around 9:30pm and sleeps all the way through till about 6am which is really really good compared to restless she used to be! The secret to this is consistency. You must have a routine thats the same every night to make sure she falls asleep at the same time, meaning she normally wakes up at the same time too. 

Poppy asleep between me and my mam

Number 4

Your puppy won't want their picture taking


Poppy has recently began posing for pictures, but for the first seven months as soon as she saw my phone or camera she would stop doing whatever cute pose she was doing and begin scowling at me or run off. If I want to take a photo of Poppy now I would usually involve treats or a toy to grab her attention, or just make a really weird noise that tends to get her attention! Pretty much all of my camera roll is now pictures of Poppy. 
A rare photo of Poppy sitting still, in exchange for a treat of course!

Number 5

Getting a puppy will probably be the best thing to ever happen to you


Poppy is so much more than our pet, she's a part of our family now. Having my own business and working from home means I get to spend a lot of time with Poppy, and she is really good company! We all have no idea now what we did before her or what we would do without her. I would 100% recommend anyone getting a dog but to remember how much hard work they can be for the first few months. Having a dog is a lot of hard work, a lot of responsibility but its all worth it. Coming home and Poppy running over and bringing one of her toys as a gift to greet me with every single time beats all the sleepless nights and walking her in the rain. 


Me and Poppy!

Please feel free to leave any comments,

xx


Share:

Tuesday 2 May 2017

Vitamin Sea

First 'summer' holiday of the year, which was filled with lots of sun, cocktails and relaxation. This trip was to celebrate a family members birthday! So we went to Spain for a relaxing five days filled with birthday celebrations and it was such a nice start to our summer holidays. We are going to Canada later this year, which is going to be a lot of hiking and power walking up mountains, so it was lovely to have a relaxing holiday of sun bathing, drinking cocktails and eating delicious meals every day and also it was a lovely change from work. Here are a few photos from the trip!



Please feel free to leave any comments!
xx
Share:

Thursday 6 April 2017

A4 Personalised Prints

I've recently been working on some A4 prints for my online Etsy Store -
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/EvieWardDesigns

If you like any of these prints but would prefer something personalised - or even have your own idea of a quote please feel free to email me at eviewarddesigns@outlook.com or let me know in the comments below!


Please feel free to leave any comments!
xx

Share:

Saturday 18 March 2017

DIY - Plant Pot Tutorial

Here's how I made my own personalised plant pot...


You will need:

  • Plant pots (mine were from Wilko's)
  • Enamel paint (I used tester pots from Wilko's)
  • Paint brushes
  • Something to cover the surface you're painting your pots on (I used a carrier bag)
I used three different sizes of brushes, the smaller ones for the pattern and for the edges.
Choose which ever colour you like, I chose black to go with the colour scheme of my garden but you can be as bold as you like with the colours. Enamel paint works well with on most terracotta plant pots, but if you want to make it completely weather proof you can mix together PVA glue with water and go over the top once the paint has dried. 

You can be as creative as you like with this DIY as its so quick and easy to make. You could add stripes or different colours of paint for a truly unique and personal design.
Please feel free to leave any comments!
Evie
xx
Share:

Friday 3 March 2017

Burano Island

As we were staying in Venice we decided to get the boat taxi to Burano Island which is about an hour away from Venice. We stayed for a couple of hours to get some food and drinks and have a look around the beautiful, colourful island. Visiting Venice during the carnival period was chaotic and compared to Venice, Burano was almost empty, the food and drinks were also a lot cheaper than Venice so it seemed like the better option for us to travel there that day.
The houses on Burano Island are all really bright and colourful, one of the suggested explanations for this is that it was a easy way for the fisherman to recognise their home from the sea, the colours of the houses follows a specific system. Today, if someone wishes to paint their home they must send a request to the government, who will respond by making notice of the certain colours permitted for that lot. The result is that every colour of the rainbow is represented. 
Burano has plenty of restaurants and bars along with small beautiful stores, famous for lace in particular. In 1500 women of Burano began stitching lace, each woman specialising in a single stitch, each piece would have to be passed from woman to woman to finish, meaning that each lace can take up to three months to finish and the reason why it can be a little bit pricey. 

Please feel free to leave any comments!
Evie
xx
Share:
Blog Design Created by pipdig