Instagram Appreciation #1

I'll admit- I love instagram. I liked the idea when i first saw it on an iphone and since it came to Android I've been snapping away adding to the massive group of little square pictures with random retro filters...I know it's stupid but I can't help myself!
Here are some of my favourites from 2015 so far:




1.Built a Pinhole Camera 2.Popcorn Day at Work 3.Lunch at Momo-No-Ki
4.Decorating the House While Dad's Away 5.Bought a Diana Mini 6.Finishing a Page in my Scrapbook
7.Drawing the Astronaut from Deja Entendu 8.Bento I made for a Long Trip 9.Polaroid I got from my Aunt
My username on Instagram is Thylaylii. What's yours? I love to check out other's Instagrams x3

Sunday Catch-Up #2

Another week gone, and it was another one where I didn't achieve much but managed to get a few pics.
Monday I was working, the weather was bad, I only managed to get a photo for my picture a day. Weirdly, Tuesday was pretty similar.

On Wednesday the weather picked up a little and I brought the dragons out to enjoy the sunshine a little on the windowsill before I had to go off to work. I think the natural sunlight is better for them than their UV bulb, and they do seem to enjoy sitting in the window, watching the world go by :]

The week didn't show a lot more picture opportunities until Friday, when my Graze box came. I love these little boxes XD I get one every two weeks to try and stop my snacking on sugar (it occasionally works xp) and this week's selection looks particularly good. Even though you choose which to receive and which you never want to see come through the letterbox, some weeks you just don't fancy the granola or flapjack XD I have been looking forward to trying their take on Miso since it was released though so this was a good choice, thanks Graze!

We had a tattoo convention on over the weekend at work and I had a little look around the stalls on Friday as we were doing the finishing details of set-up. This Ram's skull really stood out to me, I love animal skulls, even if they are a little morbid x3 I was half hoping to get a tattoo over the weekend but just haven't had time (or money really) to go. I do have a couple of designs in mind but they can wait.

Yesterday as my first day off this week I went out on an exploring mission. First I went to local Ironbridge then decided to go check out an ex-nursing home nearby that I used to spend a lot of time at as a kid. Now that it's not in use anymore they've put up a lot of fencing which is really hindering my exploring but I had a go! I actually tried to get a hold of the security that watches the place but no one would come out. I'm not even 100% if they were there or had just left the car behind to make the place look guarded. This photo is of one of the few places I could get to, I'm not sure if the creepiness comes across as well as I feel it when I'm there XD
And that's been pretty much my week. Next week I've booked off from work so I can spend a little time getting on top of all these projects I've set myself! I'm sure that means I'll be by here more often too, so hopefully I'll see you soon x]

Project Wednesday #2- This is Not a Book (~or is it?)

Today's Project Wednesday is about a book, or rather, not a book, by Keri Smith: 'This is not a Book'. This is getting confusing, I think from here I'm just going to call it a book for ease xp Anyway, Keri Smith specialises in activity journals and is best known for 'Wreck This Journal. I had a WTJ a few years ago and when it was complete I decided to move onto this one.
I didn't expect me to still be doing pages in it like 2 or 3 years on though! It really shouldn't have taken this long but I'm not exactly known for my punctuality or productivity :x I end up putting it down for long periods of time before remembering I want to complete it around every January xp So this is my book. I'm not really sure I like what I did with the cover, it's so busy! But it does mean I get to see these cute stickers more than I would if they were stuck in a book somewhere xp
The problem of TiNaB to WTJ is that it seems so much more in depth. I struggle with some of the pages, just staring at them and nothing comes to mind. The beginning of the book has an introduction that says if you don't like a page, cover it up, but that almost seems like cheating, I just can't bring myself to wuss out so easily even though it kind of is what is holding me up from finishing my book!
This page has been haunting me for years! I actually only have *quick count* about 15 pages left to do, with a couple that just need the odd touch up here and there so I feel they are complete. It doesn't help that in this journal I'm trying to do something that I didn't really manage with my WTJ- putting something on every single page, whether it be doodles, notes or just simple patterns. It's really time consuming and I can only get one or maybe two of these types of pages done in an evening, I told you I'm not a quick worker XD But, I'm enjoying it and that's what matters I suppose.
I don't really draw as much as I like so I enjoy using TiNaB as a kind of notepad! When I began TiNab there were no completed ones on Youtube, but now there are two or three within the last year. I suppose I shouldn't have put it down for so long!
Even though TiNaB can be hard work at times, I really like it and if you like being creative and occasionally bending instructions, (and are not particularly keen on the idea of wrecking books) I reckon you should give it a go! Let me know if you've ever tried out This is Not a Book or Wreck This Journal, I'd love to see pics x3

Catch-up #1

For a good start to my first week back on the blog, I'm two days late for this post! Sorry about that, and sadly it's probably not the first time you'll hear it. I have terrible timing.
To be fair, Sunday I was actually quite busy, my first day off for 5 days. I know that's not unusual for most people to have a Sunday off but my work schedule is pretty stupid most of the time. But I'll tell you a little more about that in a minute.
Lets start on Monday, which was also my first day off for a while and so I spent it being amazingly productive (really!), washing all the dishes, vacuuming, tiding and folding clothes, I even wiped my virus-filled computer and re-installed Windows on it. I was pretty pleased with myself! I had an enjoyable evening after that just doing little bits in my This is Not a Book, which I'll give you more of an insight into tomorrow x3
Tuesday I was back at work with that Monday feeling, so I wasn't really in the mood for photos. Wednesday was a much anticipated day as McDonalds brought back the Creme Egg McFlurry and their Monopoly. I know it's sad but I get really excited about it, I love the Mcflurries without chocolate, even though they hurt my teeth :x I managed 3 on Wednesday to come back with a bang!
And Thursday was a beautiful sunny day, you can really feel Spring coming into the air and the plants can too. This pair are our garden's first full-size daffodils. Friday was the day of the partial Solar Eclipse, but sadly I missed it. I'd forgotten to set my alarm, and managed to wake up about 9.30, half an hour too late. It did seem a little darker than it should be but maybe I was imagining it! Since we were awake though we decided to go out for breakfast at Frankie and Benny's. We've been for diner before but not breakfast, but it was really good, maybe some day I'll get up early enough for breakfast here again!
On Saturday I had a bit of a dud day as I was at work literally all day. I went in at 8am and didn't leave until 3.30am. Yeah, that was fun. Sunday though made up for it, because although I had only 5 hours sleep I was raring to go to the MCM Expo in Birmingham, I'd been looking forward to it all week! I met up with a friend and Face came along too and we had a great day mooching stalls soaking in the geekiness. I even got a pair of Steampunk goggles and they've inspired me a lot, putting lots of ideas in my head!
Once we left the expo we headed out to Birmingham to eat at our favourite japanese restaurant, Mount Fuji. It's beautiful and we both over ate. I'm missing Japan so much but it gives us a little hint of it at least!
So that was my week! Has it been a busy week for you too?

Project Wednesday #1- La De Dah~!

I'm pretty big on wasting my time doodling. To me, doodling isn't just putting little sketches down on paper but to be doing almost anything which takes up a lot of time with relitively little to show for it; aka timesuck projects!
Recently I completed a year long project that I had been doing in tandem with my Sister, a La De Dah Smashbook type scrapbook.

This used to be lovely and sleek! As you can see the cover is still plain, I don't know what it is but I really prefer it this way. If I don't have an idea I can't force it, as to me it just won't look right. I'd rather it still be a nice cardboardy colour! So far i don't have one smashbook that I've managed to decorate the cover on :x

Inside, the trend follows as the first page is also undecorated, that's a throwback from my old diaries where I seemed to think leaving the first page blank would trick people into thinking that I'd not done anything in the book at all, like they couldn't flick through the pages...

So my first actual page is about my sister and Mum, as it was a gift from my sister and she and Mum were going to do their own La De Dah books throughout the year too this seemed like a good place to start, just as following it with my own homelife seemed the logical next step. But that's pretty much where cronilogical order stops as after that I was filling in pages which I thought suited the theme I was looking to 'smash in' best.

This next page has some things my sister & Mum had sent me throughout the year, a few postcards, a couple of photos and the like :] I started to get more imaginative here with lifting pieces and frames, trying to put more effort into layering while still not hiding anything too important.

Next is my Christmas 2013 page, actually one of the first pages I did. As I got the book for xmas it only seemed right that I smash a page about it! I quite liked how this page turned out when I did it but after flicking past it for a year I'm a little worn with it!
So that's the beginning of my La De Dah smash/scrapbook! There are plenty more pages in this one, but we'll get round to those another day :] Let me know what you think!

Welcome Home

It's been a while, internets. I've missed you.
I'm feeling very inactive lately, whereas I used to spend the majority of my days on a computer I now seem to struggle to find time at all for the long browsing sessions I used to enjoy so much. In fact, past social media I'm hardly about at all and that's pretty terrible! I mean, I'd like more of a balance, I admit I maybe used to spend a bit much time looking at nothing in particular xp
I'm gearing up for some big changes in my life over the next couple of years and I would like to document it, however I'm a terrible procrastinator so it'll be interesting to see in time how I'm doing with my plans, and if I can juggle some other things alongside then all the better ;]
I have a few hobbies I don't get to play with as often as I would like, such as photography and crafting, so I'm looking to make days dedicated to them to try and make myself more focused, maybe if it works out I'll finally get a few of my many projects on the road to completion!

I'm hoping to have a bit of a posting schedule, so weekly I'm posting a couple of things at least x3 Wednesday will be focused on my crafting projects, such as Smashbooking or Journalling and Sundays will be for a review of the week in photos, to try and get those pictures out there! I also plan to have some other things pop up now and then, depending on what I'm feeling like :p
Until then though, here is my long-procrastinated introduction, and I hope to see you here again soon!