Jikana Damaru

Roxy is 4!

My puppy is four years old today!

This calls for picture overload of ~~some~~ a ton of mommy's favorite photos :)

She has had a major hair cut since this photo!

can't say I didn't warn you, i just couldn't narrow my favorites down.

Happy 4th Birthday Roxy girl!

Folks, check this out! We all love chalkboards, right? But you have to admit, they = dust throughout your house, crumbly sticks of spent chalk pieces that end up in your kids mouths, and the boards never look quite as shiny and black as the day you painted it once its drawn on....

well, how is this for a fun alternative:

its...... whiteboard paint!!

I know, right. Just THINK of the possibilities! And - granted - you might need a bravery medal to let the kids loose with whiteboard markers, but imagine the look on their little faces when you actually gave them permission to draw on the wall with textas!

I saw that this paint is available through our local Colour Inspirations (Dulux) store. No idea how much it is, but I think I need some. Immediately, if not sooner! Im not brave enough to put it in the kids' room, but I definitely see it working in my new creative space which is currently brewing inside my head and about to be put to paper. Working from the kitchen table is no longer feasible as Bubby Makes Three grows and my horrible space downstairs is screaming to be turned into a creative studio/ kids playroom. I see a little feature wall of whiteboard paint would come in handy for a calendar/ to-do list and work schedule... Stay tuned, folks!

Have a lovely weekend... x

Vintage bathroom

I loved all the vintage bathroom accessories I saw last week at the Next press show in Shoreham. I would like the pink acrylic soap dispenser for my cloakroom along with the pink pedal bin as they would match my color scheme perfectly. I am also loving the cut out metal bins for my craft room to hold my wrapping paper in. The crochet boxes and drawers in pretty pink and pale blue would be ideal storage for my craft odds and ends. I also can't resist the vintage glass storage jars for putting pretty candy in.

Have a sweet day!

Baby, I was born to run...

... off at the mouth, apparently.

Because while you have all been wondering 'whereforartthere Maxabella?', I have been busy whoring myself around the blogiverse as a guest postie. Not once, not twice, but three times. All I need is a pole.

Find me belatedly over at Cherie's blog, A Baby Called Maxabella (oh, okay, her blog is really called A Baby Called Max), where I posted a whole week ago. Cherie's been going through a mad time recently and the call went out for guest posties and seeing as I've got loads of time on my hands because my own blog is idle, of course I put my hand up. Except that my own blog was idle, I would have posted a link a week ago. Sorry about that Cherie!

And number two is over at Oh Good Golly That Gorgeous Miss Holly (or something like that), but she hasn't actually posted that one up yet so I'll let you know when it goes live. It's really just a whole lot of me running off at the mouth about self confidence, which is kind of ironic when you think about it.

And number three is... well, what do you need me for? I'm thinking that despite guest posting being ultimately 100 times more terrifying than posting on my own blog, I might make a career out of it for a while... so, baby, contact me... I'm available.

[Image via our old friend, the untraceable weheartit]

Photog. Session: {Newborn} + What I have learned

This handsome little fellow was 17 days old and weighed just over 5lbs. Due to hurricane Irene and other circumstances we had to postpone his photo shoot a week later than scheduled. Little guy did not want to go to sleep for the first hour. He was very curious about what was going on :) But we made it work and ended up with a couple cute pictures!

What I've learned about newborn sessions...

They are MUCH harder than they appear! You really have to be patient and work on their terms.
Make sure they are fully asleep before beginning to pose them (which is a skill all in itself!)
You must have good light or skin tones will be a lot harder to post process.
They are little mess makers! Be prepared with mattress covers under blankets and keep burp cloths in hands distance.
Keep the room very warm.
Have a plan with realistic expectations.
Don't forget the little details.. fingers, toes, lips, etc.

Being this was only my third newborn session I still have a lot to learn and a lot experience to gain. Lucky me, I will have a little model soon to practice daily with :)

And thank you for all your support and encouragement on my last post! I appreciate them all!

Today it seemed an obvious choice to share with you Next, as part of my shops i love series. As well as seeing Next's fully fitted kitchens, starting at £4,000, you can also stock up on the prettiest of kitchen accessories at their new Shoreham store. I loved their pink glass jars, perfect to pretty up kitchen shelves with or great storage for your craft nik-naks. Candy coloured glasses to serve icy cold milk in with blooming lovely plates for your iced cookies. Scalloped clear glass cake stands for lemon drizzle cake and a variety of wire cupcake stands. They also have cute laundry room accessories like the pink Spring clean housekeeper's box set and pastel peg bags.

Have a sweet day!

wordless wednesday

great to see so many fantastic images each week. to join in today all you need to do is add your wordless blog post. link back to here & enjoy visiting the other entries. thank you.