Distorted Views: Fun with Panorama

Things You Should Never Say to an Artist

1) "My kid could do that."// "I could do that" 

2) "Art isn't a 'real' course" 

3) "Being an Artist isn't a real job" 

4) "I don't get your work but good for you for doing what you want"

5) "You're an artist? Do you paint?" | There are so many different mediums. I am a painter by definition of my selected course path way but I've also used loads of other mediums (for example egg yolk and flour).

6) "Have you sold anything yet?" 

7) "Can I have some free art?" 

8) "What does this mean?" | What do YOU think it means?

9) Whilst looking at art - "This is nice." | Please elaborate.

10) "You can use a photoshop filter to do that exact same thing!" 

12) "Why does this cost so much!?" | An item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Tip for Hair Growth and How to Grow out Dyed Hair!

About a year ago I made the decision to stop dying my hair like crazy and just let it grow out natural. I used to dye my hair A LOT and in order to get it back close to my natural colour I had to bleach out the bright intense red that I had woefully decided upon before. If you've ever had to dye your hair back from red to blonde you'll know that this is a difficult journey - with many stops along the awkward unnatural strawberry blonde path (It was neon orange for a small period) Eventually I got it this awful sort of streaky white blonde and decided it needed a break. I left it for a while before going into a hair dresser and getting some highlights put in that somewhat matched the evil roots that had made their appearance.

Now my hair has this annoying habit of breaking of more one side than the other which at the time (considering avoiding hairdressers when growing hair is a must) was really rearing its ugly head. For a period of time I had somewhat lopsided hair which was terrible. But with many a ponytail and bun I navigated through this weird period. Finally when all the bleached ickiness had been snipped away I was left as I am now with long completely natural (not a highlight or ounce of colouring in sight). So I thought I'd share with you some tips on how you can maybe speed things up or keep it healthy as you go along.

Getting it Trimmed
On many occasions with hair I'd always say find a good hairdresser and then TRUST THEM. However, throughout my hair growing process I've realized one thing - they aren't always right and that's okay. Also understand that no matter how much you beg your hairdresser not to cut too much off they will always cut too much off and its an upsetting fact. However, I must insist, please do not listen to them when they say 'if you want it to grow healthy you must get it trimmed in x amount of weeks'. Yes if you want it to never actually get anywhere you should go back in a month or two but if you want to make any progress that doesn't get abolished in a few moments in their chair be my guest. You CAN grow healthy long hair by having your hair cut less. I opted to wait 6 months between trims - and popping in every now and then to just have my fringe manged.

Accept the Awkward Stages
Whether you are trying to grow your long natural or dyed you are always going to have that awkward phase where your roots are awful or your hair is in between lengths. This is where our wonderful womanly brains get to get creative in hair styles that cleverly hide such ailments (or we wear lots of hair bands and hats) and when you just can't bare your roots anymore play with highlights and low-lights that don't get you back to square one.

Hair Products
I'm sorry to be the one to drop the bomb and tell you there is no product in the world that will cause your hair to grow at the rate you might want it too. There is no point splashing out on such products and their is a possibility that it might actually cause more problems than its worth! I avoided weighing or messing with my hair too much during my year of growth. A light oil (I recommend Moroccan oil) will keep your hair soft and shiny and its always worth investing in a good lightweight shampoo and condition. Again don't be fooled by any products that claim to do anything other than wash your hair really well! I personally like the Aussie range and they also do a hair treatment mask that is perfect to use once or twice a week for a few minutes!

Styling
Try to avoid doing anything to your hair that will obviously cause damage - that means minimum heat, no massive amounts of hair spray and for the love of god no backcombing!! I often went days without using any heat on my hair and if you just can't stand the idea I recommend using a heat protection spray. I also like to brush my hair quite often but when you do I recommend working slowly from the end up and gently teasing away tangles instead of ripping at them and causing damage. I use a wide toothed brush and a roller brush for blow drying as I think this makes my hair look thicker without the need for backcombing!

Vitamins
Now, I always thought that vitamins really wouldn't effect the growth of your hair - wrong. I found a really good combination for not only hair growth but also for your skin and nails! I found it in the weirdest place as well - Sainsbury's! It's the woman's 'skin hair and nails' tablets with betacarotene, vitamin c and zinc. They are brilliant and I noticed a difference in all these areas within the first few weeks of taking them. I will also say I started drinking more water and I definitely think that helped!

Washing
As I have said previously make sure you don't use to heavy shampoos and conditions, but make sure you do use conditioner! Also leave in conditions and hair masks are always a good idea now and then just to keep your hair soft and shiny! When you wash make sure you shampoo at the tops and then condition the ends mainly. I wash my hair every other day - but often if I am going out on an in between day I'll just give my roots a quick swish so they don't look too gross (but I have very fine hair). When you get out of the shower don't rub your hair aggressively with the towel, pat and squeeze the water from it to minimize breakages and never use a brush on wet hair (you can buy detanglers that can help if you need to) both these things will cause damage and breakage to your hair.

Good Home Hair Masks
I can't really provide you with any solid links here as I often mix and match my own ingredients based off of things I've read about the benefits of the individual things. I'd have to say my favorite is a hair mask that involves mixing equal parts honey and your usual hair conditioner and a dash of olive oil. This smells fab and is easy to apply (unlike many home remedies) I like to mix up some lemon juice in their sometimes just to get my hair a little lighter but that's probably better for blondes!). Just apply that generously all over but focusing on the ends put it up or in a shower cap for best results and leave it in for 30 minutes before washing it out with just water! It makes your hair soft and shiny and really healthy looking!


So that just a run down of everything that helped me out when I was growing my hair. I'm really happy with the results I got and I think the best advise of all was just to leave it alone and let it breath! I hope you have happy hair growing and if you have any advise or tips or questions please feel free to comment below!

August Wishlist!

Welcome Lovely Ladies to my very unrealistic wishlist! Now I am a HUGE fan of making online shopping baskets filled with clothes clicking checkout and then slowly but surely closing the tab. I thought I'd show you some of the things I've been wanting!

1) Palm Print Tie Waist Jumpsuit

This gorgeous Jumpsuit from Topshop! I've been looking for a jumpsuit for so long and I love this gorgeous blue floral pattern! It looks amazingly comfortable and really easy to wear. I think it would be perfect teamed with my gorgeous black jelly shoes!

Unfortunately they are out of my size at the moment otherwise I'd buy them in a heartbeat!

[ link ] 

£58.00

2) Flamingo and Pineapple Playsuit

I am so in love with the crazy patterns that are around lately! I was disenchanted by the boring bland clothes that had been hanging around the highstreet as of late and then suddenly BAM! I'm looking at wild florals and this amazing number covering in PINEAPPLES! This is so gorgeous I can't even believe I don't already own this! Damn my student sized bank account!

[ link ]

£38.00

3) Nice Cup of Tea Mug 

This is possibly the cutest little design! I am so obsessed with tea its unreal but I definitely prefer the smaller simple style as I have small hands! I love the clean simple design and color of this item!

[ link ]

£8.00

4) Printed Shorts

These shorts are so unbelievably cool. The print is so gorgeous and the colours are really beautiful. I also love the way these shorts have been styled with the loose fit t-shirt and sandals.

[ link ]

£25.99

 5) Juice Cube in Blue

I actually have been looking for a while for a little portable backup battery for my iphone as I find when I'm out it often runs out of battery especially if I'm taking lots of photographs! I've looked at a lot of different designs and even phone cases with built in extra battery but I have to say this is the nicest one I could find!

[ link ]
£24.95

6) Jiaxiufen Mint & Cream Iphone Case

I love this pattern so so much! The colours are really nice sort of pastel shades but still seem bold without being too in your face.

[ link ] 

£4.90

The Lacock Adventure

Summer is on, and thanks to the impending doom that is university soon my life will be awash of art angst and lectures (why couldn't they have named them something that doesn't sound inherently boring and awful?). So in the spirit of my last ever summer holiday without these things I have decided to make a dent in my bucket list and have a real adventure.

I started small - I suppose you would call it small, but thanks to the crippling awkward socially anxious puddle that is me I consider this quite a big achievement - I drove somewhere new without my sat nav!

Okay to most of you experienced adventurers this sounds like complete and utter poppycock - I mean really that isn't much of an achievement right? Wrong. I have never in my meer one year of driving, driven anywhere but to and from my boyfriends house
and college. So when he said 'Let's go to Lacock today' I practically melted. I mean it probably doesn't help that my little yellow bumble bee car doesn't exactly drive well. It practically screams up hills and has woefully decided it cannot drive anywhere below 30 and anywhere above 50 - which is a very annoying speed window but I suppose it could be worse..

Anyway! We arrived at Lacock (FINALLY - never trust a man with a map even if that map has the journey literally drawn on it in a big red line.) We parked up and after a small walk ended up in the little village that is Lacock.

Now Lacock if you know about it at all is a village that is owned completely by the national trust. It is so utterly beautiful and well preserved I was in awe. It is definitely a place to visit if you are ever in the South of England. Walking down the completely quiet little high street the first thing I happen to notice was that outside nearly every house was a little un-manned stall with a variety of homegrown veg, herbs, flowers and crafts. All with notes that told you how much everything was and to simply 'post the money through the postbox'. I brought myself a little pressed coin pendant and some lavender to make my room smell gorgeous!

We hadn't actually come for Lacock Abbey but we couldn't resist popping up there to have a look. It was £8.00 entrance for the Cloisters, Museum and Gardens - which was definitely money well spent! The gardens were so beautiful, and they had a variety of little features like giant stumps with steps cut up the side, different telescopes with all different lenses dotted around where there where beautiful views or objects. There was a rope swing and a stream were we sat and ate lunch. After which we wondered around the unbelievably quiet botanical gardens.

When we finally made it to the main event we'd already fallen in love with the place! The gardens where beautiful but as soon as we rounded the corner to the abbey it was bliss. The beautiful stone building opened up and inside the cloisters (which any Harry Potter fans might recognize as the halls and courtyards of the film) was beautiful! My artist senses where tingling at all the little details and textures!

Eventually we had to leave, but begrudgingly. I hope to revisit this place in the winter - If I remember correctly they hold a Christmas market. Hopefully I'll get the chance to enjoy a hot chocolate under the cloisters or beside the frozen stream...

How to Make Marshmallow Brownies!

I'm not the best cook in the world, but one thing I've been told I can't be faulted upon is my baking. I love baking, especially the results afterwards that do no justice to my waist line (oh well). In the picture above it is difficult to see the marshmallows, but I assure you they are in the there and they make the brownies taste a billion times better! I have also experimented with melting the marshmallows on top of the brownies (this is also amazing) and making brownie/marshmallow sandwiches (literally make brownies and then take one brownie put some marshmallows on top and put them in the oven like with cheese on toast then remove and place another brownie on top!)

You Will Need! 
400g caster sugar
225g butter (softened)
60g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 eggs
225g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
a handful of marshmallows.

Method: 
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl by hand or using a mixer (the mixture may be a little lumpy that's fine!)
3. Pour mixture into a 23x33cm greased baking tin (I suggest using butter to grease as I feel it makes the brownies taste better/works better. Also there is some room for adjustment on the tin size but don't go too much smaller otherwise your brownies will end up like biscuits!
4. Bake in the oven for 20-35 minutes, check them by inserting a butter knife in the center if it comes away clean they are ready.
5. Leave brownies to cool before attempting to take them out of the baking tray. (about 20 minutes or more)
6. Cut them into sections remove and enjoy with a nice cup of tea!

The Big Attic Attack

I don't know about everyone else but our attic seems to be never ending piles of stuff, the sort of stuff people decide they no longer want but instead of chucking it out or giving it to a charity shop they just put it in a box in the attic and lock it away to live with dustballs and spiders for the rest of its existence. Well we have lived in our house now for ten years. When we moved in we didn't have much stuff, but we had a nice big attic spread across four rooms. Somehow that space seems offense and it appears to have been slowly filled with so much stuff you wouldn't even believe. I think with people with fairly average sized attics they eventually would run out of space and maybe have to find new places or be more selective but we've never had that problem. So now when we come to dramatically downsize to a house that doesn't even have an attic - we are left with a mountain of hoarder style collections that were long ago forgotten.

Fortunately, as every cloud has a silver lining, this one came in the form of some beautiful treasures!

Including these old lamp stands. My mum told me she is actually planning on making some vintage theme lamps when she has the time, so I will link you to her Ebay/Etsy page when she gets round to it! I just thought they were really sweet as they were in a little box! I also found this chair, it's so tiny and lovely and would be perfect in a little nursery but unfortunately my boyfriend accidentally broke it so it had to be thrown away! It was clearly unsafe and on its way out anyway, but still very cute!

The picture on the right is a toy I had when I was just a kid, I found it and I think its just adorable! he's a little rough around the edges but still workable and beautiful! The wheels are even still in full working order! I was so happy that he survived being stored among all those spiders and dustballs! The picture on the left is of an old book with people in Victorian clothing, the images seem to have all been hand drawn! So perfect. Then on top is a little 'Players' cigarette tin and despite not being a smoker I might have to keep my sewing bits in here!


Then I found this cute little brown box, inside it has a real pearl necklace (so gorgeous) which despite me loving I might have to sell as I really would never wear it and have no space for it. On top is a roll of lovely grey ribbon, I love my ribbons and I found quite a few as well as three large bags of assorted vintage buttons (literally amazing for crafty people) which I might have to do little giveaways and keep nicer ones as pressies for my lovely crafty new penpals!

This has been by far my best find. This little original camera with its original little booklet and leather case was in perfect condition! I don't know if it will take pictures but I am going to take it into the camera shop monday and see what the experts say! Hopefully I can get some film for it as I'd love to see what sort of pictures I could take! It's a Kodak King Penguin and apparently it's worth around £60-100 for just the camera! I don't think I'd be willing to part with it even for that amount!

If you want to see more, or you maybe want to buy something the ebay page for our house sale is here 

I'd love to here about your treasures that you've found? Or see pictures of your little cute things! Comment below with them to share the vintage love!