Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

Wednesday Wishlist – Artist Spotlight

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artists

For this wishlist I wanted to do something a little different and actually showcase some artists that I really admire. All of these people are artists I’ve found either through going to a convention or on Instagram. All their shops are on Etsy. As I couldn’t find a way to add text to the Polyvore sets, I screen-grabbed and added the words myself. However if you are interested in any of the specific art I pictured, you can find the Polyvore image below and this has the direct links included.

I first found SoCuteCompany at a convention in Lincoln last year. I bought a Beauty and the Beast print but sorely regretted not buying The Little Mermaid one too. Majority of Ellen’s art (at least in her store) isn’t Disney related but it’s all incredibly cute. I’m hoping she’ll be heading to “Geeks” Lincoln this year so I can maybe grab some more of her art.

Artist Abe is someone I discovered through Instagram and though I haven’t actually purchased anything as yet, I do have several of his items favourited. Abraham’s style is quite different from what I would usually go for but I think it works well, especially with the Harley Quinn pieces I have my eyes on. I love the cross-over pieces too and the slight silliness to his drawings.

Meagan from Dashes of Color is one of the most lovely sellers I have met on Etsy. I originally discovered her when her Instagram page liked a picture on my Closet Geek Instagram and I was nosy enough to go looking at her page. The first art I bought from her was a Peter Pan and Wendy custom piece for Amy‘s Christmas present, which she was kindly sent along with a Rapunzel pic. I later asked her to paint a custom Briar Rose and Belle painting which I now have on my dining room wall. She is happy to do any custom pieces, her prices are so reasonable and she’s lovely to boot. What more could you ask for?

Silvia from SillyLunastorta is again a lovely person to deal with. Originally I discovered her art at MCM Birmingham Comic Con, when I bought a Luna (Harry Potter) bookmark for my daughter Megan. I don’t know if I ever would have remembered to look up her Etsy if it wasn’t for the sad fact that Megan’s bookmark actually got torn at school. Luckily Silvia had signed the bookmark art clearly and I was able to google her. Though the original bookmark was no longer for sale, there was another Luna that I purchased in replacement. However Silvia did actually offer to specially print the old style for me, in order to replace it. Majority of her work that I like is bookmarks but she has lots of other stuff too. I wish she did more prints and postcards as I’d definitely add a few to my collection.

Elisa owns a store called aasilee and her work is truly beautiful. She is another person who I discovered through Instagram and everytime she posts a picture I go and check out her store again. I really would love one of her custom pieces but sadly I can’t really afford it at the moment. However her prints are really reasonable and I have my eye on a few. (I actually made my first purchase after writing this post, so I’m pretty excited about that!). Majority of the store is Disney themed and this is just perfect as far as I’m concerned.

Last but not least is Amanda who owns Hungry Designs. I discovered her store through Instagram and have been dying to order for a while. Amanda has been preparing for Supernova for a few weeks and her Instagram has been such a tease for all the new items she would be stocking. However I patiently waited till this week for them all to be listed (after the convention) and made my first ever order on Monday. Again a lot of the Hungry Designs art is Disney themed but there is Harry Potter, Labyrinth, Harley Quinn and other great fandoms. The thing I love the most about Amanda’s work is that its not just prints and postcards you can get, but also badges and earrings. She has a 35% discount code (SUPANOVAAPRIL) on at the moment so it would be a great time to give her a visit!

There are a few other artists that I own pieces from, but they either didn’t have anything in their store that I currently wanted, or their store was closed. I would recommend also checking out KavonIllustration, Siodoodles, rowansm and LoveAshleyDesigns.

Artist Spotlight

A Minted Wishlist

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Just recently I stumbled across a website called Minted and I have to say I’m totally hooked by some of the unique and beautiful gifts there! Although the site is based in the US, they do ship to the UK, which means it’s now become my latest place for randomly searching! I’ve come across all sorts of interesting items and I wanted to share a few of my top picks with you. So these are my top five finds.

I’ve always been very patriotic about being British and I’m sure that’s one of the reasons I love this British Isles gold foil-stamped picture. Though the picture doesn’t really do it justice here, the print is real foil (and shines) and comes both framed or un-framed, depending on which you’d prefer. Prices start at $32 and I think its simply beautiful. There are loads of other great map options too, including Love Locations which are basically town/city or country maps, filled with personal pictures.

With Christmas coming up, I love the idea of these personalised wrapping papers. There are LOADS of different designs, most of which you can personalise with names, photos and unique messages. They cost $15 for 5 sheets so if you’re looking for that personal touch, these are just great. It has long been a family tradition – in both my current house and my household when growing up – that gift tags are a waste of time. Instead of wasting effort writing the same thing “To Megan/Lily, from Mummy xxx” on about ten different presents, we always just had individual wrapping paper. One person would be red, another green, another gold etc. This wrapping paper would be pretty awesome for my girls – knowing I could personalise it to each of them.

I have always been a huge fan of notebooks and journals. As a blogger I find they interest me even more; one kept in my handbag for quick notes, another beside my computer for blog post planning, another next to my bed for those ideas that just come to me randomly and that’s why notebooks and pens are important to me and I go online to find unique pens specially for this! Minted has a beautiful selection of notebooks, journals, day planners and address books. This particular one caught my eye as it seems quite apt for my blog. It sells for $16 but comes with extra customisable options, all for a small additional price (i.e. address book is plus $4).

Personalisable Photo Backdrops are seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Since we hold so many murder mysteries and parties every year, these would be amazing. There are several Christmas ones (that would suit our next Murder Mystery party) but also so many have potential to be customised for random party themes. I particularly like the City Scape backdrop too, but with prices starting at $230, perhaps these backdrops would be a bit of an overkill for our small ten person parties!

Finally these Apothecary Jars are just amazing. We’ve had three Fairytale themed parties now and these would have come in so handy. Not only that but they could be so easily adapted to a more Halloween or Witch/Wizard theme too. Whether its slimy eyeballs, or pastel coloured sweets, these beautiful glass jars would definitely find a permanent place in my house. At $52 I actually consider them to be incredibly reasonable and there are several different shapes and sizes too.

There are honestly loads of unique and interesting products on Minted and I urge you to go and have a look. International postage is incredibly reasonable so no matter where you’re based, the postage won’t be something that puts you off! Feel free to drop me a comment and let me know what your favourites are – I’m always on the look out for awesome products that I might have missed myself!