Remember those things...um..letters?

How annoying is bulk emails, Facebook messages and reading about momentous moments in the lives of my family and friends on Twitter. Whatever happened to the humble hand-written letter? It seems as though fountain pens these days are purchased solely for signing ones name.

In fact, one of the things I miss most about my childhood, is old-fashioned mail. I miss the anticipation of opening the mail every day, the surprise of finding a letter (that’s not a bill) and appreciating the effort someone put into hand-writing a note just for me.





Letterheady, is a new online archive of the letterheads of legendary artists, politicians, collectives, programmes. Browsing through might just inspire you to design one of your own and pen a note that will make someone’s day. There is nothing more thoughtful than a handwritten letter.

punky

Been feeling a bit punky lately. The best way to express this is through a distressed stained ripped union jack top. Perhaps not with the floral setting but still nice

Give away time

So I want to give away this detachable peter pan collar, I have been selling them online and they have been going like hot cakes. So to get your hands on one I want to know what you would wear it with. Email me ljocullen@gmail.com writing it out or 'make me an outfit' on that site I cant remember what it's called..polyvore? Or am I thinking of something else? Or send me an actual outfit post, illustration, design showing what you would do with it. I will choose the winner on the basis of how creative they have been and how original the idea is. This will end Friday 29th October..fashion moves fast correct?!

Still alive

So I have been running around relentlessly buying gifts and doing the people pleasing errunds we do when we get multiple birthdays/baby showers and general get-togethers that all seem to happen at once! So here is what I wore to one of the shopping trips down at Oxford street.

Pigeons & Peacocks

I’m not a loyal reader of any magazine out there but I am forever going to make sure I receive all future issues of Pigeons and Peacocks. This is London College of Fashions yearly magazine. Showcasing students work in women’s and menswear, accessories, art, photography and journalism. Not only is it quality reading but every page is like a work of art.



Favourite articles “How the East End became Hip” and “Finding Eastenders”

Request mag here it doesn’t cost a penny http://www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/courses/magazine.php

perfect day for stupidity

Last night I was rolling around in bed and had finally reached 5am which was the last figure I saw on the clock until I was back out of bed 7am to get ready for college. Ran out the door, missed the train, left the college trip early due to the inabilty to string a sentence together. After various wrong busses/trains home and changing through 8 towns I got home for an hour break before I went to meet my friends in the park. We messed around using my friends video camera, eventually admitting defeat to the weather decided to part ways. Fourtey minutes passing and my bus didnt turn up, jumped on one that remotely went near somewhere I could get transport home then decided to walk home. This is what walking home with the mental age of 2 hours sleep looks like.

Moany old post, not only will tomorrow be a rich in sleep day but will be a positive post day! The only way is up! X

Bubble dress

Following last nights TO-DO! Found it quite useful really. My bosses are therapists and write a yearly to-do list and try to accomplish goals through out the year. They do a half year review and grade themselved out of 10 on how much they tried on each goal which is really good for not beating yourself up about it. At the end of the year it will be good to share you mine and the rest of the new goals for 2011. But here's the list from yesterday:

Ticks, crosses, excuses


As for the 'pick outfit for tomorrow' it's semi-here, I cut the collar off an old top, I should of done a post today but literally lept into bed as soon as I came home from college today.

Collar-less + corsage

Ebay items on their way, Sending off a collar and necklace paypal have put my account on hold for goodness sakes, over £3.25 the miserable petty fools. GIMMIE MA MONEY!

I actually got this out of the way today. A huge bubble dress I made for my first project that's been sitting round college and I've been too worried to take it back home on the train I finally did today!

Perspective please

Hah, following on from my ridiculous post from yesterday. It looks like I need to see it in front of me to actually SEE what I need to do on my ever lasting to-do list. I will share it here

General:

Post Ebay items
Ballet email, drama email
Reply big long email to friend
Make purple necklace for shop graydonwhite.co.uk
Order chains online
Set up Etsy account
Tell the grandmother I'm going to Ireland again

College:

Sort clothes for tomorrow
Make lining for dress
Draw bird sequence for sketchbook
Validate Oyster card form

Self indulgent post but necessary! Tomorrow you'll see how I get on and you can tell me about yours!

Blagh?

Huff and puff it's a bit past midnight and don't know what to do with myself. Do you ever feel..just...I don't know....'blagh'? I've got a big old to-do list and am avoiding it and instead complaining about not knowing what to do. I blame this on sugar. I've had a few biscuits and this must be my sugar low of feeling completely uninspired. I might think of something. Off I go....

It's the taking part that counts...

Here is the poster of my lypsyl competition that I entered a while back.

See my entry here:http://ljosstoryboard.blogspot.com/2010/08/sleeping-until-10pm.html

I didn't win but how lovely was it when I saw the post today and found these 'taking part' goodies. The entry specification was to make something retro, friendly and to have an incorporation of the Lypsyl logo...here is the winning design

(no it is not the wrong photo)

Grr

Internet has been cut off by stupid BT and Vodaphone dongle people are IDIOTS! IDDIIOOTTTSSS! Anyway well done winner of sweetheart bracelet is Larna from London that is on its way! X

LCF Flexible factory

I was so intrigued when I heard about this fashion show going down at the plaza on Oxford Street. London College of Fashion’s Flexible Factory part time degree course showcased last week. How on earth are they going to do something like that in the Plaza? Models walked from one of two pop up shops belonging to LCF (one placed on top of the other ) up the escalator and out to the other shop on the top floorI was so intrigued when I heard about this fashion show going down at the plaza on Oxford Street. London College of Fashion’s Flexible Factory part time degree course showcased last week. How on earth are they going to do something like that in the Plaza? Models walked from one of two pop up shops belonging to LCF (one placed on top of the other ) up the escalator and out to the other shop on the top floor

goodday to you

Hi girls,

Necklace is own creation which will be put in the shop http://www.graydonwhite.co.uk

I got a few emails around the same time and it's kind of hard to guage who sent it first because of the different time zones etc. So in todays give away this sweetheart bracelet the requirements are the same but I will just pick out at random in a hat. Also, girls some of you emailed me and are not in my list of followers make sure you read the post carefully. So new followers, email me your name, blog name, adress (to ljocullen@gmail.com) and I will put you all in a hat. See todays give away.

The tooth necklace is going to Katie.S in London. Congrats x

Bribes

Days outfit showing necklace design

There's some interviews I want to do but don't have enough followers to convince the people that it is going to be read so i'm going to do a giveaway to attract some more. Existing followers don't worry your loyalty will be rewarded in due course. As you know I own my own online jewellery shop, the first new follower plus an email stating their details, (adress) etc will get this tribal tooth necklace in the style of Kate Moss

I will be doing this for another 4 days doing more give aways with the same concept so if you're not the first new follower in my inbox then you can bide your time and save it for the coming days.

Also I do some writing for a high profile blog as a designer and am doing a feature on proms. So I would like your prom/debs photographs. In return I will give the best entry this peter pan collar attachment pictured below. Competition closes Wednesday 15th September.

What I am looking for:

-Tasteful not tacky photographs

-Some sort of group photo

-Specifically, if you have any photographs of your dress on a hanger, EVEN MORE if it is on a hanger in a store (you will be told why)

Anyway more than anything just send as many as you can because then its more likely I'll find what I need.

EMAIL: ljocullen@gmail.com X

dress to jelousify

Peter pan collar creation in blue http://graydonwhite.co.uk/ourshop/prod_868024-Butterfly-collar.html

I'm seeing an old flame later on would appreciate an email offering advice on what to wear to make him spark his love up again for me.

Not that I want to hook up it would just do my ego a favour = ]

ljocullen@gmail.com

Home

So I have been in sunny old Ireland the past week, little did I know how hard it would be to find connection there. I had left one of my girls to post off my necklaces to the winners but had an emergency of her own, so can my winners email me again ljocullen@gmail.com and I will sort it for you, apologies for the waiting. This has been my first day off and it looks like it's going to be a pyjama day so here's last nights outfit

phew, well it's good to be back, it's been too long. I know now for next time though what my connection situation will be like in another country.

Necklace results

How awful I am posting this a day late, sorry girls I didn't have access to my list of names yesterday but the winners of my necklace and bracelet giveaway are:

Marianne

Katelyn

Cee

Terry

Taylor

No hat so used a bag instead

All the entrants

The selection

Okay ladies so just email me your adresses to ljocullen@gmail.com I don't know when it will get to you, international shipping! Thanks for your entries expect more like this I love doing it!

Formal

Howdy

So I need help in what I should wear to a black tie event. It's Friday so quite last minute. I'd just appreciate some links to some dresses that would suit long black hair with pale light skin. Not for a redonkulous amount either please.

Can't look out of place here http://www.amikalondon.com/ as this is where the party is.

Any photos of your evening gowns? Any experiences of your black tie events to share?

So I hardly ever share where I got my clothes from, the reason being ALOT (much more than I thought) is vintage/thrifted/mothers. Here my boring sandals were from Peacocks £10-ish? The shirt was coast I think, but 10 years or so ago. The shorts were my mum's black jeans when she was my age! So almost 25 years old or something.

Anyway off I go, I'm going to look through the various looks sites point me in some direction of what to wear tomorrow X

Vintage bombardment

This is my contribution to HYPEED's age of vintage competition. This is the only contribution I've made still getting the hang of that site.

Everything here is vintage excluding the shirt. Well I say vintage, 90's count now right? Im speaking about the cardigan and skirt. The top is 70's I cut it down from a long dress. The locket is 40's and have no idea about the bag.

So I am shamefully awake at 2.54 am. I am shattered so off I go to bed. Do you do your blogging and look posts at night too?

Delivery

So these are the neckalces I got through the post for my giveaway. I was expecting 5 necklaces but have three and one bracelet (bottom right) but the tassel necklace which if you scroll down you can see is still part of it.

So you know what to do to be in a chance with winning, email me ljocullen@gmail.com stating what makes a good blog and your name will go in a hat and I will draw the winners Friday the 13th and it will be announced right here. Thanks for those who have already entered please could you tell me what name to write on the entry as some of you that have entered have crazy screen/user names!

My friend made and shot me in this shirt. It is circus/clown inspired until the bottom got burned and sliced off the bottom so this is us trying to be 'edgy' with the whole crop thing. Don't worry I didn't wear this out.

This is my gut trying to be held in! Tomorrow we start the workouts! Wish me luck, any tips welcome! X

Sleeping until 10pm

Awful, it's so bad. I can't be the only one. Having to wake up earlier than the body can handle to do something during the day, coming home and collapsing into bed, then waking up at 10pm at night before work the next day!

What I got up to is a long story and not exciting unless I provide images which I don't have (yet)

In the meantime I willl show you some images of the competition I entered. The prize is a bursary towards couse fees of a fashion related course.

The entry brief

My moodboard, inspiration, design

Techincal drawing, samples, the boring part

And this is an outline of who would wear the design with some key words

Blanketing..

...most of us have done it right? Something we want that multiple people can get for us but is quite difficult so we maximize our chances by doing a handwritten SPAMFEST to our contacts!

Here is my attempts to gain employment. I do work doing admin and some PA duties on a Monday and it is well paid for what I actually do but it's not enough for me to live properly, just sustaining me you know what I mean.

So I am applying for the usual retail sales positions in most of my favourite stores, alot of my friends just hand in their CV's/resume's to the stores on foot. I just wouldn't be able to stand the snooty sales assistant face as she patronizingly says "I'll pass that on for you" so I've decided to mail them instead.

So I am a student trying to get a part time position. What's your situation? Do you work full time part time? Are you studying like me? Are you face to face with the public everyday or behind a computer screen?

I also want to know if anybody has had success with this blanketing/spamming method. I've done it before on emails and have got a few responses but it would just be no's. However I did look for someone once and found them doing this. So I'm just curious, let me know...

Gluttony!

Goodness, if there was any justice in the world I would be obese! I just can't seem to control myself lately, I'm typing this scoffing my 8th biscuit! The day starts off well but just after dinner I PIG OUT, its really bad I've probably consumed 7,000 calories in the past 3 days or so. Donuts, biscuits etc are just tooo moreish.

SUPER DUPER STRICTNESS TOMORROW! I cant binge now I have it down in words! NO BINGE!

SATURDAY (calories beside)

Breakfast
Soup 64
Bread 60

Snacks

Yoghurt 100
Bran flakes 70
Choc spinkles 20

Banana 90

Clemintine x 2 50

Lunch
(Toastie)
Bread x 2 120
Cheese 110
tomatoe, onion 30

Toast 60
Butter 70

Dinner
Curry 480
Bread 60

Hot chocolate 120
Soya milk 40

And the total says 1544 which is under the RDA but I think I need to take some slack for the OVER eating I've done the past days. I'd like to know other peoples take on this message me please if your just as obsessive as myself, I go in and out of phases. You?

Hello there

Greetings! You are reading this being new to my blog, as you can see there is previous content I have been submitting, this is just because it's a bit better to have something to look at as opposed to just HI! SEE YOU TOMORROW! or something.

Amoung other things, in this blog you will see the life of a girl who designs jewellery, models part time, goes to fashion school, wanabee actress, is a part time personal assistant to a therapist of all things.

I am planning on documenting my day-to-day life, do a few 'how-to's', the common favourite 'street style' and hopefully I will be trusted to give advice! Oh yes and of course giveaways.

Speaking of which..

5 necklaces to give away! Email me on ljocullen@gmail.com explaining to me what makes a good blog and I will put all your names in a hat and announce the winners here!