Free Valentine's Day Downloads

I recently found this blog, Eat, Drink, Chic which is owned by Australian Graphic Designer/Stylist/Blogger, Amy Moss. It's a beautiful site filled with inspiring ideas and examples of Amy's work. She's also, very generously, provided free downloads for some of her designs.

As Valentine's Day is coming up, I've linked you to a few of the beautiful romantic freebies, which she has posted in previous years on her blog. They're absolutely lovely, and if you have the time, you should make them for your loved ones this year. Even if you don't have a boyfriend, you should download them and make them and tell all of your friends about them. Friends will probably appreciate them more than boys anyway. Boys in general are severely lacking in romantic sensibility.

These amazing Origami heart invitations would make a charming love letter.

There are two Je t'aime mini card sets and envelopes which are cute and kitsch. I've shown the Valentine's Girl card below, but there's a boy cars for free download too.

These Valentine's Day Post-Its would enable you to scatter heart-felt messages for your loved one across several locations, which is utterly endearing.

And finally, there is this amazing Valentine popcorn invitation kit to download and make. I think this is brilliant! Such a clever idea.

Amy has lots of other amazing freebies, so you should visit her blog Eat, Drink, Chic and perhaps tell her how awesome you think she is on Twitter @eatdrinkchic. I think I have a tiny little girl crush on her...

Snappy ceramics

I've probably mentioned before something about my love for old school cameras. There is something utterly reassuring about using a proper film camera, a piece of kit that is older than me and doesn't require batteries to make it work. The pictures can be so satisfying, the anticipation of waiting to finish and the develop the film intense and most of all, there's that delicious clunk when you take the shot.  They also look seriously cool, all lined up in a little collection. It's amazing how inventive camera designers have been in the past, creating bodies that look completely different from each other.

I love finding objects created by people who seem to share my delight in camera memorabilia as much as I do. Nancy and Andy of Circa Ceramics on Etsy seems to be just such a duo! This little Lomo Lubitel plate, for example, is completely awesome - you choose the colour, they make the plate, print the design, fire and ship it to you! All handmade and costing just under £20 at the current exchange rate, plus £13 shipping (£7 if you're buying more than one) it's a perfect addition to any camera lover's kitchen!

Not a fan of the Lubitel and more of a Leica fan? What about the little Leica plate in berry red? Or my personal favourite, the Starmite, seen below in dodger blue!

If you're less of a camera fan and more of an audiophile, you might appreciate the little mix tape plate in avocado, or any other colour you might care to choose.

If you're looking for a just a little present for someone, Circa have a sweet range of magnets which cost just over a fiver. Designs include a Hasselblad, a Spartus and a Kiev - no I'm not talking about a chicken kiev, obviously, that would be absurd. 

I originally wrote this post for About Your Dress Blog, you can still find it amongst heaps of other posts by me and two other talented ladies there if you'd like to go and have a peek.

Cooler than carbonite, kids

There was a time in my (as you're about to discover) misspent youth, that I would idle away my lonely hours in Forbidden Planet, looking at comic books and pining after over-priced toys. Despite the fact that any geek worth their salt will pinch the bridge of their nose and scream in your face 'THEY'RE NOT TOYS! THEY'RE MOVIE MEMORABILIA/ACTION FIGURINES/COLLECTIBLES', they are, actually just toys. Toys for grown ups. Deal with it. I have.

I stopped going to Forbidden Planet because a. I was never given pocket money and b. although I know I dazzle you on a weekly basis with my charm, wit and intelligence, I'm simply not intense enough to be classed as an actual geek, so I got totally bored of having conversations with people who just *have* to prove a point, even if it's over an incredibly minor footnote in the history of The Marvel Universe.

So it's not surprising that I've entirely missed the boat on this Star Wars Han Solo ice cube tray, which costs £8.99:

Now, I know I said that I gave up on the quest to become a genuine geek, due to commitment phobia, lack of funds and unacceptable dress-sense, but when my twitter pal @marcusgalley hooked me up to a link with this, I got ridiculously overexcited. So excited, a little bit of wee came out.*

Look at poor Han! He's DROWNING! Nooooooooo!

Now, I'm hoping that you all get why this is great, but in case you're too young to have seen any Star Wars films prior to Episode I, this product makes a most amusing gift for the true Star Wars Enthusiast, because in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (which is arguably the greatest of the Trilogy, but I do like a bit of the old Episode IV: A New Hope, particularly the bit with The Cantina Band, which is my ringtone, incidentally), Darth Vader forces Solo's old Frenemy Lando Calrissian to trick him into chilling out for a bit in Cloud City, where Vader imprisons Solo in carbonite and turns him over to the faceless and mysterious bounty hunter, Boba Fett (I know, isn't his name awesome?) who sells Solo's ass without a second thought to slimy, slug-like kingpin, Jabba the Hutt. It's a particularly poignant moment in the film, because *just* as Solo is about to be encapsulated (and no-one really knows if he will even survive the carbonisation process - it's never been tested), Princess Leia finally tells him she loves him, after much sexual tension and bickering has been played out on screen. Like I said, it's a VERY POIGNANT MOMENT FOR STAR WARS FANS. This is what Han Solo looks like in the film when he's all carbonised and shiz:

I know, right? Travelling across the galaxy this way makes Sleazy-Jet look like a dream.

In short, this is seven types of awesome and if you buy it for a Star Wars fan, they'll appreciate it massively. Unless they have already been given fifteen of them. If you don't feel comfortable going into Forbidden Planet, you can always buy online, or you could just make them a Han Solo Trapped In Carbonite Cake.

*Actually that's hyperbole, I'm a fully and happily continent member of society peeps. So please don't spam me with offers of Tena Lady.

I originally wrote this post for About Your Dress Blog, you can still find it amongst heaps of other posts by me and two other talented ladies there if you'd like to go and have a peek.