June Hits

June has been a good month full of interesting trips, free time, nice weather and a brand new tattoo. I was reviewing the month when I realised I had been loving a lot of new products and general things that have been keeping me happy! So I decided I would discuss some new favourites & finally tell you why June 2015 has been a good month.

1. My First Tattoo

So, this has been something that I've wanted for a long time. I actually decided I wanted daisies and wild flowers tattooed on me when I was about sixteen but I obviously had to wait two years before I made the plunge and actually committed to getting it done. I wanted to take my time over finding the right artist who designs in the way I want and I didn't mind travelling a bit to have it done (since it is something that's going to be on me forever!)

I actually booked this tattoo back in December of 2014. I decided that Rebecca Vincent who works in Parliament Tattoo, Finsbury Park would be the one to illustrate and tattoo some lovely botanicals on my inside of my right forearm. I was very anxious on the tube travelling to get it done, I had fourteen stops before I was at Finsbury Park so I had a lot of time before I arrived.

On arrival, Rebecca was so sweet and comforting and I loved the design she had sketched out for me. It took about an hour, and after some teeth clenching and clammy hands I got to see the new artwork on my arm in all its glory! She did gorgeous stippling and white shading and its now finally healed around two and a half weeks later and looks beautiful. The pain for this was about a 6/10 but it’s a pain you forget shortly after and its very tolerable for those who are nervous about pain.

June was definitely a good month for a new experience and my (improved) forearm.

2. Palmers Cocoa Butter Lotion

A follow up favourite from my tattoo is for sure Palmers Cocoa Butter Lotion. As my tattoo was in its yucky healing & peeling stage I was told by my artist to apply this twice daily after washing it lightly with unscented antibacterial soap and patting it dry with some clean paper towel. I'm literally the worst person for moisturising my skin so it forced me to do it regularly and I've really been loving how soft my skin has gone since using it. It seems silly to include it as a favourite because it’s something so simple but it's so inexpensive and smells awesome. If you're anything like me and don't apply moisturiser as much as you should or just forget to do it then it’s a holy grail product to be including in your routine for after you get out the shower or bath plus it smells lovely!!!! You can find it for purchase here.

3. Chunky Belgian White Chocolate & Raspberry Cookies

I'm not sure why I am only now discovering these but this month I have been a bit naughty with my eating since these Morrisons signature cookies have entered my life and they are so addictive especially with a lovely cuppa tea! I can't resist when they are only £1 for a pack of four. July will have to be a detox month but these are definitely worth sharing. (Oh and strawberries are a constant favourite especially when the sun is out).

4. Tinashe - Cold Sweat

I found this song and music video on Instagram after Stephen Garnett had posted it. I had only heard of Tinashe from her '2 On' track which I'm also a fan of. It was quite a surprising favourite for me as I'm usually more into folk/acoustic music but ever since Stephen has posted the preview video that he directed, I have been really loving the entire vibe from this track. I haven’t heard her entire album yet ''Aquarius'' but Cold Sweat is definitely one that stands out. There have been a ton of mixed reviews on this track but I believe it will grow on you. Worth a listen.

5. London

London has been a huge highlight of June but you can read all about that and my travels on my last blog post here.

6. Mono-printing

I started using the technique "Mono-printing" in my artwork at the end of May for my Foundation course but it’s only in June that I really started experimenting more with my printing. I have started adding pastel pencils and glitter to develop them into card designs which will be available on my Etsy Shop. I have started doing some sample designs and below I have included a few of my favourites that I will selling soon. Mono-printing is a process where you transfer the ink onto paper from a sheet of glass and a biro which then makes the image then come out in reverse. You are able to get this nice grungy effect and it’s good for simple lines. I may discuss this process more in a full post soon but you can find out how to do this on YouTube or from a google search. Tracey Emin was a reference that I looked at for a lot of mono-printing inspiration and I really hope to keep producing more of these in the near future.

7. Muji & It's wonderful Candles

These candles were actually part of a very late birthday present for me. I'd never heard of Muji or what kind of brand it was but while I was in London, I came across two large stores when I spent some time on my own and decided to go for a wander. Muji is a Japanese minimalist brand that supplies customers with living objects, furniture, food, stationary and clothing. Muji takes pride in its minimal neat packaging as it is believed by the company that simplicity can be more attractive than luxury. It's very inexpensive and it's great for purchasing things you may need around the house including storage bits and candles.

I'm never usually into minimalist themes as I prefer bold colours and overlapping but the Muji store in London is a comforting spa like store that smells absolutely gorgeous and has the simple things you may forget to buy. I would definitely recommend finding a store as you can get more of an experience about the vibes of Muji and how they like to portray themselves as a brand.

My friend Hakan bought me these two candles called Hinoki Wood and Jasmine & Black Olive. They are subtle scents which are good for a very light aroma in the room. My favourite so far is the Hinoki Wood candle as it has a light forest smell with lemon undertones. For £3.50 each you can stock up on a few to keep your rooms smelling nice.

8. Netflix

In May, I had such a crazy/busy month while I was in the final month of my Foundation Diploma that I never really had time to sit down and actually watch a film and just be a little lazy in general. So when June came around and I had all this spare time the first thing I wanted to do was catch up with some films and series on Netflix that I had been torturously missing while I was working my bum off for my exhibition show. I had been missing a huge amount of "Orange Is the New Black" while everyone on twitter was raving about the new season. I started watching the first season before Christmas and I loved it but since then I had been neglecting watching it. The end of season one finished on an absolute cliff hanger and I was so excited to start season 2. Since finishing university, I have finished the entire season 2 and watched a few episodes of season 3. I can't actually believe how much I binged watched OITNB but it is definitely worth it. New characters arrive in Season 3 briefly (so far) but the story line is pretty good.

9. Book Worm

I've also had a bundle more time to read in June and aside from reading 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins and 'Elizabeth is Missing' by Emma Healey I had also finally bought and read 'It' by Alexa Chung. I was honestly debating on whether to purchase this after the mixed reviews on Amazon with a whopping 25 reviews as one star ratings.

I think it's important to highlight, if you don't like illustration or film type photography then you're probably going to dislike this book!

There's no story line or cunning plot but Alexa has managed to cram a lot of her young fashion influences and sketchbook pages into it. I think it's a really good book for any creative that needs inspiration in their work. It only took me an hour and a half to read it but I was pleasantly surprised. I would recommend going to your local Waterstones and picking it up first yourself to see if you like her personal style (but that’s up to you completely!). I thought this book was a nice fun change from the heavy crime drama books I have been reading lately. You can pick it up here.

10. Blogging!

Bit of a cheeky favourite but it's true. I am loving staying inspired artistically by keeping a blog and being productive. I am hoping that having another platform online will help me create a discussion with others who are into the same things as I am. I've never blogged properly before so it's fun to try and keep a regular post update on my website! Summer is a great time to do new things so I have just been grateful to have this much time where I can sit down and review the month with photographs and my thoughts. Hopefully you enjoyed reading this blog post.

If you do, then why not check out my other blog posts on my home page?

Or you can tell me what YOUR favourites have been this month in my comment feed below. It's nice to see what everyone’s up to and most of all hear what's going to be exciting for this following month of July.

Have a nice day!