Snap-happy with Stickygram

Another homeware related post! Not too long ago I was contacted my the lovely people at Stickygram who offered me a trial of their products. Having heard of stickygram from a few friends, I was firmly on board to sample their instagram magnets.

I don't know anyone my age who isn't a little bit in love with Instagram. Cute filters, a dinky interface and the perfect excuse to upload pictures of your dinner and pretend that everyone else cares... whats not to love?

When Stickygram offered me the chance to turn any 9 of my favourite Instagram shots into mini magnets, I decided to box clever. What do I really want to look at on my fridge? After racking my brains, I decided on the two most important things in my life at the moment: my friends, and music. Fast forward through some agonising decisions, a very speedy postal delivery and I had these babies in my hands.

Pretty snazzy eh? A collection of some of my favourite records (see which ones you can guess!) and my best friends, my fridge freezer is going to be looking a whole lot happier. I can't fault stickygrams super quick delivery or the quality of these magnets. They feel strong despite being only sheet magnets, and the print repro-quality is great. With prices starting at just £10, i'm contemplating buying more - how great would these look covering a whole side of a filing cabinet? If magnets aren't your thing, stickygram also offer customised phone and ipad cases for you to adorn with your favourite images, the perfect way to stand out from everyone else.

Have you tried Stickygram before?

Back to School with dotcomgiftshop

Morning campers! Sorry I've been away for so long, but things have been mad up here as I have just started my third year of University! I cannot believe how fast the past two years have gone, it seems like just yesterday I was stressing out over my UCAS application, wondering whether I'd get in and who I would meet. And now look at me, feverishly juggling the student magazine (t-hud.co.uk, if you're interested!), a part time job and a practical project and case study.

Although there is a lot of work to be done, I am so excited about the things I'm working on this year. I am honoured to have secured Judy of Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair as my project client, and will be working with my coursemates to produce a promotional magazine for them to send out to their mailing list. Having been a fan of Judy's events for as long as I can remember, I can't wait to get started! Keep an eye out for future posts about that.

My case study isn't quite as solid yet, although I have a placement at NME coming up in January (another dream!) so I am thinking of using that in some way.

But before I give all my ideas away, lets get back to the point. Anyone who knows me knows I have a tendency to stress and worry and that a bit of organisation goes a long way towards making me feel like I'm on task. With that in mind, I wanted to go back into University fully prepared.

Thanks to the lovely folks over at dotcomgiftshop, the first part of this was finding something to cart those heavy library books in! They were kind enough to send me this incredibly 90s-tastic bag!

 A close up of the tartan - pretty Cher from Clueless!

Roomy enough to take to lectures or the gym (as if I have time for that at the moment, but maybe soon), the bag also has a big front pocket for that library card, purse and house keys. Great for stopping you having to rummage through the main body for your essentials! It's rope straps are very comfy and feel strong even when loaded with three kilos of clothes.

So what do I keep in my bag for uni? Well, every September means a little stationery binge...

I searched high and low to find a project book notepad that had enough section for my five uni modules! Luckily Tesco had this girly one for £5 so I can keep my lecture notes organised. The little floral pads were also sent to me by dotcomgiftshop, and are the perfect to take minutes of meetings in, or write gig reviews. The bigger notebook was a freebie from Boden - isn't it pretty! I'm hoping that the blank pages will be good for writing to do lists and brainwave maps. Of course you all know how much I love my filofax - I swear I would be lost without that thing. The big scrapbook will let me doodle ideas for magazine design and make moodboards, whilst the NME was a gift from my parents for my birthday and should hopefully hold a lot of the background research I need for my case study. As for the pen and pencil, I swear by two brands - Papermate Mechanical Pencils and Pentel 'Handwritten' Ink pens. They somehow make everything look super neat without smudging, which is rare for us poor lefties!


Are you all ready for the new academic year?

Festival Packing Part 2 - Treats from dotcomgiftshop.com

I was going to tag this onto my festival fashion post but I thought it deserved a little post of it's own! I got talking to the lovely people at dotcomgiftshop when researching an article for Homemaker Magazine (which hopefully I can show you very soon!) and they kindly offered to send me some items to review. Having been a long time fan of their brand, I jumped at the chance and mentioned that I had a festival coming up and could do with some camping-type items. Low and behold, this box turned up this morning - 

I ripped it open and found that they had sent me not one but TWO beautiful goodies! 

First up were these super cute notebooks, which you can buy here. A little smaller than A5, they contain 64 sheets of lined paper and are VERY Cath Kidston. Normally when I review gigs I hate having to lug a pen and notepad around with me and tend to just take notes on my phone, but these are definitely small enough for me to slip in the back pocket of my shorts at Beacons next week. As you can see, they come a pack of three delicate prints - I'm thinking one for reviews, one as a to-do list and one for the minutes of my third year project meetings. At just £3.95 for all three, they are great value and very versatile.

Next was this adorable flask! I have always loved the idea of owning a flask - there is just something so British and classic about always having your tea to hand. Perfect for someone like me who is always on the go somewhere. I love the slightly faded-type vintage print and the cute mini mug on top. This flask should fit a good three cups of tea, so I shall be filling it in the press area at Beacons first thing every morning before setting off about my day! This flask is the Summer rose print and can be bought for £12.95 here, although do check out the other 8 prints - I particularly like the Spaceboy and Rustie The Fox patterns.

What do you think of my treats? If you haven't already, do go check out dotcomgiftshop.com. Selling everything from homewares to stationery to novelty and wedding gifts, they're a great, affordable solution for that friend who's difficult to buy a gift for, or even if you just want to treat yourself.