art equals happy.

home and snow.

looseleaf tea in a tea pot. snow outside my window. kitten hiding in my bed. drawings to do. socks to knit. smiles to be smiled. pictures to upload and edit. film to scan. memories to share. suitcases to unpack. vintage crochet books to look at. e-mails to reply to. christmas songs to listen to.

working today on catching up. tomorrow should hopefully be 'back to normal'. i hope you have snow outside your window too. :] 

i'm off on an adventure!

It's very unlikely that I'll be able to post anything this week, because I'll be in Budapest (and I haven't set any posts up for you, I'm sorry!). So, take a break, read a book, draw some pictures, cook something yummy, do a bit of knitting, watch a nice film, go an adventure yourself, learn a new language... haha. 
i love you and i'll be back on saturday night. LOVE kxo

i couldn't resist...

...posting these. haha! These were taken at Anna's sweet housewarming (I added the colours) and I'm meeting up with her tonight to see Deathly Hallows (2nd time for me!) and we are so excited! She puts up with my geeky really nicely. In fact, her and her boyfriend bought me Harry Potter Cluedo for my birthday, which is the best board game ever. :DFriends that learn the words to Wizard Wrock songs so you can sing them together and who put chamber of secrets on while you fall asleep at their house are the best. Anna's favourite character is Ron, hands down- but I'm more of a Neville fan. Who is your favourite?
p.s. here is the link to the badge tutorial, in case you were looking for it! 

diner and deathly hallows.

I'm not going to talk a lot about The Deathly Hallows until people have a bit more chance to see it (I don't want to ruin anything for you) but, I can say that it is full of cinematic surprises and you'll feel really swallowed by the overwhelming events that happen. Seriously go and see it if you can, it's worth it. It had me laughing, covering my mouth in surprise and horror and nearly crying all the way through (and I've read the books A LOT!). If you've never read or seen any of the Harry Potter series before, there are quite a few things that they don't explain properly, but I think you could enjoy it immensely anyway. 
(And I'm just going to put in here, that a lot of the scenes are filmed in typical british dwellings/locations, and I felt really thankful that I've gotten to experience living/visiting/experiencing those types of places cause it made it all the more real for me- like imagine a war against dark forces happening in your backyard. It blew my mind and I nearly cried at the beginning because I could imagine myself/my family in it.) 

ANYWAY. I tried not to go on too much. haha. The picture is of a diner in the centre of London because I'm working on a project about Diner Booths. I'll share more when I have a bit more time!
(I'm going to Budapest on tuesday so there may be a bit of a lull in blog posts)
I love you! kxo 

p.s. thoughts on the film are more than welcome in the comments or e-mail me! 

housewarming gift.

My friend and her boyfriend (who is my friend too, i don't really know why i always say it like that. anyway)- Anna and Tom- just moved into a new house together and I asked them what they wanted, and all they said was 'Something for our walls!' so, this is what I made them. Anna shares my love for crochet and all things wool related, so I made the 'frame' out of wool. haha. Snapped a few shots at night before I went over for their party, but thought you'd like to see anyway. Drawing words is my favourite, especially when they are sentimental and romantic. <3

Butter Beer recipe!

You might remember that I tweeted about having a butterbeer party and how I tried out a few different recipes before I found one that I was really happy with. [: I'm going to share it with you, so you can join in on the warm, autumny, harry potter sweetness. 

2 Litres of Cream Soda
1 cup (or more!!) of Butterscotch Syrup. (try this)
A bit of Vanilla Ice Cream
Some Yellow Food Colouring.
 
This is actually a lot easier than you might think!
1. Pour the Butterscotch Syrup and 1 litre of Cream Soda into a cauldron (hehe!).
2. Heat on the stove until it forms a bit of a foamy top. The Syrup and Soda will mix nicely, keep stirring.
3. Keep stirring until it's a nice temperature (I heated mine on 4 out of 6). If you're not convinced of the colour, add some yellow (just a bit!).
4. Prepare glasses or bottles with some room temp Cream Soda about 1/3 full.
5. Pour some of your heated soda and syrup into each glass/bottle. 
6. Taste this and if it's not quite right add a bit more syrup.
7. Scoop some ice cream thinly and place on the top of your glass/bottle to make it more foamy and creamy. [:


Some of my guests preferred to mix it all together to create a more creamy, constant, almost shake-like drink- which is equally as good. You can add scotch or brandy to give you a more house-elf-like-reaction to the drink if you like. [: It is also equally good to have just some soda and syrup cold, though it's not as 'warming' that way. I found that using the bottles were a bit tricky (especially to get the ice cream in, but fun) and only add the ice cream if you're going to drink it straight away- once it all cools down it goes a little funny, but if you want to make some beforehand, I recommend preparing it cold and maybe serving it like punch- straight out of the cauldron! :DThere are lots of different recipes and if you search google, you're bound to find different versions using butter and sauces. Have fun playing!
It truly is magical when you taste this sweet drink for the first time.
Let me know if you try and how it goes.
Love, kimxo 

what i wore on friday...

We had a very empty studio on friday and no drawing trips, so I took advantage and Saara (there is a drawing of me on her blog too. so sweet!) kindly took some outfit photos for me. [: And as is mandatory for a post like this, here is what i'm wearing (though i don't think it's very helpful, haha)
-shoes: old converse-
-jeggings: h&m- 
-skirt: thrifted in camberwell-
-shirt: KISS ARMY from 2002-
-jumper: thrifted, unknown-
-hair bow: handmade by me-
- parka: authentic WWII fishtail- The stairwells are a favourite of saara and mine. the windows are beautiful and the banisters... it's all cozy and nice and old. i always feel blessed that our studios are in the old building (even if there are too many stairs for my liking).I've been wearing my parka a lot lately. It's been cold and windy and I haven't been feeling that well- I think wearing something that makes me feel like i'm wrapped up in a duvet trumps how huge it is. haha. what do you think? acceptable mod accessory or ridiculous big green mess?

some cuteness.

Just found these pictures of Negs from august (in my parent's old bristol house). Time to go cuddle with this lump of cuteness. <3

Wizard Wrock!

**NOTE! THIS POST IS REALLY GEEKY***
I first discovered this amazing (and strange) phenomenon when I was... maybe 14? 15? It pretty much blew my mind to know that there were people getting together and making music about books. All of the songs are pretty hillarious and I listen to it when I want a bit of a laugh. The first band I found out about, were of course- Harry And The Potters!
(cartoon artwork by Alec Longstreth -check out that link for more amazing arty niceness)Here are some of my favourite songs (you can buy thier albums from iTUNES by the way!). I know these videos are useless, but i didn't know how else to share. anyway. enjoy the sillyness!



And then I found The Whomping Willows



And The Remus Lupins! 



But possibly the funniest of them all is Gred And Forge.


There are tons and tons of bands out there, and the best part is: they play in libraries!!!

I booked my tickets for a midnight showing on opening night of Deathly Hallows part 1, in imax! WOO!

Don't forget the Bonus!

Remember that if you order any set of these harry potter embroidery patterns, you'll get a free bonus one! Take a look. [:I think I like the 'Muggle Born and Proud' and 'Aberforth' ones the best, although YOU KNOW POO! is a pretty close second. haha.
Today i'm sporting hufflepuff colours!
Thanks to everyone who has already bought a set (or 9! haha) and you should find some little owls waiting for you. Tomorrow I'll be sharing some of my favourite Wizard Wrock albums with you, to help get you in the mood. [: See you then! Kxo