Love Life... Live Lent

Today, marks the beginning of Lent 2012...

Year after year I've tried to give up bad foods like sweets & sugar but always ended up giving in to tempetation and scoffing my face with Mars bars before Easter Sunday!

But seeing as I havent got money to pay my rent in the next few weeks I thought that this is the perfect opportunity to make me learn how to save! 

This means no clothes or make-up purchases, no magazines & alot less takeaways!!

I really want to save for a holiday this Summer as in my 20 years, I have never been abroad (well.. except for a boat trip to Scotland when I was about 8 which doesnt count!) Ive always wanted to travel & see the world & I want 2012 to be the year I get to experience my first ever holiday! Where? I have a longg long list of countries I would love to visit so itd be a difficult decision choosing one!

 I also would love to treat myself to a Macbook pro as my wee Dell Inspiron isnt exactly up to the job anymore, and seems to be dieing a long slow horrible death. I really need one for University work, so this would be a great investment.

 40 days of no shopping!!

Considering I haven't got two pennies to rub together this shouldnt be too hard to do!!

Wish me luck!

Love 

Shauna xo

(the images used are not mine, no copyright infringement intended!)

Logic is the Beginning of Creative

For the past week or so I've been working on a graphic design project which required us to create our own Newspaper spread, taking inspiration from the brilliantly designed The Guardian newspaper. 

Here is the final outcome which I am very proud of..

I began by studying the layout of the Guardian newspaper closely, which meant PAINSTAKINGLY measuring everything millimeter by millimeter!!  Zzzzzz.... then sketching a few of my own layout designs I felt represented The Guardian well and replicating it as best I could using Indesign. 

It required alot of time and effort to get it how I wanted & include things like a tint block, a drop cap and pull out quotes to add detail. I also had to be careful to use rules and guides and make sure that everything lined up together to make it look professional. 

For another module we are creating our own book cover designs for Penguin Books such as One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest & Grimm's Fairy Tales. So I decided to integrate the two modules and use this as the content for the articles as well as a study of the legendary Jan Tschichold. 

We were only required to make up the headlines, the images & the first paragraphs of the articles, filling the rest of the page with placeholder text as it was the layout which was the main focus of this brief.

There are a few things I would of like to have changed if i had of had the time, like increasing the size of the body text, possibly adding in more pull-out quotes to break up the lengthy articles & I would of liked to have included line rules between the columns.

Despite it being my first time ever using InDesign I really enjoyed this project and it recieved very good feedback.

I would really like to hear more feedback so any comments would be extremely helpful. What do you think of my design? Would it look out of place or blend in well in The Guardian newspaper?

Love Shauna xo

Make-up Disaster

Make-up bags are just one of my many many many weaknesses...


About 5 months ago, I decided to go on a massive spree and treat myself to some / ALOT of new make-up. A ridiculous amount of money was spent, my eyes literally watered when I seen the total flash up on the till monitor. But I fought back the tears, handed over my rent money and went home happy as larry with my new treats.


Anyways... I soon found that all these new products would not fit in any of my old bags. I needed a new one which had to be original, inexpensive(ish) & big enough to fit most of the make-up I need... but not to bulky to carry around. Its not alot to ask from a make-up bag is it? It didn't take long until I came across a company called Disaster Designs who design and make unique purses, bags, notebooks and other gifts...

I instantly fell in love with their designs and after a long debate I finally settled on the Object D'Art Make-up Bag which has a beautiful, vintage style illustration and applique bows featured on the front and back. There is even a little perfume bottle attached to the zip and navy fabric with a bow pattern in the inside and it was this kind of detail that made this Make-up bag a must have for me. It is also sturdy and durable made from Faux Leather and spacious enough to carry pretty much all of my essential make-up. It is also extremely well made and 5 months on it still looks pretty much brand new. 

However it turned out to be a little too big for me to carry about day to day so I had to buy a little, boring, cheapo make-up bag from Primark to just put essentials in if I needed to touch up throughout the day. But this is the bag that I put everything I need in when I'm travelling home at the weekend. It even looks amazing just sitting on my dresser looking pretty and I've lots of compliments and questions about where I got it from.





This bag is far from a disaster in my eyes & I just wanted to share this awesome company with everyone. Their range is amazing and next time I have a little money to spare I'm going to treat myself to an overnight bag so I don't have to carry that god forsaken ugly kitbag through Belfast anymore.


I bought mine on Ebay but this website has alot more of their range of products available. http://www.campusgifts.co.uk/acatalog/Disaster_Designs.html


Let me know your thoughts on it?! I know its a little different but thats just how I roll...


Love Shauna xoxo

Universal Appreciation

Just wanted to take some time out to appreciate the beautiful 20-somethin' seconds that can be seen at the beginning of pretty much every Hollywood movie. The intro!

According to my boyfriend its a little strange to rewind this part if I miss even a millisecond of it. I don't know what it is.. perhaps its the music or the graphics or maybe its just the fact I'm excited about the opportunity of forgetting about everything for the next 90 minutes or so.


I cant explain why it makes me way too excited to the point that I feel like i cant be bothered to watch the film/ don't fully enjoy it if I missed this part. 


My favourites include Universal, Dreamworks, 20th Century Fox, Columbia and MGM. They all succeed in giving me butterflies and making me feel content with life. Even if its just for a minute or two.


This cant be said for the end credits of a film though. I have yet to see any that don't leave me depressed when walking out of the cinema. Maybe its the fact the film is over more than anything which makes me feel that way or maybe I'm just even more weird than I previously thought. 


Anyone else feel the same when they watch a movie & agree that they should try base an entire film on these intros or am I alone on this one? :) 


Love,
Shauna xoxo

Confessions of a Procrastinator #1

I slept in pretty freakin' late today as a result of staying up until the early hours of the morning preparing this blog. Im ashamed to tell you what time I decided to get out of bed at, so you will just have to hazard a guess. But it is the weekend, so that makes it ok.. right?
Now I'm procrastinating further, by writing this blog post. I can foresee already that this blog is going to be bad for my studies! (oh well I was never a great student to begin with!) ;)


This afternoon I'm finding myself in quite a dilemma..

Do I continue my uni work which includes deconstructing the layout lexicon of the Guardian newspaper & do some sketches of my book cover designs for One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest/ Grimm's Fairy Tales (which I would need to finish reading first).... or do I run myself a nice hot bath, put my Lush Face Mask on and relax in front of the fire before I head off to work tonight.


As you can see its a tricky one!


If you understood none of the above, never worry, I don't exactly understand what a Lexicon is either. All I know is its a snorefest and I'd much prefer having a pampering day. But I guess I may get on with it! After I take my dog for a walk, and after I run that bath :) I never learn!


P.s. if you hadn't already guessed. I am the worlds best procrastinator. Its an illness ok! :)


Love
Shauna xoxo

Blog Virgin

Hey! 
My names Shauna (if you hadn't already guessed), I'm 20 and a 1st year student in Belfast.

I've been considering setting up my own blog for a while, because I wanted somewhere to share my interests with others, which include, Photography, Graphic Design, Music, Fashion & Beauty as well as my life adventures, thoughts and secrets... 


Also, I would like to apologise in advance for any spelling or punctuation mistakes.. so if anyone does read this.. then please god bear with me.. ill soon get a hang of this blogging craic ;)


Any comments & advice on starting up a blog would be greatly appreciated! :) Also, you can follow me on twitter @ https://twitter.com/#!/ShaunaLoves_


Anyhow... It is 4:20am on a Friday night and I think I am well overdue some beauty sleep...

Love,
Shauna xox