Easter Temptations

In all my time of being the queen of laziness, Easter Sunday has definitely been one of my most laziest days! Between eating my weight in turkey dinners and creme eggs, a nice long nap and some blog reading, i havent even had a chance to change out of my pyjamas or put makeup on. I feel bad but I'm sure Jesus would understand and forgive me after I worked so so hard last night. ;)

The past 40 days have been long and hard but i managed to keep my lenten promise and didn't buy ANY new clothes, makeup or magazines. For some this might seem like an easy task but for me it proved pretty difficult. I usually turn to shopping when I'm bored or a little down in the dumps which is pretty much every other day.


I'll admit there was quite a few close calls and I very nearly gave into temptation when I seen Boots 3 for 2 offer! I think its definitely a sign i have a problem when my boyfriend literally has to drag me out of a shop before I buy anything! haha The fact I have to walk through Belfast high street to get to college, past all the lovely shops calling me in with their beautiful window displays didnt exactly make it any easier. I also spent countless hours online window shopping, reading reviews and adding to my personal wishlist.. which has grown to a ridiculous length.


I really recommend putting yourself on a shopping ban & stick to it if your feeling the pinch like i was. I saved my wages and was able to pay my rent, pay off some bills and keep myself living without going into my overdraft! But I am going to try and be alot wiser with my next student loan payment so I don't have to take such drastic action. But first off im going to look about booking myself my first ever summer holiday abroad! :)

Happy Easter Little Chickens! x

Im going to keep taking it easy for the rest of the day... run a bath, watch some episodes of Dexter & eat more chocolate. My skin is probably going to hate me even more than it already does, if thats even possible!
Anyways i just wanted to know how everyone else got on with your lenten promises. Did you cave in or did you stay strong?


Now Easter is over, you should expect a massive and i mean CRAZY BIG shopping spree from me..
Just kidding ;)


Happy Easter!


Love Shauna xo


all photographs here were taken by me & copyrighted. Please ask if you wish to use.

Small packages carry the most precious gifts..

Its a pity i havent blogged in a few weeks but a hectic lifestyle & stressful deadlines week after week had left me exhausted, stressed out and slightly depressed. However this week i had a lot of good things happen to me & i finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel! :)


On tuesday I managed to somehow to give a half decent presentation to my class about the graphic designer Josef Muller-Brockmann & his use of grids in Visual Communication.  Public speaking is one of my, if not the biggest fear of mine but even considering the red face and shaky hands & voice at stages, i was pretty pleased with how i performed & recieved great feedback from my tutors.


So to celebrate my somewhat small personal achievement I got myself dressed up for the first time in months and went to Auntie Annies in Belfast where my boyfriends band, PrettyChildBackfire were performing & launching their new video.

me all ready to go see some PCB

For the second time in a year they had packed out the same venue and performed amazingly as always. I had an incredible night, and was so proud of everything the boys have achieved so far. If you guys are interested here's the video for their song I Wish I Knew You Better, i really recommend you watch and share.. even if my opinion is a little biased haha

Blonde me and Ciara aged 17!

The very same night i got news that my cousin Ciara had went into labour so i travelled home the next day, "slightly" hungover from the night before, to be closer to the hospital and be there when the little one finally arrived. She had a pretty traumatic labour but gave birth to a healthy 9lb baby boy on wednesday morning at 2am by C-section. Today i got to visit and meet the newest addition to my massive family and it was love at first sight. He is the most precious beautiful thing i have ever laid eyes on and I just cant wait until my day to be a mummy arrives. I wish her every happiness and know she will make a wonderful mother. <3 This also gave me a proper excuse to use my new SLR i got months ago so I made the most of it and took hundredssss of photos. I pestered the poor child for 2 hours straight and he probably hates his auntie Shauna for shoving that lens in his face. Oh well its his fault for being soo gorgeous! :) Its a beautiful time for everyone and i'm so proud of how much Ciara has grown in the last year. Motherhood definitely suits her!

Welcome to the world Tiarnan :)

...And that just about rounds up the past few days for me! ha! I know this post was long but i finally felt i had something to write about and the time to write it. I'm  happy and content with my routine at the minute and realised that all work and no play makes Shauna a very depressed girl so I'm gonna give myself things to look forward to in future so i don't get stuck in that slump again cause its not a nice place to be. I had a bit of a wake up call and realised there is more important things in life than studying and work deadlines. Its important to spend time with family & friends because at the end of the day thats what life is about. I feel like myself again! :) You also will be proud to know i have so far stuck to my lenten promise and no make-up or clothes have been bought since before Ash Wednesday. Not long left now and even though i'm nowhere near to having enough saved for those things I would like to buy myself, I have been able to pay my rent. Woohoo! Bring on the future!

Love 

Shauna xo

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