Cardiff Blues Cupcake Picks

My mum wanted me to design and make some Cupcake picks for a work friends 50th birthday. Mark, is really into his rugby and supports the Cardiff Blues (which is in fact the team I support too!) so I was really interested in doing this project. I thought that I would make a Rugby shirt with his name on and age as the number, along with a Rugby ball, and some simple Happy Birthday and 50 picks.

Here's how they turned out...

Image Courtesy of Tabitha Martinson

Happy 50th Birthday Mark!

Please note that these are NOT official merchandise and copyrighted to Leanne Carpentier.

Race for Life, Cardiff 15th July 2012

I am doing the Cardiff's Race for life tomorrow morning. It's a 5km run/jog/walk in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK. I'm looking forward to it now, after a couple of weeks of preparation I still can't run it but I'm getting better at jogging it. I'd like to dedicate this post to everyone doing the race tomorrow and of course to everyone who we are raising the money for! It's events like this that bring the community together and for a very good cause! Good luck everyone and enjoy it!



New Designers 2012 Part 1

Yesterday I went to the New Designers show in Islington, London. My honest opinion of the show was that it lacked something that the past shows had. I cannot put my finger on it but I wasn't as awe struck as I usually am. Neither the less I still found some amazing talent. Here are some of a few designers that really caught my eye...
Emily Shepherd

When I saw Emily's work, I just had to look closer. It really stood out from the croud. The concept of her designs had a real sense of interactivity. Her wallpapers I would say are mainly aimed for children, as they can explore the texture and colour of each design. These wallpapers are interactive so you can draw on them, write stories and stick magnets to them to hold things in place.

Images Copyrighted to Emily Shepherd

Images Copyrighted to Emily Shepherd

Images Copyrighted to Emily Shepherd

If you would like to see more of Emily's work then please click here. Please Note that all the images above are copyrighted to Emilyshepherddesigns.com and should not be copied in any way.

Leanne Miles

I had the pleasure to meet Leanne and talk to her about her collection. I really liked it. It had something about it that made me want it! Her collection is so feminine and fresh. Her intended use for the designs are to go onto Gift Wrap, but somehow my mind says that the designs would also look really good on soft furnishing products.

'A little Birdie Told me'

Images copyrighted to Leanne Miles

The Next two images are my favourites from Leanne's Collection...

Images Copyrighted to Leanne Miles

Images Copyrighted to Leanne Miles

If you would like to see more of Leanne's work then please click here. The above three images are copyrighted to Leanne Miles and should not be copied in any way.

Katie Rowley

At the show, I instantly recognised Katies work from Print & Pattern blog. Katie was featured about 2 weeks ago. I was lucky enough to meet Katie and she was lovely. Her work was beautiful up close. Katie offers a range of beautiful designs, with a lot of time and effort gone into the thought process. Here are few of my favourites.

Images Copyrighted to Katie Rowley

Images Copyrighted to Katie Rowley

Images Copyrighted to Katie Rowley

This image was featured in Selvedge magazine, It was wonderful to look at up close. A stunning design based on her experience at Staffordshire University.

If you would like to see more of Katie's work then please click here. The above three images are copyrighted to Katie Rowley and should not be copied in any way.

Lisa Martin

Lisa's designs are aimed at the childrens market, The collection I saw was very quirky and uplifting. I loved it, I thought that I'd seen it somewhere before and I was right, Lisa was also featured on Print & Pattern Blog a few weeks ago. She has a very distinctive style which I admire.

Images Copyrighted to Lisa Martin

Images Copyrighted to Lisa Martin

Images Copyrighted to Lisa Martin

Images Copyrighted to Lisa Martin

If you would like to see more of Lisa's work then please click here. The above four images are copyrighted to Lisa Martin and should not be copied in any way.

New Designers 2012

I'm really excited, as Tomorrow I am going to see this years New Designers show. I love going to New Designers as it gives me a lot of inspiration, and an insight into what's out there. Obviously I go to see the textiles part. Hopefully I will come back to report some new finds and be inspired to work on some more personal designs.

New Primark Notelets

I'm happy to say that I have some more designs in Primark Stores nationwide. This time it's a pack of 4 notelet cards. I was asked to design something that was similar to a clothing product they had in store last year which was the bottom card in the pack, I quite enjoyed designing these cards as they are very girly. I especially liked making the Union Jack flag look a little more interesting.

Visuals I've done for SwanMill Paper Co. and Primark.

The Final Product

Please Note All designs are Copyrighted to SwanMill Paper Co. Please do not copy.

Strawberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes

I was in a baking mood last Friday, and as my mum and nan were coming over to the apartment that weekend, I thought I'd make some fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with a White Chocolate and Vanilla butter cream icing.



mmm yummy...

Minted.com Competition 2012

This week I entered a competition on Minted.com to design a card for the 'Joy to the world' Holiday Photo Card competition. The top prize is to win $7000 and my Photo Card will go into production for you to buy. Pretty awesome right? So here is my entry...

'Happy Holiday Tweetings' Copyright to LCarpentier and Minted.com

If you have a Minted.com account, then please vote for me and leave me a comment with your suggestions/feedback. Click on the link in the sidebar on the right to go there or click here. Thanks!!!

The Queens Diamond Jubilee 2012

Last weekend we saw the Queens Diamond Jubilee. What a magnificent event! The whole 4 days were a celebration on a grand scale. Saturday was the excitement of leading up to the celebrations with street parties, Sunday saw the flotilla down the River Thames, Monday we had the extravagant Jubilee concert and Tuesday was the actual Jubilee. In honour of this occasion I wanted to celebrate myself but as we couldn't have a jubilee party I decided I would just make some cakes and have a quiet celebration between myself and my boyfriend. We ate cakes and drank wine, we also danced around the living room (like loons) to the concert! It was great fun!

So here are a few pictures of my cake making. (I think I'm improving!!)

I wanted to try something different, and I saw something like this on the Internet so I gave it a go. It didn't turn out quite as I hoped. The star in the middle was supposed to be red (with the Jubilee and all) but turned out a little orange. I still think it looks good though so I was happy with the result.

Hope everyone had a Fabulous Jubilee weekend!! Happy Celebrations!

New Home

It's Finally happened. I have moved away from mother nest! It's been on the cards for a while now and the time has finally come.

Everything seems to happen at the same time though. Just before the move my computer screen broke, so I haven't been able to blog for a while, so much has happened since then. A month later I finally have my Computer back working fine! YAY!! So time for a catch up...

My new home...
The move was actually really smooth, My boyfriends friend Tom helped us move, so Thanks Tom! With the two boys it only took about 2 hours to move everything and then we cracked on in the flat. First by painting the bedroom as it had a little damp in it but we've fixed that now.

My old bedroom

Packing the Van

Our New Bedroom, all painted and ready to live in

Our Kitchen, cleaned out and rearranged

I also persuaded my boyfriend to turn the spare room into a study/studio for myself, which I love. I love having my own space to be creative.

It's a little messy at the moment but with time I will find homes for things.

Travel - Cardiff

Continuing with my 'Must See' in Cardiff, My next Attraction is pretty Obvious...

Must see No.2: Cardiff Castle

The Castle holds over 2000 years of history and is one of few Castles to be located in the Heart of a City, Cardiff Castle was designed and built by Architect William Burges, who lavishly designed the amazing interiors. 

This Image is the Ceiling of the Arab Room located in Cardiff castle. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

The Castle was given to Cardiff by the 4th Marquess of Bute, and with it came the Gardens that surround the castle, otherwise known as Bute Gardens (Which are lovely in the summer). In the last 25 years or so the Castle grounds have become a home for the College of Music and Drama. Every summer time the Castle hosts an Outdoor play and this year the play will be Macbeth. You can catch this on the 6th-7th July. For more information about this please see the link below.

An Aeriel view of Cardiff Castle and it's grounds. Image courtesy of http://www.webbaviation.co.uk

If you do visit Cardiff Castle be sure to look out for the Peacocks! No doubt you'll see one or two.

If you would like to see what events are on in the Castle please visit this link

Must See No.3: St Fagans

St Fagans is an open air Natural History Museum. It stands in the grounds of St Fagans Castle which was a late 16th century manor house owned by the Earl of Plymouth and donated to the people of Wales. I love St Fagans and often go here for an afternoon out.

St Fagans Castle, Image courtesy of www.a2bwales.com

Traditional Crafts and activities are often taking places here, it is a lively fun environment. St Fagans also has different breeds of animals running around the fields, and Farmers demonstrations, which is great for the children. I highly recommend visiting St Fagans whatever age you are, it caters for everyone. To find out more information please visit this link

2012 Olympic Games Come to Wales!

Ok, So I still don't have my Laptop back from being repaired but Today is very exciting as we are Hosting the Olympic Torch (I must Blog about it!). 
Now this blog is not a Tourist Blog by any means but today and over the next few Weeks I thought I would Share Some 'Must Sees' in my beautiful City. I thought I may as well try and promote Cardiff seeing as the 'London' Olympics are on this year.

The Olympic Rings outside the City Hall,

Picture Courtesy of WalesOnline.co.uk

Wales is also hosting the London 2012 Festival, and will be taking part in the record Breaking attempt for the largest Bollywood Dance performance.

'The London 2012 Festival is a 12-week nationwide celebration running from June 21 until September 9 bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK'

    -WalesOnline.co.uk (Read More here)

Cardiff has been 1 of 4 city's chosen to Host the Para Olympics Flame Festival which celebrates the lighting of the Para Olympic Flame.

Must See No.1

Cardiff's Millennium Stadium is one of my favourite buildings! I love it and I love that it's a regular haunt of mine! I'm often found here whenever the rugby is on. This Summer the Millennium Stadium is host to the Women's Football.

The Millennium Stadium in All it's Glory.

Image courtesy of www.rugbydata.com

This Stadium is a Must see!! It's magnificent and I feel really privileged to call it mine! The city also Generates an electric atmosphere whenever there is a match day, So I'm looking forward to the day the games commence, It's wonderful.

Not many Stadiums in the world are like this one. What makes this stadium magnificent is the Roof! Yes, my friends it can open and close whatever the weather. It's also a venue for Music concerts, which are unbelievable! Trust me I've been to see one.

Inside the Stadium at A Wales Rugby match,

Image Courtesy of www.rugbydata.com

 The stadium has a capacity of about 75,000 people and is situated in the very centre of Cardiff City. It also has a river flowing next to it, the River Taff, sometimes you can see the local Rowing clubs practising in it.

Mad May

It's been a while since I posted but I've had a few problems this month. Unfortunately my laptop has had to go in for repair so I Haven't been able to catalogue any of my findings. I will hopefully get it back soon to carry on posting!