The Blog Recognition Award

Hello lovelies, today's blog post is a bit of a brief one nothing too long winded.

Katherine who blogs over on Millennial Rants ever so nicely tagged me to answer the questions from the Blog Recognition Award the other day, so of course I shall be answering the questions in this post.


Before, I answer them these are the rules

- Thank the blogger who nominated you and link to their blog
- Briefly explain how how your blog started
- Give two pieces of advice to bloggers just starting out 
- Select 15 bloggers you want to tag and give the award to - and then let them know



How my blog started 
I actually started it years ago back in 2012 but, I never used it regularly. I decided to start up my blog so I had some where to talk about anything I wanted to.

Two pieces advice for new bloggers
Hmm I'm no expert when it comes to blogging and I still have so much to learn
what I would say though is
1. Be yourself and write about what you're passionate about as it reflects so much in your writing.
2. Don't be afraid to interact with other bloggers because you never know you might find some good friends through doing so. Taking part in Twitter blogger chats definitely helps ease you into talking to new people if you struggle with things like that like I do.


I'm not sure who else to tag, as I think pretty much all of my favourite bloggers have been tagged already although, I don't think the lovely Tanya of Scribbled Dreams has been so I would like to nominate her!

Thank you for reading!

Love from 

Katie

xx

Next Wishlist

Hello lovelies, today I have Next Wishlist to share with you all!
Once upon a time Next used to be a clothes shop that I saw as a somewhere my mum and other 35+ years shopped at but, the past few years I have been wanting more and more pieces by them! I totally wish I had money to buy everything on the wishlist below but, alas I don't *sad face*.
Here are my favourite finds from Next:

1. Denim Dark Blue Pinafore - £30  |  2. Navy Broderie Ruffle Dress - £50  |  3. Navy Slogan Shirt - £34  |  4. Nude High Neck Lace Top - £32  |  5. Lipsy Polka Dot Ruffle Dress - £38    6. Blue Stripe Off Shoulder Shirt - £30  |  7. Off The Shoulder Ruffle Sweater -£18  |  8. Blue Ruffle Shirt - £28  |  9. Tie Shoulder Cami - £16  |  10.  Navy Broderie Ruffle Top - £38  |  11. Black/White Check Trench Coat - £90

1. The dark wash of the denim is really nice. I think it would look lovely with a shirt underneath, a pussy bow blouse or even your favourite band t-shirt and some metallic ankle boots or for a more casual look some trusty converses.

2. This navy broderie ruffle dress would be perfect to transition from Early Spring too Summer! 

3. I really like the 'Au Revoir' embroidery on the back of the blouse, the white piping around the edges and the Peter Pan collar. I think this blouse would look cute tucked into maybe a nice midi skirt.

4. This nude/blush lace blouse would go well with most bottoms, you could wear with an A-line mini skirt or tucked in to black skinny jeans with a pair of ankle boots. I think it's such a pretty colour!

5. I think this such a cute dress that could be worn during winter with tights or without during the summer!

6. I love how it's styled in the photograph with the navy midi skirt there's something very Audrey Hepburn-esque to it and the style of the top is super elegant looking. 

7. Another striped top? Erm of course! But, this has a RUFFLE!

8. The ruffle on this shirt is such a nice detail a bit like a cape (maybe it's just me).

9. ohh my goodness how cute is this top?? I'm actually so tempted to buy this top! I would live in this in Summer time especially. I love the gingham pattern, the frill and the cute tie arm straps.

10. This is the shirt version of the no.2 broderie dress I would probably style this with a pair of skinny jeans or dungarees and converses. 

11. I really like this gingham trench coat I think it's a lovely, unique take on the classic camel trench. I have seen it in store and it seem 

From this wishlist I have learnt that at the moment I love anything navy or with frills! 

They have so many lovely pieces in stock at the moment, you should definitely have a look! 

What are your favourite pieces from my wishlist?

Thank you for reading!

Love from 

Katie

xxx

The Real Neat Blog Awards

Hello lovely, it's been a while since I last posted as I've been concentrating on my illustration work which I hope to do a post on soon just share with you my more recent pieces. But, I'm currently have technology problems so it might be a while till I can't get them up. 

The other day I was tagged by the lovely Vanessa on Life of Vanessa-Ann for the The Real Neat Blog Awards which are similar to the Liebster Award but, you answer Seven questions instead of Eleven.

So before I start here are the rules of the tag

- Thank and link the blogger that nominated you

- Answer the seven questions they asked you 

- Nominate seven bloggers for this award and let them know you nominated them 

- Ask seven questions for your nominees

Vanessa asked me these interesting questions, I had to have a good think about a few of these answers

What's your favourite memory?

ahh I can't decide! So here are some of my top memories
meeting my boyfriend, going to Leeds festival, seeing Arctic Monkeys live, getting a hug off Johnny Marr, graduating university, getting some of my work in the Secret 7 exhibition, watching Mr Bean with my grandad on NYE one year, family holidays when I was younger, I could go on

Did anyone inspire you to start blogging?

Ohh this was a while a go now but, I think Olivia from What Olivia Did was the first blog I properly read and to this day is still a firm favourite of mine! 

Favourite and least favourite social media site?

My favourite social media site is Instagram, I also love Pinterest but, I'm not sure that's considered a social media site. I enjoy using both of them because I'm a very visual/creative person. My least favourite social media site is probably Facebook.

If you could go for a meal with ANY 5 people who would it be?

ahh this is so difficult, I'm assuming that also includes people that haved sadly passed away.
hmmm
David Attenburough 

Twiggy

Carrie Fischer
Audrey Hepburn
My Grandad

What was the last song you listened to?

Ed Sheeran - Shape of You because the 16/17 year old Katie loves it

Where do you hope to be this time next year?

I would love to either be a full time freelance illustrator with an online shop selling prints of my illustrations OR be in a job that I am enjoying.

What has been your biggest blogger achievement? 

hmm probably getting to 600 followers on Bloglovin, getting so close to 700 eek!

I actually don't have seven favourite bloggers that haven't yet been nominated and answered questions but, here are the lovelies I am nominating

I nominate

Katherine of Millennial Rants

Amy of The Auburn Agenda
Francesca of My Life in Rose Tinted Glasses

My questions

1. If you could only keep 5 of your personal possessions which would you keep? 

2. What is your favourite thing about blogging?

3. Favourite film, book, tv programme and song?

4. What is your favourite thing to do in your spare time?

5. Where would you most like to visit in your lifetime?

6. What's one thing most people don't know about you?

7. Which season do you like the most and why?

wow could I have used the words 'favourite' and 'what' any more??

Thank you so much for reading!

Love from 

Katie

xx

My Etsy Shop

Hello lovelies, I hope you're all well! On Friday I finally plucked up the courage to do something that scared me because life is too short to stay in your comfort zone forever. I only went and opened my Etsy shop back up selling A5 prints of my illustrations.

It's something I've thought about doing for some time but, the constant self doubt I have with anything I do put me off. Recently, I've been thinking well you won't know if things will fail or work out until you actually try first. 

I created all the illustrations by first off drawing them with of course a pencil, then I scan them into the computer and fine tune & clean bits of my drawing. For the Frida Kahlo illustration the colour was added using the magic of Photoshop. 

My first print is of Audrey Hepburn, I decided to draw her as she's one of my favourite actresses and she's such an iconic actress

The next print I have in my shop is Twiggy because she is one of my favourite Sixties icons.

Last but, not least is Frida Kahlo because she was damn good artistand she was so fun to draw!

After, getting my illustrations printed professionally by Awesome Merch, I then got onto the exciting part of picking out packaging and deciding just how I wanted my packaging to look. Of course I browsed for ages on Etsy looking at lots of pretty washi tape and stickers. I bought some brown brown paper bags and added why spots to them using the end of a brush and white paint. I love the way the copper tape looked on the brown paper bags when I package everything up!

Here are the links for the places I got all my different pieces for my packaging

Both rolls of pretty washi tape both come from SandRBits Etsy shop

Please Do Not Bend stickers from Azmari Etsy shop

Brown Paper Bags from Eco Craft

Polyprop Self Seal Bag (to protect the prints) from Eco Craft

Hard Board Backed Envelopes from o.d.l Packaging on ebay 

Round Stickers with my logo on printed by Printed

I would love it if you could check my Etsy shop out and let me know what you think

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KLennonIllustrations

I am currently working on some new ideas to hopefully sell as prints at some point in the near future.

Is there anybody you would like to see me draw?

Thank you for reading!

Love from

Katie

xx

2017 New Years Resolutions/Goals

Hello lovelies, it's that time of year again where I and many others set themselves New Year Resolutions in hope that they can stick to at least one by the end of February.

Before I tell you all about my New Years Resolutions for 2017 let's look back a year to the ones I made for 2016 which you can check out here 2016 New Year Resolutions . If I'm being honest I really didn't achieve any of my goals, although I did graduate/survive University which I'm still surprised by. 
But, hey 2017 is a new year and I'm more determined than ever to get things done and stop putting things off!


Personal Goals

- Believe in myself (even if it's just a little).
this is a biggy and one that I've been struggling with for many years. It would nice to make steps towards less self doubt even if they are just baby steps.
- Drink more water
- Exercise at least three times a week 
Not to lose wait really, just to tone up and so I actually might have more strength than a new born baby.
- Read more books
I would love to read more books this year (four or five) especially some classics. You're probably thinking four or five??? that's nothing! But, I'm such a slow reader probably the slowest. I'm hoping the more I do it the quicker I get, hopefully!
- Keep up with a daily beauty routine 
especially one that will help reduce my large pores. WARNING: Beauty Gurus do not read on... My routine used to just consist of taking make up off with Micellar Water and that was that and maybe a bit of moisturizer if I was really pushing the boat out! But, now I'm a new woman after my mum so kindly bought me three Clarins products for Christmas. I can't wait to see if they make any changes to my skin, I might do a blog post about them and their effects on my skin (especially my T-zone).
- Take more photographs 
because it's always nice to be able to look back on moments & I really didn't take many photos in 2016.
- Buy prints for my room 
I had my bedroom decorated back in early 2015 and I still haven't got my 'gallery' wall up, just my lonely Audrey Hepburn print. I would love to purchase some artist prints (supporting small businesses) and a few of the lovely Vogue prints my boyfriend bought me from Manchester Art Gallery.
- Start to learn my ukulele (finally) 
and be able to play at least one of the songs my list of ones I want to learn. 

Illustration/Online shop Goals

- Open my little online shop 
selling prints of my illustrations, so far I will be selling Twiggy, Audrey Hepburn and Frida Kahlo prints but, I plan to create more illustrations and get them printed for sale too.
- Start taking portrait commissions 
I did a couple at Christmas time and my customers loved them which made me so happy.
- Make plans for my zines/mini magazines 
I hope to make a zine in the future called the A-Z of the Sixties which would be such a fun personal project for me as I love the Sixties for all things music, fashion and interior design.
- Reach 300 followers on my illustration Instagram page 
this isn't a goal more of something that would be nice if it happened.

Blogging Goals

- Post regularly (at least three times a week).
- Continue talking to lovely bloggers 
because they're are lots of really nice people part of the blogging community. Some of who have been super supportive towards me, my blog and my soon to be open online shop.
- Post my first Beauty post
not that I know much at all (if anything) about beauty but, it's something I'm interested in.
- Host a blogger chat
I think it would be fun and it would be nice to speak to more fellow bloggers.
- Pluck up the courage to post another Outfit post
Sometimes you just need to do something that scares you slightly.
- Maybe change up my blog design 
If I'm feeling super daring maybe even design it myself.
- Reach 1000 follower on Bloglovin
again it isn't a goal more something I hope happens (if that makes any sense).

Credits for quotes/typography in blog post image

She Believed She Could So She Did Print by Old English Company
You are Never too Old to Set Another Goal or Dream Another Dream by C.S Lewis 
(sadly I can't find the original source of the typography) I did see it on Pinterest
Don't Lose Your Fire - Unfortunately I can't find out anything about it this quote also, found on Pinterest

I hope 2017 treats you well and that you achieve all the goals you hope to complete.

Thank you for reading!

Love from

Katie

xx