inspiration

Monday Muses | Rebecca Keegan

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

(PLEASE NOTE: Pictures that I share as part of Monday Muses will be a direct link to the original posted by said Muse for which of course, they are fully credited for.)

For this week’s Monday Muses, I thought I would bring it a little closer to home and introduce you to someone I have known since my school days (in other words, a LONG time ago!).

This is Rebecca Keegan – a Textile Design Graduate, self-confessed illustration enthusiast and lover of tea and cake (well who isn’t!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/yPgimgDuDz/

This amazingly talented gal is inspired by all things nature – especially if it involves bears and forests!  Most of her work takes on Scandinavian/Nordic themes, which I just love and thinks it adds to her nature themes.  Rebecca uses a mixture of printing by hand and digital drawing to create her prints as well as the odd bit of laser-cut wood designs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/v_DN-_juKv/

Here are a couple of my favourites:

Rebecca Keegan - Stack O Mugs - Monday Muses

Photo & Artistic Credit – Rebecca Keegan

Rebecca Keegan - Lost in the Woods

Photo & Artistic Credit – Rebecca Keegan

She also designed her own personal hair accessories for herself and her bridesmaids for her wedding day – fitting in with her woodland theme.  SO CUTE.

Rebecca Keegan - Laser Cut Wedding Hair Piece

Photo Credit – Rebecca Keegan

She sells her pieces online under the Hey There Bear name but she often gets involved in various craft fairs as well.  You can check out her Etsy Shop and her Society6 page if you want to check out and buy her cute, whimsical wares.

And if that wasn’t enough, she has also licenced some of her designs to be made into iPhone cases as well via Keka Cases!

Other Links for Rebecca Keegan

Don’t forget to check out my previous Monday Muses where we took a look at Miranda Yeo and Zoe Sees in case you missed them.

If you have enjoyed this week’s edition of Monday Muses then don’t forget to like this post and leave me a comment below (and give me a follow too using the links if you haven’t already!) 🙂

Until next time! x

Food | Health: Whipped Coconut Body Butter

/ Sam Siddique / Leave a comment

Today’s post is a slightly different one – it’s another Pinspiration, but this time it involves using food for other health benefits (you know, other than eating).  I recently bought some coconut oil (you can find it at Holland & Barrett) to use for my hair and the odd bit of cooking.  My hair lately has not been in the best of conditions, so I wanted to give it a bit of a helping hand and condition the hell out of it.  I usually put it on all over my hair the night before, tie it all up and then the next day, wash it all out.  I have been leaving my hair to dry naturally 99% of the time, but I have noticed a difference into how much more tamed my frizziness is as well as how much more glossy and healthy my locks look and feel.

I love browsing through Pinterest to get some more ideas on how to utilise my coconut oil more and stumbled upon a few posts of making my own whipped coconut oil body butter (sounds yummy enough to eat!) – so I thought I would give it a go, and it couldn’t have been more simple!

Ingredients

Coconut oil

Vitamin E oil

A few drops of your favourite essential oil for fragrance (optional)

Coconut Oil and Vitamin E Oil

I actually skipped out adding the essential oil bit because I really love the smell of coconut oil, as its wonderfully tropical, but you only need a few drops if you do.  The Vitamin E oil I bought was a slightly cheaper one, as it’s not one you can consume (but if you want to go for a more expensive one that’s cool too!) and I wasn’t planning on eating my body butter (even if it sounds LUSH).  The added bonus is, that the Dr Organic range is against testing on animals – yay!

*Before you start, you need to make sure your coconut oil is in a solid state and NOT melted otherwise you won’t be able to whip it!

  • I started by scooping two tablespoons worth of coconut oil into a clean bowl.

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  • I then added a teaspoon of Vitamin E oil to the bowl.

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  • Then, I used my electric hand whisk (a free-standing one is also fine) to whip up the ingredients, until it was soft and creamy.

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  • I then scooped out my body butter and put it into a clean glass jam jar (you can use whatever you want, but I think glass jars are pretty and a great way to recycle).

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And TA-DA!  There’s your own homemade body butter!  I absolutely love applying this all over my body after I’ve showered, and really working it into the skin.  And with the added benefits of Vitamin E oil, which helps with dry, uneven skin and helps reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks; I am noticing a huge difference in my skin!  I also apply it to my face in the night as well.  I think this would be a perfect gift idea to give to someone as it’s so quick and easy to make.IMG_6498

*Please be sure to do a patch test of all the ingredients first, in case you are sensitive to any of it – but so far I haven’t had any issues.

I also used some of my coconut oil to make these delicious flourless pancakes – a healthier alternative packed full of yummy goodness!

Have you tried to make your own homemade health and beauty products before?  Do share your ideas in the comments below!  And if you liked this post then don’t forget to give it a like and a follow using the links 🙂

Until next time! x

Monday Muses | Miranda Yeo

/ Sam Siddique / 1 Comment

(PLEASE NOTE: Pictures that I share as part of Monday Muses will be a direct link to the original posted by said Muse for which of course, they are fully credited for.)

For Today’s edition of Monday Muses, we’re going to take a look at the talented Miranda Yeo (who also goes by the nickname ‘Snarkies’) who is a freelance character designer and a recent animation graduate.

Her Instagram holds a whole host of her character designs, which almost all of them follow a particular artistic style (think old school Disney – big eyes and dainty features).

Being a HUGE fan of The Lord of the Rings, some of my favourite work of hers to date are her recent drawings of the characters:

Animated dresses from the 2015 Oscars:

Some gorgeous ink-work:

And alongside those, she does a lot of cute mermaid sketches (which she posts using #MondayMerms):

I think because I grew up on all things Disney, I can really relate to Miranda’s art style – she has a way of turning simple, delicate drawings into something that really has a great impact.  No two drawings are ever the same, characters always have something unique about the way they look and the way they are posed.  You can check out her Tumblr for more links to her social media profiles, Etsy as well as her portfolio.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about another wicked artist in this edition of Monday Muses, and please don’t forget to give it a like (and a follow if you’re not already)!  Don’t forget to give Miranda Yeo a follow on her Instagram and Tumblr if her passion has put a smile on your face!

If there are any other creatives out there that I should check out – be it an artist, musician, writer…then comment about them below with a link to their work – I love discovering new people all the time!

Until next time! x

Monday Muses | Zoe Sees

/ Sam Siddique / 1 Comment

Hello!  It’s me again – that person that blogs for a bit and then randomly disappears because something else takes over their life for a while.  Yeah, sorry about that.  All I am going to say is that there are two weddings and an engagement coming up (pretty much one weekend after another) at the end of this month and into April, so it’s been a little hectic.  If you don’t already know, Desi clothes shopping – especially for weddings, is an extremely difficult palaver.  It involved two days in Birmingham and one in London trawling every single shop for outfits that 1) were preferably ready-made, 2) didn’t need alterations and 3) weren’t freaking hideous.  Suffice to say, we managed to get it done.  Ugh.

Moving on!  As you may have noticed from the title, I am doing another little addition which I have been wanting to do for a while.  I am one of those people that will spend a lot of time on Instagram simply admiring people’s artwork that they have been sharing – and I find it so nice to see so much creativity filling up my feed, that I thought I would dedicate a spotlight post on someone different every Monday that has caught my eye that I feel I should share with more people.

(PLEASE NOTE: Pictures that I share as part of Monday Muses will be a direct link to the original posted by said Muse for which of course, they are fully credited for.)

Today’s edition features Zoe Sees who is a cartoonist, illustrator AND a lawyer (talented or what!).  On her personal website she says “I believe that wherever words fail, a mildly disparaging cartoon can usually succeed.”

Her Instagram has a combination of different artistic styles including ‘Slice of Life’ comics featuring a very cute version of herself and her partner:

Cartoon sketches of people she observes

Life-like sketches

And among her artistic posts, there are some of her cooking and baking feats and the odd selfie post, and if you’re lucky – the odd little video of a jam session (she has the sweetest voice).  She is one of those people that I feel are constantly brimming with such creative potential, and I always find myself looking through my feed for one of her posts – mainly because they are usually filled with such real life humour, that they genuinely make me chuckle.

You are also able to buy her work from her Etsy shop which features some seriously cute prints!

I hope you have enjoyed the first edition of Monday Muses, please don’t forget to give it a like (and a follow if you’re not already!) and hopefully I have introduced you to someone who was previously unknown to you!  Don’t forget to give Zoe Sees a follow on her Instagram and Website if her passion has put a smile on your face!

If there are any other creatives out there that I should check out – be it an artist, musician, writer…then comment about them below with a link to their work – I love discovering new people all the time!

Until next time! x