Showcase Sunday #44!!

Showcase Sunday is a weekly feature hosted by Vicky of Books, Biscuits, and Tea where all book lovers can share with others what bookish goodness we got this week, be it purchased (physical or eBook), won, gifted or for review!

It's been a pair of weeks at least till I managed to work on a SS post and I have waaay to many eBook accumulated (SO MANY PREORDERS for August 5th and also for this past Thursday!!) so instead I will be focusing on all the amazing physical books and swag and other awesomeness that I picked up yesterday at the post office!!

Purchased (via The Book Depository)

I got 4 lovely books that I will be giving away, GoTaS giveaway will be up tonight itself and the other three will be part of my birthday giveaway!

The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M Lee

A Mad Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

Won In A Giveaway

I have been so very lucky as of late, winning giveaways and a few of the prizes arrived this week! I picked them all up at the post office yesterday. I won Guy in Real Life from Adriana at Reading Fictional and Unravel from its blog tour hosted by The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club. Thank you so much ladies!!

Unravel by Imogen Howson

Guy In Real Life by Steve Brezenoff

For Review (via the author)

I was also quite lucky to be sent the ARC of her upcoming new book by LeighAnn Kopans for review and I loved it to bits! Cannot wait for my signed copy to arrive!

First World Problems by Leigh Ann Kopans

For Review (via NetGalley)

A big thank you to Algonquin Young Readers and Spencer Hill Press for the approval for these one via Netgalley!

The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

Between by Megan Whitmer

Damsel Distressed by Kelsey Macke

Bookish Swag won in a giveaway

I was extremely lucky to win an international giveaway at The Midnight Garden for a Throne of Glass tote and a ton of swag! Some signed, some not and some super adorable TMG buttons and bookmark! Thank you SO MUCH Wendy!!

Purchased on Etsy

I've already told you about the very awesome hand painted bookish totes from Pivot Book Totes, and I want to show off the latest ones I got this week!

And this is all for this week! I was quite overwhelmed when I went to pick up everything at the post office, and I'm still missing some of my preorders, mainly Dangerous Boys by Abigail Haas.

What all did you guys get this week?

Friday Feature: Camamiel!

Well, my blogging hasn't really gone back into full force, but at least, I'm trying to update weekly, and hopefully I'll eventually get back into my 3 posts a week routine!

Today, the first of my days off at work for the holidays, I wanted to make a special Friday Feature! 

I might have mentioned Deb from On Cupcake Moon before, and how we have become taste twins, and how thanks to our common taste for awesome handmade goodies and shops we have connected and became great friends, and I actually can't wait to meet her in person (hopefully next year, twin!).

So, this year I wanted to make her a special Xmas gift, since I know we both love unique things, and after seeing her buying one of Camamiel's Xmas Angels, I thought that a fantastic gift would be a Camamiel mini-Deb! 

 Deb and her Camamiel's mini-Deb!

And we did it! We based the doll on a cartoon of herself that Deb draw, with her kitty, and Ana Camamiel did an absolutely astounding job making sure the doll was a faithful reproduction even to the Rocky The Zombie tee she's wearing!


And Deb absolutely loved it!! So, yeah, further proof that buying handmade is absolutely the best way to go for gift giving!!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: A cover for my KitchenAid!

Hey everyone!

How's Wednesday going? Mine started a bit on the not so good side, but nothing that a paracetamol and some extra sleep couldn't deal with!

Today we're back with Wearing Handmade Wednesday, and this time is an awesome collaboration of two very talented ladies: Jamie of Warning Label Creations and Kylie of Fabulosly Fierce!

I wanted a cover for my KA, and I didn't want any of the old boring ones I'd already seen, so I decided to ask Jamie and see if she wanted to attempt making me a custom one, including some custom embroidery that Kylie would do, and it worked great! Embroidery panels on the side and cupcakes fabric, it's absolutely perfect!

It's practical, decorative and cute, and my Miss Marple KA couldn't be happier with her cover!

Friday Feature: Cotton Purr!!

Hello everyone, Friday is here once again! Even though for me this weekend is a busy one, given that I work two night shifts on a row, and I have the celebration of my younger nephew and my sis-in-law's birthdays on Saturday!

On today's Friday Feature I wanna share with you a seller that I already introduced in my blog a pair of years back here, when she made me a custom pouch for my phone back then. Since then, I kept Cotton Purr, JoJo's shop in my favourites, checking now and then what new products she was adding to her line, and what new fabrics she was using.

And when it came to the time to search for a replacement for my beloved Sanrio Hello Kitty wallet (which I adore and bought at the Delhi's Sanrio store, before it closed) which was getting seriously battered and which had always been a bit of a fight with the card slots (the tiniest wee bit too small, so it was always a bit of a fight to get cards in & out of some of them), I decided that I was going for a handmade wallet this time (of course!!) and that I needed a wallet with a cute fabric, with plenty of card slots, that they should be roomy enough, the wallet itself should be roomy enough to accommodate the many business cards from sellers I always carry, AND it needed to have a clear pocket so I could carry a photo of G & me there... a bit much, you say? Well, I began to think so till I saw the latest wallet that JoJo had introduced to her shop, the Ultimate Wallet Purse, and she can rightly call it that, cause it just had everything I was looking for in a wallet! It was just a question of choosing the right fabric, and when I saw this one, I knew it was the right one!

When buying from Cotton Purr you always get a convo to thank you for your purchase and to tell you the expected date of shipping taking into account her current production time, and then another when she actually ships the item, and when your package arrives, it's all lovingly wrapped like this:

I love the fabric I chose for my wallet; there were other very cute fabrics, a bit more bold and with lighter colours, but I had decided that I wanted a fabric that was cute, but could stand better about the dirt that could come to it through every day use, and this fabric is perfect!

And now it's time to take a lot inside... Did I say I wanted a roomy wallet with loads of roomy card slots? Well, I'd say I really got what I wanted! The accordion shape of the wallet makes it capable of holding loads of everything really, money, tons of cards, even your passport, and since you also have a coins zippered pocket, you can be sure your coins won't end up all over the place (unless you forget to zip it sometime...). It is roomy enough to hold my cell phone without its TARDIS case and still close without a struggle! And that way I can use it as a carry clutch, in case I don't want to carry a handbag.

And of course my last requirement that so many wallets I saw on Etsy lacked: the clear window/pocket, for ID or in my case, for photos! What can I say, I just have to have a photo of G & me in my wallet, it just makes me smile every time I open the wallet, and sometimes, when I need a smile, I open the wallet just to look at it!

As you can see I found the wallet I wanted, handmade with love and one that causes my co-workers to ask where I got it! I like it so much that I'm getting one for my sis-in-law for her b-day (she also inquired about it) and a slightly smaller model, the Mid Size Wallet Purse, for my friend Gema.

If you are looking for THE wallet, go check out Cotton Purr, it is quite likely that you might just find it waiting for you there!

Friday Feature: Love And Knit!!

It's finally Friday and so there's a new feature to share with you all!


This week I wanna show you something that might no be ideal for the weather that's coming, but a nicely knitted cardigan can be a blessing on a cool summer night!


I had been in love with Love & Knit's cardigan for a long long time, and I was waiting either for a sale or for a time when the dollar was a bit low, and my Euros were worth more! That time came a lil back, and I started trying to decide which colour I wanted my cardigan to be, and though the ones she has available are lovely, I saw the ideal colour in her shop in one of her slouchy hats. I had read she did customs, so I asked Mine via convo if she'd be willing to make her cardigan in blue, and she was super nice and said that she'd happily knit it in any colour from her shop I wanted!




Mine designed and knits every garment when you order them, so for any cardigan it can take up to two weeks to knit it, and then you need to count for shipping time from Turkey (which in my case is not too far away, since it's only on the other side of the Mediterranean). Truth be told I was ready to wait for as long as necessary, but Mine shipped my cardigan & it arrived in barely the two weeks she said!






I love the colour I chose for my cardigan, and I'm very happy I went for a custom colour, that way my cardigan is more my own! When it arrived, I was blown away by how so well knitted it is, but I was also a bit confused as how to wear it properly, but once I figured it out, it's great cause there's no up or down, you just have to grab the sleeves, fold a side for the neck, and ta dah! Warm & lovely cardigan on!

Shopping Handmade: Náyade's birthday!

Happy Friday everyone!


Even if I have to work Saturday night shift, I'm feeling like I'm getting half a weekend off, even if I'm debating whether to take a nap or have a nice coffee! Maybe both?


Yesterday I met up with my friends from uni, since Náyade (the one living in Italy) was visiting and it had been her b-day on the 22nd, so we had to celebrate her b-day!


We met up over drinks and tapas, basking in the nice February sun, and enjoying having a lost spring day to enjoy in the outside tables of the pub we were at! As usual, we chatted, we laughed and we had a brilliant time! And of course, I took loads of pics!


All my present for Náyade were handmade, and she loved them all! First of all, since both Pilu and Náyade liked the lil nurse I got for Esther, I asked Camamiel's Ana to create a lovely adorable custom nurse for Náyade too, and as always, Ana created the perfect doll! Náyade loved her, and now Pilu is asking for a doll, too! She'll just have to wait for her b-day in October, though ;)






I also put together a lil care baggie for Náyade with a Green Tea soap from Sweet Petula, the awesome happy feet Peppermint cream from Right As Rain Creations and a sample size body lotion from Body Language Soaps! And you only have to read Náyade's body language to see she was happy with the gifts! ;)






Last but not least, a birthday is not a proper birthday without a birthday card! And my handmade route always goes through On Cupcake Moon, since Deb was so awesome as to make me b-day cards in Spanish, and to add the final touch, a lil stamping done with my cupcake stamp from Skull And CrossBuns!








I leave you with a toast to friendship and sunny days! Esther says: Have a tinto de verano with us! ;)

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: MTcoffinz Underground!

Another Wednesday has come around, and that means yet another entry of Wearing Handmade Wednesday is ready here!




I already showed off my MTcoffinz Underground's Skull Nurse scarf, but since Jinx is releasing new embroidery designs all the time, I was bound to go back to her shop. And so, when I saw her Patronus Stag design for scarves, I decided to ask if she could adapt it for fingerless gloves and in purple. And so my awesome Purple Patronus gloves were born! They're so warm and comfy & just plain cool!


And if you're wondering what the heck a Patronus is... this lil geek recommends that you go read the Harry Potter series, or alternatively, go watch "The Prisoner of Azkaban", but trust me, books are always better than their movies! ;)

Rocky Van Gory camera bag!!!

Hello everyone!


We're again at the beginning of a new week, in the sometimes dreaded Monday. Not for me, since I'm happily having it off after working night shift!


Today, I'm finally working a long overdue blog entry about an amazing collaboration between two amazingly talented ladies that I love to bits: Rhiannon from Rocky The Zombie and Brooke from Brooke Van Gory designs!


For every photographer, and even more for every female photographer, there's this hunt for the right kinda bag, that you can take around without it being too obviously a camera bag but with enough space for everything you'd want to carry around, and that will protect your camera! And in my case, you have to add more space in there, so I can use it as carry on luggage!


The search for the perfect bag to take my camera and gadgets and carry on luggage was over when I saw Brooke working on camera bags (branching out from her awesome purses and diaper bags) and when Brooke & Rhi got their heads together and started working on bags with Rhi's amazing lil zombies hand painted or screened onto them!





After much thought and pondering, I decided to go with the Zombie with Cupcake design, and both ladies got onto work! Bag was made with two of my fave colours, Royal Blue & Black, and the zombie design was screened on silver ink. Super cute! Brooke gave it an adjustable strap made out of a car seat belt, so it's very tough and durable! And being able to wear it messenger style is really convenient when you have to go through airports and trains (and even more when you get stuck in London for 5 days and have to drag around hand luggage and suitcase everywhere!).








I'd totally recommend that if you're looking for a cool, durable bag with loads of packing space maybe it be a camera bag, or a purse or a diaper bag, go check Brooke's shop on Artfire to see what styles she offers and check her facebook fan page to check her previous bags, and of course, don't forget to go check Rhiannon's Etsy or Artfire shop for even more cute Zombie goodness!

My faithful Rocky Van Gory bag in Reading's B&B during my "trapped in the UK, blame the snow" stint!

Shopping Handmade: Collisionware or the coolest housewarming gifts for Gema & Pilu!

Friday is here, and Halloween is only a pair of days away! Got your costume & candy ready?


I'm doing another of my Shopping Handmade features to show off to you all how there's always the perfect handmade choice for every occasion!


Two of my best friends have recently got their own places, and I've already blogged about part of the gifts I got for them here, but there was missing the other part.


I don't like doing things the usual way, and that also applies to how I get presents for people. I fell in love with Collisionware's handmade pot holders and oven mitts and got a pair of sets for myself, and then got the idea to get two sets custom made to match both Gema's & Pilu's new kitchens!


Angie, the brains & hands behind Collisionware, was really helpful & nice during the whole process, and helped me choosing the better way to accent the fabrics I had chosen for each set.


Since Gema's kitchen is done in green & lilac and she loves baking, I chose this super cute lime green cupcakes fabric, that was accented with a light purple fabric, so cute!






And they look great like part of the decor of the kitchen, aside from being functional!






For Pilu's set I went with a black fabric with fortune cookies, with red accents, Pilu's kitchen is mostly white & silvery so I wanted to add some colour, and like me, Pilu loves Chinese & Japanese food!






The set contrasts really nicely with the rest of the kitchen, giving it a touch of colour!




If you're thinking you need a new set to brighten up your kitchen and inspire your cooking, why not get this super cute Halloween inspired set?

Skull And CrossBuns!!

Happy Hot Wednesday everyone!

Well, to everyone in the Northern Hemisphere at least... I'm sure people in the Southern Hemisphere in deep winter wouldn't mind a lil bit more heat, but I'm right now with the mobile AC unit on and still at 28ºC inside the house... so, yeah, a bit hot! But since today was a lovely post day, and I'm having a day off... I shall not complain!


Today's blog entry is dedicated to Miss Emily from Skull And Cross Buns (nope, not a typo, that's the name!) and her amazing hand carved rubber stamps! I met Emily through the amazing forum for crafters (and lovers of handmade) Attack of the Craft! and fell in love with her cute, quirky & rocking stamps! She has all sorts of stamps on both her Etsy & Folksy shops, from cute cupcakes (hence the Buns in her name) to skullies, rabbits, mushrooms, birds and all sorts of cute rocking goodies. And if that wasn't enough, she's extremely custom friendly!


And that's where she got me, on the custom friendly bit! I had seen this cool posters, versions of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters from the WW2 era, with many versions I'd love to own, but since I have no space for them yet, I thought, why not ask Emily for a more portable (and easier to store) version on a stamp? So, after choosing which ones I'd like, I asked her for a stamp version of the "Keep Calm and Snap On" (obvious one for a photography lover like me) and a entirely new "Don't Panic and Carry A Towel" one (which is a MUST for any H2G2 fan!) with a towel included, so you'll always be prepared!


Emily loved both ideas, and she set herself to work first on some sketches, so I could choose which look for the stamps I'd like better, and how did I want the towel to look like, and then carved the two awesome stamps that are now home with me!




When I got Emily's package, I found myself with a big surprise, since there were to packages inside, all stamped up with her super cute designs!








And inside one of them, were my two stamps, but what was in the other? Well, Emily is also a great Hitchhickers fan, and since she found out I never got to watch the original BBC series, she got me the DVD! =D Thank you SO MUCH, Emily!






The stamps are so masterly carved! Superbly even and with a great attention to detail! Can you see how great the lens looks in the camera? I can't believe how she manages to do that! And even more without losing any fingers! And I absolutely love that aside from the image on top of the stamp to let you know which is which, I love the tiny lil decorations all over them!














I had to wait for a bit till I got me some ink, and after all my trips around here, I still haven't found some decent ink pads (water based inks is what she recommends, and specially Versacolour & Versacraft), so I got me one on Amazon.co.uk and even though it is a combined 3-colour one, it's better than anything! I still have to find a place where I can buy ink pads online without the shipping being a killer, and with some variety! But, here are my VERY first tries using my amazing stamps!








The stamping is obviously NOT perfect but I kinda dig the multicolour look of it! I surely will be working more on this, and will be getting myself more colours, and of course, more stamps!




Whether you want to add some cuteness to your packages, cards or if you're looking for a stamp with your shop logo, Emily is your girl! Go check her shop & convo her!

That's all for now, I'll probably be back with another blog entry tomorrow, since I also have it off, I just need to take some more photos. Hopefully this evening!

Oh and btw, unless you're German, I sure hope you will all be rooting for Spain this evening!!