Vintage Clothing GIVEAWAY . .

I mentioned on twitter recently that I was de-cluttering my vintage wardrobe and couldn't think of a better way to do this than to launch another giveaway!

Up for grabs and PERFECT for spring is this beautiful deep rust orange vintage three-quarter length linen jacket by TARA for Z. Victory Paris. I've tried researching the label but have had very little luck. From what I gather, it was a collection by Tara Jarmon dated approximately 1980's *but I might be completely wrong*..(if anyone can enlighten me, please do so!)!

The jacket is 100% linen in a fab rusty orange colour and features an asymmetric military style wooden button fastened front, padded shoulders, mandarin collar and a split up the back. Cuffs feature matching buttons (although one is broken (see close-up image of cuff)). The lining has a couple of little tears, but these are easily serviceable and out-of-view!

The label states it is a size 38 but would suit a UK size 8-10.

Measurements whilst laid flat and completely fastened are as follows:

armpit to armpit: 18 inches

Waist: 15.5 inches

Shoulder to hem: 34 inches

In all this is a super-amazing beautiful jacket with a perfect fit, fantastic for Spring walks and summer evenings.

This giveaway is WORLDWIDE! If you like the look of this beautiful spring coat, all you need to do is follow me either here on the blog, twitter or facebook and tell me what you would team this jacket up with, it's really that simple!

The giveaway will run until midday on the 31st March *14th April (GMT), where I will narrow answers down to my favourite ensembles, and then I'll use a random number generator to pick a winner from the faves!

Good luck and don't forget if you're not a blogger user, please let me know where you're following and how I can contact you if you win!

*Please note, this giveaway has been extended until 14th April 2011 due to technical difficulties my end which are out of my control! This gives you all an additional TWO weeks to get your entries in! Sorry for any inconvenience. Good luck! x

Tami's Wish . .

This beautiful, beautiful woman is Tami Brown and she's one of the bravest, loveliest and most incredible women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

She has been battling cancer since the age of 20 and even though her cancer has now been diagnosed as terminal, Tami has far from given up. Tami has one last wish and that is to go ahead with a new treatment called megadose Intravenous Vitamin C Therapy. She has been doing all sorts of fundraising to raise the £5000 needed for this treatment, and has had some incredible support via her JustGiving page.

On June 16th 2010, Tami came down to Chichester with wonderful makeup artist and friend Shell Clapham for a photo shoot. The girls turned up at 1PM and we spent sooo long chatting whilst getting ready to shoot that we completely lost track of time - the first image was taken at 4:30PM! Thank goodness for daylight saving time as we didn't finish up until gone 8PM! We ventured round the garden, through wheat fields and eventually ended up at the beach!

I can safely say that this shoot is and will continue to be the most memorable. The weather was perfect - crisp sunshine and a light, cool breeze. In between talking about absolutely everything and having wheat darts thrown at me by a very giggly Tami, we got some absolutely beautiful images for her friends and family to cherish forever. The highlight of that day for me was sitting on the beach at the end of the day (after somehow losing a shoe), watching the sun setting behind the tide with the girlies. Truly memorable, thank you Tami and Shell. xx

Here is Tami's story so far, quoted from TamisWish.org:


"My name is Tami Brown, I’m 27, I have cancer and have been diagnosed as ‘terminal’.


How it all started

My cancer story started when I was 20 years old and an expected appendicitis removal turned out to be a 90mm tumour inside my colon.

I felt like my whole word had been turned upside down, all my hopes and dreams vanished in a split second. when you hear the word “cancer” you automatically think death and pain. I was very scared and felt very alone.

I went on to receive surgery and 7 months of chemotherapy which doctors told me would weigh my odds against the cancer never returning and thankfully I went into “remission” for 4 1/2 years. After 5 years you are considered to be ‘all clear’ of cancer and I felt I had won my war.


The Cancer returned

I was just starting to forget about cancer and get on with the rest of my life when a routine scan showed that half my liver was now cancerous tissue. I was told that the tumour was inoperable and that I had just 3 months to live.

Again my world was sent into a back flip and this time it felt like there was no hope for me. I was told to enjoy my 3 months and start saying my goodbyes. But somehow, when there was no hope left, an amazing surgeon found out about me and agreed to do the very risky surgery that involved extreme precision.

There was a high chance that I wouldn’t make it through the operation, but I felt like I had no choice. My life would be over in the next couple of months anyway if i didn’t go through with it. Luckily the surgery was a huge success, I survived the operation and was free from cancer once more.

It took me a long time to recover from this surgery, a year in total, to regain my strength and feel back to normal. My liver re-grew to its normal size and started functioning normally. The doctors said, that because of how successful the surgery was, that I once more had a 50/50 chance of never having the cancer return.


And just when you’re over the worst…

Just as the year’s anniversary of the surgery was coming up and I was once more enjoying my life I got the devastating news that the cancer has now returned. This time the prognosis is worse than ever, both my lungs now have cancerous tumours.

There is nothing surgically that can be done for me as both lungs are affected. I have been offered chemotherapy but due to the very violent side affects I seem to encounter with chemotherapy drugs I no longer see this as an option as I have no quality of life. In the Summer of 2010 doctors concluded that I have roughly 12 months left to live and this is where the story of “me” could end.


BUT….

I’m not prepared to end this life right now, I’ve got so much more to give and so much to live for. I have dreams and ambitions still to come true. I have adventures and fun still waiting for me and memories yet to be made. I want to have a chance at experiencing all that life can offer me and there’s so much I want to give back to the world.

Although I have given up on conventional drug-treatment I am not backing out of this fight. I am prepared to do all I can to have a chance of being around longer for myself, my family, my friends and for other people dealing with this frightening disease.


A new hope

I have found out about an alternative treatment called megadose Intravenous Vitamin C Therapy, which in extremely high doses targets cancerous cells and leaves healthy cells alone. It seems to be a little unknown in this country but other countries seem to be applying this therapy and seeing fantastic results.

After lots of research and serious discussion I have decided that I would like to go ahead with phase 1 of this treatment. I feel that it will give me the best chance of having my wish come true; to live as long as I can, as healthily and happily as I can and to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

I want to show people that just because you’re a cancer patient does not make you weak or powerless, but gives you the opportunity to take your life into your own hands.

This is our life, and we have the power to do whatever we want with it. I’m choosing not to surrender to the disease that can consume you and that can bring with it so much negativity. I choose to make my own decision, to win my war, to empower those who are in the same position as me and to be the best person I can possibly be.

Love, Tami x"

You can read more about Tami and offer any words of support you may have through her website and through all the links below. Donations towards her last wish can be made via her JustGiving page.

Tami on Twitter
Tami on Youtube
Tami's JustGiving Page
Tami's Wish Facebook Page
Tami's Wish . org

♥

Another Giveaway, Jackdaw?

It's nearly that time again.. once I hit 100 followers, I will be giving away my treasured Antique Edwardian Scrapbook! It's full of beautiful treasures - postcards, cigarette cards, newspaper cuttings, beautiful cards, textures and images.. ephemera of which some is over 100 years old!

Fantastic for any scrapbooker, paper-crafts fanatic, lover of curiosity, inspiration hoarder, collector of ephemera.. Ideal for altered journals, all paper-crafts and even mixed media artwork (non-digital and digital), there are some real gems in there ♥

UK only this time round I'm afraid, but don't let that put you off following, I will be having another giveaway soon which will be worldwide!

Spread the word, as soon as I hit 100 followers, the giveaway will begin and this beautiful scrapbook could be all yours!

Doe, a deer, a female deer (complete with pattern) . .

I picked up this adorable pattern from a user on craftster, she has given me permission to share it on my blog.

A link to download the pattern can be found at the end of this post.

I've never made a plushie before, so was a bit worried about how this little sweetie was going to turn out once I'd finished sewing! However, once I got started everything just seemed to work perfectly and I barely ran into any problems at all (this is extremely rare for me!). I am SO pleased with how she turned out I will certainly be making more to put around our flat! This one sits on our dresser in the living room amongst the fairy lights!

This is a great project to use up your scraps! I'm sure it's probably a lot easier to use felt as it's strong and doesn't fray, but I liked the thought of the edges fraying a bit and her looking a little scruffy, so I chose to use a vintage style pastel floral print poly-cotton that I had left over from making a kaftan to wear to Vintage at Goodwood earlier in the year (this reminds me, I must post about that too!). I cut duplicates of the pattern pieces out of interfacing to toughen up the pieces and prevent her from tearing at the seams once she was stuffed.

For the little markings on her back I used mother of pearl buttons and for her eyes I've used vintage gold-edged pink buttons. She has a little bow of vintage pink lace around her neck complete with a gold bell I borrowed from her pal, Mr. Lindt Reindeer (he's disappeared somewhere, no idea where... (mmmm)).

After her legs were stuffed I put some wire in them to make sure she stayed upright. the trickiest part of the whole process was sewing the head onto the neck, but once I'd done it, that was it, FINISHED! In all she took me two evenings in front on the telly to complete from cutting out the paper pattern pieces to tying her bow. I'd say that's pretty good going for a first-timer!

Doe Pattern
Fawn Pattern

(Netterz' doe (and other critters) can be viewed here and her fawn can be viewed here)
Please be aware that these patterns are for personal use only; do not sell anything made from them.

Please let me know if you use these patterns as both myself and the creator of the patterns would love to see!

♥

Antique Keys . .

I know I'm not the only one who has an obsession with these things.. So I thought I'd dedicate a post to them. I've acquired old keys from everywhere - the internet, family members, junk shops, antique shops, car boots.. I just can't get enough of them!

I think it's the mystery that surrounds them that makes them so appealing. Not knowing who it belonged to, wondering what it was used for.. Did it open a gate to a secret garden? A secret room? A treasure chest?

I thought I'd share a couple of things I've been working on -
First up, a skeleton key garland to hang wherever you please! This little beauty has been sent across the country to a lovely girlie, as part of a swap package. I am SO making one of these for myself! It starts with a braided base of vintage floral fabric and ribbons, and the keys are wrapped in the same florals as the base, each key was looped onto the garland as I plaited and it's all finished off with vintage buttons and some skinny ribbon at each end to tie it up with!

Second, a bib style necklace with a faded blue felt base, rolled muslin and lace roses, the pink flower in the middle was made from reclaimed sari fabric and the whole thing is finished off with a sweet little antique key, tied down with vintage lace bows, vintage glass pearls and a vintage button! These necklaces are so much fun to make and of course each has the opportunity to be a complete one-off piece, I'm really looking forward to making more!

I'd love to know what you all think! ♥

I was Interviewed!

A few weeks ago I was approached by the fabulous Lorrie at Chichester Creative Network, who interviewed me to find out what I'm upto and what I do! I loved answering all the questions and thought I'd share it here for anyone who is interested in finding out a bit more about me :) Not only was it featured on the wonderful Chichester Creative Network blog, but also on the UK Handmade blog!

Name: Louise Knight-Richardson
Business: Photographer, Artist, Maker
Location: Chichester, West Sussex
Website: Dearest Jackdaw
Shop: What the Jackdaw Saw

"Introducing Louise Knight-Richardson, a talented young photographer, artist and maker living and working in Chichester. I came across Louise on Twitter and Etsy, and was immediately struck by the translucent and whimsical quality of her lovely photography, her quirky and upbeat personality, and decided to find out more."

Tell us about your background?

I have been interested in art and design since I was a child, and have completed several courses in the subject. When I finished secondary school, I remember feeling like I was the only person in the world who didn’t have a ‘plan’. I was never very good at academic subjects (which I later discovered in my final year of college, after putting myself forward for an assessment – was due to dyslexia, poor comprehension and deficit in working memory!), but managed to get the grades I needed to go on to college, where I embarked on a two-year course in fashion design and construction (BTEC National Diploma in Fashion & Clothing). The course taught me everything I needed to know, from the history, design and illustration aspects, to the more technical side of pattern cutting and production. I adored everything the course had to offer. I loved dreaming up a beautiful dress, putting it to paper and then making it come to life. There was something magical about it.

I finished the course with a very satisfying grade, which offered me a gateway to university. But, what did I want to do with my new found skill? I always found that there was something not quite right during my fashion course. It was all very well seeing all these beautiful dresses sat there on mannequins looking pretty, but I found myself creating what I can only describe as ‘sets’ in my head, like a film set, and imagining what the dresses would look like placed amongst them. I’d draw and paint to no avail. No matter how much I tried, I just wasn’t satisfied. Nothing was real enough.

At the end of my course I took a drastic step and took up photography. I always had a simple point and shoot 35mm camera and loved snapping away throughout my childhood, but I’d never tried capturing art with it. The thought of having the ability to recreate those scenes in my head and transfer them to paper really excited me.

I started an Art Foundation course with the intention of taking photography as one of my majors. Unfortunately, once the course began, I was told that there wasn’t enough interest in the photography workshops and so it was dropped from the course. This set me back a little, but I was determined to succeed, and if it meant teaching myself, then that was how it was going to be! I took textiles and graphics as my majors so I could incorporate photography into my work. It turned out really well and I taught myself everything I possibly could about the dynamics of photography, how my camera worked etc.

After finishing the course I decided to combine my passions for fashion and photography, and have gradually built up my own style in both.

Tell us about what you do!

I draw, paint, design, sew and photograph. I love all things creative! I have a little ideas book I was given as a gift a few years ago. It sat unused in a drawer for a long time as it was so pretty I didn’t want to use it as a notebook that would eventually just be discarded. So I started sketching and writing down all my ideas in it. This book has proved invaluable and when I feel like I have no inspiration whatsoever, I just have a little flick through it and the imagination goes wild! If I want a prop for a photo shoot that I think I can make, I’ll usually make it – for example, right now I’m in the process of making some dainty little antlers!

What is your greatest achievement?

Having the patience and determination to teach myself something completely new without giving up when things got too complicated.

When I got my first camera I switched it straight into Manual mode, that way I was in complete control of the camera and was able to learn from my mistakes. It was incredibly frustrating, and at times I really did just want to give up if I couldn’t get the image I had in my head. But each time I felt I couldn’t improve, I just pushed myself and kept trying, and it always seemed to work!

Who or what inspires you?

I find inspiration in absolutely everything and anything! I’ll often be walking along and see a great location, be it a lake, woodland or just an interesting doorway and try to picture how I could use that spot in an image. Or, I’ll see an old pair of unloved curtains and think “Oh, those would make an amazing dress or bag!”

When I’m sewing, I’ll adapt my iTunes playlist to the style of work I’m doing at the time. I feel it can have a big impact on how your brain works whilst in the planning stages of a project. It’s the same with my art. Back in college I used to put heavy metal on during a painting session to help with the look I was trying to portray, it always seemed to work so I’ve always stuck by it!
Music videos, lyrics, fairytales and childhood memories all play a big part towards inspiring all of my work.

What do you hope to be doing in five years time?

I hope to have set-up a successful business for my handmade pieces!

When you aren’t fully occupied taking pictures, making and creating…what are you doing?

I float around town making jewellery look pretty in the shops! I also enjoy spending time roaming around the great outdoors looking for new and exciting places to explore. Generally, if I’m not doing any of the above, I will be out and about sourcing interesting new materials for projects, or props for my shoots!

What projects are you working on now?

At the moment I’m concentrating on making quirky clothing and jewellery out of reclaimed materials – I can’t stand to see things go to waste and so have started collecting interesting remnants and vintage linens, and combining them to come up with something unique. I find it really therapeutic, and discovering interesting combinations of materials that you wouldn’t otherwise place together. It’s amazing how I can start out with just a scrap of fabric, a string of lace, or even just a little button, and end up with an amazing garment to be proud of!

Once I’ve made enough stock up, I’ll be working on setting up my clothing and gift shop. I also have a little online print store called “What the Jackdaw Saw” where people can buy a small selection of my photographic prints.

I’m also in the middle of a self-portrait project that needs a bit of catching up, it’s been very challenging, but has allowed me to really let go with some of my ideas that are personal to me.

Last but not least, I write a blog called “Dearest Jackdaw” which is relatively new, but I’m hoping in time will become popular with crafts fans!

Finally, any words of wisdom for other creative people?

Never give up. Never let people tell you your limits. Understand that your work is precious and those who don’t value what you do don’t deserve to be a part of it. Most of all, NEVER make the mistake of helping people who won’t help themselves. I learnt the hard way with this one, fortunately for me it only made me stronger but it could have turned out much worse!

Giveaway Winner Announced!

My first ever giveaway has come to an end and so this evening I wrote out the names of each entrant and put them into a hat, gave it a good shuffle and asked my other half to pick a name.

I've really enjoyed reading everybody's ideas of clever uses for these little pouches, thank you ALL so so much for entering!

*Drum roll please*

CONGRATULATIONS to 'AliTim David' who entered via my Facebook page! An email has been sent to you for postage details so I can get your little pouch on its way to you <3


Keep an eye out for my next giveaway for the opportunity to win yourselves more goodies!

<3