Cat's Corner

As I recently mentioned in my Philofaxy interview a few weeks ago, I had not one, not two, but nine Filofaxes - oops!  It didn’t seem right to have such an odd number, so it wasn’t long before Filofax number ten came along!  It was my birthday recently and I took the day off to go into London with hubby, who of course I dragged along to the Neal Street Filofax store.  I couldn’t persuade him to come in, although that turned out to be a bonus, as he couldn’t vet my purchases haha!

The thing I love most about going to the proper Filofax shop is the clearance section at the back – there’s usually rows of tantilising bargains, and it’s inevitable that I’ll leave with something new!  I managed to side-step the Malden stand, which I must admit, held a lot of appeal – it’s a very tactile cover, I can see why many have fallen for it! 

Lurking at the back of the store was a beautiful red Slimline Amazona, which I snapped up immediately at half price!  What a lovely replacement for my sadly broken red Balmoral Mini!  Now I know I only recently bought a Slimline Finsbury, which is a bit of a shame, but it served its purpose for finding out if the slimline would work for me.  I’m sure it will go back into use at some point!

I also upgraded my new purchase to next year’s diary and bought some cotton cream notepaper, which has a lovely quality to it.  When I mentioned I was treating myself as it was my birthday, the lovely lady who served me also gave me a pack of trial inserts, including the little black book, which I like as a cover page (no secrets within it, I promise!).

I’ve changed the last tab in my setup now, from ’sketches’ to ‘expenses,’ as I’m finding that keeping receipts in my purse means they don’t always make it into my work Filofax (an A5 Balmoral, in case you were wondering!).  Now they’re centralised in a plastic pocket (also bought at Neal St), and I’ve inserted a Finance sheet to keep a track of my mileage – much more organised!!

Now that the sketches section has disappeared, perhaps I could use the Finsbury as my planned Filofax sketchbook!

Anyone else using a Slimline?  How do you get on with it?

Cat x

PS  The pen is from Swarovski – an xmas pressie last year!

Spring is here at long last!!  With the sun shining, I couldn’t resist creating a new Trollbeads bracelet to brighten up my transitional wardrobe from winter to spring:

You’ll have seen this combination of gold and silvers on the blog before, which all have special meanings to me and are among my most precious beads.  To keep it fresh, I often switch out the glass and amber Trollbeads and usually stick to one or two colours.  I really did try to use more than two colours in this one (honest), but I just loved how the turquoise beads looked with the ooak ambers!

This bracelet has three artisan beads – the turquoise scales and the two turquoise stones, which were all gifted to me at Christmas.  The ambers are all One-Of-A-Kind Trollbeads, as is the white with turquoise daisies, which was in my goody bag at the first UK Trollbeads Convention last year.

I’m enjoying this look as the colours remind me of being at the beach!  Are you making a new bracelet to reflect the change in seasons?

Buy Trollbeads from the Amazon UK ’Charmed Life’ Shop here.

Read all my Trollbeads blog posts here.

Last Sunday saw the first ever UK Trollbeads Convention and it seems it was met with mixed reviews!  I will attempt to write a review of the day as I saw it…

I have been long awaiting this event and made a long journey with another trollie friend (thanks for driving!).  We arrived pretty much exactly at 11am, the start time stated on the ticket, and joined the queue in the pouring rain!  Whilst waiting, we spotted other collector friends and discussed our expectations of the day – we agreed that as it was the first year, we weren’t expecting everything to run smoothly.  However, people were already complaining when they saw the length of the entrance queue – this increased ten-fold when we got inside and saw what a small room and what a huge queue there was for the ’shop’! 

Fortunately, I wasn’t just there for shopping and I don’t think it’s fair to chastise Fable Trading or the supporting retailer, Steffans, too much as they clearly had no idea of quite how crazy it would get!!  Personally, I was really glad I went, as I loved seeing all the retired beads in Lise Aagard’s private collection (the ‘museum’ – see pics below) and hearing Niels from Trollbeads HQ speak about the history of the brand and how our beloved beads are made.  My favourite tip was when he told us that pearls should always be worn, rather than hidden away in your jewellery box, as the oil from our skin “keeps them alive!”  [Although, of course, be careful of hand cream, hairspray, perfume, etc!].

Later in the day, Steffans had separated out some of their stock (v smart move!) and I was able to pick up a limited edition red jasper and an OOAK in the same colours as the elusive ‘Tibet’ bead that I’ve been looking for to complete my Tibet set!!  You can see both the new beads on my latest design here <-

I also got to meet some of the lovely people from Fable Trading, which was great as they like the blog too ;o)  I think that they were genuinely shocked at the turnout and I was pleasantly surprised to see how they reacted to the negative feedback they got from other fans – not only was there a public statement but today I also received a letter in the post promising for better things next year – I can’t wait!!

Overall I had a great day, was able to see some of my trollie friends, got to see some old beads and hear more about the brand!  My suggestions for next year?  Put up the entrance fee but include a limited edition bead (so no bun fights for them  in the ’shop’!), include an area for chilling out and for bead ’swaps’, a much bigger venue, something for the husbands not interested in beads and maybe…consider removing the shopping element?  A step too far?!  Certainly it needs more thought regarding crowd/queue control.

Anyway, I hope the fans will come back for 2011…in the meantime check out some of my museum snapshots…

Read all my Trollbeads posts here

Well I’m having a very exciting day so far in relation to Trollbeads!!  First off, a guest blog I wrote for Trollbeads UK went live today – read it here.

Then I had an email from TB HQ to say that my People’s Bead 2010 entry – a camera design entitled ‘Capture the Moment’ – had made it into the top 100 designs!  I’ve won a bracelet, lock and the winning bead :O)  I’m verrrrrry excited indeed!  View the top 100 and the finalists here.

Read all my posts about Trollbeads here.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I’d visited the Filofax store on Neal Street, London.  It was my first visit and I was hoping to pick up an A5 hole punch for my desk planner – I wasn’t disappointed…

On arriving at the door, hubby elected to stay outside, but quickly followed me in when he realised I may need a little ‘taming’ before I got near the cash register!!  The ladies in the store were very friendly, chatty and helpful and even recognised me from Twitter and Flickr!  They gave me room to check out the stock without hassling me, but were there when I had questions - perfect service! 

Row upon row of all things Filo were on offer, even Filofax handbags – very tempting!  I managed to resist the beautiful displays, but I did get my punch, plus some dividers and an envelope for my personal sized filo.  The punch was a necessity for work, where I clutch my A5 Balmoral like my life depends on it – I’d been getting through so many packs of paper it seemed a good investment.  I’ve started by using up some old A5 letter-writing papers, which make for good scribble sheets!

Plus, I’ve been able to organise the Personal sized vintage filo that I carry around for everyday use.  I’ve used the dividers to separate out maps and general info for when I’m travelling, a monthly diary to plan my hectic social life, birthdays reminders (for all the cards I hand make!), notes and finances, blog notes and sketches.  I’ve also added the new envelope at the back to keep track of expenses receipts – no more lost train tickets ;o)

I’ve recently filled my Shaeffer propelling pencil with 2B leads so I can get more enjoyment out of sketching, and I’ve celebrated by drawing out a front cover that matches my calling cards from Moo:

If this post has given you the urge to get some new accessories, check out a range of Filofax organisers and accessories online here.

Read other posts about my Filofaxes here

When I first started my Trollbeads collection, I decided I’d start with a necklace chain, so that I could build up my collection slowly (ha!)…well anyway I’m sure you’ve figured out the rest, but whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been collecting for a while, here are ten reasons why you need a necklace (you can thank me later!)…

1. If you’re starting out, a necklace looks great on its own or with a single bead
2. If you already have a bracelet, you can match a necklace with just one bead
3. Mix and match Trollbeads with other pendants for a unique look
4. Share unisex pendants with the man in your life (if you can bear to!)
5. Showcase your special or favourite beads by moving them to your neckline
6. When you feel like showing off, put your whole collection around your neck!
7. Make use of other charms too, eg the Thomas Sabo charm carrier that fits perfectly!
8. If you work with your hands, a necklace will keep your beads safe from knocks
9. Show off a big bead, e.g. a fantasy ooak, by placing it in the centre of your necklace
10. If you were collecting a different brand of charms before you discovered trolls, this way you can still wear both!

Get your necklace chain from a UK Trollbeads retailer here.

Tip:  If you have long hair or plan to wear lots of beads at once, I wouldn’t recommend the small basic lock.  My hair gets caught around this lock and if you’re wearing lots of beads, Troll themselves recommend a bigger lock to ensure it will take the weight.  Why not go for a larger lock like one of these?

Here are some of my necklace combos for inspiration (click for a larger view):

Want to read more about my Trollbeads collection?  Read all the Troll posts here.

A couple of months ago, I blogged about my experience with Melissa Shoes (you can read it here).  Now that I’ve worn them some more, I felt it only fair to give you a little update…

You might remember I tried out the Neon  in Mostard (yellow) and Hello III in Purple Flock:

The Neons are still my favourite, they’re really comfy and so easy to walk in, both when wearing tights and without, I think because of the support the ankle strap gives.  They’re a real conversation piece too – the colour is fab!  The only discomfort I get when wearing these is at the balls of my feet after long periods of standing – if you’re used to wearing heels a lot of the time I don’t think you’d have this problem.

I braved wearing the Hello III pair out for a night of dancing at the weekend and was a little worried about the problems I’d had before with a blister where the strap meets inside the shoe.  As I mentioned before, I used a blister pad over that area and I managed to dance for 3 hours straight without any rubbing anywhere – a miracle!!

Girls, I’m seriously impressed with this brand (and no I don’t work for them!), I think it’s the first time I’ve ever had heels that don’t rub anywhere and are genuinely a joy to wear.  I’m not saying you can wear them for hours and hours on end without any pain, but they’re certainly the closest I’ve ever found in heels!  If you have any other tips or brands to recommend, please leave a comment and I’ll continue my search!

In the meantime, I’m eagerly awaiting my birthday next month, as I happen to know my lovely husband has hidden away a pair of these beauties:

These gorgeous Ultragirl Bow Flats were designed as part of a collaboration by Melissa Shoes with Vivenne Westwood called ‘Anglomania’ – I just had to have a pair – can’t wait!  Look out for my full review of those in a couple of month’s time…

In the meantime, why not check out some of the range and other Vivienne Westwood shoes on Amazon UK here…

Read all my posts about Melissa shoes here.

Over the past year I’ve converted several friends and family to the Crocs brand – and if you’ve visited this blog before, you may well be another one of my converts!  However, I never thought in a million years that my husband would make the switch from his beloved Birkenstocks!  But yesterday, whilst in a sports shop he spotted a pair of bright orange classic Crocs (Cayman) and couldn’t resist trying them on ‘for a laugh.’  Well, of course the inevitable happened, he went for a little walk around the store and soon realised what I’ve been on about for all this time – that they’re so darn comfortable!!  So now we have his ‘n’ hers footwear for the beach…

Yes I know this style is hated by a lot of people (presumably those who’ve never tried on a pair!), but they really are the best thing I’ve found to wear on holiday.  They’re fab for coastal path walks, city breaks and on the beach because they don’t rub anywhere, they keep your feet cool, your legs supported and you can wash them back to looking brand new when you get back at the end of the day!  I even read how a pair of Crocs saved the life of a three year old boy this week – read the article here.

If you can’t wait to get yourself a pair, check out the colours available on Amazon UK here, or if you’re still not convinced, check out my other posts for more fashion-friendly ladies styles…

P.S. How cute are these ones – Mammoth Clogs?!  I think I need new slippers:

Read all my posts about Crocs here!