I Want Wednesday!

It's been ages but 'I Want Wednesday' is back and I have some right beauties this week. These amazing illustrations are the work of Ashley Percival and I can look at them for ages, they're so intricate and quirky. There is even a chinchilla character. What more can I say?

Head over to Ashley's Etsy shop to see lots more. He's offering a special deal at the moment too where you can get a free print when you order two. The only dilemma will be choosing!

Sebastian Chinchillason

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. I keep having big dreams of weeks where I blog everyday and they're amazingly interesting posts with beautiful photographs and tutorials and recipes... But, alas, I have been cutting away like a mad thing getting orders out as always (thank you lovely customers!) and haven't had time. Oh, and I also escaped to Sussex for a weekend too (photos to come). Anyway, Mr Storeyshop is cooking tonight so I thought I'd take the chance to quickly add some photos of Seb taken with my new Canon 1100D. I'm still practising and getting used to settings but I love it. And Seb seems quite intrigued, too!

Look At Me!

Crikey, not blogged since Kate and Wills' big day. Storeyshop has been really busy hence the lack of blog posts in May so far (must sort that out) but I'm still happily cutting away! While editing some photos earlier, I noticed how many of my card photography sessions Seb Chinchillason sneaks in to! He's normally really camera shy - I don't think he likes the red light on the front of my camera - and runs away if I try and get a pic of him. As soon as I get some white boards set up to take some snaps of some recent card orders, though, he's there trying to steal the limelight! Thought he deserved some blog space...

























The best way to keep him out of shot is by bringing his food in to the studio for him. Bless his very long whiskers!

Seb's Satsuma

Sharing the office with Dave and Seb today and the sun is shining. Dave just gave Seb a segment of his satsuma and I had to take a photo of Seb nibbling away and leaving a little pile of juice. We'll have to make sure he uses a plate when we finally get some carpet!

The Chinchilla and The Hat

I have been treasure hunting again and, last week, I bought a vintage tweed trilby in the local charity shop to wear with my new navy wellies this winter. I'm a country girl nowadays after all. Dave wandered into the office the other day with a little something under the hat...







The boys in my life, what handsome chaps. Dave will kill me if he sees that I have put these on here. I had to though (and I don't think he reads my blog so I think I'll get away with it). For anyone who has recently started reading my blog, Seb is my eighteen-year-old chinchilla who I got when I was 10 years old! I keep taking plenty of photos of him in case his days are numbered but he still seems on top form. He's a little grumpy sometimes but aren't we all?

Excuse our undecorated office walls. We'll sort them out one of these days. But for now, it's the weekend. We're off to get a Friday night takeaway. Have a lovely one everyone!

Sun, Swimming and Seb

A sunny day! Just me and Seb in the office this afternoon as Dave has just gone to his workshop to build boys toys. We went for the last practise swim this morning before the Great North Swim on Saturday. I am not feeling quite right at the moment and am dreading the swim to be honest but at least there are rumours of nice weather this weekend! I better get back to my card orders so will leave you with some photos of Seb and his new favourite spot on the bookcase.

Storeyshop Loves Vintage

My daily blog mission has failed a bit lately but I've had a busy old week. Lots of Storeyshop card orders and monkey making in time for birthdays and hospital trips. All good fun. I also had a cheeky day off yeserday and went and got my hair cut and coloured ready for my birthday next week and my trip down south coming up soon. The new hair is a bit Paris Hilton but in a good way. I think I like it but I always reserve judgement on these things until I have washed and attempted to style it myself a couple of times!

I have also been vintage treasure hunting on eBay and in the local charity shops again. Last weekend we picked up a vintage tile with a cool, old-fashioned graphic design poster on it and also this big old trunk which I love. It was 99p! I'm not exactly sure where we're going to put it but it will hide lots of my stuff away. It has a key too which is always nice. It's massive, I can get in it! (check out my hand in the pic)




I also bought a glass vase in the charity shop in Haltwhistle. It's one of those things I thought I liked but I wasn't sure. The money goes to charity so I bought it anyway and it has really grown on me. It's in the hall on my new manga comic page-covered table at the moment. I think I might fill it with coloured buttons or something and have it in the office when we decorate it. Here's a photo of Seb trying it out for size!




Excuse the horrible kitchen lino. That's why I make lots of my photos black and white to try and hide the manky decor. The trunk pic above is sitting on a slightly stained rose pink carpet. One day it will be all nice and lovely!

Another fab find were these cardboard letters. They aren't vintage in fact they are currently for sale in Hobbycraft! I bought a H and a D and had plannned to cover or paint them but I plonked them either size of the window on the stairs when I bought them home and they actually look quite nice just with their natural brown paper covering. I think they were £1.99 each so a top buy. I do love my H's. You can't see them very well in these pics but I had to pick the cute ones with Seb in!







On my travels I have also picked up the odd really nice vintage purse, scarf or belt and it has got me thinking. I might start up a second Etsy shop for vintage finds. I could have 'Storeyshop Handmade' and 'Storeyshop Vintage'. I already have absolutely loads to do with my time as it is but it would be good fun and the perfect excuse to go shopping one day a week. Dave is all for it. I think he's just hoping it will mean less bits and bobs will end up in our house and that it might make me bored of shopping. Never!

Happy Friday everyone. Have a lovely weekend!

Seb

I realised when I wrote my post yesterday that Seb my 17 year old chichilla hasn't had a mention before on my blog (I don't think). He really is 17 human years old! I was only 10 years old when my Dad's work colleague, Phil, gave him to me. The story is that I wanted a chinchilla for a long time and was finally allowed to get one for my birthday. We went to a chinchilla breeder with lots of them all in a shed and I picked one and called him Jake. He was £60 and we had to buy a big cage for him. It was all very exciting. Sadly, poor Jake only lasted 6 months as he choked on his food. We rushed him to the vet but he didn't come home with us. That is where Phil came in. His pet chinchillas had just had a little 'chilla and they donated him to me. That was in 1991 and Seb is still going strong!

I was warned back then that chinchillas had a long life expectancy of 8-10 years. Seb has doubled the lower estimate! He is still running around the house and causing chaos. He chews anything including wires, newly-papered wallpaper, the buttons from the television remote control in my old flat, the plastic nose protector things from Dave's glasses. The list goes on. He can be annoying (like the new wallpaper incident) but he is also very cute.

I am a quite aware that he probably doesn't have long left now (I'm always relived when he's still jumping around his cage in the morning for his raisin) and he has definitely got grumpier in his old age but he is fab. My favourite ever thing that he does is his whisker-washing routine. His whiskers are really long so he cleans his face with his paws but then pulls both paws right down both sides of his whiskers and has to stretch his head right back to reach the ends of the whiskers with his little paws. I'll have to try and film it one day.

This may be up there with my longest ever blog posts but I suppose Seb does have quite a history. He has lived in 2 houses in Sussex, 1 house in Bath, 2 flats in London and now our little pad in Northumberland!

Happy Birthday Niamh!

Today is a big Happy 8th Birthday to my neice, Niamh. She's a few hundred miles away in East Sussex but we are looking forward to a trip down to see all the family in early March. Happy Birthday Niamh from me, Dave and Seb the 17 year old chinchilla. Hi Freya and Harvey too!