It's just me,me,me!

My wonderful twitter friend Viv from Poppy Sparkles has tagged me. so I have to attempt to  answer some questions, here goes......

1. What is your favourite book?

Such a hard question for me to start with, I love books and really don't get the time I would like to read, I have a whole pile of books waiting for me! 

I love so many books and different genres (true life, crime, fiction) too but if I had to pick an absolute favourite I would have to say The Green Mile! Such a good read and I love it for sentimental reasons too, when I read it you could buy it in a six part series, which I did and me and my Dad both read them and talked about them, I still have the little series on my bookshelf and it always reminds me of then! 

2. What is your most treasured childhood memory?

It's a really simple memory but staying over at my Nan's house always meant that we were allowed to put yoghurt on our cereal in the mornings instead of milk (something I still love to this day), it was usually followed by dippy eggs and soldiers too, and we would turn over the egg shell when we were done and bash it with our spoon!

3. Who is your favourite Designer/Artist/Illustrator?

Hmmm...these questions are hard, I don't have a favourite, there are so many I admire. There are many illustrators of children's books I love including Guy Parker-Rees, Olivier Dunrea (Peedie book) and Jez Alborough.

I also (obviously) love my husband's art and illustrations (that's why we run Piddley Pix) .

4. Where is your fave holiday destination?

I would have to say Dominican Republic where I spent a wonderful two weeks with my husband for our honeymoon! It was such an experience, a beautiful place where you could just relax or do lots! We chose to do some trips out so went white water rafting, swimming with dolphins and on a trip to see the 'real' Dominican which was amazing! The people are so lovely!

I have to say though there is alot of the UK I love to visit too; Norfolk, Devon, Parts of Sctoland etc, so am more than happy to holiday at home! 

5. What is your favourite past time?

I love to write! It is something that I really wish I could do more of, I like to write poems, stories and childrens books, what I love about writing is it can basically be what you want; fact, feelings, fiction, fun, sad - anything! I am quite shy about my writing and only share small bits of it - I am trying to share more and have put some poems on my personal blog as a step towards this! 

6.What is your favourite colour?

For clothes it's most definitely black! Now I know people will say black isn't a colour, but it is the tone I wear the most! For anything else I like purple - it's such a girlie colour without being pink!

7. Do you have any pet hates?

I have loads! 

Rude people, it's not hard to think about others just briefly before you do or say something, in fact if you do it enough then it becomes natural, people parking in child spaces at the supermarket when they don't have a child with them, or in the disabled ones when they are not disabled, people who tell lies and (probably my biggest one) spitting, whether it's in the street or at someone, I really REALLY don't like it! 

I think most of my pet hates stem from people just generally not thinking of others!

8. What is your favourite saying?

'Work Hard, Play Hard' - Think it says it all!

9.Do you watch the X Factor? If so why??? 

Erm........yes! I am ashamed to admit I do, and I slate it and the decisions make me angry, and I vow not to watch it again, but the following weekend I am sat down waiting for it to come on - it's an addiction, I can't help it, and to be honest if I didn't watch it I would feel like I did from the amount of people who talk about it!! 

And now it's time to tag....

Louise from Baby Signing Mummy

Karen of All About The Boys

Nicki  over at Curly and Candid

I hope you will all have a go, and let me know so I can have a read of your answers to! 

Minor Edition Review

Minor Edition is an online shop that sells unique dresses; Founded by Ipshita, she designs all the dresses herself, so, I was really pleased when I was offered a dress to review, unfortunately the dresses are in sizes 2-6 so a bit too big for my baby princess, so I was going to have to pass the dress to someone else to review from a 'using' perspective!

When the dress arrived it was beautifully wrapped and I felt like I had received a pressie! I opened it up with the anticipation of a child on Christmas morning to reveal a very pretty dress from the new 'Tomato and Olive Collection' which filled me with a 'it's so not fair' vibe at the thought that my little girl was too ickle and I was having to give it to someone else!


So, all I could do was look at the dress from an observation perspective and then pass it on.

The dress was lovely and the uniqueness shines through, I certainly haven't seen anything like this on the high street! The only minor worry I had was how it would fair being worn by a two year old as it appeared to be very delicate!

If I am honest I am not a big fan of the colour green, but this green suited the pattern and style of the dress perfectly, it had a beautiful shape to it and was topped off with some very cute bows!

Now how did the testers like it? Well on receiving the dress the dad had the same thought about the delicateness of it, he worried that the bows may get pulled off or the dress wouldn't fair well with two year old playing!

After little M had worn the dress they said "When putting it on, it fits well, as it is a fitted style and the right size for our girl. Unlike her other clothes, however, there is no 'give' or stretchiness to the material, so I would imagine that she'll grow out of it pretty quickly" and after wearing the dress there were no signs of bows dropping off or the material wearing or tearing, so although delicate - fit for the job!

This is a beautiful dress, make sure you pop over to Minor Edition to see what other items they have in their new collection and as an added bonus, every customer (the child) gets a birthday surprise on her birthday – they just need to register here.

Information from Minor Edition:

Prices of the Tomato and Olive Collection:
The price list is now ready. I am very happy to offer silk dresses meant for special occasions, at such a bargain price.

Green and Maroon dresses with two small bows  - £19.00

Green dresses with large bows - £19.99

Red dress with white sleeves - £23.99

I always mention the sizing because every child is different and do not always fit the British Standard size. I am a first-hand ‘sufferer’ as Anusha, my daughter always need two sizes larger than her actual age. So would it be worth mentioning that Minor Edition recommends that they check the size chart

Very interesting comment about stretchiness of the fabric and totally agree with M’s daddy. Well, as parents, we all hunt for the regular stretchy clothes for the nursery or toddler groups where messy play and suchlike are involved and those that are resistant to a zillion washes. To be honest, organic silk fabrics do not really stretch like a jersey dress for example. The Tomato and Olive Collection is a collection of dresses that are meant to be delicate and special but without the price tag. This can be compared with the special satin dress (that do not stretch as much too)  that we would have bought for our little ones for any special occasion like a wedding or a birthday. Just that these are not white or pink nor are they pricey.

Win a Commissioned Print!

To celebrate the final day of the two week launch of our brand new blog, we would like to tell you a bit about our commissions! 

If you like our work but there is too much choice on the website or the pictures are not quite personal enough, we offer a commissions service, all you have to do is contact us! 

It is a fairly simple process where you tell us what you want and we produce a picture to fit, we collect as much information as possible in the beginning to get as close to what you want in your picture! There is a chance for amendments and then your picture (complete with a certificate of authenticity to state it is unique to you) is printed and sent to you!

Commissions can include colour choices, characters, scenes and even words if you so wish - just tell us what you envisage and we will put it in ink! I know you are all thinking, so how much will this cost - well that depends on the complexity of the picture, so each one is quoted for individually!

To finish off this two weeks of launching fun we are offering the chance to WIN a commission piece of your own! 

The winner will be contacted to find out what they would like and we will produce a print especially for them! They will receive a 12" x 8" print of the picture (mounted taking it to 16" x 12" size)! The picture will be supplied with a certificate of authenticity stating that it is a 1 of 1 print!

This is a unique prize and no-one else will have your picture, making it a perfect Christmas or Birthday Gift! 

So, what do you have to do to win? 

Visit our Website - http://www.piddleypix.com have a quick look round and then come back and tell us which of our pictures you like the best! 

You don't have to be a follower of the blog but it would be nice if you visited us to see our future reviews, guest posts, articles and giveaways!

Competition closes Wednesday 20th October 2010 at 9pm.

If you are not lucky enough to be the winner but fancy owning your own unique one-off picture then please contact us on info@piddleypix.com for a quote, we do like a challenge so let your imagination run wild! 

And the winner (as picked out of the bowl by my 2 year old) is..........

Congratulations to Baby Signing Mummy, I will be in contact this afternoon!

Terms and Conditions:

1. Open Worldwide
2. The winner will be picked at random
3. Judges decision is final
4. Piddley Pix will supply a form to take down what winner would like and produce a picture from this, there will be one opportunity for amendments and then the picture will be printed 
5. Competition closes at 9pm on Wednesday 20th October 2010, any entries made after this will not be counted! 
6. Winner will be announced within 48 hours of the closing date

Christmas Is Coming!

 

As you have seen this week we have introduced our Christmas cards to the Piddley Pix site, yes, yes we know it is only October and we should be getting bonfire night out the way first but it seems a lot of people are trying to spread the cost this year, and are starting to prepare for Christmas early!

Now I have to make a confession, we started our Christmas shopping in August, we saw a bargain that we just had to have it and the idea to spread the cost was far too tempting to resist! Where are we now? Well for our children (2.5 yr old and a 6 month old) we have nearly finished, but for the rest of the family well that's another story, let's just say some are more fussy than others!

So now for a little plug; if you are starting your Christmas shopping check out Piddley Pix we have perfect pressies for children of any age, you can buy a 'friend in a frame' straight from the site or you could get something a little bit more special by talking to us about a commission (more info about these coming tomorrow on the blog!)

You can also find us on Kiddiebase along with many other awesome products for families with Bump - 12 years old. Here you will find our one-off prints, these are unique and you would be the only owner of the picture (with a certificate of authenticity).

So, to finish off we would like to give a small shout out to some other places you may find perfect Christmas gifts for the family.

Baby Signing Mummy - A place to start your little ones journey with Baby Signing, we particularly like the Old Lady Complete set - It is on our daughter's Christmas list!

Poppy Sparkles - Check out their facebook page for their Handcrafted Charm Jewellery- really beautiful dainty pieces!

Little Silver Touches - Bespoke Fingerprint Jewellery ; check out the 'perfect for dads' cufflinks

Silver Birch Crafts - Many gifts suitable for the whole family - we love the Soft Baby Books

All About The Boys - If you are looking for that fab new outfit for your Children (girls and boys) to wear for Christmas this is the place, have a look at this Ralph Lauren outfit!

There are so many other places to check out, so keep your eyes peeled for more guest posts, reviews and more on this blog for ideas, also pop back tomorrow for our giveaway!

Charity Support - The Ear Foundation

As Piddley Pix grows we would really like to support some of our favourite charities, so we would like to take the opportunity today to introduce you to the first of our nominated charities for the rest of 2010.

The Ear Foundation

Their Vision is  
"All deaf people have the opportunity to hear, communciate and develop spoken language using the latest technological interventions"

The Ear Foundation is an independent charity that works with deaf people and their families in many different ways to make the best use of technologies to improve hearing and communication.

They do this through Education, Family and Clinical services, Carrying out Research and Advocating for access to the latest hearing technologies.

Through a friend of ours we have seen how important the work of The Ear Foundation is and we believe they are vital in helping close the gap between the clinical side of the technology and the actual usage in everyday life.  It is because of this that earlier this year Kev (our artist) took on a challenge to complete the Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham to support this charity (the first half marathon Kev had ever done) and we would like to continue to support the charity and this is why they are one of our nominated charities!

Keep your eyes peeled for the pictures on sale in support of the foundation or you can donate direct to the charity of course! 

If you would like to find out more about The Ear Foundation please visit their website