And just like that another month came and went! Now it’s November and we’re already half way through (eep!) so before it disappears completely, I thought I’d share a quick round up of October.

WORK HARD

#NeverTooEarlyxVistaprint

I had a lovely opportunity to create some sponsored content for the fabulous folk at Vistaprint in October, who kindly helped with some early preparations for a bright and sunshine-y Christmas.

I was able to design and order some fab mugs (for holding those all-important brews) and a load of customised stickers and postcards to brighten up your orders. It was fun to have a mini photoshoot in the studio trying to capture all the lovely yellow goodies and Toby Cat even got involved 💛

You can still take advantage of the offer they’re running too with 50% off one item using my code BIZXMAS. Head to Vistaprint before 16th December 2019! (max savings up to £250)

Return of the Jumpers

You may have seen my earlier post and cheeky hints on Instagram but the Jumpers are back! I’ve been chuckling away at many a request and order coming in and have had some corkers already… keep ‘em coming please!

Secret Squirrels

Lots of lovely Sunshine Portrait Commissions, Custom Kitty Pins and some fun wholesale orders have been going on in the background too. Hopefully I’ll remember to share them when everything is out in the wild and Santa has been! For now though, here’s another super cute custom kitty pin badge I can share…

Wonderful weddings

I had the pleasure of attending another fabulous wedding with my paints in October and had a fun couple of hours painting Rachel & Phil’s wonderful guests.

I also briefly met the very lovely Kirsty of Bubear Photography, who captured some great shots of my in action on the day!

October also meant it was time to prepare for my second Wedding Fair too! YIKES! I’ll be writing another, more detailed blog post about the fair itself but we made my long time business goal a reality by having Buddy as part of the set up and offer!

HUGE thanks to my Mum and Dad, who run The Workbench Shop, for the help with my pop up table and mini gallery stand. It all looked wonderful when I practiced the set up in our garden!

Having a Sunshine Van to draw or sell Sunshine from has been a dream of mine since I started my business and this was meant to come together for my first wedding fair back in March so to see Buddy set up and have him there to meet and greet happy couples was literally a dream come true!

PLAY HARD

INK & HOLES

Earlier this year, I set myself a goal to give bloody as regularly as I can, which is every 4 months for most folk. I have stuck to that so far and genuinely enjoy going, I always have a nice chat with the staff and each time my tattoo is a focus of interest. Last time I went I discovered that now days you only have to wait 4 months after having a piercing or a tattoo to be able to give blood again.

give blood cambridge donation centre.jpg

I always thought it was MUCH longer so had decided to give blood for a year before getting any more ink or holes! Having learned this new information though it encouraged me to finally start the sleeve I’ve been planning for so many moons and after my last donation I went to see Charlotte at Young Cardinals Tattoo Studio.

I’m so happy with my new ink and even more excited about growing my sleeve! I already have my next session with Charlotte booked in - the day after my next blood donation!

Within the same week of getting my new ink, I also got a piercing to replace my labret that I had to take out last year. I had planned to visit my friend in London, who works at Harrods so figured it would be the perfect excuse to treat myself to a shiny Maria Tash piercing whilst I was there. I absolutely LOVE the teeny-tiny, very shiny little raindrop in my conch piercing!

SUP bro?

I’ve been trying to make the most of the beautiful Autumn Sunshine and get out on my Paddleboard as much as I can. Even though my regular paddle-buddy buggered of to California (RUDE) for most of the month, I actually managed to convince The Beard to get his own board (YAY!) so I still had lots of fun on the water last month!

Hello Sunshine SUP The Beards BlueFin.jpg

sup bitches!

It was a pleasure to join Cassie and the SUP Fitness & Yoga team out on the canal in Nottingham for their Halloween Paddle!

Hello Sunshine SUP Halloween Paddle Nottingham.jpg

SUP loner?

Solo paddles in the Autumn Sunshine might just be some of my favourite times on the water so far… anti-social… me?

Heron & Hush

I’m totally happy to swing between being anti-social and SUPer social though and we had the most stunning sunshine-filled paddle around Bedford with the lovely Heron & Hush gang!

BUDDY at BUDDIES

Cat (Twin Pines Creative) and I had planned another of our most excellent burger dates and catch ups for October and when she suggested we all meet at Buddies American Diner, we couldn’t resist taking Buddy with us!

Insane milkshakes and a burger menu so big it kept me quiet for at least 20 mins, Buddies was an excellent Sunday lunch choice!

SPOOKY STUFF

The TK Total Fitness team absolutely smashed it for Halloween week and everyone looked amazing during the mid-morning workout session. Sadly I had to take off my cry cat mask and the skeleton leggings were not the best to run about it but it was SO MUCH FUN!

I’m still really enjoying going to my regular bootcamp sessions and spin class every week. It’s made such a different to my routine, productivity throughout the week and my mental health and I’m so happy I found these guys back in June. I might write a bit more about that in January though as it will have been 6 months!

Hello Sunshine TK Total Fitness Halloween.jpg

I happened to have a dentist appointment on Halloween itself too, so took the opportunity to wear my favourite Halloween-appropriate jumper and find out if my dentist had sense of humour…

SPOILER: the fake fangs didn’t even survive the bike ride there but he loved the jumper.

BIT OF BOULDERING

I’ve also been trying to join The Beard when he goes climbing in the mornings before work. To be fair, it’s not all that often we’re up early enough but the couple of times I’ve made it, I’ve really enjoyed it and can totally feel the difference since starting resistance training regularly… turns out my arms do actually work! I still need a lot of practice though…