Accidental Vix

After my Friday faves just over a week ago I was inspired to make some poppies myself to sell and a £3 donation from each one goes to the British Legion. My design was a bit ad-hoc and came to life when I doodled a poppy shaped petal and a leaf and started cutting some felt, but I was quite pleased with my prototype and the design has remained the same for the rest. I thought I might have left it a bit late but I’m glad to say upon writing this I have sold 5 already so am on the way to my £90 target for a great cause.

If you haven’t bought your poppy yet this year then please consider buying one (or a few) from me  as it will stay on longer (with a brooch fastening) will contribute the same amount you would probably spend on replacing your lost paper poppies and can be re-used all year round to brighten your outfit. Wherever you decide to buy your poppy please wear it with pride and remember all those who have made sacrifices for us.

Xx

I buy a new poppy every year but for the last few years I’ve bought handmade ones (making sure there is a donation from the seller to charity) but always seem to leave it to the last minute so this year I thought I’d remind myself and a few others along the way. I have decided to make myself a poppy this year and give a donation to the British Legion for it, which got me thinking whether I should make and sell some in my etsy shop to help get some more money for a great cause, and remember all the sacrifices that our armed forces have made for us. Then I stumbled upon a tweet about the 500 poppies project, and that kick started my poppy ideas as I’d like to send some to that as well… so watch this space. In the meantime here are some of my faves on Etsy, giving money to charity:

Wychbury – Poppy hairclip (Why not go for something a bit different and wear a poppy hair pin instead or as well!)

Laura K Bragg  - Knitted poppy brooch (I love the traditional feel to this poppy, and does remind me of my grandma and grandad’s generation)

Stitched with love UK - Poppy brooch (Wear a beautiful poppy with pride, and this will definitely stay on longer than the paper ones)

I found plenty more gorgeous poppies on Etsy but personally would never buy one that didn’t donate to the British Legion as that misses the point for me. Wherever you buy from I hope you will be wearing your poppies and donating you pennies on 11 November and remember all our great servicemen and women.

Xx

Is it an information point? Or a corporate company? No, it’s Diabetes UK new logo! You will understand my surprise at seeing this and the rebranding on the website this morning given that it is such a contrast to the old logo, and definitely not an improvement in my opinion! I’m all for change and trying to increase presence, after all I wouldn’t have a  job if that wasn’t the case but I also think that as a charity you need to give some consideration to all the donations and contributors. The thing that upsets me most was that I had no idea the rebranding was happening and that my donations were going towards this, I give money thinking it is going to research and supporting diabetics and their family. If the logo had been an improvement in my opinion I wouldn’t be quite so seething, after all I’m a designer and promote spending money on it, but still think that the money is best spent on marketing not branding in this case!! Not to be completely negative I prefer the new text, and don’t mind the strapline but that’s as positive as I can be.

As a diabetic there are so many things that the word and even charity means to me, but none of them involve the letter i…This disappoints me on so many levels, but all design is subjective, what are your thoughts? I’d be interested to hear from people who know the charity as well as those who are looking at this from a fresh perspective – just leave a comment below.

Xx

Well it was tough week for me last week in my little bubble and on top of everything else I had been feeling a bit sorry for myself in between creativeness with my diabetes, all my hip problems, and now confirmation that I have osteoperosis at the age of 29, not being helped with a touch of cabin fever. I needed something to pull me out of the hole that I was beginning to slip into and I found it in an amazing site called post pals which reminded me that no matter how much I think my problems are mounting up it’s nothing compared to the amazing and inspirational children on this site. Please have a look, all it takes is a letter, card or even gift to add a little bit of happiness to these children’s difficult lives. I have chosen my first 5 children and their siblings (that was the hardest part!!) to write to and after reading their profiles am deciding on what to make to send them along with my cards. Please help me support this fantastic charity by spreading the word or even taking a few minutes to write a letter or card!

Xx