Challenge completed!

Well Challenge completed! I swam 100 lengths to finish the 2.5K Swimathon! It felt like a really good achievement to do it in 1 hour and for a very good cause. I raised £140 for Marie Curie cancer care.

So I'd like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has generously supported me! Next time I will aim for the big 5k Challenge! Taking some tips from the video of amazing world champion Michael Phelps! Perfect!

Swimathon challenge 2013

Well I have 3 more sleeps until my first big 2.5K Swimathon challenge this Saturday to help raise money for Marie Curie Cancer care!!! In a moment of madness in January I thought it would be a great idea to take on a big New Year challenge and swim 100 lengths in a 25 metre pool, I can't believe the big day is nearly here, I'm starting to feel the nervous butterflies now and hoping that I will be okay on the day! 

I'm in the final preparations of training now. I always lose count of the lengths when I'm swimming. I've been working on my technique and just hope I can do it on the day because I've never swum this far before! I will be swimming at my local pool, Penlan leisure centre, Swansea at 2pm this Saturday the 27th of April.

 A very big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far, if you haven't already there is still time, it all goes to a fantastic cause!  I've shared a nice speedo video. Motivating on those days I didn't feel like going but was so glad that I did go for that swim after a long day at work! Swimathon donate HERE

Thanks/Diolch!

Like sands in an hourglass so are the days of our lives...!

 Well the Clocks went back last week and the dark nights are drawing in, that only means that Christmas is nearly here, only 45 days to go!!

On the subject of time we have been quite busy at Heulwen Designs making some clocks, which I think would make lovely and unusual gifts for you or your home this Christmas. We have just listed a couple on the Heulwen made Folksy shop. Here are some photos of the ones I have listed so far below, I hope you like them. Heulwen Designs x

Hand block printing, Rajasthan

Jaipur, RAJASTHAN - Hand wood block printing

I loved the hand block prints in Rajasthan so much I thought I'd share some pictures with you on my blog. Hand block printing is a labour-intensive process that requires a lot of, skill, patience, effort and time. Rajasthan is the most colourful state in India and Jaipur is its vibrant capital. There are many different motifs used in traditional block printing and colourful prints of birds, animals, human figures, gods and goddesses are very popular. Since India is rich and abundant in its natural resources, most of its arts and craft forms derive raw materials and design influence from nature

Pushkar, RAJASTHAN - Hand carving woodblocks

Pushkar, RAJASTHAN - Hand carved woodblocks

Life should be colourful, chaotic, mysterious and exotic!!

Jaipur

Incredible India! I have just been on holiday to India, a country full of amazing contrasts. I visited the splendour of  palaces, saw and bought some wonderful textiles, met the locals in the markets and bazaars, experienced Holi festival, and relaxed on the beaches of Goa...

In every city I experienced a different people, smell, food, flora and fauna... Here are some photos I took in the bazaars of one of my favourite places we visited, Jaipur. 

Jaipur

Jaipur shopping for Saree's

Beautiful Rajasthan textiles

Spices in Jaipur

Less than two weekends until Valentines day...

I've been having fun with baking Clay lately and I've been experimenting with heart shapes and I'm so pleased with the result! I made this - Key to your heart - Cariad Keyring by Heulwen Designs available to buy now on Etsy 

 

Gift tags by Heulwen Designs available to buy this weekend at the Canolfan Gorseinon Food and Craft Fayre

 

London shopping - Designers Makers Market Old Spitalfields

I went on a trip to London on Saturday on my annual Christmas shopping pilgrimage! (Whilst my  mum looked after my Heulwen Designs Christmas craft stall in Swansea selling lots of corsages and cushions for me, I've bought her some lovely flowers to thank her!)

I saw and did sooo much in one day so I'm just going to blog about the morning in this post!! I went East to avoid the crazy shoppers on Oxford St..only 7 sleeps until Xmas Day!! I had a very lovely morning browsing the Designers Makers Market in Old Spitalfields. Its a monthly market showcasing the UK's most talented designers and makers. Its held every third Saturday from 11am - 5pm. There was some wonderful handmade work for sale and so much I wanted to buy! My favourite designers from the market were... Claire Shields shop Lil3birdy  

Claire Shields

I also liked the work of Swedish illustrator and maker Hanna Melin I love her humorous 'banana man' designs, her Blog is really interesting too. I bought this Christmas card below from her.

Hanna Melin - Banana man

I also liked the work of another Swedish illustrator Karin Akesson. She works in London as a freelance illustrator, exhibiting her work throughout the UK and creates designs for a huge variety of clients. Her prints are lovely and made me smile with quotes like ' Today something wonderful will happen' on her prints.

Karin Akisson - A reason to smile

I also discovered the lovely lovely lovely work of Lui!! She hand makes jewellery using collected travel keepsakes, from Colonial French stamps, to 60's Hong Kong souvenir slides. Beautiful long lost memories are transformed in totally unique ready to wear jewellery. Beautiful! She has an online etsy shop Luimadeit. I wish I had bought one of her gorgeous pendants there last Saturday!!

Lui

I also had a browse around Brick Lane and visited fabulous Vintage shops around the Old Truman Brewery, saw some gorgeous fur coats and xmastastic woolly jumpers from the 80's!! I popped into Rough Trade East and bought one of Rough Trade's top 10 albums of the year, a new find but a bit melancholy Veronica Falls. I also bought a beautiful debut album by Villagers - Becoming a jackal who I saw at Green man festival this year. Watch That day video below.