ROX hosts an evening with Shaun Leane

Last week I had a great time at an evening with the ever so talented designer Shaun Leane at Glasgow's most prestigious and glamorous of fine jewellery boutiques, ROX.

With bubbles and bling surrounding us, we were treated to displays of Shaun's work along with the main man there himself being interviewed by Michelle Haswell from the amazing Kingdom of Style.

We learned how Shaun worked closely with Alexander McQueen throughout his career and how he continues to influence a lot of his work.  We also got to ogle at some of his bespoke designs including this brooch for Sarah Jessica Parker and Shaun also talked of one of his latest collaborations with Daphne Guinness - the Diamond Glove.  It's stunning!

From his collection available online and at ROX, there are a few things I have pending on the 'ole Chrimbo list.

Gold Vermeil & Ivory Resin Bangle

Silver Blackthorn Ring with Black Pearls

A girl can wish can't she?  Let's hope someone (wink, wink) takes the hint ... :)

There were a number of other bloggers also at the event, too many to name all of them here but it was brilliant to catch up with them all and hope to see them again soon!  Obviously in true 'schleb' style, ROX were papping everyone as we entered the soiree ... here's Amanda and I doing our best awkward posing (we really need to get some practise in ;p)!

Has anyone else been admiring Shaun Leane and his incredible designs?

If you haven't, I urge you to check out his work here.  You won't be disappointed!

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Social Media Week - Glasgow

This week Social Media Week hits Glasgow with lots of fantastic events and seminars offering advice, assistance and insight into the world of social media whether from a business, voluntary or personal perspective.

You can find out more about the events taking place in Glasgow here.

I would especially love to go to the Fashion Blogging 101 event tomorrow evening but alas it is fully booked - being away on holiday during registration certainly has it's downside.

However, what will be keeping me awake tonight is the fact I am actually speaking at one of the events taking place tomorrow morning.

'Blog Off!'  takes place tomorrow morning at Mansion House, Glasgow and is a session about starting your own blog or perhaps improving your existing blog.  It will take you through the essentials you need to know to start up, how to drive traffic, create your own custom header or how to deal with brands and PR's.

It should be a pretty interesting topic to discuss with likeminded people and I just hope my 15 minute stint on the floor goes to plan.  I am not sure how much I can say about my blog for 15 minutes but I guess I wouldn't be saying if it wasn't for all you little gems who still come back to read it time and time again and for that I am truly grateful!

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Saskia the Style Fairy is on Facebook!

It's taken me a while to jump on the facebook bandwagon when it comes to the old blog but I've finally taken that step.

In all honestly the profile has been available for some time, I just didn't know what to do with it but this week I uploaded some photos and began to add links to new posts.

I have galleries available for outfit, nail and events posts and would love to hear your feedback on my facebook page so comment away.  If there is anything useful you think can be added to it please do let me know.  You can add me on facebook at this link www.facebook.com/saskiathestylefairy or you can click the pink facebook icon on the left hand column of this blog.

For the time being it is set up as a profile where you can add me as a friend, however I am still toying with the idea of making it a page set up only where you simply 'like' the page but still receive updates to posts.

I would really love to know your opinions on this and what you think is the best format to take it forward with.

See you on facebook! :)

x

Filofax Apex Blogger Style Off

Filofax have launched their new Apex filofax and to celebrate they have challenged a number of bloggers to a 'Style Off'.

I am never one to shy away from putting an outfit together but having been hit with the lurgy this week I didn't expect it to be quite the struggle it ended up being.  But more on that another time.  You might also be aware that filofax is kind of a big deal with bloggers ... Amanda at  Beauty Blogging Blonde even started up her own appreciation society for them on facebook!

The bloggers involved have been asked to come up with an outfit or outfits as the case may be that reflect the colourful style of the new Apex which is in keeping with spring/summer trends - colour blocking.  The Apex comes in a variety of colours and as part of the challenge I was asked to choose which one I would like so I could create an OOTD around.

I chose blue and yellow.  It's a cute little organiser that is held together with an elasticated band in yellow and the leather is slightly embossed in a gorgeous royal blue.  Blue is one of my favourite colours but to be honest I had no idea how I was going to style this up!

Basically the style off challenge relies on you voting for your favourite bloggers outfit/look by using the 'like' function on the Filofax Facebook page at www.Facebook/filofax

The blogger who wins the challenge then gets sent 12 of these lovely Apex filofax to giveaway to their readers which is quite exciting.  I have been planning a giveaway for a while now but this is better than what I had planned!

Here's a sneaky peek taster of my outfit:

The competition goes live on the filofax facebook page tomorrow and I will also be posting my look for you to see on here.  I'd love a vote from you but I'm sure there will be some fabulous outfits to choose from, already can't wait to see everyone else's looks and cast my own vote :)

x

Hello Lover ...

Often I have shared a moan or three or four about my laptop woes and how badly I needed a new one.

After researching many laptops including the Dell Inspiron which was a front runner at one point, my heart still leapt everytime I wandered into the Apple store and had a play about on one of their many design led, super functional computers.

Well after many visits to the store and years of dealing with a chanky old laptop, my partner in life and crime came back from the US this week brandishing a spanking new, glossy white, delightfully intriguing and in full working order, Macbook.

I have even attempted to watermark my photo thanks to my new laptop
... miserable fail though.  Advice appreciated! :) 

Literally after minutes playing with my new macbook I knew this was it - my life had changed forever ;)

Sounds extreme but it's a wee bit true.

You see my old laptop would crash 3 or 4 times in an evening.  It took hours to upload photos, save images, check emails, write blogposts ... the list goes on.  Replying to emails was so difficult on the old laptop, many went ignored.  Don't even get me started on how hard it was to view other blogs or comment on them.  A simple blog comment could take up to half an hour to execute.  YouTube wasn't even an option.

Now if I want to blog on an evening, I can come home, fire up the Macbook and I could very easily be done in a half hour or so .... plenty time to pamper myself, read a book, meet friends, watch a movie or dare i say it, tidy my flat!

I am so stupidly excited about the delights of my new laptop I almost don't know what to do with myself or it.  Already I have taken to twitter for advice on the unconventional keyboard and tonight I think I will get my head into the instruction manual.

Geek out!

x

Saskia the Style Fairy

You may have noticed a few changes on this blog in recent weeks, one of which is a makeover of Gok proportions.  Ideally this should have coincided with my 2 year bloggiversary but that was at the end of January so I am a few weeks late.

I created a gorgeous header fit for my taste featuring a wonderful Garance Dore illustration.  A few people have asked how I created the header, I did it through Polyvore where you can literally make up scrapbook upon scrapbook of anything fashion or beauty related and store it all online in your own wee space.  I have used it a lot in the past for creating sets to show you different outfit combinations but it was great for creating a unique identity for my blog.

My inspiration?  Magazines.  I am an obsessed reader and avid collector of magazines, from interiors to fashion and sometimes the odd gossip mag.  Of course, blogs are now taking over my workld and my little space on the interweb is my own amateur attempt at conveying to you what I would like to read and also what I think might interest those who read the thoughts, opinions and ramblings of a real life enthusiast and consumer of some of the finer things in life.  Therefore, it is like my blogs own front cover.

I also created some little widget images for twitter, bloglovin' and my email.  If you want to copy any of these widgets, all I ask is that you credit me on your blog. 

Along with the aesthetic change, I have also ... (at long last) ... purchased my own domain name.  In fact, I purchased 2 ... a dot com and a dot co dot uk.  Unfortunately the dot com was a bit of a nightmare to deal with (as some twitter friends will know) so from now on you can access this blog using http://www.saskiathestylefairy.co.uk.  Of course if you enter via the blogspot address, it will redirect you.

I have removed the 'salsa' from my blog name.  It was the title of a childrens book so that can get confusing when trying to google this blog nevermind the fact I don't know how to salsa ... but i do quite like to eat it ... with doritos preferably. all class!!  My posts are beauty, fashion, interior and in general ... lifestyle related ... put them all in a pot and I am really discussing my style, who I am, what I like and what I would recommend and rate ... therefore saskia the style fairy seemed more fitting. 

I have also added some tabs/pages at the top of my blog which are subject to change but most importantly I will be adding a blog roll/page very soon to credit and give you insight into the blogs that interest, intrigue and inspire me on a daily basis.

So I hope you all like the changes, I hope it makes reading/viewing the blog easier and a more pleasant experience :) 

x

Cinderella Cinderella ...

Last night I had a delightful evening at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow for Scottish Ballet's opening night performance of Cinderella.

I was really excited for this performance mainly because the costumes had been described as Galliano meets Westwood meets Warhol ... eye candy for sure. And of course, Cinderella is the ultimate fairytale that all us girls grew up with ... it was a must see.

I met up with fellow bloggers Rani (http://www.cupcakecouture.co.uk/), Ayden (http://mydollface.blogspot.com/), Kirsty (http://fortyfoursunsets44.blogspot.com/) and of course Ann (http://www.girlinthecityglasgow.com/) who made the whole event possible. Thank you!

I took along my husband who I was sure would fall asleep as he was a stand in for my friend who had worryingly been hospitalised with pneumonia (not to worry, she is doing well) but incredibly he absolutely loved the performance and raved about it througout it and after.

It was a colourful and humorous performance which was brought to life by an amazing cast of dancers, especially the Ugly Sisters who made the show for me. The set was also amazing with numerous backgrounds taking us from the slum kitchen where Cinderella scrubbed the floors, to the ballroom to the clock striking midnight.

It was truly a magical show which I am sure these images convey to you.

Something I found out today from Ann is that instead of having a make up artist for the dancers, a look is created and the dancers themselves copy it and apply their own make up at each performance. Some of the looks for this show were fabulous so I was very impressed to know it was all the dancers own hand.

If you are interested in seeing this wonderful performance of Cinderella ... you can get tickets for the following cities & dates;

Glasgow14th –31st December

Edinburgh 12th-15th January

Aberdeen 19th-22nd January

Inverness 26th-29th January

Belfast 2-5th February

x

Guest blogging at Social Tailor

I was asked recently if I would do a little guest slot on fab fashion blog Social Tailor.

Find out what my ultimate festive party dress is ... You can view it here.

It was such a pleasure and honour to be asked to write for such a great site. Why don't you hop on over and check it out :)

... Enjoy!

x

Shop ... Made by Girl

One of my favourite interior blogs is MadeByGirl. It is a fantastic source of inspiration and ideas for your home whether it be a big project in the home or a small room refresh.

MadebyGirl is run by Jen Ramos, a Graphic Designer who also runs her online business side by side with her blog.

Jen designs her own canvasses, posters and prints as well as showcasing other artists work. I thought I would show you what I have been eyeing up recently from Jen's shop and will hopefully treat myself to shortly.

Love in different languages canvas. I mainly love this as this was the theme for our table names when I was getting married. It's a nice little memento of that day. Jen also sells this in 'hello' in different languages which I would love too but that can wait until we finally buy a house and can be placed proudly near the entrance of our new home.

I also adore these prints based the original Famille Summerbelle hand paper cut of Manhattan and Paris showing all the neighbourhoods and districts of each city. I should really choose one but they are both so adorable and both such wonderful cities it's just too difficult.And heres one for the Bloggers out there. I don't like coffee so I wonder if Jen would customise it to read, 'I love you, blogs and ..... shoes' perhaps?

Pricing on Jen's website is so reasonable too, shipping to the UK doesn't seem too bad either. In fact there are a few other lovely prints and posters that I might have to purchase as gifts for friends and family so I will keep schtum about those :)

Have a wee look on Jen's site, it really is quite lush!

x