JOULES DESIGN A WELLY COMPETITION

I've fancied myself as a bit of a fashion designer many times, not all of them successful. There was the time I bleached my jeans and smelled like a toilet for a week, or the time I turned my denim jacket into a vest and looked like George Michael, circa 1989. But I still think I will be having a go at the competition from Joules to design their own pair of the iconic Joules wellies. The winner will get their design put into production....yes actual production, to buy on the website (www.joules.com/)...with all the proceeds going to CHARITABLY JOULES. A great little competition for a great cause.

But doing good for mankind, is not the only incentive to enter. The winner will win a £5000 luxury forest holiday for 3 days in a golden oak treehouse (imagine all the luxury £5000 will get you...oh my). Ten runners up will receice a £250 joules gift card...amazing!!


Now where are my coloured pencils, and where are my wellies and the nearest puddle for inspiration...


Send your enteries in via this link, and maybe see me splashing about in puddles in them, one day soon.


Good Luck to all the budding designers...especially me!!

Gems

BACK AND WITH A GOOD CAUSE

I've finally moved into my new home and manaed to find my camera, so I can say with certaintly that I shall be back blogging on a regular basis. Sorry to all of those who I bore with my generally nerdiness and weirdness, but I need something to do in breaks between Netflix watching and sitting.

I come back to you initially to talk about a good cause and charity from a girl that means the world to me, and is a real inspiration. She has set up a charity to fund a non-profit gym for women that have been the victims of abuse, finding incredible strength after her own harrowing experience, which thanfully ended with her attacker in prison. But so many women are not so lucky, and te lovely, selfless Sara wants to give women a safe place, a sancturary.

The lovely Sara Kate

 She has a Go Fund Me page,  where you can help her raise those important funds. She isn't asking for huge donations, every pound will go towards helping those that need it. And once she reaches 150 donations, she will pick random people to recieve prizes. I've donated and hope to raise some more money for her by selling on eBay and donating half the profits.

So if you can donate, it would really mean a lot, and if you cant please share the page wherever you can.

Gems x

A LITTLE BIT OF INSIGHT

Eurgh, right now I have the most hideous cold, which makes me just want to curl up in bed with a crappy movie and bottomless cup of tea and just have a nice little sleep until it goes away. But being a freelance worker means no paid holidays for me so I have to sit at my bitch of a computer, booo! Eat a d**k stupid cold virus.

Skater Dress, Insight - Similar Here.
Sunglasses, H&M - Similar Here.

Anyway, at least I have been really lucky on eBay and in charity shops recently. A big triumph was the famous Motel Rocks Lilah jumpsuit, which I got for just £5, I can't wait until that arrives. Another triumph was this gorgeous printed dress, from surf style brand Insight that I picked up for just a few pounds in a charity shop.

I may be the most unlikely surfer girl - I can barely stand up on dry land, never mind on a surfboard  on the ocean - but I do love this cute little dress. The vibrant colours, the bold print, the skater style, it all screams GEMMA!!!

I also want to say thank you for all the kind words about my previous post on the issue of confidence - it's not always easy for some of us to be confident, but keep taking those little steps with me, I'm always better with company.

Gems x

LITTLE GEM ON THE PRAIRIE

  When the lovely Stephanie of Praiire Charms asked me if I was interested in taking part in her Project Blogger, I first went along to the website to see what it was all about. Well first I can tell you that Prairie Charms is a handmade bracelet brand with a big heart. Sourcing gems and charms from all over the world, they make sure that each piece is limited edition and this is isn't just wonderful for the weather, it also does something wonderful for someone else.

You see Prairie Charms donates 10% of profits to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, 'Kiss it Better', which aims to raise money for the research into the causes and treatment of childhood cancer - now isn't that something worth dipping your pockets into for.

As part of their Project Blogger, a whopping 50% discount is given on an item of your choice, which is not only a right little bargain, but it also means that Prairie Charms can still donate to their super charity of choice. So with my mega discount I splashed out and went for the bracelet set imaginatively entitled, 'All Imaginable Futures Are Not Equally Possible' and included two gorgeous wooden bead bracelets with bow and feather vintage-style charms.

 Keeping in with the spirit of charity I wore them with the super wooden rings I picked up last week at a event at Newcastle Cathedral, where all the proceeds went to various good causes. The black and cream wooden beads are surprisingly glossy, which contrasts well with the tarnished gold of the charms. Also hurray for elastic, which means they wont be slipping off my teeny tiny wrists when I'm walking around.

I think what Prairie Charms is doing is wonderful, so I'm going to GIVE AWAY one of the bracelets to one of you lucky readers. You don't have do anything to win, all you have to do is leave a comment below with your email address and which colour you would prefer. It's open internationally and closes midnight 12th August.

I will ask you one thing though, since we are talking charity, is to consider donating a pound or two to brave the Jamie Inglis Appeal - a really brave little boy suffering from neuroblastoma, who's best chance of survival is with treatment in Germany, following a relapse in his condition, but since the NHS will not pay his family is desperately trying to raise the £250,000 required. I saw his story on the news and my heart just broke and I went straight to his Just Giving page, and if you take the time to visit you may just want to help too, no matter how small it all counts.

Oh and if you want to take part in the Prairie Charms Project Blogger, visit this page to find out all the necessary info.

Have any of you guys visited Prairie Charms yet? My stunning bracelet set has sold out unfortunately, but their 'To the Moon and Back' piece is just as pretty.

Gems x

TOPSHOP DESIGNER T-SHIRT COLLECTION

British high-street juggernaut 'Topshop' is celebrating ten years of sponsoring fledgling British design talent, by inviting some of their NEWGEN alumni to design a capsule T-shirt collection. Participating designers include Erdem, Christopher Kane, Holly Fulton, Gareth Pugh, Richard Nicoll, Meadham Kirchhoff, Roksanda Illincic and Jonathan Saunders amongst others. I am loving the capsule collection, particularly the fun and flirty lace-collared option from Erdem, and the stylish, yet just a little bit creepy, graphic doll print tee from Meadham Kirchhoff.

Erdem

Meadham Kirchhoff

Holly Fulton

Roksanda Illincic

The shirts will be available from the Topshop stores across the globe and online at topshop.com during London Fashion Week. The proceeds are to be donated to Centrepoint, a charity dedicated to helping the young homeless in Britain. When t-shirts look this awesome and at the same time raise money for a worthy cause, that's fashion, well-done. Add one to your wardrobe guilt-free, I know I will be!

Visit the official Topshop website, here.
Photographs courtesy of Telegraph UK