1st Birthday Blog Giveaway!

I so cannot believe I have been running this blog for a whole year now! It's been a very quick year and so much has changed in this time. I finally started a new job where I'm able to make a decent amount of money after working full time in Mcdonald's and Sainsbury's since I left school. This is when I decided to start this blog and finally get into pin-up fashion properly. So August of last year really signified the start of a great year for me. 

So I just wanted to show you guys how I looked before I got into pin up. I wasn't particularly fond of my appearance so I never took care of it. I was dressing a bit more on the punk side but I never wore any make-up and barely ever did my hair! I suppose for me, my low self esteem stopped me from really taking care of myself and looking the way I really wanted to!

So here we are. Thank god I have this blog because it has literally brought me so much happiness! You can see the difference in those two photos with regards to my posture and even the look on my face, I'm so glad I have this blog to show me how far I've come. 

As a MASSIVE THANK YOU for all you beautiful readers I've decided to give away this beautiful milkshake brooch from Erstwilder!

This isn't a collaboration with Erstwilder but just a treat from me to you guys! I absolutely adore Erstwilder's brooches, they are so gorgeous and liven up any outfit. 

The only mandatory way to enter is to tweet your entry through rafflecopter, the rest are just extra options to give you more entries :-)

The giveaway ends at 04/09/2015 at midnight and the winner will be contacted the following day via twitter directly from me. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cheekyboo | Dancing Flamingo Necklace

I'm so excited to write this post because I love an opportunity to shed light on small businesses! Cheekyboo Emporium is an online shop that sells a unique variety of handmade jewellery and accessories by independent designers. From necklaces to stationary and tote bags, you won't run out of cute things to look at!

I recently discovered this shop through one of Dorkface's blog posts (I can't remember which one actually otherwise I'd link to it directly!) and I was so amazed and in love with all of the cute and kitsch-ey designs, I could have bought them all but I think I was mostly taken away by the 'Dancing Flamingo' necklace. 

I'm not usually one for wearing jewellery, it's only recently that I've decided to wear it. It started off by buying a cute brooch from Deer Arrow which made me realise how much jewellery can finish off an outfit. Honestly though, I am just terrible at keeping and remembering to wear necklaces and so on, so I never really bothered; but getting into pin-up fashion has really helped me change my mind on that!

First of all, the packaging is SO cute and amazing. I've not even opened the package and I'm in love. This is what I absolutely adore about buying from small businesses - the care and attention to detail that goes into products including the packaging is beautiful. 

I appreciate that they've left me a business card as I will pass this on. 

I honestly wasn't expecting such lovely packaging. The necklace comes prettily packaged in a 'I Love Crafty' recycled gift box; this is nice as it's great for giving as gifts but as I don't have any particular accessories storage at the moment, I will be keeping it safe in this box.

The necklace chain, including the legs, is gold plated. The chain length is 20" in total whilst the flamingo is 7cm. The flamingo itself is made from transparent neon pink acrylic. It's just so pretty and is a pretty decent size which will make a lovely statement piece!

My favourite feature is definitely the dangly legs, I'm really hoping this necklace holds out well but I don't see why it shouldn't. 

The 'Dancing Flamingo' sells for £20 and is worth all the pennies, watch out for it in future outfit posts!

Have a look at what the rest of Cheekyboo has to offer!

http://www.cheekybooshop.com/

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Deer Arrow - Sundae brooch.

Brooch - Deer Arrow // Top - Select // Belt - Pin Up Girl clothing //

Skirt - Hell Bunny

It just seems like this entire outfit was meant to go together, it is so cute! 

This brooch is the first I've ever bought or worn. I discovered DeerArrow through Instagram and a few other blog posts and I fell in love with their brooches almost immediately. 

It was really hard to choose which brooch I wanted to make my first purchase. The selection is absolutely adorable, from this sundae design, to a milkshake and a cute little diner (and much more).

They are an Australian based company who hand make their items, so you know your purchase will be made with care and attention. They are also a family run business which is really cute and buying this brooch makes me feel good that I'm supporting something special!

The shipping is really cheap to the UK being only $5 and it arrived in a fantastic little parcel with the cutest wrapping. 

The brooch itself is really strong and sturdy and is of brilliant quality. You don't feel like you could break it easily, like you might with some other jewellery. It costs just over £8 ($16 AUS) which is a great price for a high quality accessory. 

I cannot wait to order more and build a collection. 

Check them out here!