Bug Life - Practicing Pinning.

Hey Pals!

Today I thought I'd share with you a little hobby of mine thats I've only recently got stuck into but have been a fan of and wanted to try for many, many years now - insect pinning! When i was little I used to collect bugs, hold them and play about with them, then as I got older I became afraid of them. Now it's a different story, I have become fascinated by them!

I have a couple butterflies in boxes thats I've got a-hold of from shops but I wanted to try it for myself. Now I've not been lucky to find any dead moths or butterflies to practicing that side of entomology (I really don't think I can bring myself to catch and kill one) however, I did come across these:

First up is this amazing big ol' bumble bee! Prince actually bought this in for me as some kind of token he was all dead and curled up in a ball so I had to relax him, then spread him (this all takes a few days so patience is needed) and then finally pin him!

I LOVE Bee's! They are so cute! I'm pretty set on my next tattoo being a bee. 

Here he is:

Next up I found some amazing petrol-blue coloured beetles who had died on the floor during a walk in some woods. There were loadsss of them all dead and dying so I grabbed a few bodies as they definitely came in handy for practicing relaxing setting and then pinning.

Anyone who can identify them for me I will be in your debt - try googling 'UK petrol blue beetle' and get very far!

Any of my readers out there into entomology or insect pinning? You may remember from THIS post earlier in the week (OutThereInteriors actually tweeted saying they found it creepy - mission complete!). I have practiced cleaning of skulls and have a few in my house and very soon I am hoping to get some more and clean them up too - just incase anyone is interested :)

Hope your week is going well!

X

When The Snow Hits.

As it's very apparent, most of the UK was hit by blizzards this Friday, and South-Wales was put in the 'red zone' which mean't we were getting alot coming our way! My boyfriend's family live in the Valleys where we were visiting when the snow hit and it ended up being one of the worst hit areas. 

I LOVE snow so this only meant adventure to me, off we went three separate times during the day for hours of snow fun: 

My favourite thing to do was shake the branches and pour snow all over myself and watch as the branch shot back up into the air after being weighed down by the thick snow.

Worlds worst attempt at a snow man.

War Memorial.

When I finally managed to drive back to Cardiff I couldn't wait to see my little kitty Prince!

We got Prince in October and he is now 5 months old, I will be doing a little post on him next with kitten and now big kitty pictures :)

Prince with his lead on experiencing snow for the first time! He was super cold but didn't want to go indoors. 

Were you hit by heavy snow where you live? I know it's a total nightmare but it's so pretty before everything turns to ice and gross slush.

I hope you are having a good weekend!
X