Saturday 24 December 2011

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! by nikigirl

I love how at Christmas, everyone and everything can be over the top :) (but still classy, obviously)

Have a great Christmas, everyone and anyone who reads this, it seems to come around quicker every year and yet is nonetheless always an enjoyable day - but just remember Christmas isn't happy for everyone, and so whatever great gifts you receive, or whatever things you wanted to get but didn't - remember the things you really, really want - you already have around you :) Some things really are priceless, and the others can be worked for through dedication and a positive outlook on life :D - believe me, I would know (well, about the dedication part, maybe not so much the positive outlook - but I'm trying harder!)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Wednesday 21 December 2011

And sometimes...dreams really do come true!




This is me



What an insane week! Times really do change - and quickly - only 4 days until Christmas! Anyway, now that the holiday season is in full swing it's made me really how much I've really achieved this year, and how happy I am of all the work I've done. Although we are perfectly entitled to anticipate the year ahead, let's not forget the year just passed, whether that be mistakes to learn from or achievements to be proud of!

This is a giant collaboration grid showing images of all the things I love, essentially it's the one image I'd like people to look at if they were to get a really good idea of who I am - it's basically an extended version of a collage I did some months back (http://notesfromadaydreambeliever.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-08-27T00:14:00-07:00&max-results=10), but obviously more up-to-date, as our perceptions of ourselves are different on a daily basis, and naturally they change dramatically over time.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I'm the happiest I've been in a long time, and that's something worth celebrating - let alone the fact that Christmas/ New Year are just around the corner! Bring on the festivities! :)

Saturday 17 December 2011

Simplicity


Simplicity

Sometimes the basics are the best.

Only 2 more days in school, 2 more exams, then it's Christmas!

The wait is hard, but it will be worth it, just a few more hours of revision, a few more cards to write, presents to wrap, decorations to display, and time will pass before I know it!

But I do love black & white photographs, and Paris, and pink things, and of course, the beautiful Emma Watson to set it all off :) this image is a reminder of why I should persevere - once it gets to the Christmas holidays I'll have loads more time for image editing!

Saturday 10 December 2011

Day Dreamer


I may see in colour, but I still dream in black & white.

Can you miss being somewhere before you've even left?

The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.

Sometimes I want to live in the past, literally.

Friday 2 December 2011

Winter


Winter

Winter by nikigirl


So. This week, had a mock interview, driving lesson, helped at open evening at my school...much of the same.

Next week however couldn't be more different, I've got literally one day at school before I go and stay at one of the world's best universities and be interviewed by some of the most learned history academics in the world...it's going to be amazing. Intense. Hard work. But most of all intense, insanely beautiful, both the city and the university, intensely hard, the studying and anxiety, constantly challenging (like life itself) but hopefully ultimately rewarding! I really can't wait to meet some incredible people, and have one of the most interesting (in every possible way) experiences of my life so far!

Pride and Prejudice

Friday 25 November 2011

A cup of tea never fails to calm me....




A cup of tea never fails to calm me....


I really, really love this image. I didn't even plan/ think about it, I just obsess over this shade of blue, so I put some objects of that colour together with some text and photos of an attractive model and voila, with a couple of effects and ever-present butterflies it actually turned out nice, one of my favourites I think.

Don't judge me by the fact that I'm posting so late :) I have A LOT to do at the moment, we're talking all kinds of coursework, homework, interview prep, driving lessons...wait....yes....I did just say it - INTERVIEW PREP!

Now of course I'm extremely excited at the prospect of an interview, and the free food/ accomodation (and I mean accomodation of the brilliant, beautiful, neo-classic/ gothic kind) but what makes me more anxious is the idea that I'll have to miss 4 days of revision before the mocks. And still have to do the work......all of those lessons I'll miss! (Not to mention my mum's 50th birthday :/)

Can't be helped, but I really am a busy little bee at the moment, and will be for the next 10 days, and then it's mock exams, and then the terrible waiting begins afresh! Oh my life....never mind, in one month it'll be Christmas again and all will be good in the world (how quickly it comes round!)

Saturday 19 November 2011

Autumn Days


Autumn Days

So my life at the moment is pretty much a waiting game. It's like the moment you reach a roundabout, and you're looking in both directions to see if you can move forwards, and the seconds of looking around, at everything, everywhere, seem to take an age. And then you go too slowly and stall. Or maybe that's just my terrible driving!

Still waiting on 2 universities, one of them will get back to me in about 14 days (not that I'm counting, but I am) and the other could take up to 2 1/2 months - or at least they have done, in the past. It seems I'm in need of a bit more patience, but it is difficult to acquire these days. I feel as if I'm living in a hurried sort of present, the sort that looks forward constantly, never quite managing to live in the moment but always straining, trying, desperately to look into what is still a very unknown future.

How very sombre. In other news the sun is shining here and I expect it might well be the warmest November on record - not that I'm complaining, it's great, makes all of the waiting and anticipation, this limbo, a bit more bearable...



Friday 11 November 2011

Tea, and other such Time



Tea time


No point lying, I'm so much more into Polyvore instead of GIMP right now as far as image-editing and composing is concern which is really strange considering I actually joined Polyvore 2 years ago and only really started using it now... such is life, I suppose.

In other news, this week has been a continuation of stressful driving lessons, homework and coursework deadlines combined with the fact that I'm still waiting to hear back from universities, my mock A2s are in a month oh, and my job no longer exists so I have virtually no disposable income :(

Bad times indeed. BUT, I must remember the tone of my last post, and remain positive - things can't stay this way forever, the only thing that stays the same is that things always change! Although I titled this image "Tea time" I'd like to now draw inspiration from W.H.Auden;

But all the clocks in the city,

Began to whirr and chime:

'O let not Time deceive you,

You cannot conquer Time.


Today of course, time has a particularly special significance, not only is the date 11.11.11 but it's also Remberance Day, so let us not only remember those that fell in service of their country, but also those that were left to remember, especially during those first few Armstice Days when happiness to some, would have seemed like a different era, a lifetime away, a mere memory...

Friday 4 November 2011

Play

Play

100th post! Here's to 100 more!



So at times life can seem difficult, stressful and downright depressing....but it can also be rewarding to those who are willing to put themselves out there.

Yeah, there will be set backs, there will be the bad times, the sad times and all the rest of it, but really what you have to do is look at everything long-term, but at the same time, live for that day - crazy isn't it?

Basically what I'm trying to say is that looking back on the last 100 posts of this blog has really made me think, whatever did or did not happen I've achieved a lot and I have things to show for it. This gives me a lot of hope in what promises to be a very work-intensive 6 months up ahead, but one day I'll look back on all of this work, and I'll be proud.

But I'll never forget where I started from.

On a less philosophical note, I have another university offer and I am really excited about this one, as in I could actually end up going there and living there for 3 years of my life! I still have 2 more places to wait on, but having things like this - university offers I mean - it really gives me something to work towards, to be happy about, and ultimately it makes sure that I don't lose focus, I'm so close now I can't break down over school work again...so instead I've planned the next week to include a combination of evenings out, fun with friends, a firework display and some happy time on Polyvore - here's to the next week!

Friday 28 October 2011

Paris/ end of the holidays/ ensuring I do some sort of work...


Paris
Paris by nikigirl

So, after finally dragging myself off Polyvore this morning I have come to the conclusion that I have done virtually none of what I was supposed to do over the last few days, especially involving school work and filing and revision etc. For this reason I'm updating earlier rather than later so that I have no excuse later before I go to work/ out to think to myself that I should update my blog above ALL ELSE as I normally do :) BUT, I have had a good time during the half term, definitely feel much more positive about school (ask me again in about a week...lol)

Admittedly I do have a full-blown obsession with the city of Paris, and to make things worse one of my friends went there with their boyfriend last week and had loads of amazing pictures of the Eiffel tower all lit up! So I had to make this to compensate....well not really, but I did.

City of Paris motto - "It is tossed by the waves but does not sink", what a great phrase! I shall try to adopt this position as I plough through schoolwork and the various trials of next week...wish me luck, it's a beautiful new day!

Friday 21 October 2011

Half term!


I love making word clouds, you know, among other things that I love at the moment including Polyvore and sleeping (yes this is a subtle hint to visit my polyvore page). I think they're a good, visual way to put into words what I'm thinking at the moment.



The image with the main word being "universities" is what's going on in my mind at the moment (PS, I got another university offer this week! Soo happy!) The one where the dominant word is "London" is actually a representation of all of the words on the blog (!), or at least on this page, and finally the word cloud with the black background is simply given the self-explanatory title of "History".

Saturday 15 October 2011




http://nikigirl.polyvore.com/


I really, really tend to forget Polyvore exists for a while, before hurrying back to it! Haven't made anything in ages but now decided to produce 2 sets in 2 days :) it's a such a good stress reliever/ homework avoider for me, I have my page advertised at the bottom of this blog but I just thought I'd post the link for all to see & enjoy.

Friday 14 October 2011


This week has been a contrast of very good and very bad occurences, and I'm deliberately posting this photo edit of London because Londoners are famous for their stamina, whatever happens they just keep going. They're survivors.

On the plus side I got my first ever university offer this week and am extremely pleased to be reassured so soon that I HAVE a place at university next year, as long as I get the grades, and I quite like this university, so they may even be my insurance choice! I'll keep waiting patiently for the others though...

On the downside I've had quite a few setbacks, disappointments and a lot of bad news today (and it's not over yet :( ) which has really brought me down from yesterday's high and thrown a real spanner in the works. I'm just so stressed, I don't even know where to start.

Looking at this photo reminds me of better times, when I seemed to have so much less on my mind at the end of summer. Remember what I said in the last post? Ironically now my friends finally have time for me I have so much schoolwork the thought of even taking a day and night off for the weekend makes me panic!

But I'll keep going, keep plodding along :) Now I have a university offer it's all about making the grades - what use would it be to quit now, when (whatever things look like at the moment) I'm ahead. All I need is a little strength and I'll do this. Here's to the hope that next week I'll be able to update in a better tone.

Saturday 8 October 2011

UCAS form officially sent :), and it's now been received by my chosen universities! Now I just have the wait to deal with (and it's already killing me) since universities have until April or possibly even May to make decisions! Potentially another 6 months + of waiting, I guess I better get used to it and concerntrate and something else (preferably schoolwork). Anyway these lovely photo edits were taken in the Wills Memorial building at the university of Bristol - the stained glass window there is just amazing!

 Definitely one of the advantages of looking around potential universities is being able to travel all across the country, taking beautiful photos. The disadvantages include a stressful wait to hear back (it's as bad as results day all over again!) and the fact that if you apply early all of your friends are still spending their weekends looking around universities and have no time to go out...

Saturday 1 October 2011



Venice, summer 2011. A pretty dazzling (if not boiling) day, and really humid (although it probably always is in the summer with all of the canals!) today in England is a remarkably hot day for October, literally about 25/26 degrees! That's the sort of weather that we expect in July/August (if at all!)


So it reminded me of this, kind of, and I thought in true Venetian style I'd start work early in the morning (now) so that I can enjoy the sunshine whilst it lasts!

Friday 23 September 2011


Have been out visiting more far off places :) here's a photo montage from Exeter, slightly more crowded than I'd like it but I think the black & white buildings work well, and the skyline is quite cool.

Random fact; in 1068 the city of Exeter surrendered after an 18-day siege from William the Conqueror's Norman forces after swearing allegiance with to the defeated house of Godwin (the Saxon Harold Godwinson's remaining family) 18 months after the Battle of Hastings.

Saturday 10 September 2011

London, 2011

London 2011


The City itself and it's 32 boroughs with approximately 2000 years of history (c.AD 43, originating as "Londinium")...I must be referring to London, one of the biggest Metropolitan areas in the world and a leading capital city of Europe in terms of fashion, entertainment, commerce and finance. London is also home to 43 universities putting it in the lead for higher education too, although I'm not sure I could handle the everyday hustle and bustle and live there myself!


This is my own photo I am proud to say, taken about a week ago with just a small edit - the phrase "Keep calm and carry on", associated with the British, reserved attitude and I thought, applicable to London in particular, and perhaps even to the stresses of everyday term-time life...

Sunday 4 September 2011



Quote from Samuel Coleridge's "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner", thought it fitted well with this picture, such a beautiful ship (I've been on it), such a haunting poem, and so appropriate for a day as rainy as it is here today - "water, water everywhere nor any a drop to drink" - another infamous quote.

The shades of blue in this my photo could, I think, almost make it appear painted...

Saturday 27 August 2011

So this is an edit of the place where I stayed in Rovinj! Beautiful isn't it? Anyway I'm off to Kent for the next 5 days (hence the early time of this update!) and can only dream of the kind of hot, sunny weather I'd gotten used to in Croatia :(

;) looks quite good considering the sun, clouds and sky are all edited, I think it could even look like a real photo - would you have guessed?

(ps., look again, the sun is impossibly high for the town to still be in so much darkness, and the clouds are far too low for real life! I still love the image though...)

Saturday 20 August 2011

I'm back! I have some great photos of my holiday to Croatia (Rovinj) and day trip to Venice and can't wait to start editing them for use on here, however I have about 10 days worth of emails, work, schoolwork and general sorting out to do as is always the case when returning from a long holiday :( this image is made up of photos I took from a mini-break I had in Hayling Island, on the South Coast, a lovely few days of sunshine and Great British scenery which I must say I missed slightly in the hot climate of Eastern Europe.

In other, amazing news I achieved AAAA in my AS levels and am still celebrating! It seems a year of almost solid hard work was well worth it and I'm now aiming for AAA next year, and being able to apply to some really great universities! Nothing beats this kind of feeling (even if I did have to open my results in front of loads of people in Stansted airport terminal!) and right now I am just so happy - bring on the rest of the summer holidays!

Friday 29 July 2011

Seeing as everyone, including me loves the 2004 film "The Notebook" I finally included it in a design that I'd had in mind for a while, especially since I listed it on my Profile as one of my favourite films!

This is the highly colourised version, which, after some long deliberation I decided looked better - more effective than a paler (slighly less surreal) version, but hey, it's summer, it's the holidays, the beginning of irregular blog updates and much travelling so I thought, why not?

Sunday 17 July 2011

Je ne regret rien. This image isn't mine, I'm not even going to lie, I found it on the internet, I have no idea who made it but for me it sums up perfectly the phenomenon that is Harry Potter, that I have enjoyed for the last 10 years of my life and hopefully hereafter. I just watched the last part of Deathly Hallows and genuinely feel like it is the end of my childhood, everything's coming to an end and it's time for us all to have our own adventures, "a new beginning" which fittingly is the name of the music played at the end of the film. I know not everyone grew up with Harry Potter, but for me this is actually the end of an era, and although I regret nothing I'll forever be grateful for J.K.Rowling for getting me through some of the darkest times in my life, and for giving so many people a place of magic to retreat to, whatever happens next.

For the next few weeks my updates will be pretty irregular, summer holidays start this week and I'll be travelling around everywhere and won't always have computer access. Hope everyone's enjoying the summer and I'll make some nice new images whenever I can!

Sunday 10 July 2011

One Year On

It's been officially a year since my first blog post! How quickly time passes, I genuinely can't believe it, so much has happened and so much has yet to happen - here's to another year, it's been hard at times but great.

In the last week I've visited Oxford and looked around Worcester college, a year after I was taken on the school on an open day to Wadham - had a fantastic time. The course I want to do looks great there - as does everything! Although I know it's unlikely that I would get in it's nice to know there are places as nice as this in case I do! :3

Sunday 3 July 2011

It was always going to happen, and by that I mean the Pride & Prejudice themed image, on account of it being one of my favourite books and films of all time. Don't know if it's Elizabeth Bennet's before-her-time "independent woman" behaviour or Colin Firth as Mr.Darcy. Probably both.

Spent the last 3 days travelling, only just got home and therefore have a lovely mountain of schoolwork to do! Have now visited the universities LSE (London School of Economics and Political Sciences) and UEA (University of East Anglia, Norwich) such different places and so many more choices! It certainly is an exciting time of the year, before AS results when all of my options are still well and truly open, and therefore I'm taking all the chances to visit anywhere that I can knowing that in just over a year's time, I could be living there...

Sunday 26 June 2011


Another summer's day. I really like the symmetry in this picture, hence its presence here, what started as an ordinary photo of some daisies now looks quite extraordinary. If only I wasn't allergic to them in reality (stupid hayfever :p) and yet I'm still glad it's warm outside...here's to another week here on planet Earth!

Saturday 18 June 2011

Started planning for my Personal Statement and university application, really made me think about what makes me myself, and I think that this montage/collage/ image gives a pretty good idea :)

Seriously though, I wish that we could submit a picture instead of statements, writing about myself is one of the hardest things I've ever done :/.

Sunday 12 June 2011

Day dreaming again. Can't believe that;

a) it's my last year at school

b) it's almost halfway through the year

c) on my next birthday, I will be 18

Where has my life gone?.... time seems to be going so quickly recently!

Must have been too busy day-dreaming, instead of writing my personal statement draft, or doing some sort of productive work, as usual...
 

"Oh what can it mean? For a day-dream believer and a home -coming queen....."

Saturday 4 June 2011

The good old American dream...

Did I mention I like vintage? That's a clue if you somehow didn't see the number of old stamps I incorporated into this image, and I think the entire flowers-in-vase on a wooden table is retro, like really like Van Gough or something... I know the flowers look nice but I hope you think that the positioning of the stamps to give a kind of depth works, that's what I was aiming for :)

Thursday 26 May 2011


I'm aware that it has been a while - but I am now free of AS exams! Now I can finally show you what has been getting me through them, and I have to say as soon as I saw the photograph with the water lily I knew I could work with it and am happy with the result! I even managed to incorporate a stamp with our lovely Queen Elzabeth II on it, adding to the vintage-type look I was trying to achieve :)

Friday 13 May 2011



I'm afraid I won't be uploading anything new for the next two weeks, in fact I won't be on here at all :( not entirely by choice, but exams must take priority, and so I'll put this up for you to remember me by, if anything it's almost as weird as the last :)

Sunday 8 May 2011
















Something a bit different, experimenting with patterns, particularly those that are found in nature, using "sun spot" and "fractal" effects, to create these surreal, repeating and slightly geometric looking images, which randomly remind me of sort of Indian art & culture? I don't know, but I do rather like them :)

Saturday 30 April 2011

For the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Despite having visited Girton College Cambridge in February, and staying there for a few nights on a shadowing scheme (which included my 17th birthday!) this image which I made some time back has now gained new significance after the Royal Wedding two days ago, in which William & Kate gained the titles Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, given to them by the Queen, as is often done upon Royal marriages.

Although they don't seem to have an obvious connection to the city, I really like those titles, and am happy I have a relevant image to show made from photos I took first-hand!
I hope everyone got to watch the wedding, which was spectacular, and wish the new Royals every luck :)

Monday 25 April 2011



"Dreams are true while they last - and do we not live in dreams?"


- Alfred Lord Tennyson

 
Happy Easter/ Joyeux Paques!(...and that's about all the languages I know)

Monday 18 April 2011


Random cat-like image :) I didn't think about it when I made it but it actually reminds me of Hallow'een? I think it's the black cat and then the orange tints in the background, although I did put a lot of flowers in to make it more summery! I'm on holiday from school right now which seems to have added a definite lighter tone to my work...wonder how long this will last...

Friday 8 April 2011


Edited the detail in this picture but did not take it :p, I just loved the idea of the fish in the bubble, the key, and finally the pebble-mesh background, which was blended with the original grain background of the photo I found :) It's all about the details, small print, fine lines, whatever you want to call it - much like life itself, it's the little things that really count.

Friday 1 April 2011


Girly. Because I felt like it. It's been too long since I did any proper surreal stuff or cubism, for that matter, and this photo I found was too good to waste - I've always loved glass perfume bottles, especially coloured ones. They are the height of class :) still have Dior's "hypnotic poison" perfume I won at a raffle when I was about 10, and seriously did not know how expensive (and nice) perfume can be...

Friday 25 March 2011


Admitedly I didn't make any of these images, just thought they looked nice together :), I don't know, they sort of flow? Anyway, the point is they represent change, as in the seasons, the passage of time. For me this week has really put this into perspective (that word again!), I can't believe it's mid-march already....and yet that makes me want it to be summer now?
Don't mind me, just wishing my life away...

Friday 18 March 2011


I'd like to take a moment, like the thousands of others today, to remember all those that have died, are missing or injured, and those that are still living in Japan following last week's continuing disaster of a nearly 9.0 magnitude earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear incident. This is an event on a practically unprecedented scale - the last like it was 7 years ago in Indonesia, and yet that did not include the after effects such as we are likely to see following the current nuclear crisis at the Fukishima plant, north of Tokyo.
So let's take a moment, and using this image that I actually made months ago, please imagine and pray for all the people, living in Japan, yet depending on the support of the world.

Sunday 13 March 2011


Spent the weekend in London, Tower Bridge, The Globe, Waterloo, Euston and the Brixton Academy to be precise, should have probably done some work during the approximate 7 hours I have spent on trains these last two days (not to mention the underground!) but...meh, better sights to see, such as Canary Wharf and St.Paul's Cathedral - I think I may adopt the Londoner's work ethic of "work hard, play harder!"

Friday 4 March 2011


You know how I said it's all a matter of perspective?
It's amazing how you can turn an old photo of a plain English town (well actually this is Camden market) look like a painted seaside master piece, complete with a fake sun for that unreliable British summer weather :)
I love photoshop.

Saturday 26 February 2011


Perspective. Life depends on it.
Attempting to throw myself back into the school routine, and remind myself that in the bigger picture, getting up at half seven and working from nine 'til five, is actually for the greater good.
And of course, putting this into the perspective of the entire world, I guess it's not that much of a big deal :)
It's all a matter of perspective really.

Saturday 19 February 2011


A nice, random collage, as it's the holidays, and so the resurrection of my creativity after last term's exams temporarily killed it...for the time being anyway, until I get bored, which is unlikely as I just found a stash of old "vintage stamp" images I have saved on my computer!
As why for all of the little animals....I have no idea, they just looked good and then I turned it into a kind of theme.

Friday 11 February 2011

"Bland and unoriginal" according to a Yahoo! article, "you are better off being single" - I'm talking about Valentine's Day, and I know I'm early, but I'm guessing Sunday night/ Monday I will be too busy revising to care much about what all of the other happy couples/ sad singles (or, as the Yahoo! survey suggests, happy singletons and bored couples) are doing on February the 14th.
In alternate news - 60th Blog post! So happy that I've been able to keep this up, and hope to continue for many more! :)

Saturday 5 February 2011


I'm now officially 17. It's not all that different from being officially 16 really, except you can imagine you're like Zac Efron from 17 Again, except this is in fact my first time of being 17. Oh well, not so similar then.
Spent the last three days in Cambridge University on a shadowing scheme, so excuse me if I'm a bit head-in-the-clouds, and yes, when I get time I will do some art with some of the photos I took around the colleges :) Happy February everyone!

Friday 28 January 2011


A change in the weather this week, and with it a change of heart, where I am it definitely feels colder, and the atmosphere these last few days seems pretty depressed - or maybe that's just me. Here's to the weekend and remembering that Spring must always follow Winter (even in England, eventually) and after that Summer will finally arrive; bringing with it a mass of sunshine, warm weather...and exams.....