Ok so where has this week, actually no, this year gone?! How can it be December tomorrow? This week has literally passed in a blur with loads going on. I don't even know what I've really done all this week, it's just a blank spot in my mind!

There won't be a post for today's 5 Tips Friday. Been really busy with uni course work this week -just have a look at my uni blogs, they've been updated loads this week. 

I've seen The Christmas Tag so much over the blogsphere during the past few weeks. With it being December next week I feel like it's definitely ok to! I also love Christmas and tags, so this is pretty much perfect. If you love them both to you should definitely do it as well!

If you haven't heard/seen/read yet, well, Folksy have now made it available for shop owners on their site to run discount codes! The way it works is very similar to Etsy and with Etsy being incredibly popular, I think is why they have brought it in.

It's been a while since the last Found This Week, so prepare yourself for loads of awesomeness!

> This tutorial is such a great but very simple and easy to do idea!

Welcome to the first edition of 5 Tips Friday! To start this series of, we're going to start right at the beginning- the design process. The design (or creative) process is really the fundamental for creating a good piece of design. Although you may stray from it slightly, the design process is there for a reason- because it works. 

At the weekend, I was back in Edinburgh once again for a short break away! This time it was just as busy as the last but with a lot more sight seeing stuff on the agenda! This post is for Day 1(ish) and 2! 

During the last #cbloggers chat we were speaking about all things to do with creative ruts. At the end of the chat it was put forward for people to mention any designers, sites, really just anything they found inspiring which brings me to today's feature. Lauren-Dorkfeatures linked a video she had been watching earlier, from a guy called James Victore and since then I've been hooked! 

It's been a little while since I last properly updated this blog that wasn't a scheduled post. Over the past week I've had a bit of mental time and since I wasn't at home for my Sunday Summary I felt a mid-week update would be a good idea!

This Sunday Summary is obviously very late but I was away on holiday so it took a bit of a back seat for then! I didn't want to just miss this one out because it was a huge week and so much went on. So I've still got it uploaded but I've scheduled it to the right date. 

It's kind of crazy to think that this month I have been blogging here for about a year and a half, with 'blogging' over on tumblr for a previous 3 years. Throughout that time and my (current) 2 and a half years studying Graphic Design, I feel that I want to give something back. With so much knowledge that I've gained and knowing how quickly the industry can change, I felt I would start with this blogging series "5 Tips Friday", to use as a way to give back.

Last week I shared the new blog design I had created for Charlotte over at Colours and Carousels in my Creative Update. So today, I felt I would speak a bit more about the design, the process and how we go to the final design/illustration. 

Also found this week:

> Jemma's reflective post is so amazing and I'm glad things have got better for her

> Pretty much the best way to plan any projects/commission work

> This drink sounds like the perfect one to have one cold autumn/wintery nights! 

> Need to print this off as I am definitely one who falls into the winter blues! 

> Awesome test I did this week to see how many words I can read per minute (about 240) How many can you read? 

> I'm pretty much in love with these shoes

I'm thinking about this week just now and it's honestly all passed in a flash! So much has gone on that I'm struggling to remember it all. 

Last Tuesday, I finally graduated with my College Class. It was a bit weird in all honesty to be doing it, especially after sitting through my sisters University one during the Summer.  

It's been a fair while since I've shared my last creative update or any updates that haven't had anything to do with my Uni work so it was about time I caught you all up. Over the past few months I've been kind of crazy with doing custom pieces for commissions and gifts and creating a blog design. I've loved being able to work on these projects as they are different from my Uni work and it feels good to work on something that is either: A) totally my own, B) a gift for someone, or C) a piece of work with a great person. 

Also from this week...

> Working in retail and I can say I make these faces usually at least once every shift

> My friend Clare is back on YouTube with this awesome Zombie Makeup Tutorial

> Since I only started drinking tea this year, I can relate to many of these struggles

> Usually drunken happenings in Aberdeen are very bad but this is very funny

What awesome things have you found this week?

This week has literally been insane! Looking back over the week, I have had something on each day that has made the day mental, some more so than others. I'm going to probably write individual posts on a lot of what actually happened this week but here's the low down...

Dear November,

This month has been so crazy, especially this past week. I've had so much going on over this month from Uni feedback week, seeing Lee Evans live and finally graduating from College! The weather has been turning more and more autumnal like (even though it has stayed quite warm and dry) but I've been getting into the Autumnal way like most people. I'm also really proud of myself for basically reading 3 books (I'm like 100 pages of my third one, close enough though) this month- the most I've read in a time period this year!