the tail end of christmas...

This year I did some lino printing for my christmas cards, which were inspired by a delightful craft night at Lucy's. I think some of them could have done with more colour but I was happy with the results.

Christmas and new year was a bit of a blur for me this year. My birthday is sandwiched in the middle and it feels like a lot happened in a very short space of time.

It's also weird when it goes from a really busy time in December to a sudden stop in January. I'm going to try and be productive this month to counteract the void.

two's a pair

My contribution to a giant game of memory that is being held at the V&A this Friday. Come along for some fun and games! I hope to make a fleeting visit.

seasons greetings!

I've now achieved everything on my Christmas to do list and feel very much in the spirit of things. The festive corsage has been out on display and I've wrapped all my presents (apart from one, which i'm REALLY hoping the postman delivers today!).

I've sent most of my christmas cards too. I went with a pigeon theme this year (who would have predicted?!):



Merry Christmas to you all!

storm clouds and sunny skies

Just when we were thinking this house hunt was going to be impossible we stumbled across a spacious palace of a flat around the corner and said yes within the hour.

Quick decisions make me nervous, but then again so does everything, and I feel very sure that this is a good decision.

No more sleepless nights worrying if the storm is going to collapse our roof.

No more wiping my ceiling and walls with a tea towel.

And no more mouldy kitchen cupboards.

New year, new house!

Above are some treats I prepared for Rosie's birthday at the weekend.
A birthday card with help from my favourite new book & a teapot cake (see it post-decoration here).

We had an AMAZING time at lucky voice on Monday, followed by an awful couple of days filled with rain and house viewings (and the aforementioned pigeon incident). Blue skies are here now though, and I hope they're here to stay.

3 birthdays & a thank you

LET'S CELEBRATE ! ! ! !

handmade cards • a forgotten banner • some beautiful, but very VERY sweet cupcakes

love is in the air

I'm not sending any valentines cards this year but if I was I would definitely send one of these:







Beautiful e-cards, each by a different artist.
And check out the rest of the site too as there is more lovely stuff.
x

this is... how i like to spend my weekend

relaxing, visiting family & friends, playing games:


(at least for this weekend anyway)
check out more here
x

a shop update

I just wanted to let you know I've updated my shop with these typographic greetings cards:


It's a custom listing so each card will be made especially to order with whatever message you please!
x

another card.

This time for a birthday:


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a couple of goodbyes

here are some cards i made yesterday for a couple of friends who are moving back up north next week:


(i also gave each of them one of my pigeons too)

x

book fair

Just an update to let you know how I got on at the recent Press & Release artists book fair in Brighton. I held a stall there with a group of friends from my MA course so we had quite a wide selection of books & ephemera for sale which I think was a good plan. I made some books & cards & stickers:


I wasn't sure how popular the fair was going to be, or what kind of crowd it was going to attract, so I went down the small & inexpensive pathway (as there are oh so many students in Brighton) and I did quite well. I managed to sell quite a lot of items and I even sold one of my books to a representative from the Tate library. This means that in a few weeks time my book will have been catalogued and will be part of the Tate Artists' books collection. Exciting news!

The books I made were based around the topic of collective terms for animals as I found a lot of the names were quite interesting & often a bit bizarre (e.g. a parcel of penguins). I created 4 different mini-books - jellyfish, magpies, snails & mallards - all using a variety of illustration techniques, and I packaged them up with a gift card & some stickers. Here are some spreads from the books:


I think this is a series I'm going to try and add to over time as I really enjoyed illustrating the animals and there are a lot more interesting collective terms to explore. In fact a lot of people didn't believe that they were real terms and thought I'd made them up.

Now I'm considering listing some of the left over items from the book fair in my etsy shop, but I'm not sure how well they would sell on etsy - any opinions? Thanks in advance.

x

happy snaps

it's my brother's birthday on wednesday so i've made him a card.
x

no not again

whilst tidying my room today i found a copy of this card i made for my friends & family when i moved to brighton last year.
just thought i'd share it - it was when i was going through a phase of loving primary colours (which i still do!).

x

mothers day

i've just made my mum a mothers day card to accompany the presents i've already prepared for her ---> the two brooches and this framed picture:



i also popped some handmade vouchers inside the card for her to "cash in" whenever she pleases. these include having tea made for her tea all day & having a homemade lunch of her choice, amongst others. it made me feel quite like a child when i was making them, but that is ok i feel. better to feel young than old. (maybe)

i'm off out for an italian tonight which will be most delightful. though as i have given up cheese for lent (i thought it would be a good personal challenge) i think it is going to be quite a mission to find something on the menu i can eat. italian food is so yummy and full of cheese. i'll do my best to avoid it though.

in other news, i registered with this bookcrossing website today. i heard about it aaaaaaaages and have been meaning to have a peek for a while now. it is such a lovely idea, leaving books around for other people to pick up and read. one of my friends found one once on a train and i think that is where i got wind of it. so i've now decided to take part and have released my first book into the wild.
well, actually it wasn't so much my book as it was derek's, but we've both read it and i have told him that i am not giving it back (this is a much better idea). i would, of course, have let one of my own books loose but i recently gave a bundle to charity so don't have any to hand that i am willing to part with at the moment.
so hopefully my book will be found soon and i'll be able to find out what other people think of it. a great thing about the site is that you can see how many books are currently 'loose' in the local area, and where exactly they are. apparently there are 5 (now 6!) lurking in my town at the moment so maybe i should go out on a book hunt. i think it would be oh so exciting to find one!

x

floral

i made my mum some brooches today, for mothers day. they were made from a tutorial in this book (with some slight variations) and i made two in different colours so she'll always have one to match the outfit she's wearing (if she likes them that is, fingers crossed!)

i really like the Crafter Culture Handbook (a birthday present) and also created these thankyou cards the other day for my swap partners, which were based on another brooch tutorial in the book:



obviously i am into making matching pink and blue things at the moment!
i need to get making a mothers day card too - maybe that'll go on tomorrows 'to do' list (alongside getting her another little gift!).

yesterday i accompanied my friend daniel to a rather posh event at 'aquascutum' in london (free champagne and canapes, who could say no?!) so it was a rather splendid afternoon/evening out, and when we left we got a wonderful goodie bag with lots of v.nice bits and bobs - some magazines, a candle and some skin products (i like free things).

when i was in london i bought a splendid new skirt:



just look at that BIG wooden button! who could resist.

it was also mike's birthday yesterday, here is a little birthday greeting i made him:



that is about as far as my skills go in illustrator. i really need to improve - lessons would be good so i might look into that.

we are off out for a meal on saturday so i'm going to fix him up a nice card by then (and possibly make him a little something else too).

....and that is about all i have for show and tell today, so bye for now.

x