Cafe Kino Exhibition

I had some hand sewn cupcakes being exhibited at Cafe Kino in Bristol. There were folk from all over the world in this exhibition who craft very cool foodstuff like knitted donuts and crocheted fruit for example. Cool huh? It was curated by Amy Spencer who has written a book about modern craft culture. Trouble is, the exhibition is finished now (wah!) but if anyone stumbles upon this post and has photos of the cafe in full swing I would love to see 'em. Cheers!

Panda Plushie

This bank holiday it's been raining all bloomin' day and Jack is rehearsing so I've been in the flat all by myself listening to the Beirut album. Swirly accordions and ukuleles and sunny brass section. Makes my head swim its so gorgeous! Anyway, I decided to try something slightly different with the egg shaped things that I've been messing around with. A cute panda. I'm in the middle of another doll too. I hope she comes out as well as the last one. I'm planning on making her face bit bit more detailed this time. It takes so long! I wish I had a sewing machine sometimes, but I don't have the brains nor the space in the flat to use one!

Mermaids

After a roller-coaster of a week at the greeting cards studio, I think I can finally relax a bit. The studio is to be shut down in late June as they can't afford to keep it open, but my job as a cute illustrator is safe at least and I won't have to relocate, it is possible for me to do my regular day job from home. Phew! I am so relieved. It just would have been a real struggle if I was made redundant, but I feel such unhappiness because the designers at Poppy Hill Studio are just awesome folk and we are going to miss each other so much.

On a good note though, these black & white mermaid illustrations are new embroidery designs. I think these are great. I liked them so much I have added colour to my favourite one.

Little boggers Again!

I found an article that features my Little Boggers. Its true they are dead easy to make, but its the idea that counts right? I mean, surely we're tired of cuddly bears and kittens now. Don't the kids want something different these days? (maybe not huh?). the article is here at Design-Your-Life.

ballet

New ballet designs for Bunnycup Embroidery.

Waitress

I haven't painted digitally for a while and I've got a few sketches of characters that I've been wanting to develop, so here is the first. She's a waitress. I've been fishing around for a lot of different textures... Woods, marble and felt to use in this. It has no purpose. It's just personal development work.

The Merry Crone

The Merry Crone is my first listing on Etsy . I finally stuck my neck out. I'll try and add a new listing every day. If anyone is out there who also has an Etsy shop and would like me to heart them, then just leave a comment and I'll come and check out your store! ;)

Old Lady & Her Cat

I'm so excited because I have just set up a new shop to sell my handmade goods on Etsy. I haven't listed anything yet, but just getting an account has opened up a new world of discussion forums with DIY crafters from all over the world. It's huge! A bit daunting maybe, but a new challenge that I'm looking forward to.
I have been sketching characters in my sketchbook that I'm also very pleased about. I'm undecided if I want to paint them traditionally or digitally yet, but I'm happy that I'm happy with my work for a change! I've been having many periods of doubt about my illustrations, but I must be going through a positive stage now. I hope it lasts a long time.
There is also a new blog from the "Real Illustrators" discussion forum. Its still in it's fledgling stages with few posts, but hopefully it will grow and grow.
R.I Blog

Mazestock 2007

Ah, it's Mazestock time again. Its a huge private party we throw for all our friends every summer. This is the party invitation. As we have bands playing this year I've tried to combine a folky festival theme with the maze theme. Info is sketchy, but as the flyer is public we don't want a herd of unruly drunks crashing it and doing a "Racheal Bell" on us all. It's all done on photoshop. I scanned in a load of felt and used it as a texture on a design that was created in Illustrator.