We signed the contracts for our new place today. We're moving Boyf's stuff tomorrow, but mine is waiting a week. VERY exciting. Must go remove a tonne of stuff from off my working desk as that is going tomorrow. Squeeee!
Friday, 23 October 2009
Say it With Fabric
Our JimBob (that's Boyfriend, by the way) bought me a lovely little present this week. I'd stumbled across Fabric Rehab (now that is an awesome shop name; so apt), and in particular Australian company Prints Charming, and sent Boyfriend a link to them with the vague notion of planting Xmas present ideas in his head. But, Lo and Behold, the next day this little wedge of Fat Quarters turned up. Ain't he good? I think some patchworking is in order for these. I heart Scandanavian-style design.
We signed the contracts for our new place today. We're moving Boyf's stuff tomorrow, but mine is waiting a week. VERY exciting. Must go remove a tonne of stuff from off my working desk as that is going tomorrow. Squeeee!
We signed the contracts for our new place today. We're moving Boyf's stuff tomorrow, but mine is waiting a week. VERY exciting. Must go remove a tonne of stuff from off my working desk as that is going tomorrow. Squeeee!
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Monday, 19 October 2009
A Bit of a 180.
Soooooooooo, I put all my dancing ladies together and at first I was pretty happy with the result. I knew I'd have to tweak the text a fair bit, but in general I was pleased. Then I printed out the rough at 100%.
Eeek. It was WAY too busy for the small size of the card.
OK, I said, I just need to alter the idea so there's not so much going on. How about this?
I ummed and ahhhed a lot about this. A LOT. I was in a pretty bad mood for most of Saturday. Boyfriend can attest to that. (Sorry again, by the way.) I decided to sleep on it, picked it up again Sunday afternoon and knew it was just wrong. Again, too much detail for such a small card.
So then I was faced with the conundrum: what the bloody hell do I do now?!
I felt bad about abandoning this idea. I liked where it was going, it's simply that the Christmas card size is fairly small. If it were one of my usual large-size postcards I was making then I don't think it would be such an issue. I like my dancing ladies a lot, so I'll use them for something else. Maybe some kind of poster, or a new set of screenprints. There's no such thing as wasted work.
So, anyway, I scribbled about a bit yesterday and came up with a new, simple idea that is much easier to execute. So easy, in fact, that I did the whole thing today. It's been uploaded to Vistaprint and should be with me within 14 days. Here's just a sneaky peek:
I manage to experiment a little with it, too, which I'm quite glad about. Although you can't really see it in this small section, I've only used colours from within PhotoShop, not any scanned textures. The sky is painted, but that's the only "real" colour. I used a paint brush to ink the outlines, and I've removed some of them in places to give it a kind of retro/screenprint feel. I'm so glad it's done now. It was beginning to stress me out and I really wanted to get it done before packing everything up for moving, especially as after this Saturday I won't have my working table. What a weight off, though! Now I can go pack without worrying I'm going to box up some paints or something that I'm going to suddenly need!
Eeek. It was WAY too busy for the small size of the card.
OK, I said, I just need to alter the idea so there's not so much going on. How about this?
I ummed and ahhhed a lot about this. A LOT. I was in a pretty bad mood for most of Saturday. Boyfriend can attest to that. (Sorry again, by the way.) I decided to sleep on it, picked it up again Sunday afternoon and knew it was just wrong. Again, too much detail for such a small card.
So then I was faced with the conundrum: what the bloody hell do I do now?!
I felt bad about abandoning this idea. I liked where it was going, it's simply that the Christmas card size is fairly small. If it were one of my usual large-size postcards I was making then I don't think it would be such an issue. I like my dancing ladies a lot, so I'll use them for something else. Maybe some kind of poster, or a new set of screenprints. There's no such thing as wasted work.
So, anyway, I scribbled about a bit yesterday and came up with a new, simple idea that is much easier to execute. So easy, in fact, that I did the whole thing today. It's been uploaded to Vistaprint and should be with me within 14 days. Here's just a sneaky peek:
I manage to experiment a little with it, too, which I'm quite glad about. Although you can't really see it in this small section, I've only used colours from within PhotoShop, not any scanned textures. The sky is painted, but that's the only "real" colour. I used a paint brush to ink the outlines, and I've removed some of them in places to give it a kind of retro/screenprint feel. I'm so glad it's done now. It was beginning to stress me out and I really wanted to get it done before packing everything up for moving, especially as after this Saturday I won't have my working table. What a weight off, though! Now I can go pack without worrying I'm going to box up some paints or something that I'm going to suddenly need!
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Monday, 12 October 2009
CKG Day
Today I've been on a discussion day with other people from B&H Libraries and, indeed, with people from other libraries all over the south east. We got together to discuss some of children's fiction books and picture books that have been nominated for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway awards to be awarded next year. It was a very interesting day. I've been reading like mad the past few weeks just trying to get through the six junior fiction/teenage titles and the eight picture books up for discussion. We voted on which two from each category should go through for consideration for the shortlist, which will be announced in April 2010. Some fantastic JF, but, most of all, some AMAZING picture books. I was longlisted myself for "Munch" back in 2005, so it was doubly interesting to see how the nomination process works.
I bought The Troll, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by uber-hero David Roberts a couple of months ago. I just love DR's illos; I want to be him. (In a strictly professional sense, of course.) But, the surprise love-at-first-sight moment for me today, though, was Millie's Marvellous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura.
EVERYTHING about this book is fantastic - the story, the colours, the detail, the characterisation...love, love, LOVE it. I've not really paid much attention to Satoshi Kitmura in the past, but I'm definitely going to go through his back catalogue. This one is going straight on my Amazon Wishlist for Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, I've just started scribbling ideas for my Christmas card. I think I'm going with "Nine Ladies Dancing" from "The Twelve Days of Christmas", with colours inspired by the lovely Ikea decorations I saw last Friday.
I've already started my Christmas catalogue collection. Sainsbury's was first off the mark this year - I picked theirs up on 1st October. I have a Waitrose one, too, which is just full of lovely, lovely things to get me in the festive mood. SUCH nice food in there.
At Crimbo you're allowed time off for good behaviour when it comes to diets, right?
I bought The Troll, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by uber-hero David Roberts a couple of months ago. I just love DR's illos; I want to be him. (In a strictly professional sense, of course.) But, the surprise love-at-first-sight moment for me today, though, was Millie's Marvellous Hat by Satoshi Kitamura.
EVERYTHING about this book is fantastic - the story, the colours, the detail, the characterisation...love, love, LOVE it. I've not really paid much attention to Satoshi Kitmura in the past, but I'm definitely going to go through his back catalogue. This one is going straight on my Amazon Wishlist for Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, I've just started scribbling ideas for my Christmas card. I think I'm going with "Nine Ladies Dancing" from "The Twelve Days of Christmas", with colours inspired by the lovely Ikea decorations I saw last Friday.
I've already started my Christmas catalogue collection. Sainsbury's was first off the mark this year - I picked theirs up on 1st October. I have a Waitrose one, too, which is just full of lovely, lovely things to get me in the festive mood. SUCH nice food in there.
At Crimbo you're allowed time off for good behaviour when it comes to diets, right?
Saturday, 10 October 2009
We Have Confirmation
The flat is going to be ours! Woo! I've been trying not to think about it too much, just in case it all goes wrong, but this week it was confirmed that we can move into the new flat in Hove from the 24th. That's two weeks' time. Eek! Unfortunately, pretty much everyone else is off from work the week beginning 26th, leaving me in charge, so I can't take that week off to properly move in. I have booked the following week off, though, so that's when the main move will happen. Lots to do before then. I've been putting off sending the RV postcards out, but I'm going to do that before this coming Tuesday and begin work on my Christmas card idea - not that I have any inkling what that's going to be yet! I'd like to have it all done before the move.
Boyfriend and I went to Ikea yesterday afternoon to buy new bedlinen and decide on a new bedframe. We need a wardrobe, too, but neither of us are very keen on the selection there. I think that'll be a second hand, charity shop, paint-it-in an-awesome-colour job. Boyfriend made me laugh trying out all the office chairs and pretending to be some big-shot business man. I've never known a dude to be so keen in a furniture shop. I also managed to get a couple of Christmas presents and spent a good 20 minutes getting excited over all the nice red and white decorations they have in for this year. I'll have to go back to pick up a few.
I also found this awesome tray while I was there. Not sure if I'll eat off it - it's bit too nice for that - so I may keep it on my desk to organise my smaller arty bits and bobs:
Suffice to say, I hung around the fabric department for ages touching all the pretty cloth. There's this amazing new range that's patterned more like a large print, or even like a roll of wallpaper - one with crabs and sea life on it, one like a park with squirrels and trees, one with birds in cages... All VERY nice, but I can't seem to find pictures of it online anywhere. Maybe it's too new.
Right, I'm going off to play with zips and buttons. Photos to come.
Boyfriend and I went to Ikea yesterday afternoon to buy new bedlinen and decide on a new bedframe. We need a wardrobe, too, but neither of us are very keen on the selection there. I think that'll be a second hand, charity shop, paint-it-in an-awesome-colour job. Boyfriend made me laugh trying out all the office chairs and pretending to be some big-shot business man. I've never known a dude to be so keen in a furniture shop. I also managed to get a couple of Christmas presents and spent a good 20 minutes getting excited over all the nice red and white decorations they have in for this year. I'll have to go back to pick up a few.
I also found this awesome tray while I was there. Not sure if I'll eat off it - it's bit too nice for that - so I may keep it on my desk to organise my smaller arty bits and bobs:
Suffice to say, I hung around the fabric department for ages touching all the pretty cloth. There's this amazing new range that's patterned more like a large print, or even like a roll of wallpaper - one with crabs and sea life on it, one like a park with squirrels and trees, one with birds in cages... All VERY nice, but I can't seem to find pictures of it online anywhere. Maybe it's too new.
Right, I'm going off to play with zips and buttons. Photos to come.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Handmade
Here's my stall from Sunday:
It was a enjoyable show with a good, constant crowd of people who seemed genuinely interested in what was for sale. Lots of other lovely stalls, but I managed to restrain myself from buying anything. I was a bit worried about the venue when we got there and realised it was the same room they have the weekend comedy nights in (ie dark and industrial looking), but once all the stalls were set up it looked fab. I didn't sell loads - no prints at all! - but a fair bit. The Scrabble tile badges were very popular, so I'll definitely make more of those to put up in the various shops. I'm so glad it's over, though! I didn't have that much to make, but all the packaging and sign-making took forever. Boyfriend did a stirling job helping me with everything. Not sure he envisioned spending his whole weekend that way, but he didn't complain once. Ain't he good, eh? He was well rewarded Sunday night with bangers and mash for dinner, followed by homemade apple & plum turnover and Cookies & Cream ice cream.
Hmmm....just remembered there's two thirds of that tub left....
It was a enjoyable show with a good, constant crowd of people who seemed genuinely interested in what was for sale. Lots of other lovely stalls, but I managed to restrain myself from buying anything. I was a bit worried about the venue when we got there and realised it was the same room they have the weekend comedy nights in (ie dark and industrial looking), but once all the stalls were set up it looked fab. I didn't sell loads - no prints at all! - but a fair bit. The Scrabble tile badges were very popular, so I'll definitely make more of those to put up in the various shops. I'm so glad it's over, though! I didn't have that much to make, but all the packaging and sign-making took forever. Boyfriend did a stirling job helping me with everything. Not sure he envisioned spending his whole weekend that way, but he didn't complain once. Ain't he good, eh? He was well rewarded Sunday night with bangers and mash for dinner, followed by homemade apple & plum turnover and Cookies & Cream ice cream.
Hmmm....just remembered there's two thirds of that tub left....
Friday, 2 October 2009
Print Mania!
In the last five days I have sold NINE prints. NINE. This is - so far - unheard of! My Big Bad Wolf print was mentioned on two blogs, Cowdy Calling and Quest Twenty Eight, and I've just been made a Folksy Featured Seller for this week! So exciting! It does means I've been to the Post Office rather a lot this week, and I'm going to have to invest in a lot more cardboard tubes. (I wonder if this is what it's like to be The Black Apple??!!! Hehe.) Thanks for all those who have mentioned me and/or bought prints. Very much appreciated.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Superfrog Unleashed!
Well, what a crazy couple of weeks it's been. Rushing here, there, and everywhere, finding places to live, filling in paperwork, getting ready for a craft show, library work, a wedding, shopping for said wedding, running out of money, trying to kick ex-Boyfriend's arse into gear, updating websites, filing my Tax Return, getting a cold.....the list goes on and on! Anyway, in the midst of all the chaos, a huge box of Superfrog books arrived for me last week:
Now they are out there in the cosmoverse, hopefully travelling wide and bringing me universal acclaim! It's strange to think about all that hard work I started this time last year, and how it kept me busy for five months. It was tough going at times, seemingly never-ending, and it was bloody difficult trying to think up different ways of incorporating white areas for the text that weren't just obvious blank patches in the illustrations! I'm pretty happy with them, though. One of the rare occasions where you get the finished product and don't hate it! Obviously there are bits that stick out like a sore thumb to me, bits I would do differently now, but overall I like them a lot.
Now they are out there in the cosmoverse, hopefully travelling wide and bringing me universal acclaim! It's strange to think about all that hard work I started this time last year, and how it kept me busy for five months. It was tough going at times, seemingly never-ending, and it was bloody difficult trying to think up different ways of incorporating white areas for the text that weren't just obvious blank patches in the illustrations! I'm pretty happy with them, though. One of the rare occasions where you get the finished product and don't hate it! Obviously there are bits that stick out like a sore thumb to me, bits I would do differently now, but overall I like them a lot.
Monday, 28 September 2009
Friday, 25 September 2009
Logcabins A-Go-Go
This is my first attempt at any kind of patchwork:
I did it Sunday evening while making Boyfriend cook the roast dinner instead of me! I just sat down at my newly-service sewing machine, took a whole load of Ikea fabric I had left over from making my aprons back in the spring, and just started cutting. I have to confess I've never read any kind of quilting book - bar sighing at the pretty pictures in a few - so I'm probably not doing it "right" at all, but I like the kind of "free and easy" approach to making a wonky logcabin square like this. It's really quite addictive, and uses up so little fabric; I've still got loads left even though they were remnants to start off with. You can see in the photos that some of the corners are a bit dodgy, but I'm rather chuffed with my first attempt. It ended up measuring 80cm square, so I think I'm going to turn it into a big cushion cover FOR OUR NEW FLAT!!! Boyfriend and I found a nice flat in Hove last weekend. We've put a holding deposit down and are just waiting for the results of the referencing. I don't want to say too much right now as I'll only jinx the process. Suffice to say, I am already skint and likely to get more so before moving day!
I did it Sunday evening while making Boyfriend cook the roast dinner instead of me! I just sat down at my newly-service sewing machine, took a whole load of Ikea fabric I had left over from making my aprons back in the spring, and just started cutting. I have to confess I've never read any kind of quilting book - bar sighing at the pretty pictures in a few - so I'm probably not doing it "right" at all, but I like the kind of "free and easy" approach to making a wonky logcabin square like this. It's really quite addictive, and uses up so little fabric; I've still got loads left even though they were remnants to start off with. You can see in the photos that some of the corners are a bit dodgy, but I'm rather chuffed with my first attempt. It ended up measuring 80cm square, so I think I'm going to turn it into a big cushion cover FOR OUR NEW FLAT!!! Boyfriend and I found a nice flat in Hove last weekend. We've put a holding deposit down and are just waiting for the results of the referencing. I don't want to say too much right now as I'll only jinx the process. Suffice to say, I am already skint and likely to get more so before moving day!
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Handmade Brighton 4th October
I am currently in the process of getting ready for this:
Do come along if you're in the area. (And if you fancy buying a few things off me, I won't complain!) There's also a blog here to accompany the show telling you all about the work of those who are taking part. I think I'm on the second page. Busy! Busy! Busy!
Do come along if you're in the area. (And if you fancy buying a few things off me, I won't complain!) There's also a blog here to accompany the show telling you all about the work of those who are taking part. I think I'm on the second page. Busy! Busy! Busy!
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
OK, OK, So I am RUBBISH...
I said I'd blog over the weekend, but those two days turned out to be rather crazy. I'm aiming for a good, old, proper update this Thursday instead. To keep you going, here's a lovely, shiny, autumnal conker:
Thursday, 17 September 2009
And The Time Has Gone Where, Exactly?
Whoa. What a crazy week or so! Deadlines here, work there. It's all been going on. I promise I'll do a larger update over the weekend, as I have plenty of images and photos to share, but I need to wait for daylight and five minutes in which to take and/or upload a few photos.
In the meantime, here is a photo I took with my Fisheye camera last summer in Preston Park, but I only got the film developed this week. What would I do without my digital camera?!
In the meantime, here is a photo I took with my Fisheye camera last summer in Preston Park, but I only got the film developed this week. What would I do without my digital camera?!
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
RV Postcards Are Here!
And they're looking pretty good. (They're not the best photos as I took them last night as the light was rapidly fading, thinking I'd blog them right away. Shoulda waited, eh?) Woo! There's a little glimpse of the back there, too. They've come out a little darker than I was expecting, but that's actually quite nice as it adds to the night-time feel. I'm very happy with the b&w back sides - I went for a vertical back, too, which is unusual but works well with the front image. Very pleased. Just got to get posting now.
I've had my feedback on the cover roughs I did over the weekend and generally the comments are good. Not too many changes and they love the characterisations I came up with. Hurrah! Off to tweak them a bit more now...
Monday, 7 September 2009
Barry the Spotty Piglet...
...is a character I've been playing around with for the two book covers/new illo job I mentioned last week. This is just a sneaky snap-shot of a section of my initial idea for cover no.1. I'm sure it'll change a lot in the following weeks!
I was just getting used to the idea of autumn, when today turned out to be summer again. It even seemed a bit frosty as I left the house this morning just before 8am, so I took my scarf! My scarf, I tell you!! Suffice to say I had to slap on some Factor 50 for the walk home. It's supposed to be nice all week, too. But I'm in the mood for soups and socks now!! Bah.
I went to look at a flat after work today. It would've been perfect (ticks all the boxes size, price and location wise) had it not been in the basement of an awesome 1930s block. Just too dark. Oh well. Plenty of time to keep looking! I just got carried away with the idea of living there, as I always do.
Well, as I've sent off my cover ideas and not heard back from them today, tonight I shall eat rigatoni with home made pesto and tomatoes, watch cookery programmes on iPlayer and maybe even do a bit of ironing. Rock 'n' Roll.
Sunday, 6 September 2009
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Superfrog!
Two of the four "Superfrog" books I illustrated late last year/early this year are out next Thursday. The other two are out later in the month. Check out the Amazon page here! Woo!
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
Getting Excited!
So today is the 1st September. If I could get up to London and back again in time for work, I'd be at King's Cross Station right now with an owl and a trunk freaking out the commuters! There's a definite "back to school" feel in the air, and I'm restraining myself from going down to Paperchase and buying a new pencil case. My letting agent has written to ask if I'm staying in the flat at the end of the tenancy, and Boyfriend and I have already started to research suitable places and locations for our new place.
Autumn is fast approaching. Hurrah! I'm not the biggest fan of summer. Alright, I like the lovely vegetables that are around, and barbeques, and the long evenings and sitting out in the garden on them, but as I don't have any kind of outdoor space I feel I'm rather missing out on the best of what the season has to offer! Bring on the crisp, brown leaves, golden sunlight, frosty mornings, scarves, boots, coats, roasts, stews, hot chocolate, walks in the park or on the beach, feeling schnuggly and warm as the evenings draw in ... lovely, lovely, lovely.
I hopefully have a new illo job in the pipeline. I was getting a little anxious about the lack of work, but I keep reminding myself that summer is always slow, and once everyone gets back from their swanky holidays and starts panicking about the lack of time left until the Frankfurt Bookfair in October, the jobs should start to come in again. I'm on a tight budget now, though, as I have to save to be able to move; it's such an expensive process. No more afternoon teas out, then. Better for my waistline, anyway, as I'm starting a diet today, too! I always feel much more motivated to start things at the beginning of the school year, rather than the beginning of the calendar year. At work, the kids will come back on Thursday, so my six quiet weeks of learning about how this library works will be over, and there'll be a whole load of new stuff to take in!
Red Velvet is now a postcard that is being printed as we speak, so until the details for the new job arrive, I'm working on re-vamping my website. It'll be a larger job than it should be as I lost all the files for it when the old HD died on me. This means copying it all from the website that's up there, rejigging it all to fit in my new work and uploading it all at the end of the month. Sigh. The same thing happened with my accounts, so I'll have to sort those, too. Can't be helped, I suppose. Technology, eh?
Ooo, all raring to go now! Stuff is starting to happen and that's always exciting.
Autumn is fast approaching. Hurrah! I'm not the biggest fan of summer. Alright, I like the lovely vegetables that are around, and barbeques, and the long evenings and sitting out in the garden on them, but as I don't have any kind of outdoor space I feel I'm rather missing out on the best of what the season has to offer! Bring on the crisp, brown leaves, golden sunlight, frosty mornings, scarves, boots, coats, roasts, stews, hot chocolate, walks in the park or on the beach, feeling schnuggly and warm as the evenings draw in ... lovely, lovely, lovely.
I hopefully have a new illo job in the pipeline. I was getting a little anxious about the lack of work, but I keep reminding myself that summer is always slow, and once everyone gets back from their swanky holidays and starts panicking about the lack of time left until the Frankfurt Bookfair in October, the jobs should start to come in again. I'm on a tight budget now, though, as I have to save to be able to move; it's such an expensive process. No more afternoon teas out, then. Better for my waistline, anyway, as I'm starting a diet today, too! I always feel much more motivated to start things at the beginning of the school year, rather than the beginning of the calendar year. At work, the kids will come back on Thursday, so my six quiet weeks of learning about how this library works will be over, and there'll be a whole load of new stuff to take in!
Red Velvet is now a postcard that is being printed as we speak, so until the details for the new job arrive, I'm working on re-vamping my website. It'll be a larger job than it should be as I lost all the files for it when the old HD died on me. This means copying it all from the website that's up there, rejigging it all to fit in my new work and uploading it all at the end of the month. Sigh. The same thing happened with my accounts, so I'll have to sort those, too. Can't be helped, I suppose. Technology, eh?
Ooo, all raring to go now! Stuff is starting to happen and that's always exciting.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Bob da Fwog
Look how cute this little dude is:
I picked him up in the Lego shop here in Brighton on Churchill Square for the bargain price of £1. He's to raise funds for charidee, in particular The National Autistic Society, who is Lego's charity partner for 2008-10. Go spend a quid on a sweet lil' fwoggy and raise money for good causes at the same time. Go on.
I picked him up in the Lego shop here in Brighton on Churchill Square for the bargain price of £1. He's to raise funds for charidee, in particular The National Autistic Society, who is Lego's charity partner for 2008-10. Go spend a quid on a sweet lil' fwoggy and raise money for good causes at the same time. Go on.
Friday, 28 August 2009
York
Just a few photos from York this past weekend. I have a tonne more to sort through, but I'm sure I'll get there soon enough!
Friday, 21 August 2009
Take ME Home!
This is a poster and display I did this week in my new permanent library:
It's quite cool to have more responsibility and be able to do fun things like new display boards and sort out all the leaflet promos. This one is to try to get you to take new(er) books home and give new authors a try. I also made a set of bookmarks that the borrowers can take, too. Awesome fun.
I'm off to York for a long weekend with Boyfriend bright and early (ie stupid o'clock) tomorrow morning. Can't wait. Hopefully I'll have lots of photos to share, unlike when we went to Oxford last year and I was too busy looking around to remember to take many. I've even cleared my memory card for the first time this year in readiness! See y'all next week.
It's quite cool to have more responsibility and be able to do fun things like new display boards and sort out all the leaflet promos. This one is to try to get you to take new(er) books home and give new authors a try. I also made a set of bookmarks that the borrowers can take, too. Awesome fun.
I'm off to York for a long weekend with Boyfriend bright and early (ie stupid o'clock) tomorrow morning. Can't wait. Hopefully I'll have lots of photos to share, unlike when we went to Oxford last year and I was too busy looking around to remember to take many. I've even cleared my memory card for the first time this year in readiness! See y'all next week.
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