Life of Pea

French Fancy

2008-03-02T17:48:00.002Z

Hello! You know how I love Momiji dolls? Well, I found out about a competition to design 3 new dolls and this is my first one. She's called French Fancy and loves crusty french bread with a selection of cheeses- camembert is her favourite!
On the 'no TV' front things have gone well. I've only had a couple of relapses when I have really wanted to watch the news as I feel like I don't know what's going on in the world! I also confess to watching one documentary about Baby Bible Bashers which made me feel really sad and I wished I hadn't watched it!
The TV ban has really made me realise how much utter rubbish is on TV and how I really can do without it. I've gone out more during the week- last week I went to the Duffy gig in Leeds- without having to think "oh, I can't go out because so and so is on!" (Which sadly is sometimes how I used to feel if I was addicted to a certain programme!) I am going to go back to TV but will be choosing what I watch much more carefully and tuning in a lot less often. Try it yourself- you CAN do it! x

Blogs I like

2008-02-17T10:27:00.003Z

Sharing blogs is part of the fun of blogging and often you think you may be the only one who knows about a blog. So today I thought I would share the Book The Cook blog with you.
If you've not heard about him before David Hall was on Masterchef last year and has set up his own business where you can hire him to cater for you if you're holding a dinner party. He will come round to your house and cook and judging by the recipes on his blog it would be a very delicious meal! I only know about him as he is a friend of a friend of James! His blog is great to read and he's very passionate about food so even if you're not going to attempt any of the recipes, have a look!
Since we started the TV ban over a week ago we have been cooking from scratch more often and last week we made the spicy pea, mint and apricot stew. It was really tasty and we will definitely be making more from the blog. I should have taken a photograph but we ate it up far too quickly!

Berlin

2008-02-14T20:55:00.005Z

Nice new noticeboard

2008-02-11T19:26:00.001Z

Yesterday afternoon with my new found time (see post below) I covered a magnetic noticeboard with this quirky, seventies style fabric which I bought from Frau Tulpe in Berlin. Now I have had this noticeboard (from a well known Swedish furniture outlet) for at least 10 months so I am very glad I've finally got it covered! Next on my list are some cute magnets and then I can use it!

No TV for a month

2008-02-10T20:02:00.000Z

Do you think you could go a whole month without watching any TV? That's what James and I have decided to do and we began our quest on Friday evening.
Now I do like my TV- documentaries, comedies, cookery programmes, a bit of reality TV, the odd soap and the news- and during the week a typical night has been spent flopped on the sofa watching around 3 hours of TV before going to bed. Our excuses? We are tired after work and it's the easy option during the dark winter nights to just crash out and switch the TV on.
Meanwhile, we always complain that there's never any time(!) to do the housework, do exercise or go out for the evening. Craft projects I have been wanting to do for ages remain untouched and my blogging has also been rather sparse.
Now maybe it's the fact that we've just returned for a great holiday in Berlin, our favourite, creative city that has got us all motivated, but whatever it is as long as we stick to it I think our lives will become more interesting and our time much better spent. Already we are feeling happier and more positive about all the time we've now 'found' to do whatever we want. It sounds ridiculous but I'm feeling quite excited about our evenings now and how we can spend all this lovely, free time we'll have. And it's as simple as not pressing a button!
You'll be hearing from me very soon.

Peaches

2008-01-22T21:07:00.000Z

Ooo what an awful few days at work...these floods have caused real havoc and it took me 2 hours to get home last night which is double the usual time...then this morning I had a horrible early start of 5.45am to make sure I got to work on time as all the trains were cancelled and I had to get a rotten coach instead! And then I get home tonight all tired and moody, only to find I've been sent a beautiful new friend from the lovely, generous Ladysnail.

Thanks Ladysnail! She will be a big sister to this cute keyring I got for Christmas.

Looking after Chip

2008-01-13T12:59:00.001Z

This afternoon James and I went round to look after a very cute little bunny called Chip. He belongs to our good friends Kate and Si and is their new house rabbit. They're away in Paris for the weekend so we agreed to pop round to feed, water and entertain Chip. Do look at Kate's website by the way, she's a very good illustrator and she has a lovely hand writing style too. Even the note she left for us is done in her quirky, illustrated way.

Anyway, onto Chip. He was very difficult to photograph as you can see...
Leave me alone!

Didn't you hear me??

Ok, you can photograph me but I'm going to move.

You may be holding me but I can still turn my head away!

Mmmm...hay!

He was very well behaved at first and we let him out to run round the flat. I think all the attention Chip got made him over excited as he then had a mad pooing session and we had to put him back in his cage and quickly clean up so that Kate and Si won't suspect anything when they return! Shhh, don't tell them!

Happy New Year

2008-01-06T14:20:00.000Z

A new year is like a blank canvas, just like these Russian dolls I got for my birthday. January is a great time to decide what you will change this year and to reflect on the past year. I don't make resolutions but I have decided that I need to make time for myself to do crafty, creative things in my spare time. I have lots of craft projects which I never got round to last year so I am going to make sure I do them this year, I MUST! I have want to make cushion covers, a sock monkey, a jewellery stand, recover my noticeboard and also do some illustrating.
My first project is to paint these brilliant Russian dolls. They are quite small- the smallest doll is about 3cm high (or should I say short)!

One of my Christmas presents was this beautiful book illustrated my Mary Blair and published in 1961. I love the illustrations which are quirky and stylised and yet I think they still look fresh and modern too. I love the sweet little song sheet at the back of the book!If you are interested, you can see some more of Mary's gorgeous work here. Mary was an American artist who did work for Walt Disney, working on Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. She also illustrated packaging and greetings cards. It's really lovely stuff so do look if you get the chance.

Vintage fair

2007-11-06T18:06:00.000Z

Ooops! Is it really that long since I posted on my blog? Yes. Sorry. I'm always so busy with this full-time work malarkey and most nights by the time I'm home I just want to flop onto the sofa and drink cups of tea (always with biscuits.) But I've been meaning to blog about my finds at a vintage fair I went to about a month ago at Leeds Town Hall. It was great and I could've spent a lot of money so I had to restrain myself. There were lots of beautiful things there from bags to clothes to collectables and I did fall in love with a mirror compact that was £110. I didn't come home with that but I did get these:

A black glove box decorated with a painting of a bird and some flowers (I have a mild obsession with birds!) and a pretty mirror.
These aren't vintage but I thought they were cute:

And James bought this fully working retro phone:

Ladysnail strikes again

2007-10-16T22:20:00.001+01:00

Look what the lovely Ladysnail sent me on Saturday! Along with a good luck card for my new job she gave me these fabulous momiji stickers. I love them! Anything Japanese sends me into a spin but these are extra special as they were a surprise from a lovely blogging friend. Do check out Ladysnail's blog and Etsy shop which sells cool toys and she has just added some handmade cards which are gorgeous. By the way Ladysnail, I have the Peaches doll so now she has her own sticker too! Thanks x

Take a sidestep to your right

2007-10-06T13:30:00.000+01:00

Now, everyone has a list of blogs they like and always visit and that's fine. But it can all get rather incestuous with everyone having all the same blogs on their lists and so I thought it would be great to find a blog I've never read before and share it with you. Then you can discover new blogs and maybe introduce me to some too. It's taken just three clicks to find this blog. I clicked onto Monkee Maker's blog (which is really funny and one of my faves and definitely worth checking out if you want a laugh), then I chose to click on Little Cotton Rabbits, which led me to Little Thing's blog which is truly lovely.
Hope you think so too. Where will three clicks take you?

Somewhere over the rainbow

2007-10-05T19:54:00.001+01:00

Well. My first week is over and I am loving my new job. Here are some reasons why:
1. Lovely people
2. Very interesting, exciting work
3. Lots of freedom to create
4. Money
5. 9- 4.30, yes, you read that right!

I haven't been this happy in months. I feel like I have finally found the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow.

My first day at work

2007-10-01T19:05:00.000+01:00

was FAAAAAAAB! No time to say any more as just going out now to see New Young Pony Club.

Home Treasures

2007-09-30T15:35:00.000+01:00

Your grandmother's wedding ring? Darts trophies? A special photograph? If you had to grab one item what would it be?

I love this photo of my Grandma with my sister and I taken a year ago. My grandma died this February and this photo is very important to me.

These paintings are also special to me. The pink camel was painted by my friend Marie and she gave it to me for my birthday and few years ago. I painted the painting of my Grandma when I was doing GCSE art, so about 12 years ago!

Your Sanctuary

2007-09-30T15:14:00.000+01:00

It's on Friday that home becomes your sacred space. Do you chill out, re-boot or get away? Is the TV your saviour or a nice Pinot Noir? Share your friday with us.

Hmm...as this photo project goes on I feel I'm desperately trying to scrape together 3 half decent photos. It doesn't help that James has been away since Friday so I can't ask him to take any photos of me so all you have here are a few photos summing up me getting ready to go to my friend Sarah's.

I start my new job tomorrow and am nervous!

I love vintage!

2007-09-28T14:31:00.000+01:00

Does anyone remember this shop that I blogged about months ago? Well, if not it's a gorgeous shop on Hyde Park corner in Leeds and it is well worth a visit. Retro Boutique sells vintage furniture, clothes, bedspreads, bags, jewellery, mirrors, artwork and lots more. It's great to go there and just have a nosey round. I went yesterday as I was actually looking for some furniture and got these beautiful art deco drawers. They're from the 1930s and I'm in love with them! I bought them because I liked them so much so their period is irrelevant really- I would've bought them anyway- but it's lovely to get something with a bit of history and character and to wonder about who owned them before. My original plan was to get some Ikea drawers which would've cost more and had no character at all. I'm glad I got these.

Look at the handles!

Then I went next door to this shop which sells very high quality vintage clothing and a few bits and pieces:

The first time I went here I was scared to go down the stairs. The entrance is painted black and it's very dimly lit...I was worried I was entering some sort of dodgy 'parlour'! This display is on the wall as you go in:

I found this lovely painted japanese table which I must've seen about 4 months ago. I couldn't believe it was still there and scooped it up straight away. I love it!

It has a music box in the back so when you open the drawer it plays a little tune. I thought it was so cute and very me and no way could I have left it in the shop. It wasn't even for sale, it was part of the display but the owner let me have it for just £10. What a nice guy.

Dinner Time

2007-09-28T11:02:00.000+01:00

Show us what's for supper! Who's on a diet? Who's not?! And who's that eating on their lap in front of the television? The plate says it all. Come on, let's have a look!

Well, this really isn't typical of my evening meals- I often cook something nice from scratch. Last night there wasn't much in so I had this ready prepared stir fry. I was eating alone as James was working late, as you can from empty chair in the last photo.
Speaking of James, perhaps I over estimated his levels of easy-going-ness. He was shocked and upset that I hadn't consulted him over the photos of him getting dressed before I plastered them all over my blog. Ha ha! He'll get over it but I'll have to be more considerate in future!

Midday Madness?

2007-09-26T17:00:00.000+01:00

Who's at home? Children? Friends? Just you having a peaceful lunch? Whether it's a calm moment or a crazy toddler-fuelled one, we'd like a peep.

Not very hectic at mine but anyway here's a photo of my lunch. For those of you who have stumbled across my blog for perhaps the first time, don't worry, I'm not mad (debatable), I'm just doing the Uk At Home photo project this week. Toasted bagels with cream cheese and 2 very lovely congratulations cards which arrived this morning (I didn't eat them!) I saved them until lunchtime to open so I had something to look forward to with my lunch (how sad!) I especially love the card on the left which my auntie sent me- she lives in the US. It's so cute with the pigs' snouts made of a tiny pink button. Very me!

Morning Rush

2007-09-26T09:00:00.000+01:00

Cereal, toast, lunch boxes, showers, feed the dog, off to school, off to work. Quick, quick! Snap, snap!

Oops! I was meant to take these yesterday morning but James got up at 6.30am and I just couldn't get up at that hour...so I took this set this morning at a more reasonable 7am. I took some of these shots using the 'burst' program on my camera. This setting doesn't allow flash but you can take several photos in a row. I think the blur adds to the sense of haste. Incidently, all the excitement and distraction of being photographed whilst getting ready for work led James to take both sets of keys to work. So I'm locked in until lunch time!

Now, which three shall I submit?

The big tour

2007-09-24T19:49:00.000+01:00

Show us what makes the place where you live your home. Capture the essence and emotions- the nooks and crannies, the cat curled up in its favourite place, the piles of laundry after the weekend, whatever says it all about your home.

Not sure how well I've answered this brief, but here are a few of my photos from today. I must say that doing this project today has made me really look at my home and see things that I ignore every day in a new light. I have to face up to the fact that we are messy (even though I like to think I'm not!) I've had good fun taking these photos and trying to get nice shots from what is a fairly small, basic rented flat. We've lived here for 3 years though, so it is home.
I can submit up to 3 shots for today's project and am finding it hard to decide which ones to use. What do you think?

Take a snapshot of home

2007-09-23T15:14:00.000+01:00

I don't know if any of you get The Guardian on a Saturday but this week I found this in the Family section (which for some reason is my favourite bit even though I have no kids):

What does "home" mean to you? The table covered in spilt cereal? Curling up for a bedtime story? Everything just so? Or total chaos? The creators of a new book and exhibition, UK at Home, would like to find out, so they are asking the public to take photos of their homes- and what goes on in them- from Monday to Sunday this week.
The organisers are looking for pictures of a specific time or space each day (listed on the website), as well as general shots that show the character or our homes and how we use them. A book and exhibition is planned for February.
www.ukathome.co.uk

I don't start my new job until 1st October so I'm up for a creative challenge this week. I will post the results on my blog- no idea if they will get into the book but I'm doing it for fun really. If anyone else is interested (Penny, your kitchen is ace so you could take some great shots!) then let me know- I would love to see them.

Breaking news!

2007-09-18T17:10:00.000+01:00

Please excuse this crazy photo of me because...I'VE GOT A JOB!
**Woo hoo! Yippee!**
Yes, I'm very happy! I'm not one to boast but in this case I feel I must tell you about my amazing good fortune. I applied for two different greetings card designer jobs in the hope that I might get an interview for one of them and then, hopefully, I might get one of the jobs. I kept this all hush-hush so that I didn't have loads of people asking me how it had gone in case I didn't get interviews for either.
Well, I got an interview for the first company and was told that about 100 people had applied and they were only interviewing 3 (including me!) This interview went really well and I went back for a second. This also went well. While I was waiting to hear the outcome of these interviews, the second company asked me to go for an interview too! I wasn't expecting that. I went along and had a good interview where I was told they'd had 70 applicants and were interviewing 15. So, though I thought I'd done ok I knew there was a less than 10% chance of getting the job.
The next day they rang me to offer me the job! I was flabbergasted. I really did not expect it. The two women who interviewed me said the minute I left the building they said to eachother "she's the one"! I was stunned.
Then the first company rang and also offered me the job!
After a few days of serious contemplation I decided to accept the position as junior studio designer at the second company, which is Carlton Cards. I will be designing Christmas cards and will still be illustrating sometimes! I feel very happy and lucky but, as James keeps reminding me, they are lucky to have me and it's because of my talent and years of illustration experience that I've been hired, not just luck. I hope this doesn't sound arrogant!
I was totally prepared to give up illustrating and thought I would just be doing the design side of things, so to hear that I'll be still be able to create illustrations is brilliant news. I'll even have my own wacom tablet!
Boast now over. Thanks for all your lovely comments on my previous post.x

The return of Pea

2007-09-07T19:37:00.001+01:00

I know. It's unbelievable. I've written a new post after nearly 2 months!
As you can see, here I am smiling at you for having patience and checking in on me now and again. This time you have been rewarded!
Not that I'm going to write anything mind-blowingly interesting but I am going to explain myself. I apologise now in case I go on a bit. Now, settle down, get a cuppa and I will tell you my story.

Since I was very young drawing and illustrating has been my passion. After university I decided I really wanted to be a children's book illustrator and put years into developing my work and promoting myself. It was a struggle at times and I had to do many (sometimes awful) part time jobs to pay my rent but I kept at it and began to get some illustration work. I was represented by an agency which was fairly rubbish and barely got me any commissions but I managed to get by with work I found myself. Friends and family suggested that I get an 'art-related' job which always annoyed me because it was like they didn't believe in me and thought I should give up on illustrating.
I found illustration forums and started my blog. Last year I left a horrible call-centre job to concentrate on illustrating full-time and my agency was taken over by a new agent. Things were looking up and there was a big increase in the amount of work I got. I was working flat out and so pleased to be doing well as an illustrator. Finally I could show friends and family and, most importantly, myself that I could do it!
Sadly this wasn't to last and no more work came. I remained positive, doing all I could to promote myself, generating new illustrations and postcards to send out to publishers. In the back of my mind I also knew I had my agent working hard too, so I was bound to get something.
But I didn't. Instead, I began to lose faith but with a very supportive boyfriend I kept going and decided to tailor my postcards to the greetings card market to get new clients. I did many designs and sent them out.
A frank email from my agent, seven months without work and lots of rejections letters left me very depressed and I had a long, hard think about my future. Illustration had been my passion but now it felt like my enemy. I couldn't bear the uncertainty any longer and slowly came to terms with having to try something else, whether permanently or temporarily. I researched many possible alternatives and began to apply for jobs- but only jobs that I viewed as interesting, art-related and with the potential to be good careers.

For those of you who are a tad bored, here's a nice photo I took of a bumble bee:

Feel refreshed? Right. So now I am awaiting the outcome of a couple of interviews, though I don't want to say more than that at this stage! (I'm always telling anyone who'll listen about my up and coming work only for it to fall through, so I'm trying to be a bit more cautious.)
I know I've not been doing my own blog but I have been reading yours. They've cheered me up and made me feel connected to creative people. The same with the forums- I've been lurking in the distance and hope to be ready to come back soon, even if I'm not an illustrator anymore. I've accepted now that I can find happiness in a different creative career, I may or may not go back to illustrating, whatever I decide is OK as long as I'm happy and well. And finally I am NOT a failure! Woo hoo!

Handbags

2007-07-17T17:45:00.000+01:00

Following on from the success of my dress, I made two handbags last week. I have loads of fabric in the loft and it was fun to choose which ones to put together.
The first one features my lovely button from Penny and Toby and it goes really nicely with this floral fabric. It also matches the brown of the checked lining fabric. The bag has an inside pocket and a loop to fasten it with.

I got the pattern and instructions from this nice lady's blog. Look at her tutorials on the top left. It was quite hard to follow because I was sewing in the living room and then coming back into the office every five minutes to check the computer to see if I was doing it correctly! It took me about a day and a half to make which sounds a bit too long when you look at the finished article. My first attempt though, so I'll forgive myself!

I got cocky with the next bag because it was my second go. I didn't need to look at the pattern as much because I knew what I was doing (or so I thought!!) Silly me. I made a couple of minor mistakes which I won't point out. That will teach me. Anyway, I'm still pleased with it. The bag is black corduroy with a silky, shiny, slippy, navy-blue lining (a nightmare to work with but it looks nice) and I've made a pocket too. The button is from Duttons for Buttons in York which is an amazing shop selling gorgeous buttons of many different sizes and shapes. This is quite a simple button but it's nice and shiny and contrasts well with the texture of the corduroy.

I've made a dress!

2007-07-11T10:38:00.000+01:00

Hello. Yesterday afternoon I spent about 4 hours making a dress. I've never made any clothes before so am quite impressed. Most of the 4 hours was spent deciding how I was going to do it and being scared to start cutting the fabric in case it all went wrong. The actual sewing part didn't take too long.
I started with this black top/dress which I found in Primark reduced from £8 to £3. I chose a cheap top because I was only going to chop it up.

Not a great photo but you get the idea. So then I tried the dress on and decided where to cut it. That was the scary part..I cut slowly in a straightish line. I then attatched my deer fabric to make the rest of the dress. I've done it very basically- no pleats or anything- but I'm really pleased with it. The top is a stretchy, jersey fabric and the deer material was a cotton so I had to be careful when sewing them together to make sure I didn't pull the top out of shape.
Here is the finished article:

In total it cost me £15 and I know you could buy a dress for that price these days but it was so satisfying making it myself. Also, nobody else will have one! It's not perfect (I wouldn't like to show you the stitching inside) but I'm pleased with it.

Three cheers for Ladysnail!

2007-07-10T11:38:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I decided to buy one of Ladysnail's rainclouds. It arrived this morning but it wasn't alone! But before I go into that, here is the raincloud. I only asked for three raindrops but Ladysnail added an extra three so I now have six! Very kind and generous of her.

The raincloud and raindrops are screenprinted onto a cream coloured fabric. It looks lovely and even better in real life. What I didn't know before I bought it was that the 'strings' between the raindrops are not just bits of cotton thread; they're strung with cute, transparent beads which give it an extra detail and they look great. Look:

Hope you can see that? Anyway, moving on... these little friends were also included as a complete surprise!

A Pidgeon, which Ladysnail also sells on her blog (if she has any left), a g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s Ladysnail card with a beautiful button, a little tooth (which was too shy to photograph) and a selection of glittery threads to hang up my new friends.
Now that they've been here for nearly two hours, they're slowly getting used to their new home. Ladysnail advised a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive is the raincloud's favourite treat, so he's had a cuppa and a choc chip cookie (which he said would do) and he's been fairly talkative ever since. He's told me about his brothers and sisters and how he'd love them to find friendly homes. He said the journey was scary but the Royal Mail staff were quite gentle with him. Here he is in his new home:

Pidgeon was very quick to settle in and flew toward the lounge window to be near the trees outside. She said she's too tired to talk at the moment but is looking forward to having a chat later. Here she is:

The little tooth has been more subdued. I think he just needs a good night's sleep. He's very shy and a bit wary of my kokeshi dolls. I'm sure he'll be fine.

Thanks Ladysnail, such a kind, generous, thoughtful blogging friend xxx

Stormy, cloudy sky and cute, little deer fabric!

2007-07-09T17:56:00.000+01:00

I took this photo earlier today of the view outside my studio window. I think it's rather symbolic of the way I'm feeling at the moment. The dark clouds seem to be taking over but then there's a hint of light poking through. Now the view is very sunny, so hopefully that's a good sign.

This cuter than cute fabric arrived for me today from Reprodepot. Little deers dancing all over the place. They do it in a few colours and also one with sausage dogs. I'm a big fan of dogs but these little deers were even cuter! I only ordered it a week ago and it's all the way from the USA, so I'm impressed. My plan is to 'make' a dress from it. I've never sewn a dress before so am cheating...watch this space and I'll show you what I mean!

Monkey: Journey to the West

2007-07-06T17:21:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday night James and I went to see Monkey: Journey to the West, at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. It was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! The music was composed by Damon Albarn and all the costumes, set design, illustrations and animations were designed by Jamie Hewlett, who both worked together on the Gorillaz. (Sorry if you already knew that!) It tells the story of Monkey who accompanies characters Tripitaka, Pigsy, Sandy on the road to enlightenment. They encounter gods, demons and lots of weird creatures on their way.
A combination of opera, martial arts, music, animation and circus acrobatics, it was truly spectacular. The performers were unbelievably agile and there were so many jaw dropping things going on you didn't know where to look in case you missed something else. Giant unicycles, back flips-a-plenty, contortionists, cast members flying through the air, spider women, buddhas, sea creatures, people balancing on eachothers heads- some using only one hand for support, imaginitive, funny and gorgeous costumes and magical music.
Haha, I haven't been paid to write this but was very impressed. It really is worth going to see- last night tomorrow then it moves on to Paris.

A lovely gift

2007-07-06T17:14:00.001+01:00

A prettily packaged gift arrived for me this morning from Penny, Toby and Lawrence. A beautiful golden brown button, the same as the green one I have! Thanks so much xx

Button ring

2007-06-22T12:05:00.001+01:00

James bought me this cool, knitted ring to cheer me up as I've been feeling down lately.
It combines two of my favourite things- a big, bold ring, and a funky button! Because of the way the button is cut, it sparkles in the light too as you can see in the top photo. Thanks James x

Mermaid revisited

2007-06-05T16:19:00.001+01:00

This is a mermaid illustration I did last autumn. I was very pleased with her but didn't really work on the background. Today I've done the sea and the seaweed at the bottom. I don't usually like revisiting old work but she deserved an environment to live in. I think she's ready to go on my website now.

Retro Boutique

2007-05-29T14:21:00.000+01:00

Just look at this *fabulous* shop! James and I discovered Retro Boutique at the weekend. It's a big shop on Hyde Park Corner in Leeds (for anyone who may want to visit.) I'm a total sucker for retro and vintage shops, and if someone slaps the word 'vintage' on anything it instantly looks 10 times more attractive to me! I think a lot of shops know this trick now, so finding a genuine vintage shop is a treat. Everything was set out beautifully with gorgeous furniture and clothes, fabrics and jewellery. Delicious.

Before and after

2007-05-29T11:46:00.000+01:00

I did these card designs which I was happy with but after talking to the very helpful Penny, I decided to re-design them to make sure more of the 'action' was happening in the top third of the cards. I think the designs below are ready to be sent out to publishers now.

Ideas

2007-05-24T17:31:00.000+01:00

Here are two card ideas with the same girl but different coloured outfits. I need to put text on them so that they'll be ready to send out but apart from that they're finished. Think I prefer the red and pink girl myself. Bright pink is my favourite colour to use in my work and yet I would never ever wear anything in any shade of pink! It's just not me. Weird.

Sally Go Round the Sun

2007-05-22T10:02:00.001+01:00

Sally Go Round the Sun is a children's rhyme book I found in Oxfam. It is illustrated by a Venetian man called Carlos Marchiori and the book was printed in 1969.
The illustrations are so cool and I've been meaning to put them on my blog for ages. All the illustrations look like prints (not sure exactly how they were done) and there are quite a few thumb prints that the illustrator has used in his work. The heads of the clowns at the circus with the elephant above them are all made of thumb prints. Most of the illustrations use a maximum of 3 colours which is something I really like and would love to be able to do myself.
The book itself has lots of rhymes and songs in it, a lot of which would probably not be allowed to be published today! Many of the rhymes are really silly or weird or mean...I can't see any of these being published now!
Fatty, Fatty, two by four,
Couldn't get through the bathroom door!

Peter and Paul and Pinch Me
Went down to the beach to bathe.
Peter and Paul were drowned,
And who do you think was saved?
- Pinch me.

Ice cream and jelly
And a punch in the belly.

Open your mouth and shut your eyes
And I'll give you something to make you wise.

2007-05-16T13:38:00.000+01:00

Look at all these red and pink buttons that arrived today from Ebay! I love buttons and have a few craft projects in mind for these. They were a bargain at £2 for over 150!

2007-05-15T12:04:00.000+01:00

For those who can bear to look, here is the offending illustration! (Read post below- can't work out how to move this below it!)

Latest work

2007-05-15T11:33:00.000+01:00

For those of you who haven't seen them, here are the two card designs I've done recently. I need to do a number 1 card next. The number 4 card was finished with some help from James last night. I originally had a blue sky, no shadows and the boy and donkey were very small in the foreground so that you could see the whole of the donkey. It really didn't work as they looked so dwarfed by the gigantic number 4 cactus. I was in a mood and decided (as I so often do) that I can't draw and I should give up illustration (for the day or forever, depending on how bad my mood is). James always helps me through these times and luckily his suggestions meant this card now looks 10 times better. Thanks James x

Feeling stuck

2007-05-09T15:38:00.000+01:00

Over the last few weeks or so I've been going through a bit of a mopey period. There's nothing like having no work to knock your confidence and make you start to doubt your work. I'm on the up again now and am coming up with some children's cards ideas to send to publishers. The trouble is I can't quite decide which direction to go in. Looking through all the different card designs in the shops made me feel more confused as there are so many styles of card that I couldn't work out the do's and don't's of designing a card. So I decided to just do what I wanted and hopefully a publisher will like what I've done.
I've done two versions of the same card and am unsure as to which version I should stick with. The first style is a more commercial, bright (garish?) approach. After looking at children's cards in WHSmith I felt I should change my colours and make them brighter although it's not 100% my taste. I do want to get work though and am willing to compromise a bit with my work.

The second version I've done is in my painterly style and I did this one first, so wasn't originally planning to have a lion in the illustration. I do prefer this version and can add the lion to it but my main dilemma is whether or not it is bright enough and the right style for a children's card. Hmmmm. I think a parent would probably buy the first one. Any feedback would be great as I'm feeling stuck.

Skipton

2007-05-09T15:25:00.000+01:00

Over the bank holiday weekend James and I went to Skipton for the day. It just happened to be the Waterways Festival with lots of canal boats brightly decorated. It turned out to be a nice, sunny day too so that was a bonus. We went for a walk in Skipton woods which was lovely. Here are a few of my photos. My favourite is the close-up of the flower. I love using the macro lens on my camera and looking for little details to photograph.

Grrr

2007-05-09T15:23:00.000+01:00

These signs are just down the road from my flat and whenever I walk past I get annoyed and then laugh about the stupid use of speech marks and apostrophes. I know my dad hates this too so I'm posting these photos for him.

Supersampler

2007-04-24T10:54:00.000+01:00

These are some photos I had developed recently taken with my Lomo Supersampler camera. It has four lenses which each capture the image but there is a time delay between each shot. It's a very small delay- I think it's half a second- but it gives you time to move the camera in whatever way you like (if you want) to create interesting images. It also has no viewfinder so you just point and shoot. The Supersampler takes 35mm film and you need to use it in bright, sunny weather for the best results (though actually I think the sunset photo at the top works well). I like the darkness round the edges of the photos which is typical of Lomo shots.
After a few years of getting used to digital cameras, it was really exciting getting these photos back and not knowing what they would look like. I miss that element of surprise which you don't get with digital cameras. I think the only problem is that less and less people go to get 35mm film developed now and prices are already starting to increase.

Glam guinea pigs

2007-04-18T10:02:00.000+01:00

I've had fun over the last couple of days working in a completely different style to do these illustrations for James. He's a copywriter at an advertising agency in Leeds and came up with this idea for the Toni and Guy hairdressing academy in Manchester. It's work for his portfolio, not a running campaign, so there's no money involved but I am being taken out for a lovely, posh meal at a restaurant of my choice to thank me! Mmmmm!

Getting crafty

2007-04-13T16:46:00.000+01:00

This afternoon I've transformed this Ikea mini chest of drawers with some black paint and some beautiful Japanese paper that I bought on Ebay. I used spray mount to stick the paper on so that there weren't any lumps or bumps. It's not perfect but it's good enough!

Cat and mouse

2007-04-12T15:44:00.000+01:00

At last I have finished this illustration for the back of my latest promotional postcard. I'm keeping the background plain as there will be my contact details along the bottom.
Hopefully this mailout will result in a commission as I have no work at the moment. A job fell through a few weeks ago which I didn't expect. After a few crazy months it feels strange to not be under loads of pressure with work. I have plenty of things to be getting on with but I will feel a lot happier once I have more illustration work. I must enjoy this free time as who knows what's round the corner?!

Finished fancy dress

2007-04-02T18:08:00.000+01:00

My promotional postcard is finished now (I think). I never know when to stop playing around with the background and if I do too much I'll ruin it so I'm stopping for now and will see what I think of it in the morning. I've moved the boy in the frog costume slightly higher as he looks like he's jumping more than in my drawing.
I've decided against putting my web address on the bottom right as I think it will be nice to keep the image simple and strong. Let's hope it gets me some work.
Tomorrow I'll be drawing another fancy dress character for the back...hmmm...a ladybird?

Fancy dress

2007-03-28T17:36:00.000+01:00

This is a drawing for a new promotional postcard I am going to send out. I wanted to illustrate some toddler-aged children as most of my illustrations are slightly older children, and mainly girls. I tried to do this yesterday but it all went wrong with my proportions so I gave up. Returning to it today with a clear mind has helped and I think they look a lot younger than my usual characters now. I've made them chubby with bigger heads than normal. I think this adds to the young effect. I can't wait to start the colour artwork.
I'm ashamed to say I've sometimes rushed my postcard artwork, especially when I had no work last year and the months were flying by. I was trying to get the postcards done as quickly as possible so that I would get some work but this didn't always mean quality of work. I'm now in the fortunate position of not having to worry so much about money and so I'm taking my time now with all my illustrations, not just commissioned artwork.

A new look

2007-03-23T21:29:00.000Z

I'm very pleased with myself and my new look blog header. I'm absolutely clueless about html but thanks to Lorna, who gave me a link to some instructions on how to do it, I have now managed to change it.
Also today I have updated my website with quite a bit of the new work I've done over the last few months.
And as if that wasn't enough work for one day I have also made some final changes to the book cover for the project I 've just finished.

Calling helpful bloggers

2007-03-22T18:01:00.000Z

I've been faffing around with the new blog template as you may notice but the only reason I've upgraded it is because I want to design my own 'Life of Pea' header. I thought it would show you how to upload your own design and what the pixel dimensions should be but I can't find how to do this. If any knowledgable, kind person could advise me that would be great. :-)

My finished illustration

2007-03-22T17:08:00.000Z

Here is my finished illustration. I have uploaded it to my website. It looks a bit blurry when it's small- click on the image for a better view. Now I just need to add new work to my site and get some new postcards designed, printed and sent off.

Today's work

2007-03-20T18:31:00.000Z

I'm working on a new illustration for the first page of my website. I do like the image that is already there but I feel it's time for a new one and hopefully people will think 'well, if she's updated her first image, there must be new work on the site.' Which of course there will be when I've uploaded it! I hope to have done that by the end of this week.
So what you see here is my drawing which I've started to work up in colour. It's sort of a self- portrait as the girl has the same hair as me and I have just bought a dress like this! I'm rather pleased with the dogs because I dread drawing dogs for some reason and I think these have turned out well. Must be the combination of my dog wallcharts and my new desk!
I'm waiting to hear back from the British Association of Adoption and Fostering who I've just finished a book for. They're not keen on the front cover I've done and I've been trying to defend it and explain why I've illustrated it like that. I will have to see what they decide. I hope they do change their minds because going back to a project once it's finished is something I don't really enjoy.

My new studio

2007-03-19T11:28:00.000Z

Well, not quite but it feels like it! On Friday I went to Ikea with my dad and bought this desk. A simple thing, I know, but when you've been using the dining table as a desk for the last 2 years it seems special. Now I can leave all my drawings out instead of having to clear everything away every time we want to eat. I've moved my orchid in and my kokeshi dolls now have a new home on the window sill. I also have an oil burner so I can burn some oils to relax me if I'm stressed about a deadline.

Here are the before and after photos.

On the walls are all my Guardian wallcharts, useful for reference but also just nice because I love animals. Facing my desk and mac are two dog wallcharts. On the wall you can't see I have pigs and goats, cats and horses and ponies. Just need to get a commission that involves animals now!

I can't believe a few posters and a new desk has given my studio such a different feel. I should have done it years ago. It feels so much better and I can't wait to start working in here. I've always thought living in a rented flat has been frustrating because I can't put up shelves or paint the walls or create my ideal home. However, these simple changes to this room have given me inspiration for things I can do in other rooms which aren't necessarily permanent but DO make a difference.

On my desk is a photo of my Grandma who died recently. It was taken at the seaside in the '50s and she is with my Grandad, dad and uncle. I love this photo and think it looks like a scene from a film because they're not looking at the camera and it's really intruiging wondering what or who they were looking at. My Grandma looks so elegant and beautiful. We were really close and I am missing her very much so having this photo on my desk means a lot to me.

A break in Settle

2007-03-15T09:36:00.000Z

After my 3 months of working non-stop, my boyfriend James and I went away to Settle in the Yorkshire Dales for 3 nights. It was so relaxing and great to be away from my mac. No checking emails and panicking that I should be doing work. I didn't want to come home!

We stayed at The Old Brewhouse which was the cutest, tiniest cottage ever, converted from an old printing shop.

We spent our time going on a few walks and saw some amazing scenery. We don't own any walking boots, anoraks or rucksacks, so we couldn't go on any serious walks which was a shame. We managed to still see some gorgeous views though. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Settle is a small market town and only had 3 pubs. They were rather 'local' but friendly all the same. We ended up seeing the same characters every night, whichever pub we were in. Everyone seemed to know eachother so we stuck out a bit! We also ate lots of naughty things like cakes and buns and pies. Being on holiday is always a good excuse!

Here are a few of the photos I took.

This sheep tried to stare me out!

It would be lovely to live in the country and as an illustrator I am very lucky that I could technically live anywhere but it wouldn't be very easy for James who works in Leeds city centre. Maybe when we're older.

Grandma

2007-02-16T19:55:00.000Z

Very sadly, earlier this week my Grandma passed away. We were very close and she was a lovely lady who will be missed terribly. I am going to take a few weeks out from writing my blog at the moment . I do hope to be back to my usual blogging self in time, so do please check back in a few weeks. x

Ricky Gervais

2007-02-14T11:18:00.000Z

Last night my boyfriend and I went to see Ricky Gervais. He was *so* funny! It was nice to get out of the house as I'm still working very hard and rarely have time off. I saw people and everything! (I'm starting to sound weird now...)

One project finished!

2007-01-31T17:55:00.000Z

I know it's 11 months too early but I finally finished the Christmas book I've been doing over the last month. I couldn't resist posting one spread from the book (not sure if I'm allowed too- oops!) Now I'm straight into my next commission which is a book for children who are being adopted or fostered for the British Association for Adopting and Fostering. It's a book with a strong message and it's nice to work on something a bit more serious. Not that I mind what type of children's book I'm illustrating- as long as I have work I'm happy.

Unazukin

2007-01-26T20:13:00.000Z

Meet my new friend! She is an unazukin, the latest japanese craze. If you've never heard of unazukins before, let me tell you about them. A cute, colourful, yes/no doll. Ask her a question and she nods her head once for "yes", twice for "definitely yes" or shakes her head once for "no" and twice for "definitely no." On the packaging it says unazukin is your special friend who loves to listen to your stories and questions!
Anyway, I love her and, if you've read my '6 weird things' below, you will already know I'm mad about japanese stuff. Seeing as I've been working so hard I thought I deserved a treat.

6 weird things about me

2007-01-26T12:20:00.000Z

I've been tagged by Joanna and am going to share 6 weird things about me. Not sure how weird they are really. If I've tagged you then I hope you don't mind. Just write 6 weird things about you on your blog and then tag 6 new people, letting them know on their blog that you've tagged them and direct them to your blog for instructions.

These are a selection of my weird things (I'm sure there are many more!)

1. I love all animals but especially dogs. I haven't actually got one myself and would love one but I live in a rented flat and it wouldn't be fair on the dog or my landlord. I'm amazed by how intelligent dogs are and am fascinated by guide dogs! Yes, I am odd.

2. I'm crazy about Japan and all things Japanese. This started when I read Memoirs of a Geisha about 5 years ago (before it was made into a film). I love it and it is still my favourite book. There is a shop in York called the Japanese Shop and I love going there. I have origami paper, a japanese bookmark with a lovely girl in a kimono on it, Japanese badges, a lucky cat, books, a momiji doll and a wooden Kokeshi doll. I would love to go to Tokyo and would spend an absolute fortune there.

3. I press the snooze alarm on my alarm clock too much. It goes off every 10 minutes and my record is 2 hours of 'snoozing' on a Saturday morning. Often I'm so tired I don't know I'm doing it. My boyfriend really appreciates it (ahem.)

4. My septum is wonky and as a result I can only breathe properly out of my left nostril. I need to have an operation for this but am scared.

5. I laugh at my own jokes. Often nobody else is laughing.

6. I don't like bananas when they turn too yellow- they make me feel sick. I much prefer the green ones.

I have tagged Ladysnail, Crafty Old thing, Emm@, Natural Attrill, Lucy in Stitches and Moopy and Me.

A little break

2007-01-09T10:40:00.000Z

Happy New Year and hope everyone had a nice Christmas. A bit late, I know, but I've been working so much. I'm going to be working very hard until the end of February- I'm not complaining as I know it could all stop as quickly as it started- but 7 day weeks do take their toll. SO I've just booked a little weekend break in the Yorkshire Dales for me and my boyfriend in March as a nice treat to look forward to after all this hard slog! Can't wait!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-23T20:06:00.000Z

I've not posted for quite a while as I've just been so busy with work! Also, can't really show you any work as it's not been published yet. I'm going to have Christmas Day off and if I work extra hard I may have a few other days spare. Just to wish you all a Merry Christmas- hope the elves get you what you've asked for!

Zzzz

2006-12-09T20:13:00.000Z

I am SO tired! I haven't posted for a while as I've been working 7 days a week. I'm working on two different projects at the moment and there's so much to do I can't give myself a day off. I'm very glad to have illustration work and am enjoying the commissions I'm working on but I do feel tired. I'm not really sure of when I last had a weekend off and I may not have one until the end of January. I've decided at 8pm on a Saturday night I am going to stop for the day. I really should go on until 9 or 10pm but I work badly when I'm tired and hopefully I'll be more productive tomorrow if I have an early night. Goodnight.

Follow your dreams

2006-11-29T12:14:00.000Z

After four and a half years of trying to make it as an illustrator I finally feel that I'm getting there. To anyone else who is struggling to get work- keep going, you will get there!
Over the years I've had many part time jobs including a horrible one at a call centre. I found it hard to fully concentrate on my goal to illustrate full time. I had a few commissions here and there but not very often. I got down because I didn't like the part time job and thought I wouldn't ever get any work. Family and friends suggested I look for a job that was art-related (their way of gently saying maybe I should give up!) I felt angry that they couldn't understand that the ONLY thing I wanted to do was be a children's illustrator. No other job would satisfy me or make me happy.
At the end of March this year I was lucky to be able to give up my call centre job and try to get work full time. My good friend Mike sorted my website out for me and I set about promoting myself like crazy. I got a few jobs but it hasn't been until this month that I've had several commissions through and am starting to feel more secure and positive about the future.
In the past I've wanted to give up so many times and thought it was all so pointless. It's been a struggle. I've developed several styles, taken a lot of criticism and had so many commissions lined up that fell through at the last minute. So often it would've been easier to give up. I'm so glad I didn't.
To anybody in this position- KEEP GOING! I know it's easy for other people to say but if you stick at it and do everything you possibly can then you will succeed. Good luck!

Fairy Tree House

2006-11-28T17:06:00.000Z

This is a commission that didn't go ahead but the publisher sent me this mock up that they took to Frankfurt bookfair. It's a real shame the project didn't go any further as it would've been really nice to do.

Farm

2006-11-22T15:53:00.000Z

This the latest illustration I've done- just finished this afternoon. The faces don't seem to look very clear on this jpeg but if you click on the image you'll see it bigger and better!

Amy Winehouse

2006-11-17T12:19:00.000Z

Last night I went to see Amy Winehouse at Manchester Academy.
She was brilliant! How can such an unbelievably amazing voice come from such a tiny girl? She had 2 really cool backing singers who danced the whole way through and (strangely) the saxophonist and trumpeteer (is that a word?) were wearing pyjamas!

Finally!

2006-11-15T20:02:00.000Z

This morning I finished redoing my babies illustration. Here are the old and new versions to compare. The new one(bottom) has shadows to give more depth and a new, stronger outline on the babies. I've left the more broken line on the nappy as I think it gives it a nice, fluffy look and I've deleted some of the cheeks as not all the babies are shy! I'm very pleased with it and am looking forward to doing some new work in this style. On Monday I'll be starting the commission I've just got (which will be in a different style), so not really much time to do anything new!

Cheeks

2006-11-13T18:27:00.000Z

Rosy cheeks in various shades seem to be my trademark. I think they make faces seem cuter. My boyfriend suggested that perhaps I don't need to always do cheeks- not everyone has rosy ones! That got me thinking, maybe I don't need the cheeks at all. I'm unsure so I'm posting up a baby with and without! Any opinions welcome ;-)

Two steps forward, one step back!

2006-11-13T18:11:00.000Z

Now that I've got the hand of creating new brushes in Illustrator, I've been continuing my quest to re-do my babies illustration, changing the 'chalky' line to a more solid-yet-hand-drawn looking line. It is taking a while because at the same time I'm adding shadows to create more depth. I always prefer starting a new illustration- I like moving on and not looking back! However, I really like this illustration and, on the advice of my agent who feels a bit more depth would make my work better, I'm soldiering on with this old piece! I can't wait to finish it though and try out my new techniques on a brand new piece of work.
Ironically, I have a commission that I'm waiting to hear back about and they want my old, flat style! Two steps forward, one step back!

Films

2006-11-10T10:24:00.000Z

Last night I saw a rather bad set of short films at the Leeds film festival. Usually it's the short films that I like the most- little, interesting, funny and clever ideas. Often you'll get a few not so good ones thrown in but sadly last nights bunch were nearly all in this category.
Work-wise I spent the day creating new brushes in Illustrator and getting to work on some ideas for a commission I'm doing at the moment.

Origami

2006-11-09T09:35:00.000Z

Tuesday was a better day and I got on with creating new brushes in Illustrator and reworking my babies illustration. Yesterday I didn't get much done as I was preparing for the art workshop I do in a primary school. Last week the children (6 year olds) were little terrors, so this week I was armed with sparkly stickers and a small prize for the best behaved child. We did some very simple origami models and then decorated them. The prize was this bird which I made at home. When you pull its tail, its wings flap. The little boy who won it seemed rather chuffed!
I feel in the origami mood now and will have to go out and get some nice Japanese paper.

One of those days

2006-11-06T19:41:00.000Z

I should've known today wasn't going to go well when I only managed 26 lengths at the pool this morning- usually I do 40!
I knew what I wanted to do today- re-working my babies illustration to add more depth and a stronger line- but it just didn't go according to plan. I spent forever trying to work out how to get a wobbly, hand-drawn line in Illustrator. The line I have used is not as bold as I'd like and looks a bit chalky. So I spent ages messing about with brushes and tried to create some of my own. Not as easy as it sounds! I posted a question on the AOI discussion board and, after a lot of help from a nice illustrator known as Frog, at 5:30pm I had finally worked out what to do...Very frustrating but I got there in the end. So this is all I've got to show for today. The line round the baby's face and the grey line round the pan are done in my new hand-drawn, bolder line and the rest is in the older, chalkier line. I've created several new brushes so that the lines don't all look exactly the same and hopefully it won't look too digital. I'm adding shadows and toning the cheeks down too. I'm quite pleased with my work so far(!)
I hope tomorrow is better.
It's the Leeds International Film Festival this week and I'm off to see about 5 films. I rarely go to the cinema all year and then go crazy and see as many as possible in 10 days! I'm looking forward to it but I'll probably have square eyes!

Fireworks

2006-11-05T17:33:00.000Z

Last night I went to my friend Sarah's fireworks party. I couldn't wait to test the 'fireworks' setting on my camera. Here are a few of the photos- some sparklers and some fireworks- I think they look really pretty!

Saturday night

2006-11-04T15:25:00.000Z

In The Guardian's Weekend magazine there's a weekly photography competition. They give you a theme to photograph and then you send in your photos. This is a photo taken last weekend for the theme 'Saturday night'. This really was my Saturday night which is quite embarassing but if it wins me a nice new camera then I don't mind.

Adding depth

2006-11-04T15:14:00.000Z

I have been working on adding more depth to my work. Here is the same illustration, before and after the depth treatment! It's only after meeting my agent and having a long chat about my work that I realised there even was a lack of depth in my work. Sometimes you really can't see what's in front of you and it's definitely worth getting other people's opinions.

Too bare?

2006-11-04T15:09:00.000Z

I've now illustrated a background for my mermaid and can't decide whether it is nice and simple or too bare. Sometimes when you spend hours staring at the same illustration it is very difficult to tell if it needs more wrk or if you should just stop. I'll post it up here and come back to it in a few days time.

2006-11-02T20:22:00.000Z

Mermaids

Over the last few days I've been working on a mermaid character. She was quite tricky to draw swimming towards me but I eventually got the hang of it.
I've worked one them up in colour, so I now just need to illustrate a background for her to live in!

2006-10-31T19:36:00.000Z

Hello

This is my first blog! I'm planning to use this blog to record anything creative I have done- mainly illustration work- but other things too. Hopefully it will encourage me to work harder but we'll see! Also it can get lonely working at home all the time, so it will be good to meet other hermits!
I will start with a couple of toys I made recently. The panda was my first attempt- I made the pattern- and the legs are a bit wonky. Apart from that I'm quite impressed with myself! I made the other creature for my friend Marie's birthday. Not quite sure who or what he is. I will try to make some more toys soon!