Cactus plant brooches

I am drawing and painting lots of plants recently, it must be because it's spring. Here are my new cactus brooches and each one has been painted individually on wood with an antique style pin glued on the back. I love these brooches because they are so cute to wear on springtime adventures- perfect to pin to your cardigan or backpack. If you want one, you can find them here in my Etsy shop.

Highlights of 2016

2016 has been quite a year, I started a new digital marketing job, had some amazing trips around the UK to The New Forest, Norfolk, Rye, Oxford and stayed in a yurt in Sussex. I also learnt how to crochet, got an allotment and dyed my hair pink.

Work wise, I began stocking some of my card designs in Paperchase and Scribbler via Whale and Bird. I worked on an exciting project for Lucky Dip Club, reached 200 sales and over 100 five star reviews in my etsy shop. Being interviewed by Just A Card was a great opportunity to share my work and I enjoyed illustrating a logo and lots of cakes for Rosina Makes. I made up a hashtag #girlswhomake to inspire and encourage other creative girls by posting questions on my Instagram and Twitter, it was fun getting to know everyone and I want to do more regular posts in the new year.

My new years resolution in the last year was to draw and paint more, which I did. In 2017 my goals are to improve my photography, learn how to sew and do screen printing. I also want to make more time for my creative work, get out of my comfort zone and collaborate with others.

Girl Planet zine

I love reading the Girl Planet zine that arrives every month with my Lucky Dip Club subscription. So when the editor, Zabby asked me if I wanted to illustrate the September issue I instantly said yes! I created artwork for the front cover, calendar, colouring page and an article about getting crafty down your local written by Dominique Bennett. Zabby also interviewed me about my art, this was featured on the LDC Loves page.

The theme for September was art attack so it was really fun to work on the illustrations. The contents of the box didn't disappoint either. I especially loved the handmade marbled pouch by Pup Tart and that giant rainbow eraser.

If you want to find out more about these super cute boxes filled with surprises, look up #luckydipclub on Instagram and have a peek at over 8000 customer photos.

Get ahead with your Christmas prep

If you have a small crafty business like me, it's that time again to start planning your marketing activities for the festive season. Work out what you are going to promote and how for popular shopping days like, Black Friday and Small Business Saturday. You could create a social media campaign, offer buyers a discount, advertise in your local newspaper or think about taking part in a craft fair.

To help you make a start on planning your promotions, I have made a list of popular Christmas {2016} shopping days.

Buy British Day - 1st October
Black Friday - 25th November
Small Business Saturday - 3rd December
Cyber Monday - 28th November
Free Shipping Day - 16th December

Have I missed out any key Christmas shopping dates? If I have, let me know in the comments.

If you like the robin card shown in the photo above you can buy it here

The New Forest

At the weekend I went on a mini break with my boyfriend to The New Forest. We did lots of walking in the woods, visited cosy pubs and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. There were plenty of cute animals and wildlife, it was lovely to see all of the donkeys, cows and ponies roaming freely.

I took my travel sketchbook with me to scribble in and collected pine cones, leaves and berries in the woods to draw. Also the ponies were so cute, I couldn't stop drawing them!

Hand painted fox brooch

Embrace the changing season with a new handmade fox brooch! You will have the chance to get one this Saturday from my etsy shop. This super cute piece of jewellery is great if you're looking for something a bit different to wear in the autumn. It's perfect to pin to your woolly cardigan or coat and wear on woodland walks or trips out to sip on mugs of hot chocolate.

I have painted these brooches individually so each one is a unique piece of art. They have been varnished and finished off with an easy fastening pin on the back. Only five have been made so far - don't miss out on Saturday! 

*NEW* plant pal notebooks

I'm EXCITED to announce that I've made my first ever notebooks and they've arrived in my Etsy shop!!! They are perfect for you to fill with all your happy notes! Including lists, love letters, dreams, poems and stories.

Letter writing paper - free printable

It's fun to write a letter and to receive one in the post! Instead of sending a text or email to your pals, why not send them some pretty snail mail?

I've designed this *free* spring inspired letter writing paper for you, which you can download here.

Print it out, write your letter and pop it in the post :)

Friendly reminder: This artwork is for personal use only and is protected under this license 

Thank you for your support!

I just want to say thank you for helping me reach 200 sales in my etsy shop! I'm so grateful for your support which allows me to keep painting and making all the weird cute things.

Hand lettering process

For as long as I can remember I've always loved drawing and painting letters. In a time where computer generated graphics and typography are most widely used I find it more satisfying to create my lettering by hand. Although I digitise my lettering at the end of the process, I like the fact the hand rendered result is more expressive and unexpected to anything I could produce from scratch on the computer.

I like to work as spontaneously as possible so I rarely use a pencil to outline the letters. I prefer the unpredictability of painting with ink straight onto paper. My favourite type of ink to use is Parker Quink and I have lots of different size / shaped brushes that I work with. 

After I've painted the letters in my sketchbook I normally scan them onto my computer and import them onto Adobe Illustrator so I can clean up the lines and add colour. Then I add the lettering to my product designs and packaging that I make for my etsy shop. This lovely bear badge packaging is a good example.

Recently I've been making lettering designs completely from hand in my sketchbook which has been refreshing as it's not something I have been confident enough to do in the past. What do you think?

Merry Christmas & thank you

Merry Christmas!
I'm proud of how far I've come during this year & I'm working hard to make my work better all the time! If you've read this blog / liked / commented / shared my photos on social media or bought something from my shop thank you so much for supporting my little independent business in 2015.

I'm taking a break from my etsy shop over Christmas. I'll be closing for the festive season on Thursday 17th December & I will post my last orders out ** First Class** on Friday 18th December so they should get to you in time for the big day (UK orders only). 

My shop will open again in the New Year!

I think you are really nice

I think all of my customers are really nice so I thought I'd tell them by popping these new business cards in with their etsy shop orders. The cute puppy wearing a jumper is one of my daily paintings from my small travel sketchbook & I painted the hand lettering separately. What do you think?

Christmas cards

Here's my new Christmas card - I love this cute fat robin design! He's having a rest on the wreath because his tummy is so full with mince pies and carrot sticks dipped in cranberry sauce. This card is perfect to give to someone you love over the festive holidays. If you would like one they are available in my etsy shop

Like to mix & match your cards? There's more to choose from here....

Grumpy rainbow pot

Look at this amazing rainbow pot Emma Carlisle made for me!
Isn't it the cutest thing ever?

I think Emma's new ceramic artworks are adorable so I was super excited when she asked me if I'd like her to make a pot based on one of my illustrations - obviously I said yes! Many of you will recognise this grumpy rainbow pot from my Cactus Club print. If you love collecting cactus plants this print is perfect to arrange with your cactus hoard....  And Emma's charming ceramics are awesome to use as planters.

I only started my cactus collection in April so I've been searching a lot recently for unusual pots around charity shops, car boot sales & Etsy. Where do you buy your cactus planters from? If you could recommend any indie shops or designer makers in the comments that would be great - I'd love to see your suggestions!

April in pictures

I can't believe it's the end of the month already, April has really whizzed by in the blink of an eye! Here's my favourite pictures from this month:

Lucky dip!

Are you feeling lucky?
Take a peek at these new lucky dip bags! They're full of fun original goodies & artwork all wrapped up in the cutest packaging ever *look at that heart cello bag!!*. The paintings are absolutely perfect to frame or pin to your walls with Blu-tac/washi tape. And if you're feeling crafty you could make a quirky bunting from some of the pieces too.

Each lucky dip contains at least one random handmade pottery magnet. So you can decorate your fridge or white board with a quirky cuuuuute biscuit!!! They've been lovingly handmade from strong air-dry clay, hand painted & sealed with two coats of varnish. There are tiny holes, marks & bumps all over each wonky magnet which gives it a wonderful tactile charm.

 

The actual value of each bag is well over £16 but I'm giving these to you for half the price!!! Only five bags have been made so move quickly if you want to get your hands on one.....

Catch up!

Ok so, here's a little update of what's been happening in my world lately.....

Mountain brooch collection

Look totally unique this autumn with a quirky Mountain brooch! This is a one off collection & there are only 10 available in my shop, so act fast if you want one. Each brooch has been hand painted individually onto laser-cut wood, varnished and finished with an easy fastening brooch back.

What do you think? Which brooch is your favourite? This is my first ever attempt at making jewellery so I would love to have some feedback!