Danny and Annie

This is the story of Danny and Annie and their twenty-seven year romance.  A beautiful true story told by themselves from the first to last date, and beyond.

Warning you will most probably cry watching this, but it is worth every tear.

Video from StoryCorps  (I found it from A Cup of Jo.)

Inspiration Friday

I am a little late in the day this week but here is my Inspiration Friday post.  I am just back from another great day of selling at the market so a big thanks again to all my lovely customers!

Some eye-candy inspiration for you.  My favourite picks this week from Etsy..........enjoy

                     Blancucha                             Blackoutwell                               Rachelink

           Jessicaillustration                            Papercutsbyjoe                               Bonnie1982


Check out the links above to have a look each artists shop on Etsy!  Have a favourite? Then let me know :-)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Pancakes!

Well, If you can't make jewellery or draw.................eat!

Jamie Olivers Pancake Recipe

1 (free range) egg

1 cup of milk

1 cup of self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

I topped mine off with banana, strawberries and honey

If you are feeling adventurous then how about this Pancake Cake! Looks ridiculously good if you ask me!  Pancakes.....chocolate......cream.......raspberries........YUM!

Full Pancake Cake Recipe Here

If you make this then please let me know how delicious it was :-)

Friday Inspiration - The Girl Effect

I came across this movement today and their simple but impassioned animation had me in tears.  I think it speaks for itself so I won't say anymore.

www.girleffect.org

I hope this video Inspires you and helps you to understand that we can all help.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Out of Action :(

The Photo Says it all really!

My Doctor has put a solid cast on my arm in the effort that I will actually rest it............easier said than done.  I am awaiting an appointment to see a ligament specialist so until that happens I can't really do much!  Unless I learn how to draw with my right hand!

Most people would enjoy some time off from work, however I enjoy my work and am frustrated not being able to do it!

I guess it's time to catch up on some reading!  On the bright side.....red is my favorite colour :-)

Max Kostenko

I came across this Illustration today and it made me smile so much that I thought I would share it with you all :-)

It's by an Illustrator called Max Kostenko from Russia and he does amazing character Illustrations.  What made me smile? Look at the window to the side of the driver :-)  Super Cute!

You can view more of his work here.

Logo Design

I am thinking about making a few changes to my catalogue and I was wondering if I could get some advice on colours from you all. 

I have designed a logo with a new font and was thinking about replacing the one I already have.  I would appreciate your thoughts on the new design......... and also which colour scheme you prefer from the four choices :-)

Original Design

This is my new concept

Which one do you prefer? :-)

Inspiration Friday

It's Friday and you know what that means.........Yes it's Inspiration Friday Time!  This week I'm showing you some of my favorite picks from the Etsy Jewellery Pages.  Enjoy.

 

                Dolybirddesign                               Beautyspot                                 TheEnchantedLocket

                  FiveOClocks                                     Lepun                                    ripecardsandjewelry


Have an Amazing Weekend Everyone :-) x

Catalogue

I have had a bit of a slow couple of weeks due to my sore thumb and wrist.  I know the only way to fix it is to rest up but I am quietly going insane because I have so much to do.  I have been avoiding using my graphic tablet because it hurts to use my pen, however, I am in the middle of a catalogue design that I am just desperate to finish. 

I thought I would share a little bit of what I have done so far with you, and as always I would love to know what you think.

Title Page

Page Spread

I hope to get this finished and printed off by the end of this month so I can start sending it out to some potential stockists.

So come on hand......hurry up and get fixed!

Inspiration Friday

I can't believe it's Friday already!

I have been looking forward to Inspiration Friday this week because it gave me another excuse to dribble over all the eye candy in the book that I will be showcasing :-)

I am sure a lot of you will know about this little gem of a design book already, but in case you don't here you go........

Print and Pattern - Bowie Style

Print and Pattern features over 100 artists and with 750 full-colour Illustrations it is Extreme Eye-Candy for any designer!

Page Spread - Alice Burrows

Page Spread - Inkjet Designs

Print and Pattern is great on those days where you just need a little inspiration....I find it especially great for Colour Ideas.

Page Spread - The Strawberry Card Company

Page Spread - Absolute Zero Designs

Page Spread - Caroline Pratt

I found Print and Pattern through a great little website designed by Pink Pig Illustration called Best Design Books.  Mabel from Pink Pig has compiled a list of her favorite design books to make it easy for designers to browse, and purchase them from her site (connected to Amazon).  You can find Print and Pattern and Pink Pig Illustrations other book suggestions HERE.

I hope you have enjoyed having a little mini-browse through Print and Pattern.  I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves design.  There is just so much to look at plus you will be introduced to a whole list of designers that you may never have heard of otherwise.

Have a Fantastic Weekend x

Animal Army

I am building my own little Army of Animals.  They will defend the world from all things non-cute! :-)

I had fun making my little bookmark friends yesterday (even though I struggled slightly with one hand).

 While we are on that subject I want to remind all you designers and artists out there...or anyone on a computer all day....remember to give your body a stretch every now and then.  I have a friend with permanent nerve damage due to sitting on Illustrator all day and now I have hurt my wrist and thumb (again) from sitting for days, drawing and making jewellery, without moving around very much and taking breaks.

Lesson of the day peeps........stretch stretch stretch and take a break!

x

ArtCulture Exhibition

I took part in an Art Exhibition at SubCulture in Queenstown last night.  It is a venue that opens its doors once every two months to allow artists of any medium to come along and display their work.  It's free of charge and they don't take any commission from sales which is completely unheard of.  It is a great event depending on artist participation and last night they had a great turn out of both artists and viewers.  I have been to this event once before and sold a few smaller things but last night I had a bit of a successful night with a few Jewellery sales that I was honestly not expecting.  Not that I don't think that my work doesn't sell well, its just that as I said it was more of an exhibition environment and the sales were a pleasant surprise. 

Anyway I just wanted to say a big thank you to SubCulture for hosting this event and for not charging commission or any artist fees.  They even gave me a glass of wine as a thank you for coming!  So thanks again to all the staff at SubCulture for supporting local artists in Queenstown :-)