Keeping it festive in the heat....

Phew - it's a scorcher, hey?! Seems wrong to be doing all of these festive bits right now, but hey, that's the life of a freelance designer!! (one that does cards and such like anyway!!) Here's some snapshots from my screen today...now to have a go at a little baby art; I've not dabbled in that area for quite some time, and feel it's time for a change! NEXT!!

And today I have been mostly working on.......

........Christmas!! (again!) 

And to finish the week off....

Here's a little snippet of what I've been working on this week.....

- oh, how I love to think of Christmas and snow in the middle of summer!! ;D

Have a great weekend everyone x x x

Popular Poinsettia....

Very happy (and relieved) to say that Surtex went pretty well for me this year.....this poinsettia design did particularly well; you will soon be able to find it on cards, tissue paper and party paperware over in the US - keep an eye out if you're over that way! ;D

A bit of everything...

Wow - it's been a whirlwind of a week and it's only Wednesday!! Much activity and preparation going on in readiness for this year's Surtex, coupled with a fabulous vintage and craft event over the weekend - I've been rushed off my feet! Anyway, it's now time to take a little breather and hope that all my efforts have not been in vain....here's a cheeky snippet of what you can expect of mine in New York next week.....

From Christmas.....

....to birthday....

...to Easter...!

Keep on crafting!

As well as my core designing work I have been continuing on the craft fair side of things too....usually our stall consists of lots of lovely things that I have designed, but have been lovingly sewn and put together by the fabulous Elizabeth and Ruth. For our latest fair, however, I added a few printed items to the mix...all designed and created by moi; these have been well received and yesterday my first mailing of a framed piece arrived happily with it's new owner....here's a little looky:

- I have one more left, and hoping that it will find a new home when I will be manning the stall again; this time in Ashby-de-la-Zouch - click here for more details. If you would like to know more about my little ventures with Ree-Stitch, then please click on the link in the right hand column or here...

When I created the design I liked it so much that I thought it might be quite nice to create a Christmas equivalent in the hope that it would be licensed....I'm happy to say it has just been sold this week, over in the good ol' US of A; here's a sneaky peek at it:

Ending the week on a high

I love it when I get things finished at the end of a working week - makes me enjoy the weekend sooooo much more; no guilty feelings or dread of having to face the same piece of artwork for another day - can start the new week with fresh eyes and new ideas; yippeeee!! Here's a little set I've just completed (well; a glimpse at least!)

It's promising to be another fun weekend too; filled with lots more family time and a bucketful of vintage loveliness - I cannot wait!! Enjoy yours, whatever you may up to x x x

Cookie over candy art!

I have to say I LOVE creating new gingerbread designs - the bright colours and the fun element all add to it....here's a little sneaky peek at a house I finished just the other day...nom, nom, nom!!

Latest samples from Europe...

It's not often that I get to see my work in print as most of it is overseas, however it was a nice surprise to  receive these samples just the other week, ready for the European market - these were sold to a company called Tailor-Made Studios right back in 2012...it's great to see that they will finally be out on the shelves this Christmas.....now....can anybody translate for me I wonder?!??? ;)

A little bit krafty....

Hi everyone....I hope you all had a fun-filled Halloween and Guy Fawkes' Night?! I spent the whole time feeling VERY under the weather, so missed out on all the excitement this year...the dreaded obligatory change of seasons bugs...boooo...hisssss; have they got you yet?!!! :( 

Anyways, must carry on, so here are a few snippets from a latest set - I've tried to simplify things a little bit; using plenty of flat colour, but compensating with lots of pattern and combining with an element of kraft...what do you think?

Have a word!

Here's a little peek at a few more Christmas designs I've been working on recently......

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Joy to the World

And lots of lovely Christmas phrases.....

Christmas is coming....

And as usual I've been working on lots of new things for the festive season ahead of another US selling trip. Here are a couple of snippets from a character set I've been busy on....

Santa's got his skis on and has rocked up at the Antarctic!

 And this family of snowmen are having a fun-filled sledging trip!

I really enjoyed creating these guys....let's hope they find a nice new home ;)

A little first....

Whilst I've been absent from my blogging life, I've still managed to fit a few bits of work in here and there between the nappy changes etc ;).....one very exciting commission I received earlier this year was from Papercrafter magazine - I've never done any work for a magazine before, so I was thrilled to hear from them, and the fact that it would be out for everyone to see here in the UK made it even more satisfying! Each month the magazine features a 'Designer Papers' collection, and this month I made my debut....I'm really pleased with how they've turned out, and even more pleased that a little Christmas crafting project using my designs is actually featured on the front page. Here are a few snippets for you to see...I thoroughly enjoyed working on it; here's hoping it'll be the first of many :D

 - The 'Designer Papers' Studio Selection....featuring my paisley design on the front cover

 - pictures from the magazine featuring a Christmas tree tabletop project, and a Christmas tree card created using my papers.

 - and the lovely moment I saw my name in print :D 

I feel a break coming on...

....a break from Christmas, that is! As I've said before, sometimes it can get a little much working on Christmas all year round - especially when the mercury reaches the 20s and the sun is shining brightly! Time for some cheery everyday designs methinks....these latest Christmas ones have taken farrrr tooooo looooooong; a sure sign it's time for a change!

Finito!

Not to give toooo much away still, but here are the finished designs I let you have a peek at on Friday....

....now on to another two!

Juggling

I tend to have a habit of juggling designs quite a bit...especially when I'm working on a set - rather than completing each design separately I like to work on them all together (I find it saves a little time and is a bit easier to make them all co-ordinate!)....here's a little look at my current 'works in progress'....

- they're all a little shy as they're not quite complete yet! ;)

Happy Friday everyone.......fingers crossed for Minty later - could it be his year???

Christmas in the summer sun...?!??

Hmmmmm...it's a toughy, but being a designer of all things festive it tends to happen quite a lot, and boy is it a struggle sometimes! (especially when Wimbledon's on too!!) 

Though I guess this is how it feels to be Australian?!? The mini-heatwave seems to have subsided today, so it's onwards and upwards from here...take a little look at some recent work - the starting point for a new set.....

Busy, busy bumble-bee!

Oh dear, oh dear - where have I been you ask?? Well, for those fellow designers out there I'm sure you can imagine - with Surtex looming it's been a busy ol' time!! Here's a summary of my designing month in snapshots to give you a little idea of what I've been up to....

-traditional Christmas.....

 - fun Christmas....

- and a little bit of everyday...all squeeeeeeeezed into the last 30 days or so.

Phew! Fingers crossed for a great show this year!! :)