Progressive Greetings Live

Crikey - it's a windy ol' day for June, isn't it - let's hope the forecast is right and Summer finally takes hold after today!!! 

If you're in or around the London area, then why not pop down to Progressive Greetings Live where a selection of my work is currently available and on display with Inspire Art Licensing, along with a collection of other fabulous designers and illustrators...it's our debut too, so fingers crossed it's a successful outing for us ;) Here's some birthday designs that I have been working on in the run up....

I spy with my little eye......

....Two of my designs in print! I was having a little browse on Pinterest yesterday (as you do!) and stumbled across some of my work that I sold over at Surtex last year - you can find it here from a company called Total Paper in Mexico. It's not very often that I get to see my work published as most of it is overseas, so it was a nice little surprise to find these jumbo gift bags yesterday.....

....I think they've turned out pretty well, don't you? - a little tweak from them here and there, and a splash of foil to add to the mix - here are some snapshots of how the original designs looked:

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...!

A weekend of family-filled celebrations

So how was everyone's weekend? If you're a mum (like me!) were you suitably pampered on Sunday?!!! I hope so! ;)

It was a double-whammy in our household; not only was it Mother's Day but also Mr S's birthday - we headed for the coast;

....built sandcastles, skimmed stones, dodged HUGE waves, walked and walked, laughed lots and ate copious amounts of yummy food.....all topped off with CAKE!!

Nothing better really.....lots of fun had by all!!

And Freya created a lovely masterpiece for her daddy........

A Birthday break

It was my birthday last week and my lovely hubby decided to whisk me away for a relaxing mini-break by the sea....it was gorgeous; the sun even decided to come out despite forecasts of rain, rain, rain - someone was obviously smiling on us! :D

- we stayed in Pembrokeshire, and visited the pretty harbour town of Tenby whilst we were there....I LOVE all the pastel coloured houses along the front :)

- we were very much pampered at the B&B  -  a tasty breakfast every morning, a spacious room complete with bathrobes and slippers, and these cheery blooms were left in our room just for me; tulips - my favourite! :)

Now, with a much-needed battery recharge, it's back to the drawing board for me...so off I go :)

Birthday balloons

- Lots of bright letter balloons to complete my birthday trio!

Now....what to work on next I wonder? After dabbling in Illustrator for the past week and a half I think it's time to return to good ol' Photoshop - YAY! Come back lovely textures and patterns...I've missed you!! ;)

A new week

Oooh, it's a lovely bright morning - the sun is streaming through my study window right now; it makes me so happy! :)

On that note, here's a little taster of some cheery cupcakes I worked on last Friday; the theme for this week is all things birthday orientated...

Twit-twooooooo

I thought I'd have a little go at an owl design (seeing as they still seem to be doing well in the popularity stakes!). Here's a sneaky peek at a bit of a birthday wrap I've been working on:

Proud poodle

 - this little one's found a home in the US - yippee!! I'm so pleased as I loved creating her. :D

My one minute of fame.....

- Look! look! - this is my little niece appearing on CBeebies last Monday; it was her 1st birthday a week ago, and we sent in a card featuring all her favourite CBeebies characters... 

We were so pleased that it made it on to the small screen; there was even a big thank you mention to Aunty Emma for making the card...ahhh, I was made up :)

A lovely time in London Town

Phew...it's a late one tonight; sorry guys - been a busy D-I-Y day today, so only just had chance to update you on my wonderful birthday weekend....there'll be lots of snaps on the way over the next couple of days; but for now here's just a few highlights of my surprise day trip (organised by lovely hubby)....I was one spoilt missy; felt very lucky! :)

- after arriving bright and early at the station, we headed on down to Columbia Road, to take a look at Rob Ryan's shop, Ryantown...I love, love, LOVE his work...

...next we headed to Notting Hill and more specifically, Portobello Road (more pics tomorrow) - was great to see all the market stalls and lively hustle and bustle. 

 - along the way, we popped in to Cath Kidston's shop; lots of pretties! :)

- a quick coffee stop to recharge the batteries, and then on to Hyde Park....look at what we found!

 - my, the artist must be HUGE! :D

We then headed on down to the 'West End', and then jumped on the tube to Covent Garden (my feet had almost fallen off by this point!!)

- check out this ice sculpture 'celebrating 30 years of shopping heaven'.

My -  we did fit a lot in! Stop by tomorrow for more pics.....

Ooooooh...I laaaaaaarve a bit of cake! ;-)

Here's a little taster (no pun intended - honest!) of some birthday wraps I've been working on recently.....mmmmm...cake! :)

Make a wish as you blow out those candles...

A culinary success! :D

It was my husband's (still trying to get used to saying that!)  birthday yesterday, and as he has to work all week this week (muchos early starts!) we celebrated early in Manchester at the weekend - we had a lovely time. Last night though, I decided to prepare a special birthday tea for him, and I can happily say it went down a treat! :) I asked him if there was anything he particularly fancied, and he said that he'd love something vietnamese (!)...so, I hopped online and found a lovely recipe on the Good Food Channel's website - Vietnamese Tamarind Beef with Peanuts...for details click here.

I was quite nervous about how it would turn out as I'd never really tried Vietnamese food, let alone prepared it, so I was so relieved when the outcome was good, and my hubby was a very happy chappy indeed! :D

For dessert I made a tiramisu...we spent our honeymoon in Sardinia, so I thought it would bring back happy memories as it was one of our favourite desserts over there. This particular recipe was taken from a great series on the Good Food Channel called 'Rhodes Across Italy' which we watched a couple of months ago; it was fab! Get the recipe here.

So all in all, it was a great success! I'm so pleased he liked it...especially as I'd never attempted any of it before. Can't wait to try out some more recipes from the site! :)

Happy Birthday Gran!

It was my Gran's birthday over the weekend, and when it comes to cards she always likes to receive a handmade edition from me, as opposed to a bought one.....this time I had a bit of a play around with a photograph to create a pretty floral illustration for her.....

I printed the design onto tracing paper to give it a lovely soft feel, layered it up with card, and then added a pretty spring green ribbon to finish. She loved it! :)

A bit of this and that

It's been a busy old week or two; with the New York Gift Fair drawing ever closer, and the Spring Fair shortly after, there's much to be done. Here's a visual summary of what I've been up to since my last post:

Birthday Balloons

Happy Birthday wording

Bridal bouquet

Halloween

As you can see, it's been a fair old mix of everyday designs so far...completing sets and adding to the collection. It's the first time we'll have been represented at the New York Gift Fair, so we're not quite sure what to expect...fingers crossed we all get something positive from it!

After all that everyday though, it's back on to Christmas again now...look out for my very latest offerings tomorrow - one last push before the first deadline; wish me luck! :)

Tasty Treats

Here's a little bit of a new repeat to co-ordinate with the birthday cake design I shared with you last week:

Mmmmmm...all these cakes are making me hungry! :)

Hot off the press!

I've been sketching away like a mad'n' this week; all in preparation for forthcoming trips and shows at the end of the month. I'm currently working on a new birthday range, and here's a sneak peek at my latest offering...

                           Mmm..mmm..mmmmmm - my that looks tasty! :)