Lost in a weird and wonderful world of air

Hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend....it was a nice, relaxing one for us - the highlight of which being a visit to an amazing creation by the Architects of Air . I found out about it a few weeks ago whilst surfing the blog world, and I'm so glad I did - it was truly breathtaking, and made you feel all light and floaty inside....take a look:

and this is how it looked on the outside:

If you happen to be in the Nottingham area this week then I thoroughly recommend a visit - Luminity III will be residing at the city's Lakeside Centre until June 5th....

go check it out!! :)

All poinsettia'd out!

After a very successful Surtex this year it looks set to be a promising time ahead with everyone in a buying mood again - hoorah!! This is a welcome relief for us all after a couple of relatively quiet years over there... 

This past week I've been busy working on follow-up designs from the show....many of which involve poinsettias!! Just one more wrap to go and I can move onto something new....here's a little look at what I've been up to:

A lovely blog and a lovely Folksy shop to boot!

If you're looking for anything knitted or hand-sewn for your little ones then I thoroughly recommend that you check out the fabulous blog of Missy RS....

Many Things In Missy World features all of her lovely makes and likes, while her Folksy shop Missy & Mum has a selection of items for sale, all beautifully handcrafted and finished by Missy herself, as well as her super-talented mum...go on - see for yourself  by clicking on the links here and here; I'm sure you won't be disappointed! :)

- Some cute little booties; my faves! Available to buy now from Missy & Mum :)

Surtex 2011

Ahhhh - phew - we're back - and just when I'd finally started blogging again! This post should have appeared yesterday, but sadly not due to some technical difficulties at Blogger HQ!! I'm pleased to hear that it all seems to be sorted now though, so here goes....

As mentioned in my  latest post I've been busy preparing for this year's Surtex show for the past few weeks, and now the time has finally arrived with the first day of the show being tomorrow. If you happen to be around then come along to the Inspire By Design Ltd booth - 326 - we have lots of lovely designs on show this year; all available for license....we even have banners (part of which featured above), bunting and wall decals on display - we've really prettied it up this time round....let's hope we catch your eye!!


As well as myself, you can also see the fabulous work of fellow bloggers Little Red, Rah Rah, Lucy B, Fatty Moe & Helen Hallows....so come along and have a browse! :)

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!! :)

It's that time of year again

.......when weddings are in abundance; and with the big Royal Wedding looming, they're certainly a hot topic at the moment! Here's a little look at a new wedding collection I created just before I went away......I wonder if Kate and Wills would approve...?! ;)

- all the grey bits signify silver foil; so when they're all mocked up they look extra-special :)

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside!

Hello everyone...sorry it's been a bit quiet on here as of late; last week it was my Matty's birthday so I whisked him away for a birthday treat to the coast...it was laaaaaarve-ly; just the tonic that we both needed :)

We stayed in the pretty little seaside town of Wells-next-the-sea....somewhere we've not been to before, but it appealed to me as I'd heard about all the lovely little beach huts that adorn the seafront - aww; they were fab! We even spotted a seal when we arrived at the beach too!! :D

As well as the beach there were lots of pretty houses and quaint little lanes...it was a real picture-postcard place....

...lots of coastal-inspired galleries too; this fish made completely from driftwood caught my eye as I was passing...oooh - I think I'd like to have a go at that! :)

Sock

Hi everyone...hope you all had a lovely weekend; it's a shame the glorious sunshine decided to hide away for the majority of it....and now we're all at the beginning of the new working week it's arrived again; typical eh? However, we still managed to get out and about; yesterday visiting Sock at Loughborough Town Hall - lots of great artists and makers were featured, so there was lots of temptation to buy....ooooh - if only I had a few more pennies to spare right now! Sigh.....

Here are a few that caught my eye....

Gorgeous ceramics and brooches from Katie Almond

Beautifully handmade jewellery by Helen Shere

And pretty prints by Helen Rhodes

I did manage to pick up a little treat for myself though....this beautiful little jug from the very talented Helen Hallows; as a lover of all things dotty it was too good to resist! :)

- She creates lots of other lovely things besides....check out her blog here

It's a cat's life!

My baby bear......such a sun worshipper! :D

Spring Flowers

Oooh...you can definitely tell that Spring has officially arrived (hurrah!!); it's been a glorious ol' week so far - the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the flowers and trees are blossoming nicely - we even spotted the first bees and butterflies over the weekend! To mark the occasion, I've been working on some fun Spring floral designs....I haven't used my doodley style for a while now, so I thought it was time to revisit.... 

Bright and cheery

 - When I woke this morning the sun was beaming and the sky was blue - yay - Spring was here again, so I thought I'd share with you a couple of cheery notebooks I picked up recently. The pretty floral design was found in WHSmiths, whilst the bird design was from Wilkinsons (!)

Have a lovely weekend everyone; I hope the sun continues to shine!

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!! ;)

Who's for cake?

- Another birthday post; time to blow out those candles!!

I hope you all managed to enjoy some lovely pancakes last night; I managed 5 in the end...though they were only very ickle! ;) Mmmmmmmmmm...'til next year!

Don't forget those lemons everyone!!!

- My favourite day today; Shrove Tuesday!! Can't wait for tea tonight! :D

 I think I may have to have mine with a good dollop of golden syrup!!...how do you like yours?

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...

And one more makes three...

- a little peek at the final floral to complete the set; it was finished before the end of the working day too; woo-hoo! :)

Now onto something different....not long to go now until the next selling trip!!!

Another floral addition...

- here's a little look at illustrator design number two....I'm getting a teeny bit quicker now, so it's on to number three to complete the set. :)

A challenging week...

This week I'm trying to conquer illustrator again....I normally finish all of my work off in the comfort of photoshop, putting lots of textures and patterns into everything to create the final look, but, apparently it's all about clean-looking graphic styles right now, so I'm trying to persevere and do an entire design in illustrator; in fact....an entire set! Here's a little look at my first attempt; some bright flowers to bring on the Spring :)

Spring's drawing nearer!! (just hope it warms up soon..)

- splashes of colour found in my garden :)

A lovely weekend

I hope you all had a gorgeous weekend....I could fully relax and enjoy as I finished my snowman wrap by 7.30 on Friday evening - hip-hip-hooray! :D

We had a lovely day in Oxford on Saturday, despite the showers...I even managed to track down the lovely shop Aspire Style that I've been admiring from cyber-afar ..picked up a few treats for myself too!!!

Then on Sunday we had a mosey around another antiques fair -  after the success of the last one we went to we were hopeful for little gems again...but sadly, it was not to be this time...sighhh

We spotted the first lambs on our travels though; a true sign that Spring must definitely be making it's way - double YAY!