Rebekah Leigh Marshall - A creative life

Valentines cards in my shop!

2012-01-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

I have made up some cards using my 'Budgies in love' design and my 'Roses' design that are now available in my shop as handmade greetings cards.

They come on white card with white envelopes and packaged in a cellophane sleeve.
Perfect for valentines, anniversaries, birthdays or just as a note card. My grandma got the Roses card for her birthday and she loved it :-)

These cards are £2 each and available from my Etsy shop.

So now the shop talk is aside how are you all? My January is going really fast, how about yours? I don't feel like I've even got my head round the fact that we are in a new year yet..! There is a lot to get my head around and lots to look forward to this year.

I took some photographs this morning around the house, it's had a few nice additions thanks to my nan who treated us to some new coat hooks and a lamp shade (thanks nan). They were from Urban outfitters and I had my eye on a fabric lampshade for a while. Mind you it does block a lot of the light out, the living room is sort of like a cosy cave at the moment!

Ooops all my photos won't play nice today, they are refusing to stick to the center, tsk tsk!Anyhoo have a good evening folks. I'm going to watch the second part of the new Sherlock Holmes series on Channel 1 at 9pm, anyone been watching it? The first was pretty good!

Take care guys speak soon x

Mid week

2012-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

The lovely Lou of the Little green shed blog recently won one of my prints in a giveaway over at the for the easily distracted blog. Lou chose one of my vintage camera prints, the 'Zeiss Ikon Contessa' from the selection in my Etsy shop. Here is a photo from Lou's blog, a very nice selection of prints,cards and photos on her wall at home. Can you spot my Zeiss Ikon Contessa Print.....? I strongly suggest you head to the wonderful Little green shed blog & shop and while your there take a peek at Lou's 'home' section, you won't be disappointed!

To visit Lou's blog 'little green shed' click here

Also on Lou's walls are prints and postcards by Kerry of the Seventytree blog/shop - The smile camera print, bear postcard and drop postcard.

The 'laundry day' postcard is by Lou and is available in her Etsy shop

The Lino cut is by Melanie Wickham

The Modernist postcard is by Mrs Elliot books on Etsy

The Catherine Holme print is from Handz on Etsy

I love seeing my prints on others walls, it always makes me smile :-)

If you have brought a print from me I'd love to see it on your wall at home, you can just drop me an email at rebekah-leigh@hotmail.co.uk

I hope you are all having a good week? Mine is going fast but today feels like it should be a friday, if you know what I mean! Too tired :-/

Cheerio for now x

A belated happy new year!

2012-01-08T10:28:00.000-08:00

A belated happy new year to you! I hope 2012 is treating you well. So far my January has been crazy busy. I'm back at work at the school and it's nice to be back, some of you will know that I work at a school as a Pottery workshop leader with special needs children. This term I have some really hard working students who have already made 4 coil pots in the past week, it's amazing to watch! I'm looking forward to seeing the other projects I have on paper come to life. Apart from school work I have a lot on with my part time courses, I'm doing a level 3 diploma in teaching and learning and a level 2 diploma in horse care and riding. The next few weeks are going to be hectic but I will get some new designs together soon. I'm really looking forward to finishing my part time courses in July 2012 so that I have more time for art and making. I guess you could say that's my new years resolution, to finish my courses..Oh and to travel to a new country for a few weeks. I'm considering Slovenia in the summer..

How about you all? Any new years resolutions or goals?

I got given a book on origami birds for Christmas, I can now make a penguin, swan,water bird and a crane! My favorite is definitely the swan though which is pictured. The last bird in the book in a peacock and it looks really difficult. I'm going to work up to it! Arthur isn't very sure of them. A second after the below picture was taken he swiped at it and I had to rescue a soggy origami bird from his clutches! Right I'm going to crack on with some coursework, have a good evening people!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! x

PS: Hello to my new blog readers, I can't believe there's a 100 of you now, blimey! I think this calls for an art giveaway soon to celebrate :-)

New work

2011-12-28T05:28:00.000-08:00

Budgies, a new A4 Archival art print (my take on love birds)! Now for sale in my Etsy shop. Visit my shop here.

New art print of colorful Roses, A4 and printed on archival matte paper using pigment inks. Available in my Etsy shop. Click here.

I hope you like them as much as I do! I can see them both making excellent cards so I will get working on that soon and let you know when I've made some up.

Happy Wednesday everyone! I know a lot of you are back in work today, I hope your working weeks go well, stay merry, 3 days until a long weekend and NYE celebrations! Speak soon :-)

ps: just a reminder that I recently set up a FaceBook page for my artwork, you can visit it here.Thanks!

Just dropping by with some photos!

2011-12-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

It was a very cosy and quiet Christmas, Arthur cat has barely moved from the same spot on my crochet blanket on the sofa. He will be terribly disappointed when we go back to work and there's no fire to sit by all day! On the art front I have just finished two designs that will be cards and prints. I will show them to you soon, I love them, and am excited for you to see! :-)

Illustration Friday - Messenger

2011-12-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

Its been absolutely ages since I had the chance to submit anything for Illustration Fridays word of the week. However as it's the holidays I got time to do something for this week and the word 'Messenger'.

I love the look of the royal mail bikes, so bright and cheery! When researching images I came across some old images of a postman on a penny farthing bike! I was quite tempted to draw that, but settled on this classic style instead.

I hope your enjoying your hols? We went on a 6 mile countryside walk today and have now got bubble & squeak in the oven...Lovely!

Speak soon x

Happy Christmas everyone!

2011-12-24T15:48:00.000-08:00

Now it's time to go to bed on the eve of the big day, but I just wanted to say Happy Christmas! I hope you all have a lovely, sparkly Christmas day. I will be chilling with Ben and Arthur cat,watching some movies and eating too much chocolate and cheese! YUM!

Speak soon.

Love & sparkles ****

The Pretty Much Penniless Secret Santa

2011-12-21T14:20:00.000-08:00

I took part in a secret santa this year organised by Ellie Loughran of the gorgeous 'Pretty Much Penniless' Blog. All participants were given a name to send a secret santa too and the idea was that everything was handmade or second hand. I was sooo excited to receive my secret Santa in the post and I have to say I was so lucky to receive some great gifts! My secret santa put together a great stash of items for me, so beautifully organised! So whoever you are *THANK YOU* I love my secret santa gifts XX

PS: I love the bow knitted hat, it's super cute and will keep me cosy :-)

A few more days to go, and the Exeter Christmas pop up shop is opening for 1 more day!

2011-12-21T03:57:00.000-08:00

That right! The Exeter Christmas Pop up shop is opening for one last day. The shop stocks a huge selection of makers work. Ceramics, photography, painting, jewelry and textiles (oh and my prints and cards too)! Tomorrow on Thursday 22nd December the lovely organisers, Isgard & Laurel will open the shop for the last day before Xmas. A perfect chance for you to get your last minute stocking fillers and gifts. The shop is based at 1 New Bridge Street and is open until 9pm, so why not do some late night shopping then grab a mulled wine?!

Here's the link to the Facebook group for the Exeter Christmas Pop up shop

And here's the link to the article about the shop ran by the 'this is Exeter' website!

Pocket Mirrors

2011-12-16T15:46:00.000-08:00

Yellow Bird Pocket Mirror and Pink Poppies Pocket Mirror now available in my Etsy shop.
£3.00 a piece you know you want one ;-)

Other things.. I know I've been quiet here with anything other than art biz updates, apologies, things have been busy wizzy! I hope you are all okay? Are you all prepared for christmas? I still have some last minute gifts to buy before the big day... I am so looking forward to some lazy days though...Oh yes bring them on..! x

A giveaway, quick! Only a few more days to enter!

2011-12-14T23:51:00.000-08:00

You need to go here for a chance to win an A4 print of your choice from my Etsy shop! Go go!

Thanks to Rhianne of the 'for the easily distracted' blog for choosing me as her 3rd week of Christmas giveaway!

Toot toot! I have news!

2011-12-11T12:58:00.001-08:00

Hello lovelies! I hope this weekend has been treating you well? I have been a busy bee as usual and am thoroughly enjoying getting into the festive spirit. Mulled wine or port anyone??!Yum!

So I wanted to tell you about this great place where I am now stocking my work..

I am now stocking my work in the wonderful Cox & Baloney boutique on Cheltenham road Bristol. Cox and Baloney stock beautiful hand picked vintage clothing, home wear and books. It is a venue for craft events and has an on site dress maker! This shop also has a fabulous vintage style tea room where you can sit and rest in style over a tea or coffee. I am super excited to be stocking work with them! I dropped off some prints today but will be adding framed prints for sale in their tea room very soon.

So if your in the Bristol area you should pop in for a visit! Also one more thing, I now have a Facebook page set up for my artwork. Here's the link: Rebekah Leigh Marshall - Artist

I would love it if you could drop by and 'like' my page and say hello!

Sending out a big festive warm wishes too you all **** :-)

Christmas orders

2011-12-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

Hey folks! Just a note to say that if you want to order anything from my Etsy shop then my European deadline for postage is this Friday 9th December. For UK orders please order before Sunday 19th December.

These dates should mean that the orders will arrive before Christmas. Obviously I can't guarantee anything but I will get things sent out before the Royal mail deadline.

Unfortunately it is now too late to post international and have it arrive before Christmas.Sorry!

To visit my Etsy shop and buy prints, cards and gift tags click here :-)

Christmas at the barn 2011

2011-11-27T11:19:00.001-08:00

I have just finished the second and last day of the Christmas at the barn art/craft market in Mells near Frome. I'm tired out but what a lovely weekend!! I met so many amazing sellers, sold lots of art and cards and made some great contacts!

The market was in a gorgeous old stone barn, it was a really nice setting for a market. The event was put on by Rebecca Larsen of home wears and accessories company 'Edamay'. You can see Edamay online on Not on the highstreet.com.

One of the many good things that came out of this event is that I am now stocking my work in 'Millie Moon' in Frome. I met the shop owner Becky at the market this weekend and I can't wait to visit 'Millie Moon' in person!

I hope you have all had lovely weekends? I'm going to have an early night! Speak soon :-)

Some beautiful things

2011-11-22T14:53:00.001-08:00

Yellow teapot by My Haunted Attic

Raw amethyst necklace by Still with you

These gift bags by My Cherry Tree

'Superman's song' by Nataly Dawn-

Hi folks how are you? I've had a busy night making cards and gift tags for the market this weekend, Its all go here at the moment! Nataly Dawn's youtube channel has been keeping me company while I make. You should check it out, it's really good.

Night night all, speak soon :-)

The Old Bookshop

2011-11-20T09:24:00.001-08:00

I visited a new Bristol venue today called the Old Bookshop. It is situated on North Street in Bedminster and is the best venue I've been too in a while. The food was great (I had a jerk pork roast dinner and Ben had the roast beef mmmmm). The atmosphere was lovely and chilled, the decor was amazing!! They had bunting, amazing collections of tea pots and china, typewriters mounted on the walls, and a chandelier made out of old trumpets! So much thought had gone into how it was put together. I will be going back very soon and taking friends with me. They have a website with gig listings etc www.theoldbookshop.co.uk you will also see better pics than the ones I have taken! Apologies they were taken on a phone :-/ After the oldbookshop we left and went to a vintage/retro market and I got myself a luvverly bright pink mohair scarf for a fiver! Bargain! Its huge and snuggly! Now i need to figure out how to wash it, mohair will just felt in the wash right? I think I need to hit google for some answers! I hope you have all had great sundays?

Speak soon ****

Some lately photos

2011-11-18T12:24:00.001-08:00

Some photos taken lately at work, top to bottom: On a walk with a student in the gardens/Christmas decorations being made in the Pottery by the students / A pear tree, autumn style/ The elderly dairy cow that now lives in the field in front of the Pottery workshop, it's nice to watch her chilling out in the field but sad that shes so old and now separated from the others/ The top of the tepee which is sometimes used as an outdoor classroom.

So this is where I work. Its pretty amazing and beats an office, if you don't mind mud and wearing layers of woolly jumpers in winter!

Have a great weekend all, hope to be back soon with some new drawings! I'm in serious preparation mode for the Xmas markets coming up and have tons to do.

Bye for now! :-)

Cushion & Cake

2011-11-15T13:56:00.001-08:00

I am now stocking my work is this gorgeous tea room / craft gallery in Glasgow Scotland..Very exciting!! I'm so happy to be part of the art for sale in this great place :-)

You can view the Cushion & Cake website/blog here.

Bohemian Homes Australia

2011-11-13T10:59:00.001-08:00

Hey chaps! Had a good weekend? I've had a good friend staying, and have had a lovely weekend of crafting and chatting over tea and chocolate :-)

I wanted to tell you that my work is now being stocked with Bohemian Homes Australia! You can visit the shop here.

I love the selection of items on the Bohemian Homes website and I do think my work fits in a treat, I am very happy to be part of the Bohemian Homes online store! Yay!

Exciting!!

Kaftan Sarafan

2011-11-11T14:08:00.001-08:00

I was lucky enough to be featured in a beautiful treasury alongside the most beautiful pillow recently. It caught my eye immediately and I had to check out the shop.

Pink Floral Recycled Silk and Linen Kimono Pillow Cushion Cover by KaftanSarafan. Gorgeous isn't it?! Its funny, I don't wear pink at all but when it comes to home decor and furnishings I'm a big fan of pink!
The shop called Kaftan Sarafan is owned by a lady called Irina who is based in Dublin, Ireland. Her shop is full to the brim with things I want and her photography is fab. I have Etsy product photo envy!!! If your an Etsy seller you'll know what I mean! ;-) Here are some more items from Irina's shop for you to enjoy:

French Vintage ceramic tea pot

Russian Folk themed kitchen towels

There is always time for tea..

2011-11-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

'There is always time for tea'! My new drawing! It's a nice thought right? I've seriously got back into tea lately, I have been a BIG coffee consumer for years and this is a new way for me. How have your days been? Mine has been busy, and should of been a lot busier, but I made a decision to not do the thing I was supposed to do tonight after work. Which was to go spend the evening working with horses at a yard in Gloucester (as part of my Level 2 diploma in horse care & riding). I was also there until 8pm last night so was feeling it today. Instead I cooked myself a delicious dinner, sweet potato, goats cheese, olives & salad...mmmmmm ...Had a bath, and did some drawing! I think I made the right decision! Sometimes theres just too much to do and I get run down so easily that when I start to feel really zapped it just isn't worth pushing it.

So tell me you busy bees, how do YOU all do it?

Hope all is well out there, night night :-)

Tuesdays favorites

2011-11-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

From the top down:

Goldilocks and her 3 bears puppet set by kissmego

Girl warriors illustration - digital print by Kaye Blegvad
The Ripton Clutch with Detachable Shoulder Strap -By ShelterProtectsYou

Silver white tail deer antler ring by moon raven designs

I'm really into items that remind me of the natural world and folk tales at the moment. Maybe it's the darker nights and winter drawing in? Either way here are some great items for you to view.

Happy Tuesday!

Gift tags

2011-11-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

Gift tags - I've started selling gift tags in my Etsy shop! So far I have 3 designs up for Christmas, I have spent this evening photographing them and they are now on Etsy.

My 'Peach Deer' design has returned as a gift tag, and this design will also be featuring on Christmas cards very soon. The new 'Christmas Robin' design has been made into gift tags as well as cards.

Lastly I have something new to show you, I have a new set of drawings that I have made into a set of tags; they all feature cosy, festive woolly garments!

All of the tags come in packs of 5 and are for sale in my Etsy shop priced at £2.50 a set.

Peach Deer Gift Tag

Christmas Robin Gift Tag

One of the designs in my 'Woolly Garments' gift tag set!!

I hope you are all well? I have a roast dinner in the oven..mmm! First one in a long while. Hope your enjoying the fireworks out there, I'm enjoying them from inside this year. Speak soon :-)

Treasury - Winter Sparkles

2011-11-06T02:05:00.000-08:00

I made a new treasury.... Winter Sparkles

I love everything here, I'd love that scarf by Etsy shop TheYarnKitchen. Or those bright pink mitts by RainbowMittens!

Happy sunday everyone, have a great day :-)

The trees outside are golden

2011-11-01T07:12:00.001-07:00

Oh yes they are! Very beautiful indeed. I drove up to the midlands this past Sunday and went for a walk on the Mendips and I was surprised by how much more golden all the trees were up country. We went to view a puppy, but there had been a mix up and they had re-homed him already :-( We got the call when we were half way there. Double sad face :-( Well our search for a pup will continue but not for a while as Ben and I are working too much, this was our window where one of us would of been at home for a month.

ANYWAY that is not what I wanted to tell you! I wanted to say that my 'Christmas Robin' Christmas card is now on Etsy, priced at £1.50 per card..Go buy go...!

'Christmas Robin' card for sale in my Etsy shop

Also I have just sold my first Framed, mounted print through Etsy to a lovely lady in Norway. If you would like to buy a framed/mounted print from me, a perfect present for xmas. All ready to give to a special someone than you can! Just message me through my Etsy shop for a quote.

This is my Zeiss Ikon Contessa camera print, framed and mounted ready to go...

Over at twitter Gemma Correll just tweeted about her new Drawing project based on womens magazines taglines..Very funny and worth a view!

Also I've always wanted to know how to cast using resin, My Girl Thursday has a fab tutorial over at her site now. Take a peek!

Bye for now *****

Hello blogland! How I've missed you!

2011-10-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hey folks how are you? I've missed blogging and reading all of yours, and hearing from you all of course! I am busy with work and my two part time courses. Yes thats right I'm now doing 2 part time courses! I enrolled last week on a level 2 Diploma in Horse care, I'm doing 2 evenings a week after work. I'm really excited as I have always wanted to qualify as a riding instructor and now it could be in my future. :-)

Today I started working on my Christmas card designs, it was SO much fun to be drawing again. I've finished one design that I wanted to share with you now and I'll post more this week. I want to have them designed, printed and packaged by the end of this week for my Etsy shop and the 'Chrstmas at the barn' craft market that I'm selling at, in Frome on the 26th/27th of November.

I will post more designs very soon, until then xox

ps: Sorry for the early Xmas chatter !

Blog mention - Emily Parkes

2011-10-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

I was featured over at Emily Parkes blog today. This totally made my day as Emilys blog is gorgeous! Also as I have been so quiet on the art front lately it was a nice little surprise to get a mention.

Emily also has an AMAZING Etsy shop, you can view it here.
I really like her textile art, especially the cupcake pieces! Happy, fun, girly!

Thanks for the feature Emily!

26/9/2011

2011-09-26T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, how you doing?

All has been busy as usual here, working, decorating, doing craft stalls, working (yep a lot of working)!..I also started my diploma in supporting teaching...and have a little essay to get round to next week...So yes all these things have been happening but no drawing I'm afraid :-/

Soon soon soon..I'm starting to feel the 'must draw soon' feeling which will only get more persistent, and I will find the time over the next few days.. Also I miss reading your blogs and getting my crafty friend fix!!

All the bloggers out there are just so inspiring, the world feels so colorful when I see all this creativity going on out there...Love love love it... So I could never leave for long could I?! :-)

Some things to share, this link to a Grain & Gram a blog/site full of interviews with male crafts people. Some seriously amazing guys out there who are so talented. Check them out.

Also my friend Sophie Parker has a new blog, she is a talented illustrator and designer, she draws the best cats and polar bears, (and ladies looking glam)! She has an Etsy shop too.

Other news, house news that is, is that we have finally painted our living room.PINK. Its a bit bizarre at the moment! This is the look that we are going for but right now without the grey floorboards it just looks a bit mental! Pink walls and horrible old cream carpet?? Hmmmm! Upstairs the floorboards are all done but downstairs is proving a bit trickier what with having to do the underfloor insulation. One day it will be complete! Until then here are some of my inspiration images!

Via design sponge

Via nest egg

Via Desire to inspire

Ok night night people ****

Quiet as a mouse...

2011-09-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

So I have been of late, please excuse my absence. Life is hectic and I'm yet to figure out how blogging fits into the way things are at the moment... All will return to some sort of normal soon I am sure! For now I want to share my favorite online things that I have come across lately..

Leililaloo on Etsy

'Funky Star' pillowcase

Babyjives on Etsy
Soft sailing boat nursery mobile

Owlcreekceramics on Etsy
Watery platter plate

I'd like to try recreating the abstract design seen on the owlcreekceramics plate. I really love it, it makes a change from the usual ceramic decoration.

I'll be back with more news, and hopefully some new artwork soon..Until then toodle pip folks! **

Fishfest 2011

2011-09-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

I took part in a really fun local festival called FishFest yesterday! I had a stall selling my art prints and cards and I met lots of great people & other local artists. All in all it was a great success and I can't wait for next time!

It was called Fishfest because it was based in the Fishponds area of Bristol. It took me a while to work that one out when I first heard of the event, dozy me!

We took some photos of the stall but that pics arn't great, the ones of me behind the stall are especially poor! I blame it on Ben's consumption of Bath Ale during the day! Oh well! ;-)

Visit the Fishfest website

I won I won!

2011-08-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

That's right! I won this gorgeous necklace made by Emily of the Etsy shop 'NestingEmily' in a recent giveaway.. The pendant is made of porcelain and has a blue glass inlay, I love the long chain that it comes on..I have worn it every day since it arrived, it came all the way from Canada..I love that about Etsy and crafting...I own things that were created by people who live far far away..Things that were created with love, time and care. Much better than owning something made in a factory don't you think?

Thank you Emily for my necklace :-)

To see more of Emilys work visit her Etsy shop.

What are you all up to this weekend? My sister is coming to visit from Devon, she has not been to my house or met the Arthur cat yet so it's all very exciting! I have the wine and chocolate at the ready for a girls night in. :-)

Happy Saturday people! **

PS:don't forget there is only a few days left to get 20% off in my Etsy shop! Using the code SILLYMOO.

Look what I found

2011-08-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Pssst.. Look what I found! Cute isn't it? It was chucked out on the street. Good news for me. I think I have finally have somewhere to put all the things that sit on the floor beside my bed..You know, my diary, a stack of unread books, letters, lip balm & random pens and hairbands.... Those things that just seem to end up there..

The plan is to clean it up, paint it (maybe a coral colour)? and then distress it a bit..Maybe..Or I might just change my mind completely and leave it as it is...After cleaning it up of course.

I love the different sized drawers.

And it's little rounded feet.

Happy evening folks :-) ***

Melanie Deegan /Sophie Ryder & Nicola Hicks

2011-08-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not long home from work, spent this afternoon cleaning and organising the pottery, still so much to do... I thought i'd draw for an hour or so this evening, so I was trying to draw a profile of a girl and as usual I was getting infuriated by it. So I took a break and came across some images by the artist Melanie Deegan online. Melanie Deegan makes wire sculptures that she builds up with other materials to create this interesting effect. To me they look quite dark, a bit nightmare-ish, and sinister. Whilst also being quite amazing to look at.

Her work reminds me very much of the work of Nicola Hicks and Sophie Ryder, two of my all time favorite sculptors.

Crawling Lady Hare by Sophie Ryder Via here

Greyhound Sculpture by Nicola Hicks Via here

I hope you like...Now getting back to that drawing.. I really think I need to go to life drawing classes again you know... Sometimes I get a strong feeling within my art that I need to go in a certain direction. At the moment I'm craving a more traditional, realistic drawing style. Does anyone else get that too? Also I've wanted to start a big painting for a while now.... I'll have to add that to my creative project list! The never ending creative project list...... ;-) Have a good evening all **

Oh how I love tiny bunting!

2011-08-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

I also love big bunting, fabric bunting, lace bunting, paper bunting, animal shaped bunting...You get the picture.. ;-)

My mum and step dad came to visit for the weekend, and whilst the men were watching 127 hours (The one where the chap falls down the rock, and has to saw off his own arm with a blunt pen knife...Not for the squeamish, but an amazing story all the same)! My mum and I made tiny paper bunting! We made some using blue twine and old maps of devon for my kitchen windows. Then we made some using left over scraps of wrapping paper for my living room. So simple yet I love them!

Its added a bit of color and fun to the house. I really can't wait to get all the floors/walls done, and the log burner put in the living room. I've been putting off adding any sort of nice bits and bobs until then, as I know it'll all have to be moved...

I also got this crochet blanket from a vintage shop in the Clifton Mall in Bristol yesterday, it's so nice and colourful. Sweet don't you think?

I've had a nice weekend & I hope you are all having lovely weekends too******

PS: Don't forget there is 20% off in my Etsy shop until the end of August with the coupon code SILLYMOO.

Pink poppies remind me of frilly knickers

2011-08-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Its true, they do! ;-)

I drew some today and here is the outcome, I can't decide on the background colour. I at first went with this blue but then my other half suggested this yellow. I think they both work.

What do you think?

This will be one of the new prints in my Etsy shop come September. I'm really enjoying drawing flowers at the moment, I had a craft night last night with a friend who does embroidery. I was working on my crochet. I can now do two different types of crochet stitch. I'll be crocheting swans and horses before you know it (haha)! maybe a bit adventurous! However I am working on getting a decent patchwork blanket done by winter.

I am very excited about trying out embroidery at some point in the future. I'd like to embroider some different images onto hoops to put on my living room wall...It always looks good right?

I hope all is well with you guys? I'm just trying get my head round lesson ideas for my new job starting this term. Did I tell you? I 'm going to be a part time pottery teacher in the mornings then an LSA (teaching assistant) for the rest of the time. Its all very exciting but requires some organizing on my part.

Apart from that I am still very s..l...o...w..l...y painting the house..Upstairs hallway today! Enjoy your evening/morning/day, take care & do something fun :-)

** me

Caravans and flowers

2011-08-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Howdy, hows things?
I had an amazing crafty day yesterday with my friend lili, we made apple & 3 berry pie complete with pastry top with pastry decorations (stars,planets,aliens..we got a bit carried away)! We also got stuck into some clay work and I made a vase in the shape of a shark! Silly, crafty fun! I forgot to take my camera but lili took photos so I'll try to remember to post! Today I have been working on my weaving, (yes that's still going on...I keep making mistakes then taking it apart)... :-/
I'm also knitting and crocheting squares for a patchwork blanket + trying to do some drawing too! I've just finished this drawing of a caravan that I thought I'd share.I'd love to have a caravan. Oh so cosy!

There's not much else to say folks, except I hope your enjoying your weekends. I've just been introduced to the band 'this is the kit' and i'm quite obsessed! I've been playing this song on a loop...

Cheerio :-)

Peacocks and clouds

2011-08-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Something that I've been working on, I know your shocked..Its not anything sewing related! It is a bird, not the usual sort of bird that I like to draw but still, a bird.

I hope all is well out there? Its gloriously sunny then all of a sudden verycold and gray here, it's as if someone keeps turning the lights on and off! I'm going to see some good friends that I haven't seen for 6 months or so thisevening, very exciting! Plus I get to stay on a farm, doubly exciting!

I can't wait to restock my Etsy shop, butfor now don't forget that there is 20% off in my Etsy shop untilthe end of August with the code SILLYMOO.

Have a wonderful sunny day everyone ***

ps: Sorry for the poor photo quality I don't know whats up with me lately.MaybeI need to wear my glasses more..Or just not rush around so much! :-/

Time to 'fess up' (& 20% off at my Etsy shop with code)

2011-08-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hi all, how you doing?

I feel its time for me to 'fess up' so to speak! I have been thinking of writing this post for a week or so now but as it happens something else has happened today that I need to tell you about too..So its a double 'fess up!

Well I have been wanting to explain my lack of art work here on my blog. I'm sure you have noticed that any sign of me actually making work has sort of trailed off lately...This has been replaced with me just posting about things I like, which is all good sometimes as I do love writing about other artists now and again, just not ALL the time.

The thing is that I just have not wanted to do any artwork for a few months now, I think it's because I've been really busy (tired, stressed) and I have just felt unable to do anything. I know everyone gets this now and again so I'm not going to dwell too much on it I just wanted to acknowledge that this has been going on.

I also have been avoiding my studio using every excuse under the sun not to go in there and work.

* I don't have the internet out there (do I need the internet to make work?no).
*there's no music out there (I can take the radio out with me)
*I need shelving/more storage (translates as its a complete mess and I can't face tidying)!
*It's annoying going from the studio to the house each time I forget something......blah blah blah..

These are all terrible excuses and I know it. If you'd of asked me before we moved into this house I would of said it was my dream to have a proper art space..Now I do have one and I make terrible excuses not to use it. :-/

Well all of my art materials and the space were in a complete mess. Really, such a mess and this was one of the main reasons I didn't like being out there. So today I got up and spent 5 hours tidying it up..I'm so happy that I did! I went through bags of tangled wool, spools of thread, found lots of things i'd thought I had lost, put things neatly in big clear containers, labeled things, hoovered everything and wiped everything down...I even got rid of the many spiders that had made my studio their home (sorry spiders)!

Then after all this I sat down with some paper and did my first drawing in too long. It feels like I'm on the up with my art again. Yay!

There it is, my once messy studio (and Ben gardening)!... But look now..

I know I have far too many books...I'm a book girl you see, not a bag or shoe girl. My book buying has calmed down considerably over the past few years thankfully! Above is a close up of my pin board. If you've ever done a swap with me or I've bought something from you and you've included a note you may find it on here. Its really inspirational seeing the notes and cards from other bloggers and online sellers up there.

Etsy shop update

Okay so the other thing I wanted to tell you was that I was contacted by a potential customer earlier on today asking about my shipping costs. She was a bit confused by them. So was I when I looked into it!!! It seems I had misunderstood the 'combined shipping' set up and so my shipping for anything over 1 item has been ridiculously high. All corrected now though, and i'm so thankful that my mistake was pointed out!!

To celebrate all the things mentioned in this post getting sorted out, I have decided to offer 20% off anything in my Etsy shop (redeemable at checkout) for the rest of august. All you need to do is enter SILLYMOO in the coupon code box!

To visit my Etsy shop click here

What a day! :-)

Lets play dress up

2011-08-02T03:53:00.000-07:00

I came across these photographs today via this board on Pinterest. They are from the Wovenplay online catalog. Wovenplay make the most beautiful children's clothing using handcrafted textiles & local, natural materials. You can view their website here.

The photography is by Alexandrena Parker

So beautiful!

26/7/2011 - A cloudy day

2011-07-26T03:03:00.000-07:00

I love these images, I really would quite like them on my walls, they are by the photographer Irene Suchocki. She has an Etsy shop that you can visit here.

My day consists on sanding and painting floor boards :-) Its looking good though. Oh and my weaving keeps going a bit wrong, I keep pulling it too tight and it ends up in a funny triangle shape!!! I will keep trying. I'm on take 3 now, but it's okay. I'm learning!

Have a good day everyone!

25th July - Summer holiday begins!

2011-07-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

Wow the summer hols are finally here! Which is good as I could sleep for a week, but not now, now

I am catching up on my to do list, listening to 6 music and enjoying tea in the garden :-)

I got an email the other day from Cora Beth Finney of the Etsy shop Cora Kids. A while back Cora purchased my singer sewing machine print in peach and she was thoughtful enough to send me a photo of my print in her lovely studio space (See above)...
Its so great to see where my work ends up! Thanks Cora :-)

Cora makes the cutest aprons for kids, take a peek at her shop here. I love these two designs!

Okay enjoy your monday, speak soon!

15/7/2011

2011-07-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

I brought the big loom home, so much fun, 2 long evenings spent sat in front of it. However I wasn't paying attention and was pulling the weft too tight..Now I have a very wobbly piece of weaving on my loom..I'm unsure what to do..Keep it as it is maybe? I won't make the same mistake again, and it does have a certain charm to it.

On the other hand its wobbly ways are bothering me. I may have to take it apart. Am I too much of a perfectionist??? I'll sleep on it and let you know :-/

*Sigh*

I hope all is well out there, I'm well just very busy with work at the school, one week left of term I can hardly believe it!

This will make you smile

2011-07-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Beautiful video by Laura Jacquemond of Blue Teracotta. Watch the metamorphosis of Blue Terracotta's fabric butterflies.

I was a fan of Laura's work before. Now I'm in love with it! Simply beautiful.

Her links:

Blog
Shop

Happy Sunday all :-)

July 9th - A Saturday

2011-07-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

Good morning! I wanted to show you these photographs taken in the grounds of the school where I work, the flowers are incredible at the moment. I took these after it had been raining heavy all night but for that morning the sun was shining beautifully. All is still quite quiet on the art front here and will be for a few weeks. I brought the BIG loom home though which I need to learn how to thread before I can do any weaving. Terribly exciting though...What will be my first project?! Maybe a pillow case..I'm still thinking on that one and i'll show you photos soon!

Are you based in London? The lovely Siobhan of the Hello Flower blog is starting a London based craft club. Go see.

Also I found this tutorial for dyeing plain glass jars which looks like great fun, I'd love a shelf just dedicated to colored glass jars! The tutorial is over at the Craftberry bush blog.

This weekend

2011-07-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend...Good food before we headed off to St Pauls carnival in Bristol.. Our wood collection is growing ready for the arrival of our log burner for the winter..I borrowed this brilliant book from the 70's about weaving and spinning and I am enjoying experimenting with the little loom...Arthur being cute..(!) Check out this mural we came across on the side of a house in St Pauls, I think its amazing! Finally here is Ben and I at the end of a long day at the carnival. I hope you have all had great weekends too?

Bye for now and enjoy the new week!

30th June

2011-06-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

June lovely June...

you are almost gone
Tomorrow we will say hello to July and hopefully a month full of sunshine.

What are your plans for July?

Two of mine are:

To do some painting, I have restless images of paintings whirling round my brain, they really need to come out and I can't wait to begin work on them.

To cook different foods, I've fallen into the cycle of eating the same things and I really want to try some new healthy (and not so healthy, lavender shortbread anyone)?! foods.

All is busy here but good, and I hope to share more with you soon but for now here are some gems that caught my eye whilst browsing this evening.

This beautiful pressed pansy silver necklace by Garden22DesignStudio on Etsy

RunRunRun Dress by OneLOveBird on Etsy

Handmade silk butterfly/moth by BlueTeracotta at Etsy

Speak Soon **

Saturday!

2011-06-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

Its saturday and its raining, the weather is bonkers lately isn't it? One minute you need your wellies and coat and the next your wishing you wore your flip flops..And its officially summer now isn't it? *Hello Summer*!

I came across the artist Ana Gonzalez on Etsy recently. She has the shop anaglez and I love so many of her paintings for the textures, colour and imagery. This one is particularly fitting for my day today. Arthur's been going crazy being indoors, the weathers been bad so he hasn't wanted to go out so instead he's bouncing off the walls attacking anything that moves (including me)!! He woke me up twice in the night which I was rather unimpressed by. Hmmph!

From here.

Also I have a loom update for you, it is now threaded and ready to go, I will do some practicing on it later and show you some photos. As you can imagine I've been exploring weaving online and I'm getting really excited about what I could make!

Right now I'm listening to this quite a bit, I had a big obsession with it when I first heard it last summer but now it's back in my head, maybe its all the talk of festivals..

Have a great day all :-)

Its Wednesday

2011-06-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Not Thursday

I woke up today convinced it was Thursday, and now I keep thinking 'its friday tomorrow'...It must of been one of those weeks!!

I've had a busy but good day. Lots of laughing and good stuff at work today. Today I got to:

Work on the vegetable garden
Sing songs
Help with numeracy
Help with literacy
eat yummy carrot cake
Work in the weaving workshop carding some wool
Be silly
Be serious
watch a swimming lesson
See Cows & sheep & piglets..The piglets are incredibly cute,they play like puppies..Watching them makes me question my meat eating..(I was a vegetarian/vegan for 18 years of my life you see).
Spend time looking at flowers, today's favorite, giant purple poppies.

I did all this whilst working with some amazing children. I'm very grateful for my Wednesday (not Thursday)..

I also got to bring home a small loom! Watch this space! I can't wait to learn how to use it, tonight I finished tieing up the ends..I think I've gone wrong somewhere though..I seem to have 3 random strands of wool left over...I can't figure it out. Anyway its exciting!

I hope you are all well out there and your Wednesdays have been fun..What have you been up to??

Here are some nice things for today..Enjoy :-)

Rockin Robin teapot by SimpleCeramics on Etsy, I would LOVE to own this..Wouldn't you?

Beautiful! Snug.Songbirds Wooden Mobile by Snugstudio at Etsy

Shadow Puppets a mixed media painting by ScribbleMe at Etsy - Check out this store by artist Jamie Hudrlik. Brilliant work.

Night night ****

Tuesday's sparkly things

2011-06-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

This is awesome

Circus print by ybryksenkova at Etsy. Yelena Bryksenkova is an illustrator/artist from Russia who now lives and works in Baltimore USA.
www.yelenabryksenkova.com

And this too is also particularly good, both the song and the video:

'New Romantic' by Laura Marling..

ENJOY! ****

New work!!

2011-06-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

New work! I'm so excited to show you the new blog banner I've been working on for the blog 'Creative Item'.

'Creative Item' is a blog featuring design/craft/photography & lifestyle topics by the lovely Katie Meyer.

Here is a screen shot of my design in place:

I came up with 3 designs for Katie but this is the one she went with in the end and I'm quite glad as it was my favorite! She also decided to just keep it b&w which does look great, the original idea was to use pastel shades with collage technique however I think the b&w looks very fresh and stylish and works with the rest of her blog. Kate was great to work with and I'm happy to have designed for such a lovely lady with a beautiful blog. :-)

Now go over and read some of her posts!

Creative Item Blog
You can also find Katie at @CreativeItem on Twitter

Toodle pip!

Blog feature over at Dutch Blog Vlinspiratie

2011-06-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

The Lovely Onneke got in touch with me to let me know that my work had been featured over at the blog Vlinspiratie run by Monique van der Vlist. Monique works as an art director for the Dutch creative living magazine: 101 Living Ideas

Here are some screen shots taken from Vlinspiratie today:

Monique featured my Vintage Teacup print and also my Spools of thread print. Both of which are for sale in my Etsy shop.

I will also have a new piece of work to show you soon. It is a banner that I have been working on for the lovely Katie Meyer who runs the design/lifestyle blog 'Creative Item' (used to be 'Kate makes it'). I really like how it's turned out and hopefully I'll be able to show you in the next few days!

Cheerio for now! :-)

Dreaming of horses again.

2011-06-18T02:05:00.000-07:00

Grooming horses and picking out their hooves by a gate in the snow. It was quite dark and icy. Do you have recurring animals in your dreams? I often dream of horses. Sometimes rabbits. Mainly horses though.. I would love to know of your animal dreams or just funny dreams in general..They are so interesting aren't they?! Have a great Saturday everyone *******

Via this Pinterest Board by EZ E Can't find original location, but would love to know!

My mum is awesome + DIY projects!

2011-06-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Happy friday folks! How are you all today? I am taking part in some forced down time. My life has been so hectic the past few weeks. Work has been very busy and I've been really tired. Going to bed at 8pm kind of tired. So tonight I am chilling with the cat and browsing blogs.Tomorrow & Sunday I have art planned and I am so looking forward to some art time.

I wanted to share with you some great DIY projects that I have come across via my mums (Debbie Morley) pinterest! My mum has got completely addicted to pinning! I'm also going to help her set up a blog for her poetry and short stories which I am so looking forward to...Go Mum!! :-)

Check these DIY projects out..Maybe an idea for this weekend??

This cake tin lampshade is just adorable.I'd take that bedside table too!
From LillieDale

Amaaazing mail cage! I would love one of these!
From bhg.com

Need to organise your packaging supplies? I know I do!
From Shannoneileenblog - There are loads more DIY projects on this beautiful blog, check them out!

Have a great weekend ****

Sunshine

2011-06-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely sunny saturday over here, I stayed in my pjs far too long playing with the cat and preparing for a visit from some Devon friends...We had a bbq in the evening and walked along the river in the afternoon. It was lovely to catch up with some great friends, silk screen printing weekends and surf trips were organised and I can't wait! I have so many printing ideas going on in my mind...Which reminds me that I still have to finish some lino prints...Oops!

Also did anyone notice the comment left by Dana on the post below?? She is offering readers of this blog 10% off anything in her new shop Apple & Pie by using the coupon: Rebekah... Go find something you like!

Have a good monday everyone!

**

New Etsy shop - Apple & Pie

2011-06-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Apple & Pie belongs to artist Dana Komjaty..

I wanted to mention Dana whose work I adore and am constantly amazed, impressed, inspired by. She just keeps on making the most beautiful artwork and objects and she has recently opened another Etsy shop. She has three now:
leililaloo: filled with things she makes with her sewing machine
danakomjaty: Prints and paintings
AppleAndPie: Prints which are based on animals and their symbolic values and characteristics. You really have to check out all these shops especially the new one AppleAndPie.

Here is a link to her blog and some of my new favorite pieces from the Apple and Pie shop.

To buy here

To buy here

*Wishing Dana lots of luck with her new shop and new fabric line..Its awesome seriously, check out her blog for info!*

In the shop

2011-06-06T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hey chaps + ladies! how are you all on this sunny evening? I hope all is well out there. I wanted to tell you that I have updated some of the photography in my Etsy shop, see top image. I wondered if you fancied taking a look and letting me know what you think? It would be very helpful. I took quite some time re photographing everything and using my dining room as a make do studio as you can see in the bottom image. I think i'm slowly getting the hang of how to make things look good!

Also there are now postcards for sale in my shop, I've added a couple and will be adding more over the week. Go see!

Onwards to the my Etsy shop!

:-)

Treasuries!

2011-06-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in a lot of treasuries these days (thank you) and they are all lovely and I would love the chance to share them with you more often. Today these two caught my eye and I especially wanted to share 'Ode to Needle Arts' by artsdomesticas as there is another of my fave artists/bloggers in there, Louise Taylor of the blog Crem-bru-la.Her work is on the bottom left 'Crafty - Original painting'.

Ode to Needle Arts

The next treasury I wanted to show you features my Diamonds and birds print which is for sale here in my Etsy shop.
This treasury is so beautiful don't you think?

Shades of green by ElnaDesigns

Yay for treasuries! Right the sun is shining at last so I want to get out in it for a cuppa T before I take some photos of some new work for the shop. By the way did I tell you that my new printer arrived? So I can now print from home using archival paper and pigment inks? I am so excited! Although the quality of my prints has always been great (I have been getting things printed at the fine art printers Niche in Stokes Croft bristol). I now have more control over how quickly I can ship prints to people and the prospect of doing art markets is now a possibility.

Very exciting! Right enjoy your mornings everyone!

:-)

Happy June 1st!

2011-06-01T01:35:00.000-07:00

Happy June 1st! Lately we have been on a few walks along the Frome Vally path which is right near our house, its a beautiful route along the Frome Vally river, lots of people walking dogs and I enjoy choosing my favorite one for the day! Current fave is a Springer spaniel!

We have been doing quite a lot of decorating, got the paint for the floorboards yesterday, slate gray, the kitchen is on its 3rd coat of white and the cupboards are going to be satin jade by crown, (Ben's still hard at work whilst I write this)! So as you can imagine the house whiffs of paint, I feel quite sick and the entire contents on the kitchen are everywhere else in the house. But it's going to look FAB! :-)

Oh and wanted to show you this new picture that finished not long ago.

What do you think? I have a bit of a fascination for retro telephones at the moment. Have a nice day, Lets hope the sun comes out!

Illustration Friday - Asleep

2011-05-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

It all got a bit busy in the end..But I guess for a quick image its not too bad. I often dream of horses and rabbits...I used to have a reoccurring dream that I left my pet rabbit in my handbag in a cloakroom of a night club..I went back much later and she was missing..I've never done such a thing by the way it was just a strange anxiety type dream I think!!

The May Bird

2011-05-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

Good day people!

Some of you may of seen this print already, I wrote this post a few weeks ago but forgot to post it!! Silly me!

New (ish)! A4 Gicilee Art print up in my Etsy shop. The May Bird, a return to the birds with socks of days past! I do love birds with stripey legs 'Socks'. Do you remember my other 'yellow bird' print? You can buy 'The May Bird' print here.

Cheerio!

Pattern Rally and whistling kettles...Happy Sunday all

2011-05-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone how are you? I hope you are all enjoying your weekends? I was feeling a bit better today so went to a local shopping center with my dad who was visiting..Got to do a lot of window shopping (there are some amazing clothes out there at the moment, great patterns everywhere)! Came home with a gorgeous duck egg blue whistling kettle *love it* and some art supplies :-) However all that excitement tired me out and I had to go to bed for 3 hours afterward!! I can't wait to feel better! Ugh!

I wanted to share with you that one of my new floral pattern designs is over at the illustration Rally blog right now in the current pattern rally that they have going on, the theme is 'Floral'. Go take a look at all the great designs that have been submitted so far.

Illustration Rally

Good evening folks :-)

My patten on a tote bag..woohoo!

2011-05-27T03:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got round to registering and submitting my first design to Envelop, everything went through okay and this is my first creation. What do you think? You can view and buy this tote bag here

More of my designs on more items coming soon!

The Teashed

2011-05-26T05:07:00.000-07:00

I really like tea & I really like sheds, I also really like art and I especially like a combination of the lot, so is it any wonder that this new company caught my eye? I stumbled across them on the Print & Pattern website and I thought I would share on here too.

You can find out more about them here www.the-teashed.co.uk

Now do you think I could get away with painting my summer house/art studio like this?! I would love too but I don't think the neighbors would be impressed!

cheerio folks **

*update, I asked the boyfriend and he says its okay....Summer project?!*

I emptied my kitchen draw..

2011-05-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

and this is what happened...

I suppose I should clean it out now before everything goes back.

Have you read about the 'What I wore today' drawing competition? I'm going to enter. Go take a look and browse the blog too, I love looking through the submissions, so interesting! I may have to make an outfit up, I'm still ill and in my pjs! It took me 2 days to do the above illustration as I spent all yesterday afternoon/eve in bed.Boo. Anyway enough of being miserable! Go look at that blog!

Toodle pip blog readers, have great days :-)

Some of my Etsy favourites

2011-05-24T01:49:00.000-07:00

Vintage caravan screenprint by Jane Foster
Woods of Wisteria Original painting by Carissa Page
Pooch in Pucci square blank card by StudioLegohead
Owl pillow in sage by Katedurkin

I also got a lovely supprise today when reading Kerry Layton's fabulous blog 'theseventytree' she has included my bicycle print in her selection of favorites from the web today. Thank you Kerry! You can check out Kerry's blog here.

Cheerio for now people! :-)

The Haby Goddess

2011-05-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be featured on the Haby Goddess blog this week! The Haby Goddess is an Australian business run by Jodie Maloni and is a shop/blog/tutorial and more site..

Jodie Featured my Peach Singer Sewing Machine print which is available to buy here.

Packaging and a thank you

2011-05-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

I sold two more prints yesterday on Etsy, two Singer sewing machine prints, one turquoise and one peach..Thank you so much to everyone who has encouraged and supported me with my blog/etsy shop/art making..I feel I have come a long way since I started this blog back at the end of 2009...Thanks..

I get so excited when I sell something and I absolutely love packaging up the prints to go off to their new homes..However sometimes I do worry a bit too much about things getting damaged in the post and maybe I over package..(bubble wrap envelope, 2 pieces of board, extra tape,that kind of thing)..! But that's because I want my prints to be in perfect condition when they arrive at their destination. I want the packaging to look pretty and I want whoever receives them to smile like I do when I receive a print in the post.....See I worry if they are over packaged then I worry if there under packaged ;-)

I got some great stickers and packaging supplies from the Etsy shop the Packagery. They do the most lovely 'thank you' stickers and other bits and bobs. I love there shop design too, so stylish! I also recently got some postcards done from moo.com, (that's the sewing thread image you can see in the sleeve with the print).As always the quality of the postcards is gorgeous and I can't wait to get some more printed.

Did you see I have added another page to my blog?? Look above there is a tab that links to a page with a selection of my pattern designs. Very soon I will add another page showing some of my illustrations, it is sort of a little version of my website really which you can view at www.rebekahleighmarshall.com
I wanted to tell you that I recently changed my hosting site from squarespace to moonfruit. Moonfruit was so much cheaper although not as slick as squarespace but still I don't really need a fancy pants singing dancing site do I?! Take a look and tell me what you think.

Oh and you may of noticed the magazine in the photo? I bought Vogue for the first time in years, it has an article about Tracey Emin in it. I forgot how much I love her work..I also forgot how much I love Vogue but anyway..! Night night peeps! I hope I haven't rambled at you too much?!

Night **

Illustration Friday - Soaked

2011-05-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Good evening folks, how are you? I have been home sick all week with a kidney infection (boo)..So Its been a cycle of drawing/sleeping/being ill/drawing/sleeping... I'm REALLY looking forward to feeling better but the upside is that I got to make some fun patterns...There's always an upside :-)

This one was inspired by Illustration Fridays word of the week 'Soaked'; my idea is that if your going to get soaked these are the kinda things you want to be wearing..Unless your someplace very cold of course in which case I would suggest a winter wetsuit!

I wish you all a very happy weekend, cheerio for now :-)

Derelict buildings

2011-05-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

I think lots of people have a bit of a fascination for old derelict buildings..I know I do..I especially love old buildings that still have furniture and objects that belonged to the people who lived here before in them.
How fascinating to think of who these people were and how things were in these houses when they were homes.. I took quite a lot of photographs when we were in Ireland of empty houses, there are just so many over there in the rural area where we stayed.

Wouldn't you just love to refurbish that cupboard? Lampshade? Curtains? Shelves?Bed? Fireplace??!

I know I would. Cheerio for now x

Ps: Textile designer Laura Redford has just designed some pillows on Envelop..they are so good! my favorite is this one, I really want it!

Sew good!

2011-05-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I have been extremely fortunate to have been picked for some gorgeous treasury's on Etsy recently. This is one of my recent favorites.

'I am sew creative' by ShelleAnne on Etsy.

ShelleAnne included my Original Singer Sewing Machine Print which you can buy here.

Bicyle basket

2011-05-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Here is my most recent illustration, inspired by summer and spending time on my bicycle..

I would really like a bicycle basket for my bike, there are some gorgeous ones out there. This basket made out of recycled materials caught my eye recently. Nice ay?

From Hen & Hammock

Have a lovely evening all :) x

Okay...I'm on the front page again!!

2011-05-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

How lucky to be on the front page twice in one day!! This time it was my Peach Singer Sewing machine print.

And here is my Peach Singer print in my Etsy shop :-)

*YAY*

I made the front page of Etsy this morning!

2011-05-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hey all I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to Etsy today, my new camera print the Zeiss Ikon Contessa was on the front page! It was surrounded by lots of other lovely items too, here is a screen shot:

I do love this print, you can view it here in my shop. Have a great day all!

Happy Thursday all :-)

2011-05-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

This sits by my window and I wanted to share, have a good day all**

A lovely surprise

2011-05-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

I got home recently to find an unexpected package..It was from Kerry of the Seventy tree blog.. Kerry sent me my favorite color combination of her 'drop' prints and one of her 'Bear' prints. I am blown away by how sweet and kind she is.. You can view her blog the seventy tree here & her shop here. Thank again Kerry :-)

I'm home

2011-04-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I'm home.....After 6 days of house & pet sitting, dog walking, exploring, mountain climbing, wine drinking (!) very rural living and relaxing in Ireland. It was fabulous. I look forward to catching up on art and blogging very soon. I hope your all enjoying these long bank holiday weekends and the sunny weather! Speak soon :-)

*PS: Meet Bonnie, she is the most well behaved boarder collie in the world! She was a darling and so much fun to look after.

Snap snap snap - Camera Illustrations

2011-04-19T04:02:00.000-07:00

I finally got round to illustrating 2 more of my cameras inherited from my Grandad. I've been up since half 6 today as my brain was swirling with ideas and I was also worried about Arthur cat as he didn't come home last night. We don't have a cat flap on the house so he was locked out all night (there is a cat flap on my studio in the garden so he could go in there if he wanted, but still he much prefers to be insidethe house where its warmer). So this morning he came in at 7am all dirty and miserable, in a terrible mood and wouldn't look at me!! I felt so bad! He's currently sleeping on my bed and doing his best to ignore me...Anyway the sun is shining (YAY) and I have finished two camera illustrations (YAY)...I really want to complete 5 of them so I can create a 'Grandad's Camera' Greetings card set. Have a good day all, I will pop them up in my Etsy shop as A4 prints today too..

UPDATE*** These prints are now up in my Etsy shop! To buy/view go here and here!

Posy and Penguin

2011-04-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up today with this is my head. It's quite similar to a sketch a did a year or so ago in my sketchbook. Its so funny that its cropped up again. This is going to go in my etsy shop as a print I think, I really like it :-)

Cheery pattern designs by Laura Redford

2011-04-18T01:55:00.000-07:00

My good friend and fab designer Laura has entered some designs for the Design project at the Beta fashion awards. I think her designs are fun, bright and cheery and well worth a vote. So head over to BetaFashion for a peek!

Laura's submitted designs can be found here & here.

And here is a link to her blog & her website!

Blue Terracotta

2011-04-17T02:17:00.000-07:00

I recently came across the Etsy shop Blue terracotta, I marked it as a favorite..Well you would wouldn't you, just look at those items!Then Laura who owns Blue Teracotta happened to buy a print from me and I got to know her a little better. She has a beautiful blog which you can visit here, and she mentioned my work recently too! I am very lucky, thank you laura!

Update** Laura made the most beautiful easter themed treasury yesterday that you can view here!

Illustration Friday 'Journey'

2011-04-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

Hi all, my entry for this weeks Illustration Friday for the word 'Journey'

The idea came from a conversation I had with a friend yesterday about careers, we were talking about how we had thought that if we went did well at school, went to college, then to university that we would be on our way to a well paid and fulfilling careers by now. And I guess we both are, sort of at that point except we are now trying to decide if we should do further training, an MA maybe, to get where we want to be. That then throws up the questions like: How can we afford that? Do we still want what we wanted back when we chose our university courses? Will we get a job at the end of it all anyway?

So basically life isn't as simple as A, B & then comes C..Sometimes there's a whole lot of stuff in between the start point and your goal. A bit serious maybe but that's what inspired this illo!!

I hope your all well and enjoying your weekends, I have people over for dinner later, and I'm looking forward to tackling a new recipe, cheerio for now :-)

Help Japan

2011-04-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

I received two little ceramic birds in the post yesterday. These were made by Makiko Hastings, a Japanese ceramicist who currently lives in North Yorkshire Uk. Makiko has set up a fund raising project titled '1000 birds' She is aiming to make 1000 ceramic birds to raise money for Japan for their recovery from the devastating Earthquake/Tsunami on 11th March 2011.

To view more about Makikos project (and if you would like to buy some birds)go here.

'Bottled' for Illustration Friday

2011-04-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

The word of the week is 'Bottled'....

If I was to make perfume I would like it to come in a bottle like this. My favorite perfume is Karma by Lush. Anyone else like it?

Photoshop experiment

2011-04-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

Inspiration = Tie dye and Spring

Blog-hopping for Lila

2011-04-13T00:03:00.000-07:00

Hi all, today I want to talk to you about something a little different. Today I want to talk to you about a sweet young girl called Lila who has cerebral palsy. Lilas parents Maria and Matt are trying to raise awareness of cerebral palsy and also to raise money for stem cell therapy treatment for Lila.

This issue was brought to my attention by Sarah of Red line design in the creative Coconut Island (a community of artists of which I am part of). Sarah is friends of Lila and her family and thought an artist blog hop could help to raise awareness for their campaign.

To read more of Lilas story please go to the 'Mommy you know what' blog here.

(You can also donate to Lila's treatment fund through the link on the Mommy you know what blog).

To see the original post at What is design? Sarahs blog click here.

Photography by Maria B.

Tomorrow Denice of Inkstitch will be continuing the blog-hop!

Thank you, have a great day :-)

My garden and a Taurus Craft centre visit

2011-04-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I left some of the party decorations up for a day longer..I love the bright colours...I'm also completely in love with my garden at the moment...Flowers appearing here and there and lots being planted..It was such a cold winter its great to have some sunshine and life appearing again.

Yesterday we went to the Forest of Dean and visited the Taurus Crafts center, it was a beautiful place with many artists/crafts people working there. It is also a Camphill Village trust, here is some info from the 'about me' page of the Taurus crafts website.

Taurus Crafts, based on a thriving art and craft visitor centre at Lydney, Gloucestershire, creates new and exciting opportunities for people with learning and physical disabilities and mental health problems through work, work experience and vocational training, including gaining recognised qualifications. It develops individuals’ confidence and promotes greater self-reliance and integration into the wider community.
The school where I work is also a Camphill Community so it was really interesting for me to visit a Camphill where adults are working and creating.
There were so many beautiful things there to buy and great activities to try out it is definitely worth a visit. Not to mention the great organic food in the cafe..mmmm!
And I got my sweetie broach there! Its made of glass and was in the stained glasss workshop/shop! There were so many things there I could of bought, fused glass necklaces,earrings, beautiful vases and coasters...Next time!

Links:
Taurus Crafts
Camphill Communities

Holidays!

2011-04-11T02:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all, how are you? I hope the sun is shining for you today.. we have had a sunny weekend in Bristol but today is looking very gray again (I am hoping the sun will fight through the clouds though..Come on sunshine)!

I am a happy bunny today as it is the start of my easter hols from the school. It was my Boyfriends birthday on the weekend so up to now it has been jam packed and busy with a party and people visiting..I still have to take down the bunting and balloons from the garden but I really don't want too! Looking at them makes me happy!

I have a few bits that I wanted to fill you in on the first is that I have joined the 'Creative Coconuts' an online artist community run by Marisa of Creative Thursday. I am really excited about this, it is the perfect follow on from taking the 'Life in the Fishbowl' ecourse run by Marisa that I completed recently. So I will be mentioning more about that soon.

Also if you haven't heard any of Marisa's podcasts you really should, they are so inspiring, (and just really helpful)!

Check them out here

Oh and before i forget, my 'Duet' print that I did for IF is now up in my Etsy shop. Perfect for Spring!

Bye for now **** :-)

Goodness me I've done it again...(Illustration for this weeks Illustration Friday)..

2011-04-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

The word of the week is 'Duet'..I thought of this straight away..I love seeing the images in my mind come to life on paper :-) I also did all of this out in my new garden studio. The peacefulness actually did me so much good.

Watercolor, gouache, pencil, felt tips and black pen....My new favorite combination!

I hope you are all well out there..Have a lovely evening/morning.

Cheerio!

Illustration Friday - 'Toy'

2011-03-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

I can't quite believe it. I actually got an IF image done in time for once!

The word is 'Toy'... Which got me thinking about the dog breed Toy Poodle...I grew up with a miniature poodle called Molly, she was the best dog in the world! We had her for a long time about 10 years I think.

I really enjoyed getting this image done, in my mind I could see a poodle sat outside on some grass near some colorful flowers and I just worked from that. It's great to get something done and I also really enjoy doing the IF challenges as they really do get you illustrating things you wouldn't normally draw.

I love this treasury!

2011-03-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

My Peach Singer sewing machine print was featured in this awesome treasury amongst some really great artworks.

Treasury by Memake titled Artists in Orange. You can view it here.

Flipflops, gardening, art..

2011-03-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hi all, hows your week been? Are you enjoying this warmer weather and the lighter nights? Tonight me and my man have eaten dinner outside (with a little wood fire), I also have just been wearing my flip flops this evening which has made me feel happy (again the log fire obviously helps but y'know...Summer is on its way)! I am still very busy with house stuff, we still need to paint the walls & ceilings and buy some bits but it's getting there. I have a few photos to show you of recent goings on, we have been doing lots of gardening getting everything tidy and planting and re planting things..Well when I say "we"... I actually just planted some bulbs made cups of tea and took photographs! Thankfully Ben's mum has been staying with us and helping which is really good as I'm sure i'd of dug up lots of lovely plants that are in their winter state thinking they were weeds..I really need to learn!

Arthur here doing the very important job of guarding the biscuits!!

So all is well but I can't wait to get on with some art making, I have lots of ideas twirling round my head that need to come to life. Current obsessions are plants, horse silhouettes and pink and gray...I hope to start focusing on art towards the end of the week.

In the mean time here are some prints that I really really want for my walls...

A3 Big Drop (Fresh) by Kerry Layton of the Seventy tree blog

Pitcher print by Elizabeth Graeber on Etsy

Less talk more make print by hello jenuine on Etsy

Have a great day folks whatever your up too :-)

SPRING IS HERE!

2011-03-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

Spring is officially here..Hurrah! :-)

I have been as quiet as a mouse of late I know, I am missing my art time but life is a bit busy at the moment. Roll on the easter holidays and time to create and explore all of your lovely blogs! Today I followed a link from Leililaloo's blog to this beautiful treasury and I came across this wonderful shop. I love Belinda Kemps ( Gretchenmist) paintings, just looking at them inspires me to create and go on adventures...What do you think?

I hope its sunny where you are, speak soon! **

Lovely things

2011-03-12T09:46:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Etsy sellers is Sophie Parker, I recently ordered some prints and cards from her shop and am so happy with them! Here are some lovely things that you can find in her shop.

Greetings Cards now available in my shop!

2011-03-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

I had some greetings cards printed through Moo.com and they look so good! I have popped some of them in my Etsy shop and will be adding more over the next few days. Go see and let me know what you think!

So much to fill you in on!

2011-03-06T03:31:00.000-08:00

Where to begin? I started today with that head fog that comes with having SO much to do but not knowing how to do it..Post office, printers, office supply shop, broach making, designing, photography, hoovering, cleaning, gardening, blogging, Etsy listings........ (I think you get the idea)?! Then over my morning coffee I came across this blog post over at Flax and twine which helped me get organised..Thanks Anne!

Two great blogs that I follow are up for the 'Top Creative Mom's' blog award.. If you could go over and take a look that would be amazing! They are Anne of the Flax and twine blog and Denise Of Inkstitch, both blogs worth reading :-)

Also I recently took part in two art swaps, I swapped my red horse print for this cute bird anklet made by Stacie. The anklet is much more delicate than I thought it would be and I really like it, I just need some warm weather now so I can get my flip flops on and start wearing it! Here is a link to her Stacie's shop and blog.

I also did a swap with Vesna of the lovely blog and Etsy shop Objemi drevo/ Cherry time. I swapped my Grandads camera print and my Turquoise Singer sewing machine print for two of her beautiful crochet coat hangers, love love love them!

Thanks Stacie and Vesna! Okay all I have much more to fill you in on but I think this is enough for this post! Have a good Sunday everyone :-)

Cat update and new listings!

2011-02-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

As you can see Arthur is making himself very much at home, here he is showing me that he is FAR more important than my emails! He very much enjoys walking all over my laptop keypad whenever he gets the chance..
(Please bear with me, the cat photos will die down soon)! :-)

Anyhoo lets get onto the art! I have listed my two recent paintings on Etsy. These are the first two original paintings that I have listed and I really like both of them.

'She caught the moon'

'The woodsman'

To see more images and find out more about them you can read a previous blog post here.

You can view these paintings and buy them here.

Have a good day all!

New listings and new pet!

2011-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hey lovelies! How are you all tonight? I am sat in my living room listening to 6 music (my favorite radio station ever, you should try it)! Waiting for a bottle of red wine to heat up (yum) on the radiator and I have things I wanted to tell/show you!

Firstly I have added a new print to my Etsy shop, this green shell print. It's nice. Go check it out!

Secondly we picked up our new cat from the RSPCA rescue center today! We chose him earlier this week and got to bring him home today! We've named him Arthur and he's lovely, although terribly playful (naughty)!!! He's had great fun exploring the house today disappearing under beds and under the stairs..This photograph was taken during his relaxing hour earlier which has now been replaced with crazy cat time! It's nice having an animal around though and I am so looking forward to getting to know him more. :-)

Enjoy your evenings!

Hello lovely people!

2011-02-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hi all, how are you? It's been a while!

I have been, and still am busy with my house move although things are starting to come together now. I can't wait to show you all photographs of my new garden and studio (I'm still very excited about these things! Above is a sneak peak of my studio in our garden) But for now here are a few images taken today, it has been so so gray lately.. I think we are maybe having 1 day of sunshine every couple of weeks :-/ depressing! Today was gray and rainy all day, although I did manage to take some new photographs for my Etsy shop which was good. I also plan to add some new items in the next few days so I will keep you posted!

A house a home

2011-02-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

I am finally moving house on Friday 11th February 2011, this has been on the cards since September and I am so happy that it's finally come around. ***Excited happy dance**** I am excited to be living somewhere that will have stairs, a garden, an attic, storage space,~~a summer house~~ *ahem* art studio :-)

The house itself is lovely too, built in the 1890s it's a stone miners cottage with fireplaces in most rooms and a lovely countryside feel even though it it on the edge of a big city.

I've lived with my boyfriend in a small city flat for 2 years now and before that I was in house shares for 5 years so this will be a big change. So I will be offline for a week or so we have lots to do including getting the internet connected up but I will be back with far too many photographs of our new home to show you soon :-)

I have started to get quite excited about the idea of decorating the house, I mean I have been in rented accommodation for so long where decorating is just not an option that I haven't really ever thought about it.

I made a treasury on Etsy called 'A house a home' (above) and you can view it closer here.

On the idea of home decorating I came across this company Confettisystem they make amongst other things the most AAAAMMAZING garlands...I would love to have one in my home but I think I would have to save my pennies for a bit...One can dream right??!

I came across Confetti system via this post on the decor8 blog

Bye for now people!

winter aint so bad when the sun is shining..

2011-02-08T14:53:00.000-08:00

So me and my man went on a looong walk recently, and took these photographs on his iphone..I think they're delightful.Winters not so bad when it's sunny... Yay for sunshine :-)