Cupcakes for Clara

making the most of the minutes

I have been working in blocks of minutes rather than hours lately, with the little ones having been poorly for the best part of 2012. But *fingers crossed* and *touching every piece of wood I can find* they at last seem to be on the mend. And so I am hoping that I can get to work this week and finish off my new range of products.

I think this 'grumpy in the rain' illustration will be part of my giclee prints set. Perhaps I should also print postcard sized versions - what do you think?

Snail mail notecards will be part of the Colin range - because you know he collects snails & everything!

And I've just finished the layout on a bedtime Clara paper doll. I'm hoping to start the final artwork on this one & some additonal Colin outfits on Wednesday.

Fingers crossed! 

mollie makes giveaway

To celebrate Clara's feature in Mollie Makes, I'm giving away a copy of this issue. Yeay! 

And I'm throwing in a Clara paper dress-up doll. Double yeay! 

So, for your chance to win this gorgeous magazine & a Clara paper doll all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. And for bonus entries just share on twitter & facebook...

Ooh! You could win issue 11 of Mollie Makes magazine featuring #grumpyClara & a Clara paper doll. Head here to enter... http://bit.ly/zRN34a click to tweet

The giveaway closes on Tuesday 28th February at 9pm GMT and is open worldwide. Good luck sweetpeas!

P.S. The actual fabric Clara doll featured in the magazine isn't part of the giveaway though, sorry. She's just there to look grumpy pretty. 

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~ inspired by SouleMama

the make-your-own kit tour

Hello lovelies!

Inspired by fabulous April of Blacksburg Belle I've decided to start posting a couple of video blogs. Nothing very fancy, just some little tours of my work, behind the scenes peeks, maybe some work in progress, and if I can ever work out the settings a time lapse or two. 

I'm really stepping out of my comfort zone by posting videos, and I'm a little nervous. It's kind of scary to put yourself out there. Eek! Be warned... unlike April I'm not cute, adorable or able to construct sensible sentences. But alas, here goes...

~ Click the little flower shaped settings button above to view in HD ~

Make Your Own Kits are available here in the shop and the new little fellows will be joining them very soon. If you haven't already signed up to my newsletter, add your name to the list and you'll get a heads up in your inbox.

I've been invited by Mindful Parenting magazine to create a craft tutorial for their first issue. How awesome is that? It's an Australian magazine, launching in April (I think), and looks like it's going to be lovely. 

And a couple of other exciting opportunities have come my way, which I'll keep you posted about as & when they develop.

Despite my nerves, I would like to post more videos so if there is anything you'd particularly like to see give me a shout. 

P.S. Check back soon for a lovely little giveaway. You could win the Clara issue of Mollie Makes magazine. Ooh! 

mollie makes

Lovely readers, some excessively exciting has happened this week...

Clara has been featured in a magazine! And not just any magazine, the beautiful & inspiring Mollie Makes magazine. How exciting is that?!

I am so thrilled. And despite her grumpy face, Clara is pretty thrilled too. 

This is the first time Clara has ever been published in actual real life, and fingers crossed it will be the first of many! She's in issue eleven, which I think is available in shops on the 16th - although subscriber copies have already been sent out. Seeing Clara in print has given me a huge boost in confidence and I feel like maybe I am doing things right after all. Yippee!

P.S. How completely adorable are those mice on the front cover. Oh my gosh, so cute!

a pair of friends

You can find these lovely kitteny friends right here. They would very much like to say hello. 

These photos were part of the product photo shoot I've been working on. I really wanted to get a fresh, clean, fun kind of feel, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. What do you think?

P.S. A couple of people have asked if I might print a couple of these kitten photos as postcards to purchase. I think that it's an awesome idea - are they any particular ones (with the same or different wording) you would like to see as postcards? 

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~ inspired by SouleMama

lovely deliveries

Some really gorgeous things have arrived in the post for me this week, and whilst I was finishing up my photo shoot, I thought I'd snap these beauties to show you too. 

I ordered these fabulous orange pencils from Write With Moxie. They are made with rolled layers of 100% recycled paper, and oh they are so pretty. And how perfect is Lisa's packaging. Her branding is outstanding - take a peek at her press kit. Very inspiring!

I can't wait to use these orange pencils for all of my Clara-y projects. When they arrived even Matilda said "ooh, mummy you got Clara pencils!"

This lovely little princess is an original ACEO from Heidi McDonald. Her work is just gorgeous, and she's running a giveaway of her illustrations at the moment on her blog. Heidi signed with an agent recently and is currently working on her first picture book. Squeal! I can't wait to see that.

Heidi included these little sweethearts in the package. So cute!

I ordered these lovely Harris cards from Catherine Rayner when I stumbled across her shop in my picture book post. Harris Finds His Feet is one of my favourite picture books, so to get these cards from Catherine herself was more than a little bit exciting! 

And finally I took a big step... 

After reading your AMAZING comments on this post about struggling to call myself an illustrator, I have turned a corner. Guess what...

I'm an illustrator and to prove it I ordered a block of my favourite (but oh so pricey) watercolour paper - Aquarelle Arches Hot Press. I feel official now!

single outfit cards

I love designing extra outfits for my Clara paper dolls. It's so much fun! 

Drawing the clothes, finding the fabrics, finishing the details. I like to think Clara has her own kind of style, one which I suppose is not too dissimilar to Matilda's. Although (suprisingly) Clara is a bit more obliging in her outfit choices than Matilda - who is getting very clothes fussy now that she's three.

I purposely put Clara in quite proper clothes, almost Sunday best clothes sometimes, because I think it all gives her extra reason to be grumpy. Maybe one day I'll draw her with muddy jeans, a grass stained t-shirt & a great big grin on her face!

I'm wondering if there are any particular outfits you would like to see Clara in? 

- everyday clothes

- fancy clothes

- fancy dress costumes

Also, I'm currently selling these single outfit cards in sets of four, but would you prefer to purchase them individually? And collect new ones as they are released? 

Would you like limited edition outfits only available for a short time? Or an outfit club - where I send you new outfits every month or so?

I would really love your thoughts! Thanks lovelies x

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

~ inspired by SouleMama