Frosty the Penguin

Where has this year gone?! It's been a whirlwind! Here's a little Pingu skating towards Christmas fun times.

Printsource New York, New York

My portfolio of pattern designs will be on show at Printsource, New York, courtesy of Cinnamon Joe Studio (who are representing me) in booth F7! Should be a wonderful show!

Little Red Hen

Hurrah! I can announce that the lovely story of Little Red Hen, written by Kaye Umansky and illustrated by me (yay!) is now available to pre-order from Bloomsbury. I had the greatest pleasure of illustrating this book earlier this year, and I am super excited to see it in its proper booky format. Looking forward to receiving a copy, whereupon I shall take some photos of the inside illustrations! But for now, here's the front cover:

Spring Has Sprung!

Today I've been enjoying seeing the sun shine, the blue skies above and yellow daffodils below - spring seems to have finally made an appearance here in Scotland! For the past 5-and-a-bit months, I relocated with my boyfriend to the Highlands, which is a monstrously hilly place for a girl used to the flat of the fens. It's been a whirlwind of a time. I've learnt a lot. But the winds of change are starting to blow, and the call of the south is strong... It seems high time that I updated my blog with some new things though before we hit the road again.

Spring daffodils! So lovely to see some yellow after so much grey.

A busy three days for our chickens (8 more were eaten!)

Lunch in the sunshine.

A handsome fellow.

A weekend breakfast for two.

Gold and blue.

Wild and rugged.

I made a snake...

We made curry. It was delicious!

My first sighting of a Treecreeper.

A little chappy in the snow.

It snowed some more. This is our friend Tara in the snow.

Snow cat!

Alongside all this, I've illustrated my first children's book! It's the story of Little Red Hen. I'll be uploading some images as soon as I'm allowed. 

My Top 10 Folksy Halloween Treats - Part 2

Five more spooktacular treats found on Folksy...

6) Halloween Badges

Ten little badges all made from fun fabric. I think these would be great to give out to trick-or-treaters, adorn your witches hat with or decorate a sweetie bag. Made by Crafts Council.

7) Party Print Fabric

Sold by The Sewing Boutique this is some awfully cute fabric from Riley Blake, and I think it would be perfect for making a little 50s-style skirt with or even a tablecloth for a spooky spread. Boo! Eek!

8) Evil Owl Brooch 

Anyone who knows me will know that I love an owl, so this is right up my haunted high street. Not as fluffy and endearing as is my usual preference, but heck, spirits of the dead are walking the earth, so let's get jiggy with it. Made by Cherry Loco Jewellery.

9) Crocheted Eyeballs (!!!)

How ruddy fantastic are these?! I'm a bit of a juggler myself, so think I may actually have to acquire these for Halloween. A juggling Sugar Skull lady with stripy black and purple witches tights? Why not!

The creator of these is Lindylou Handknits - love her crocheted owl too.

10) Giant Pumpkin Fascinator

With flashing lights. Do I need to say anymore?! Gail Mitchell is a genius!

My Top 10 Folksy Halloween Treats - Part 1

It's been several years since I joined Folksy now, appearing on and off over that time with some of my illustrated crafts. It never ceases to amaze me how much diversity and talent there is on there!

So I thought I'd take a look at what crafty goodies are on offer for Halloween, that eeriest of all holidays after Valentine's day for the heartbroken singleton...

1) Pumpkin Soap Slice

That's right! Keep those cobwebs at bay by keeping yourself squeaky clean on All Hallows Eve with this deliciously dark-topped, candy-striped pumpkin soap slice by The Soap Loaf Company.

2) Batty Tea Cosy

Appealing to my ever-increasing need for tea and comfort, I happened across this sweet, I mean devilishly scary, tea cosy by The Cosy Daisy. Tea and bats! Who knew.

3) Kitty Collars

Because I'm the type of girl who likes her cats to have a collar for all occasions (and the type of girl who recently bought a miniature Santa hat and Santa's-Little-Helper red 'n' green ruffle for her two feline friends), these snazzy treasures seem more like a necessity than an idle want. 

From Mog's Togs Cat Collars, there are several more Halloween-themed designs too. Enhance your kitty's Spidey Senses! Meoowwll!

4) Mug Cosies

The ideal Halloween day is crisp and cool; Autumn leaves swirling to the ground, a touch of mysterious mist in the air... perhaps from a recently boiled kettle... I think these little mug cosies from The Wooly Knitter are great, and will keep the ch-ch-ch-chill from your bone china.

5) Sugar Skull Mask

I've had a bit of an obsession with sugar skulls for the past year or so, notably since I housesat for an old art tutor who had a house full of Mexican artefacts. There's something wonderfully enchanting about their haunting yet beautiful faces.

I'm painting my face up like one this year, but a quicker and more readily reusable option would be this fantastic polyester felt mask by Janine Basil. Look at those colours!

More treats to follow in Part 2 tomorrow!

Bright and Blooming

Hello there! It's been a misty old day here with a definite chill in the air. What better way to spread some warmth and sunshine than to jump on a plane to somewhere exotic design something bright and cheerful...! Today I had my watercolour paints out again.