Little Brown Rabbit

And the winners are...............

2012-01-27T22:49:00.007Z

Hello! Just a quick post today to announce my Giveaway winners :)

I used a random number generator to pick for me and here are the numbers:

So thats Cameron, Pippirose & Sandra! Congrats to you! If you could email me (for my email address see side panel) your email addresses (incase I find it tricky to tally everyone up with my mailing list) and your addresses I can get your prints in the post to you. For those who didn't win, thank you very much for entering & keep visiting as I'll be having another Giveaway soon!

Getting to Know Ed

2012-01-25T22:16:00.006Z

I found this video about Ed Emberley today via The Picture Book Junkies blog & it was such a good watch I recommend anyone interested in illustration to take a look. I found a lot of what he said very comforting & inspiring, particularly when he mentions that he loves to experiment with different mediums & different styles. It makes him happy when he is challenged & he likes the fact that when he has illustrated different books they actually look like different artists have created them. This really speaks to me because I always feel as though I should be trying to focus on one style to build up my brand but it's just not what makes me happy. I too like to experiment & try different styles as it makes me feel inspired.

I'll leave you with a great quote Ed says when he discusses his audience...

"...if I try to speak to everybody, I speak to nobody..."

click play to hear more :)

P.S there's still time to enter my Giveaway if you want to. Click here for more info.

Falling Leaves

2012-01-20T14:37:00.009Z

Happy Friday everyone!

Before Christmas I took a painting class online & I was pushed way out of my comfort zone. I really enjoyed the main challenge which was to paint BIG- the smallest canvas size we could pick was 16"x20" something I haven't done for at least 14 years! This was the result, inspired by my walks with Evie who loves leaves or anything leafy. She has been spotted on more than one occasion giving a tree a cuddle! I am really pleased with the finished piece- so much so that its now in my NOTHS shop & my Etsy shop, available to buy in 2 sizes :) Hope you like my little bear as much as I do!

Also for no reason at all other than being in a particularly happy mood today I feel like having a Giveaway! If you would like to win one of my Falling Leaves print (I have 3 to give away) all you have to do is subscribe to my mailing list (see the panel to your right) & leave a comment below to say you are a new subscriber. Or if you are already signed up just leave comment to be entered. I'll announce the winners next Friday. Good luck!

All you need is love!

2012-01-11T15:30:00.009Z

All my Valentines cards & prints are now available in my NOTHS shop, above is a snippet of what's on offer. My prints are also available in my Etsy shop. Hope you like them! Is everyone having a good week? I've been trying to fit a bit of spring cleaning in which I LOVE doing. In my world I'm not a happy bunny unless everything's organised, tidy & in its place. Shame then that I can't seem to keep it that way! lol! Hope to see you at the shop :)

Love is in the air!

2012-01-06T19:56:00.009Z

The design above was created by me for International Greetings

Hi all! It's been a busy ol' week for me, I've been flitting through various projects including the dreaded tax return :( & desperately trying to get control of the house work- I'm nearly there- only my desk space to sort through. Phew. It feels too early to mention Valentines Day but NOTHS are already asking partners to list their valentines products so that will be a project for this weekend me thinks & I'll post when my items are in the shop. Have a great weekend everyone.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T09:27:00.011Z

image above designed & owned by Woodmansterne

It's 2o12!

Are you excited? I am, I've got so many knew ideas to try out and plans for the business, I just hope I can get round to them all. I know I will do my very best but I've also got to keep reminding myself to be be realistic with what can be achieved when you have a toddler in tow ;) You Mums out there know what I mean!

This quote I read over the Christmas break at Carol Gass-Brown's Facebook page really spoke to me as I am often guilty of day dreaming up huge plans which are ultimately unrealistic:

"It is a mistake to try to look to far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time." Sir Winston Churchill

So here's to 2012, lets make it a great one people!

It's Christmas Eve People!

2011-12-24T11:24:00.007Z

Seasons Greetings Everyone!

Thank you so much for all your support this year I cannot put into words how

much it means to me

Wishing you all an amazing 2012!

Folk Pattern

2011-12-22T14:07:00.011Z

Here's a design that I've been meaning to show for a while & now seems like a good time as I think it looks quite festive. It looked scrummy in lots of different colourways & I couldn't decide which one I liked best so I left it to the client to pick.

So who's sorted with their Christmas pressie buying? I've been really organised this year & started early as Christmas shopping with a toddler is just a recipe for disaster! But now I need to wrap it all & I'm struggling to summon up the energy- perhaps if I have a coffee & a piece cake first that will help............hmmmmmmm

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

2011-12-19T22:55:00.005Z

Bobble the little cat

Bobble is made from an old woolly hat. He always wants to help, but because he has cloth ears, sometimes he doesn't quite get it right!

Isn't he gorgeous! I'm thinking he should perhaps be mine after all & not Evie's! Bad Mummy!

Photo was taken using my Instagram App

Our Wedding Day

2011-12-15T14:08:00.018Z

I'm now a Mrs as some of you already know! And I did promise to show at least one pic of me in a wedding dress so here we go.....

Phil & I really wanted the atmosphere to feel like an English tea party (vintage in style) & I'd like to think we pulled it off, it was a fun, happy & very relaxed affair. Our venue was a beautiful old Tudor farmhouse set in the most pretty gardens complete with free range ducks, peacocks, chickens, goats & pigs :) The day went too fast though- I wish I could do it all again in slow motion!!!

Flown By...

2011-12-09T22:55:00.005Z

Where has this week gone? I wasn't very well at the beginning of the week & now I have a backlog of work & orders, but I'm slowly getting back on top of things. Here's a sneak peek of one of the projects I've been working on- more photos coming soon!

Have a great weekend everyone- anyone Christmas shopping? :)

Limited Edition Christmas Card

2011-12-01T22:37:00.015Z

I have a new limited edition Christmas card now available in my shop :) Titled Blitzen.Each card is personalised on the front & back & embellished with a wooden reindeer, add on name panel & glitter for a little bit of sparkle! There are 3 colourways for you to pick from. Grab yours quick as there are only 8 cards available!

Please note- no two reindeer are the same so expect a variation of pattern.

Have a great weekend everyone :)

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

2011-11-28T22:28:00.006Z

The most beautiful bags & purses from Fossil. These made my heart flutter when they caught my eye!

Mummy Monday with Cupcakes For Clara

2011-11-21T16:03:00.031Z

Hello all! Did you have a good weekend? I had a great weekend but the little one is currently teething which = a lot less sleep so I am really feeling pretty sleepy this afternoon. But one must push on because its Mummy Monday! Hooray! I met this lovely & super talented Mummy in the land of the Tweets. Her name is Laura and she is the creator of Cupcakes For Clara. Laura is (as you'll read) a very busy mother of two & is seriously dedicated to her work- sometimes working the whole night if she has too- yes you read correctly! No sleep whatsoever!!! As you'll see in the photos she has many strings to her bow- not only is she a talented illustrator but she also designs in felt, makes softies & paper craft & has had a book published. Take a look at her Christmas goodies here! This is a great read & really made me giggle as I could relate to so much of what she wrote. (Laura, even as I write this I've had to stop Evie from trying to climb into the bin several times!) Read on & enjoy........

A Day In The Life Of Cupcakes For Clara

At Some point in the early hours of the morning..........

My 14 month old wakes up for cuddles & sometimes milk (he was 10 weeks early so is really like a 12 month old), he usually wakes his 3 year old sister up as they share a room, which is just great!

6.30-7.30am- My husband gets up with the kids whilst I sleep in (yeay!)

7.30-8.30am- We’re all up & getting ready for work/nursery/toddler group/music class. If it’s a Weds or a Fri, both kids are in nursery until 5.30pm so I get to work all day – luxury!! If not, it goes something like this…8.30-9.30am- Tom has gone to work, and I scramble around getting second breakfasts, re-putting shoes on wriggly feet, changing nappies, bundling one into the pram whilst the other probably takes her coat off again, more snacks, and checking my emails.

9.30-12.00pm- Toddler group or music classes. I always optimistically think that I might be able to reply to emails whilst I’m there, but it usually ends up with me getting play dough on my top, or trying to stop Theo from crawling into the bin!

12.00-1.30pm- Heading home & having lunch. Whilst they eat lunch & watch cbeebies (naughty me), I attempt those emails or maybe writing a blog post.

1.30-3.00pm ish- Theo goes for a nap. This has recently changed from two naps a day to one, so we’re still all over the place. Matilda loves to draw & paint so I try and set something creative up for her to do whilst he sleeps. We both sit at the dining table or get a great big messy mat out on the floor. If she’s happy to get on with it, I’ll work for a while. Packing orders, preparing products or drawing. Usually, just as I get started Theo wakes up.

3.00-5.00pm- Milk for the boy, snacks for the girl. Depending on the weather we’ll head out to the park, or catch up with some friends. Unless it’s been a particularly calm day, we’ll go to someone else’s house as ours is usually in too much of a crazy mess to have them come to us!!

5.00-6.00pm- Dinner for the little ones. Tom arrives home at some point during this, and I hand them over to him for at least a few minutes. Even if it’s only so that I can have a cup of tea whilst it’s still hot!

6.00-7.30pm ish- Getting the kids to bed. Tom takes Matilda up for stories & snuggles, and I give Theo his milk downstairs. He usually snuggles to sleep on my knee. Because they share a room, if they both go to bed at the same time it is impossible – they keep each other awake. One day we will have a big enough house for them to have a room each. Wishful thinking!

7.30-10.30pm- Once they are asleep, Tom cooks dinner, whilst I wash bottles & tidy up. And then settle down to each do our own work. Tom usually writes, whilst I pack products, draw, prepare products for my shop, or write blog posts. I usually try to cram too much in and disappoint myself when I don’t finish my list. We cosy up on the sofa whilst we work, with wine or hot drinks, sometimes with a fire going, and usually a film or an episode of House on the TV. It’s pretty nice.

10.30-11.30pm- At some point around now we’ll decide that we’re too tired to work any more, and head to bed. If I’ve got deadlines, I’ll keep working. Sometimes until 3-4am if it’s crazy busy. And often the minute my head hits the pillow - Theo wakes up. Sigh! I’ll get sleep when they’re older right?!

And then it starts all over again!!

Website – http://cupcakesforclara.com

Shop – http://cupcakesforclara.etsy.com

Twitter – http://twitter.com/cupcakes4clara

Facebook – http://facebook.com/cupcakesforclara

For more information as to why I started Mummy Monday please click here. And if you would like to take part send me a message :)

Cara

2011-11-17T10:43:00.013Z

Good day people! As mentioned in a an earlier post I'd like you to meet little Cara.

Cara is a Thingamajig.
Thingamajigs are born into this world for a wonderful reason- to bring friendship, happiness, smiles and laughter. They are created through someone’s imagination, but not very easily............................ you have to wish for one! And if you are lucky enough to bring a Thingamajig to life you will have a friend forever as they are such loyal and happy creatures and the best thing is if you try really hard you can wish them up for your friends too!

Cara was born on 20th September 2010. She's drawn to anything pretty and her favourite food is bread and jam. Her favourite pastime is going for walks outside and she loves looking out of windows & watching the world go by.

Cara comes with her own name card showing the details above. If you would like to buy her as a gift for someone let me know the name of the person you are buying her for and I'll add it to the card with a little message.

Although Cara was made with great care she is NOT a toy for children- she loves gentle cuddles but can't take too much of the rough stuff!

Cara's height is 250mm or approx. 9.5" (inc. her ears)
Her width is 115mm or approx. 4.5" (not inc. arms)

Thanks so much for reading :)

Click here to purchase

Our Trip To Brighton

2011-11-14T12:01:00.003Z

We had such a lovely trip to Brighton a few weeks before the wedding, I thought I would share some pics. with you. We just really needed a break- to get away from the ever mounting To-Do-Lists & just to relax, have some fun & catch up on some sleep! I don't know what it is about Brighton but I love it there & always want to go back. Evie had just started to crawl so she loved playing on the pebble beaches whilst we enjoyed a coffee....or two :)

Christmas Catch Up & Special Offer!!

2011-11-05T22:36:00.021Z

Hope everyones having a splendid weekend!

I have a special Christmas offer for you & it'll only be for my followers & subscribers:

Buy a painting & get 2 prints for free or buy a print & get 1 print free!!

Just leave a message for me at checkout saying "I follow!" and state which prints/print you would like. This offer is only on until the 30th of November.

Want to see my shop updates? Read on :)

New personalised Christmas cards are now available along with the original favourites:

New Art Prints are now available:

All are available to buy. Click here for my Not On The Highstreet Shop

and here for my Etsy Shop:

Lastly I wanted to introduce you to a little Thingamajig called Elliott

find out more about him by clicking here

I'll be adding another Thingamajig to the shop soon, her name's Cara!

Thank you for visiting! I loved creating all these new pieces so I really hope you found something you liked. See you again soon :)

Mummy Monday with Danita Art

2011-10-31T22:09:00.015Z

Hello all! I'm back & have so much to share in the next few weeks! A trip to Brighton, our wedding (!!) & honeymoon & LOTS of new design work to show you also.

The past few months have been ridiculously busy juggling wedding & honeymoon plans, my freelance work & looking after a toddler. I'm only now starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel! And its a Monday which means.................yes its Mummy Monday! I'm super excited to be dedicating this post to a lovely & very talented lady- Danita from Danita Art. A very busy mother of two & seriously I am blown away by her commitment to her art & her passion for it. She's a very inspiring lady who frequently works long into the night in order to create her beautiful paintings, jewellery & dolls. Enjoy!

A Day In The Life Of Danita

My typical day starts around 7:00 when I dress up the kindergarden kid to go to school.

We have a quick breakfast and leave for school at 8:00.

I manage to squeeze some exercise in walking in the park with my baby and go back home around 10:00 shower and look after the kid and prepare meals.

At 1:00 I pick up the kiddo from school and run errands, get back to eat lunch and let the baby nap. In the meantime I use that time to check emails, sketch and do office work at the shop. Afternoon comes, we have dinner and I let the kids out to the park.

Around 7:00 we start getting ready to sleep and if I am lucky I can get started with real work around 8:30 or 9:00...

Then it's burning the midnight oil until I am sleepy... And the day starts again the next day!

You can find out more about Danita here:

Her Blog

Her Etsy Shop
Her Twitter Page
Her Facebook Page

For more information as to why I started Mummy Monday please click here. And if you would like to take part send me a message :)

Mummy Monday with Melissa Moss

2011-08-29T18:58:00.031+01:00

Hello! It's time for another Mummy Monday. Today I'm really excited to be introducing you to one of my favourite artists Melissa Moss. She is a full time Mum & very successful artist whose paintings have been bought by Susan Sarandon no less! I've followed her blog for a while now and she really is an inspiring lady who followed a dream.

Enjoy! :)

A day in the life of Melissa Moss

7:00 Sam (who turned 4 in July) wakes up. I can hear him on the monitor. He looks at his Star Wars books and tells very animated stories to himself.

8:00 I usually get up around this time. For the past 6-9 months Sam is able to entertain himself in the mornings for about an hour. To get this extra hour of sleep has been amazing. I have much more energy throughout the day.

8:30 - 9:00 I fix breakfast for me and Sam. Sometimes we tell a story over breakfast or read a book but then sometimes we just sit in silence while I am still waking up.

9:00 - 10:00 I check emails and try to get a little work done while Sam plays. My husband usually gets up around this time and plays with Sam so this gives me some time.

10:00 I try to get out of the house by 10:00 with Sam. There are several things we do during this time...run errands, go to botanical gardens, the library, the park, the pool or visit with friends. We're usually out of the house for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

12:00 We get home and make lunch. If the mosquitoes aren't too bad we'll sit on the porch and eat our lunch.

1:00 - We'll read some books if Sam wants to. If he wants to play I can check email and work a little.

2:00 - Sam doesn't nap anymore but he does have "quiet time" which is about an hour (longer if I'm lucky). He'll play by himself in his room but after an hour starts to open his door and say "Hello?" This means he is finished with quiet time. I try to get some work done during this time but sometimes I'm too tired and have to take a cat nap.

3:00 - Sam usually has an after quiet-time snack.

3:30 - This is the time that's the hardest for me. If I don't take a nap I get really tired and coming up with stuff to do in the afternoon is difficult. Sometimes we'll run errands or take a walk before dinner. And sometimes (though I don't like to admit it) I'll let Sam watch an episode (or 2) of one of his favorite shows. This gives me more time to get some work done.

5:30 - We start thinking about and cooking dinner.

6:00 - We are usually eating dinner around now.

7:00 - We give Sam baths every other night so on the off nights we try to go for an after dinner walk around the neighborhood.

7:30 - Sam cleans his room and we read books until Sam's bedtime.

8:30 - Sam is in bed.

9:00 - 9:30 - Sam is asleep.

9:00 - 11:00 - If I'm not completely exhausted this is when I will paint. Having a deadline helps me get motivated. But a lot of the time I will just sketch in front of the TV. It's very difficult for me to just watch TV and not feel guilty about it.

11:30 - I'm in bed reading my book.

12:00 - Lights out. My brain is usually spinning so it takes me at least a half hour to fall asleep.

You can find out more about Melissa here:

Her Website

Her Blog

Her Etsy Shop

An Interview With Creative Thursday

For more information as to why I started Mummy Monday please click here. And if you would like to take part send me a message :)

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

2011-08-25T23:42:00.008+01:00

This beautiful packaging from Marks & Spencers

Mummy Monday!

2011-08-14T21:01:00.033+01:00

It's time for the next installment of Mummy Monday! Today I'm introducing Belinda Fireman- a very talented artist who I met online on an e-course. As you'll read Belinda has a son and twin girls- she's certainly got her hands full and I was amazed with what she achieves in one day. Her work is such a breath of fresh air, I love how her pieces seem to radiate joy & happiness. Please read on :)

A day in the life of Belinda Fireman

I'll choose Wednesday, because I do something for myself that day:

5:42 Wake up and change into exercise clothes.

5:45 Meditate for 10 minutes.

6:10 Drive to the gym .

6:25 Exercise.

8:00 Pick up kids (twin girls and a boy) at home and drive them to

school.

8:30 Back at home with my son. Take shower.

9:00 Play with my son or bake. Some days I go to the chiropractor at

this time.

11:00 Lunch.

11:30 More play or some errand.

12:15 Gather paints and my son's school things.

12:30 Drive to school.

12:45 My son goes to preschool.

1:00 Paint at school. There is a parent room where I can do this,

which is great for the winter days when I don't feel like

driving back home!

Once every 3 weeks I have a session with my life coach at this

time.

3:00 Pack up paints.

3:15 Pick up my son. Hang out outside while the kids play on school

yard.

4:00 Drive home.

4:15 Make supper.

5:00 Eat supper.

6:00 Drive to karate lessons (for my daughters).

6:30 Girls start karate lesson while I play games with my son.

6:45 Hubby arrives to take over with the kids. I drive to my

weekly dance.

7:15 Help set up for dance.

7:30 Greet people (and take money) as they arrive for dancing.

7:45 DANCE!

10:00 Drive home.

10:15 Eat snack. Talk with hubby.

10:45 Get ready for bed.

10:50 Read until falling asleep.

11:00 Lights out!

You can find out more about Belinda and her work here:

http://belindafireman.wordpress.com/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/firemanbell

http://twitter.com/#!/belindafireman

For more information as to why I started Mummy Monday please click here. And if you would like to take part send me a message :)

Evie's Dream

2011-07-25T21:15:00.044+01:00

It was my Evie's first Birthday today! "Happy Birthday Peanut!" I seriously can't believe she is 1 already- I have no idea where the year went! I remember her being born like it was yesterday. We've had an amazing year & it almost feels like I've been on a rollercoaster for the majority of it- not kidding you- its been a whirlwind of highs & lows, stops & starts, laughter & tears but WOW what an experience & I wouldn't change anything (apart from the birth!). Sometimes I still have to pinch myself that she's mine :)

I've been wanting to paint her a picture ever since she was born & last night I finished one- just in the nick of time for her Birthday. I've called it Evie's dream & I'm so pleased with how it turned out, it makes me smile when I look it so I hope it will make Evie smile too.

And I've not forgotten that its also Mummy Monday and I thought why not start with me? So here is a typical day where I am juggling work alongside being a Mummy:

7-7.30am Evie wakes up so I give her some milk and then we play with her toys in bed for a bit

8.00-9.00 Make & give Evie her breakfast & get her ready for the day.

9.00-9.40 Evie is playing whilst I take a shower & answer emails or make/finish any orders I have from Not On The High Street or Etsy that I want to post that day.

9.45-10.45 Take Evie to Hartbeeps - a fun, sound play class.

10.45-11.00 Bring Evie home, give her, her milk & put her down for a nap.

11-12.30/1.00 Whilst Evie is asleep I either work on any outstanding freelance briefs/finish orders/create new ideas.

1-1.30 Give Evie her lunch.

2.00-3.30 Either run some errands in town/take Evie for a walk stopping at the playground/meet up with a friend.

3.30-5.00 Come back home, give Evie her milk then we play, juggled with housework

5.00-5.30 Make & give Evie her tea

5.30-6.30 Either go out for another short walk/play in the garden or play indoors/watch some of the baby bedtime hour on CBeebies.

6.30-7.00 Daddy comes home and gives Evie a bath whilst I get on with any day to day housework/tidying up Evies toys etc

7.00-7.15 Give Evie her milk, read her a story & put her to bed

7.15-8.30 Carry on with some design work or house work.

8.30-9.30 Eat & relax in front of the TV

9.30-11.30 Carry on with my design work. If possible I try & make 11.30 the cut off point because personally I struggle to function on less sleep!

So there you have it- a day in the life of me :) I think seeing your day laid out like that really helps to put into perspective what is actually physically achievable in one day. Mummy Monday will be back next week!

For more information as to why I started Mummy Monday please click here. And if you would like to take part send me a message :)

Pretty Things

2011-07-23T19:37:00.008+01:00

I've got a wedding to go to next weekend & I have nothing to wear......until now. This normally never happens to me but the second shop I went into I found a dress (that fits!) & then miraculously found shoes (in the sale!!) & a gorgeous bag to match in the next shop after that! Not bad for half an hours shopping me thinks :)

Dress is from Oasis

Shoes are from John Lewis

Bag is from Coast

Gorgeous!

2011-07-21T21:05:00.007+01:00

This arrived in the post today and I just had to share it with you- is it possible to be in love with a sketch book?! I stumbled across it whilst searching on the internet. You can find it here.

A Summers Walk

2011-07-20T13:04:00.037+01:00

It's been a while hasn't it :( & I can only apologise for the promise I made not so long ago that I would blog at least once a week! Tut, tut! It would appear that looking after an 11 month old, planning a wedding and freelancing is leaving me with no free time at all. And it feels like the only time I get to relax is out on my walks with Evie where I really make an effort to come out of my head so to speak, forget about work/wedding business, breath deeply & pay attention to the beautiful surroundings.

I've also been doing quite a bit of soul searching lately as I've been feeling disappointed with myself for not accomplishing the amount I want to during the day. I've been comparing myself to other mum bloggers, those in a similar position to me and I find myself reading their posts & thinking how on earth do they get so much work done in a day when I can't? I physically can't get any more squeezed into my day unless I get some more help or I don't sleep- so how on earth are these other people doing it? Then I realised I had already answered my question. Sleep less or get help- its that simple! I regularly end up going to bed at 12 or 1am just to keep on top of things so surely other people must be facing the same issues? I think they are but they are just not blogging about it. So I've decided that I will blog about it. After a little researching I found that there are Mummys out there struggling to maintain a balance between being a mother & running a business. I have also just finished a business e-course with Creative Thursday & I got to read about other mum's experiences on this topic & it confirmed my suspicions that I was being too hard on myself. This in turn has inspired me to do a series of "day in the life of" posts whenever I can on a Monday- Mummy Monday :). I have found these sort of posts comforting and inspiring in the past where I get to glimpse into other people's daily lives and see what a typical day looks like for them. The first post will be this Monday & if anyone would like to participate it would be great to hear from you!

I also have some new work to show you- a new card range I've been working on so I'll be posting again soon. Hope everyone's having a good week & thank you so much for bearing with me, I appreciate it :)

Rabbit Awareness Week

2011-05-25T20:40:00.028+01:00

"If you locked a cat or a dog in wooden box in the garden, it wouldn’t be long before your neighbours complained to the RSPCA, and rightly so – but why should it be any different for rabbits?" RWAF

All this week its Rabbit Awareness Week and this subject is so important to me that I couldn't not blog about it because quite frankly rabbits get a raw deal! When I decided to get my two bunnies- Millie & George, I did do my research and read books and boy did I do the right thing as I had no idea of how much work it would involve. Here are some of the things I learnt:

A rabbit needs a hutch at least 6x2x2ft and an 8ft run.

A rabbit must be able to stand on its hind legs whenever it wants to avoid spinal problems.

Rabbits are physically incapable of being sick so when they moult they are unable to throw up the fur balls like cats which can lead to stomach problems.

They are as difficult to take care of as a dog or cat so they are NOT ideal pets for children.

Most rabbits actually hate being picked up because they are prey animals- being picked up is what happens if a predator catches them.

Rabbits shouldn't live on their own, they should at least live in pairs as they are social animals.

Rabbits are very territorial so if you don't have your rabbit spade or neutered they can get aggressive and will spray urine to mark their territory.

Vets bills are very expensive. Rabbits need regular check ups for their teeth, weight and need various injections every year, so just like cats & dogs you would need to get insurance which you would have to pay monthly.

Unfortunately it's a sad fact that most people just don't have the correct information on how to look after their rabbit/s correctly. The image of a rabbit down the bottom of the garden in a small hutch with a small run (if they're lucky) still sadly exists today in many households. Rabbit Awareness Week was started with the aim to re-educate the general public so that they can take care of their bunnies correctly. I so wish this information & research had been around when my parents bought me my first pet rabbit when I was a child, it makes me shudder now when I think of it living alone in a hutch far too small for it. Thank goodness we can do something about it now!

Please, please, please watch this video and spread the word

To find out whether your bunnies are happy bunnies please click here

And finally, a final plea (as I could passionately talk about this subject forever!) If you know of anyone who is thinking about buying a bunny for themselves or for their children please show them the video above and if they still want to go ahead please encourage them to get a pair of bunnies from a rescue centre as there are so many unwanted bunnies that desperately need good homes (plus the centres are far more likely to give them correct advice on how bunnies should be looked after). Just like cats and dogs bunnies should not be sold in pet shops anymore. Spread the word so that bunnies are given the chance to lead happy & healthy lives which every living animal deserves.

All this week I will be giving 10% of all my sales to the RWAF.

I've been working

2011-04-22T19:16:00.012+01:00

Hi all! I'm back for good (I'm writing this whilst trying to keep my fingers crossed) but my internet connection is back up and running, my kitchen is back up and running and I've just recovered from the worst cold I've ever had, so all is finally well again in Emma Land :)

Also I've been working on a freelance project. It was an unusual brief as I was asked to design a range of asian greetings cards. It was SO great to be designing again and I really enjoyed the project because (as requested) all the designs had to be bright and fresh which suits my style of working perfectly. Hope you like them.

It's the Easter Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK and the weather is still absolutely amazing so let's hope it stays that way! Fingers crossed it also stays good for THE WEDDING that is fast approaching too!!!

Happy Easter everyone! :)

Sky

2011-04-16T21:26:00.013+01:00

We have internet connection, we don't have connection, we have internet connection, we don't have connection. That's pretty much been the story my end and why I haven't been able to blog recently. Sooooooooo frustrating! Plus when I have managed to connect it's been nearly impossible to upload any images, I only managed to get this one uploaded after numerous attempts :(

So what's been happening my end then? Well finally our kitchen is nearly up and running again, I've been sketching some new ideas I have for paintings, nearly found my wedding dress, nearly sorted out the hen do, cake, flowers and table decorations- phew! Been busy, busy busy!

Sorry this is such a sort post but I wanted to give you a quick update before I lose connection again!

I'll leave you with this pic I took one beautiful evening whilst out on a walk with Bubba recently :) we've had some amazing weather for this time of year for the UK, feels like summer!

Hope to be back really soon

I want me one of these!

2011-03-23T19:48:00.011Z

Click here to visit their shop :)

Click here

No matter what kind of day your having........

2011-03-19T15:24:00.004Z

.........trust me- this will make you laugh out loud!

http://www.dafina.net/gazette/video/bebe-qui-eclate-de-rire-en-dechirant-du-papier

A Fresh Start!

2011-03-16T20:54:00.008Z

Because I've taken a break from work I've finally had the chance to sit down and take a look at my shops (something I've been meaning to do for months now) and I've decided it's time to refresh them and make a fresh start! There will be a few things no longer available to buy so if you had your eye on anything nows the time to grab it!

Thingamajigs!

2011-03-13T19:37:00.008Z

Well I promised to blog at least once a week and I've made it- phew only just!

For a while now I've been trying to finish making some Thingamajigs and I finally did it- just need to find time now to take proper photos of them and list them in the shop! I love the way they all turn out different from one another, like they have their own little personalities :)

I wish I could be a sleepy bunny.....

2011-03-02T19:47:00.034Z

Gosh it's been a while since I last posted! And I've missed it- and my design work too. It's all been a bit manic my end- with highs and lows. We've had a leak under our kitchen floor :( and as a result our kitchen now resembles a mud hut and on top of that we may have to move out for three weeks for the kitchen to be restored to its former glory. This makes me sad :( because moving out means moving away from the area, making it much more difficult to take Evie to her play groups etc- something I don't really want her to miss out on.

But don't despair as we've had some fun too! We've visited friends in Sheffield, we started baby swimming which was brilliant fun and Evie loved it- she even went under water! We went to Whipsnade for my Birthday, unfortunately we forgot how cold it is when you get up there as its high up in the chilterns and at 3 degrees it felt very chilly indeed so we were a bit wussy and mainly drove around the park in the warmth of the car!

At Baby Swimming!

Whipsnade Zoo

I've been designing for friends- Christening cards, Wedding Save The Dates and Wedding invites. Desperately need to start my own wedding invitations but at least I've managed to send out our own Save The Dates- I'll show you them in the next post. I've also been frantically trying to get some bits for the wedding organised, cakes, flowers, table decorations. Time is ticking and I haven't even been out to look for a dress!

Anyway with all this busyness I have felt absolutely shattered this week (fingers crossed I'm not coming down with something) I've been going to bed at 9pm and during the day when I pass my two house bunnies who seem to be forever snuggling and snoozing together, I've so wished I could just lie down next to them and have a snooze too! Sigh..........

But no rest for the wicked as they say as I can hear Evie calling me now for her milk so I best dash but I promise from now on I will at least blog once a week! For those of you still visiting me here thanks for being so patient and see you soon :)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T12:02:00.002Z

From Phil, Evie and I, wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Happy Christmas Everyone!!

2010-12-24T23:26:00.006Z

Hello all, so it's late on Christmas Eve and I'm shattered after all the Christmas preparations, but I couldn't not do a post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year :)

Thank you to everyone who has supported me this year, I know I'm repeating myself but your support means an awful lot. Sending you all Christmas wishes, hope they all come true :)

And the winner is...............

2010-12-03T20:35:00.004Z

Number seven which is Lorna! Congratulations Lorna! If you can email me with your address and what two goodies you would like from my shops and I'll send them to you asap :)

Thanks to everyone who entered and left such lovely messages- they made me smile & feel all Christmassy!

Christmas Giveaway!!!

2010-11-25T17:00:00.015Z

I've reached 50 followers! YAY! Which means that it is indeed time for a Giveaway :) As always I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who take a little time out of your day to visit me here, it really does mean a lot and keeps me motivated to keep being creative so I can show you more. I still find it so wonderful (and think I always will) when I click on my dashboard and see a new follower :)

This Giveaway feels extra special as it's Thanksgiving day today in America and also because we are sooooo close to Christmas- only four weeks to go- can you believe it? Because I'm starting to feel all Christmassy all you need to do to enter is leave me a comment saying what you love about Christmas. Also it would be great if you wanted to spread the word about my Giveaway, perhaps through your own blogs, Twitter or on Facebook. I'll announce the winner next Friday 3rd Dec and the prize will be not one but any two items from my shops (excluding my originals and Thingamajigs).

Good luck everyone!!

An Autumnal Walk

2010-11-22T17:31:00.006Z

It's Autumn and I find the colours in nature so inspiring this time of year. Phil and I took "peanut" (AKA Evie ;)) for a long walk recently around a local reserve (once a chalk quarry) and the scenery was beautiful. Evie missed most of it though as she was having a good snooze in her sling (check out the top middle picture), must have been all of the fresh air :)

Back soon with a Christmas giveaway!!!

Christmas is coming!

2010-10-29T17:21:00.016+01:00

Well can you believe it? It's nearly November already! Since having Evie, the days, weeks and months seem to be whizzing by at quite an alarming rate. Not sure when I'm going to fit in any Christmas shopping- I think I need to make a plan of action! :)

As promised in an earlier post, I have some new personalised Christmas cards to share with you :) I actually designed these months ago but with some much needed help they are now in my shop. My favourite is the last design- I just want to jump into the picture and give that bunny a great big squish as he's just so cute!!

Sanna Annukka

2010-10-26T12:23:00.012+01:00

Hello all! Hope everyone is well and having a good week? Thank you to all my new followers, it's great to meet you! And I just noticed that I only need three more blog followers to have the Giveaway that I promised. Perhaps it'll be a Christmas Giveaway? :)

Whilst out on one of my walks with Bubba a week ago I bought myself another Sanna Annukka tin. I just love her designs! I bought this one which you can currently buy at Marks & Spencers :)

This is the one I bought last year which I also adore (is it possible to adore a tin? Well if it is I certainly do!! ;) )

John Cleese on Creativity!

2010-10-19T21:37:00.012+01:00

Hello everyone. All is well here in Baby Land :D

I managed to have a baby break today and catch up on a few of my favourite blogs and thanks to Marisa I found this very inspiring video which I wanted to share with you. Enjoy!

Back soon with some new personalised, Christmas cards to show you :)

P.S I don't know why you can't see the full screen so here is the link for you to see it at YouTube- anyone know how I can resolve this?

First Smiles!

2010-10-13T18:18:00.003+01:00

Evie

2010-09-08T19:54:00.009+01:00

I have something very exciting to share with you. It's absolutely HUGE in fact, the most amazing and wonderful thing to have ever happened to me. Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that normally my reason for not blogging is down to my work, but for my recent absence I now have a much better excuse! On Sunday 25th July at 2.15 in the morning I became a Mummy!!! Our little daughter Evie was born, weighing a very healthy 9lbs 3! Needless to say the last six weeks have been an absolute whirlwind, Phil and I have been knee deep in nappies, muslins and babygrows! It's taken a while but we are finally getting into more of a routine. We are definitely learning what Evie's little squeaks and different cries mean and getting out of the house no longer takes up half a day! Evie's a very alert little bubba and so is especially keen to do anything other than sleep, therefore finding the time to make a cup of tea let alone write a post has proven to be rather a challenge! Everyday it amazes me how she seems to change a little- I can't believe how quickly she is growing and in the past week she has started to smile which I find so joyous it makes all the sleep deprivation pale into insignificance :)

Workwise I will be having a break so Evie and I can spend as much time with each other as possible. I will still be blogging though but if there is a longer gap in between posts you'll know why ;) Got to go now and wake the little munchkin up for her tea but I'll leave you with a picture! :) Bye bye for now xx

Banksy?

2010-09-06T21:33:00.008+01:00

I took this picture whilst walking up my local high street. What do you reckon, could this be an original by Banksy?

Bouncing Baby Girl

2010-08-23T17:28:00.003+01:00

And here's the baby girl version for you to see :)

Bouncing Baby Boy

2010-08-20T15:15:00.004+01:00

I've got a new design to show you today. Not sure why but my favourite thing about this design is the little shoe! :)

Something to make you smile ;)

2010-08-19T21:17:00.001+01:00

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Summer Fun!

2010-07-21T15:15:00.012+01:00

More summer fun today :) This design was bought to be used as gift wrap aimed especially for young children. This is me right back in my comfort zone- as apposed to being way outside it with the last piece I showed you!

It's extremely hot and muggy here at the moment so I'm not enjoying sitting in my little studio- I'm thinking I need to get some sort of fan. Don't get me wrong I am a real sun worshipper, but it's now so hot and heavy outside I've been wishing for a thunderstorm just to cool everything down. Is it just me or do you also love the smell of hot concrete just after it's rained?

Dragonflies

2010-07-16T19:25:00.004+01:00

Hi all! This design was a challenge for me to say the least! It is sooooo different from my normal style. Part of me likes it, part of me is not convinced!

Hope everyone has had a good week? I'm really looking forward to having a quiet, relaxing weekend- hope you all have a good one too!

Summer Smiles

2010-07-13T15:47:00.007+01:00

All this summer sunshine is making me so happy. Here's a cheery design for you to see that reflects my current mood! Not sure why but I love drawing Ladybirds :)

Pattern Making 2

2010-07-08T13:05:00.020+01:00

I've been away far too long haven't I. I've missed my blog and reading all your comments :( Not surprisingly there's been lots going on around here- orders to complete and some very challenging deadlines after which I felt like I needed to re-charge my batteries so I've made sure I've relaxed over the weekends.

Here's a few things that have happened over the last few weeks:

We went to Whitstable for a lovely day out.

I've had to rescue not one, not two but three birds that fell down our chimney and into our wood burning stove! (thank goodness its summer!)

We've had constant sunshine over the last couple of weeks. Yes! It actually feels like summer here in the UK! So I've been trying to make the most of it and gone out for lots of walks and had a few BBQs.

Watched a film that didn't impress :(

Watched a film I LOVED :)

Made some more Thingamajigs. Hopefully I'll be able to show you them soon.

Celebrated my brothers 30th Birthday.

And watched some elephants paint (on YouTube)- amazing!

Hope everyone's having a good week? Thought I'd leave you today with some more of my pattern making, I always like to experiment with different colourways- in fact I can get a bit obsessed with it, but don't worry I've narrowed it down to two versions of each to show you! Hope you like.

Pattern Making

2010-06-19T15:17:00.009+01:00

Pattern making has played a huge part in my career so far so I thought I'd share these with you today. Once I got the hang of how to create a design in repeat! (a must for the textile and gift wrap industry) I found the process a very relaxing and therapeutic thing to do :)

Hope everyones having a good weekend!

Happiness

2010-06-11T09:47:00.003+01:00

This design makes me feel happy! :)

Squeaky Pig!

2010-06-08T09:10:00.012+01:00

More exciting news today! I now have a selection of prints available to buy at Squeaky Pig, some of which aren't yet available in my other shops! If you fancy a gander click here :)

Debbie and Mel sell lovely things for young children, including personalised gifts and they also have a Squeaky Pig fan page which you can see by clicking here.

Presents, presents & more presents!

2010-06-06T18:42:00.006+01:00

Hope everyone had a great week? I've been busy printing and making orders and working on another exciting project!

I wanted to share this fun design with you today as I have lots of Birthday parties coming up in June- including my Dads :) Although I can't show it here on my blog this is a sparkly gift wrap as everywhere you can see the colour dark grey is silver foil stamping which brings the wrap to life. Hope you like!

Found Art Friday

2010-05-28T16:01:00.008+01:00

"Awe, of course you're not!"

My design for Found Art Friday.

Aspen & Brown

2010-05-27T19:38:00.010+01:00

Hello all. I have some exciting news! Recently I've been working on a project with company Aspen & Brown. They asked me to design a range of personalised art prints which would be sold mounted and framed. I'm pleased to say that they are now up on the website and ready to go! Each print is sold signed and embellished with tiny details of glitter and a raised add on text panel. These designs are exclusive to Aspen & Brown so you won't be able to find them anywhere else. Hope you like them and if you have any questions or requests do let me know :)

You can click here to see the different designs:

Birthday Boy, Birthday Girl, Baby Boy, Baby Girl, Christening & Wedding

Footie Mad!

2010-05-25T18:30:00.007+01:00

Come on then, hands up who had no choice but to watch the football with their other halves last night? My hands are raised!

I've designed many a football gift wrap in my time so I thought I'd share one of them with you today.

Back again soon with some exciting news on a project I've been working on :)

Awe!

2010-05-18T18:46:00.003+01:00

Couldn't resist sharing this pic I snapped today :)

South Farm

2010-05-14T18:40:00.010+01:00

Hello everyone- have you all had a good week? I've been super busy trying to get as much work done for Surtex as possible- will probably be working tomorrow too and then I'm definitely treating myself to a lie-in!

Last weekend Phil and I took our parents to the venue we are hiring for our wedding! All very exciting and they were having an open day so we got to sample mouth watering canapes and cake too :) I took quite a few photos if you want to see?

We love this venue as it's just so "us"- we instantly felt relaxed there and it's a great place for a small wedding- they even grow a lot of their own food and keep pigs, peacocks and chickens!

Have a great weekend everyone!

P.S If anyone's wondering I took these photos with my iPhone using the fantastic Hipstamtic App.

Big Thank Yous!

2010-05-06T09:07:00.017+01:00

Hello! I've been awarded a couple of blog awards recently :)

This one was given to me by Amanda Lincoln whose lovely blog you can visit here. Amanda is a Surface Pattern Designer so her blog is full of really pretty designs.

I also got this one:

Given to me by the lovely Gabriella of Moobaacluck. She has a fantastic blog where I love to visit because her work always makes me smile. She creates lovely characters which she paints in amazing colours.

Thank you so much Amanda and Gabriella!

Thought I would leave you today with a male design- yes you read correctly! Do you know I don't think I've ever posted any of my work aimed at men! And I do, do quite a bit of it- I suppose I just like to post the pretty stuff ;)

I hope you are all having a good week. Bye bye for now....

Found Art Friday!

2010-04-29T17:08:00.007+01:00

I know it's not technically Friday, but I'm pretending it is! :) Here is my offering for this months Found Art Friday theme "Golden". Again not my usual style, but I really enjoy the chance to experiment every month and that I never know what I may come up with next- pushing my boundaries so to speak!

I hope you like my "Golden Bird"

P.S To those of you in the UK- have a great Bank Holiday weekend! :)

Ladybirds

2010-04-28T08:52:00.005+01:00

Lots of little Ladybirds have been flying around my garden in the last few days and it's been so warm, ice-cream eating weather! Very unusual for the UK- but I am certainly not complaining. Today looks like it'll be another scorcher so I'll be making as many excuses as I can to get outside! :)

♥ Home Sweet Home ♥

2010-04-26T17:52:00.007+01:00

Hello everyone. This is my first day back working from home :) I have a stack of paperwork and emails to shift through but I'm nearly done. Although I enjoyed working in design studio again I have to say for me personally I still LOVE working from home and to my own schedule. I've always wondered in the back of my mind whether down the line I would start to miss working with people in a creative environment but it's been nearly two years now and I'm still as happy as ever! Long may it continue!

The design above was taken from a range of cards I designed for International Greetings. Hope you like!

Back soon x

And the winner is...............

2010-04-18T20:16:00.011+01:00

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my Giveaway this week and for all your lovely comments. As many of you already know the reason I have my Giveaways is to say thank you to those of you who visit me either here or on Twitter- your support really does mean a lot.

But without further ado this is who the random generator picked:

Number 16 which is Ena from Hort'curious who entered today with only minutes to spare! Congrats. Ena, I'll email you shortly to find out what you are going to pick!

Next week will be my last week working away from home in a design studio so once again if my posts are few and far between you'll know why! I'll try and be back as soon as I can :)

Have a good week everyone! x

Spring Gardening & A Giveaway!

2010-04-11T15:12:00.007+01:00

What a busy week I've had! The week I thought I was going to have turned into an even busier week and I have literally not stopped right up to this minute! I thought I would take a break and write this post :)

We've had amazing weather this weekend so Phil's been out doing a spot of gardening, I've been having my tea breaks outside and the bunnies have been out sunbathing too! All of which inspired me to show you this little design today.

Oh and guess what? I've reached 40 blog followers! Hooray! Therefore as promised it's time for a Giveaway. I'm going to let the winner pick a prize which can be anything from either of my shops (except for the original paintings and Thingamajigs). All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below and I'll announce the winner next Sunday (18th) evening. Which leads me to say a BIG, BIG thank you to all of you who visit me here regularly and follow my blog. Thank you for all your support and lovely comments- it means a lot :)

Happy Easter Everyone!

2010-04-03T19:09:00.009+01:00

Hello! Hope everyone's having a fantastic Easter break wherever you are.

I chose this design to show you today because it reminded me that spring is finally here (despite all the rain)! Hip, hip, hooray! :)

Spotty Floral

2010-03-31T14:46:00.011+01:00

Hello my fellow bloggers! As I suspected- so far it's been a really busy week- I've been working away from home and visiting friends & family as well. I forgot how horrible my morning commute used to be so I've been counting my lucky stars that I don't have to do it that often anymore! Two hours a day sitting in the car in traffic is something I definitely don't miss!

Thank you for all your lovely messages on my previous post and to Lucy- it's so wonderful to hear that I'm inspiring you to blog more often- go for it!

I've got a pretty little floral design to show you today, which a drew in Illustrator. This was quite a challenge for me as I usually work in flat colour but I like the way it's turned out.

I'll be back soon- hopefully tomorrow or Friday :)

P.S We are a step closer to my next Giveaway- I only need 3 more followers now! :)

A trip to Spain

2010-03-27T09:15:00.039Z

Hello all. Firstly an apology as I know I said I would be back on Monday and what day is it today? Saturday!! I have a good excuse though- honest! Whilst I was away I got a phone call from a studio I used to work for asking if I would do some in house work for them (starting the week I got back) so I've been juggling that and my business all week and I've just not been able to get to my blog :( That's why I'm blogging today- not something I normally do at the weekends but I was desperate to get back to it and let you know what I've been up to.

Phil and I decided to go Spain! A rather spur of the moment holiday but it did wonders as we both needed a rest and some sunshine. Apparently we were VERY lucky with the weather because leading up to our week there, Spain had been having record levels of rain! We had sunny warm weather nearly everyday and I had forgotten what it was like to be outside in T-Shirt- bliss!

Here are some photos I took....

The view from our apartment

Marbella Old Town

Mijas

Rhonda

Hope you like them! I loved wondering up and down all the little winding streets which were bursting with colour.

Next week I should be back to blogging more often but bear with me as I'm working away from home again for three days.

Oh yes and news on my next Giveaway! I've decided to have my next one when I get to 40 followers (need four more lovely people) so as soon as that happens I'll post it up :)

Oh and I also need to say a BIG thank you to the lovely Alison from Municipal Cupcake who wrote to me a short while ago asking if she could review my products. You can read what she wrote here and here. Thanks so much Alison!

Have a good weekend everyone!

More Easter Goodies!

2010-03-12T15:51:00.012Z

Hooray- it's Friday and I have more Easter goodies to share with you :) I have just uploaded these new personalised cards to my NOTHS shop. I hope you like them- I had a lot of fun designing them.

I hope everyone has a great weekend- and a great following week for that matter, as I've decided to have some well earned time off, so I probably (if I can stop myself ;)) won't be blogging next week. But I'll be back for sure on the 22nd :)

Bye bye for now

Oh! Forgot to say that I am only making 5 of each of the bottom two cards- so once they're gone- they're gone!

Easter's Nearly Here!

2010-03-10T18:32:00.006Z

Hello all, seeing as Easter is nearly here I thought I would share this design with you today that I also sold recently. I can't help but smile back at those happy flowers! :)

Love is in the air! :)

2010-03-09T17:08:00.009Z

I know Valentine's Day has been and gone but I got a lovely email from Cinnamon Joe (the agency I work for) a couple of days ago saying that this piece had just sold. LOVE those emails!! :D

Hope everyone's having a good week :)

Can Spring really be here?

2010-03-04T11:37:00.006Z

It's been sunny here all this week and I'm starting to believe that Spring may well be here- or at least on it's way!! I've tried to make the most of it and been out and about as much as I can.

It's been another busy week of getting orders out, putting Mother's day & Easter items in my shop, ordering supplies and getting up to date with my paperwork. Finally today I can get on with some designing- hooray!

The image above was created for a gift bag and just in case you thought it was odd that I used grey in my design, that indicates silver foil stamping- hard to imagine but there's nothing like a bit of silver foil to bring a design to life!

I'm not sure if I'll be back tomorrow as Phil and I may be visiting a wedding fair, so if I'm not have a great weekend everyone! :)

Found Art Friday!

2010-02-26T11:14:00.017Z

Hello everyone, it's Found Art Friday today and here is my mixed media painting inspired by the words "Everything Blooming". I really experimented with this piece and used paint, pencil, collage and my own drawn flowers and bunny. I just kept adding layers until I felt I should stop- really good fun! :) I'm calling this painting Tokyo Bunny.

If any ones new to the Found Art Friday concept you can click here for more info. or click here to see Cathy Nichols's shop (her work is amazing)!

Have a great weekend everyone, Pip and I are going to see some wedding venues- very exciting!! :)

Its A Boy!

2010-02-25T11:44:00.006Z

Just had some lovely news that one of my friends has had a little baby boy. Congratulations Mummy and Daddy! :)

Hope you like the design- I can't quite believe it but I designed this 5 years ago! Doesn't time go by so quickly?

I also had another fantastic surprise recently and that was to find out that I had received another Sunshine Blog award from the lovely lady behind Dots & Spots! Thank you Becky- it made my day :)

Flowers and Thank yous

2010-02-19T15:53:00.010Z

Happy Friday everyone! I was sitting having my lunch today and enjoying my Birthday flowers as the sunshine poured through the window and I thought they were too beautiful not to share with you. They remind me of warmer days :)

Thank you so much for all my lovely Birthday wishes and congratulations messages- reading all your comments made my Birthday even more special :)

Have a great weekend everyone. x

Celebrations!

2010-02-18T15:20:00.031Z

Hello! It's a triple celebration here at my blog today :D

Firstly it's my Birthday today, (hip, hip, hooray!), so there will be lots of laziness and cake eating going on! I haven't opened any pressies as yet as I'm waiting for Pip to get home- so getting rather excited about that and I got a surprise knock at the door this morning as Pip had sent me some beautiful flowers!

My second celebration is that I finally managed to get to London to take some photos of my cards in Fenwicks and Libertys! Excuse the quality of the photos! This was such a buzz for me I can't really explain it in words- I was so excited in fact, that I forgot to ask permission to take the pictures and I was approached by a very nice lady who told me to stop. Once I explained why I was there and proved who I was she let me carry on!! lol!

Liberty

Fenwick

And my third celebration is that I received a blog award from my good friend Anna. Such a lovely surprise!

The sunshine blog award is given to other bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspires others in the blogging world. :)

The rules for accepting this award are:

*Put the logo on your blog or within your post

*Pass the award onto 12 bloggers

*Link the nominees within your post

*Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog

*Link the person from who you received this award from.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to cheat a bit here because I've been pondering for a while now trying to decide who to pass this award onto and I've come to the conclusion that I just can't pick only 12 blogs that I love and that inspire me- I visit tons more than that and they all inspire me! So I've decided that I'm giving this award to all the lovely blogs I visit (I always comment so you know who you are!) Please accept this award and share it with other bloggers who inspire you too :)

Right I'm off to scoff some cake, drink a cup of tea and perhaps have an afternoon Birthday snooze............ :)

Bye bye for now xx

Valentines Shop Update!

2010-02-02T18:34:00.023Z

Hello all, hope you had great weekends?

I've got lots of lovely things to show you today, that are now available in my Not On The High Street shop. Here they are, starting with a selection of personalised Valentines cards:

Below is my signed "Forever Love" art print available here.

And lastly (you'll recognise this one!) my limited edition art print (which can also be personalised if its a special gift for someone) is now available here. There are only 50 of these available.

I hope you like them :) Bye, bye for now.

Its Found Art Friday!

2010-01-29T18:58:00.019Z

Found Art Friday is back, alive and kicking! Run by the lovely Cathy Nichols. Those who have been reading my blog for a while may remember that I used to post a image every Friday inspired by a theme or a word? This is my design inspired by this months theme "Big Love". Cathy took a break from FAF on the run up to the busy Christmas period but its back up and running if anyone would like to get involved. Click here for more info. My Big Love piece will shortly be available as a limited edition signed art print in my shop and I am happy to personalise it for you too if you are buying it for someone special :) There will only be 50 available so once they're gone, they're gone- I'll be writing a quick post over the weekend to let you know it's available along with some personalised Valentine's Day cards I've been working on!

Hope you've all had a good week and I'll be back soon.....

Twinkly Fairies

2010-01-27T08:46:00.005Z

Hello.

I have some twinkly fairies to show you today, hope they make you smile :)

And I hope you all have a "twinkly" day too!

Top Drawer Spring 2010

2010-01-22T17:19:00.038Z

Hello! I'm back! Just needed a few days to do lots of tidying and sorting after the mania of getting ready for Top Drawer- honestly my house was unrecognizable! And when it gets that messy I can't concentrate on anything else until its tidy again.

I had a great time exhibiting at TD, as some of you already know it is my favourite trade fair and one that I've never done before, so I feel like I have successfully fulfilled a long standing ambition of mine :) I met some lovely, lovely exhibitors, had a real giggle and met some potentially great clients too. And I cannot forget to mention the lovely Twitter ladies who came to visit me at my stand it was so, so great to meet them all:

Karen from Blueberry Park,

Gabriella from Moo Baa Cluck,

Melonie from Melandersondes,

Jane from Snapdragon Jane

Ali from Milly And Pip.

Becky from Dots & Spots

These ladies have fabulous shops online if you fancy treating yourself to a spot of online shopping!

I also had a visit from one of my most favourite artists Janet Bell, I'm embarrassed to say that I was rather star struck and couldn't believe she had come to say hi! I think I nervously rabbited on at her and her husband a bit too much! (Sorry Janet!) You must visit her website as she has the most gorgeous items for sale, Janet's shop sells other artists work as well as her own. Meeting her in person confirmed that she is indeed the lovely lady I thought she was- it was great to meet you Janet!

Fish for Supper by Janet Bell

Smeatons Pier by Janet Bell

I have quite a few orders to complete so will be fairly busy over the next few weeks but I'm hoping to have some new personalised valentines designs in my shop soon, so will keep you posted.

I thought I'd leave you today with a list of some of my favorite artists at this years TD. Enjoy!

1. Stop The Clock Design

2. Poppy Treffry

3. Luvio

4. Snapdragon's Garden

5. Stop The Clock Design

6. Snapdragon's Garden

2. Poppy Treffry

8. Lou Mills

9. Sunlight On closed lids

Celebrating my First Year of Blogging!

2010-01-11T15:27:00.019Z

Hello all. I'm celebrating my first year of blogging! I remember being so nervous when I first started because putting myself and my work out there on the internet for all to see made me feel rather vulnerable, however I can honestly say that I needn't have felt that way because I've only met wonderful, kind people via my blog- all who have been so supportive and friendly. So I wanted to say a BIG, BIG thank you to all of you who have visited me here and supported me and my art- as ever it is truly appreciated and to celebrate I thought why not have a special Giveaway? Im offering you all a gift of 5 free items to one lucky person who buys something from one of my shops between now and the 24th January.

**Free items includes any of my cards and art prints**

My work is available to buy here and here. To enter all you need to do is leave me a note at checkout when you buy something saying: ONE YEAR for your chance to win!

Good luck everyone!

I also have some exciting news and that is that my Not On The High Street shop is now open! Hooray! I don't have a huge amount on there at the moment but hope to be adding more soon, including personalised Valentines & Mothers Day cards. I also have personalised cards available in this shop that aren't available in my Etsy shop. Hope you like them!

Unfortunately I may not be back blogging again now until next week because I have a trade fair coming up that I'm frantically busy getting ready for. I'm super excited though as this is my favourite trade fair and my first time exhibiting there. I''ll be on stand F40 at Top Drawer from the 17th-19th if anyone is visiting & fancies dropping by and saying hello :) It really is a fantastic show- bursting with talented designers from small businesses all over the UK, I would highly recommend a visit as I always have done in the past.

Have a great week everyone! Em x