Bonbi Forest

This is the gorgeous work of Lee May Foster a.k.a. Bonbi Forest. She creates many wonderful things including other pieces of jewellery, scarves and t-shirts to name but a few. The pieces above are my absolute favourites. One day I hope to collect one of each design. I might even treat myself to one for Christmas :)

Global Literacy Project "My First Book Project" - 2010

I was directed to this lovely little video by @munch_patel Many stock photo books have become redundant since many stock photos are now available online. Rather than taking up valuable studio space or sending them to landfill these people have been using them for the greater good by turning them into new educational books and sending them to the places that need them most.

Mr Fleecy Fox - Society6

You may remember Mr Fleecy Fox from last week when I showed you him because he is the new pattern for my cushion! Well, now you get hold of him as a print or iphone case/skin in my Society6 shop! And until the end of today (28/11/2011) there is free shipping world wide! So maybe you should treat yourself :)

Mr Fleecy Fox

This is a little sneaky peek at a cushion I am currently making! This was the pattern I made and I just thought that I'd share it with you :) I'll post photos of the finished article when I've braved the sewing machine!

Christmas Bambi

I've made another illustration! This time its for the Young Creatives Christmas Calendar! But as always you can help me promote it, or buy it as a print or iPhone cover over on my Society6 shop.

Google - 23/11/2011

Have you seen Google today? Its pretty ace! You get to play little games, where you then progress onto the next section until you reach the end (the image above). Once the doodle comes to an end you are directed to a google search for Stanislaw Lem. Make sure you get the chance to have a little play before it is taken down! www.google.com

'Google Doodle: 60th anniversary of Stanislaw Lem's first book publication.
Google has created its most elaborate Doodle yet to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Polish author Stanisław Lem’s first book, The Astronauts.'

Leslie A. Wood

These are some of the many wonderful illustrations by Leslie A. Wood. I really love how she has managed to keep the markings of her original outlines. Unfortunately my scanner is a bit naff and would probably ruin something nice like these. For more gorgeous work visit her portfolio site :)

Ok-Jo Studio

I've been browsing through my favourites list again and rediscovered these lovely lino prints by Ok-Jo Studio. I'm still learning how to get a good print and these are the sort of wonderful quality I want to achieve in my own work. I think there are two reasons why my prints are not turning out the way I wish they would.
1. The choice of paper
2. The choice of inks used

If anyone has any advice on the best inks, paper and best method to use I'm open ears!

Here's a little more about the Ok-Jo Studio:
'I have been running my own boutique design agency Ok-Jo Studio since 2008 after a stint of in-house freelancing which followed three years of full time employment. I work with a network of talented freelancers to help undertake larger projects.'

'I work as creative director and project manager on client projects and undertake all graphic design work. I work with my close network of freelancers on more complex web development such as wordpress content management, drupal and bespoke cms. I can also provide access to the following: animation; video editing; audio editing; flash; copy writing; marketing; press and PR services.'

Christmas Jumper Pattern

Don't you just love the jumpers that come in at Christmas with their lovely square type patterns? Well I do. So I decided to make my own pattern! I decided against the sterotypical reds and fir greens and instead opted for something a little brighter. It also means that you don't only have to pull it out at Christmas! It can be seen all year round because its not overly Christmas themed like many that appear around this time of year.

If you like it you can find it over on my Society6 page where it is available as a print, framed print, iphone/ipod case/skin! If you're feeling really lovely you can press the little heart button over there to help me promote it. Thank you! :)

The Dark Art of Pricing - Jessica Hische

Being a young designer I always find pricing very difficult as I never know if I'm being ripped off or being too cheeky. This article by Jessica Hishe titled 'The Dark Art of Pricing' was incredibly helpful. It doesn't out right tell you how much to charge but gives you a few rough ideas when it comes to ball park pricing. It also mentions different rights a company can use your work for and how this will affect your quote. Its a little on the lengthy side but if you are free lance I can not stress enough how helpful this article is! After reading it I will definitely be rethinking my attitude and ways of pricing.

I found your camera...

A while back I discovered this wonderful website where people who have found other peoples photos either on film, actual prints, SD Cards or lost digital cameras have uploaded the images for other people to identify. All most people want is for the images to be returned to the rightful owners. Its a really lovely little community and there are some interesting photos on there. There have been many success stories of photos and property being returned to their rightful owners. So have you ever lost a memory card, camera or roll of film? If your lucky someone may have posted it on ifoundyourcamera.net so why not try your luck and have a gander. Its an interesting blog none the less :)

Burst Magazine - Charity Christmas Postcards

Burst Magazine ran a little competition to design a Christmas postcard to be part of a limited edition pack of 12. I was lucky enough to be one of the artists chosen! 50% of the procedes from these cards will be donated to the Cambridge Hearing Trust Fund. So if you pop over to Burst Magazine you can pre-order your own little pack and feel good knowing that the money is going to a good cause :)

Poppy Brooch - Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day and so I made this poppy brooch. I didn't manage to get a paper one this year (mainly because I don't go out that often!) so instead I made my own. I hope you like it :)

Little Fox Head

If you follow me on twitter then you may have already seen this little fox. I fancied doing a spot of sewing the other night so I made a little fox head very similar to my fox and the hedgehog illustration. I've also sewn a safety pin on the back so now I can wear him on my cardigan. I'm thinking of making a few more when I have a few minutes to put in my etsy shop (that's if anyone would buy them!)

John Lewis Christmas 2011

John Lewis have done it again, another beautiful advert. Have a little watch if you have a spare few minutes :)

The Matchbox Art Show

You may have seen a post or two back that I am involved with the Match Box Art Show by Enter the Clutter. There are some stunning matchboxes so far so will be definitely worth a looksie :) For more information please click here.

Enter the Clutter are following up the great success of their Fairy Tale Auction with another exhibition with a twist…. “The Matchbox Art Show” will be a selection of 50 artists creating mini masterpieces within matchboxes. The artists involved are from many varied disciplines and even hail from different countries across the globe. To catch this magnificent microscopic moment it’s running at Polish and Pin open house for the weekends of the 26-27th Nov and the 3-4th Dec.

The Owl and the Pussycat

The illustration I used for my Owl and the Pussycat matchbox is now available in my Society6 Shop as prints, framed prints, iphone cases and skins! You can pop over there to have a nose, help me promote it if you like or even treat yourself or someone to a piece of my work if you like :) x

My Matchbox

This is my Owl and the Pussycat matchbox design I have been working on for the Clutter exhibition! Unfortunately the picture doesn't really do it justice. The inside (right image) is actually made up of 4 layers so that it is 3D. For more info on the up coming show take a look at their facebook page :)

Ryan Chapman

I discovered this wonderful illustration by Ryan Chapman a while ago when I had one of his images as a my desktop wallpaper! Its such a lovely image, I really wish I could go there! I think folded effect really adds an extra bit of character to the work. To see the rest of his lovely work please click on his name!

'Lighthouse - Poster illustrating my ideal home / location for Adam Hayes MAPS Project'

The sun goes down on the M5

What a weekend... By now everyone will have heard the dreadful news that came in on friday night about the horrific accident on the M5. What makes it worse is the fact that it was so close to home as thats my junction to get home and that I'd driven up that road just an hour and half earlier. Its not worth thinking about the what ifs but its still quite chilling. I'm not going to fill up this blog post with awful stats or images of the scene because its disrespectful to those unfortunate souls who lost their lives and we will be bombarded with those images for the next few days to come. Instead I'm just putting up this image I took whilst I was stuck on the M5 for 4 hours this evening.

My thoughts and I'm sure many others thoughts are with those affected by the M5 tragedy this weekend. xxx

My Mug

As part of the Matchbox Exhibition they have asked for a photograph of each artist so I decided to make mine a little bit arty so it detracts from my silly face :) Photos of my matchbox will be appearing in the next few weeks! I'm really quite pleased with it so I can't wait to share it!

November Wallpaper

Its been agggges since I updated my desktop wallpaper so this is what I have right now! I loved it and thought I'd share it with you. There the option to have it with or without the calendar so it never goes out of date! There are some other great november wallpapers out there. Check this page on Smashing Magazine for some more.

Yehteh

This is the work of Yehteh. I chose this piece to share with you because the illustrations are incredibly simple yet they bring the whole spread to life. Especially the character in the top left because it looks as if it is about to climb out of the page altogether!

Yehteh's Bio:
'I‘m Philipp alias Yehteh (original diction of Yeti), because I enjoy mythical creatures and cold days somewhat. However, I will enjoy any weather as long as I‘m in front of my computer, got some sharpened pencils, my notepad and an inspiring brief from you!'