Saw this...

...in the doctors today, had to take Olive she has a sore patch on her face from dribblin, and I thought ' YES PLEASE!!!'. I seem to spend a ridiculous amount of time thinking about cleaning and its driving me crazy!!

Car boot blues.

For a couple of minutes last night I thought Jedward were going to come through for me but alas no, and there was me thinking I had developed a new valuable skill of predicting the future!

So to move on and avoid spending all day doing housework I ran out to the marina car boot found this lovely trivet with great illustrations aah the joy of boot sales :)

DOUGHNUTS!!!

Ha ha boot camp finished last night, can't believe that I did it and what better way to celebrate by stuffing my face with doughtnuts courtesy of my other half.
I am completely frazzled from a week of being mum and designing but all is not lost its Eurovision tomorrow and I have out my money on JEDWARD!! sorry Blue but jedward were simply made for Eurovision :)

My photos.

I take a lot of photos and collect them all away, today I thought I would post some of some florals from my mantlepiece, along with my babies footsies below they both make me happy .

The neatest feet.

XXX

Phew!

So after a morning of fiddling and faffing I now have a refreshed blog, hurrah!!!
Then had time to have a nice bath, sit in the garden for 5 and make a pie :)

Oh man...

Its 20 past 12!! when I clicked on a new format at 1 o clock this afternoon on my blog I immediatly realised what I had done a bit like when you think its a great idea to paint the living room and then regret doing so about an hour into the actual event...
So my blog is currently work in progress and as I have the squarest of eyes so am going to bed!!
night night.

something to listen to while you work...

Cath Kidston chooses her Desert Island Discs, interesting listening for while you work. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b010lyy4/Desert_Island_Discs_Cath_Kidston/

A new dress.

Being a fashion addict in Brighton can be tough if you know you already by some peoples standards you have plenty of summer dresses bulging out of your wardrobe, however with boot camp nearly complete I felt justified in rewarding myself with a few items including this great dress by emilyandfin.
I have recently rekindled a relationship with my sketchbook hence the doodle of my dress and I love the print, lots of tiny horsemen galloping around!!
To see more go to www.emilyandfin.co.uk

A day in history.

A special day in history, the bride and bridegroom look amazing, I am trying to convince my fiance he should wear a similar outfit!
Seeing all the people waving union jack flags reminded me of this photograph of my mom ( on the right) and aunt waving theirs in 1953 for the Coronation. Brilliant.

A little fairy in the woods.

One bank hol weekend gone, a bbq, a walk in a bluebell wood, Olive loved it!! and 2 boot camp sessions done, hurrah!
1 to go before the next big event...the royal wedding!! ooh what her dress gonna be like...? which celebrities are invited...? I cant wait!! :)

Happy Easter.

As a teenager I spent most of my Easter Sundays at my best friends house where her mum would traditionally make a huge buffet of delicious home made curries and scatter eggs around the garden for the younger children to hunt, this card is in memory of Sarah.
Happy Easter everyone :)

and the lush winner is...

We had a great day in the park yesterday and my good friend Hanne of Lifes most colourful minestrone picked a winner of the lush box, Congratulations to The Pea Pod!!!
Thanks again to everyone for your supportive comments x x x

freeness.

Day 2 of bootcamp complete, can hardly walk but no pain no gain so they say, yowza!
And 1 and a bit days left till I pick a winner of my Lush mamma mia box, (and I just felt like drawing a ringmaster) ooh it smells so good!!
Pop a comment here to enter :)

Ouch!!!!

Well that the first sesh over and my legs are killing!!
Day off today next gruelling session tomorrow hope my legs feel better...
So working on a new EXCITING brief , watch this space.
Olive wiped out after 3rd jabs ( nasty nurse ) and the weather report says Brighton SUN SUN SUN! Lovely lovely :)

Ok ok this isnt me but in an ideal world it would be!!
Instead I will be running around a park on a boot camp which starts tonight so join with me on my journey of pain for the next 4 weeks!! arg what have I done...!!!

Toby Tiger + my beautiful Olive.

What a week started busy and ended busy!!
Olive was picked to model for the Toby Tiger catalogue, great kids clothing shop in Brighton, so yesterday we went along to the shoot.
Lovely people and fab funky outfits, great for pressies!! To see more visit www.tobytiger.co.uk
Olive was unfort a bit wee for some of the clothes as you can see from the photo!!
AAh looking forward to the weekend give me sun sun sun pretty please...
PS dont forget to enter my website comp deadline next friday :)

Alon

Lark Rising.

I was lucky to spend some time with Amanda Lawrence founder of the gorgeous Lark Rising on Monday. Lark Rising produce amazing individual stylish cardigans featuring the artwork of some v cool designers Graham Carter, Megan Dow to name a few.
To see more and drool over the pieces go to www.larkrising.com.

Website giveaway.

Hallo bloggers what a wonderful day to launch my website!!... and to celebrate I have a box of delicious Lushness to giveaway filled with lovely things to get your bod ready for summer and smelling ace.
For a chance to be the lucky winner check out my new website www.ilonadrewthis.co.uk and let me know what you think, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Its been great putting it together and am hoping it will bring some new and exciting projects in the future.
Draw 3.00 Friday 22nd April.

Flamingos!!

Aah man life is so crazy at the mo, it was crazy before Olives arrival and now my head is constantly spinning as I slowly get to grips with it all, constant doctors visits, 3 and a half months of sleepless nights and trying to keep up with my work, my website is sooo close to being finished!!
We went back up to the midlands this weekend to visit relatives and friends which was super hectic and along the way I noticed properly for the first time these rather cool flamingos donning my father in laws bathroom, very Miami chic!!

Wonderful Inspiration.

Hi! I have been ordering books again and am particularly thrilled by the illustrations of Brian Wildsmith here in the Child's Garden of Verses. Crammed full of colour and fabulous techniques it has really got my creative brain wrrrrring!

To Dry For.

Hallo and a happy Monday! The sun is shining, Olive had her 2nd jabs today and it wasnt as bad as I had braced myself for and I found this a cool and hip tea towel design by Gemma Correll for the royal wedding JOY! :) To see it and more visit www.todryfor.com

If I were a skirt...

I remember being asked at an interview for a degree at Leeds uni if I were a shoe what type I would be? well if I were a skirt I would be one like this, with a right ol mix of patterns and colours!
Theres nothing I like more than a rummage around Brighton for vintage clothes and funky patterns its great inspiration.

Olive rocks the 80's!

To a lover of colour this image brought joy to my day!! Here's to a happy week :)

What fun!

Had a fab time Saturday, got new hair, ate delish food, listened to some great music, (we went to see KT Tunstall) and drank a wee bit too much of all dif types of alcohol...when will I learn...?!! which hurt my head and made me feel a bit green yesterday!! So now its onward with another higgildy piggildy week of work and being Mum, hurrah for sunny Mondays :)

Super socks!

I entered the latest Sock it to me comp with these designs, would be sooo sweet to have a pair to wear on me feet!
My best friend is on her way to babysit and tomorrow night am off out with me fiance for the first time since having Olive, got a hair appointment to help make me feel human again and my heart set on a few cocktails, bring it on, have good weekends! :)

Good Times.

Had a really great weekend catching up with friends and relaxing, came across the vid below, it did make us chuckle, my good friend Sally Strawberry came to visit with the BEAUTIFUL gifts of a hand crocheted blanket and hat for Olive, and it fits her perfectly.
To check out the very talented sal strawb go to sallystrawberryfacemask.blogspot.com
Then on Sunday a great roast in the countryside with more friends followed by a good flick through the cool mag, Frankie, which a friend over in Australia has very kindly treated me to a subscription for, its jam packed with inspirational craft, fashion, food pages and makes me wonder where is our UK version!! To check out more www.frankie.com.au
Gotta go baby calling!!

Volkswagen Commercial: The Force-Funny!

I wish I wish...

Not so easy for me to cruise the shops at the mo with the little one and inspired by the lovely Mrs Cheese mrscheesemakeslovelythings.blogspot.com I have been spending more time surfing the web for lovely things...ooh Donna Wilson you rock and how cute are these little shoes, sold out, no surprises there and Topshop I will always love you!

Mugs...

Took Olive today for her first jabs and it was horrible, she screamed like I have never seen before and continued to do so until she just fell asleep!! BOO :(
I have been seeking joy in 60's inspired repeats.
Possible mug usage...?

Hallo, another week flies by in a whirl of family life (including a small hangover from the delicious bottle of bubbly we finished off Valentines night!), alongside which I have been working on the promotional side of my work aswell as developing some more designs for specific products on my quest for a big break.
It was nice to visit a friend and find one of my cushions from Envelop on her sofa looking rather neat here it is along with some that I have donning my own sofa along with one of my bags too.
Next project...mugs! Happy weekends :)

Print pattern spot.

I was pleased to see one of the Valentines designs I sold last year popping up on Print Pattern.
As all my lovin is going on our Olive at the mo we are not going out so have invested in a posh bottle of bubbly for tonight yum, just hope I get a chance to drink it!!

Spoonflower.

To celebrate the Year of the rabbit which is me and my fiance, I have entered the latest Spoonflower competition. Boing boing!! :)

Sew much to do...

Dressmaking, a whole new world for me, I found this pattern at the weekend and have challenged myself over the next couple of months to design a fabric which I can make up this dress in.

Spring cleaning.

Wowza Friday again??!! Been a great week, went to the cinema with Olive, we watched Black Swan, the psychological thriller (v appropriate for a 1 month old!!) with tons of other brighton mums and their babies, hilarious, at some points I could just make out what was being said above the screaming!
I really enjoyed the film, it was different to anything I had ever seen and I kept thinking about it afterwards, always a good sign. I would recommend a look.
So a pretty quiet weekend ahead, my first organic veggie box is being delivered today so am hoping to be inspired when I see what goodies will arrive, lots of relaxing, bit of work, bit of cleaning and lots of Olive time, hurrah.
I have done a bit of computer spring cleaning this morning and found this design I did last year for a scarf for Lush, being a fan of multi colours I sometimes find it hard to work with a limited colour palette so really enjoyed the 5 colour challenge.
Happy Friday all have a great one :)

Pop-i-cok interview.

I LOVE hearing how fellow designers make their way and was thrilled when Dawn Machell over at 'Pop-i-cok' agreed to a mini interview about her background and advice to fledgling freelancers.
Dawns fantastic eye for colour combined with her ability to find endless ways to illustrate characters produces effortlessly charming design.
Every double page of Dawns recently illustrated sketchbook the 2011 Sketchbook Project 'It's raining cats and dogs' theme has been co-ordinated beautifully and is brimming with adorable and playful illustration, it was hard but I managed to choose my faves above, check them out...if you haven't already.

Enjoy the interview. :)

1. Please tell us a bit about your design background?

I left college with the idea that I didn’t really want to work for someone else and set up my own company – pop-i-cok - making “designer” childrenswear ...I soon found out that it wasn’t that easy and people only wanted to pay designer prices when they’d actually heard of the designer!

After 3 years slogging it out it just so happened that the company my sister worked for needed a childrenswear designer ... I fitted the bill and off I went. I stayed there for 9 years and learnt how to do it properly. I left when my daughter was a year old and the frequent foreign travel got in the way of a harmonious family life.

I went to work for Mamas and Papas, designing the graphics for their clothing and nursery interior ranges. After a year I took the plunge and went freelance (...and I still freelance for both companies now :-))

(My blog is pop-i-cok ‘cos I already had the name and thought I might as well carry it on)

2. How long have you been freelance and why does it work for you?

9 years. It gives me the freedom to work when I want around the kids (usually till midnight!)

I get to do the school run and go to assembly and all the school plays and I don’t feel quite as guilty as I would if I had to work for someone else full time.

3. Can you describe a typical 'pop-i-cok' day.

Haul myself out of bed, sort the kids out, sort the hair out, get the kids to school, come home, clear up the mess, check emails, blogs and facebook... do whatever work I have on that day... pick the kids up, feed them, referee the arguments, get them to bed, work for a couple more hours, do my blog, go to bed...

On Wednesday it’s girls night and on Friday I don’t feel guilty for not working.

4. What advice would you give to new freelancers to advance their career and sell work?

Get a job first to get an idea of how things work... and meet lots of lovely people who will like you enough to commission work once you’re freelance!

Once you get the work you need to be a joy to work with and you need to bend over backwards to get the work done...that way you’ll always be busy :-)

Oh and you’ve got to have the guts to do it in the first place...but believe in yourself, you can do it!

5. Where does inspiration come from for you?

All over... kids books, toys, clothes, websites, blogs, cards, my kids...

6. What are your aspirations for the future?

One day I will have a book... I can’t decide if this will be children’s fiction or if I should produce a trend/graphics type book for the childrenswear market... but I’ve been saying this for years now so don’t hold your breath!

xx

A Big thank you to Dawn for taking the time to answer my questions.

Boo!

Olive was a month old yesterday and she has changed so much already.
This is a face that I am seeing a bit more, not so sleepy dreamy anymore!!!
I am still happy to be squeezing in some design time so will be posting some new work soon :)
Yesterday Olive wore her dinosaur babygrow from Pumpkin Patch, love it!

Runner up.

So close but not quite...came runner up again this month over at the Tigerprint contemporary floral competition. Again lovely things said about my entry.

A really lovely use of colour is demonstrated with this design by Miss Pixie. Also clever detail is introduced with texture and pattern and the applique centre.

Well done.

Richard Scarry.

One of the great things about Olives arrival is that we are going to explore the huge world of childrens books together.
Oh to have my work in a published book would be a dream come true!
I really enjoyed Richard Scarry and was thrilled to find lots of them available on Amazon.
This inspired me to begin a favourites section here on my blog so you can join me and Olive on our journey through bookland! :)

Something to make you melt...

I am just warming up to getting back into work...this is just a small piece of what I have been spending my time looking at, our beautiful Olive.

Competition entry.

Just before I went into labour I filled some time by entering the last Tigerprint competition, design a contemporary floral design fitting into one of three suggested colour palettes.
I chose to use some potato prints I had created in the summer and played with them in both photoshop and illustrator and so here are my entries!
Happy Friday all :)

I made something...

...and her name is Olive.
Olive was born on the 22nd December and so my Christmas has been the most amazing blur of joy and happiness, she is growing every day and I well up every time I think that I have made her, I am the proudest mom.
So I begin the new year with a new addition to fit my work around and I cant wait!
Happy New Year everyone and see you in 2011!! :)

Runner up.

I came runner up in the Tigerprint competition, they said nice things about my design.
"A beautiful design, demonstrating a great placement along with the brilliant stitched detail. Great design".