sunday evening paintings

after many many months of digital work i decided it was about time i picked up a paint brush again. these however are my first attempts at using gouache! usually my paint of preference is acrylic, but now i'm a total convert. gouache is the way forward! i'm going to send these to some greetings card companies to see if they would be right for them, so fingers crossed!

some stitching!

what's the best way to cheer up a grey january day? embroider! i got the ultimate kit from sublime stitching for christmas and it was definitely the best present this year! now my stitches have become a lot neater, here's some peacocks i'm working on which will eventually be a little framed piece of lovelyness for my sister.

'dusty' - illustration friday

the first thing that came to mind with this weeks topic was the amazing Dusty Springfield, what a voice! 'Spooky' is one of my favourite songs of all time, incredibly smooth and just beautiful. more of a simple graphic-ey entry this week, however in my opinion the song paints a picture of its own!

'chicken' - illustration friday

i know, i know, it's a bit literal. but any excuse to doodle cute chickens is acceptable right? of course it is!

sewing!

crafty doodle + a touch of colour = pretty finished piece! :)

babushka!

russian dolls (also known as babushka dolls) are adorning nearly everything i own right now, so i thought i should draw some of my own!

a very slow day at the office...

today's been one of those murky grey days where not alot happens at work. luckily as i take my moleskine everywhere i had time to doodle this. i have become slightly obsessed with anything and everything crafty... can you tell?

'deja-vu' - illustration friday

a difficult topic this week, but as i was working my mundane part-time job i thought to myself 'how many times a day do i answer this bloomin' phone and say good morning?' so a bit abstract from the topic but sort of fits :)

also, 100th post!

happy new year!

well didn't christmas and new year go quickly?! can't believe it's all over! i hope everyone had an amazing time.
so onto 2011. i'm nearly at my 100th post which isn't bad for under a year of blogging. i have a lot of things planned for this year, mainly to be really time-conscious and proactive, plus i have started embroidery so all sorts of things shall be getting embroidered soon! i also want to get myself a proper arty job in teaching, that's my main aim for this year.
anyway here is my first make of 2011:



the pattern is from 'Kyuuto! Japanese Crafts: Amigurumi' which was in my stocking this year, another fantastic crochet book with really cute creatures to make! this one is going to be the first thing i've crocheted that is going to be mine, all the others have been presents (which is fine by me, i love making presents for people!)
unfortunately i'm going for surgery next week, but every cloud with it's silver lining means i'll have plenty of recovery time to draw, crochet, sew and generally be arty. see, always take the positives!
anyway, a happy and crafty new year to all!