Studio Ghibli craft swap

For the last few months I've been working on a secret craft swap on Instagram. I've took part in a few swaps this year but this has to be my favourite so far as I love anything Studio Ghibli! For my partner i made an art hoop which is something I've never tried before. It ended up being a mixed media piece using screen printing, embroidery, crochet and needle felting. I loved the outcome and already have lot's of idea to do others including some of my other favourite films Up and Brave.
I even made a huge effort with the wrapping too including cute soot sprites, this will be shipping out in a few weeks and i really hope my partner loves them!

Studio Ghibli craft swap- Totoro nesting Matryoshka dolls

A few months ago i took part in a Instagram craft swap and it was so much fun! I loved making things for my partner and in turn she made me some awesome things, so when I saw another swap for Studio Ghibli i couldn't resist. I'm making a couple of things for my partner but one of the small crafts is these nesting dolls. I'm so proud with how these turned out!

Horror pin button badges and free things!

I used my Halloween characters to get these pin badges printed off, i love them! They are for sale in my Etsy shop Here, available in packs of 2 or 4!

 I'll let you into a little secret though......... if you buy something from my Halloween range (Plushie, tote bag or screen print) you will receive 2 random Horror badges for free!!!! 

Halloween screenprinted tote bags

I've wanted to try screen printing tote bags for ages and thought my Halloween characters would be perfect on totes! I love the way these turned out, they would be great to carry all your sweets in from trick or treating. I;ve even made one for myself and lined it with some contrasting fabric and added pockets.
Available to buy now in my Etsy shop Zombie Tote here!

Halloween plushie photo shoot!

My plushies have been  on a photoshoot this morning ready for Halloween 2015! They are available to buy in my Etsy shop...... but hurry, they have already been selling well ^^

Screenprinted Halloween toy's

I'm in the process of screenprinting more toys in time for Halloween. There is 3 spooky characters to choose from but this is my favourite, the zombie! Available to buy on my Etsy shop! 

Available to buy HERE!

Spoonflower competition, 90's nostalgia

This week has been a busy one for all things non art related. I'm itching to get back to designing some new illustrations and prints, so to start off i did a quick design for the new Spoonflower comp. This only took me half a day of designing, planning and finishing the design but I'm so happy with it! Inspired the the original Tamagotchis, released in the 90's.

My neighbor Totoro inspired prints

Just for fun I designed some simple Totoro cards to screen print. I love how they turned out! I have a few for sale in my Etsy and Folksy shop....... I may have to keep one for myself.

New branding!

                                                                 Headers for online shops

For a while I've really wanted to design some business cards but it's been so difficult to think of a design! With this thought being at the back of my mind for months, an idea eventually popped into my head....... at 7am whilst getting ready for work, ha ha. So my buisness cards were designed and to give my business a more professional feel i also made matching headers for my blog and online shops. I'm so pleased with how these came out, it makes me feel more professional and positive about my work!

                                                                Buisness card details

Business card design

Spoonflower competition- After school snacks

It's been awhile since I've entered a Spoonflower competition, the last one i entered was around 6 months ago, ops! I hope to enter at least 1-2 a month as the Illustrator practise is good and hopefully i can make a small amount of money from it whilst having fun. I loved the brief for this one 'After school snacks' and instantly had fun ideas for it! I had fun with the character design and colouring of the design. Had quite a few problems when it came to repeating the pattern, i literally spent hours trying to fix it! I'm glad i kept going though and already have a couple of 'likes' on Spoonflower and lot's on Instagram!

Biscuits and Milk

Honey lemon bag- control panel to download

As part of my Honeylemon cosplay for Mcm Manchester, I made her amazing bag complete with chemical control panel! It was one of my favourite things to make, it was so much fun. I used screenshots and pic's from the internet to reproduce the panel in Illustrator.  I've made this PDF file for you to download to make your own Honeylemon bag!

 *** This control panel is free to download but is intended for personal use only and may not be re-sold or re-distributed commercially. ***

Big hero 6, Honeylemon bag

Honeylemon's bag was the object I was most looking forward to! It was a lot of fun to make but ended up being a bit of a pain! If I was to do this cosplay again I'd definitely redo the bag and make it more durable. The control panel I made myself using illustrator, I'm thinking of making a PDF for you all to download in a few days :) I just backed this onto some card and covered with acetate. The bag I don't have a pattern for, I just kind of made it up as I went along, ops! The balls were the most annoying part and most of the had fallen off by the end of the day which was a shame....... Need to work on that for next time!

Honeylemon helmet tutorial

At Manchester I had loads of people asking about how i made my helmet. It's the first time I've ever made anything like this....... but it was really easy! I owe it all to the Evil Ted channel on Youtube! Click the link, his video's are amazing, easy to follow and give great results!

Shopping list:

• Styrofoam head- I bought a cheap one from Ebay.
• EVA foam- I got a pack of x4 yoga mats, i only used 1!
• Contact cement- again a cheaper version from Ebay, it worked great.
• Duct tape
• Spraypaint- Pink and orange (My helmet turned out too pink, it should have been more purple)

I won't go into too much detail about the 'how to' because the Youtube video does a lot better at explaining! But here are some progress pic's of my helmet.

MCM Manchester 2015

This year I went to Comic Con in Manchester again, it was so much fun and enjoyed it even more than last year! Although i liked my cosplay last year of Astrid...... I really topped it this year with my Honeylemon! I put a lot more thought and effort into it and made sure i started well before the day. 

This is how she turned out...... I'm so happy with it :) I'm going to do a few posts about the process to hopefully help out some fellow Honeylemon's! 

Plushie photoshoot!

I wanted to give my plushies more context when taking photos. I played around with some simple ideas this morning and love the results! They look so much happier!

3 colour screenprint

I've been screen printing at home for a few months now, but so far I've only attempted one colour and printing on fabric. I'm now testing 3 colours on paper as a print! I'm excited to try it and fingers crossed it goes well, I've completed the first colour and so far so good. The design was inspired by my Sasquatch Sam's love of adventuring. I also have a 'Chill out' ice cream design for Monsieur Yeti too, exciting!

Mythical creature plushie

I loved my Sasquatch Sam character so much  I decided to extend the project with screenprinted plush.
A misunderstood creature, the Sasquatch is a lovable loner who enjoys the peace and quiet of the mountains. Sam loves nothing more than grabbing his map and heading on an exploring adventure.
 I also made a friend for him...... Monsieur Yeti!
Monsieur Yeti isn't getting any younger. The older he get's, the more he enjoys his own company and doing nothing. His favourite pastime is to chill out in the French Alps whilst eating his favourite treat...... ice cream.

Spoonflower competition

A few weeks ago I entered a 'Mythical creature plushie pattern' competition run by Spoonflower. This was the first time I've entered, first time making a plushie pattern and first time completing an Illustration on Illustrator! I hugely enjoyed making this and actually enjoyed working in Illustrator (think it's the first time I've not got annoyed with the program!) I decided to design a Sasquatch, was tempted to do down the unicorn route but wanted to do something a little different. I was so happy with how my design came out!

I already have plans to expand on this with screenprinting and new products, I even have a cute Yeti friend. I was also really pleased with the results as i had 152 votes (all from complete strangers as I didn't advertise on social media)  and some really sweet comments and although i didn't get anywhere near the top ten..... it still made me very happy! Especially as it's my first Spoonflower comp. It's also given me a lot more confidence in my work and to push myself more.
You can check out the other entries here, there are so many good ones!

http://blog.spoonflower.com/2015/02/announcing-the-top-10-mythical-creature-plushie-designs.html#more

Valentine bunting

Finally finished my Love Heart bunting. Took me longer than expected as i wasn't happy with some of the outcomes and wanted the bunting to be stronger and more durable. Really happy with how this turned out and glad I took more time to work it out! Would also be perfect for a wedding reception or engagement party.... I'm tempted to put one up at home! Now available in my Etsy shop :) 

Valentine ideas

For once I'm fully prepared for a holiday! My cards are already on Etsy to buy and by the end of this week I should have my buntings made too, pic's to follow :)

2015 goals

This year I want to be more productive in a business way and start selling my work and becoming more professional. I want my work to turn into a business rather than a hobby. I can't wait for whats to come this year. Here are my goals for the upcoming year:

Business goals

• Start selling  online: Etsy, Folksy and Storenvy are my main 3. 
• Make some business cards
• Design and upload a website. 
• Take part in at least one craft fair, but hopefully more!
• Make and sell products for the 3 major holidays- Valentines day, Halloween and christmas. 
• Explore more print techniques. I really want to learn woodcut this year. 

Personal goals

• Start learning Japanese.
• Carry on saving money for my 3rd trip to Japan.
• Skydiving!
• Visit at least 2 places in England- Edinburgh and Bath are high up on my list.
• Crochet something using my own pattern.
• Start making my own clothes.

2014 review

A look back at the creative project i completed in 2014, from top left:
- Princess Bubblegum bowling pin.
- Fox repeated pattern.
- Wedding present book.
- Black and white repeated pattern.
- Bioshock set of 5 pictures.
- Halloween toys.
- Stormfly toy.
- Doctor who crochet scarf.
- 3 chalk board displays for work.
- Halloween print.
- 2x Christmas print patterns.