the secret is out!

Now that our guest of honour has arrived I can reveal the third stocking, for Rosie :)

HOPPY CHRISTMAS!

It's been a busy year for us - leaving London and starting a new life in a new town with 2 small children, but we're settling nicely and starting to find some sort of rhythm to daily life and a little bit of sanity!!

Wishing everyone a Hoppy Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Fresh Delicious

A surprise package arrived the other day and it contained THIS! The latest picture book I illustrated titled "FRESH DELICIOUS". These wonderful, colourful and playful poems from the farmer's market written by Irene Latham were a real joy to work with, and I was lucky to have a patient, understanding and encouraging publisher in Wordsong to work with.

You see, these pictures were made whilst I was pregnant with baby no 2, and I just about managed to finish all the artwork and hand it in on his due date - talk about cutting it fine!!! I don't know what I would have done had he arrived early. I remember rubbing my bump and telling him to take his time as I frantically worked on these pieces. He even gifted me with some days off to recover as he arrived 8 days later...what a good boy :)

This book will always be super special as it's the first full colour picture book I worked on since our first boy was born. I loved that he even gave me advice and criticism over some of the pieces. I don't know how long it will be until my next book or big project but in the meantime, I'm finding inspiration each day watching these boys grow :)

Christmas stocking!

I made a Christmas stocking for the little one :) I've been doing a little bit each night once the boys have gone to sleep and I've done all the boring stuff that needs doing. 

I'm working on another one which is nearly finished but that one is a secret, shhh!

Shop!

I have some new and old things in my Etsy shop including handmade toys and accessories, and limited edition Giclee prints. Please pop in to see it all :)

Coleman and Choc-poc

A couple of new friends have joined Minty Bob in my shop!

The 5 Misfits

I treated myself to a beautiful picture book by Beatrice Alemagna called "The 5 Misfits". The illustrations are charming and full of character, delicate, rich, mischievous...I love her work so much! I don't get to good bookshops as often as I'd like to these days so feel a little out of touch with children's books and illustration but holding this book in my hands fills me full of joy and inspires me to pick up a pencil and paintbrush again...someday soon...

Squirty Bertie

Hello!

Sorry for the long absence of posts...where did the last 2 and a half months go?? During that time I seem to have acquired some extra baggage under my eyes thanks to a couple of boys but not much else...

Saying that, I've been enjoying a bit of free time since my older boy started school and have been sewing some silly things. Here's an octopus as requested by the boy. We've named him Squirty Bertie :D

And the winner is...

Well done Helen! I'll be in touch soooon x

You can't catch me!

No winners yet...keep trying!

Some of you have guessed 4 answers right, some of you have guessed 2 right. I feel like I can give you more clues in the style of Mastermind - the board game. Incidentally, me and my fella always thought one day we'd go to a fancy dress party dressed as the couple on the box...classy!

✭✭✭Competition time✭✭✭

✭✭✭Be the first to match all 8 names to the faces and win yourself a Minty Bob friend made especially for you✭✭✭

Here are the names:

Baby Buttons
Borange
Chunk
Cousin Buttons
Huggins
Minty Bob
Shnorbo
Wump

Leave your answer here or on my Facebook page.
GOOD LUCK!

Minty Bob and friends

Helloooo! 

I've been getting back into sewing lately - doing a little bit here and there whilst baby naps. These are much bigger than my previous sewn felt creations and such fun to make! I like the fact that I won't know what they will look like until I turn them inside out and stuff them. They seem to grow a little personality of their own. 

Here's a vid of me turning one inside out:

Here he is hanging out with his mates.

A couple of his other mates went out on a coffee and cake date earlier, YUM!

This lot will be on sale at our stall this Sunday, as part of Jumble Trail.

Rosie's heffalumps

These 4 elephants are going to their new home: to a lovely lady who we've enjoyed spending time with this past week :)

Old friends and old journeys

Here's some old work again. At the top are some of my favourite toys from childhood painted from memory, and the 3 below followed my biggest most exciting adventure I went on 13 years ago, when I traveled alone for a month around Southeast Alaska and saw the most beautiful land and seascapes and met some wonderful people along the way :)

Old work

Hello hello! 

Motherhood and moving house has kept me pretty busy the last few months so sorry for the lack of posts and news. I'm on indefinite maternity leave and I'm not sure when I will be able to work again but thought I would post some old work on here from time to time, to remind myself of what I used to do and share my work with new and old followers :)

These illustrations are super old! The first 3 are from my MA days at Brighton University all the way back in 1999 when I was still a fresh faced, optimistic and inspired illustration student! Native American myths and legends were my inspiration for these pieces.

ya-ba-do-wee~♪

Helloooo and Happy New Year!

Not much time for making pictures these days...the boys are keeping me busy! My baby slept long enough for me to quickly cobble together the above pic. I must admit, it's not all done by hand and I had to finish it off with the pooter so a little bit of cheating involved :P

The older one had been saying "Big bad ladder" for some days but I had no idea what he was talking about until one day his daddy sang "ya-ba-do-wee♪ " to which he followed with "Big bad ladder♪" - his own interpretation of the lyrics from the excellent "I wanna be like you" from The Jungle Book :D

Listen out around 2.58

Sleeping baby and me at make shift desk :)