Clanger!

The July issue of The Bedford Clanger is out now! I picked up my copy at Fancy, after watching our eldest and his classmates take part in Sports day. What a lovely start to the day :)

Strange looks

Today I left the little one at home with Grandma (Thanks Rosie!) and instead got to hang out with these guys at the park. I think they enjoyed all the rides but most of all, I think they enjoyed the strange looks I got from people as I took their pictures! Luckily I bumped into a friend and their little boy, so I didn't look too much like a weirdo hanging out at the playground with my newly sewn friends.

They are my latest addition to Minty Bob and friends and will be at our stall at the Castle Quay Weekender which is happening this weekend in Bedford :) Pop by and say hi!

Summer Tees

My partner Sam and I have been talking about working together for some time now, and what better opportunity than for the Castle Quay Weekender which is happening in our hometown of Bedford 18th/19th June. It's a 2 day free arts festival celebrating the town's cultural quarter, with live music, great food, children's theatre and dance, an art and craft market and much more. 

June being the busiest time for Sam who works at a university, and me juggling 2 children, we thought it seemed a bit bonkers to take part but the reality is, we will always be too busy and there will never be enough time, so we thought why not take the plunge now and just go for it!

4 weeks to make as much stuff as we can - sounded long enough but really that's about 1-2 hours a day for me. I've been averaging about 4-5 hours sleep a night for the past 2 weeks and I'm tired and slightly delirious but it's been so much fun :D

Today Sam brought home the T-shirts he's been artworking and hand-printing based on my illustrations and we're really pleased with the results! It's a new way of working for me as it's about flat colour and simple shapes, but it fits my minimal working hours and space!

We're still making other things - not sure how much we'll get done in a week but fingers crossed we'll have enough things to fill our stall!!

Decisions decisions!

Hello hello! Sorry for the long silence.

I've been working slowly and steadily on a cover piece for the July edition of the local arts and culture free paper, The Bedford Clanger. I'm managing about 30 mins-1 hour a day, 5 days a week, whilst the youngest one has a nap. 

It's almost there, hooray!! (I've altered the picture above as it won't be out for another month or so). Some of the tough decisions I faced included choosing the right pair of sunglasses for a bear!

My work space has got smaller and smaller over the years. I blame the kids! I've condensed everything I need into 2 boxes; one for paper, the other for paint. As soon as the little one goes down for a nap, I spend about an hour doing some boring chores, then I pull out my boxes and get to work. I work quite quickly now. I'm much more decisive as I have less materials to choose from, and more importantly less time. I never know when the little one will wake so it can be quite unsettling but I've LOVED every minute I've been able to work :) 

then and now

I have a poorly toddler at the moment. We've been enjoying extra cuddles and lots of time reading together which is lovely, and just about makes up for the broken sleep, grumpiness and occasional non-stop crying session (on both parts)!

Here we are enjoying "Fresh Delicious" together - a book I illustrated whilst he was in my tummy, maybe having a peep out from my belly button. I finished the artwork on his due date - lucky he didn't arrive early!! The 2nd and 3rd picture show work in progress and are dated about a month before he was born. Funny to think we hadn't met yet at that point, and here we are a year and a half later, sharing my lap and the book :)

And the winner is...

...Emma Talbot! 

Well done Emma. Please get in touch so I can post these to you :)

Thank you to everyone else who entered. I may do more giveaways from time to time so keep your eyes peeled!

***BOOK AND POSTER GIVEAWAY***

Hello hello!

To celebrate the start of Spring and the US release of "FRESH DELICIOUS - Poems from the Farmers' Market" (words by Irene Latham, pictures by me), I'm doing a BOOK & POSTER GIVEAWAY! The poster is roughly 43cmx61cm and has an Educator's Guide printed on the back. (Thank you Wordsong for these!)

To enter, simply answer this question, here on my blog or over on my Facebook page. 

***If you could be a fruit or a vegetable for one day, what would you be and why?***

A winner will be picked at random on Monday 21st March 2016.

Good luck!

By the way, I answered some questions for Irene Latham - a little glimpse into the making of the pictures for FRESH DELICIOUS - which you can find on her lovely blog here.