ripple project

Today I made two cards to contribute to the fantastic 'Ripple' project. Ripple was started by illustrator Kelly Light in an effort to help raise money for the animal rescue effort in the Gulf of Mexico. It has indeed rippled all across the globe - it's great to see artists from all nations contributing pieces to the project.

Please take some time to visit Kelly's Ripple blog HERE and view some of the wonderful art on offer - all available for a donation of JUST $10!!  Here is a little bit about the project:

"Each sketchcard on this blog is $10.00. The $10.00 is a donation to help the animal victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Every penny is donated. The two Non-Profits that are benefitting are The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and The International Bird Rescue Research Center. You can purchase a card if you donate directly to one of the non-profits and email me the confirmation and your address"

What a fantastic idea and a fun way to contribute this rather solemn cause. Hopefully my cards will be up for sale soon :)

UPDATE: Both my cards have sold and will be on their way to the USA very soon - hooray! I hope to do some more over the next couple of weeks. Thanks for all your lovely comments everyone, you are too kind :)

GIVEAWAY TIME - limited edition print!

Surprise! Because I feel so lucky to have all you lovely people reading my blog, I've decided to do another giveaway - yay! This time I would like to give away one of my limited edition prints. There are two to choose from - 'Mister Fox's New Hat' or 'Odette'. Each print is a limited edition of just 20, and they are hand numbered and signed by me.  They come mounted in a thick white mat board measuring 40 x 40cm around the outside. There will be ONE winner only, and they will be able to choose which print they would like.
TO ENTER... This blog is usually all about me, but I'd really like to know a bit more about YOU! Leave a comment below and tell me a fun fact about yourself - something quirky if you can.... What's the strangest thing you've eaten and how was it? Do you collect things and if so what? Do you have any extraordinary hobbies? It can be ANYTHING at all about yourself.
Winner will be picked randomly out of a hat one week from now, on TUES 22 JUNE... in the evening sometime (Aussie time).

Good luck everybody, I look forward to reading your comments!

we love to illustrate

Hello all! today I'd like to share with you some fun news... myself and 5 fabulous childrens illustrators from the USA and UK have created a little group blog where will will share our illustrations with you all as well as some occasional fun stuff! I'm very excited to be a part of such a talented group of girls. Please do drop by our blog We Love To Illustrate For Children. We'd love to have you come and visit! Our first post has a little interview with each of us so you can get to know us a bit better. We hope you enjoy!

new dress

I have a couple of special occasions coming up and thought I might splash out on a new dress. You might have already guessed that Etsy is my number one place to shop, and once again it proved to be a vintage-shopping heaven! I had to resist SO MANY beautiful vintage dresses. In the end I decided on this one - it's so simple and completely my taste. And with a VERY modest price tag. Can't wait to wear it!

simple florals

Wow - Monday already?! Hope your weekends were lovely, and didn't speed by like mine did! Here are a couple of simple floral patterns I whipped up last week. Have a great Monday :)

mmeeiioooww!

Yesterday the postman delivered a new friend....Meet Miss Kitty - isn't she divine?!  I've always wanted a ceramic black cat - as kitschy as they are - I think they have become one of those quintessential mid-century decorator pieces. I've been looking for a little while to find the perfect cat and when she popped up on Etsy I instantly fell in love! She has such a beautiful shape, don't you think? I purchased her for a song because she had some rhinestones glued to her and some were missing. I've never had a thing for sparkles so I removed all the rhinestones and I think she looks stunning without them! She has a new home here in this little retro corner of our house, I hope she'll be happy here :)

'I Drew This' Envelop shop

Hello lovelies! Today I'd like to draw your attention to the Envelop shop of my friend and fellow illustrator, Ilona Drew. Ilona lives in Brighton, England, and has had extensive experience in the greetings industry. She's recently gone solo and is working on getting her freelance career up and running... I think she's off to a flying start with the gorgeous designs she's created for her Envelop shop! You can view her shop, 'I Drew This' here. Such vivid, funky designs - a few of my faves are pictured above. Do check out her blog too, and keep up to date with the wonderful world of Ilona Drew!

sew crazy

I borrowed my sister's sewing machine (thanks sis!) and have been busting to get back into some sewing - something I haven't done since I was in uni. I thought I'd start with some easy projects, so I sewed up a couple of bibs for some friends who have recently had a gorgeous bubba. We're meeting her for the first time on Saturday and I can't wait for cuddles! But after I'd sewn up her bibs, I just couldn't stop, so I did a few more... and now I'm scouring Etsy for cute japanese fabrics to make more... I think this could be the start of an addiction happening! I just have to attach some snaps and they are done. I think I might even get adventurous and try adding some bias binding around the edges now that I have my sewing confidence back. SEW much fun hehe! Oh and if you'd like the pattern I found it at Chickpea Sewing Studio here.

PG feature

Hi all! Just a quick post today to share some more happy news - my lovely agent has featured me in the latest edition of Progressive Greetings magazine - yippee!

sold!

Wheee - happy news! I've just sold my first three designs through my wonderful agent in the UK! My Rainbow Bunnies, Garden Club and Rainy Day designs have found a home (though I'm not sure where yet) - hooray! Think I'll celebrate with a hot chocolate :) Hope you are all having a fabulous evening.

out my window

Here's what yesterday morning looked like - in fact every morning this week! Cloud covering the top of the ridge and the autumn colours are starting to put on a bit of a show.


Here's what it looks like in spring - green and lush and lots of pretty flowers.

Happy weekend! Do you have anything nice planned? I'm looking forward to a lovely lunch at my dad's place today - my little brother is a very talented cook and he's cooking us up a yummy Indonesian feast, can't wait! Thought I'd share a little piece of my place with you all today. This is the view out my lounge room window... we are so lucky, I still feel like I'm on holiday when I have the time to sit with a nice cuppa and gaze out :) Enjoy your weekends everyone!

what's cookin?

Hello! How is your week shaping up? I hope you are having a good one :) Wow it's been so chilly here this week. Autumn has finally decided to arrive properly! Up here in the hills it's been magical with mist and low clouds hanging round all day and the rain dripping off the beautifully coloured autumn foliage. I love it! Anyway I thought I'd share my new Super Food Ideas illo with you today... an article about pressure cookers vs. slow cookers. Have a lovely Thursday!

new pillow covers

Gooooood morning! Wow where is this week going already? Wednesday? Where did Monday and Tuesday go?! Just a little note to let you all know I have two new pillow cover designs available for purchase in my envelop store. You can visit my store here. It's such good fun designing stuff for textile products, something a bit different to anything I've done before. A big thanks to any of you who have made purchases in my envelop store already, you are fantastic!

feelin festive

Happy Monday - I hope you all had fab weekends! Last week I was lucky enough to have a lot of time to myself, so I got some folio work done - yay! Here are a couple of Christmas patterns... yeah it's a strange time of year to be thinking about Christmas, but I thought my folio was lacking Christmassy content! I hope your Monday is going great :)