Sunday 26 February 2012

Creative Café #28 ★

so i did it again didn't i, i vanished a for a few days and forgot that actually yes, i do run a blog from time to time. As per usual i have good excuses though, you can be sure of that!

anyway on with the post, today it's a Creative Café post which can mean only one thing...

time for the drill! so go, go now and get yourself a snack or beverage or something otherwise it takes the whole 'Café' part out of the Creative Café. i mean obviously if this were a real Café i'd be the one to go and fetch you a drink and a snack but this isn't a real café. it's a blog. so no such luck.

anyway, back to the post. today it's all about super talented designer, illustrator, evil mastermind and professional sneaker aficionado Tim Easley



i first discovered Tim's work some time last year via Twitter. i can't actually remember when it was i just know that it was through Twitter and that i really liked his style of illustration straight away.



i know i always say that when i do these posts but it was definitely true for Tim's work (it was true for the others as well i'm just trying to make a point here! i'll just give up shall i). i also won a little Xmas card and zombie moustache sticker off him last December and i can tell you now that i spent a very happy hour wandering around the house wearing my zombie moustache sticker when it arrived.



I could sit here and type up a heap of zany made up stuff about Tim but i thought it would make more sense to just borrow this from his website instead: "Tim Easley is a self taught designer & illustrator from London, who likes to work with hand drawn lettering, bright colours & bold lines. He creates work from uniquely imaginative concepts, matching seemingly unrelated subject matters in playful & explorative illustrations.

Having previously lived in Tokyo & Seattle, he is now based back in his home town, where he works in a variety of mediums, predominantly creating art for freelance projects & prints. His illustrations have been featured in a number of publications internationally, as well as being sold & exhibited worldwide.

Most days Tim can be found in his studio with some inappropriately placed pencils, daydreaming and doodling, surrounded by pretty ladies & piles of gold." 




all of that definitely sums him up better than i ever could! but the point is, he's a really talented guy and he creates all sorts of very groovy stuff using funky colours and nice bold outlines. his themes are often peculiar but brilliantly drafted to create wacky and wonderful scenes and characters. he also co-founded 'Crooked Tongues' which is apparently the place to go for anything sneaker related online. who knew!



i find Tim's work really inspiring, probably because we're both perfectionists and use similar bold outlines. but he's also full of great tips, useful criticism and advice for any and all creative types out there, and it's not just because Tim is older and wiser (he is though...) he just seems to have a great eye for what works and what doesn't when it comes to graphic design, typography and illustration making his own work a brilliant fusion of creative awesomeness that will make your brain go 'wow'.



that's why i wanted to feature his work on here, because i admire his stuff so much. oh and it's also because the other day i treated myself to one of Tim's rather fetching little tote bags (well i needed somewhere to store my impressive beach pebble collection...) and when it arrived he'd sent a stack of other papery goodies along with it which cheered me up no end


anyway there's probably a lot more that i could say about his work but my brain isn't cooperating fully today and i think i've rambled on for long enough now, so i'll leave you all to scroll through some more of Tim's work in your own sweet time, enjoy...
















there you see, i told you it was all awesome! and i am usually always right...

ok time for some links now.


to see even more of Tim's work you can head on over to his website here - Tim Easley

he also has a great online shop selling rather lovely prints, stickers, postcards, totes, notebooks and other things that you might like to treat yourself or someone else to - Tim Easley | Store

you can also 'Like' Tim's work on Facebook - Tim Easley

and follow him on Twitter - @timeasley

he also has a Flickr page full of wonderful things for your eyes to feast on - Flickr


ok all that's left now is for me to say a whopping great 'thank you' to Tim for not telling me to go jump off a cliff when i asked him if i could run a blog post featuring some of his work. so thanks for that :)


All images featured in this post belong to Tim Easley © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce of trace ANY of this work without his express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

* * *

in other news, i've been very busy this week, so busy in fact that i forgot to say a big THANK YOU to everyone that entered the Blog Birthday Giveaway!!!

my blog turned 3 years old on Wednesday, unfortunately i was working all morning and at a meeting all afternoon so i completely forget to celebrate this fact

the giveaway closed on Wednesday night at midnight, it was a great success and the 3 winners have now been notified but thank you thank you thank you to everyone that entered it!

the next giveaway will be held exclusively on Twitter to celebrate my finally having reached 1000 followers on there, but to be in with a chance of winning you MUST be following me on Twitter - @jadeboylan

anyway until next time, that's all folks... xX





Wednesday 22 February 2012

Last Chance Giveaway

 
hello dearhearts, unless you've been living under a rock for the past week or so, you might be aware that i'm currently running a little Giveaway on here to celebrate the blogs 3rd Blogiversary


as you can see there's a whole heap of lovely goodies up for grabs and all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning some of them is... 

leave a little comment here on the blog 

LIKE a giveaway post on Facebook 

RETWEET a giveaway post on Twitter 

or REBLOG a giveaway post on Tumblr

or... you can do all of the above and get yourself even more chances of winning!

however, the Giveaway is due to close tonight at Midnight (UK time) so you only have a few more hours left to get your entries in!!!

i'll be drawing the winners tomorrow morning and i am happy to post the prizes anywhere in the world so it really is open to everyone!

so no excuses... get those entries in because this year i'll be picking not 1 but 3 winners!

* * *

there is some other news bt i'll save it for another day

so until then, that's all folks...
◕‿◕ ★ xX

Saturday 18 February 2012

Elephants and Everything Else ★

greetings dear readers from a rather chilly and wintery Isle of Man.

yesterday i spent the afternoon with my friend Jenny and i remembered that i completely forgot to show you all what i made her for her 20th Birthday last week!

i couldn't think of anything to get Jenny but i know she really likes elephants so i had a go at stitching up a little plushie elephant for her


so i'd like you all to meet Ethel the Elephant! isn't she a cutie! it was so much fun to make her, it's been ages since i've made any plushies and i think this is one of the biggest things i've ever made (she's about 30x18cm)


Jenny seemed to like her anyway, which is what counts i guess!

* * *

so yesterday was my last day at college before half-term and in the afternoon Jenny came to collect me and we whizzed off to Tynwald for a little mooch around the shops and the gallery

as a sort of end of term treat i got this little cutie to add to my mini Momiji collection


she's from the 2010 'book lovers' collection by illustrator Luli Bunny, and i just couldn't resist!
she fits in perfectly with the momiji girls i have already


* * *

it seems that yesterday was a day of treats because when i got home i found a lovely little parcel waiting for me from the Isle of Man Soap Company


firstly... i couldn't get over how adorable the packaging was! so sooo cute! i'd ordered a cherry lipbalm and an apple martini soap and they arrived all wrapped up in pretty tissue paper inside a funky metallic green jiffy mailer

i haven't opened the soap yet but i can't stop using the cherry lipbalm! it's so moisturizing i just love it


the Isle of Man Soap Company is a fabulous local business run by the equally as fabulous Irene, she hand-makes the most glorious goodies using the finest ingredients and her own individual fragrance collections unique to the IOM Soap Co


some of the goodies available include: soaps, candles, soft soap body polish, bubble dust, bath salts, cold process soap, lipbalms, bath bon-bons 


and my personal favourites... the cupcake bathbombs!


they truly do look good enough to eat, but are a treat for your skin, not for your tastebuds!

for more info + to check out the full ranges on offer, you can check out the website and online shop right here - Isle of Man Soap Company

* * *

yesterday i also had to mail out a postcard ordered from my Etsy shop. i realised that i don't really explain my packaging very well and that unless you've ordered something from me in the past you don't really know what to expect

very simply, i post all postcards out in special 'do not bend' print mailers + every postcard comes in a protective cello sleeve along with a complimentary 'JADE' postcard and a Sugar Skull sticker, all bundled in a sweetie bag before being popped in the envelope and posted off to wherever


anyway, just thought i'd share that little snippet of info with you all. you can see all of my postcard designs available in my shop here - Jade's Etsy Shop

* * *

nothing more to report on for now, i've a week off from college full of research and drawing ahead of me 

you still have just over 4 days left to enter the 'Blog Birthday Giveaway'

in case you missed the last post, i'm giving away a stack of super duper cute goodies to celebrate my blogs 3rd Birthday/Anniversay...... Blogiversary this month!

to find out how YOU can enter to win some prizes head on over to the Giveaway post here - Blog Birthday Giveaway 2012

i'm picking 3 winners this year as well so you never know... you might just be one of them!!!

so get entering! and until next time, that's all folks...  
◕‿◕ ★ xX

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Creative Café #27 ★

hello dearhearts, i promised you a Creative Café post... so here it is!

you know what to do, however if you're a new reader and you're unfamiliar with 'the drill' it's really quite simple!

basically, you have to run away from the computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone for a moment... 

and get yourself a nice cup of tea, coffee, juice, water, champagne, smoothie or milkshake

+ oh and don't forget to grab a yummy snack in the form of a cupcake, biscuit, chocolate bar or piece of fruit

then settle down to enjoy some lovely arty times via the Creative Café blog post!

easy peasy!



so without any further ado let's get on with the post!


today it features artwork by the wonderfully talented Samantha Hahn

Samantha is an American illustrator living in Manhattan, NY. "Her illustrations feature delicate pen work and brightly colored inks for a range of editorial, publishing and licensing clients"


she uses watercolour paints and concentrated inks to create colourful and expressive illustrations


she really does create the most stunning illustrations overflowing with bursts of colour and fabulously delicate little details that make her pieces so fresh and vibrant!


her work is often very girly in nature, featuring lots of bright hues and predominantly feminine characters or themes


she works primarily with ink and watercolour but is also a very talented digital artist often creating gorgeous patterns, characters and designs using digital methods as well as traditional materials
 i particularly love the way she draws/paints eyes, simple lines yet always so expressive

i always find her work very inspiring, her illustrative style is exquisite and i just adore the colours she uses in her pieces


i also really love her text and food themed illustrations! always so gorgeous




have i rambled for long enough?! i tend to get carried away don't i?! 

okay i'll let you all scroll through some of her sumptuous illustrations at your leisure! enjoy...




























super duper stunning right!

time for some lovely links now...


to see more of Samantha's beautiful artwork, be sure to head on over to her website - Samantha Hahn


she also runs a brilliant blog bursting with colourful images and lots of inspiration - Maquette



i want to say a big ol' THANK YOU to Samantha for saying yes and letting me run this mini feature, i hope you all enjoyed looking at some of her lovely work! thanks Samantha :) x



All images featured in this post belong to Samantha Hahn © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace ANY of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.


* * *

in other news, you still have precisely one week left to enter the 'Blog Birthday Giveaway'


in case you missed the last post, i'm giving away a stack of super duper cute goodies to celebrate my blogs 3rd Birthday/Anniversay...... Blogiversary this month!


to find out how YOU can enter to win some prizes head on over to the Giveaway post here - Blog Birthday Giveaway 2012


i'm picking 3 winners this year as well so you never know... you might just be one of them!!!


so get entering! and until next time, that's all folks...
◕‿◕ ★ xX