Discover Vintage ★

so today i went to Leamington for the day with my dear mama + my lovely Vintage-obsessed cousin Aimi to go and see the 'Discover Vintage: Home and Fashion Show' 

... for which i designed the flyers and posters!!!

it was sooo SO amazing to finally get to see one of these shows! i've been designing the flyers for them since June but this is the first one i've actually been able to visit in person

it was also the first time i got to meet Keeley, the very lovely lady that's been commissioning me to design these flyers for the past few months

it really was an amazing show though, the stalls were just divine! i think Aimi and myself were in our element! gorgeous vintage stuff left right and centre! Aimi got a few cute vintage bits

my mum didn't get anything but she did have fun trying on hats...

and i treated myself to a lovely vintage copy of 'Heidi'! it was always one of my favourite stories when i was little + i just LOVE collecting vintage books

but apart from that the place was PACKED with all manner of gorgeous vintage bits and pieces...

including some really gorgeous dresses and sets of china! 

Keeley even had one of the little toy dogs EXACTLY like the one i drew for the shows flyer! she takes him to all the shows now, his name is Charles...

it was surreal to see my flyers all stacked up on display as well, weird but very cool :)

as well as the fun flyers for Keeley's vintage shop in York (see this post for more info + pics - Vintage Times) there was also one of the other flyers i designed for the Vintage Wedding Fair being held next month in London

but i'll admit that i might have gotten a little bit over-excited when i spotted my posters/flyers out and about in Leamington...

i fell in love with some of the gorgeous vintage jewellery as well! the brooch collections were to die for!

i also grabbed a copy of 'the Vintage Directory' 

and was delighted to spot 'Rockalily Lipsticks' on the first page

and then later on i also spotted this...

and the venue itself was just as divine, the Pump Rooms in Leamington are so beautiful and with the lovely music from the 40's and 50's piping around the room, the setting was perfect for a vintage show

it really was a heavenly day, i absolutely adore Leamington! it's always a pleasure to visit such a beautiful town

the Vintage show was really fab and i recommend it + similar ones up and down the country

+ there were amazing stalls from the likes of - 

More Tea Vicar - vintage china and kitchenalia 

Rock Follies Vintage - vintage clothing, jewellery, bags and luggage

Blighty Boutique - vintage and handmade fairs

Retro Bazaar - collectables and furnishings

* * *

so it's been a busy few days here so far in Coventry, this is the first real chance i've had to post a blog since the night i got here!

the other day i spent the day in town with my gorgeous little nieces Madison and Daisy (although they're pulling funny faces here so you can't really tell how adorabubble they both are!!!)

anyway we had a great day mooching around Cov, shopping and people watching + getting stuck in car rides...

then, as a special surprise, in the evening i took them to see my favourite movie at the cinema, can you guess what we went to see...

that's right, it was GHOSTBUSTERS!!!

despite having originally come out in 1984, this week Ghostbusters is being shown at various cinemas up and down the country so i've had this planned for weeks since i was 100% determined to see this movie on the big screen

obviously... it was amazing :D

i was like a little kid in a sweet/toy shop, sooo ridiculously excited and giddy! it was brilliant though!

* * *

i've a bit more to tell you but i've got a bugger of a headache so it'll have to wait for another night!

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

Coventry Times ★

phew! it's been a busy few days, trying to get everything sorted for going away + finishing off some commissions and stuff

i haven't slept properly since yesterday morning when i woke up... i always seem to stay awake 24hrs when i'm about to catch a boat anywhere... so i'm a little highly strung at the moment, to say the least

anyway, we (myself + my dear mama) finally made it to Coventry late this afternoon, it's been miserable weather lately but there was a colourful welcome waiting for us as we reached our destination

the picture really doesn't do it justice, it was such an incredible rainbow! a double one, and the arcs reached right back into 2 full rainbows, brilliant stuff!

i also have 2 new drawing things to share with you

i got bored in the small hours of this morning while a big thunder/lightning storm raged outside and so i drew some little Kokeshi dolls...

i also wanted to do something with my Matryoshka dolls but i'm not too sure of the result...

i think i prefer them by themselves!

other than that there's also the first in a series of 'possible' xmas card designs

i started the drawings for them all back in August just after i got back from my trip to Ireland, but despite listening to my 'Christmas Music' playlist on repeat all day, i just couldn't really get into the festive spirit so i abandoned them!

i'm attempting to take them up again now but i may end up leaving it, not sure yet!

* * *

oh oh AND when i arrived in Coventry i found an email waiting for me directing me to a nice little feature of my work from 'The Young Creatives'

Meet 20-year-old freelancerJADE BOYLAN.

When she’s not illsustrating/blogging/writing/designing, Jade can be found reading/baking/collecting/watching Formula 1. ‘I kind of suck at proper hobbies,’ she says although we could not disagree more.

Jade spends most of her money buying books. ‘When I’m not buying or reading books, I’ll probably be drawing, watching movies, or writing books of my own! Books, books, books!’

Oh, and one last thing: she just can’t STAND celery...

these are just the images from it, the actual interview bit was v fun to do, you can see the full feature + read it all here - TYC

* * *

right and i think that's it for now, tonight i plan to sit in my hotel room and sleep... lots! 

tomorrow i think i'm off to see my big sister + my nieces and nephew so that should be suuuuper!

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

Stuff and more Stuff ★

before i kick off the post properly i should let you all know... the Mini Merch Giveaway ended last night/this morning at midnight

big BIG thanks to all of you that entered via comments here + on facebook, twitter and google plus

there were only 35 entries (a record low for one of my giveaways actually...) and using 'random.org' i got number 4 which was Rachel Clarke aka 'Sweetpea London' from the UK

she seemed pretty excited to have won (which is always nice) and she picked out a macaroons postcard, a sugar skull pocket mirror and a flower cupcake badge

so i'll be posting all of that off to her first thing tomorrow morning!

oh and if you get a spare minute, be sure to check out Rachels' blog, she posts some really cute stuff, i especially love her Chanel wellington boots! - Sweetpea London

thanks again to everyone that entered, i wish i could give you all a prize... but then i'd have no merch left!

don't feel too bad if you didn't win this time though... there are still plenty of badges/mirrors/postcards available to buy via my Etsy Shop

and of course, i'll be launching a fabby dabby mahoosive xmas giveaway around the end of November so be sure to keep an eye out for that!

* * *

oh AND yesterday morning when i checked the post i was super excited to see that some stuff had arrived for me!

first up, there was a cute little print + some sets of stickers from Acrylicana aka Mary (i did a BIG post about her amazing work here - Creative Cafe #14)

and there was also the very VERY awesome copy of Flamingo Magazine that i won from WLD/WLVS last week

i'd been looking forward to this arriving and it definitely hasn't disappointed me! it's an Illustration and Design mag chock full of amazing artwork and interviews from some really talented creatives!

here's some of my favourite pages from it...

 illustration by - Mary Ferfyri

 illustration - Alex Culang and Ray Castro

 illustration - Donya Todd

 illustration - Jo Cheung

 illustration - Emma Carpendale

illustration - Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy

to get your own copy of 'Flamingo Magazine', head on over here - Flamingo Magazine Shop

oh and massive thanks to WLD/WLVS for giving me a copy! :D

* * *

right, so i broke up for half-term on Friday, it was a verrrry busy day! i had to spend all morning finalising a 'professional practice' report to cover one of my units then in the afternoon i had a meeting with a client (which went really well!)

anyway, on Saturday i popped out for a bit and had a nice little mooch around town

i got some groovy stuff, including...

some pretty new fingerless gloves for A/W 2011

i am a fingerless gloves fiend! and i couldn't resist these...

i also treated myself to a lovely big book on Renaissance Art and Architecture!

well... you know what an art/architecture nerd i am! 

and i always find the art and architecture of the Renaissance particularly fascinating (i really am so very, very cool!)

anyway i also got... a very cute little picture book called 'Emily Button goes to a party' written by Elaine Field

it's all about a little rag doll called 'Emily Button' + her little friends 'mousey' the mouse and 'bobble' the cat

the illustrations are absolutely adorable! it was illustrated by Kathy Gemmell (with additional illustrations by Sami Sweeten and Katherine Hartley) and i will definitely be looking up more of her/their stuff after seeing this!

aren't they cute! there are even 'emily button' dolls + 'mousey' and 'bobble' plushies you can get to go with the story!

all just far too adorable!

oh and you just HAVE to visit the 'Emily Button' website! it is soooo lovely - Emily Button

* * *

and that's that i think! nothing else to report on today, i'm heading off to Coventry in a few days to see my family but i've got plenty of commission stuff to be getting on with before then!

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