Happy Hop Tu Naa

what's this... a blog post?! surely not :O

yeah it sure has been a while since i last posted huh! i'm not sure why but this year all of my blogging 'get up and go' has just leapt out the window without a goodbye or an explanation!

also, for those of you not in the know, this September i started my FINAL year at college, so in just over 6 months time i will (hopefully!) graduate with a BA in Fine Art

this means that i have even less time than i had before to try and whip up the occasional blog post. yeeeks! i will try though. even if it's just one a month O.o

anyway, today is Halloween! or, if you're from the Isle of Man (like me!) it's Hop Tu Naa

but wherever you are + whatever you're up to today, have a nice day ok :D

so since it is Halloween and all that jazz, here's a little Halloween inspired illustration + some close up details of bits n' bobs, enjoy...

after all, what would Halloween be without stripey witch socks and bright orange converse!

and big helium filled balloons covered in spiders

 

oh and don't forget your book of magical spells! 

 or a skull-tastic pirate dress!

 and since i made the pic of the girls into a cover photo for my Facebook Fan Page, this little guy needed a quick makeover to match as well

so what else?! well, i STILL don't have an iPhone but i do have a swish new iPod touch so i'm now on instagram! yay! so if any of you fancy witnessing even more of my daily insanity follow @jade_boylan

so what do i post pictures of?! well i'm glad you asked...

some of you may remember that around this time last year i took my two darling nieces to see Ghostbusters on the big screen at a cinema in Coventry, (if not, check out the old post HERE)

well... much to my fangirl delight, this year it was on at a local cinema here on the Isle of Man so i got to go and see it again :D IT WAS BRILLIANT! obviously. so of course everything had to be Ghostbusters themed for the days leading up to it :)

also, the day i went to see it, the local council was encouraging people to dress up for Halloween, so naturally i spent the day wearing these!

i also recently posted this sneaky peek of some newly packaged items that might be going on sale soon. watch this space!

i'm also very pleased to announce that some of my designs, merch and handmade goods are now for sale at Mostly Manx in Douglas :)

oh and one final thing before i go...

 since it's Halloween, i'm currently offering 20% off all orders in my Etsy Shop! no tricks, just treats…

just use code TREAT31 at the checkout :)

so that's it, for now! farewell dearhearts xX

Random Stuff + Giveaway Entries

hello chums, just a little post featuring a few random bits and bobs from the past few weeks!

i started back at College today, this year is my final year at college, hopefully by June next year i'll have passed my BA degree in Fine Art!

anyway, most recently of all, i've been working on a 100% frivolous and fun project, an Adventure Time/Ghostbusters Fan Art piece. i'm a huge HUGE fan of the brilliant CN animation Adventure Time and of course, i adore all things Ghostbusters, so it seemed like a good idea to combine the two!

this was the fandom colliding result...

if you don't really understand who's who or what's going on, i strongly recommend you rush forthwith without delay and watch some Adventure Time and Ghostbusters!

anyway, this design is currently up for votes on OtherTees + it's also available on prints, tees, cards and iPhone cases etc via my Society6 Shop

so what else? well, while i was away in Cork, i accidentally got chatting to one of my current literary idols on Twitter. over the summer, i've devoured some amazing books by Ben Aaronovitch and after a random tweet to him, he asked if i'd be willing to have a go at a fanart or two of some of his characters, for his website!

after i'd calmed down and stopped squealing like a fangirl, i managed to have a go at a 'Molly' fanart

scary stuff! this won't make much sense either so here's a brief description of 'Molly' from Ben's brilliant book 'Rivers Of London' (available to buy here)

"I looked over and saw a woman gliding towards us across the polished marble. She was slender and dressed like an Edwardian maid, complete with a starched white bib apron over a full black skirt and white cotton blouse. Her face didn’t fit her outfit, being too long and sharp-boned with black, almond-shaped eyes. Despite her mob cap she wore her hair loose, a black curtain that fell to her waist. She instantly gave me the creeps, and not just because I’ve seen too many Japanese horror films.
‘This is Molly,’ said Nightingale. ‘She does for us.’
‘Does what?’
‘Whatever needs doing,’ said Nightingale.
Molly lowered her eyes and did an awkward little dip that might have been a curtsey or a bow. When Toby growled again Molly snarled back, showing disturbingly sharp teeth."

makes more sense now i hope! even if i did use a bit of artistic licence and make a few adjustments!

moving on, while i was away in Limerick, i also did a little illo for Amelia's Magazine blog based on the very gorgeous 'Kiss Me' dress by Coco Fennell

you can read the full blog post + see the other lovely illustrations HERE

so what else?! well, while i was in Dublin i managed to get my hands on this gorrrrgeous Totoro plush! i'm a massive Studio Ghibli fan and My Neighbour Totoro is one of my fave animated movies so i couldn't resist this little guy!

and continuing with the fangirl geekery, check out the awesome stickers that arrived for me from Florida the other day! Mini Avengers!!! illustrated by the very brilliant Dean Grayson

and since i am such a huge geeky fangirl and i have such a fondness for avengers stuff, in particular for a certain villain named Loki, check out what else arrived today!!!

a super amazing 'Loki Charms' tee by tee designer extraordinaire Bamboota

and a fabulously wonderful diddy Lego Loki!!!

yaaay for all the Loki times!

ok i'll stop now...

oh but before i go, i want to remind you all about The Goodbye Summer Giveaway currently going on!

you've only got 4 more days left to enter to try and be in with a chance of winning the bundle of cute prizes from Ireland (see full post HERE HERE HERE) 

it's really super easy to enter, all you need to do is supply your email (so i can contact you if you win, otherwise i won't bother you, promise!) and fill in some options on the Giveaway Form below. it's THAT easy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

Goodbye Summer Giveaway

hello dearhearts! it's that time again, at long last, i'm finally running another little giveaway here on the blog! (pause for cheering and applause...)

now i know what you're all thinking, "Jade, shut up and tell us WHAT WE CAN WIN!!!"

well you don't need to shout! just give me a chance and i'll tell you!

here it is then, here's the bundle of lovely goodies i picked up during my recent trip to Ireland + a few extra bits n'bobs

pretty tasty right! you bet it is, i'll actually be v jealous of whoever wins this stack of cuteness! maybe i should keep it all for myself!!! (*evil laugh*). nah, i wouldn't do that...

allow me to break it down for you then, first up we have a trés adorable apple watch necklace on a peachy chain. yes, of course the watch really works, however it hasn't been started yet to make sure it's battery will last for the winner!

there's also a v sweet set of post earrings, perfect for the imminent Autumn + a cute summery anklet (just because it's the end of Summer doesn't mean you can't still wear a little bit of it around your ankle!) and a v pretty Hummingbird ring

there's a funky handmade 'ugly doll' type keyring charm, because you can never have too many quirky keyrings, FACT!

and a cute star bow headband + a pretty purple hair-bow clip

then there's the frankly AMAZING owl shaped strawberry lipbalm... yes, it really is owl shaped!!! really!

see!!!

 what else?! well there are some fun tutti cuti kawaii stickers + a set of fun emoticon page tabs (ideal for marking out early Christmas Gifts + for dropping major hints about gifts you would like to receive)

AND a cute Fluff luggage tag (perfect for jazzing up your suitcase) + a sweet Hello Kitty pencil (because lets face it, who doesn't like a bit of Hello Kitty!)

there's also some of my own merch stuff, two sugary sweet postcards + a cupcake pocket mirror and a cupcake badge

+ a Sugar Skull circle sticker to stick on your fridge or your laptop or your face or whatever...

and that's the prize bundle! some very luuuurvely goodies there, i'm sure you'll agree. apologies for the dire quality of the pictures but then you all know how much my camera sucks!!!

right so, enough of the rambling times, let's get to to important part, how YOU can try and get your hands on the prizes!

oh and as always, the giveaway is open to entries from anywhere in the world, seriously, don't fret about postage or anything, that's my concern not yours, if you want to try and win some stuff then go ahead and enter, doesn't matter where you live!

right then, there are lots of ways you can enter + the more entries you get = more chances of winning (yay!)

you just have to click the options on the giveaway form at the end of this post.

firstly, if you don't already follow this blog (and if you don't then why NOT?! explain yourself...) go ahead and click Follow, that's two entries already!

leave me a comment, that's one entry

then you can 'Like' my facebook page, that's another two entries

you can Follow me on twitter = two more entries

and tweet about the giveaway = another one

(if you already Like/Follow me etc, just fill in the form accordingly, but beware... if you DON'T really follow/like my pages, i can check and i will DEDUCT entries if you're fibbing!) 

the giveaway will run until midnight (UK time) on Friday 14th September and i'll email the winner over the weekend.

that's it, that's all you need to know, so what are you waiting for!!! GET THOSE ENTRIES IN!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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

Andorra, Solsona and a little promise

hello dearhearts. once again i've broken my promises haven't i?! i 'promised' to run a post after i got back from my trip to Andorra and France and Spain and Belgium, and i haven't posted a thing...

i also promised to run a small giveaway featuring goodies from my trip. i haven't done that either and actually didn't even buy any goodies while i was away! i mostly just stayed in my room reading and watching films!

i failed miserably didn't i. *big sigh* the truth is that i just don't have the get up and go for blogging any more. in fact i haven't had it for a while which is worrying.

however, i want to try and make amends because i know that many of you still follow this blog and i frequently get NEW followers and readers as well so it's not fair of me to just stop posting things!!!

now then, those that have followed the blog for a while might know about my other annual trip away to Ireland. i visit Ireland every summer and run loooots of lovely blog posts chock full of photos and stories and generally fun Irish stuff. (you can see ALL of my Irish themed posts right here - Ireland Times)

next week i'm heading off for a trip to Cork and Dublin (i visit both every year) as well as a trip to Limerick. i'm particularly excited about the latter since i've never been there before and i can't wait to explore the city and look for some groovy cute sights and shops to share with you all on here.

another tradition of the annual trip to Ireland has been the Summer Giveaway that always follows it. this year will be no exception! i'll gather up a bundle of sweet Irish goodies while i'm away and then run the giveaway once i get home. THIS. WILL. HAPPEN.

i won't just promise it... i swear it will happen! i've done it for the past two years so i can manage it again this year for sure!

so yaaay!!! a trip to Ireland AND a giveaway to follow!

i'll shut up now. Here are some photos of my trip to Andorra as well as some snaps from my brief foray into the beautiful medieval town of Solsona, in northern Spain. scroll, scroll, scroll and enjoy...

so there you go. beeeeautiful. and guess what, i have TWO new creative café features to run soon so i might even post  one of them over the next few days. maybe. perhaps. probably.

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

Creative Cafe #31

hello lovely readers! you'll be utterly delighted to know that it's time for yet another wonderful Creative Café post...

so stop what you're doing (i.e. reading this) and scamper off to grab a drink + a yummy snack then run back and settle down to feast your eyes on some pretty pictures.

in case you haven't the slightest clue what i'm wittering on on about, it's a Creative Café post tradition that is referred to only as 'the drill'. in fact, it's all explained much better here - The Drill

 so without any further ado (or more useless rambling from me), let's get on with the post!

today it's all about very fabulous British illustrator, artist, graphic designer and doodler extraordinaire, Stina Jones

 Stina is a creative based in the West Midlands (though she's originally from Lancashire) who works freelance for organizations and companies all over the place, as well as several local businesses in Birmingham. i first discovered Stina's work via Twitter. i immediately adored her funky style of drawing, i knew i'd have to share it on here with you all

i love her the way she draws, Stina creates lots of fun little characters and scenes both digitally and traditionally. her work is always cute and quirky + often filled with sweet colours and clever little details that make you smile

i'm a sucker for any illustrators that use bold lines in their work so it'll come as no surprise that i'm a big fan of Stina's designs! her linework is gorgeous, making sure that her pictures really pop with or without colour.

Stina also runs a very groovy West Midlands based design agency called Creative Elements, where she works with a few other freelance designers and creatives. all really super duper stuff!

right i'll shut up now and let you have a nice scroll through some more of Stina's sublime artwork and illustration, enjoy...

gorgeous stuff right?! of course it is, i told you it would be :D

right, tis time for some lovely links...

to see more of Stina's work + to find out more about her or to commission her you can visit her website here - Stina Jones

she also has some prints and doodles for sale online - Shop

you can also see many of her projects on her Behance Portfolio - Stina Jones Behance

if you're a tweeter you can keep up to date with her via Twitter - @Stina_Jones

or you could even 'Like' her work via Facebook - Stina Jones Design

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


i just want to say THANKS again to Stina for letting me run the feature :) x

* * *

so there you go! a new Creative Café post at long last! i hope you enjoyed it (i bet you did!!!)

right well i have to dash off now because my little cousin Sienna has come to stay and we have A LOT of colouring in to do + A LOT of Hello Kitty stickers to stick to stuff!

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