ESC pocket zine

a couple of months ago, through Twitter and Facebook and the like, i started networking with a really groovy independent zine based in Dublin called ESC

anyway, earlier last month i was chatting with one of their super members online when they mentioned that they were looking for submissions for a new project they were working on for the 'Independents Day' independent zine fair in Dublin.

regular readers of the blog will be well aware of my total love and adoration of Ireland + all things Irish (seriously if you don't believe me click on my 'Ireland' tag and see for yourself!) so i was more than happy to get involved.

they wanted drawings and poems, that sort of thing, to put into a set of mini 'pocket zines' folded in a particular way to create little mini works of art.

well, i didn't think i'd have enough time to submit anything but then i ended up not being able to sleep for a few days so i had a go in the very small hours of a day and voila... i came up with a very messy, literally scribbled mini zine at around 3am in the morning.

i'm always quite contrary so instead of submitting some stuff to go in a zine, i just made my own and scanned it in to be printed out instead. here's one i printed out for my logbook but i thought i'd snap some pics of it before it gets hidden away. 

enjoy...

there were three 'themes' to pick from 'maps and legends, how soon is now + transfiguration'. they're all song titles, so i went for 'Maps and Legends' purely because it sounded the most fun...

when you open the zine you see this delightful doodle, then when you open it again...

 it's a map! well, sort of...

i used some more lyrics from the R.E.M. 'maps and legends' song as well, just because... you know

accurate representation of where i live + Ireland.

warning: sea monsters may appear larger in real life.

anyway when you open it again you get the final page(s)

a big ol' mash up of mythical creatures and a few books because, well i just love books so...

 here we have a scowling fairy, a goblin giving a thumbs up + a messy little Irish dancer and a happy Leprechaun.

the Dr Suess quote was needed. i know it doesn't make any sense or fit in with the theme but it's MY mini zine so i'll put what i want in it. oh AND 'your argument is invalid' i got my best scientists to prove it. and they did.

oh yeah there's also a sort of Ogre/Giant type guy, a pixie and a unicorn in there as well.

and the self explanatory back cover of the zine.

did you like it? it's a bit different to what i usually do i know but my tutors are always banging on at me about stepping away from the norm so this is the best i can do to that effect what with being a mental perfectionist and all that.

to see more of the pocket zines + to find out more about ESC you can head over to their site here - ESC zine

that's it for now, keep looking out for the rest of the 'May Draw A Day' posts as the month goes on, that's all folks... xX

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

super cute goodies ★

So lovely readers, as i may have mentioned over recent weeks, i've not been feeling overly bright and cheerful lately! 

it might have something to do with the endlessly gloomy weather we've been having, it might also have something to do with the cough i've had for the past four weeks, but whatever it is it's been getting me down in the dumps!

so imagine my delight when a big box of goodies from those lovely folks at Paperchase arrived on my doorstep! 

you all know what a HUUUGE Paperchase fan/addict i am! so if anything was going to maybe cheer me up, Paperchase was probably the place it would appear from!

now sadly there isn't a Paperchase store on the Isle of Man, so all of the stuff was sent over sharpish from Birmingham!

there's something so fun about receiving a BIG parcel in the post! even more so knowing that there's a big box of goodies that's been popped in the post JUST for you!

so what did i treat myself to?! well it was a mini heap of gorgeous goodies!

first up, there's this truly kawaii-tastic neoprene laptop sleeve for my trusty old macbook

and a too cute 'cloud' luggage tag for when i go on my travels!

also for my travels is this colourful passport cover since the cover i have at the minute has lasted me for a loooong time and has definitely seen better days!

there's also a v sweet mini notebook (with plain pages, of course... for my doodling needs!) + some jazzy stickers, SO CUTE!

+ a pack of cute, girly stickers which i intend to stick all over my college file holders + my logbook! they're so adorable...

and then there's the tins... now i don't know about you, but i just love cute little boxes and tins to keep all my crafty/arty bits n' bobs in! it keeps everything organized while maintaining that air of adorableness!

i couldn't pick just ONE tin... so i went for FOUR instead! aren't they great! so colourful, i can't wait to fill them with arty stuff! i'll sit them all on my desk, filled with bits n' bobs, perfect!

and that's it! well, for now anyway!

and do you know what... all of this stuff has cheered me up no end! what a great way to end a day at college + food shopping at Tesco! to come home and find all this waiting for me :)

* * *

in other news, i've been working away today on some new drawings for college + some groovy TOP SECRET stuff... but more about all that another time!

i'll be running the first Creative Café post of 2012 either tomorrow or Sunday

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

Super Sunday #9 ♥

so... it's the second Sunday and you know what that means...

it's time for another Super Sunday post!!!

wow, can't believe we've almost hit 10 Super Sunday posts already! that's flown by... scary stuff!

anyway, this week it's a fabulously fashionable little dedication

i figured that i'd rambled on about my favourite artists/illustrators for enough weeks in a row so i thought it would be nice to have a stylish post again

so without any further ado, this weeks Super Sunday post is dedicated to the fabulous, the fashionable, the totally estupendo y muy bueno... 

Jasmin Rodriguez aka Vintage Vandalizm

so who is she i hear you cry?!

well allow me to fill you in on this super styling señorita...

Jasmin Rodriguez (aka Vintage Vandalizm) is a Puerto Rican super duper stylist, model, writer, designer, blogger, artist and all round fashionista living in New York (update 2014, she now lives in Las Vegas!)

she writes the most awesome blog posts about her super fashionable life + always posts amazing photos of her shopping sprees/nights out/fashion shoots

now i follow quite a few fashion blogs (including Jane Aldridge's 'Sea of Shoes' and Tavi Gevinson's 'The Style Rookie') but Jasmin's blog has got to be my top fave. 

it's the fashion blog i go back to time and time again whether i need inspiration for a painting, a new illustration, make-up tips or ideas for an outfit, her blog never fails to supply exactly what i'm looking for!

so why is she one of my style icons?! (because let's face it, she is!)

well for starters her style is massively influenced by all things Pinup and Rockabilly (and we all know what a Pinup fan i am right...) she loves to mix styles from the 40's, 50's and 60's too, yet she puts her own unique twist on every look no matter which decade it's inspired by!

add to this the fact that she always dresses in a very pretty feminine way even if she's wearing trousers, she still manages to look feminine. it may sound daft but so many style bloggers nowadays just focus on wearing the latest trends and designer labels and disregard the rest!

as Jasmin herself put it "I think the world is too fixated on trends that people tend to forget who they are and what they like"

she's also an avid vintage shopper and despite having a wardrobe to die for packed with some verrrrry desirable designer pieces, some of her best looks have consisted of 'thrifted' vintage items or smart sale buys. she really is a super styling shopaholic! 

she always looks fabulous, she always dresses in her own unique style and she always looks totally gorgeous!

it doesn't seem to matter what she's doing, she could be out grocery shopping and you can bet she'll still be looking fab! it's that sense of glamour about her, it reminds me of Dita Von Teese (check out a previous Super Sunday post all about her here - Super Sunday #4) that timeless quality of glamour, no matter what the occasion or location.

Jasmin has it too and just like la Dita, she always dresses to impress

she's such a doll! i just love her, she ALWAYS looks fabulous

it's not fair really is it! she's super talented and let's face it... a total superstar!!!

she's modeled for a ton of awesome websites, magazines, brands etc etc and recently she even modeled for Bernie Dexter Clothing 

as you can see, she looks totally 50's fabulous in the pics from the shoot

i've been a fan of Jasmin's blog for about a year and a half now and i never get tired of her fun, fabulous and fashionable posts 

the thing is, living on the Isle of Man means i don't really have many places to get 50's fashion advice (apart from Charlotte... who is leaving me to go back to England!) so Jasmin's blog is a great source to go to (along with several other 50's/vintage fashion sites, of course) 

her blog is a great place to visit though, even if you're not a massive 50's fan, she has a generally awesome sense of style and is never afraid to be herself

it was actually around this time last year i first decided to have a go at drawing some VV inspired art

i can't believe it's been a year already! seems like only yesterday!!!

there are three VV pieces i worked on

there's...

'the Vintage Vandals'

inspired by this gorgeous Moschino dress from Jasmin's lookbook

you can read her full post about the illustrations HERE

there's also...

'Jasmin in Wonderland' (click image for full view)

inspired by this post where Jasmin co-ordinated outfits based on 4 characters from 'Alice in Wonderland' - wonderland fashion

you can read the VV post about the artwork HERE

Jasmin also hires out her styling expertise to people in New York, she'll be your personal stylist/shopper and find exactly the look you're looking for

i know my friend Charlotte (aka Loretta Jane's Vintage Boutique) is also a massive 'Vintage Vandalzim' fan and i guess it's our shared dream to one day head over to New York and go on a 50's fashion shopping spree with Jasmin

who knows! it might happen... one day

* * *

ok time for some lovely links

here's Jasmin's Twitter page - @VintageVandal

here's Vintage Vandalizm on tumblr - VV tumblr

here's the official Vintage Vandalizm facebook page - VV facebook

and of course, her super duper website/blog - Vintage Vandalizm

enough mindless gushing?! ok i'll stop now, but you KNOW she's awesome!

* * *

back to college for me tomorrow, assessment this week...

this is NOT a good thing and i AM going to be killed by my tutors because although i have about 19-20 pieces of artwork to show, i have 0 logbook pages

this = me dead soon

anyway, enjoy the rest of your Sunday dear readers

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

◕‿◕ ♥

muchas gracias y adios

(that's thank you and goodbye in Spanish on behalf of Puerto Rico, i couldn't remember if i've done a thank you for them before but i know that Jasmin is Puerto Rican so i thought a Spanish farewell was fitting, gracias muñeca ♥)