May Drawing Challenge - Day 1

wow the 1st of May already... yikes! And a long time since i last posted on here!

it's been a crazy past few weeks, lots has happened, nothing particularity exciting of course, but then what else would you expect from my mundane life :)

in a moment i'm going to try and explain a little about why i've been so absent (beware, there's quite a lot of writing!!! you all know how much i love to ramble on and on...)

but first i'm happy to announce that this month i'm going to try and blog a little drawing every day. yes that's right, you didn't read that wrong, i said EVERY day! bearing in mind that most days i won't be posting much else other than the drawing of the day, but still, it'll be quite a challenge for me!

the drawings i'll be posting won't really be like any of my usual work, they'll be quite rough and messy (for me) probably coloured with watercolour or pencil and quickly drawn with pencil. shock horror! they're not going to be any good but i'll try not to dwell on that too much.

they will all be kind of small as well, i'll be drawing them into a little handmade notebook i bought a few summers ago, i bought it intending to draw something new in it every day for a month but have never bothered to use it until now!

so they won't be at all polished or perfect (double shock horror) but i'll be posting them regardless so be prepared for some haphazard stuff.

here's the first one...

as you can see, the theme was 'Bunting'. it's from a great drawing challenge set up by one of my creative friends, the very lovely Astrid

this is the list of themes for each day (click the image to make it bigger) and then you have to post your drawing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Molome, a Blog or Pinterest so that you can share it with the world!

in fact a few friends of mine have also had a go at the first day drawing as well!

here's Kyren's bunting picture (+ you can see more of Kyren's work on his blog)

my friend Madi (who is a brilliant illustrator!) also had a go as well, check out her pretty bunting collage picture (+ read the blog post about it on her blog)

+ a v cute drawing by my friend Quinn (check out Quinn's illustration page here)

and another glorious doodle by Danni (check out her fab site doodlesbydanni)

 and here's Astrid's gorgeous drawing as well...

you can find out more about the 'May Draw A Day' project here on Astrid's blog

and in case you're wondering why i've decided to have a go at this challenge, it's because at the end of this month i'll celebrate my 21st Birthday and i thought since i've always wanted to have a go at one of these drawing-a-day projects it would be nice to try and accomplish it while i'm still 20!

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right, now it's explanation time. sort of anyway...

regular visitors to this blog will know that in recent months my post count has dropped significantly.


last summer i was running out at least 4 or 5 posts a week but since then it's like i've lost the inclination to generate posts at all. Even the last few that i've put up have been a struggle to write and create.

i always offer the same excuses (college work, commissions or illness) but the truth is, that even with this workload i would still find the time to blog if only i could be bothered!

i'm not completely sure what's happened really, since last year, around November time, i've been on a downward spiral, sort of like a roller coaster or a game of snakes and ladders. Sometimes it loops upwards shooting me up through the clouds but then it'll hurtle down again, disappearing into doom and gloom and then i won't be able to climb back up for a while.

it's affected me pretty negatively in general i guess. my tension headaches have come back with a vengeance, i'm almost constantly disillusioned with my college work and studies and my already lacklustre social life has become virtually nonexistent. so fear not faithful readers, it's not just my blogging abilities that have suffered.

it's a real shame as well since used to love blogging so much, it was a little escape for me, something to look forward to after a day at college or a trip out with friends or family, but now i can't find the energy or the proclivity to run regular posts. often enough i'll find myself with some time to spare and i might think 'ooh i could do a blog' but then i just sit there staring at the empty text box wondering what to write. so i shut it down and give up again.

 i'm on the final stretch now of my HND course at college, i have an absolute load of work to get done before then + work to prepare for about 3 exhibitions before the end of June! i've also made the decision to temporarily stop accepting new commissions (yes... that's how much college work i have to do!) until some time in June when i'll finish the course and be free until September.

if i've got all this work to do you might be wondering why on earth i've chosen NOW of all times to do a drawing challenge but it's ok, i want to do the challenge and believe it or not but i can actually count it towards my drawing units for college! (yaaay) 

so that's it i guess, i'm not sure what else to add other than i'm sorry for having vanished so much since last year + that i hope you enjoy my little doodle drawings every day this month. they won't equate to the picture packed posts i used to do but for now they'll have to suffice.

as always, until next time, that's all folks... xX

Sunny Sewing Times ★

it's been a lovely sunny day here in the Isle of Man, perfect weather for the first week of the TT (see 'where i live' page for more info about that, or just google it . . . )

well. . . it WAS a lovely day here up until about 10 minutes ago when the sky went all grey and rain cloudy!

i've not been feeling too well lately so i haven't left the house in a few days, but i went for a little walk around the garden this afternoon to try and clear my head a bit + just to absorb some of that gorgeous sunshine earlier on!

i snapped a few photos of the garden as well, everything was just so green and luscious! i couldn't resist . . .

it was lovely!!!

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before my walk around the garden this afternoon, i spent the morning messing about on the sewing machine attempting some more stuff

i managed to make this cute little gingham heart

it's stuffed with dried lavender so it smells absolutely divine! the button and bow looks red here but they're a dusky pink colour (my camera killing the quality once again!!!)

i've hung it up in my room and now the whole place smells all lavendery! so pretty

i also made some more bunting

i used this funky abstract floral fabric + some new purple bias binding and i think it turned out ok

it's certainly a lot neater than the last string of bunting i made!

i've a couple of more sheets of fabric to slice up so i might make some more sometime this week

* * *

i've been moping around the house a bit over the past few days since it's my Birthday tomorrow. . .

yup the dreaded day has arrived at last! the day i'm officially no longer a 'teenager'! tomorrow is my 20th Birthday . . .

so technically i must now become a 'grown up' . . . shock horror!!!!

what can i say! i never got my letter from Hogwarts, sadly Peter Pan never flew in to whisk me away to Wonderland, the Doctor never showed up in the tardis to take me travelling through space, i never found my way to Narnia and i never fell down the rabbit hole to Wonderland!

still. . . 20 or not, i'd give it at least another couple of years before i truly grow up!!!

after all, what's the point in being a grown up if you can't be childish sometimes?!

until tomorrow . . . that's all folks! ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Ps - the 'May' Giveaway closes tomorrow night at midnight so hurry up and get your entries in now if you haven't already!!! - Giveaway

Bunnies and Bunting ♥

so i stayed in AAALLLL day yesterday to crack on with mastering the sewing machine, it was a miserable day outside so i didn't miss much! 

anyway i got bored of practicing stitches all afternoon so i decided to have a go at making 'Sophie Lapin'

remember Pepe Lapin??? (from THIS post - ribbon rosettes and Pepe Lapin) 

well that's Pepe with the button on his tummy and Sophie with the strawberry on her tummy is his little bunny gilrfriend (i'm guessing. . .) but i didn't have enough time to make her and Pepe at the same time from the kit Julie and Ciara gave me to test, so she's been a bit late turning up for their date!

well she's here now, but while Pepe is entirely hand stitched with a needle and thread (and a LOT of hours spent listening to 'the Freelance Whales' while sewing) 

Sophie is almost entirely machine sewn!!! it's probably a good thing though because i imagine that not everyone that buys the kit would own a sewing machine so they'd have to sew them by hand, or alternately they'd prefer NOT to sew them by hand and use a machine instead! well now there's one of each! i just need to drop her off at the shop so that she can be reunited with Pepe

she was machine sewn though which would explain the slight messiness to her, what can i say, only i would be mad enough to sew neater by hand than on a machine!!!

saying that though, have a look at what i made this morning before lunch

my very own candy coloured bunting! 

i've wanted some 'proper' fabric bunting for ages but every time i see some in a shop (usually 'the Tide' or the Cath Kidston section at 'Selfridges') i get this insane makers guilt, i.e. i love the ready made strings of bunting but when i see them i can't help but think 'i could make that' and so i end up not buying any pretty bunting at all!!!

well, now i have a sewing machine i figured it was time to have a go at some DIY bunting and voila! + it was a great chance to use some of the awesome cupcake printed fabric i got from 'Just Enough' weeks ago

there are 4 flags for each fabric, the pale pink heart spotted fabric, the cupcake printed fabric + the cute pink gingham i bought when we picked up my sewing machine

my seams are a little off on the ribbon but weirdly the seams for the flags are perfect, each flag is also double sided so it doesn't matter which way you put up the bunting, it will always look the same

it was great fun to make and providing i can get hold of some pink bias binding i could easily neaten this design up and make a couple more to sell via etsy or in the Sweet Ginger Emporium

* * *

speaking of etsy. . .

i totally forgot to tell you all that my shop is open again!

if you follow me on facebook or twitter you'll probably have seen me posting links to the shop but if not, it's officially open again now

i've taken a few things out (for now) + added in a whole bundle of plushie necklaces + the new greetings cards

head on over and have a skeet at what's on offer - the Candy Cove on etsy

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not much else to report today, tomorrow i'm off to college to work on my essay + raid the graphics room printer again 

i also have some groovy new illustration stuff to edit and it's NOT anything to do with the cupcake princess, it's something new. . . sort of!

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

p.s. - have you entered the May Giveaway yet??? in honour of my Birthday at the end of this month i've decided to hold a little giveaway again, there's a bundle of cute prizes up for grabs and you have until my Birthday, the 31st of May, to get your entries in -

 ENTER THE GIVEAWAY NOW