Friday Stuff ★

so i've been quiet this week i guess! back to college on Wednesday = uneventful day

ill on Thursday = also uneventful

then today i had a niiiiiice day :)

i met two of my best friends for lunch, Becky who i've known since i was twelve and Courtney who i've known since i was thirteen. it was great to see them especially since Becky will be dashing off back to University this weekend and i rarely get to see Courtney because she's always so busy at work

so we had a nice catch up in the Alpine (of course!!!)

and it was raining sooooo much outside that i decided to stick around a little while longer after lunch so treated myself to a cheeky cupcake to pass the time!

before the girls left they also helped me organize the stickers on my macbook...

i got a few of my own designs mainly because i was curious to see how they'd print out. as it happens they all printed out fab but my camera takes such godawful photos you can't really tell...

i'd quite like to see my CMYK cupcake and Matryoshka stickers though so who knows, i might be tempted to get them next...

to see the full range of stickers available, click here - red bubble

anyway after that i ended up in Waterstones book shop (just like always) and couldn't resist getting a few new Picture Books

i've built up quite a picture book collection over the years but i'm always looking to expand it and i knew i just HAD to have these books!

there's 'Little One's Bedtime' illustrated by Rosie Reeve and written by Suzi Moore

a very cute book full of adorable illustrations!

then we have 'A Bit Lost' by Chris Haughton

a really fantastic book, wonderfully simple yet effective illustrations + an amusing story. amazing colour scheme for this book!

then we have 'You Can't Scare a Princess' illustrated by the fabulous Sarah McIntyre (who was very helpful to me, giving advice during my own FMP picture book project) and written by Gillian Rogerson

Gillian's stories are always so cleverly written and Sarah's illustrations are always divine so i knew i had to get this one!!!

it didn't disappoint! i love love LOVED it!

and then last but not leaste we have 'Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble' illustrated by Joe Berger and written by Tracey Corderoy

it's another fantastic picture book! bursting with colour and wonderfully drafted characters

really super duper stuff!!!

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after that i ended up at Tesco helping with the weekly shop, cue me getting ridiculously excited when i  spotted a pack of Hershey's cookies n' creme kisses in one of the aisles!!!

i know, i'm sad but i LOVE Hershey's chocolate! i've mentioned my eternal love of American sweets before so there was no way i wasn't going to get these!

anyway that was my day, not the most thrilling of days but i enjoyed it nonetheless!!!

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ok so i've spent the past few days working on a couple of new candy characters + a special spooky pinup girl, hopefully i'll get these finished this weekend so i can share them with you either tomorrow or Sunday

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

Creative Café #12 ★

wowee is it time for another Creative Café post already?! well obviously it is otherwise why would i be sat here writing this...

anyway, today it's a post featuring a very talented British artist and illustrator Julie Fletcher based in Edinburgh, Scotland

remember my trip to Kinsale, Ireland a few weeks ago when i bought this pretty little print?! (read the original post here - Lovely Kinsale)

well as i mentioned at the time, the design was created by Julie so i figured i should email her and see if she'd be willing for me to share some more of her work with you all on here

she creates such colourful picture book illustrations, print and card designs, i love her style of illustration and all of her designs are so pretty and fun

her work is very sweet and i can see why it appeals to kids so much, her picture book characters look absolutely adorable!

i love the colours she uses in her work as well, so funky and bright, with cute little quirky details dotted about the place

anyway i always talk to much during these posts so i'll hush up now and let you look through some of her lovely work by yourself... enjoy!

 

 

isn't her work just divine! so cute and fresh, i love it!

you can check out Julie's fab website here - Julie Fetcher Illustrator

+ keep up to date with all her projects via her blog - Julie Fletcher

prints and cards featuring Julie's work are also available to buy via - James Ellis

and her latest picture book 'my first nursery rhyme treasury' is currently available to buy here - M&S

big BIG thanks to Julie for saying yes about the feature :) x

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

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that's it for today, look out for more Creative Café posts this week featuring some truly top notch creatives!

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

ps - in case you've been living under a rock, the August Giveaway closes tomorrow night at Midnight!!! there's been a record amount of entries this time but if you still haven't entered... now's the time to do it...

find out how YOU could get yourself 6 entries here - ★ ♥August Giveaway ♥ ★

Creative Café #8 ★

another Monday, another week...

let's kick off August with a lovely new Creative Café post shall we!!!

ok dudes and dudettes you know the drill, go now and get some tea or some coffee or some fizzy pop, grab a biscuit or a cake (or in my case some popcorn!) and settle down for some super duper creative loveliness!

today it's focusing on the truly gorgeous artwork of the fabulous Amariah Rauscher 

i first discovered Amariah's beautiful paintings and sketches one day a while ago while randomly trawling through etsy, i thought it was about time i featured her here! :)

Amariah is an artist living in Springfield Illinois, USA. 

she creates delicate and whimsical pieces using charcoal, pencils and watercolours and her style is just divine!

her little characters are so sweet and the colours she paints with are so pretty! i just love everything she does!

she also paints lots of little books into her pieces, her characters seem to enjoy reading and writing (oh i wonder why i like her paintings so much... ) 

anyway, you know me, i'll start rambling and gushing now so instead... enjoy this beautiful, colourful stream of Amariah's amazing work

 

totally gorgeous right! i know, i know, it's all just so sweet and lovely!

but she also creates the most fabulously detailed drawings and portraits! check these out...

incredible stuff! 

Amariah is also represented by Prospect Agency in New York, you can see her full Illustrator profile here - Amariah Rauscher

soooooo so pretty! love love LOVE it all!

she also sells prints, magnets and bookmarks featuring her work in her etsy shop - the Extent of Silence

i'm verrrry tempted to get myself a print (or two) since they're all so cute!

to see more of Amariah's work, check out her website here - Amariah's Studio

or head over to her Flickr photostream - Amariah Rauscher

you can also 'Like' her work on her Facebook fan page - Amariah Rauscher

and follow her on Twitter - @amariahrauscher

plus, be sure to check out her blog - Amariah Rauscher

massive MASSIVE thanks to the lovely Amariah for letting me feature her work on here :)

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

* * *

not much else for today my dears!

a new delivery of postcards arrived earlier featuring some new designs but there's only a very limited number of each design so if you fancy one... get it quick!

 

you can see them all here + the bundles they are also available in, get yours here - Jade's Etsy Shop

but apart from all that, i've not really anything else to tell you!

so i guess that's all folks... ★ ◕‿◕ xX

ps - i KNOW i said i'd kick off the new Giveaway on the 1st but... well i haven't actually left the house in over a week so i haven't been able to get any more stuff to add to the bundle!!! i'll open it for entries in a couple of days, just stay tuned my lovelies! x