Stickers!

Hello! I know I said I'd blog more this year and I'm well aware that so far I've not really stuck to it, but I'm here now so let's get on with the post shall we.

If you follow me online then you know how much I LOVE stickers!

I mean, first of all who doesn't love stickers?! Stickers are the BEST! I have 2 desks in my workspace that are mostly covered with stickers that I've bought or been sent over the years.



I started keeping my stickers on my desks as a nice way to actually use and display them, because if you're anything like me then you often end up with stacks of stickers that you just can't 'commit' to sticking anywhere. I had a tin full of the things and it seemed like such a waste to just leave them there. So that's when the sticker desk project began.

I decided to go ahead and give my sticker collection a home, and it brightens up my day every time I sit down at my desk. Plus it makes a pretty fun background for product or pin trade photos. I use it literally ALL the time!

Since I'm an artist and illustrator I also sell my own stickers and people ask me ALL the time, "hey Jade where do you get your stickers made?".

Well... I don't usually like to share manufacturers but I'm more than happy to share this one since I've always had such a great experience ordering custom stickers from them.

The company is called Sticker App, and they're really good! I get all of my mini vinyl girl gang and 90's themed stickers made with them and I'm always impressed and pleased with the quality and quick turnaround times.

They offer lots of different options but I've only tried their contour-cut custom stickers, so I can't personally vouch for the other styles or coating options, but I'm sure they're just as great as the custom vinyl ones with glossy coating, which is what I always get.

I've been getting my stickers made with Sticker App since last July and I see no reason to stop now! 

Their website is super easy to use and I like the way you get an instant preview of that the finished sticker will look like + how thick or thin the outer border will be on contour-cut custom shaped stickers as soon as you've uploaded your design. You also get an instant price and it automatically changes if you select a higher or lower number of stickers. It's totally zero fuss, no waiting around for price quotes or design proofs. Easy Peasy.

I also like the way that on Sticker App you don't have to order thousands of stickers, you can just order one design, or dozens, totally up to you. You also don't even have to get 100 of a design, if I'm restocking a sticker I'll often only re-order 50 of a design, which is great if you can't afford massive quantities of stickers, or if you maybe just want to trial a design in your shop, or even if you're ordering stickers for a kid's party or something. The bigger your sticker design is (in measurements, like 2 or 5") the lower the minimum amount you have to order. So if you want a big 6x6" sticker for your laptop case or desk, you could just get 5 stickers and share them with your friends. Brilliant!

It also helps that the prices on Sticker App are very reasonable and the turnaround times are quite fast considering that they're based in Sweden. All I know is that the quality of their custom vinyl stickers is amazing, the colours are always so vibrant and sharp. The sizes are also very customizable and you really aren't at all limited to what size you want your stickers to be. This is particularly useful since most custom sticker sites only offer pre-set sizes (usually going up in increments of single inches) but on Sticker App you can pick any random specific size you want and then change your mind and play around with sizes without having to wait for a design proof or price quote. It's great.

And I've started to ramble haven't I. So in summary, Sticker App is marvellous and if you're ever looking to get some cute custom stickers of your own made, you should definitely give them a go!

 just click this link to their website - Sticker App

and if you want to treat yourself to any of my stickers, you can Shop all available designs HERE

I'll be back soon with a new post about my latest pin designs, so until then, thanks for stopping by...

New Painting + Stickers ♥

Hello dearhearts, I've been terribly neglectful lately, in fact it has been over a month since I last posted anything on here. I keep visiting the blog trying to conjure up post ideas but I always invariably end up clicking away without any new thoughts. So this afternoon (while I attempt to write this) i'm going to force myself to pull something together and actually publish a post! For once.

As i've mentioned time and time again, I really don't live a particularly interesting life; I spend almost all of my time alone in my room reading, drawing or trawling the internet on my macbook and if i'm not cooped up in my room you'll occasionally find me painting in my poky studio down the hall or wandering around the garden listening to music. The point is, I usually leave my home maybe twice a week at most for appointments or lunch with friends (if I can talk myself into actually going).

I've thought about other ways I could share content on here, I read a lot so book reviews seem like the obvious choice but i've never been particularly good at writing those, I tend to get carried away with gushing, syrupy comments and declarations of how much I adore whatever book it is I just happen to have read. The same goes for movie reviews.

So instead i'm going to do what I usually do, and recount a little about what i've been up to recently, regardless of whether or not it comes across as boring.

If you follow me on Instagram you might have noticed that I recently went across to Coventry to visit my family for a week (I might even write a blog post about that at some point), but right before I went away I rustled up a brand new Candy Doll painting. 

it's kind of difficult to snap a photo of since it's on a 24x24" board, so excusing the shoddy colour quality this is what the finished piece looks like. 

 as per usual I posted a stack of candy coloured progress shots to my Instagram as I worked on the painting. See, this is why you should really follow me on Instagram if you don't already! I always remember to post stuff on there, even when I forget to post stuff anywhere else!

early painting progress, colour blocking using liquitex and crafter's acrylic + posca pens.

paint shots! mucky brushes and my chosen messy method of mixing colours in plastic shot glasses.

my favourite part! starting to add in the lineart with Sharpie pens and permanent markers.

lineart complete, time for the background. The Lace very nearly killed me but I got there in the end!

after the lineart was done I taped up the painting and used a mixture of acrylic and spray paint for the background to give it a nice contrasting texture to the smoothness of the posca and acrylic I used for the girl. I always like to keep the colour flat on my work and the only blending I do is usually for whatever rainbow hued hair i've given the latest Candy Doll because blending is fiddly and because that's just how I like to paint!

also, as per usual, I completed the digital version of the design first before I began working on the painting. Here's the full digital version...

so yeah, there you have it, a new painting. Fun times! I'm not sure what to do with her yet, for the time being she's perched on my desk to keep me company while I work but i'll probably try and sell her if I can.

* * *

in other Candy Doll Club News, I recently designed a new sticker to sell in my Etsy Shop

Yes they're food themed! So Feast your eyes on these Girl Gang inspired beauties!
Fries Before Guys x 100% Fresh Boy Tears

the stickers measure 69mm across and are currently for sale in the shop at the bargain price of just £1 + postage for 3 tasty stickers! Get yours HERE

I've already sent a bunch of these babeful stickers off to the UK, America, Australia and Japan! So if you fancy a trio for yourself or to share with your best babes, then go grab some NOW.

* * *

and on that note i'll sign off for now, i'm currently on book number 27 of 2015 (an anthology of H. P. Lovecraft stories, if you're interested) and it's calling to me so i'd better go

cheerio chums! Hopefully it won't be a month before I bother to post again...

Creative Café #29 ★

hello there dearhearts, you might be wondering where on earth i've been for the past... 2 weeks! has it really been 2 weeks?! it's probably been more...

crikey. anyway, i haven't actually been away anywhere or anything, i've been right at home stuck in a little world of my own alternating between doing work for college, clients, college, commissions, college and so on and so forth.

anyway, there is literally NOTHING going on in my life right now worth blogging about so instead, it's time for another lovely, colourful Creative Café post

follow 'the drill' and grab yourself a snack + a drink and settle down for some pretty illustration because today it's all about the very groovy Jen Oaks

Jen is an American illustrator who produces very VERY awesome designs and illustrations featuring all manner of funky characters and creations

although it must be said that i am particularly fond of her curvy pin-up girl illustrations, they are rather fabulous after all, in fact they are absolutely ruddy marvellous!

 i just adore the way she captures their expressions, you can tell that all of her curvy pin-ups are very sassy and cheeky + they're all so gorgeously feminine, it's really refreshing to see some sexy plus size pinup illustrations! brilliant...

more of those lovely ladies later. so what else does Jen do?! well, as well as being a generally glorious illustrator she also designs groovy characters and scenes for various editorial clients + takes part in super duper art shows around the USA

in her spare time when she's not being an awesome arty superhero, she also gets her work featured on sparkly blogs and sites such as a post featuring her fabby prints on Apartment Therapy or the lovely interview and feature about her Curvy Pin-ups on SF Today

she's also extra awesome and that's because she doesn't just design groovy things for magazines and the like, she also sells very jazzy cards, prints, stickers, badges and calendars!

the detail in her work is what i love the most though. the way she packs so much into a figure or a scene, the illustrations are never overcrowded they're always spot on and manage to convey the appropriate emotion or feeling through these often delicate and intricate little details

do you know what time it is now?! it's time for me to hush up and let you have a nice scroll through some more of Jen's cute work in your own sweet time. enjoy...

you see, i told you it was all gorgeous! sometimes it's not easy always being right...

time for some links now!

to see even more of Jen's quirky, colourful work you can head on over to her offcial website here - Jen Oaks Illustration

she also has a fab Etsy shop chock full of lovely printed goodies and merch featuring her designs - Jen's shop

you can also 'Like' her work on Facebook - Jen Oaks

and follow her on Twitter - @jenoaks

she's also on Tumblr - jenoaks

and has a great Flickr full of sketches and other lovely things - Jen Oaks

and there you go. all that's left for me to do now is say a big ol' THANK YOU to the very lovely Jen for saying yes and letting me run this little feature, so thanks again Jen :) x


All images featured in this post belong to Jen Oaks © do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace AND of her work without her express written consent. All Rights Reserved.

* * *

so like i said, nothing to report on in my world at the moment. i am truly swamped with work. i spend almost every day painting in my room and i spend the rest of the week either at college or at home editing files for commissions. busy, busy, busy.

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