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

Muddy Boots ★

so today it was the Royal Manx Agriculture Show here on the Isle of Man, the show is held every year for 2 days and is a brilliant day out for any Manxie (or visitor!!!) 

ever since i was about eleven-years-old i've been going to the show to help/hang out with my friend Chantal in the trophy tent where her + her lovely mum Lorraine work every year

sadly i missed the show last year since i was in Ireland but this year... i was here for it!!!

unfortunately though this year the weather wasn't up to it's usual sunny August standard so it was a little gloomy, not cold, just a bit cloudy and rainy, unfortunately my old wellington's don't fit me so i had to wear my glen walking boots instead!  and since we all know i tend to live in dresses/skirts, today was no exception despite the adverse weather conditions!!! (i'm insane... clearly) i even took my Gucci Indy along for the day!!!

in fact the only problem was that THIS year they'd moved the location of the show so it meant leaving the house at 8am to get there for the opening! my lovely dad chauffeured me there and back (ta dad), here he is posing by one of the many massive tractors on the showground

and here i am... also posing by a tractor, a big RED one! :)

eventually, after wandering around for a while, i spotted the trophy tent and rushed inside to find Chantal and Lorraine (whom i hadn't seen in aaaaaages!!!)

the trophy tent is fabulous though, i love sitting in there every year + helping to hand out the trophies!

we wandered around the showground for a bit as well though, and of course myself + Shiny (Chantal) couldn't resist stopping to pose with this lovely 'cow'

milkshake in hand as well! oh well! Shiny practiced her pinup pose when it was her turn...

so chic!  even in wellington boots...

there were lots of real animals there as well though obviously! including some very real cows...

we also looked after Shiny's little brother Cameron, her sister Lizzie and their little cousins Jess and Lewis, visiting from Glasgow with their lovely mum. there are dozens of brilliant games and stalls dotted about the showground + loads of bouncy castles, so there was plenty to keep them occupied!

we had a mooch around the craft tent for a bit then Jess spotted a 'glitter tattoo' stall where she got a sparkly mermaid on her arm, then Shiny decided that she wanted a little Henna tattoo so got this awesome, custom '3 legs of mann' tattoo on her wrist!

it was our turn to watch the tent after that though so we settled down for a while, which gave lovely little Jess the chance to draw some amazing pictures for us! she gave me these two to keep

and this one of myself + Shiny as mermaids!

gorgeous drawings! i love them :) Jessica is a very super duper little doodler for sure!

we all happily nattered and chattered away, it was great to catch up with Shiny as well after so long!

but alas, we all had to be quiet then because we spotted local radio presenters Alex and Ash from Manx Radio, recording live on the air right outside our trophy tent

it wasn't easy though! we all got the giggles and had to try and behave!!! Alex and Ash had certainly come prepared with wellington's and coats, they didn't look to overjoyed to be wandering around in the rain though! 

anyway to pass the time, myself + Shiny had a go at taking some daft pictures but truth be told most of them were so awful Shiny made me swear not to post them on here!!!

so i'll just post the 'ott pouting one' instead...

i really did have the most brilliant day though! i always enjoy the show and i'm super glad that i went today! 

for all the Manxies out there reading this, the show is on again tomorrow and don't forget it's being held at Patrick this year instead of Sulby

* * *

in other news, i forgot to tell you about this the other day but i won some stickers in a mini facebook page giveaway held by the very awesome and groovy Pete Bessent aka Purple Cactus

i got to pick out 6 gorgeous sticker designs for myself from his redbubble shop

so i picked... these ones

 to see the rest of Pete's epic sticker designs, follow this link - stickers

i won't go in to too much about Pete's artwork right now since i'll hopefully be doing a Creative Café feature on his work soon enough, but to see more of his stuff be sure to visit his Facebook fan page - Purple Cactus Design

anyway, thanks for the stickers! i LOVE them!!!

* * *

not much else for today, i can't go to the second day of the show tomorrow since i'm going to be pretty busy, but i WILL be posting a blog tomorrow night so look out for that!

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

ps - a dozen or so entries for the giveaway so far, you have 19 days left to enter - 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