★ Happy Birthday Sienna ★

so, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! hope you all had a fun NYE and saw in the arrival of 2012 in style!

well here we are then, the very first blog post of the NEW YEAR and... it's a personal one!

because on Monday it was my darling little cousin Sienna's 6th Birthday! yaaaaaaaaay

this meant that on Monday i was invited along to the party at 'the Fun Factory' in Onchan to help supervise the little party guests and help dish out the party food and party bags etc

it was soooo much fun and the party went brilliantly! Sienna looked like the perfect little Party Princess in her sparkly dress and little silver shoes

and it was lovely to spend some time with my little cousins Sienna, Hanna and my god-daughter Bonnie (who is also Hanna's older sister)

they're all such cutie-pies!

we had a lot of fun playing 'musical colours' (like musical chairs only you use the colours of the walls or floor... don't ask, it seemed like a good idea at the time!)

a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sienna, i hope she had a super duper day :) xX

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in other news, i know they've been a long time coming but i thought maybe it was time for a teeny tiny sneak peek at some of the new 'candy character' scenes...

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

they've all still got quite a long way to go, lots of details and textures to be added in etc but i thought i'd give a sneak peek of how the characters are looking at the moment! so expect more updates when i eventually get on with finishing these scenes off!

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also, did i mention that there's currently 20% off everything in my Etsy Shop!!!

to celebrate the New Year, i'm offering 20% off all items in the shop, all you have to do is type in the discount code NEWYEAR2012 at the checkout

this offer won't be on for too long though, maybe a week or so more, so don't leave it too late!

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that's about it for now i think, i was back in College today finding out about assessment timetables for next week + catching up with the other HNDers and BAers which was nice! 

i have a funky Creative Café post to run this week, maybe at the weekend, so keep your eyes peeled for that

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

So long 2011... ★

well, it's been a funny old year hasn't it! Some ups, some downs and as my blog will tell you, lots of colour!

I figured that a little look back over the year was in order, i don't normally fuss too much with New Years stuff but this year i'll be home alone, cooped up watching TV all night so i thought, might be fun to have a look back at it all!

2011 has been kind of a busy year for me, i've been working as a freelance illustrator and designer for just about 3 years now but 2011 has been my busiest year ever commission wise!

i've also altered my work style a little bit this year. this time last year i could barely scan an image to edit digitally and now almost everything i do is digitally edited/coloured/finished whether it's based on a scanned drawing or is drawn directly into photoshop or illustrator.

i'm still in college, which is evident from a lot of my posts, shots of my messy college desk and board frequently pop up over the year, but running the blog as a student helps me tick off units for my course as well as being able to share some of the more mundane parts of my day with you all!

i've always been a fan of all things cute, girly and kawaii, but in 2011 my work went to whole new levels of sweetness (i think it has anyway!) and everywhere you look on my blog there are sweets, cupcakes, princesses and lots of pinks, blues and reds!

other than college, it's been a quiet year for me! from time to time i do like to post about my family and friends but although this has always been first and foremost a personal blog, i try to keep family posts to a minimum, however i hope the ones i have posted haven't been too tedious for you all!

it's been a fab year networking wise as well and i'm fortunate enough to have made many creative new friends via Twitter (mostly!) as well as lots of new clients and contacts. oh and thanks for the kind words, emails, tweets and comments from all of YOU over the year as well! 

time for a list! i love lists and to try and cheer myself up i thought a sort of '2011 achievements' list might be a good idea!

so, this year I have...

• gotten some of my pieces and merch stocked in a local shop here on the Isle of Man

• been included in an exhibition at the Isle Gallery at Tynwald Mills, with my artwork hung up the rest of my HND class from college as well as alongside some of the islands best artists, sculptors and photographers.

• completely re-designed my website (along with the help of a local web designer) and set up an Etsy shop to sell my handmade stuff + merch

• designed a winning t-shirt design for 'All Tropical'

• set up POD shops on RedBubble, Artflakes and Society 6 and sold lots of stickers, prints and t-shirts + nearly 60 iPhone cases! i don't who's been buying them but thanks all the same!

• designed quite a few logos, flyer, poster, banner and advert designs for various clients both local and international

• built up my paid commissions portfolio (and subsequently spent most of my commission fees on business cards, postcards, prints and merchandise... i may be addicted!)

• learnt a lot more about 'professional practice' + how to gain new clients and network with artists, galleries, collectives and shops.

so what are my plans for 2012 I hear you cry?

Well next year I intend to...

• finish my HND and get a move on with my last year of the BA at college so i can finally achieve my degree in Fine Art

• produce more' fine art' so that i actually live up to my course guidelines!

• finalise the characters and story for a little children's picture book or maybe even FINALLY finish the pages for 'Where's Charlie?'

• get more merchandise items featuring my work produced to sell in my online shop, in local shops + at local craft fairs

• learn to use my bamboo tablet and further develop my digital illustration skills and techniques using photoshop and illustrator

• learn to drive! 

and i think that's about it! if there's anything else... i've forgotten it so oh well!

thank you for visiting the blog, whether you stop by to read about my artwork, my boring life or even if you just check in to see the pictures i post, i'm glad that you visit at all so THANK YOU!!!

all i have to do now is wish all of YOU + all of my friends and family a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 

may 2012 bring you everything you wish for!

so until next year, i guess that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX