Creative Café #27 ★

hello dearhearts, i promised you a Creative Café post... so here it is!

you know what to do, however if you're a new reader and you're unfamiliar with 'the drill' it's really quite simple!

basically, you have to run away from the computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone for a moment... 

and get yourself a nice cup of tea, coffee, juice, water, champagne, smoothie or milkshake

+ oh and don't forget to grab a yummy snack in the form of a cupcake, biscuit, chocolate bar or piece of fruit

then settle down to enjoy some lovely arty times via the Creative Café blog post!

easy peasy!

so without any further ado let's get on with the post!

today it features artwork by the wonderfully talented Samantha Hahn

Samantha is an American illustrator living in Manhattan, NY. "Her illustrations feature delicate pen work and brightly colored inks for a range of editorial, publishing and licensing clients"

she uses watercolour paints and concentrated inks to create colourful and expressive illustrations

she really does create the most stunning illustrations overflowing with bursts of colour and fabulously delicate little details that make her pieces so fresh and vibrant!

her work is often very girly in nature, featuring lots of bright hues and predominantly feminine characters or themes

she works primarily with ink and watercolour but is also a very talented digital artist often creating gorgeous patterns, characters and designs using digital methods as well as traditional materials

 i particularly love the way she draws/paints eyes, simple lines yet always so expressive

i always find her work very inspiring, her illustrative style is exquisite and i just adore the colours she uses in her pieces

i also really love her text and food themed illustrations! always so gorgeous

have i rambled for long enough?! i tend to get carried away don't i?! 

okay i'll let you all scroll through some of her sumptuous illustrations at your leisure! enjoy...

super duper stunning right!

time for some lovely links now...

to see more of Samantha's beautiful artwork, be sure to head on over to her website - Samantha Hahn

she also runs a brilliant blog bursting with colourful images and lots of inspiration - Maquette

i want to say a big ol' THANK YOU to Samantha for saying yes and letting me run this mini feature, i hope you all enjoyed looking at some of her lovely work! thanks Samantha :) x

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

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in other news, you still have precisely one week left to enter the 'Blog Birthday Giveaway'

in case you missed the last post, i'm giving away a stack of super duper cute goodies to celebrate my blogs 3rd Birthday/Anniversay...... Blogiversary this month!

to find out how YOU can enter to win some prizes head on over to the Giveaway post here - Blog Birthday Giveaway 2012

i'm picking 3 winners this year as well so you never know... you might just be one of them!!!

so get entering! and until next time, that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ★ xX

Creative Café #26 ★

hello there folks, firstly a big ol' sorry from me for not having posted in a while! all sorts of crazy things have been going on but i'm here now so lets get on with todays blog post shall we!

it's time for another Creative Café post and i should warn you, today's is a little different to what's usually on display for a CC post, however it is very VERY awesome and i'm sure you'll love it all regardless!

you know the drill (and if you don't, here it is - the Creative Café drill)

today it's all about the very fabulous Amy Williams

Amy is an artist and apprentice tattooist for 'Tenacious Tattoo' based in Sheffield in the UK + she uses a dip pen, India ink and watercolour to create her highly detailed original designs

i personally have a HUGE phobia of needles but tattoo art has always fascinated me and i find Amy's beautiful vintage and retro inspired designs particularly intriguing and refreshing

her work has this perfect mix of sweet delicacy mixed with darker often macabre undertones, lots of pretty flowers overlaying more sinister themes and messages, it's a wonderful mixture and a balance that i think she gets just right in her designs

as somebody who has only recently been asked to design a few tattoos for local clients, i find her work incredibly inspirational and just incredible to look at! 

everything from the colours she uses to the way she drafts and shades her designs is enthralling

on paper or skin her designs are sublime, bursting with intricate details, enchanting characters all drafted with her signature flourishes of line and style 

i think i've rambled on for long enough now so i'll leave you to look through some more of her work in your own sweet time, enjoy...

isn't it all just glorious!

right time for some links now

to see even more of Amy's work, you can 'Like' her Facebook page here - Amy Williams Tattoo

you can also see the progress of some of her tattoos via - Tenacious Tattoo

she also has an Etsy shop selling prints of her designs - Amybird

and of course if you'd like to commission Amy to design a tattoo for yourself then you can contact her via facebook - Amy Williams

all that's left now is for me to say a massive THANKS to Amy for saying yes about the feature! 

i'm not sure if I'll ever be able to pluck up the courage to get a tattoo done but if i ever do, i'm pretty sure i want Amy to design/tattoo it! thanks again :) x

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

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in other news, i've been busy with commission + college work lately and it's been a bit of a muddled weekend due to some family stuff but i shan't bore you all with that on here!

anyway, i have some fun new stuff to share with you this week + a v exciting Mini Giveaway that's coming up soon via Twitter!

so stay tuned for all of that

until next time, that's all folks... 

◕‿◕ ★ xX