Marvellous Mail ❤

hello again! Today I want to talk a bit about that most marvellous and magnificent of doodahs that is... POST! 

I man Post is amazing isn't it! You can send stuff ALL over the world and get nice stuff back no bother, it's like magic. You're probably thinking, 'but Jade, the internet lets us do that instantly' and yes, it does, but it's not quite the same as getting a letter in the post is it. To sum it up better, i'm going to need to use a Terry Pratchett quote from his brilliant book Going Postal. In this particular case let's pretend the 'clacks' is an email and you'll get the point!

"I dare say the clacks is wonderful if you wish to know the prawn market figures from Genua. But can you write S.W.A.L.K. on a clacks? Can you seal it with a loving kiss? Can you cry tears on to a clacks, can you smell it, can you enclose a pressed flower? A letter is more than just a message." 

Now let's be honest, we ALL love getting stuff in the mail don't we! No i'm not talking about bills and boring nonsense like that, i'm talking about birthday cards, letters, invitations, postcards and... PRESENTS!

Not quite as magical as surprise gifts in the post but still WAY up there with general mail excitement is ordering things! You know how it is, it's 2am on a Sunday, you can't sleep, so you inevitably end up on Ebay and buy a bunch of random stuff then forget about it...
no, is that just me then?!

anyway, you order something nice for yourself then forget (like me) or wait excitedly for it to arrive and when it does, doesn't it make a WORLD of difference when what you've ordered turns up in pretty packaging?!

now some of you might be thinking, 'meh, I don't really care how it's packaged as long as it arrives!' but that probably means you've never received something parceled up so beautifully that you couldn't quite bring yourself to open it straightaway until you'd fully appreciated how MAGICAL it looked!

This happens to me occasionally, usually when I've ordered something from another artist or maker, they'll send my order in a pretty box or envelope, peppered with cute stickers, bakers twine or doodles.

One of the best things I have ever received in the post was a parcel sent all the way from Portland, WA in America. It arrived wrapped like a parcel you might see in a period film or show, with thick brown parcel paper and carefully tied twine. Inside was a handmade book bound in vintage silk tied with a length of white lace trim, along with a beautifully handwritten letter artfully folded and sealed with a stamp of dark blue sealing wax...

It was so beautiful that it took me THREE WHOLE DAYS to bring myself to open it!!! Why? because I literally couldn't bear to spoil the wax seal, even though I knew there was a lovely letter waiting inside, I just couldn't do it straightaway.

No photo could do the thing justice because to me, right at that second, the experience was like being pulled back in time, and just for a moment I felt like a girl in a Jane Austen novel being handed a parcel from afar, all that was missing were the pretty regency gowns and handsome guys wandering around in fancy tail coats.

The parcel inspired me to get my hands on my own stamp and sealing wax (in green to match the ink in my fountain pen) so that I could send out some beautifully presented letters of my own to two friends in Maine.

Because even after i'd finally opened the parcel, unwrapped the book and broken the wax seal to read the letter, I kept thinking about how beautifully packaged it had all arrived and it got me thinking that surely ALL post should be as magical and heartwarming an experience.

Because you see, my dears... if there's one thing I love more than receiving pretty envelopes in the post, it's sending them out!

There's nothing more fun that packaging up an order and making it looks as cute and fun as possible! A lot of my customers are quite far away and sometimes have to wait weeks to receive their postcards or stickers, so I try to make it even more worth the wait by packaging up their order as prettily as I can.

This of course means rainbow hued envelopes, cute stickers and candy stripe bags to keep everything safe and sound as it flies across the world! And I don't just mean that I do this for international orders, EVERY order from my shop gets the same treatment, whether you live in Norfolk or New Zealand.



Every time someone orders something from me, I get a fizzy thrill knowing that they liked my stuff enough to want to buy it! I mostly sell stickers and postcards so I don't get many opportunities to crack out the bakers twine and parcel boxes unless someone orders a tote bag or a Mystery Bundle Box.

Extra special handmade treats going into the Mystery Bundle Boxes

I'm constantly working on new ways to update my packaging, making everything as pretty as possible, while still making sure orders arrive in perfect condition regardless of their destination. I spend an inordinate amount of time on Instagram and Pinterest gathering inspiration. One of my packaging idols (as it were) is Laura at I Love Crafty, she puts a lot of time and effort into her packaging and it really pays off so that every order looks completely gorgeous!

gorgeous packaging details for a Valentine's Order

 If you're lucky enough to have ever received something like this in the post then you know what a pleasure it is to open something so pretty! I mean sure it's great if you order a gift for someone and it arrives looking nice but why shouldn't it look as good if it's something you've ordered for yourself! After all, what's online shopping if not a way of gifting yourself glorious things every now and again, you know you gotta treat yo self!

Laura at I Love Crafty - packaging orders

I've followed Laura and her brilliant business online for a few years now and she's always inspired me to put in that extra bit of effort with my work, especially with the packaging. And if it means that one day my designs and products can be even half as lovely as hers, then it will be completely worth it!

pretty iridescent packaging for Unicorn brooches!

You see what at difference it makes to a plain white envelope or bubble mailer, isn't it heaps more FUN when things arrive wrapped in candy colours and cuteness?! You bet it is. And regardless of whether you spend £1 or £100 in my shop, I will wrap up your goodies in the sweetest way I can manage, and I have a whole side of my desk dedicated to cute packaging and sticker application (I take this very seriously).

Mystery Bundle Boxes, packed full of lovely stuff!

I could (and do) spend hours arranging my rainbow envelopes and preparing the mystery bundle boxes. I stick on spotify and crack out the stickers and it's so much fun I don't even notice the time flying. In fact, the only thing better than packaging up and sending out pastel pretty orders, is when a customer sends me a snap of their goodies letting me know that everything turned up safe and sound and that they LOVE it!

a few snaps posted on instagram from some of my lovely customers

if YOU have ever received something in the mail from me, whether it was an order or just some random thing I sent you, chances are it arrived looking like it had been parceled up by a rainbow unicorn! Which was of course my exact intention.

and if you've NEVER gotten anything in the post from me, then isn't it time you did! Treat yourself (or someone else) to something sweet, you'll find various candy coloured bits n' bobs in my Etsy Shop, my Depop Store and now also on Storenvy

go on then, go pick something nice and then I can pop it in a pretty envelope and COVER it with cute stickers before I post it to you!

and on that note, i'll say goodbye for now, thanks for visiting, see you again soon dearhearts...

Pretty as a Picture

Hello dearhearts, back again with a brand new illustration and yes, you guessed it, it's another addition to the Candy Doll Club!

so instead of wittering on about it (like I usually do) i'll just go ahead and show you...



Now you might have noticed over recent months that lately i've been heavily inspired by a few of the many lovely ladies I follow via Instagram and Pinterest, in fact this new piece is an illustration inspired by a very lovely British blogger named Megan aka Briar Rose and she is basically a real life Disney Princess!



Look at that amazing hair! WOW! I always enjoy seeing Megan's gorgeous OOTD blog posts and snaps on Instagram, she has the most incredible wardrobe, so she seemed like an ideal 'real life' candy doll to inspire a new piece.

I was actually inspired by the photos from this blog post, and although usually I cover my drawings with candy coloured tattoos and pops of neon colour, this one felt better suited to pretty paler pastels similar to those found in Megan's outfit post.


Although obviously in my version that 'Princess' hair has a few pastel shades thrown in for good measure! But then how could I EVER draw a Candy Doll without giving her Pastel hair?! Also, i'm dreadful at drawing hats, they never seem to translate well when I add them so this one gets a flower crown instead!

I also wanted to have a go at drawing a girl holding a camera, following on from my 'time for a selfie' illustration, so when I spotted the pictures of Megan with her nifty little Praktica camera it seemed like time to get out my pencils and pens!

I had a lot of fun drawing this one as you can probably tell, it's been nice just working on aimless projects these past few months while I take some time off from work, I can't wait to see what I conjure up next (maybe something special just in time for Halloween... wait and see!)  

anyway the design is now available via my Society6 Shop on various items + there's Free Worldwide Shipping on stuff in the shop until October 12th so if you feel like getting some early Xmas presents, go have a skeet!

alrighty then i'll stop babbling now. Hope you liked the new illustration, i'm pretty sure that the Candy Doll Club will forever be gaining new members! So thanks for the inspiration Megan!

YOU can keep up with all of her fashionable snaps by following her on Pinterest or Instagram + here she is on Facebook and Twitter and of course, here's her brilliant Blog

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in other news, I FINALLY finished my two latest paintings!

here they are perched on my desk (along with a recent diddy posca piece) waiting to see what i'm going to do with them next, I haven't a clue where to put them!

I suppose I ought to try and sell them but i've gotten kind of used to having them around now, unless someone else were to grow particularly partial to one of them of course...

 i'll do a proper Blog post about them soon + show you the process snaps of how I got from blank wooden board to finished piece!

AND i'm starting two more BIGGER paintings v soon, I haven't decided 100% what to paint yet but who am I kidding, we all know it'll be members of the Candy Doll Club.

so until next time, that's all folks!

Super Sunday #7 ♥

So I know the Super Sunday posts haven't always worked out properly

it's gone from being a weekly thing to a fortnightly thing

anyway this week i'm doing a post all about one of my favourite illustrators...

and yes I know that the last Super Sunday post I did was dedicated to a picture book illustrator (it was about Lauren Child and you can read it here - Super Sunday #6 ♥) 

but this weeks dedication is particularly special, well, as far as i'm concerned it is anyway!

For todays Super Sunday post i'd like to honour an illustrator whose work I have quite literally grown up with, whose illustrations actually inspired me to want to be an illustrator in the first place!

This weeks dedication goes out to the truly super duper, Nick Sharratt

now many of the girls (and some of the boys) reading this will probably recognise his illustrations, especially if you grew up in the UK

there's a pretty strong chance you'll have seen his illustrations on dozens of book covers even if you didn't realise he was the illustrator behind them

he is most famous for having illustrated every single one of Jacqueline Wilson's books for the past 20 years. He has also illustrated children's books for several other authors as well as many of his own children's picture books.

He has been illustrating Jacqueline Wilson's books since 1991 when 'the Story of Tracy Beaker' was first published. 

I was born in 1991 so I really have quite literally 'grown up' with the illustrations as well as the stories.

In fact... i first discovered his illustrations when i read my very first Jacqueline Wilson book when I was 6 years old.

i remember it because it was one of  the first 'proper' modern books i'd just been given and left to read (up until then i'd just read lots of stuff by Enid Blyton)

it was a copy of 'Double Act' that my mum had bought me to take on holiday so that i'd have something to read.

now although I adored the story and despite the fact that that book will always be my favourite Jacqueline Wilson book, I remember that it was the little illustrations that popped up throughout the story that really caught my attention

I was on holiday in Mauritius and I remember that I finished reading the book sitting on a bench outside the museum, as soon as we went back to the hotel I sat with the complimentary hotel room notepad and pencil and tried to copy the pictures from the book.

I remember finishing it and flipping back through the book to look at all the illustrations again. I loved how simple they were so I tried to copy them and see if I could draw like that as well.

Despite the fact my versions of the characters were a little wonky and a bit messy I like to think it was in some way the beginning of my journey to becoming an illustrator.

I used to spend hours trying to copy his seemingly so simple style and try and come up with new scenes that could fit into the books. My versions never quite looked right but that didn't put me off me, I was determined to draw just like him!

by the time I finished primary school my career aspiration was to be an artist for Disney... or failing that, a book illustrator just like Nick Sharratt!

Although i'm a bit too old to be reading Jacqueline Wilson books as religiously as I used to, I still absolutely love to flick through my nieces copies just to look at all of the fabulous illustrations.

I'm fortunate that both Maddie and Daisy (my nieces) adore her books so it gives me an excuse to borrow them from time to time just so I can see the illustrations!

I realised that during my childhood, it was his illustrations that began my fascination with all things arty and creative. Even though I remember being read to + reading books by Enid Blyton and Roahl Dahl, which were always filled with amazing illustrations, it's really Nick Sharratt's style of drawing that has stuck with me all this time.

I think it's even affected my own style of drawing without me realising it!

I mean look at his style, he always uses a very clear simple black line as the basis of practically all of his work, and I do exactly the same thing!!!

i always have done as well, i think that without really meaning to, i've completely based MY style of illustrating around the basics of his style!

I think I first got interested in children's book illustration because of his work, I wanted to become an illustrator so I could draw pictures like him. And I think that in many ways, I still think that now.

You see, I really do owe him a lot!

I'd love to meet him one day just so I can say thank you for all the inspiration his drawings have given me over the years

oh i should also point out, that as well known as he is for illustrating Jacqueline Wilson's books, he's just as famous nowadays for his own children's picture books combining funny unique stories with his fabulous illustrative style that cleverly brings the stories to life.

i'm sad to say that i don't actually own any of his other picture books, i've read a few of them though (there's a picture book section in the library at college... i pretty much live there during the week)

 i particularly like the 'Daisy' books, they are so fun to read!

the illustrations are just so adorable! i've never NOT liked anything that he's worked on!

not that i'm biased or anything of course! but come on, you can all see how cute the drawings are can't you!

of course you can, they're super duper sweet and absolutely bloody marvellous!

ok ok, i guess i've gushed enough about how awesome i think his work is!

but long story short... he is without a doubt MY personal favourite book illustrator (get ready for this...) EVER

that's right

and you should know that i've seen hundreds (if not thousands) of illustrated books throughout my life

i guess it's mainly because his drawings inspired me to draw in the first place

whatever the reason, he's my fave illustrator, end of!

if you'd like to see even more of his fabby illustrations, then head over to the Nick Sharratt website 

there's also a great interview on this BBC page + lots of fun tips on drawing from the man himself - BBC interview

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in other news,

that's it!

Happy Sunday

enjoy the rest of your day

oh and watch out for another post tomorrow

I know, I know... 3 posts in a row! Insane right!!!

farewell dudes and dudettes

that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ★

mulţumesc şi la revedere

(that's thank you and goodbye in Romanian on behalf of Romania, i've never been to Romania but it sounds like a gorgeous country, mulţumesc foarte mulţ x)