Creative Café #1 ★

ok so i know i was supposed to post yesterday but it actually wasn't my fault that i couldn't because i was waiting on a reply from the artist i was going going to talk about

the good news is that she replied so i'll post about her today instead!

i've decided to start a new regular feature, since 'super sundays' have been on hiatus since. . . well i can't even remember when, i thought it was about time we had a new one!

i'm calling it 'Creative Café' since the idea is that you make a cup of coffee or tea settle down and get to see some lovely work by an artist/illustrator/photographer/graphic designer that you otherwise might not have heard of

i'm fortunate enough to know and network with so many talented creative types so i thought this would be a nice way of featuring some of them

i don't know if it will be a weekly thing, a fortnightly thing or an 'every-couple-of-days' thing yet but you can be sure there'll be several 'Creative Café' posts popping up over the next few weeks

so without any further ado i shall get on with the post. . .

today i want to share a super duper artist with her, you all know how much i love all things Burlesque and Pinup so when you see her work you'll understand the appeal straightaway

today it's all about the fabulous Charlotte Thomson 

Charlotte is a fine artist, illustrator and event organiser working out of Nottinghamshire, UK. 

she creates the most stunning sketches, paintings and digital designs of Burlesque and Pinup girls + her work is so pretty and fun, her girls are so amazing and each one has their own unique character and style

i only discovered her work recently when an old IOM College student sent me an email with a couple of artists to look up (yes you will find out about the others soon enough) and i just adored her work straight away

it isn't hard to see why either. . .

her work just has this quirky, fun vibe. the Burlesque and Pinup girls are a little bit naughty, dangerously curvy and undeniably sexy

her designs are so cute and girly, and you just know that they'd ALL look amazing as tattoos! i have a terrible phobia of needles but if i were ever brave enough to get a tattoo i'd love it to be one of Charlotte's Burlesque or Pinup gals

Charlotte uses lots of different mediums to create her artwork. these include: pen and ink, graphite pencil, acrylic, watercolour and diluted ink as well as digital techniques

she designs for websites and publications as well as exclusive commissions for Burlesque dancers, models, Brides and just about anyone else that fancies a funky bespoke portrait or character

some of her work also has this beautifully delicate quality to it as well, i just really really love the way she draws people. . .

some of her Bridal portraits are so divine though! what a lovely way to commemorate your day, with a one off Bridal portrait of you looking a million dollars!

ok you know what, i always ramble on in these posts so i'm just going to let you look through Charlotte's beautiful artwork by yourself. . . enjoy!

pretty darn gorgeous right!!!

anyway for more info on Charlotte + to keep up to date with all her amazing artwork (or to commission yourself a little something) head on over to her website here - Charlotte Thomson

you can also 'Like' her Facebook page here - Charlotte Thomson Art and Illustration

or follow her on twitter to keep up to date with all her arty news - @charlotteart

massive thanks to Charlotte for letting me feature her.

ALL images featured here belong to Charlotte Thomson © All Rights Reserved. Do not claim, use, distribute, reproduce or trace any of her work without her written consent.

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so there you go, the blogs first EVER 'Creative Café' post

look out for the next one, i already have a list of people i'm just dying to feature so stay tuned for more 'CC' posts

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in other news. . .

take a look at this new Rockalily artwork

does it look familiar. . . well it should do, because I designed it!!!

late last night the lovely ReeRee over at Rockalily (more about her here - hairclips and lipsticks) sent me an email asking if i'd have a go at a lipstick logo design, 

i drew it out last night around midnight and spent this morning working on it, et voila!!!

it's now on the @rockalilylondon Twitter page and the Rockalily Facebook page

pretty groovy right!

i still can't believe she asked me to do it!!!!

it was so much fun to work on a design for a brand i actually really like and use

get your hands on a Rockalily lipstick of your very own right here - Buy Rockalily

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not much else to report today dearies, i'm heading out to the Imelda May gig tomorrow night so i shall no doubt be telling you all about that on Wednesday

but for now, that's all folks . . . ◕‿◕ ★ xX 

the 107 year old book ★

today i'm going to share a couple of awesome old photographs with you all

my lovely friend Liz, who is a fellow HNDer at college, kindly let me borrow this amazing old (really old) book since she knows what a sucker i am for books in general (seriously, all the awesome HNDers lend me books all the time, i'm so lucky!)

it's a book called 'Women at Home' and it was printed/published in 1904 (i told you it was old!)

once i'd gotten over the fact i was holding something more than 100 years old in my hands i set about carefully flicking through the pages to see what i could find

at Liz's request i didn't scan any of the pages since opening the book fully would undoubtedly crack the spine, (which would be disastrous in a book this old) but she said i was welcome to snap as many photos of it as i wanted

so . . . that's exactly what i did! and when you see the photos i'm hoping that you'll understand why

in short, this book is chock full of the most gorgeous photographs and paintings and illustrations!!!

most of the photos are of European aristocracy but the book is also full of stories, wonderful illustrations and the most amazing fashion pages depicting the current Parisian fashion trends at the time of publication

i actually LOVE this book! (ok Jade time to shut up and let them see the pictures!)

 

pretty divine right! though obviously i have my top favourites! these are among them . . .

and now i'll stop!

the book itself is a little time worn and looks completely at odds with the grace, elegance and splendour it hides within its pages

anyway, i loved it! massive MASSIVE thanks to Liz for giving me the opportunity to look through such an amazing book + the chance to share this little bit of historic beauty with you all . . .

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in other news, i recently completed a logo design commission for a local Cupcake company and have permission to share a sneak peek of it with you all

the lovely Sarah from Cupcake Creations asked me to design a little logo for her

now i've tried one of these cupcake creations myself and not only did it taste truly scrumptious, it also looked divine!

those of you that are regular readers of this blog might remember the name 'Cupcake Creations' from this post a while back - Things that begin with 'S' head over to that post to see some photos i snapped of the uber yummy little cupcakes that day

anyway i came up with about 6 different designs for Sarah and she picked this one to be the new logo

for more cupcakey goodness get yourself over to Cupcake Creations and have a skeet at their delectable cupcake galleries

or follow them on twitter @CCIOM to keep up with all the delicious cupcake news

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and what else i hear you cry?! well feast your eyes on this . . .

yes folks that there is a logo stamp . . . with MY logo!!!

not going to pretend that i didn't squeal and jump about when the box arrived this afternoon

and as you can see, i've been stamping away to my hearts content!

made this as well, using the new 'JADE' stamp + some lovely art stamps my mum bought me a few days ago

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not much else to say today dearies

i finally went back to college yesterday to find that my desk had been ransacked of all it's girly, pinup loveliness!

nah, they just had to take my board down so that the younger students can have it for FMP (charming!!!) but it gave me the chance to do a little redecorating, even if it's not quite right . . . yet!

i've not been too well today hence the day at home spent getting print quotes and sewing stuff

hoping to go in tomorrow though . . . i need to tackle the art dept printer!

whether i do or i don't though, here is the state of my 'home' desk today, any guesses as to what it is i've been making?!

ok well while you work it out i'm going to head off and sit at my desk for a bit staring blankly out of the window at the rainy garden and have some daydreams . . .

that's all folks ◕‿◕ ★