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

the Satchel, the Lionheart & the Anchor ★

so it's been a funny old week! those of you that follow me via Facebook or Twitter might have seen me raving on about my College assessment, well long story short the Art Dept printer broke down meaning i couldn't print ANYTHING off for assessment!

though it didn't actually matter in the end, my tutors were fine with me showing all my work on my macbook and the assessment went really well (i think...) they normally last about 20 mins for me but this one was almost an hour-and-a-half + i got lots of units ticked off which is a good thing!

anyway, in light of the assessment and the fact that leading up to it i pretty much didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night, i decided to take the rest of the day off on Wednesday, so my friend Jenny came to collect me from college and we had a fab afternoon mooching around Douglas

i believe in rewarding people when they've done well so i decided to treat myself to some yummy chocolates from Thorntons + i spotted this gorrrrrrgeous satchel bag in Curphey's in town

and well... i sort of HAD to have it! i mean look at it! it's so lovely + my macbook/kawaii case fits in it PERFECTLY along with the charger + my wacom tablet and a notebook

in short, the bag is perfect :)

another thing that fits into the bag is my fab copy of BRAND NEW 'Lionheart Magazine' 

i've been hearing about the magazine on Twitter for the past few months so once the Magazine launched i knew i'd have to treat myself to a copy of it!

it's absolutely gorgeous inside and out, filled from cover to cover with beautiful illustrations, fab photos and interesting articles all sourced and pulled together by genius editor and creator Helen Martin

i had a lovely time flicking through it and although i haven't had chance to read all of the articles so far, i snapped some photos of it as i looked through...

get your own copy right here - Lionheart Magazine

* * *

in other news, this pretty little necklace arrived in the post for me the other day!

it's a necklace by Razorblade Mermaid that i won it in a little giveaway comp via Betty Bee Towers

a truly brilliant blog that i love to visit after a long day of college, it's full of fabulous crafty ideas, gorgeous rockabilly and Pin-up style stuff and all manner of other loveliness

isn't the necklace cute though! i'm very chuffed that i won it, it's very 'me' i think! pearly beads, a cute anchor, red and pink + that little birdy charm that matches my fave birdy dress to perfection!

* * *

right, tomorrow i'm looking after little miss Sienna so we will probably be baking some cupcakes at some point or drawing some felt tip masterpieces!

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

Jade Boylan illustration... published?!?!

so this evening about 30 mins ago i logged back into facebook to find an event invitation waiting for me

it was from 'Pin up Perfection' and was an 'event' announcing the release of this months 'Military' themed issue of their magazine 'Pinup Perfection'

this struck me as a tad odd (i've never been invited to any of the other issue releases before) so i followed the link and flicked through the preview copy and... TAH-DAH one of my illustrations is in the magazine!

and yes... i may have squealed verrrrry loudly when i saw the page with my illustration on it! and yes i also may have bombarded my poor friend mike with an endless stream of smiley faces and omg's on facebook chat in excitement! hahaha

a few months ago i submitted a piece to them for the military issue, i got a reply and was asked to fill out a release form but to be honest i never in a million years expected them to actually use the picture!

but they have... there you go (screencap alert)

here's a link to the site selling the magazine, click on the preview button to see it.

my picture is on page 61 if you want to see :-)

xXx