Happy Day ♥

hello dearhearts, crikey it's been exactly a month since my last post on here, i'm really not too great at this whole blogging malarkey am I?!
wait, don't answer that...

anyway I'm here now and I wanted to fill you in on a few of the things that have happened recently to keep me away from here... but then I thought 'nah'.

so instead i'm going to tell you about what I did last weekend because you see last Sunday I became a Godmother! woooooo!!!

I was over the moon when one of my very best friends Hayley, whom I've known since College, asked me to be Godmother to her youngest daughter Imogen. I mean obviously I said 'yes' otherwise I wouldn't be writing this blog. Although I was a little disappointed as I'd originally thought Hayley was proposing to me... oh well, you can't have everything I suppose!

Little Miss Imogen and her lovely Mama, Hayley.

Hayley and I first met the day we were both interviewed for a place on the Art and Design course. Luckily we both got accepted so on my first day of class she was the ONLY person I recognized or knew, so naturally I became her personal limpet. That was in September 2008 and we're still good friends now, so I couldn't have been quite as annoying as I thought! I feel very lucky to still have her as a friend as she's really nice and possibly even more sarcastic than I am! She has two very beautiful and adorable daughters and I felt very honoured that she chose me to be a Godmother.

the amazing (and delicious) Christening cake!

Anyway, the Christening day was last Sunday at St Peter's Church in Onchan here on the Isle of Man. It was a really lovely day, the sun was out and friends and family sat in the church to watch Miss Imogen Evie Reid get baptized. The Vicar was a little over enthusiastic with the holy water so most of the front two pews got baptized as well. I of course got a handful of water in the face, but I didn't burst into flames so that's one good thing!

proud parents! Hayley and Lewis with Imogen in St Peter's Church.

It was perhaps a little more eventful than planned as poor Imogen accidentally had a bump during the service and suffered a little nosebleed, there were some tears and crying but after that things went off without a hitch and after the Christening it was time for a bit of a party! Hayley and her family put on an amazing spread of food and sweet treats including a chocolate fountain (yum!) and more chips and pasty than you can actually imagine.

Gracie, Imogen's big sister.

along with the tubs of jelly and marshmallows and cookies, there were also some cupcakes that I made for the Christening. I'd met Hayley a few days before to take Gracie to the park and I ended up offering to bake some cupcakes to bring along. Now this might not seem like too big a deal but at the time I was in the early stages of a vile cold/sore throat, I had two commissions on the go and I'm not the most successful baker even at the best of times.

mid baking... oops!

So... as you can see, things got off to a great start. I had to wear a mask while I made them (so as not to give anyone else the dreaded 'cold') and it was going quite well; I'd made up the cake batter, I had everything ready and then, splash! While pouring myself a well earned glass of pop I ended up soaking myself and the kitchen floor creating a big sticky mess. Because apparently I am still a child and not in fact a twenty-four-year-old woman (with polar bear socks).

before and after.

It all turned out fine in the end though, after some very helpful mopping from Mama Boylan (thanks mum!) I ended up with 32 mini cupcakes (at about 11:30pm) so I decided to ice them the next morning ready for the Christening. I love piping pink vanilla buttercream onto cakes, it's surprisingly therapeutic and it's always fun to lick the spoon afterwards. Anyway they seemed popular at the Christening as there were only 2 left by the time I went home but it wasn't until I got back that I realised I completely forgot to try one myself!

the print I designed for the Christening.

It was probably more trouble figuring out how to transport the cakes from my house to the venue than it was to the make the ruddy things and i'll definitely think twice before I volunteer my questionable baking skills again in the future! Luckily my contributions weren't a total loss as Hayley had also (cunningly) managed to get me to volunteer for some less messy work. So as per her request, I designed a simple typography print with Imogen's birth info on for the Christening day. You will have seen it at the start of the post as well. Ducks are Imogen's favourite animal so there's four on the print; one each for her, her big sister Gracie and her Mummy and Daddy.

my gifts for Imogen.

I was definitely in a making mood all week because I ended up making two of Imogen's gifts myself. I stitched together a little pink bunny for her room and then I got my sewing machine out to struggle through making a string of pretty bunting. I love sewing by hand but the sewing machine and I do NOT often see eye to eye (it hates me for some reason) so the bunting is a little wonky, but still looks okay. The other gifts were a special laser-cut keepsake plaque and a cute teeny tiny pearl bracelet with her name + a little silver charm with 'goddaughter' on.

me... all dressed up!

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures at the church and I couldn't manage to lure Imogen away from her mum/dad/grandparents/aunt/uncle to grab a snap with her. So instead you'll have to contend with a shameless selfie of me in the lovely dress I bought just for the Christening (it's from HERE if you're interested).

It was a lot of fun to be part of such a special day for Imogen and her family, so big BIG thanks to Hayley for putting up with me for all these years + asking me to be a part of her child's life!

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as you can probably tell this was more of a personal post today. So if you only come here for the art then i'm sorry but I am a real person and I do sometimes actually go out and DO things. I do have some new illustrated bits n' bobs to share with you but they will have to wait for another time, so I will do my best to post another blog next week maybe.

so until then, thanks for visiting! byeeeeeeee.

Doodle Tote Bags

Hello my dears, hope you're all fine and well this sunny Thursday evening. At least, it's sunny here, obviously I can't be sure that it's sunny wherever YOU are.

Lets stop talking about the weather.

So yesterday morning I got a sudden urgent need to draw something, anything, everything!

This happens to me from time to time and I usually just scribble out something halfheartedly on a nearby sheet of A4.

However this time paper and pencils didn't seem to hold the solution, nor did sketching out a design for a new painting, so instead I sorted out some plain cotton tote bags (that have sat unused in a box for well over a year) and thought i'd have a go at doodling straight onto the bags instead of anything else. Like the walls.

This was the result...

Now it's not the first time i've drawn onto fabric, nor will it probably be the last, but every single time I sit down to do it I somehow always forget how much FUN it is!

I mean yeah it's true that the pens dry out super fast and the slightest nudge sends the line wavering into a wobbly mess but still, there's something very gratifying about drawing on fabric. To me anyway. I don't know maybe it just felt good to be drawing anything at all.

I tried not to over think the  drawings too much so tried to work on them quickly before my mind could talk me out of it or come up with some other spontaneous scheme.

The first design I drew out quickly turned into a bunch of Sailor Moon doodles. Yes i'm still very much stuck in Sailor Moon mode, and I don't think i'll be leaving the obsession behind just yet, especially not now that I have the new cartoon to watch (which is utterly brilliant by the way).

Then I took a break because my wrist was protesting achily at the unexpected need for it to actually do something other than turn a page in a book or pick up a fork.

THEN I came back to my desk and drew out another 5 designs. After which my wrist really REALLY wasn't happy.

Next came a very sweet design, as in the doodles are so sweet they'll rot your teeth! Everyone loves cakes though right?! I know I do. And sweeties. And DONUTS! So this was probably the easiest one to draw.

Next there was a Summertime themed bag, lots of fun Summery type things. I'm not much of a beach fan (growing up on an island has forever lessened the excitement that a beach and the sea usually instills in people. I see the sea several times a day and I went to school opposite a beach. I like them, but I do not love them) but I was obviously thinking of lazy days on the sun drenched sand when I doodled this one.

After that it was a slightly less cluttered one, simple but nice (probably my favourite in fact) a slightly 'Sailor Larry' tattoo inspired bag. The text was the most fun bit to do.

 Then after another break for water and sweeties, there was a slightly Lolita inspired bag. I'm currently re-reading Lolita so it seemed like a good idea to throw in some bits n' bobs from the book (and the movies) and this doodle was the result.

And last but certainly not least, I drew out one of my 'dolls', in fact she was one of the first ever 'Candy Doll' girls I ever drew (way back in 2012) so I thought it might be nice to plonk her and her judging stare onto the side of a bag.

The bags were super fun to doodle on and since each design was different, it didn't get too boring. In fact i'd probably have carried on decorating more bags if i'd had any!

Anyway, all of these 100% unique and one-of-a-kind work of art tote bags are now up for sale in my Etsy shop.

Y'all will probably think they're too pricey, in which case oh well, I guess i'll just never sell any! You see, as much as i'd like to slap on a super cheap bargain price, I drew each one by hand, literally until my hand ached, they took about half-an-hour each!

That's three hours altogether, three hours I could've spent reading or staring at the ceiling.

Well they're there anyway, and if they don't sell i'll just have 6 nifty new tote bags to shove all my books and stuff in. 

To sweeten the deal, each bag comes with a very sepcial handmade limited edition ribbon rosette and matching button badge.

If you've been a long-time admirer of the Candy Doll girls then this is your chance to officially become one of them by joining the Candy Doll Club.

The rosettes are super sweet and perfectly candy coloured! They look great on the tote bags but if you still want a limited edition rosette (and badge) for your very own self, they're available separately HERE.

Okay so that's that. Recent spurt of creativity. Not much else to tell.

I seem to be getting worse at finishing these posts so maybe I should end on a song!

Don't worry i'm not about to start serenading you, but here's a video of a new-ish song I really kind of like. The lyrics are brilliant and it's impossible for me to not love every scene of the video as it is SO VERY VERY VERY candy coloured!

If my Candy Doll girls were real (which they are, obviously...) then I think this is what they'd listen to. A Candy Pop pop song. perfect



so until next time, cheerio folks, thanks for reading!

May Drawing Challenge - Day 30

wow only one more day to go! the theme for today was 'a heart made up of words' and since i'm not a 'word theme' fan, i doodled just one word...

the only word that really matters :)

anyway, it's my 21st Birthday tomorrow so i may or may not post a blog.

i haven't decided yet. i won't be out celebrating or anything, i just don't really like birthday's so i'd rather avoid the world for a day.

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

May Drawing Challenge - Day 12

the post is a bit later today purely because i was out enjoying a bit of the lovely weather we've had here today on the island, anyway the theme for today was 'doodle anything'.

i pondered for ages about what i could draw and eventually thought i know, i'll doodle a poodle!

and voila...

one pretty pink poodle for Day 12 :)

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 11

the theme for today was 'a tea or coffee cup', i did my doodle very early this morning and it's been a loooong day at college and i only just got home! as it happens i have literally just had a cup of green tea + lemon and it reminded me to post this on here!

so thanks for that... oh the power of tea!

anyway here's my doodle...

just something simple :)

thought you might like to see my college desk pal Jennie's as well...

now as i said, it's been a long day and this afternoon myself and Jennie found ourselves a little... shall we say bored?! yes we were bored!

all the other HND and BA students had gone home so we borrowed some pastels from the art supplies cupboard and had a go at 'chalking' our hair

i say 'had a go', it wasn't exactly a total success, for starters we soon figured out why all the online tutorials show girls wearing gloves to do it!

chalky hands! anyway, we persevered, here's Jennie's multicoloured locks...

and my vaguely pink, purple and blue attempt

it was fun though! believe it or not but we actually DO do actual work... sometimes :)

yes well, here's a shot of my desk today to prove it! i was right in the middle of organizing research to go into my logbook...

fun times!

anyway that's it for now, so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

May Drawing Challenge - Day 7

the theme for today was 'a chair' so this is what i came up with...

it's been a Bank Holiday here in the UK (which means no college yaaay!) so i've spent the day inside watching/listening to old eps of 'Red Dwarf' + i've been editing some designs today and trying to create some new iPhone case designs for my Society6 shop and hopefully i'll be able to upload some of them soon

so until tomorrow, that's all folks... xX

★ Bonnie ★

i've been a rubbish blogger this week! i've just been sooooo busy working on commission files that i genuinely haven't had time to whip up some blog posts! 

but have no fear faithful (and deeply cherished) readers, i'm going to make a special effort next week to do more posts!

anyway, this weekend my darling little god-daughter Bonnie came to stay

we had a lovely afternoon in Douglas shopping and then had a yummy juice and cupcake break in the Alpine, (where we also bumped into my older sister Nicola!) so that Bonnie could test out her new dress-up sticker book.

then it was on to Tesco to gather some stuff for tea. but Tesco sounded boring (apparently) so i stayed in the car with little mademoiselle so that she could play with her new Pinypon dolls 

because Bonnie's godmother (aka me) is a fool and doesn't need any excuse to buy treats for her dear little god-daughter... and one of the dolls had red hair like Bonnie so it kind of HAD to be bought... you know!

ah what can i say, she's a little sweetheart, 100% worth it! even if she is too young to drive...

eventually we got home and within five minutes my room had been taken over!

to be fair though, Bonnie made up for it by drawing a lovely picture of me, check out my colourful dress!!!

   

she's quite arty actually (much to her godmothers delight...) and spent the better part of the evening drawing, cutting, sticking and colouring!

but eventually it was time to settle down a bit, so after dinner we watched the Wizard of Oz (Bonnie's choice) and some Family Guy DVD's (my choice... obviously!!! but in my defence they were bleeped and she was drawing most of the time anyway! honest...)

we were going to head out to the park in Ramsey this morning but it was a gloomy day so we stayed in and watched some more Family Guy, and after breakfast we did some baking instead!

Bonnie was ever such a good baking assistant! she mixed the batter perfectly and put all the cupcake cases into the mini cupcake maker (more about that here - Cute Cupcakes)

she also did a great job mixing up the fresh pink buttercream icing i made... even if my piping skills still suck!!!

we ran out of the buttercream, so she helped me mix up some pale pink icing as well

the decorations were all done by Bonnie, and i think you'll agree that she did a smashing job using heart sprinkles, colourful hundreds-and-thousands and the odd minstrel!

and most importantly... they tasted absolutely delicious!!!

so delicious in fact that we boxed some up so that Bonnie could take them back to share with her mum and dad, her little sister and her older brother.

she was a little angel (well, mostly!) as per usual, but the house is so quiet now without her! there's just a trail of mess and destruction left from earlier...

* * *

personal post today but then that always happens when a family member comes to stay!

anyway in other news, like i said at the start, i promise to make more of an effort with the blog posts next week! promise promise promise!!!

in fact, i already have a cracking creative café post lined up for you all tomorrow evening!

so keep an eye out for that!

but until then, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

T-shirt Feature + other stuff ★

so... i'm all alone at Chateau Boylan keeping myself occupied by watching near endless 80's/90's movie marathons, reading stacks of magazines and books + drinking a hell of a lot of tea

my parents have gone away for 2 weeks so i'm looking after the house/plants/birds/fish

i've also spent most of the past few days on 'Google +' sorting out my links and circles, if you have a G+ account be sure to add me on there - Jade on Google +

oh and if you DO have a G+ account don't forget to hit the +1 button at the bottom of the post

anyway, i remember last Saturday or Sunday or whenever it was that i said i'd show you my new Princess design

well as you can see, she's based on the big sister of the little Cupcake Princess and is as girly and as pink as ever!!!

but i also did a variation, this one is a little on the dark side though! 

who knows, maybe they're sisters and one's Kawaii and girly while the other is all Gothic lolita!

I have been listening to the 'Wicked' soundtrack a lot lately though so i'm guessing that i've maybe been a little inspired by Glinda and Elphaba!!!

but today i spent most of the afternoon on Society 6 putting things in my shop on there, but the groovy thing about it is that as well as prints and stretched canvases, you can also upload your designs to be sold on iPhone and iPod cases/skins, macbook/laptop/iPad skins and t-shirts/hoodies

check out my stuff on some of these bits and bobs... 

funky stuff right! hhhm, kind of makes me wish i had an iPhone JUST so i could get one of my designs on a case/skin (sad but true!)

* * *

in other news, today my work was featured on the super duper Tee Gazette site!!!

the lovely Jared over at Tee Gazette and Design Juices asked me last week if i'd be up for a feature on the site for my tee designs from red bubble and all tropical

so of course i said YES!!!

it's a nice feature and i was very chuffed to be asked to take part in it :)

you can see my red bubble shop here - Red Bubble

anyway to read the full feature + see all the tee designs you can check it out here - Artist Spotlight: Jade Boylan

oh and if by chance you have an 'All Tropical' account, could you be a star and vote for my pinwheels design on there??? - RATE RATE RATE

* * *

not much else to report for today, i'm hoping to actually leave the house tomorrow, providing my friend Jenny can come and pick me up!

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