* Friday Treat Time *

Well, wow-ey, what a beautiful day! Time for ice creams, playing outside, listening to warm sunny music, making cooling treats and drinks, dining alfresco, sitting outside cafes and bars 'til dusk, going to the seaside, walking shady forests, sniffing blossom trees... To help you on your way this sunny weekend, I've made a Springtime playlist on Spotify - just click on the daisies below!


Enjoy!

x*x*x

* Getting into knots with Crochet *

Oh dear. Me and crochet don't seem to be getting very well together. It's my first foray into crocheting - I have been meaning to learn for a while now but I have to say its the most FRUSTRATING thing I've had to learn recently!

It doesn't help to start learning something when you are tired and emotional (blaming the pregnancy is another option)...

...and when your playful pussy cat wants to lend a paw there's no helping you!

See?!

So I'll have another go at crochet again tomorrow night and Friday - I'm determined to get this right! I'll be with crafty friends who are experts who can guide me. In the meantime, I've decided to drop one of these into a bath:And just...R-E-L-A-X!
Nothing like a purple bath and candles to mellow you out.

I hope you have better luck than me learning new things this week!

x*x*x

* Of the Woods *

For some proper spring-time dreamy magic to help you on your way when you are creating things, why not listen to 'Of the Woods'? Husband Jon and Tina Grace's new collaboration - just perfect for this time of year!



Enjoy!

x*x*x

* Friday Treat Time! *

I have to share an amazing film I saw last week called Benda Bilili - one of the most inspiring films I've seen in a long time!

It's about a group of street musicians in Congo-Kinshasa and follows their journey from the streets to performing across Europe. Its out in cinemas now and received a standing ovation at Cannes.

Here's a little trailer for you to watch:



Hope you get the chance to see it!

x*x*x

* Spring Days *

My little characters were so excited this morning - for spring had truly arrived! They clamored to be let out in the garden, so I packed them into my basket and carried them out into the garden...

...and they hurried off to play!
The garden is pretty big for such small friends - can you see where they are?
Oh look - there's Bert waving by the front door.

Buttercup Bunny is talking to the Primroses...

...and sniffing the grape hyacinths.Are there any characters playing in the flower beds?

Is that something by the white hyacinths?
Ah - ha! Hello Fleur Bear!

Here is Pussy Cat Bleu prowling on the Camellia...

...and Berta is dreaming by the pink hyacinth.
Pussy Cat Bleu then pranced over to the tulips...
...whilst Berta climbed up into the Forsythia bush (because the flowers match her little nose)...
...and Hobbes and 'Robber' friend joined in and basked in the spring sun down below.'What a happy spring day!' cried all the characters.

x*x*x

* Audition Bunny *

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately - working on Red Nose Day, my 30th birthday and holiday fun has all meant I've not had time to blog - but now here I am!

For my sister Sue's birthday, I made her an 'Audition Bunny' - she is a marvellous actor and I wanted to make a special gift that reflected her wonderful talents.
This bun is nice and pocket sized to hide in her pocket when she goes to auditions and stuffed with lavender from Provence to calm her nerves! I also made a leaflet to go with Audition Bunny to show how useful the bunny is when auditioning!
More fun to follow!


x*x*x

* Little Red Update *

So I'm progressing with my illustrations of 'Little Red' the Fox - Jon had the marvellous idea that I should make shapes and photograph them, so there is a 3D effect. Here's the start of the new illustration ideas...

...this is the summer scene

And here are my other Little Red's waiting for their scenes to be made:


Fleur Bear was watching all the photo fun under a vase of flowers... x*x*x

Something fun!

A lovely friend, Anna sent me this the other day - its so good I wanted to post this up on my blog!

x*x*x

* Friday Treat Time *

Today, as spring seems to have definitely arrived, I wanted to share this beautiful animation (found by Jon, of course!) that is set in the snow, and is about imagination, childhood and growing up into who you are meant to be...

the silence beneath the bark / le silence sous l'écorce from joanna lurie on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

x*x*x

* Some News & Birthday Gifting *

Sorry I've been a bit quiet recently - this has been due to a rather exciting event - becoming pregnant! Wow!

Needless to say, we are very excited (and a bit nervous!) All going well, baby should arrive early September...

Here baby is, showing mum and dad just how fast they can move their arms and legs (the scan helpfully points out where everything is, in case its a bit tricky to know what's what!):

Beautiful!

As a result, I have been suffering from nausea everyday for the past two months, but as this is settling down now, I've been able to start making things again - hooray! There have been many birthdays across February - here are some little things I have made recently for friends:

Baby Poppet the Owl


Fleur Bear

...and a special Bilbrough birthday card!

I'll hopefully be doing more stuff now - see you soon!

x*x*x