totes special tote

i've been working on a fun little project recently, some of you may have seen some of work in progress snaps i posted on twitter ...

the lovely ladies from ballad of... have been busy bees getting together goody bags for guests attending the next issue's launch party in november, only to find they were short by 10 bags! so they called for help from ten illustrators
the task : to create a super special one off horror-esque tote bag for the next ballad of... party, to be given away (yes GIVEN away!) to the first 10 lucky so and so's through the door! ...is it too early to que up now?!!

so here's my offering. i've got to admit i wasn't thrilled about the idea of having to draw in pen. but actually, i was pleasantly surprised with the results! i used an ultra fine black uni posca pen, and the effect it's given on the tote is really lovely. the resistance of the cotton allowed me to do more shading than i thought i would, which was a nice surprise.
i also tried my hand at a bit of embroidery (not sure if i'll be doing this again!) but it was a nice excuse to use my metallic thread to make the gemstone.

looking forward to seeing the next issue of ballad of... (i submitted an illustration for it *sneak peek here* so am keeping my fingers crossed for that) really hoping i can make it to the party too!
i am quite surprised how much i enjoyed this little project, i'm thinking of making a few more one off totes  like this to sell in my shop ... what do you think?
hope you're having an ace weekend so far :*