puppy (and kitty) love

love it or hate it, valentine's day is on it's way. i've made some cards that you might or might not want to send to someone you like.

also! the very lovely stacie swift featured me on her blog last friday, head on over there to read the little q&a and see some new photos of my studio space

... and!! if you'd like to come along to the blogger meet in southampton on saturday 9th february (that's just over a week away! eak!) do let me know and i'll keep you updated on the whens and wheres

woof

a cute commission i worked on recently ... totally forgot to scan in the actual drawing before i sent it off, so i only have this instagram snap to remember it by! ho hum.

working on a blog header at the moment, it's nice to be drawing pretty girls again.

IRL!

without trying to sound like a crazy internet stalker, there are sooo many people i speak to online who i would really love to meet - so let's!

after a few tweets back and forth between stacie swift (swiftsomethings), rachel from ohnorachio and myself, we decided it would be nice to arrange an illustrator/crafty/creative/etsian/self employed hermit type blogger meet up in real life ...

so if you fancy, you are most welcome to come along to either or BOTH these gatherings! hooray!

february 9th in Southampton
march 2nd in Cambridge

details tbc, but if you'd like to come, leave your email in the comments box or tweet me and i'll be sure to keep you informed about the where and when's of it all

it would be *so* nice to meet you

ps ... the pretty hearts above are by rachel, aren't they nice ♡

.

you'll be pleased to know my mac is back home and behaving itself on it's minty desk, despite it being tested for several days, the tech guys couldn't find anything wrong with it at all *typical*
since it's return i have been wading through approx. 999 emails (and counting) i received whilst it was away being fixed (but not fixed, because it wasn't broken lesighhh).
i also decided to sort out ALL my files into organised folders, i should probably start naming files when i save them so i can actually find what i'm looking for later, instead of kjhsjsdh.jpg or ojhfjoh.psd ...

i've been lucky enough to get some sweet blog features over the last week or so :
lovely lady kellee rich (check out her new shop!) featured a little interview with me in her friday faves, and some of my lovely customers shared some of my products on their blogs too which was very sweet of them :
tasha from so on trend as been making her ipad cat-tastic
becky from milkbubbletea shared the iphone case her boyfriend bought her for christmas (she has a pet hedgehog! omg! ♡)
and karyn from manualforastylishlife wrote some very very nice words too!
my customers are the best!

i was also featured on the super awesome we say meow blog, which totally made my day! hooray!

speaking of cats ... i now have instagram! follow me ♥

farewell 2012

last year i set myself some goals for 2012, it's been fun to read back through them and reflect. although i've not managed to complete them all i'm pretty happy with my 2012. some highlights :

▴ moving house
▴ money, actually saving it. i'm very proud of myself for being smarter with my pennies. i definitely  think twice before spending, if i *really* need the item i'm about to buy and where i'm buying from, of my impact on the world and trying to have less of a throw away mentality
▴ being less hard on myself and more realistic. in all aspects of life and work.
▴ reading more books
▴ almost finishing my epic crocheted chair cover which i started in the summer - photos to come!
▴ going freelance! being able to leave my part time job to focus on illustrating and working on my etsy shop full time is undoubtably my favourite part of 2012. my work has been featured in some fantastic places and i've gained some wonderful stockists. i started the year with 50 etsy sales and ended on 810! to say my goal for the year was to reach 100, i am beyond happy! a big fat *t h a n k  y o u* to everyone who has supported me, by following me, commenting on posts, sharing my work online through twitter, pinterest, facebook etc or featuring my work on your sites, and of course buying from my little shop, i am so so grateful to you all and have never been happier.


as for this year's resolutions, i was going to make a list of '27 things to do in the year i turn 27' ... but then i got slightly disturbed by the fact i'll be turning twenty-seven ... so i've decided to just focus on a few points:
▴ grow my business brain - i've always been a bit nonchalant towards my business plans, but this year i'd like to change that
▴ make more things! (not just for work)
▴ make time for friends and family
▴ take more photos, write more letters
▴ have fun


it's been nice to have a few weeks break from work things. unfortunately just before christmas my imac had a funny turn and was sent away to be fixed by the apple geniuses. (luke was kind enough to let me share his macbook so i've been able to keep up to date with etsy and not lose my mind completely.) i've got 6 days 'til it returns. but now i'm looking forward to focussing solely on some new drawings starting .... now!

happy new year!