hooray!

despite the cold weather i'm starting to really like february, as this month (today, in fact!) marks one year of me being self employed full time, which actually feels quite surreal to say!

when i left my 'day job' last year, it happened quite out of the blue really, i didn't mark the occasion in any way (i didn't even blog about it!) i think i always had it in the back of my mind that it would be temporary, and i would have to return to 'work' at some point to support myself again, i can't quite believe how far i have come!
since leaving uni in 2008 i have been using my spare time to work on my portfolio and develop my skills, with the hope that one day i could become a full time illustrator.
i'd always been intending to further my freelance illustration career, and it's something i am still working on, but to be honest, that has been pushed to the sidelines over the last 12 months and my etsy shop has well and truly taken over.
i am always so surprised and delighted when i make a sale in my little shop or when someone leaves me a nice comment about my work. to think i'm creeping ever closer to the 1000 sale mark in my store is just mad. sometimes i can't get my head round the fact that there's someone on the other side of the world using one of my pug purses, or wearing a kitty tattoo or covering their phone in my little drawings. it's wonderful! isn't the internet amazing?!

i had been thinking about treating myself to something special as a way of celebrating my first year, but me being me, talked myself out of it as i usually feel so guilty spending money on myself, i always feel like i should be either saving it, spending it on bills or putting it all back into my little business
... however!
just as i accepted the fact the occasion would pass with little celebration, i was contacted (totally out of the blue!) by moneysupermarket.com to take part in a little blogger challenge! i was given £20 to spend on anything i wanted that would make myself or other people feel good, as part of their 'what's in your pocket' challenge ... talk about good timing!

i saw this ring on etsy and knew instantly that it had to be mine! i'd like to thank msm for giving me the excuse to buy something so pretty! it's rose gold, delicately dainty and the best thing about it? it plays on the idea of tying string around your finger to remember something important - very fitting for the occasion ♡
sometimes it's easy to take things for granted, but i know every time i look at this ring on my finger i will be reminded of just how lucky i am to be able to do what i love for a living.
isn't this turning into a soppy post?! ...

since my beautiful ring was an absolute bargain, i thought it would be nice to share the love, and spend the remaining few pennies on some little treats for you! after all, you're the ones who've helped me get where i am today, and for this i want to thank you :)

the prize:
a very cute fortune kitty notepad, some spotty washi tape, and sweeties (c/o msm!)
also! some temporary kitty tattoos, a pug greetings card, some illustration postcards, brand new kitty bunting and a plushie hanging heart all made by meeee :) as pictured above!

ways to enter:
◆ leave a comment on this blog post
◆ tweet about it!

terms:
◆ you must be a follower, either of my blog or my twitter
◆ genuine followers only please
◆ please leave some contact info in your comment below
◆ tweets must include me @harrietgray and link back to this blog post to be counted
◆ you can tweet as many times as you like, each tweet will count as one entry
◆ Accounts used soley to enter giveaways will not be counted
◆ open to anyone, anywhere on planet earth ... hooray!

i will pick a winner on 1st march, so you have until then to enter :)

*** update ***
giveaway is now closed :) thank you to everyone who entered ♥

soontrend

for a while i've been wanting to continue the bloggers project i started way back in april last year (!!!) it's only now that i've had enough time to focus on it again.
one of the girls on my 'to do' list (that sounds really wrong!) was the lovely tasha from so on trend, it just so happened she was after a new blog banner, so we thought we'd combine the two!

a big thank you to tasha for being super patient with me, i've had lots of practice drawing cute little animals recently, which has left little time to practice drawing pretty girls. they're harddd.
I started another version of this drawing that was almost complete, but there was something about it that just wasn't quite right. it really bugged me ... so i started it all over again! does anyone else do that?

i've followed tasha's blog for ages but it took me a while to realise she's actually from the same town as me! ... you don't get many stylish telford ladiez you know! so go and follow this rarity, if not for her beautiful styling, then do it for her writing (i always lol when reading her posts) PLUS she loves cats. can't go wrong with a cat lady
visit tasha's awesome blog to see the entire illustration, in all it's glory ♥

blogger meet!

i had such a super time in southampton on saturday meeting some new faces at our little blogger meet.
(from left to right) laura, rachel, rosie and i met for lunch and ended up annoying the staff no end by hogging a table for most of the day, which was lots of fun

i am usually *terrible* at meeting new people (hopefully i managed to surpress my awkwardness!) but i was surprisingly less nervous about it all than i thought i would be. the girls were so sweet, and i really enjoyed chatting to them, sharing lots of laughs and stuffing my face with loads of food.
i totally forgot my camera, so have stolen the photo above from the lovely laura (thanks laura!)

my only complaint about the day was that i forgot my scarf so was freezing during my trip home on the ferry ... brrrrrrrr

i really can't wait for the next blogger meet, which is on 2nd march in cambridge incase you were wondering - i hear it's going to be *big* ... and! there is mention of goody bags! oh em gee i'm so excited :D
if you'd like to come (which i think you definitely should) just let me know and i'll keep you up to date with all the details!

50 random facts about me

i thought i would jump on the bandwagon, here are some random things you might not know about me ...

1. i am too polite for my own good
2. i have never broken a bone in my body, nor have i had any fillings in my teeth.
3. when i was little i watched the little mermaid several times a day. and i actually wanted (and still want) to be a mermaid when i grow up.
4. which is probably why i love swimming
5. my sisters dropped me on a table when i was a baby (obviously plotting to get rid of the favourite child) i have two scars on my face to this day as a result
6. i am 4 foot 11 inches tall
7. my boyfriend is illustrator luke waller and we have been together 7 years
8. i am the most indecisive person ever
9. probably not a surprise to learn that i am a crazy cat lady. when i moved away from home i didn't cry over missing my family, i cried over not seeing my cats. true story.
10. i am scared of heights
11. i am a hypochondriac
12. i taught myself how to crochet
13. i am awful at meeting new people, i can't do small talk, and i can never think of any interesting things to talk about (apologies if you meet me and you think i'm super boring as a result, i'm actually quite nice when you get to know me)
14. i can't speak any foreign languages, although i would like to
15. i got 100% on my driving theory test, but took two attempts to pass my practical (many years ago now) i sold my car last year.
16. i really wanted glasses as a child, so pretended i had blurred vision. my mum even took me to the doctors ... they gave me eye drops.
17. i am a lazy typist (hence the lack of capital letters in any of my blog posts)
18. i am one of those annoying people who says 'lol' instead of laughing
19. i wish i wasn't, but i am literally awful at geography
20. i hate being able to hear people eat.
21. i have never been to a festival
22. i owe the success of my career to the internet
23. i am one quarter Italian, one quarter German, and half English. But i don't know much about my family.
24. i can't play any musical instruments, despite my dad being an excellent musician
25. last year i lost about 30lbs in weight
26. i am an atheist
27. i am usually always cold and often wear gloves and scarves inside the house and carry a hot water bottle (much to the annoyance of luke who is constantly too hot)
28. i am way too critical about my own illustration work, or anything else i do for that matter. basically zero self confidence.
29. i don't watch much tv, i despise soaps and reality tv, i dont care for "celebrities" at all. but i love qi and comedy panel shows, also south park and american dad
30. i love going to comedy gigs
31. i am very ticklish
32. i don't like speaking about myself in real life, i don't often speak about my work to friends or family or anyone incase i bore them
33. i don't think any of my family read my blog
34. i can't stand selfish people
35. my favourite fruit is pineapple
36. i have a pink birthmark on my leg that everyone always assumes is a bruise (and they poke it, and say ooh does that hurt?)
37. i have 5 piercings (my bellybutton and 4 in my ears) i don't have any tattoos
38. when i'm drawing, my face is usually about 2 inches away from the page
39. i have never taken any recreational drugs
40. i have a strange fear of moths. i think they are beautiful, and they don't bother me at all when i see them outside. as soon at the come into the house i am petrified of them.
41. i taught myself how to build my own website on dreamweaver in a week without knowing a thing about coding etc
42. i don't have a middle name
43. if i was born a boy i would have been called edward (or so i am told)
44. i can crack most bones in my body, and have to crack my knuckles, neck and back on a daily basis (disgusting, i know)
45. i have no rhythm
46. i feel like i wasted my time at uni, i let the stress of everything get to me, i procrastinated a lot and was generally quite miserable. (yet i still managed to get a 2:1?!)
47. this is the only piece of work i did at uni that i am proud of (i don't think i have produced anything as good ever since ... lol)
48. i'm lactose intolerant
49. i was born in 1986 (i am running out of facts)
50. i can't spell the word 'because' without saying the rhyme 'bake eight cakes and use six eggs'

the little deer

i'm very excited to announce that i have a wonderful new stockist : you can now buy a selection of my items from the little deer
go and look at all the prettiness! you'll find lots of beautiful vintage items and gorgeous things from other independent makers, my personal favourites are these, these and omggg these! ♥