So book three on my plan was to read a Chris Riddell book. I love Riddell’s illustration style so purchased his Doodles a Day without really checking what the book was, turns out that rather than great insights on illustration it is actually one of those books that gives you prompts and space to draw so not a lot to read. That said it is … Continue reading Art Books
With no young children in the house it always feels like you’re missing out a bit at Easter so this year I took advantage of an online competition to indulge in a bit of egg decorating. The prize was tickets to Newcastle Noir so the theme was detectives. I went for the obvious choice of Hercules Poiret having failed at another obvious choice Sherlock Holmes … Continue reading Egg Decorating
I posted a blog on Monday with a couple of card ideas but as I had a bit of time to spare thought I’d make a few more. I went with a balloon theme for one… and then a patchwork effect …. and then Continue reading Happy Mothers Day
With mothers day coming up I thought I’d take the opportunity to have a playful few hours with paper cutting. I didn’t have a clear view on what I wanted the cards to look like so I thought I’d see what it would look like creating cards from random shapes – turned out ok. But I thought the shapes needed a bit more definition – … Continue reading Mothers Day Cards
I usually complete and scheduled a few weeks of my blog posts in advance so if I’m struggling on time or just don’t get a picture finished I always have something to post. I generally do try to draw each day but with the shorter days in winter I usually leave the photographing of the sketches to the weekend so I can capitalise on the … Continue reading Isaac’s First Watercolours
This is a bit of recycled blog post as I originally posted this in February but I thought it might be an idea for a last minute Christmas gift or failing that a Christmas craft project to keep the children busy whilst they’re off school. Perfect for a family member or friend with young-ish children – why not create a personalised board game. You’ll find … Continue reading Handmade Christmas Gift
‘Calvin and Hobbes’ authored by Bill Waterson was launched on November 18, 1985. Calvin and Hobbes follows the adventures of the mischievous Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, alive to him, but not to anyone else. Bill Waterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, is renowned for his views on licensing and commodification of art- he refused all offers of t-shirts, posters, buy ins etc … Continue reading Calvin and Hobbes
Last year I created a haunted house for our Halloween centre piece so this year I decided to go for something a bit different so we have a witches shoes decoration. To make you’ll need cardboard, masking tape, newspapers, PVA glue, paints and coloured paper Start but making some shoes from cardboard – there’s no set pattern as it is easier to shape this as … Continue reading Halloween Table Centre Piece
So you now have invitations, happy birthday bunting, party signs, food labels, eye patches, flags, gift bags and a treasure hunt game time to create some props to decorate your room. This is great way to get your children involved in the party planning so why not get out the paints and get them to create anchors and ships steering wheels. Once painted cut them … Continue reading Pirate Party Props
So Wednesday 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Last year I did a few pirate sketches to honour the theme, this year I thought I’d create a pirate themed birthday party pack which will come in useful as my cousin is planning a pirate themed party for one of her little ones in January. I thought I’d start with the decoration that takes … Continue reading Pirate Ship Table Centre Piece
