no more tricks

so i think I'm in love with an elephant,or three, and can you blame me, look, they are just too lovely.with their colorful big trunks and floppy big ears and big bold eyes, how can you not fall for them too.
everyone knows the famous song Nellie he elephant, and i really love the lyrics

"Nellie the elephant pack her trunk and
Said goodbye to the circus
Of she road with a trumpety trump
Trump trump trump"

"Nellie the elephant packed her trunk
And trumbled of to the jungle
Of she road with a trumpety trump
Trump trump trump"

"Night by night she danced to the circus band
When Nellie was leading the big parade she looked
So proud and grand"

"No more tricks for Nellie to perform
They taught her how to take a bow and she took
To crowd by storm"



so no more tricks for these guys to perform, just new homes to be found, and they are in myhappyaccidents now. i loved making these, its satisfying when one of those bubbling ideas turns out so well.

pebble love

so my friend Zoe just made a small tiny tear come to my eye, after i saw on her blog what she did for her boyfriend, she just went on a mini holiday with her sister and left him behind with the cat, but look what she made him.. its too cute, i love it.. and I'm in no way whatsoever at all jealous that she has someone to do nice things for, OK i am, very jealous indeed..the bitch...(love you really Zoe)

why i left london

so i left London after 13 years of the hustle and bustle for amazing views like this and lovely ice creams by the seaside with best friends... words are not needed, pictures say far more.and i don't regret it for one second....

i put a shelf up...

so a few days ago i suddenly became all butch and manly and got out a big drill (that i borrowed from my sister)and bravely drilled 3, yes 3 holes into my wall and put up the thinnest shelf ever to be seen... and if i say so myself, not only is it not wonky, but it looks pretty brilliant now its got my things on display....its only about 1 inch wide and my pictures, if i admit, are scarily balanced on it, i wanted a shelf that i could lean things on, somewhere i can just display things when i find a new pretty, something like a library shelf, where the books face cover out.. do you know what i mean ?.. i really like leaning picture on top of picture, building up layers of colour and contrast, but i don't want it to look unconsidered, so everything that makes it to the shelf means i must love iti love my new tiny shelf.

only took me a year

so finally this week i finished a mini project that was started just over 1 year ago, i blogged about it here when i first went back to my old college to print the fabric.
and now finally i have them sewn up and listed in the shop.. and i really kinda like them, they are slightly different from my usual stupidly colourful work, but if i remember when i designed the print i wanted it to have a dramatic look, does that make sense ?.
i wanted imperfections and i intentionally didn't wash the screen after every pull of the squeegee, and i think i got the effect i wanted.
these really are one of a kind and unique because the silkscreen does not exist anymore, and since my big move recently i dont have any clue where the artwork is.

countryside fun

so today i went to the gosforth agricultural show, and it was totally bonkers and brilliant all at the same time and totally reminded me of my childhood when i used to enter and often win the kids sections of my village show...this one today was a chance for the local farmers to parade their best cows and fluffiest sheep and chickens and polish their biggest onions, and for the kids and amateur craftsters of the surrounding villages to get out their paints and and knitting needles,..i loved the way the displays were presented and how little certificates were awarded to the best in show.. be it for runner bean or cockerel...so prepare for a picture heavy post, words are not needed..




and i know I'm new to these country ways and my big city ideas might cloud my thoughts and opinions but surely even i cant have been the only one to spot the obviously obscene cactus... it didn't even win first prize.. it was robbed.... it was a winner in my eyes.

if i could crochet

so i found a bag full of old crocheted doilies at the car boot this weekend and makes me wish it was a craft i could master, everyone tells me its very easy but I'm so impatient i doubt i would stick to it for long, so instead i will just hope someone else can do something good with them, i have put them in stevensstuff..

i have been a busy boy

so this last week or so me and my sewing machine have been firm friends, never been far from each others side and keeping each other company, whilst some of my friends are out getting up to no good, me and janome.. that's his name... have been watching murder she wrote and csi New york, Vegas, and Miami, whilst making nice things together. and finally last night i got them listed in the shop.. not that they will sell there, don't know why its not working for me ? but i know they will in carry me home, so it wasn't a totally wasted time.. and this first one below has added humour in a way i only noticed this week on one of the music channels, as its the same fabric snoop dogg is wearing in the Katy perry video for her song California girls...

win me

so over on little miss heirlooms, one of my dresses is up for a give away... the dress was featured in their online magazine babiekins and now its available to win...
its a size 1-2 yrs, and is a really soft lovely cotton, and is also fully reversible..so over to little miss heirlooms you go... thanks...x

in progress

so just a few pics of some things i have been working on the last few days.. watch this space, i have actually been making stuff..

lovely body

so i found some brilliant old books at the car boot last week, called the peoples physician, and they were full of colour book plates showing detailed illustrations of the human body,but the mother load of all the pages, the one that made me squeal like a girl was this fold out double page of the human body that has multiple parts to reveal more as you lift them,and all of these are now in my vintage shop.. i love hunting for old books, especially when i find treasure like these..

love this

someone PLEASE buy me this... ill happily do rude things to you if you do.... its from here and it makes my heart go boom boom boom....

babiekins

so i was asked some months ago if i would like have one of my dresses featured in issue 2 of a new online magazine called babiekins, and finally its online and my dress has been used in a back to school feature, and i love what they did with it, its a lovely well put together scene, look...the magazine is a new project from little miss heirlooms and they have put together a really fun magazine full of unique products and features, here are some of my favorite pages..



i hope you agree after you have a virtual flick through the pages that it is pretty cool... thanks babiekins, i love it...

lakes love

so i left London 6 weeks ago and honestly its the best decision i have made for a long time, i have left the hustle and the bustle of one of the busiest cities behind, and after nearly 15 or so years there, I'm now embracing my immediate environment, and a few days ago i went into the lake district, which is about a 20 mile drive away and look just how incredible it is... makes me smile every time...and leaving London was all about making me smile again... and being so far away from that place is certainly good for me..