A new year resolution done

Old stencils pinned up on the wall of the studio

 The tattoo has begun

2 months old and all healed

Straight after tattoo number two

2 weeks later

I had wanted a tattoo for quite a few years, but as I'm so indecisive and an over thinker I hadn't done anything about it, except look at lots of pictures, pin them like mad and change my mind about what I wanted. My husband had his first one a few years ago, and last year I had planned to get my first, but the appointment fell through, so I ended up getting one the first few days into January.

I got tattooed by a very talented guy, Darren McDonald, we were on the same course at University, and since leaving I had seen his awesome tattoos on Facebook, he has a very distinctive style, and a great sense of colour. Finding out he was only based about 40 minutes away, I decided I wanted him to be the one to do it, and I finally decided what I would have, a bird based on the work of the amazing illustrator Charley Harper who is one of my favourite illustrators of all time. Before hand I was extremely excited, but very nervous. Obviously I knew it would hurt, and the main thing I was worried about was if I twitched while he was doing it, or what if I couldn't cope with the pain, and I couldn't let him finish it (as I said I'm an over thinker!) 

The stencil was placed several times, until we were both happy then the buzzing of the tattoo gun started, and as it hovered above my skin, I held my breath waiting for the needle to make contact. There was pain, a stinging, scratching sensation, similar to what I had expected to be honest, and a relief really, as I thought, "OK, it hurts, but I can deal with this"

I watched the whole thing, and was fascinated. The needle moves so fast, you can't see it going in and out, it just looks like your being drawn on. I watched as the image built up, and got really excited as the colour went in, as any one that knows me, knows I love colour. As Darren finished the bird, he suggested a few circles might look awesome, I didn't really want any more pain, but agreed with him that they would look good, and I'm really glad I let him go with it, as I think they work really well, and make the whole think come to life. 

I was a little alarmed to find that I'm a bleeder when it comes to being tattooed, some people hardly bleed at all, but I'm not one of them!

When I went in to get my bird I really believed it would be the only tattoo I would ever get, but now I understand what people mean when they say it's addictive! Less than 2 months later I was back to get a squirrel on my thigh, based on the artwork of Andrew Pavitt. Once you have one, it's so much easier thinking of others you want, and the excitement of seeing a piece of artwork on your body is something you want to feel again. 

Again, as my second one was happening, I was lying there thinking, "two will be enough, it's a nice amount, I don't really want to go through this again", but the day after, my mind was firing away, thinking about what I could have next! Oh dear! 

A massive thanks to Darren for doing such an awesome job! Find his work on Instagram as @magicmutant 

Autumn Inspiration

I have always loved the colours of Autumn, maybe partly due to being an Autumnal baby. As the temperature begins to drop the colours get so warm. It's like nature is giving us that last intense burst of colour before it goes into hibernation. The sunshine is also at it's most gorgeous, casting an amazing glow across things. I always find this time of year so inspiring, so here are a few photos I have been taking and some illustrations I have created, I hope you enjoy them.

Good post days!

We may live in an instant world, where most things are done online, but you still can't beat pen and paper and snail mail. Here are a few things that dropped through my post box over the last week that really made me smile.

 A card, little note and cute stamps from @letterloves on Instagram.  She is very passionate about snail mail, and asked people if they would like her to post out a card to them. The first few to respond were rewarded with a little envelope of happiness! :)

 An AMAZING squirrel money box that @ptitbento of sent me out of the kindness of his heart, after I commented on his picture on one on Instagram, to say I was in love with it! He sent this from France just because! Don't you just love Instagram!?

This shows the awesome bits and pieces that my wonderful friend Lizi sent me from Hong Kong, where she is teaching at the moment. She hardly ever gets a day off where she can go to the post office, so she had been saving me bits and pieces for a while. Kawaii stickers, tape, page markers, and pen... I'm in heaven! Now time to go and write a letter back!

Shrink Art- It's magic!

Over the past few months I have noticed loads of cool pieces of jewellery about, that have been made using shrink plastic. For a while I have wanted to have a go at making my own jewellery and this seemed like a great way of having a go. I bought some Shrinkle shrink plastic off ebay and got stuck in. Here's some photos of my first attempts.

This one was done using permanent fine liner and pencil crayon. It was really exciting watching it curl and shrink in the oven ( it just needs a few mins at gas mark 3) Me and my husband were riveted! Though it was a little nerve wracking, as it curls and twist a lot, before it settles back down again!

 However, it went a bit wrong when we sprayed some lacquer on it, as it made the ink run. :( hmmm probably should have checked that first!

Above is the second attempt! Again done using pencil crayon and permanent marker. I used a sharpie marker, but found this bleed very slightly on the roughened surface of the plastic, though this wasn't really noticeable once it had shrunk. This time I used a different varnish on it, and yay, no bleeding!

 Sketch time, there was always going to be a squirrel! :D

Painted with a thin layer of acrylic paint

This was the last one I made, and I am really happy with this. This one was done using acrylic paint You can see how concentrated the colour gets after shrinking. So remember less is best when adding the colour!

You will definitely be seeing more of this guys! :)

Squirrels!

Just a collection of squirrel goodness!

Jumper from Top Shop. Bought this about a month back, in fact I'm wearing it right now!

Gorgeous print by Sandra Dieckmann available from society6

adorable teeny tiny blue squirrel! Available from esty

ace card by Sally Boyle available from Folksy

Beautiful Necklace from here

Socks from TopShop

Want Want Want this bag from River Island!

Finally just a little image by me! :)

Andrew Pavitt

When we were in London, I picked up a card designed by Andrew Pavitt. The one we bought was the squirrel one at the top. I love squirrels so I couldn't resist. It is now in a frame on our wall. I love the sense of pattern that comes across and the retro feel to them. Beautiful colours.