Art and Craft « WishWishWish

Carrie, Illustrated

February 9th, 2011

Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration

What now seems yonks ago, I attended the launch of the Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration book, from the same Amelia that brought you Amelia’s Magazine. I mentioned a few posts ago how the event inspired me to get my watercolours out and give it a go. Well I received my ‘live illustration’ through from the talented Jenny Robins who painted me in less than 5 minutes and can safely say it’s a whole lot better than I could ever do! By the looks of it she even picked up on the fact my eyebrows need doing..oops.

Now I’m not normally into posting about events – companies worth millions don’t really need any help from little ol’ me (despite their trying) but when there is creativity involved and a bunch of lovely people to go along with it, I’m there. I scoffed scones whilst catching up with friends and flipping through the main attraction – the book. I’m definitely the kind of person that buys a pretty book full of illustrations, only to flip through once and never again, so I think I’ll save my pennies for a while! I urge you to take a peek though – it really is a must for anybody interested in fashion illustration. x

Things That Make Me Smile: Xmas Crafts

December 21st, 2010

As if we hadn’t had enough snow flakes…

Thank you for the compliments on my Christmas decorations in the last post! I didn’t have a huge amount to work with, but I had plenty of paper so of course I got snipping away. I started with obligatory paper snowflakes in tracing paper – they were placed all over the house – on windows, as garlands across the room and as hanging decorations on walls. Did you notice my ‘Merry Xmas’ banner across the fireplace? I used some of my vintage sheet music and cut out the letters before threading thin cotton through them using a needle. I also created paper garlands with vintage newspaper and tape! Very simple – and most importantly – cheap!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent all the money I want to this year, and having an abnormal amount of free time all of a sudden has got me tracking down other crafty things to do for very little money. Here is a little round up of crafty things you can get up to whilst you’re on holiday…

1. Ellie’s thrifty Christmas guide is a lifesaver. She posts about making your own decorations and bunting, homemade presents and fairs & fetes. Perfect for last minute additions to the house!

2. This gingerbread house is genius! I made a full-size version a couple of years ago and remember what a hassle it was holding the heavy structure together whilst the “glue” dried, so these mini versions seem like the perfect solution. Plus, the size is perfect to munch on with a mug of hot tea..even if it does look too pretty to eat. Find instructions at Not Martha.

3. More decorations! These snowflake doily tea-light holders will look pretty all year round, but especially nice on your table at Christmas. If you’ve got an old jar and a doily handy, take a look at the downloadable tutorial from Papermash.

4. Somehow I managed to leave all of my shop-bought gift tags in London before I came home..it’s lucky that Wee Birdy have some adorable ones to print out for free!

5. So, not strictly Christmassy, but I love these cloud biscuits from Forty-sixth at Grace. Of course, you can use your own shapes, but I think the clouds are very fitting at the moment with all of this snow we’ve been getting. Perhaps add a little bit of edible glitter..glitter makes everything festive! The downloadable recipe sheet is a work of art in itself!

Work, Work and More Work.

November 8th, 2010

Perfectionist

It’s really really frustrating not having time to take pictures and blog, especially when i’m feeling inspired or catch a rare moment to read what my favourite bloggers have been upto. This week has been particularly bad, with 2 huge hand-ins this week, i’m skipping lessons just to get the work done (shh, don’t tell.). I couldn’t leave it another day without posting something – it’s like having an itch and not being able to scratch it..!

So, without further ado, I present to you a piece of my work – now you know what i’ve been up to! It’s a poster created in an evening to show the kind of branding I might use to promote a musician. I’m not a graphic designer or illustrator by any means, and it’s nothing that will actually be used “in the real world”, but i’m still quite proud of it for a quick photoshop job. It’s very very rare that i’ll show my work to anyone because i’m a huge perfectionist and i’m never happy with anything, but I figured I have to start somewhere.

You wouldn’t believe the amount of emails I recieve asking me about my university course – so here’s a little peek into the kind of thing we might do. It’s part of a project where we have to market and style a new musician, and i’ve been working with the lovely Georgia Mason – please check out her music, she’s great!

I’ll be back again ASAP with a giveaway from one my sponsors! Have a lovely day x