If you happen to find yourself near or in Darlington then please be sure to visit the lovely people at Gallerina, 33-37 Duke Street. They have totally made my Christmas by deciding to use my artwork for their festive window. I am such a control freak I can't help but worry if i'm not in charge of executing every detail of my work, but I had nothing to do with this and I happen to think it looks pretty great! Maybe i'm more the monkey than the organ grinder after all.

Christmas at Kew

WANT something lovely to do, NEED to get yer mitts on some extra special hand crafted Christmas pressies, LOVE Kew? Then you need to get yourself down to Kew Gardens before Jan 4th. Not only is there a mile long illuminated trail for you to ooh and ahh at. The lovely folk from Want, Need Love have set up home in a wooden chalet, and you'd better be prepared for more oohing and ahhing as they are showing some truly delightful work from John Dilnot, Laura Gravestock, Wawa, yours truly & many more.

Go Bust

I'm very pleased to announce that I was selected for this years Bust Craftacular.
The lovely organisers have created a wall over at Supermarket Sarah which features lots of amazing raffle prizes. Entry is only 50p a go and all proceeds go to Women for Women I've donated a couple of prints & a couple of tea towels. There's beautiful jewellery from Tatty Devine, a two day beginners shoemaking course worth £394 from Prescott & Mackay & lots of other great prizes - well worth an entry or two.
Bust will take place at York Hall, 5-15 Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green on December 8th from 12 - 6pm, the first 100 visitors will receive goodie bags, you can see who else will be selling there here

Artists For Alphabet Bags

Every now and again I get asked to collaborate on new projects and my latest is with the fantastic Alphabet Bags.  I was honoured when Hayley & Lucas invited me to be one of the first lot of artists they selected for their 'Artists for Alphabet Bags' range. All of the bags are screenprinted & made in the UK from gorgeous heavy weight cotton. You can see the full range here. 

They have also released some very handy & lovely large tote bags which are perfect for those of you who like to carry a bit more when out & about. My favourite design is this one.

New Life

Things have been slow on the blogging front as i've been busy looking after the bearer of these little wrinkly feet.
My world has been turned upside down in the best possible way ever.
I can't express the boundless love I feel for our little lamb (so called as I often hear her bleating) there are lots of other good noises too.
I feel so lucky and grateful to have been able to become a mum and am thankful for each day I get to spend watching our daughter grow, she's absolutely amazing.
It's like i've been given the best job ever and the greatest opportunity in the world, all the choices I make and the things I do with & for our daughter are so important. It's like I've been given the chance to try and make the best little being ever.

So you'll have to excuse me for a while longer but I promise this isn't the last you've heard of me, I have quite a few exciting projects in the pipeline.

In the meantime, to celebrate another arrival - my favourite season, I'm currently knocking 25% off everything in my Etsy shop. Just enter the code 'CRUNCHYLEAVES' at checkout. Tell everyone you know. 

I'm extremely proud & in awe of our friends who set off from John O'Groats yesterday morning on a long journey to Lands End. They're raising much needed awareness & money for Group B Strep Support in memory of Chloe & Gracie Ungi. 

Please take a moment to read more below and donate if you're able to but share it amongst everyone you know either way as spreading the word & awareness is just as important.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the UK's most common life threatening infection in newborn babies and yet most of these dreadful infections are preventable. 

Read more & donate here

Follow their progress here

I'm very excited because in less than one week me and my love will be moving into our first home. I was actually drawing this card when the solicitor called to let me know that we'd exchanged contracts! So I guess it just goes to show a little patience goes a long way, I thought we'd never get here. 

Here's the finished card! I ended up printing it in a very similar blue to the one pictured below.

Something Blue

Last year I designed and printed all the stationery for my friend Rebecca's wedding. It was such an honour to play a part in her and her lovely husband Tom's big day.

I'm in the middle of a house move so they're all packed away, but once we've settled i'll photograph them. Anyway, the reason i'm telling you all this is that I used the design as a starting point for this new card. I'm hoping to get it on screen & printed this week - will be sure to share the final results with you.

Alphabet City

I've been busy drawing letters for a new project i'm working on, more news on that soon.

Hook Line & Sinker

Phew! Pick Me Up ended on Sunday so this week i've been catching up on lots of loose ends.

Thank you so much to everyone who came by to say hello, it was quite fun at times listening in to people talking about my work. Thankfully I only heard nice things (selective hearing I presume)

This little print has been sitting in a sketchbook for around 6 months, i'm glad that I finally found the time to draw it up properly and get it printed. It really makes me want to go for a swim in the sea & now the sun is finally here I might just do that!

Today is the official opening day of Pick Me Up, though the private view was last night and what a night it was! Thanks so much to everyone who came along to show their support. It really is a great show and an even better opportunity to see lots of brilliant work at very reasonable prices.

Pictured above is a brand new two colour screenprint I made especially for the show. 

It's an edition of only 50 and measures 30 x 40cm.

Pick Me Up 2013

For the last year I have been discussing selling my work with the brilliant Soma in Bristol. Just when I thought it was never going to happen I was blown away when they asked me to join them alongside the  great Tom Frost, Peskimo, Nicholas John Frith & Telegramme for this years Pick Me Up.

For those of you that don't know, Pick Me Up is a huge graphic art fair which is held each year at Somerset House. The show runs from 18th - 28th April and is open daily from 10am - 6pm or 10pm on Thursdays. Entry is £8, or £6 for concessions.

If you do manage to visit please be sure to come and say hello.

Nobody's Perfect

I screen print each of my cards by hand and sometimes I make mistakes, either with the registration or ink coverage.

Bad news for my ego but good news for your pocket as I'm selling these slight seconds in bumper packs of 10 cards complete with envelopes for just £10 so get stocked up by clicking here

A Day In Deal

Last week I jumped at the opportunity to go and hand deliver some of my work to a brand new stockist in the beautiful seaside town of Deal.

The shop is called Dunlin & Diver and you'll find it at 112 High Street, Deal, Kent CT14 6EE.

At the moment they're open Wednesday - Saturday 9.30 - 5.00 but as the year goes on and when the weather hopefully picks up this will lead to extended hours.

It's a beautiful bright shop full of lots of things I wanted to buy and bring home.

Although I only had a couple of hours to spare I managed to fit in a walk along the breezy but sunny seafront. I also found a plethora of wonderful charity shops which was bad news for my back on the journey home as I bought so many great old books about embroidery, insects, flowers & other things.

Trains to Deal take just over 2 hours from London Charing Cross .

Here's another card design which i'm aiming to get on screen & printed very soon.

Today...

I'll be mostly freezing my toes off at Spitalfields market. It's so quiet here, think the miserable weather is definitely putting people off. Ah well, gotta keep smiling!

SALE TIME

For one week only i'm offering a whopping 35% off everything in my Etsy shop. To receive the discount simply enter the code 'MMadness' at checkout. You'll find my Etsy shop here Please feel free to spread the word amongst your friends and family.

On Saturday 16th March from 11 til 5 you'll find me at the Designers Makers Market in Old Spitalfields Market, London EC1.

I'll be selling a selection of my prints, teatowels,birch trays, tape & hand printed cards.

So, if you're in the area please be sure to stop by and say hello.

You can read all about it here

Sticking with it

For as long as I can remember I've been threatening to learn how to take proper photos of my work, it seems to become my New Years resolution year after year! Yesterday it felt like Spring had finally arrived so I took advantage and re-photographed my tape. I think they came out pretty well. I hear ractice makes perfect so hopefully whatever follows will simply keep getting better & better.

My lips are sealed....

.....well almost! I'm currently working on this fantastic project, you can read all about it here Can't wait to see all of the designs.

Affordable Art Fair, Hong Kong

The wonderful TAG Fine Arts have been working non stop packing and shipping art all the way over to Hong Kong for this years Affordable Art Fair I'm pleased as punch to let you know that my work has been included. The fair runs from March 15th - 17th and the private view is on March 14th, if anyone out there would like to go please get in touch.

I think...

I finally got round to printing these little beauties, if in doubt I pretty much always choose neon! Grab yourself one of these two colour hand screenprinted cards from my Etsy shop for only £2.50

Handle With Care

There's no better way to start the day than taking delivery of brand new tape. It's got to be my favourite one yet which has totally made my day. I normally use my other tape on parcels but I was getting fed up writing 'Fragile' on everything so to save a bit of time i've come up with this handy design. It's now available in my Etsy shop at the very special price of £6.50 per roll

Here's another idea i've had for a card, I'm feeling well on my way to having a range, it's still a bit rough & ready but i'm sure you get the gist!

Que sera sera

This new print is most definitely a result of our recent trip to Rome, we had such an inspiring time and saw so many beautiful things - more post on Rome later.
The saying is one I remind myself of often and it has never been in my mind more than now as we're currently trying to buy our first home and as such I feel like we've embarked on a long road, full of heartbreak and disappointment but am hopeful there'll be a lotta joy at the end.
This idea started off as a scribble in a sketchbook which then became a much larger drawing which was then traced in black ink and filled in on photoshop and after a heck of a lot of tweaking and agonising here it is ready to be put on screen.
Now i've got to pick which colour to print it.

My beautiful & brave nanny passed away peacefully on January 15th, aged 86. She was surrounded by all of her loving family.
Growing up I spent practically every weekend and summer with my nanny.
She was stern at times - the kind of seriousness that earned respect, but at the very same time she was always a lot of fun to be around.

Even though she suffered excruciating amounts of pain due to various ailments she would never ever grumble, forever insistent on making sure everyone else was ok. She was without a doubt the kindest woman i've ever known and I loved her so very dearly.

Nanny had a great sense of humour, was a brilliant cook, fantastic knitter, keen bowler and so, so much more.
She always put others before herself and her family meant the world to her, each and every one of her grandchildren and her great grandchildren were put on pedestals.
Always happiest when busy, she never could sit still, a trait which I too now share gladly.

My nanny was a huge inspiration to me, I am blessed to have so many memories of the times we shared together and I will never ever forget her, nor all the things she taught me and her plain goodness.
I miss her so much but am grateful to now find solace when I see her kindness, warm nature and good humour shining through and reflected in my mum, aunt and uncle.

As she got older she hated having her photograph taken, so here is one I think she wouldn't mind me sharing as you can hardly see her.
It was taken at Halloween, just so you know I didn't grow up only eating food hanging from string.

Friday Friends

I've been thinking about all the wonderful shops who sell my work and i'd like for them to get some recognition, so i'm starting my very own 'Friday Friends' where i'll be sharing all my lovely stockists with you.
Telling you about them is my small way of thanking them for all of their support, because really without them and their constant faith in me and my work I wouldn't be able to make a living from what I love doing.
And…. as if that wasn't enough i'm also going to be running a competition for these Friday posts so you better keep reading, it'll be worth it!

My first shout out goes to Nannie Innez in Austin, Texas. I've always wanted to go to Austin - ever since I first laid eyes on a sticker which pleaded with me to 'Keep Austin Weird'
Nannie Innez is the stunning creation of Deeyn Rhodes & Lonzo Jackson.
The very lovely Deeyn came to visit me a while ago to interview me about my work.
I was amazed at how at ease she made me feel - i'm naturally quite shy and a bit awkward around people I don't know but I really opened up to Deeyn and as she quizzed me about my work I found myself learning and realising things i'd never considered before.
You can read my interview on their beautiful website here
Deeyn & Lonzo set out to create 'a warm & welcoming retail environment' I believe their success is evident from the images on their website, I can't imagine what it must be like to witness it first hand (i've started saving up already)
I love the colours they've chosen and how they've married those with geometric shapes - the design of the store really seems to reflect the carefully selected objects within it, especially the magnificent Donna Wilson pouffes & cushions.
I think in short Deeyn & Lonzo have created a space which reflects their personalities - warm, welcoming and beaming with brightness. Thanks to you both for letting me be a part of what you've forged.

And now for the competition part!!
I'll be giving away a free print to the first person to visit Nannie Innez and have their photo taken in the store - you'll find it at
2210 S. First St.
Unit M,
Austin,
Texas TX 78704.
They're open Tues - Sat 11-6 & Sunday 1-5.
Please email me at reapwhatisew@gmail.com, you have until midnight on Friday 18th January to get your image over to me, oh and don't forget to send me your address along with your image.

You see, I told you I was happy! This is another design for a card.

Over Christmas I spent a lot of time relaxing which led to me getting quite a few ideas for new cards. Here's the first offering which I hope to print next week.
I won't necessarily execute it in these colours as I tend to leave that til last minute when i'm in front of the print bed.

New Year New Start

A lot of people don't seem to find the start of the year a happy time, but I really do.
I find myself filled with optimism and excitement, I genuinely cannot wait to see what the year ahead has in store.
This illustration is for an exciting new project I should be able to tell you more about soon. For all of you who have the January blues, chin up, I bet things will get better and surely there must be something to look forward to.