I love this time of year. The leaves change colour, the layered clothes keep me cosy and the hot drinks get a bit more spicy.

Anyone that follows me will know that I recently decorated my living room and had Fakemas. Yes! I totally unashamedly put up a Christmas tree and garland, filled the room with dried orange smells and celebrated having my Christmas Range designed. This year I totally have my shit together (only for Christmas ha ha - not my whole life - nobody does).

I had other ideas for my blog this month but, after holding a competition for my customers and getting such a great response, I had to write about them.

My fab customers had to take a photo of their favourite buys and tag me in them for a chance to win a full set of hand printed notebooks.

When I wrote down a goal of being exhibited as a major aim for this year, I genuinely thought I was aiming too high. I wouldn’t describe myself as confident but this year, I told myself, is about being brave. The encouragement from my husband was invaluable as he was the one that got the conversation going but I had to be brave and share my artwork and wait for it to be ‘judged’. Lucky for me, Trevor (the gallery manager at The Aviary) has excellent taste and fell in love with my hibiscus and bee prints in particular.

Buying from the high street is great if you want something cheap and disposable, however, if you want something that much more special then independents is where you need to be. Shopping with a small business comes with that personal touch.

If you like my style but want something bespoke – great! Just get in touch.

In this month’s blog, I’ll be talking you through some of the recent commissions that I have been working on.

I don’t know about you, but a bit of sunshine has done me the world of good recently. It’s amazing the difference that some extra vitamin D can make.

I, like me, a colour injection can give you a big boost then these prints and gifts are just what you need. There’s flora and fauna in abundance. Here are a few of my favourites to bring summer to your home whatever the weather.

Let me start by saying that I hope you are all safe and well. As a part time teacher, I am working modified hours in school but mostly from home. However, as an artists, it is mostly business as usual. Below are a few ideas on how to stay inspired during quarantine.

Coming up soon is the Mama Makes Market and I’m really excited to share some exclusive offers and services.

Framing

Selected prints have been framed for the market - the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. There will also be a selection of prints available mounted and backed ready for you to personalise with your own frame.

Special Offers

Mix and Match Cards - all cards are included in the offer. You can get 3 Large Cards for £5.50 or 3 Small Cards for £4.

For those of you that love penguins, you can get a Penguin Sketchbook & Penguin Mug for just £10.

Sketchbooks are only available at markets and the range has expanded to include penguins, gold flamingos and gold dragonflies. Got a request? Let me know and you can order something ready for the market.

Once you’ve chosen the perfect gift, you can make sure that you have it all wrapped in beautiful tissue and raffia for only £1 saving you the effort of doing it yourself. You could even purchase you card and have Mother’s Day all wrapped up before you even get home.

Without doubt, the print that gets the most comments online and at markets is my baby penguin. He’s very cute and there are some great little details to discover.

Well I thought it was time to make him a companion so I’ve been busy sketching, carving and testing until I get it right. Here are a few process pics to whet your appetite…

This week I’ve had a giraffe drawstring bag commission to work on so I’ve been printing mainly on fabric. While I was at it I decided to play around with a couple of other blocks.

My bee and penguin prints have proven very popular so I wanted to see what they’d look like as bags. Here’s what the fabric is looking like. Check back soon to see the results after seeing or subscribe to my mailing list to have updates straight to your inbox.

Yesterday was the testy spring market and there were so many great makers there. I was next to the lovely On My Wick Candles (@onmywickcandles) and Urban Cubs (@urban_cubs).

On my wick create amazingly scented candles whose names are linked to children’s stories. My personal favourite was the chocolate fudge brownie, closely followed by pumpkin pasty - delicious!

urban cubs make the funkiest clothes for little ones. They stick to a monochrome palette in order to create fun items that are gender neutral.

Go check them both out!

Recently, the lovely Rachel (mum) and Grace (daughter) came along for a drawing and printing workshop. We spent around 2 1/2 hours enjoying the studio and being creative.

Grace is really interested in drawing eyes and wants to hone her skills so we started with some observational drawing. Mum and daughter looked closely at each other, taking it in turns to draw an eye. We used the 80:20 rule of looking:sketching. They then played around with their designs until they had something they wanted to print.

For anyone who doesn’t know me, I eat, sleep and drink printmaking. Whatever I do, I do it to the best of my ability and printing is by no means the exception.

Art has always been an important part of my life. At the age of 8 I was already hooked on drawing - a skill that I am still improving. It os a vital part of me transforming ideas in my head into reality. I often start with observational drawings and then ‘doodle’ around the subject until I come to my own version of what I see. Some designs come from direct observation and others are more stylised. It all depends how I feel at the time.

About a year ago, my very understanding and supportive husband agreed to the remodelling of our back yard, which included demolishing the garage and out buildings and constructing an art studio attached to the back of the house. This place is my happy place - my haven - and I feel exceptionally lucky to have it.