Merry Christmas! See you in 2012!

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2012! Looking forward to a creative new year! See you on Jan 3rd 2012. Time for a mince pie...

Christmas Stockings

Here's another of my latest :) I'd hoped to get more done for the xmas season, but, as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Bath House in Kirby Lonsdale

Kirby Lonsdale is just down the road from where I live (v pretty and worth a visit), so today I popped into the Bath House flagship store. The gifts are simply gorgeous, as is the collections of home and gift items they have in the store. I've blogged some of their more recent collections for you to have a look at. They're very on trend but keep the to the Bath House brand look too. I also picked up these two 'vintage look' cards by Picture Palace, who are affiliated with Bath House (based in nearby Sedbergh) which are designed around the vintage trend which continues to gather pace. Hope you like the goodies :)

http://www.thebathhouseshop.com

Bauble Wreath Illustration

Here's one of my latest designs available via Advocate. Originally designed on a white a background I placed the black background on towards the end of the illustration, and the colours just went 'pop'! Time for more Santa's and scenes now...

Ian Dutton Designs

I've recently received this fantastic Ian Dutton festive picture and card in the post and thought I'd share it with you : ) Ian has a wealth of experience working with many big high street names, including Next (where the card is from). As you can see his work is fantastic. If you'd like to see more or contact him for projects his website is www.ianduttondesigns.com. Check out my twinkly tree lights in the reflection!

Vintage Labels

I thought I'd give you a peek at a book I've coveted for years now, called 'The Art of the Label' by Robert Opie. It's proved invaluable for me from designing packaging for fragrance products to Christmas imagery. I try to buy books when they're discounted and out of vogue, as fashions come back round to be tweaked and refreshed, and they're not as expensive ; )

Christmas around the Tree

Here's a snippet of a new piece I've created for Advocate. I wanted to do a traditional scene where a group of children are looking at a Christmas tree. I was hoping it would convey hope and unity, something we all need in what feels like very uncertain times x

Recession busting design from John Lewis

So today I braved the crowds to do a spot of Christmas shopping at the Trafford Centre. I picked up these gorgeous thank you cards and note pad from Waterstones, which are by Rosehip. Here also are some delectable samples from the oh so stylish and dependable John Lewis. It great to see a big store pushing forward with design led products in uncertain times. It's surely been a part of their secret of success. It's interesting that the designs on the cards do not suit any varnishing, flitter or tip ons, and retain a very up market feel as a result. Cost savvy or what? Definitely a case of less is more. I only have one little quibble...is it me or does Santa's sack on the merry-go-round, at a quick glance, look like a horse parp...or is that just my potty mind? Well, I have had a wee spot of red wine : )