For Evie

When one of your best friends has a baby and you don't know if its going to be a boy or girl, the only thing left to do is make them some kind of sock monster

It ended up being the same size as Evie when I gave this to her aged 6 days old.

Forever Blue Skies

When i'm older...

I can't wait to be the age when I can tell everyone how old I am... even if they don't ask...

whale kissing moustaches

I have now discovered the art of making my own stamps out of lino. it's my new favourite thing in the world.

here is my first print

what do you think? I have thought of about 4 more prints I want to create and mass produce cards and sell them ...and eventually take over the world. you know, the normal things you think about in daydream world :) 

The day I went to Hogwarts

It really felt like my Birthday,  I was so excited I woke up at 5.30am and said out loud to Mark "I'm so excited" 

He told me to go back to sleep.  

We went to The making of Harry Potter studio tour conveniently set in the grounds of Hogwarts and the home to Harry potter series for the last 10 years. I'm not going to go into detail about what's inside as I wouldn't want to spoil it for all the fans who haven't had a chance to go yet, but I do recommend everyone should go! Some of you may know I fulfilled a life ambition and got to work on 2 of the films. One of the reasons I moved to London was to try and find a way to get onto those films and 4 years later here i am! so the whole day was sentimental to me and a nice way to reflect back and be proud to be part of the Harry Potter family...and I also tried Butter Beer!

Other things that happened today:
I got a label maker! Was just as excited about this than when we were driving up to the studio today. Get ready to see a lot of stuff labeled (whether it needs it or not!)

I also got a Harry Potter wand (for display reasons and sentimental value, of course) but couldn't help waving it around and shouting "wingardiummm leveosaaaa" at the worker showing us the way out of the car park. I'm sure I'm not the first person who has done this to him. It's ok, he smiled :)

Back..for real this time!

So, one of my "things" I wanted to improve on in 2012 was to update the blog more....4 months in and Happyy Neww Year!! how's everyone been? sorry for the long absense, seems like things must have got in the way..I don't know where to start. I thought I would update the template of this to feel like a brand new website (its like when you get a new toy!) what do you all think? 

what's new for me is....I got a new pet hamster!!! he's a russian dwarf and his name is Barbosa! named after the pirate from Pirates of the Carribbean. We felt he needed an epic name for such a small guy. i'm so happy we got him, it's the small compromise instead of having a dog!

I have also been trying to spend a bit more time making toys and drawing, been seriously considering possibly selling these in the near future, I will be adding more to the blog, let me know your thoughts on these as they go up, but in the mean time here is a toy I made for my cousin. she's obsessed with pandas.I hope she likes it! 

if you would like to see what else I have been up to, I have been adding pictures to my Flickr account. have a cuppa tea and a cake and have a looksy!

 

Oh hi!

I did it again didn't I!... i blinked and now it's nearly Christmas and so much time has passed and I haven't updated the blog.. so very sorry.. and to make up for it..here is Xylobear

so, what have I missed? fill me in please :)
hope everyone is in good spirits and the pebbles you walk on be merry.. i'm watching Where the Wild Things Are right now. I want a job where I get to wear a crown and costume like Max.

If I sell these....

.......would you buy them? (I made them myself) 

I think they need names too :)

Pink Sewing Machine!!

Well well well, my fault completely but before I even realised, its been more than a month since I have posted anything on here! 

...so how is everybody? all good? What have you been up to? Since I was on here, many weird and wonderful things have happened including 5 Birthday celebrations- one of them was even mine!,and also I  have spent many hours being distracted by my new love, a pink sewing machine. yes it's pink and I love it. So many thoughts on what i can make/create/learn now, I find myself looking at bags thinking "I can make that" 

 

 

....why do i think i'm so invincible now I have a pink sewing machine?!

 

 

 

My awesome boyfriend got it for me from John Lewis. 

The first thing I made was a tote bag for my mums birthday. I was so excited, I found a pattern on the internet and cut away at some material I had. 

Now, i'm not gonna lie- this was a mission to make! It looked so simple but, guess not so simple with my simple mind. The bag ended up being half the size I intended and took me more than double the amount of time I thought it would- but my mum loved it and I felt proud. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of it :(

 

The next thing I make I will be taking a picture- i'm already half way through making a monster, he has teeth and ears, but thats it right now! 

Any tips on sewing machinery would be a huge help, i'm a complete beginner but am completely loving learning how to sew!! 

Those photos...

I finally got around to making a Flickr account- it only took me being sick and being sent home from work for me to realise I have the time to upload pictures!

If you like what you see and want more then please click here

The pictures were taken various places on my travels around the globe..

in other news..I passed my driving test :)

Zealand Maximus Black

My friends dog..who I have never met :( but he's so cute I thought I would draw him and give it as a present for her.

I really want my own dog ...there would be soooo many more dog drawings!





digital painting done in Photoshop

5 things...

That I wanted to share..

1. new love for pistachio nuts and boiled eggs. (not together) but eating them has kind of caveman ways of peeling the eggs and opening the nuts

2. Mustaches on fingers

3. Rise of the Planet of The Apes. - go watch it. just for the circus orangutang.

4. Finding new places to go on Time Out website like this Mad Hatter Tea Party!.. (I can't actually go, but would love it if someone does and take pictures and show me? thanks)

5. My new DSLR Nikon D70! ...it's not actually new- i'm in the 3rd hand owner..but I still love it!!
I shall update the pictures, but for now here's us with our mustaches :)

what are your 5 things?

owl

The other day, I got a package sent to work.
I was ecstatic!... who isn't when they receive a package through post..even if you had been something you were expecting.... in this case, I wasn't expecting anything, so you will understand my ecstaticness :)

anyways, it was from a good friend of mine Rousha, who I used to work with







it was such a cute little note book, and she had stuck a post-it note to the front..






she is a very, very talented lady who I had collaborated with in the past,
she wanted me to draw inside the note book... so i did







and then ended up creating one of the characters from my drawings

:)






it's meant to be an owl, but it looks like monster
I crochet'd his body and then used material and felt and buttons to make his face.

let me know what you think!

Abi x

Miss Pretty Thing's Birthday!

So today is the wonderful birthday of Michelle from Pretty Things blog, she is a very good friend of mine and we met whilst working together in Soho way back in 2008

For her birthday as I haven't got much money I thought I would be creative,
I saw this amazing tutorial on how to make these awesome bracelets on HonestlyWTF website and gave it a go! I was in Brighton this weekend for a birthday party so attempted to make these in the car on the way down, made it that little bit more exciting and fiddly. But, I think they came out well and am definitely going to try making more in the future.

I found this little jar in Velvet and thought buttons would look perfect sitting inside, and Michelle would be the girl who would appreciate it them the most. So that I did, she seemed to like!

also drew this card to go with the homemade presents

let me know what you think!

Olympus Trip 35

Hello there!
I got very excited recently and thought I should share with the world my new favourite present! (apart from the Silly Putty that Mark got me last week- do you remember that stuff?! a.maz.ing.)

The other weekend we went round to see Marks Grandma in sunny Cheltenham, when the mentioning of cameras came up, she had heard through the grapevine that I was interested in photography and casually said " I have a box of old cameras that I thought you might like to look at" - I know many of you reading this are like me, and it felt like Christmas had come early

Amongst some really old slides and manuals for cameras that weren't in her box was this little beauty,it was her little Olympus Trip 35 camera, so pretty in a leather case that was worn away enough for it to have that "vintage" smell (smells like garages!)

I'm so excited to see how they will come out- sure enough I will be posting them on here. There was even a little attachable flash I could use! oohh la laa I feel like the luckiest girl in the planet :)

what's your favourite camera? and do you have any tips on this lil number?

Are we RECording?

So who here loves Joseph Gordon Levitt?

how many people know he has an AWESOME production company online? I found this out recently and am completely obsessed.
Basically the way it works is if you have ever had an idea and want help to develop it then this is where you can turn to,
There is a video on his website here which will explain it a billion times better than me

anyways, Joseph and the HitRECord team came to London and did a film screening at the BFI. This was more inspirational than imagined and I was itching to collaborate.

There is a section called Tiny Stories which are stories that are only a couple of sentences long (which I think is the key to what makes them magical)
A selection of stories are getting put together shortly to be published into a book named :Tiny Stories Volume 1

I had to have a go at this, so I put pen to paper and came up with a Tiny Story called Fireflies.
At first, it had no hits, but waking up the morning after to find over 1000 people had viewed it and artwork had been drawn and even a song to go with the artwork had been made I was overly ecstatic!
and then one day, I was on the good ol' Twitter and it had been featured there with this link!!

Can't believe it all happened, I would so love the story to be selected to the book, it gives little creative people like me to actually see their work be made into something.
The whole idea behind HitRECord is so awesome!!! and I am now a new fan of Joseph Gordon Levitt. He rocks.

Harry Potter Experience

i’m soo happy and proud and excited for the whole world to watch Harry Potter!

I had started working on Deathly Hallows part 2 back in September 2010 and loved watching its progress to what it has now become!!! The company I work for MPC have been working on post production for the last 10 years! such an awesome experience to be part of it!

anyone how knows me knows it was a big ambition to get to work on these films as I have always been a massive fan- can’t believe I actually achieved it!

I think in this clip I would have to agree with Hermione- with the experience being “magical”

Watercolour pencils for these guys

Saw these on sale and just tried them out, think I can get some good results if I carry on..

Still not too sure if I'm meant to dip the pencil in water, or use the pencil first and then use a paintbrush? Or like put water and then add colour??

Any advise would be appreciated :)

Thanks!!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Mr Pigeon

Photo taken using Instagram. Golden Square, Soho, London

At work we used to have a pigeon visit us everyday. We named him Mr Pigeon. I knew it was the same one as he had toes missing from his left foot and had a distinctive beak.
Anyways he was the nicest pigeon and we used to give him cereal to munch on.
One day he brought someone else with him, Mrs Pigeon!!! He was such a gentleman, he let her have the food whilst he just stepped back and watched. Then when they were done he looked at us and they flew off into the sunset

True.story.

I Have moved now from that office

Dear America

Dear California

Thanks for sharing the last couple of weeks with me. You have let me
in and explore your fascinating people and colourful landscapes



Dear Barnes and Noble and Borders,
running around your stores made me appreciate them more since they no
longer exist in UK. I loved my new Bloggers notebook that I lost 5
days later

Dear Santa Monica and Venice beach
Thanks for introducing Bryan to us and him being a real LA boy
showing us the back roots, especially the part where we thought we had
discovered aliens in Venice canals but they ended up being Sea Snails.
Amongst the beautiful houses and the random photoshoots Alee had made
us pose for on bridges, I would love to live here one day.
Also, after viewing where the birth of skating took place, I want my
kid to be like the lil guy with the broken arm skating with crowds of
people watching in awe.

Dear Memorial weekend,
I was touched by the memorial you had put on next to Santa Monica
Pier, I could feel the emotion in the air. Thanks for not letting me
blow off the edge of the pier whilst the guy played Bob Dylan on his
guitar.

Dear Griffith Observatory,
I loved how you have to pass through the tunnel where Marissa Cooper
passed away and made me think of the OC all over again Thanks for the
beautiful scenery of Hollywood at night and the 15 minutes to get all
the way around the museum and learn about our planet. I would like to
visit you again someday and work out how that big ball in the middle
actually moves.

Dear food of LA
Thanks for letting me try the "best tacos in LA" at Cactus cafe and
the "best Cheesecake in Hollywood" at Grand Lux Cafe
I never got to try the "best hot dogs" at Pinks but sure they are amazing
considering the line, but I did try your Corn Dogs and Pretzels shaped
like Mickey Mouse



Dear Disneyland
You are my happy place. Always have been and always will be. I tried
to play your "hidden Mickey" game, alas couldn't find any.
Sorry to Mickey Mouse- I got a bit star struck when I met him and
didn't get to say what I wanted but luckily Alee was on hand to tell
you that Thanks for Having us!
Thanks for soaking us completely on Splash Mountain and making me buy
a souvenir hoody to keep me warm. This ended up being the clothing of
choice to take with me on the rest of the vacation

Dear Ryan,
you're grown up now driving us around San Diego, I like how you have
introduced us into the world of Planking, although I feel that Mark
has set the bar on his picture :P I had fun with you and Alee and Mark
in Rohr park blowing bubbles and drawing. Its not something we usually
do when we come visit you in California. I like how it didn't involve
food


Dear Uncle Putoy and Auntie Yolly's swimming pool,
you made Mark and me feel so relaxed laid out there, I did not
however,not so much enjoy the path full of snails to get there, but
having random rabbits hopping about cheered me up. I'm not too sure
having access to two pools in different locations was so good as we
had Alee crying "where are my Brits" for 45 minutes trying to locate us.


Dear Shamu,
Thanks for inviting us for breakfast. Its one of the best meal experiences I have
had in my life, I didn't know whether to eat my bacon,or watch you, or
order my drink or take a million photos. It was such an experience and
will never forget it. Thanks also for introducing me to your dolphin
friends and giving them a rub on the nose. We brought with us my
nephew Matthew- he's 4 years old and watches you everyday on Shamu-cam
on your website. he loved how you always came near him when he was
watching you whilst eating his breakfast. He wants to be a Shamu trainer when he is older



Dear La Jolla Beach,
it was great staying over in your hotel whilst we celebrated Caylyn's
birthday. It wasn't so great when the Kayak hit Ryan in and sliced his
ear that we ended up going to hospital for him to get stitched up. You
also managed to scare me so much when the dolphins swam next to us in
our kayak and I thought it was a shark, you sneaky beach La Jolla.

Dear USS Middway Navy Ship
Thanks for letting us on board and having Uncle Putoy show us where he
used to work. I could tell by his face that he really enjoyed having
his family there. The whole day was so much fun and even all the
adults looked like they were laughing a lot jumping about in the sand.



Dear all the new friends I have made
you all rock! I love the vibe and personality you all have and the
positive attitude you guys give out in your American ways. love how
you all want to imitate the British accent :)

Dear Tim Burton,
thanks for sharing your artwork at LACMA. You have a lot of influence
on me in your art work and could stare at the Edward Scissorhands for
longer than I was. Every single drawing and painting that was on show
enlightened my fingers and eyes and made me want to get back into
drawing.


Dear family,
I can't describe how much i love and appreciate all of you, making me
feel so welcome every time I am over there and spoiling us rotten, I love meeting
all the new additions too. It saddens me that I can't see you everyday.
Alee- #meeh.

Dear America,
I will be back again soon :)

Oopsy

So, I know I said I would be updating through out the week but it seems that I haven't been getting time!
But... I did buy a notebook to write blog notes on what we have been up to- lesson I have learnt from work is to write everything down. I have also been armed with a video camera, iPod and various cameras (one underwater!!)

So far it's been so much fun, more than i can imagine, when I have more time I will write a full encounter of what's been going down in LA, what I have realized though is everything is huge! I keep joking with my family that this place is for giants as everything Is double the size that I am used to in UK
But I'm not complaining at all.. Infact I'm embracing it!

Here is a picture of a wall of guitars

Lost In Transit

Holiday has finally arrived!!!

Today we are flying from London to Boston to LA. Started the journey at 8am this morning and should arrive in LA at 2.15am Sunday.(UK time) Due to time differences it's now 10:18pm UK time and we haven't seen any night skies yet- this is going to feel like the longest day in the world.

So far, so good, (touch wood) no major hiccups.
Entertainment on board was the new Karate Kid which I surprisingly enjoyed (still not sure it beats the original) and watched Gulliver's Travels- which is definitely not Jack Blacks finest- I fell asleep!

So right now i am currently waiting at Boston airport pretending i'm a PlaneSpotter and marking their landings out of ten-you should try it, more fun than you think :)

So to capture this transit moment i took a picture of the view I can see right now- if you look carefully you can see that a piece of luggage left in the middle of the ground! Oopsy daisy!

I shall be updating regularly throughout my time here in California so check back to see how I'm getting on :)

creative bug

At the weekend my good friends and very talented Michelle came over armed with a sewing machine. We were on a missoin to make bags.... and...... taaadaaaa!!! here is the result! I have been using it to carry my camera.I love it so much! thanks Michelle!! note to self- learn how to sew in a straight line....
Also, got given this beauty too I loved the packaging so much I have stuck it on the front of my sketchbook.

I also made some bunting and a Victoria Sponge Cake in time for the Royal Wedding too... (I know the Queen would have appreciated my effort)



Hope you're all having a creative week!