Birds, inspiring surface design

It's finally Friday!! It's been a busy week so todays post is a quickie.

I am starting a course on Monday so my posting may be a bit delayed, but I will fill you in on that over the weekend.

Some lovely inspiring Bird prints I have recently pinned. There is something so lovely about a bird print, it covers so many categories from paper to textiles, from the young to the mature. Colours are always abundant & can be so simple or incredibly complex.

sources : image 1  image 2  image 3  image 4  image 5  image 6

I love the colour, and variations amongst many of the birds.
It's nice to always see them applied to textiles.

Umbrella Bunny

Another new heat bag design, I can't help myself.

Umbrella Bunny looks so happy standing in the rain??
A new oval shape, still filled with lovely lander & warm as toast rice, & is available in my shop.

Invigorated health journey, a new challenge so far

This is the first time that I have talked about my new invigorated health journey. I am,

After many, many recommendations I have embarked upon the very popular Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, also known as 12WBT. There have been so many success stories, you can't deny that this lady knows exactly what she is talking about. About 8 or 10 weeks ago I signed up, & can now say I am now into my 3rd official week. I didn't want to write anything about it until I had really started & could report on something.

In a nut shell it's absolutely brilliant!! I signed up to the program to lose the last 5 kgs. I don't have a huge amount of weight to lose, but was really struggling with those last few kilos. Lets call it baby weight!! I can comfortably say that, prior to kids I was relatively happy with myself. Really fit & healthy, but then again I only had me to look after. Most women I know with kids have always had a little concern getting into their favourite jeans again, or they are fitting in them, but they are a bit snug.

After the first 3 weeks I have lost just on 2kgs & I am thrilled. I am only allowed to eat 1200 calories, & meal plans are brilliant, idiot proof actually. I hate counting calories & love the fact that with every recipe offered the calorie count is done for you. The food variety is awesome, absolutely no complaints whatsoever.

BUT.....It's been a journey and a half with these calories, I have to admit I was really hungry the first two weeks. I love my food & will admit to eating a massive bowl of pasta without a worry. I love chocolate, especially after dinner. Reducing my meal size & stopping the after dinner treat, has been one of the most mentally challenging things I have done. Especially when I have been hungry. I have done whats been advised drink more water, & lots of herbal tea, but it's still hard. It just proves to me,  as I have been taught, what we put in out mouths is just a whole lot of bad habits, not always hunger. *Sad Face* I am due for weigh in tomorrow, & also measuring myself. I am feeling really good as the hunger is starting to ease off a bit.

I am so ready for this challenge & loving it, & will be sharing more.
I have exercised like mad also, but will save that for another time.

Sketching Charlie completed

I have finally finished my drawing of Charlie. The last time I showed it here it was simply a sketch, which you can go back to here.

So here it is, what do you think?

We have had Charlie nearly a month now, & he is such a great puppy. He has such a different temperament to a larger dog, which is what I am used to, he is so tiny & accidentally gets stood on a bit. I am hoping he will learn to keep out from under my feet!! He can also be a little yappy at times which I am slowly getting used to. Toilet training is still a battle, & is harder to master when you have 2 small kids. At the moment puppy toilet training doesn't have the attention needed, to master almost immediately, as the kids distract me, but we are getting there slowly. My kids love him to pieces, but I need to be careful they stop loving him so much, as we have had a few yelps, from a squeezed puppy. It's all about learning.

Have a great week.

Artist Love - Helen Dardik

I wanted to share with you one of my favourite surface design artists.

Helen Dardik.....I have been a fan of her work for a while now & I LOVE to follow her blog. Her work inspires me, it is a style I love, bold & bright, & is so unique. I admire everything she does, & like me, she generally draws most of her art digitally.

She seems to have it all from my perspective, a fab career, is represented by the amazing Lilla Rogers (would be a dream for me), & has had many licensing contracts. I am sure there are many, many long hours that are worked, especially as she is a mum of 3 kiddies.

How fab is her work?

Love it.

Warm Apple Heat Bag

With winter definitely on it's way, making some new heat bags have been on my mind.

What do you think of my little apple?

Still filled with rice & dried lavender, to keep you warm or soothe your muscles.

You will find it in my shop if you would like one of your own.

Keep warm.

My baby girl is 3 today

Three years ago another amazing miracle happened to me. I had a second baby, a little baby girl called Charlotte Rose.

Today is a birthday wish from me to her, I love her more than words can say.

She makes my world. She makes me smile. She makes me want to pull my hair out. She may not look a lot like me, but has my temperament & can challenge me. She is funny. She shows empathy. She is cheeky. She has eyes to make me melt.

Have a wonderful day baby doll.

Sketching Charlie

I got some sketching in today, & here is my muse.

From this photograph I initially sketched him in my own way.
It's no portrait by any means, but the similarities are there.

Then I had some fun with him.

He is now missing one thing.

Now the fun parts begins.

Winter Warmers

I am starting to load up some new heat bags to my shop.

With a lovely and generous large size I am positive they will keep your toes warm, or will even help soothe some warm muscles.

Filled with rice which stays warmer for longer, & lovely organic lavender, they can also provide a restful sleep. After heating it up pop it into your bed before you finish up for the day.

Hudson's 5th Birthday Party

Here are a few photos from Hudson's Birthday Party I thought would be great to share.







































Here are the photo's of the party table. I am definitely not a birthday party planner, so I grabbed a few ideas online to set this up. I bought the printables from here, as I just didn't have the time to draw them myself, nor did I need to they were perfect. One thing I have learnt about doing these tables, boys don't care, boys didn't even notice, boys only want to run & chase each other. I am kind of wondering to be honest if these elaborate tables are more for the parents creative satisfaction. Lets see when Charlotte starts having her own parties she notices?

The guest of honour, SPIDER MAN, he was just amazing, & I hired him from here. I decided to splash out & hire someone as I was a little unsure how I was going to control & entertain twelve 5yr olds, especially the boys for the whole time. He was incredibly entertaining & literally had them captivated from the moment her arrived. He told them stories about his adventures fighting crime & defeating the green goblin, there was a dance off, & freeze game, face painting, rewards for the kids, & balloons twisting. For this event all the kids were given sword balloons so they could battle it out together on the grass. I have to say it again, he was great.

Here is a rare photo of the 4 of us. Normally I am the one behind the camera taking photos. It was nice how were were all looking in the right direction, regardless of facial expressions.

My little man of the hour. This photo was taken just before Spider Man left, I think by the look on his face the day was a success.

Superhero weekend

Hello.......I had such a big weekend, I have to kind of admit I am glad it's over, I am feeling a tad exhausted. On Saturday was my little mans 5th birthday, it was a Superhero theme & all of his friends came dressed up, it was absolutely spectacular. I am collating some  fab images to share with you hopefully tomorrow. Sunday we all know was mother's day, it was also Hudson's actual birthday, so I had immediate family over to celebrate. I think I have also eaten WAY too much cake!

I have been working a couple of new prints completely inspired by Hudson & his love for superheros. I love how he is so captivated by super powers, & how he is hoping to have some one day.

I have some fun ideas in mind for these, I love the colours they are so bright & bold.

Have a super power Monday.

My newest family member Charlie

I have had a distraction the last 2 days & I am kinda in love.

MEET CHARLIE.....Our newest family member.

He is a Cavoodle, meaning he is half toy poodle & half charles cavalier spaniel. He is actually what is called a 2nd generation, meaning his dad was a pure bred toy poodle & him mum a Cavoodle. There is a  lot of poodle in him making him lovely & curly.

Without realising it, Hudson named him. I asked him what would he call a curly haired little dog, & he said Charlotte, (due to her curls) which was never going to happen, so I thought Charlie would be perfect.

Charlotte loves, loves, loves animals which is the main reason we bought Charlie. She has such a connection with them, & is so naturally calm. It's wonderful to watch really, & adorable to hear her asking her daddy for a puppy.

He has settled in very quickly, & so far has made a huge impact on the whole family. It's been nearly 3yrs since having a dog, & even though I was initially reluctant I am so glad he is here now. He is a tiny little boy & has a very spunky personality from what I can see so far. that cheeky little face just makes me melt, it's too cute for words.

You may be seeing a lot of him in this blog space, & it's going to be a blast sharing him with you.

My mother's day wishlist

With Mother's day only this Sunday I thought I better get a bit of a wish list happening in case a certain male reads this blog. I haven't been thinking about it much due to Hudson's 5th birthday on the same day.

Here is a dreamy list of a few things I would like.

source images #1 #2  #3  #4  #5  #6

Some of the items are a little bit out of reach, some are very practical.

They don't call it a wish list for no reason.

Have a lovely Monday.

An hour to spare

Late this afternoon when I had an hour to spare today, the kids were watching Wreck it Ralph, (great movie/cartoon by the way), so I thought I would draw. This has been half finished for a while now, & I had a sudden burst of necessity to complete it. It's a reminder of summer which has long gone now.

lolly pop garden illustration by Kylie Loy

I am still not sure where it's going yet, but it's a good start.

Feeling overwhelmed with inspiration

Do you ever get overwhelmed with TOO much inspiration?

I know a lot of artists get it, but I haven't really be stung by the feeling too much before.
With the sale of my Quirky and Quaint business I spoke about last time, it has give me the opportunity to start planning the new tasks & projects I would like to pursue in the near future. Some personal & some business. I have had a bit of time to web surf which I LOVE!! I haven't been able to do that for what feels like forever & forever, & mind you I forgot how time sucking it can be. Two hours can fly just like that.

For the very first time in a long while I have actually even felt like sewing for myself. I haven't made anything with my trusty sewing machine for a long long time. I am not a bad sewer, it's one thing I have always found easy, as with making patterns, as that's what I studied at school. I used to want to be a bridal designer & made a few dresses, you can see this post here & here about this long ago desire. I have started to look at beautiful fabric, it's all so glorious.

image by Kylie Loy

Unfortunately the more I look, the more I am starting to feel very overwhelmed with all of the amazing beauty out there. Some artists are just incredible, there are amazing products, from everything to decor to jewellery. I am in heaven. I feel like I have so many ideas popping around in my head I am  starting to feel like I have stage fright a bit. I'm completely overwhelmed & in awe of the amazing work out there. In seeing this I am wondering where the hell to start. I know it's seems a little exaggerated  but I know I am not the first to feel like this.

I am not one of these people who have a flood of ideas flowing out of them. I do need to look for my inspiration, whether it be on the web, checking out retail stores, or in books & mags, I just have too.

Eeeek I just need to shake it off & start, I need to let go of this, I think it's the best way.

If you have ever felt like this ? If you have I would love to know how you combat this.