Little Green Gems...

The courgettes don't seem to be the only things springing to life! I noticed this morning that there are a few strawberries starting to grow on our strawberry plant. It's so amazing seeing all these wonderful plants grow and to think in a month or two's time we'll be eating the produce!

Happy Birthday Grandad...

It's my Grandad's birthday tomorrow. Like every year, I have no idea how old he is and this year is no different! I made him a card using bits and pieces from my collage box and it sits on my grandparents bureau waiting to be opened. He's so sweet, the other day he was telling me all about his time in India as a soldier and how on leave, him and his friends went horse riding up into the mountains. I don't think we appreciate the awesomeness of our grandparents sometimes. The lives they led when they were our age and the people they met. Next time I see him he's going to show me all his photographs from India. I can't wait to go back in time with him. Happy Birthday Grandad... you're amazing as ever!

Spud you like...

I finally got round to buying some buckets for my spuds and with some help from the mother, we've now planted our potatoes. It's just a matter of waiting now for the shoots to sprout! Jacket Potatoes here we come!

Grow my pretty's GROW!

Well, it's only been a couple of weeks but my courgette plants are growing like crazy! It's so exciting! I know it'll be a while before I actually see the vegetables but I just can't get over how fast they've sprung up! Let's hope they continue like this and don't get eaten by naughty slugs or cheeky birds!

Gluey Fingers turn into Green Fingers?...

This summer I have decided that I want to grow some fruit and veg. As a child I used to love planting seeds and seeing them grow into something amazing. I felt all nostalgic the other day when I thought back to when I was a child and I went to my grandparents every Saturday. My Grandad was a keen gardner and I used to love exploring the wonders of my Grandparents' back garden. Afternoons spent picking bowls and bowls of raspberries, gooseberries and blackberries and shaking the apples off all their trees. I was too little to cut up the rhubarb but I would follow my Grandad down to the very bottom of the garden and watch as he cut off long pieces ready to be made into a crumble or pie by my Granny. He can't garden as much now and the raspberry bushes are gone as they were too much for him to look after. But it is time to get my own green fingers out and sow some seeds once again.

Me and my mum took a trip to Homebase and came back well equipped. We bought and planted some strawberry plants into a special strawberry plant pot and I planted some courgette seeds in little pots to start them off. We are also going to plant some potatoes and hopefully some carrots too. Maybe I'll be the one making the pies this time round. We'll see!

The End of Year 2...

I can't believe it but I have pretty much finished my second year of my Illustration degree. Times flies when your having fun as they say! Our last project was to sum up what we had learnt over this semester. For me this term has been quite a poignant one as I have realised that the most important thing is not to label yourself. I became so frustrated with people trying to fit me into a box that I thought the lesson I have learnt is I am a designer and there are many strings to my bow. Here is how I chose to illustrate this...

I designed a mailer which, once opened reveals my contact details and a booklet that has two sections to it entitled, "I am a Graphic Designer who can illustrate," and "I am an illustrator who can design," highlighting both of my skills as a designer. I was really pleased with my design and especially the hands that hold in the booklet. I even created my own typography using collaged letters, which I used throughout the design. I hope you like it too!

Happy Mother's Day...

Hopefully everyone remembered to send their mums a little something at the weekend for Mother's Day! I wanted to make my mum a really nice card and decided to use my developing knife skills to cut out an intricate pattern. I was just doodling and drew out a rough design and then cut it out with my craft knife. I was really pleased with the result and my mum loved it too!