Illustrators...

I saw an illustration on the front of a magazine for students in Edinburgh, that I loved. It was by an illustrator called David Galletly so popped on his website... http://www.davidgalletly.com/index.php he's got quite a quirky style but his drawings are pretty cool!

I was also on the BBC website this morning and they had a lovely illustration for the clocks going back. It was done by a guy called Bill Bragg. His website is quite unusual, quite different to the image I saw but take a look there's quite a bit on it once you navigate your way around! http://www.legun.co.uk/index.php (just click on one of the links)

Chicken Paprikash...

I love cooking so much and I think there's nothing better than a good hearty meal to warm you up now that Winter is knocking at our doors! I was flicking through my recipe scrapbook the other weekend and came across one of my favourite recipes for a Hungarian chicken dish called, "Chicken Paprikash." It's a gorgeous dish and so easy to make so give it a go! This recipe serves 6 but you can alter it slightly to serve a smaller number. In the original recipe it also uses jointed meat but I found it easier and just as nice to use chicken breast.

Ingredients:
5-6 chicken breasts cut up into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
15g butter/marg
2 onions
1 clove of garlic
2-3 tbsp sweet paprika
1tsp hot paprika
1 tbsp plain flour
3 tomatoes (cored, deseeded and finely chopped)
350ml chicken stock
2 red peppers
1 small handful of parsley leaves finely chopped
(or a generous sprinkle of dried flat leaf parsley!)
140ml sour cream

Method:
Season the pieces of chicken with salt and pepper. Warm the oil and butter in either a large, heavy-bottomed casserole dish or I like to use a wok. Cook the chicken until golden brown (you may need to do this is batches) and then transfer to a large plate or bowl.

Once all the chicken is done, put the onions in the same pan and sauté over a low heat until softened and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika and flour, and stir for a couple of minutes, being very careful not to scorch the paprikas. Stir in the tomatoes and pour in the stock.

Now return the browned chicken to the pan, bring to a simmer, and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Add the peppers and parsley and simmer, partially covered, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has thickened. Stir a ladleful of the hot cooking liquid into the sour cream, then pour the lot back into the pot. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. I like to serve mine with rice (white or brown) and a piece of toasted pita bread.

It was so delicious and a well deserved treat after a day of project work for me and my Uni wife Jen!

Happy Birthday Elspeth...

It's my friends birthday today so I made a little card which I popped in the post yesterday. I just used collage to create a picture of a monkey. I also enclosed a Wagon Wheel in her card and set her the challenge of...at the ripe old age of 21, can she still fit a whole one in her mouth? Its quite a sight to see I can assure you! But she can do it, I've seen it with my own eyes!

My Little Felt Cubes

About a year ago I started making some little felt cubes. They are very happy chappy's and are very peaceful. But be careful you might wake them!

I have been lucky enough to do a couple of commissions including a pair of cubes as a birthday present for the girlfriend of my univeristy tutor. I also got the opportunity to make a cube for the christening of Ruby the daughter of another one of my university tutors.

I continue to make and sell my cubes using a variety of found materials and fabrics. Take a peek!

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Second Project is done and dusted too! Our brief was to design a leaflet for the Edinburgh Fringe to advertise a selection of music acts. The format of the leaflet was entirely left up to you and any imagery you used had to be created by you. Here is my finished design.

Beggarstaff Brothers

Our first project of the year at Uni was to research a designer who had had a significant influence on the world of Graphic Design and produce an editorial spread about them. I pulled the Beggarstaff Brothers out of the hat and I hold my hands up, I had never heard of them! They were basically the brothers in law, James Pryde and William Nicholson and they worked together producing poster design around the 1870's. It's kinda of a shame though because they weren't really that successful back then but they've left there mark on design to this day with their pioneering use of bold block colour and collage my favourite! Anywho here's my spread ideas, I really hope the simplicity is a true reflection of their minimalist yet wonderful style.