my illustration past & future.

i heart...


favourite friday.


apologies for the lateness - t'internet was down yesterday.

today i'm over at my mum's looking after the dog whilst she goes for a wee night out. so in a bid to tidy some of the vast randomness of bits in our loft, i took down a couple of boxes full of my things to sort out. they were full of old school jotters, diaries, photos, certificates but most of all stories & drawings...

robin story written age 5 & picture of granny, me & chickens drawn age 7.

my imagination was amazing when i was younger, i was constantly writing stories about adventures & drawing pictures of everything & anything, until i started high school. high school took all the fun out of writing, replacing exciting stories with critical reviews & when i had to choose whether to take music or art - i reluctantly chose music, even though i wanted to take both - drawing took a back step whilst i concentrated on 'important' subjects, silly boys & the general stress of being an awkward teenager.

but, recently illustration is something i would love to get into again, it's just knowing how/where to start, finding my own style & finding the time to sit down & concentrate on it.

until then, here's this week's favourite friday...

this awesome illustration by Hollie MacManus.

maybe one day i'll be able to draw something as good as that :)

xox.

i heart...my favourite place - update.

i heart...


being busy.

however, i've been so busy organising workshops, doing freelance work & getting ready for my upcoming stalls that i've unintentionally put the latest i heart... zine project on the back burner.
so.... you'll be happy to hear that i've extended the deadline to the 20th november so you have plenty of time to get your submissions ready :)

if you didn't know already the theme is...

& this zine is one with a difference. not only will it have pictures, it will have SOUNDS too!

entries are open to EVERYONE & ANYONE. i heart...  strongly believe that EVERYBODY has the ability to be creative, so it doesn't matter one bit whether you are a professional artist or someone that just doodles in their spare time, an art student or someone that's never picked up a pencil in their tod. ALL submissions are welcome.

all you have to do is CREATE an A6 piece which represents your favourite place. it could be the seaside, at a gig or even at your folks house watching corrie. then RECORD a sound that goes with your place (the sea, the crowd, ken & deirdre having yet another barney). then SEND these to:

iona@iheartdotdotdot.co.uk

OR

lodge 8

mains of garten farm

boat of garten

ph24 3by

successful submissions will be featured in a limited edition zine which will be sold on my online shop.

can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

xox.

newsletter giveaway!

i heart...


giveaways!

last month i sent out the first i heart... monthly newsletter, full to the brim with info on workshops, events, projects & a whole bunch more. & to say thank you to all you lovely people that have signed up for it, i'm going to do my first ever giveway! i'll pick one of our newsletter subscribers at random & this lucky duck will get to pick one of these cross-stitch badge sets to wing their way to them...

so if you would like to be in with a chance just pop your name and e-mail into this box...

add me to the i heart... monthly newsletter! * required
First name:
Last name:
Email *:
Twitter Name:	@

& keep those fingers crossed!

xox.

workshops sneaky peek.

i heart...

preparing for workshops.

& that is exactly what i've been doing for the last couple of days. incase you didn't know already, i am facilitating the Starting From Stitch workshop at Made In The Shade...

aaaand the Crafty Creatures workshop at The Life Craft...

so i've been busy ordering materials, writing up workshop plans, making booklets & crafting up some examples for the lovely craft beginners to work from. here's a wee swatch of what we will be making in our first workshops...

hand-sewn felt christmas decorations for the kids & hand-sewn fabric dolls for the adults!

xox.

brrrr!

i heart...


favourite friday


it's safe to say winter is here, there's been snow with us already! so i've spent the last couple of days cooped up in my wee craft room with the heater full blast & a big jumper on, making some cross-stitch christmas cards (more exciting news on them later...). the thing i love about winter is being able to wrap up warm with tights & long socks, coats, hats, scarves & gloves. well, this week's favourite friday is just the thing to keep all your wintery wears tidy...

you can buy this beautifully crafted 'Into The Pines' hat rack on My Poppet, where you'll find a whole host of lovely bits & bobs.

xox.

spilling the beans part 3.

i heart...


The Life Craft.


so here comes another bit of news from my spilling the beans spree! every friday, starting from the 5th november & till the 10th december, i will be tutoring a kids craft class at the wonderful The Life Craft!

the classes will teach the children the basics in hand-sewing, cross-stitch, knitting & will have them proudly taking home felt xmas decorations, jotter cozies, cross-stitch badges, bow hairbands/bow ties, knitted owlets as well as getting involved in a group project at the end. i really can't wait!

i'm so so so excited about this, i have worked with children for as long as i can remember & absolutely love their enthusiasm & imagination. to be able to teach a group of them how to do something i love is like a dream come true :)

if you would like to book these workshops for your young'ins then send a wee e-mail to the lovely Vonnie - vonnie@thelifecraft.co.uk for more info.

xox.

done!

i heart...

finally finishing a big project!

my first project for Olive Grove Records was to knit limited edition CD covers for Randolph's Leap. i have to admit it did take me a lot longer than i expected & knitting 20 squares did get pretty tedious BUT i am very pleased with the result...

...i hope they like it too!

xox.

badges! updated.

i heart...

badges!

as i mentioned in a previous post, i've finally saved up pennies to buy myself a badge machine! so if you're looking for someone to make you up some badges? i'm your gal.

you can use your own artwork & as many different designs as you like, you could even use fabric, comics, pages from books, whatever you want! & i'll work my magic to turn them into awesome button badges for these very fair prices...

all you need to do is send me a wee email to: iona@iheartdotdotdot.co.uk telling me how many badges you'd like & what you'd like to use to make them. if you want to use your own artwork, i've made a template for you...

then bish, bash, bosh i'll put them together & send you them in the post!

xox.

envelopes of randomness.

i heart...


favourite friday.


earlier this week i got a lovely envelope full of goodies from Jenny Robins after winning a twitter giveaway. the package was full to the brim with random bits & bobs, including a gun shaped hand warmer, a fish cut out, a leaf & an beautiful illustrated postcard!

but my favourite out of everything was these two zines & this week's favourite friday...

these comically cute zines are called  'What Birds Are Really Thinking' and the other 'Because You're Worth It' & you can buy them both here.

and remember! if you would like your work featured in my next collaborative zine, have a looky here.

xox.

badges!

i heart...

badges!

today the postie brought me a big package & inside was my badge maker! i've been saving the pennies for a while to buy one of these bad boys & now i have it. i thought it might be complicated to actually use the machine, but nope, i made my first badge within seconds!

so now not only does i heart... make crafty bits & bobs, organise projects, take workshops & do freelance crafting - we make badges too!

i will have a proper page up for it soon (next few days are being spent knitting like i've never knitted before to get some freelance work done) but until then, if anyone is interested in me making them up some badges please drop me an e-mail to iona@iheartdotdotdot.co.uk

xox.

birthday.

i heart...


favourite friday.

i don't heart however, having a bit too much to drink on my birthday night out, tripping, falling straight onto my knees & waking up in excruciating pain & realising my knees have now swollen to the size of the sun. they are feeling a bit better today but yesterday wasn't much fun, hence favourite friday being a day late. i'm glad i can still retain so much class in my mid-twenties! dearie me.

anyway, besides banging my knees into oblivion i had a lovely birthday & got this baby from the boy...

i LOVE it. still waiting on some film to arrive but i can't wait to try it out. i love the thought of going back to when you would take a photo & have no idea how it was going to turn out, no looking at a preview & being 'i look awful, delete it & take another one', just capturing a moment exactly as it was at that moment without trying to make it into something it wasn't.

this week's favourite friday is also retro camera themed...

it is this awesome polaroid keyring from Cut Copy Create, the perfect accessory for any budding photographers out there.

xox.

spilling the beans part 2.

i heart...

spilling some more beans!

if you've signed up for my monthly newsletter (if you haven't you can do so here & get a 10% discount on my online shop) you will have read about how excited i am to announce that i will be holding some beginner craft classes at the Made In The Shade barras hq!

so if you don't know a purl from a pearl or a back-stitch from a stitch-up, then this is the workshop for you. the classes will teach you all the basics in hand sewing, embroidery & knitting, making you the master crafter you've always dreamt of being! plus it's b.y.o.b.! what better way to spend a friday night than crafting up some handmade handicrafts to be proud of whilst sipping on some wine & chatting to some lovely folks. 

you can join the facebook event here & if you would like any more info just drop an e-mail to the lovely Made In The Shade girlies to: bookings@wearemadeintheshade.com

xox.

autumn.

i heart...


favourite friday.

well, its october. how it's managed to be october already i'm not quite sure however, mental.
this october is going to be a busy behind the scenes one for me. i've got new bits to make, more stock to make for the stalls i've got at Supermercado & Magpie Market in november, i've got some very special CD covers to make for Olive Grove Records, plus i'll be sorting through submissions for the new zine project - i heart...my favourite place aaaand i'll be getting myself ready for workshops that I'll be taking in november too (more details on this soon :))
but during all of that i hope i'll have some spare time to enjoy the autumn outside, collect conkers, snuggle up when it's too cold & wrap up warm in some lovely autumn-y attire.

which brings us to this week's favourite friday, what better way to keep your legs nice & toasty as well as looking amazing than wearing these...

...moustache tights designed by Tights For Sore Eyes. They have a whole heap of different designs to make your legs happy & warm this autumn.

xox.