I have moved!

I HAVE MOVED! - NEW SITE - NOW OPEN!
For the latest on what I'm doing please follow the links to www.amyblackwell.co.uk. So long Blogger :( sniff, it's been fun while it lastest... sigh

week 2 of the September Sale!

The Print's up for grabs at Half Price - until Sunday!

doodle of a doodler

Well, why not eh? Great collection building up on flickr. Miss Correll leads the way ;)

BANG! - September Sale has begun

It's official folks. The September Sale has started. Above we have the creatures featured this week. They will be available at half price until Sunday. On Sunday I'll change the selection of prints that are on offer so keep your eyes peeled!

oops

Well, I accidentally went shopping. It happens. It was good :) Above is a beautiful new jacket I found in Debenhams. I bought it, gulp. The picture above doesn't do it much justice because it's a much more vibrant mustard yellow. I'm in love with it and it fits like a dream, so why not hey? I plan to change the buttons because the ones it come with are too heavy and they droop - I'm having none of that. I found some nice big plain matte black ones to replace the droopy ones. Yes!

I now own my first (not my last, that's for certain) piece of vintage reclaimed jewellery by Liam. I'm sorry the picture's a bit blurry, very low light levels (autumns nearly here). I'll try and update it in the morning if the sun comes out.

And lastly I found the perfect pair of golden earrings by pebble (Jayne). Again poor photo by me, sorry sorry sorry, but I'm sure you get the idea. I love her work. I bought a custom necklace from her last year and it's one of my favourite possessions. If you're local you can find her work in the Nottingham Craft Mafia shop - 'Get Made!' too.

Right enough of my yellow themed post. No more shopping for me... hm... I plan to spend the evening curled up with my book or watching Humphrey Bogart films. You can't get much better than that ;)

SEPTEMBER SALE STARTS NEXT WEEK

As promised, some more information about the Sale - Featured in my Etsy shop only!

For every week in September (starting Tuesday 1st) I will be selecting 15 prints at random and making them available to you for half price.

Every week will have a new selection of prints to chose from so if you see a bargain you like, snap it up before it goes.

I will refresh and update the sale items on Sundays up until the month ends on Wednesday 30th.

yay!

Sainsbury's = Pizza and Roses

First of all here's a new print I'm excited to share with you. Called "Abstract Kitty". It measures 8 inches by 10 and is in the shops, now! I've been doing a lot of abstract squiggling recently. There's something incredibly satisfying about doing some blob like doodles, scanning them instantly and colouring away. The crazy coloured background above was a very happy accident. I've fallen in love with a handful of colours and seem to be using them in everything I do - this picture incorporates the lot. The cat's based on Trent, I couldn't resist. I'm cat mad at the minute. I want a cat. I want Trent but I don't think he'd like living with me. He thinks I'm his long lost cat sibling and spends most of his time practicing 'attack' moves on my ankles. (I use the word 'practicing' but really, he's got it down to a T)

We went for pizza in the evening and came home with pot plants too. Happy bonus I must say. I'm still trying to think of a good name for it (the plant not the pizza) Any Suggestions?

Note paper

I keep coming across various accessories designed to look like classic sheets of note paper and they look beautiful. So I thought I'd show you some examples. I've already featured number 4 in my last 'covet' post but I love the piece so much I couldn't resist featuring it once again (one day, I will own one).

1. Custom index card pouch by Christinas.
2. Take Note wallet by Luxfordst.
3. Collage ruled pocket book by QuietDoing.
4. Custom embroidered note by Dashofmagic.

Have a nice browse and ps - photo credits go to the sellers :)

Good Morning :)

Another 2 LARGE prints have made their way into the shops so please go ahead and take a peek. It's been so good getting up and getting on with things in the morning. It's also been very puzzling. For the past 2 days I've woken up under the false impression it's alarmingly late in the day, I've even glanced at my watch and through my blurry eyes I've translated 8's into 10's and 12's into 58's. Yes, it's been very confusing, but on the plus side that guilty 'sleeping in' feeling has catapulted me out of the bedroom and into work mode. 3 new prints later and some new treats on their way (I can mention them now because they're being made as we speak, horray!) I feel like these morning's have been 3 steps closer to beating the rut. Go Team!

About the new print (above): Title: Urban Forest. Available in 2 colour schemes, pink and black (please specify in "note to seller" part of transaction which print you wish to receive, you can email me too that's fine. If it's left blank I'll send the black one) For Sale in both shops (etsy and folksy)

Today I have one more day of work before I have 3 days off again. Aside from getting addicted to lost (finally) I've been a heavy reader and I'm considering beginning the woolen Christmas prezzies. I know I know it's a long way off, even halloween prep seems excessive, but socks won't make themselves... and it will feel good to know you're on top of things when the time comes, right?

Now, shall I risk having a super speedy shower? or wait for the postman that might never be?

Where We Live

New LARGE print now up for grabs in both shops (etsy and folksy)! Yesterday I had an ace start to the day making it. 4 episodes of lost, 3 mugs of tea, 2 ham sandwiches and a chocolate biscuit = "Where We Live".

I'm currently faffing with new pieces of work as I type so this will be a short post for now. I'm really excited to say that there is going to be another large print on it's way very very soon and some other treasures, which I won't go into details about because they're still being cooked up by the little grey cells.

Anyway, enjoy your Tuesday.

Snaps from our Bakewell Adventure

Finally managed to upload some new greenery snaps to flickr. Enjoy. It was a very very fun day :)

mmmm

These shoes are now on my feet. I love them dearly but I do plan to take them off before I get into bed. But I will put them back on as soon as I'm up, showered and dressed tomorrow morning... sigh...

We Are... HAPPY!

5 days ago Yaelfran got in touch and asked if I'd be up for participating with a fantastic new project. I'm pleased to say I met the deadline! If you luurve colouring in as much as me then treat yourself to a copy of this beautiful new colouring-in book. It will be a monthly publication. This month's topic is 'Happy'. Featuring beautiful work by these talented folk (check out their etsy stores) and of coruse if you grab a copy you will be able to see what I contributed :

Gemmabear
Danitashop
Ubiki
Annarubyking
Stephaniefizer
Bubbo
Benconservato
Michelemaule
Tummymountain
Prettylittlethieves
Multiplepersonality
Yaelfran
Ohmycavalier

CARDS 3 for 2 until Sunday 16th August!

6 Shiny new cards up for grabs in the shops, at last! As a special treat, for this week only, they're 3 for the price of 2! Purchase 2 cards through etsy and include the title of the 3rd card in the "Notes to Seller" part of your purchase and all 3 will surf their way to your doorstep. EASY!

Offer ends at Midnight next Sunday (16th August), so get in there quick folks!

At Home On The Sea

I have some new things to share with you. Above is a new print which is now up for grabs in the shops. It's titled "At home on the sea" and measures 8" x 10". Printed on archival watercolour paper. Will be sent out signed and sealed snuggly in a hardback envelope, accompanied with one of my 'fresh off the press' moo cards. I love Moo.

Down below we have some serious card making sessions on the go. I've been supplying cards to a couple of shops recently and after a lot of pondering I have decided it is nearly time to share these treats with you online. So far the themes are birthdays, hello's and random. I might branch out I might not. I'll keep you posted for when they hit etsy and folksy.

PS - Remember the Printer hiccup give-aways? I got more. Email me you address if you desire one. (I got millions, please desire one)

Good Afternoon Mr Postman

Today some treasures I've been eagerly waiting have arrived. Above is the beautiful book illustrated by Sun Young Yoo. The Red Shoes - a Hans Christian Andersen classic. I stumbled across it on the blog Book by it's cover, which is a wonderful site for opening your eyes to some of the most beautiful books out there. I didn't think it was possible but it's even more stunning in the flesh. I'm very fond of collecting beautifully illustrated children's books, so much so I need more book shelves.... sigh.

Below is another gem of a purchase. I mentioned a while back about being obsessing over fonts and writing at the moment. This book should do the trick. There's something really theraputic looking through giant books that delve into artist sketchbooks and playing with text. I can look at them for hours... and I plan to take this to work and do just that :) - Talking about work, after my shift I plan on going to see an 11pm screening of Moon by Mr Zow-I mean Duncan Jones. Robots, spaceships, THE MOON, Klint Mansel, trouble, coughsamrockwellcough - Yus!

Blossom

I've been playing around with photoshop this morning accompanied by a mug of tea and the sound of rain pelting against the windows. Never been more thankful for the rain, it's been so hot these past few days and I started to resemble a dribbly sticky mess of a human at work. Here's a hoping we have a break from the sun! (just a mini break mind you)

Anyway, I thought I would show you what I was getting up to. Above is the result of a random doodle session I had yesterday when I was wrapped around a fan frantically trying to cool down. It's just a little something, but most things need to start off small. I'm in the process of trying to come up with a decent selection of cards for the near future (I hope). Apart from writing 'happee Birfdeee" in the same font every 5 minutes overall I'm not making much progress. Fingers crossed folks!

I might go out and treat myself to a ginger bread latte... mmmmmm

The New Forest

The New Forest is now available in both online shops! Enjoy!

29 degrees... I'm melting...

objects of desire

I wanted to share with you a treasure I came across last week (possibly the week before). A beautiful old printing block I found in a vintage shop in town. The only draw back to this find was I had previously been to the library and filled my bag with about 4 (huge) books, oops. So for the rest of the day I was dragging my bags around Nottingham. (luckily the printing block is quite small) My shoulders still hate me.

Below are some treasures I find my self swooning over on a regular basis.


1. Custom embroidered note by - DashOfMagic, 2. Summery pink sandals by - DearGoldenVintage, 3. Gocco print by - Katep, 4. Felt accessory by - KateBroughton, 5. Felted slippers by - FrenchPressKnits, 6. Custom cottages by - LittlePinkHouse, 7. Book plates by - TheLittleFox, 8. Showcap necklace by - ZhivanaDesigns, 9. Vintage Brooch by - CharacterPants.

Ps/ Photo credits go to the sellers listed above :)

Make Tea Not War!

The tea party was this afternoon and we all had such a nice time. Thanks to all who showed up and ate cake and slurpped their tea with us. The tea cup prints are still up for sale on etsy so grab them while you can because they'll only be up for another week! It was a day for chatting and salad cream. I love SALAD CREAM! Yum... and on that note. I'm off to watch blur on the tele.

Night Night

badge sets

Just a little note: New badge sets are coming soon. They will be available at the Sunday Tea party/craft market. enjoy :)

2 New Mini Prints

Finally, some new prints to share :)
2 new mini prints now up for grabs on etsy.

I'm completely head over heals for the pink ish one. Something about his expression seems to fit so many different emotions. I'm very pleased indeed and I hope you enjoy it too :)

Update on the fair this Sunday. (cough SUNDAY 28TH JUNE cough) I've been making prints alllllll morning ready for the event (Yes It's 1:30 in the afternoon now and I am still in my pjs). I plan to eat cake and drink tea and talk nonsense with lots of lovely people. Come down and be one of those people. You can still buy the charity print online (available for a limited time only) here. Some will be available at the fair (money raised through them and through the event will go towards the chairty RapeCrisis). Also there will be some random mini prints and new badge sets launched. so come feast your eyes on some of Nottinghams treasures and feast your belly on them cakes we keep talking about ;)

see you Sunday!

ps/ Big thank you to the 'twitter shout out' that happened last night. Flattered to hear such kind words.

inspiration

I came across this treasure trove of a book. If any of you folks need a little cheering up or visual yumminess or just fancy spending some of those hard earned pennies on something beautiful, ta daaa!

Shall I? Shan't I?

I'm obsessing over fonts and scribbling at the minute. I can't decide if I should make this into a print though?

What do you think?

hm...

psssst!

Make Tea Not War - Charity print available online NOW!

For those who can't make it to the event on June 28th but want to contribute, treat yourself (and your walls) to a copy of the print!

It will be on sale at the tea party for 10 English Pounds. 8 of these English Pounds will go to charity :)

printer hiccup give away! - UPDATED

Hello folks.

I've been spring/summer cleaning my desk and it turns out I have so many prints with slight blotches or printer mistakes. Some of them are testers and practically perfect except on different paper. Anyway, I've been asking if people want to give them new homes for free on twitter :) It breaks my heart to just throw them out when they could be enjoyed.

ps/ I won't send anything out that's got giant printer destruction so don't panic, you won't receive a chewed up inky piece of paper ;)

***Overwhelming response! Thank you all those who got in touch about printer hiccups. Make sure you've emailed me your addresses and I'll get some packaged up and on their way to you next week. For now I think I've run out but I'm sure there will be more in the future. I'll keep you all posted as it's taken a weight off my mind (and desk and bin). You're all stars!***

Tea Party in Sneinton!

June 28th (Sunday) - BE THERE! Drink tea, shop, eat lots of cake and have fun :) (for more info click here)

The Diary

Absent minded doodling comes so smoothly. Intentional drawing projects are a whole different ball game. The rut has returned... I hope it won't last too long...

lunch, weddings, ikea

The picture of lunch is mainly for my benefit, to remind me that food doesn't have to be potato based or bread based or at work. Cheese is something I can't say no to though, so cheese based is always welcome. Anyway, you know it's summer when the salads come tumbling off the shelves into your shopping basket. Before you know it your chomping away like a buck-tooth rabbit savoring every crunch. Apart from salads, sunshine (and the 'overheating' feeling that accompanies the sunshine) weddings are also a big give away that summer's on the doorstep. These last few days we drove up to the Lake District to see my friend Charlie on her wedding day. Below is a snap of the happy duo. It was a perfect break. Not only was the wedding beautiful, seeing friends was another treat and being surrounded by such beautiful sights was breathtaking.



Example A (above) - Beautiful surroundings.
Example B (below) - The place called home (for 2 nights only). The inn on the lake, Ullswater.