Instagram snaps...September 2014

Woweee...September really was a food filled month!

Muffins, granola, mini victoria sponges, banana bread, graze deliveries.

And other than that, we went to see Lee Evans on his Monster Tour and had a little fluffy visitor for a week whilst his Mom and Dad were off on their hollibobs.

Hope you all had a good month!

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Mini colour crush...

Todays mini colour crush features the beautiful work of Monica Ramos...

(image above copyright of Monica Ramos)

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Etsy shop find...a chat with Jill McDonald!

I'm really happy to say I'm featuring a designer today whose work I've admired since my University days, and was over the moon when she agreed to take part in the etsy interview posts, yay!

So, up today...Jill McDonald!

I love her work...so bold and colourful with a lovely naive quality to it, perfect for kids.

Her etsy shop stocks growth charts, wall art and prints, and many can be personalised for your little one. 

Here goes...

Let's get to know Jill.

1. Can you tell us a bit about you and your background...  

Since I was a little girl I always made art. I am dyslexic & found school difficult. Making art was my happy place where I was content and felt free.

Early on it was clear I would be going to art school. I ended up at Rhode Island School of Design where I majored in textile design.  After graduating I moved to N.Y.C and was a print stylist for Baby Gap & Gap Kids.  

Missing my family, longing for some green space & a little more personal space I decided to move back to Kansas City, Missouri where I grew up.  

There I got a job with Hallmark Cards as an illustrator.  

Three years later I grew restless I wanted to try it on my own.  

I am happy to say that was over 10 years ago.  

So all & all it worked out!

2. Who is your design hero and how do you stay inspired?

I have many design heroes... 

Mary Blair, Henry Matisse, Alexander Girard, Picasso, Marc Chagall, The Provensons

The older I get the more amazed I am at how much talent there is in the world- past & present!

I stay inspired by being plugged into my life & the world around me.  

I find inspiration in my everyday life & do my best to bring my point of view to my art.

3. What books/ magazines are currently on your coffee table?

We have tons of children's books on the coffee table.  

I take a weekly trip to the library & grab a new batch to read to my son Luca.

4. What art do you have on your wall?

We are building a house & have been living in our studio space for the past year! 

(it's been cramped) We will move in to our new place in about 3 months & 

I can't wait!!  

My husband Antonio takes a lot of family pictures.  

At our last house we had a large gallery wall up our stair way filled with special

moments of our life & our loved ones.  

We mixed in some paintings (by some friends & myself) ,along with some inspirational art - my I Think I Can poster & 

a quote I like about how a family makes a house home, A be BOLD poster. 

We plan to do this again. 

I like how it gives me a boost & makes me remember what's really important to me.

5. What’s the most popular item for sale in your etsy shop?

The I Think I Can poster has been a big success!

6. What are you working on currently? And any big plans for the coming year?

I am working on a new picture book for Barefoot Books & a board book series for Random House Kids.

I am writing the board books as well so this is the first time I'll be writing & illustrating for a major publisher.

Super exciting! 

(and a little scary)

My big plan for the year is to find time to sit & paint for a couple months.  

The goal here being to create some exciting new starting points for my art.

My schedule is a little  gobbled up with lots of previously scheduled commitments - which is good but & I'm anxious to sit back down again with no project in hand & just see what happens.  

We exhibit at Surtex every year but I'm considering trying the licensing show for the first time in 2015.  

That would be a new show for me & I find it's always good to push myself out of my comfort zone a bit.

7. What’s the most rewarding thing about being a designer/illustrator?

For me the most rewarding part is that when the work comes from you it's your personal journey.

I love being able to create things & am always so honoured when I get an e-mail or hear that someone has a piece of art I made,

or loves to read a book I illustrated to their little one before bed.  

I feel very grateful that I get to do what I love & to know that there

is an audience for that.

8. You create designs for baby, kids, stationery, scrapbooking, etc… whats your favourite area to design for and why?

I wouldn't say I have a favourite.  

What I do know is that I love building a collection of art that dances around one another.

I like building a world, once I crack that code I can spin it in a 100 different ways.  

So whether that happens to be a book, a fabric collection,

bedding, a stationary offering it doesn't matter to me it's the building of a big idea that lives in lots of different ways that gets me really excited!

9. Away from etsy... you founded Jill McDonald Design in 2004. 

How has the design industry changed over those 10 years, and how do you feel your work has moved on/changed in this time?

When I began in 2004, buyers would purchase art because they liked it sometimes without a specific spot in mind- they just loved the piece. (bigger budgets)

Now buyers are much more selective, they'll need a specific spot for the art in their line, they'll need it to be a specific number of colors, the price is much more sensitive than it use to be.  

Over all now the buyers budget has shrunk for the most part, I think there are less in house designers to make changes that use to not be an issue.  

Another change I've noticed from 10 years ago is that there a way more designers.  

Which provides a bigger pool to pick from.

At the beginning we- (did I mention my sweet husband works with me) decided to sell outright.  I knew I needed to make a living & we weren't sure how all this would work.  Today I primarily license my art but having so much of it there are certain things that make sense to sell outright.  

Over time I have been given more opportunities to create collections & I now have my own gift line for kids produced by C.R. Gibson so that's been a dream come true!!!

10. What are your top three blogs?

How about podcasts instead?  

I like...

1. Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me (NPR) 

2. WTF with Marc Maron (I think the struggle of a comedian & a freelance artist are quite similar) 

3. Freakonomics

Looking at blogs doesn't put my head in the right place.  

Can leave me second guessing myself -So I don't.

Thanks to Jill for letting us into her world.

You can follow what Jill's up to here...

facebook | website | blog | pinterest | instagram 

(all images above are copyright of Jill McDonald)

x x x

Take Four...

It's no secret...I love a good ol' stripe. 

Simple

Classic

Sometimes mixing it up with a printed scarf or skirt of late, lovely!

Here's a few stripe related bits and bobs I'm loving right now...

Midi skirt and stripe top

Jacket and stripe top

Nails

Stripes and leopard print

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This & That...

Simply, this...

with that.

Happy Friday!

Outfit

Nails

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Mini colour crush...

Ooh a yummy colour crush post of the mini variety today, 

with sea glass as the inspiration. 

Image source - unknown

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Paper & Cloth at Indigo...

P&C are heading off to Paris today to showcase the Autumn/Winter 15 collections at Premier Vision.

Here's a little peek at the eflyer.

Head on over to the Paper and Cloth blog for more info.

(image above copyright of Paper & Cloth Ltd)

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Vegan banana loaf...

Not that you ever really need an excuse to make banana bread,
but when I spot those few spotty brown bananas in the bowl,
there's only one thing to do, right?

I came across a lovely recipe recently and this was the ideal time to give it a go.
Here's a link over on OH NO Rachio!
It's vegan banana loaf, so no mounds of naughty butter, but instead uses a little sunflower or vegetable oil, whichever's preferred.
The recipe calls for 50g sultanas and the same weight in chopped dates, but I threw in a few more along with a handful of pecans, and also reduced the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp.

The result was one extremely yummy moist loaf that didn't last long at all.
It was great for a quick breakfast or an afternoon snack with a cuppa, yum.

Go on...give it a go.
Enjoy!

(all images above are copyright of louise/loveprintstudio)

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Colour crush...

This weeks weather has been pretty lovely here in the UK considering the last week of August was a bit of a disappointment.

So, before we lose sight of any last signs of summer, 

here's a nice, bright colour crush post for you.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

(clockwise from top left)

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Moodboard Monday!

Well, it's Monday..so what better reason for a mood board...

Hope you have a good week.

Poppy seed heads

Abstract spotty

Wall detail

Rose ice-cream

Beautiful periwinkle hair

Blackberry sorbet

Sequined dress

Fill your heart

Little girl

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Breakfast muffins...

I made some lovely muffins recently, perfect for those mornings when you just want to grab something and get on with the day.

They're full of good stuff; bananas, blueberries, seeds, oats, wholemeal flour...

Here's a link to the original recipe.

I added in a few more blueberries, used pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds and flaxseeds on top and reduced the amount of cinnamon by half just because I don't like too strong a taste of cinnamon.

(image above copyright of louise/loveprintstudio blog)

* Makes 6/7 muffins *

(depending on the size of your muffin cases)

- 1 large egg

- 75ml natural/ greek yoghurt

- 25ml rapeseed/sunflower oil (whichever's preferred)

- 50g apple sauce

- 1 small ripe banana

- 2 tbsp honey

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- 100g wholemeal flour

- 25g rolled oats (can use gluten free if preferred)

- 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 100g blueberries

- 2 tbsp seeds

- Heat oven to gas mark 4

- Line your muffin tin with 6/7 cases

- Mix together the egg, yoghurt, oil, apple sauce, banana, honey and vanilla in a jug

- Mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and blueberries in a bowl

- Pour the wet ingredients in the jug into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix to a batter

- Divide the mixture between the cases

- Bake for 25 mins or until a knife inserted comes out clean

- Leave to cool on a wire rack

- Enjoy!

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Hello September...

Helloooooo there September!

Hope you're a goodie...

(image above copyright of louise/loveprintstudio blog)

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Instagram snaps...August 2014

Well well...into September we go.
White rabbits!

But before we go too head-on, here's August in instagram form.

Hope you had a good month!

Mine went a bit like this...

It seems a lot of my month involved food... (obviously right, why wouldn't it?)
Pancakes at The Cupping Rooms in New York, a must on every trip.

Lots of new cooking books to add to the shelf; Jamie's Comfort Food, the new Bake Off book, The Green Kitchen amongst others, eek!
Running out of room...new shelf required soon me thinks.

I made some glorious granola too, super healthy, vegan, all those yummy super foods included
(recipe coming soon)

Watermelon smoothies, tick

Watermelon, strawberry and lime infused water, tick

We had a little venture across the pond for Printsource.
A little shattered on our return but who better to spend a couple of chilled sleepy days with..my fluffy boy curled up beside me.

Ooh and the new collections from P&C for Lilipinso were launched, yay!
And I finally got around to attacking my studio walls with the stickers from the previous collection.

It officially got cold at the end of the month too, so the novelty socks were out, piggys!
Love these guys

And tea hearts...not much else to say.

x x x