Monday 31 August 2015

Things that made me happy in August...

Wow, that time again...really?
What happened to you August, did I blink and miss it?
Here goes then, a little round up of all things good this month...



(photos above copyright of louise/loveprintstudio)

Amazed at...
that view...

Listened to...
Joss Stone - Lianne La Havas - Natalie Imbruglia - Ben Howard - Lana Del Rey
Jamie xx - Gemma Hayes - Aurora - Wild soundtrack

Feasted on...
too much New York food

Loving...
these beautiful coasters from Anthropologie

Buying...
What Katie Ate at the Weekend
The Great British Bake Off Celebrations
Jamie Olivers Everyday Super Food

Wanting...
this beautiful calendar from August & Oak etsy shop
everything in the OYOY Living Design AW15 catalogue
this outfit
these guys

Sharing...
this gorgeous jacket
these frozen berry soufflés

Reading...
The Rosie Project

Watching...
I love you man
Paddington
Trust the man
Fats & Furious 7
Second Best Marigold Hotel
Insurgent
Night at the Museum 3
Interstellar
(wow, lots of film watching this month...you can tell I was on a flight to and from New York and couldn't sleep!)

Inspired by...
the beautiful colours in this nursery
the new Ferm living collection

Following...
this pinterest account
Paper & Cloth on instagram!

Enjoying...
the Great British Bake Off

Favourite thing that happened...
New York of course!

So, that was a round up of my month,
how was yours?


x x x
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Friday 28 August 2015

Etsy shop find...a chat with Emma Block!

I'm talking to Emma Block in this months etsy shop find.
Emma is an illustrator from London and she creates the most beautiful artworks.
A self confessed lover of charity shops, tea, 1950's illustration and most importantly in her profession...very sharp pencils! 
Emma's work is inspired by the everyday; people she meets, old photos, vintage clothes and old films.
Following her successful flower alphabet, she's just created this fabulous 'Alphabet of Cake' print, an ode to the 'The Great British Bake Off' being back on our screens, yummy!

Emma currently has an offer running in her shop giving buyers 15% off orders over £25, by using code 'GBBO15'

So, this really is appropriate for this etsy interview...grab that cuppa, and a cheeky piece of cake (or two) and lets get to know Emma...



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

I have been pretty set on having a career in the arts since I finished my GCSEs. I did a BTEC in Art and Design instead of A levels, then went straight onto university where I gained a first in BA Illustration. 
I’ve never really had a proper job, when I left uni I worked in a biscuits factory for 7 hours and that was it. 
For me the key was to work professionally as an illustrator whilst still studying, and I started to sell my work when I was 17. 

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

There are so many illustrators and designer I love. 
Quentin Blake, Mary Blair, Miroslav Sasek and Maira Kalman are all design heroes of mine. 
I like to look for inspiration outside of illustration. I am inspired by travel, old films and vintage fashion amongst other things. 
After trawling through pinterest for too long, and seeing so many amazing illustrations, I feel a bit overwhelmed! 


3. Tell us about a typical day for you...


I work from a home studio. 
I start the day checking emails over tea and porridge and writing a to do list. 
I don’t normally feel very creative in the morning so I try to go to a pilates class and visit the Post Office then. 
After lunch with my boyfriend the proper work starts. This normally involves sitting at my desk for hours sketching, painting, editing on photoshop, replying to emails and updating social media. 
If I don’t have plans in the evening and I have lots to do I can work quite late, which I don’t mind because that’s when I feel most creative.

4. Can you give us an insight into your creative process?
I normally come up with an idea, and write down the gist of it in my notebook. 
I then usually do some research. 
My Floral Alphabet print took a lot of research, and I use pinterest to find reference images not google. 
For a project like my alphabet print it’s handy to store all the images on a pinterest board. After that I start sketching, sometimes in a sketch book but quite often on loose printer paper.  
I then use a light box to create the final painted illustration. I use a mixture of gouache, watercolour, coloured pencil and ink. 
normally take a few work in progress shots to post to instagram as I go along. 
I then scan it into photoshop and clean it up a bit.


5. What art do you have on your wall? 


A little bit of my work, a painting by my boyfriend, a painting by my grandpa, a portrait of me by Damien Florébert Cuypers and a signed Maira Kalman poster.




6. I love so many of your artworks; 
the flower shop, my wardrobe, your new floral alphabet print... 
but what’s been your most popular item for sale in your etsy shop? 
And also, your personal favourite?


My most popular print is my Flower Shop print, 
which is a piece I did four years ago but people still love it. 
I really like my new Floral Alphabet print, 
it was really fun to work on and I just love flowers.



7. What's your guilty pleasure?


Eating slices of frozen banana with peanut butter on top and watching Junior Master Chef.


8. What makes you laugh?


My boyfriend and his band. We've all known each other since the beginning of uni and they always make me laugh.





9. Do you follow any blogs? Which are your favourites?


Lots. 
I love The Lovely Drawer, Design Sponge, Design Love Fest, What Olivia Did and Wish Wish Wish.




10. Why do you like being an illustrator/designer? (in 10 words or less)


I get to do what I love all day. 




11. What’s your favourite book from your childhood? And the last book you read?

The Tiger that Came to Tea was a favourite when I was little. 
The last book I read was As I Walked out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee.


12. What are you working on currently? And any big plans for the coming year that you can share with us?


At the moment I’m working on some new stock for my shop, trying to get ready for Christmas. 
I’m currently loving teaching workshops with Quill, and I’m keen to teach more different types of workshops. 
I’m also working on a few book ideas and talking to publishers. 
My first major children’s book (written by Anne Michaels, published by Bloomsbury) is coming out in November which is very exciting. 



Thanks so much to Emma for taking some time out to share a bit of her world with us!
You can follow Emma here...


(all images copyright of Emma Block)

x x x
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Wednesday 26 August 2015

Three lovely things...

How adorable are these three little lovelies?

This beautiful handmade bowl in the form of a cute little cat (1) is by Clay Opera and you can see more of their work by visiting their etsy shop.

I'm loving this outfit combo (2) from des petits haute
That lovely doodle tee is available on their website, and how nice does it go with that soft pastel blue coat, a simple skirt and tights, yummy!
And it'll soon be the weather for it...

Those nails (3) would go very well with that outfit too, oooooh lovely
Find them, and other nail art ideas by following @yuqico on instagram



x x x

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Monday 24 August 2015

Take Four...gorgeous girly rooms

Oh, to be little again...
How about these for some seriously gorgeous girly havens?
Yes yes yes!



x x x

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Friday 21 August 2015

Colour crush...

Ooh its that time again, and no better time than a Friday for a colour crush post right?
I'm feeling some serious love for this colour combo at the moment, just gorgeous...

Happy weekend everyone!


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 

(clockwise from top left)

x x x

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Thursday 20 August 2015

Autumn / Winter 2017 Trends...

I'm sure many of you follow Emily Kiddys blog so will have seen her autumn/ winter trend boards already, but I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my little designs featured on her 'Happy Camper' board for a transitional boys story.
You can se more of Emilys trend direction here.
And see her trend pack available to buy here.


And here's my artwork...


And really, thinking about it, the speed this years going, it'll soon be October! 
Scary!

x x x


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Tuesday 18 August 2015

New York, New York!

We're back from New York!
Every time I visit this fabulous city, I'm always amazed by it; its hustle and bustle, the never-ending fast pace of it all, the beautiful skyline that you can never get bored of seeing, and this last trip over the pond was no exception.
Stunning views from the top of the Empire State building, strolling in Central Park on a ridiculously hot sunday afternoon, witnessing the memorial at the new One World Trade Centre, walking along the high line at dusk...

I love to visit and marvel at its splendour but I do also love to get back home.
I miss my home comforts, the quiet, and of course, our fluffy one...that face when I get home...

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, I'm back, so will be returning with some new colour crush posts and photos from my trip very soon.


(photo above copyright of louise/loveprintstudio)

x x x
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Wednesday 5 August 2015

Join me on bloglovin'...

I've been using bloglovin' to keep up to date with all my favourite blogs for a good few years now.
It's so easy to use and it's available on desktop, mobile, iPad, etc...
I probably use the app on my phone most of the time, and all it takes is a finger swipe to zip through all the posts in your feed.
You can even categorise blogs into groups, so if you just feel like reading some food blogs, you can, or if you need a bit of eye candy in your life, have a little nosey through some design blogs.
You can follow me here and why not get started and give bloglovin' a go?
To do just that, click here.

Here's a little snapshot of my page...



x x x

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Tuesday 4 August 2015

Paper & Cloth at Printsource...

It's that time again...we're heading off for New York New York!
Here's a little peek at the studio eflyer. 
Head over to the Paper & Cloth blog to read a little more...


(image copyright of paper & cloth design studio)

x x x

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Monday 3 August 2015

Monday moodboard...

A little bit of strawberries and green (sorry)
But it does make a lovely combo here...


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 

x x x

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