Phew it has been a busy week,

 I'm working on some artwork for student hand outs,

 (Fresher's week will be here before i know it!!!)

But i have been lucky enough to have received quite a few of my Etsy purchases this week, including this gorgeous felt birthday cake from lookmamamade, i think it is marketed as play food but i have a friend who has got a big birthday  coming up soon and i thought it would be cool to have a cake to keep, although now i think about it, a cake you can eat might be better?

Also i got this fantastic wee felt lollipop as a freebie and if i stitch a pin on the back then a wee brooch is made!!!  Freebies are great, have you gotten any good ones lately?

I also received two Hummel plates i purchased from Jenscloset.

She was very kind and helpful to me and made the very generous offer of 10% off any purchase YOU make  just by mentioning " Jennifer from Littlebirdesigns"

So shop to your hearts content : )

And Last but by no means least i got my swimmy from Benconservato, 

he can be friends with my other swimmy from Feltathome. 

Not ten minutes from my house, along the edge of the river and 

i find myself cycling in the most glorious sun dappled woods. 

I only met few people out so early in the morning, but isn't it funny 

if the sun is shining everyone is willing to smile a little more. 

 

It started as a comment from my niece, which made me laugh,

"shall we put the fish in the sink while we change their water?"

which took root in my brain and became a sketch,

and after a few hours cutting linoleum,

finally became a print!

(please note; no goldfish were harmed in the production of this print!)

just a tiny little Woo Hoooooo,

my treasury made the front page 

and two of the items in it have sold!!!!

i've made a couple of substitutes,

My good friend helen over at ZukZuk, points out to me that over at blackoutwell they have a sale on, but i cannot seem to figure it out? perhaps i am too late and have missed the sale? but any excuse to show some of her lovely charactors!

i saw a post recently from etsy admin asking for opinions on changes we would like to see in  your favourites section. I am a big fan of etsy and believe they do do their best but this is the one area i would like to see changes in soon. Mostly cos my favourites list is a bit of a jumble and sometimes i just cannot find what i am looking for in it!

Today i thought i would share with you some of my favourites,

including this "sleeping snow leopard"  by dsudyka,

and from the top left, green pleated top-Justvic,

Nori-neikodesigns, 

Blue and Yellow Birdhouse-pfleghaar, 

Aqua Polka dot Pitcher- maryjudy,

UpCycled Tin Can Lanterns-UpCycleMart,

Believe desk topper-dgordon.

Just a few of the prints i long for, 

 little blue dog-blackoutwell,   Lovers-tascha,    orka-vizart

weathergirl-kocorococo.

and don't get me started on jewellery,

earrings-suuskeramiek

bangle-oxhillcrafts

bracelet-thegirlwithacurl

earrings-alisomarworks

earrings-Luniticart 

necklace-mariposa

Two of the latest linoprints to be added to my shop. 

These two pieces are slightly different in that they also included some collage material. 

The brown houses are pages torn from old journals.

Well after 10 days of breath hold and fingers crossing 

the give away of one of my linoprints has come to a close. 

All the names went into a hat, 

and one lucky winner was pulled out.

So who is the winner i hear you asking?

well, drum roll monkey please

...the winner is zuk zuk! 

Well done to you,

 your print will be winging it's way to you very soon!

If you did not win and are feeling a wee bit down

don't worry, 

i so enjoyed hosting the give away 

i promise i'll do another one soon!

Oh and in popping over to zuk zuk's blog i note she too has a give away, on until the 15th, your chance to win a beautiful print of her original artwork!

Just click here, (post dated 4th aug)

This is a link to my latest Treasury, it's an ode to some of the wonderful etsian i've met recently, look closely you might find yourself there!!

If you ever find yourself in Scotland during the first week of August then I recommend a trip to to the tiny village of Pittenweem on the Fife coast.

Each year they host a most wonderful, week long, Arts Festival, including drama, workshops, music, films, children's events, fireworks and more!

However the highlight of the festival is the 100+ artist exhibiting throughout the village, from galleries to studio, gardens, garages, private residences to public halls and schools. You find yourself wandering in and out of peoples homes and gardens, through little narrow, cobbled streets down to the harbour and back through this picturesque village.

(Some of you might have guessed it is one of the inspriational villages used in my own work.)

As you can imagine there is a host of different styles, mediums and abilities exhibit here. 

So from professional to amateur you don't know what is going to be around the next corner!

Jewellers, painters, sculptures, glass artists, printmakers, textile artists et al can be found here.

This is just a small selection,

and you never know, i might see you there next year!

(Remember to leave a comment on the post BELOW for a chance to win a   

hand- pulled Linoprint!)

Well i can't believe it but this is my 100th blog post, 

(and to think i was not sure if i would last past the first week!)

Anyway to celebrate i'm giving away one of my Linoprints!

This one in fact,

You can view all the details, (size etc), here in my shop, 

and if you want the chance of winning it all you have to do 

is leave a comment on this post before Monday 11th @ midnight 

and on Tuesday the 12th i'll put all the names in a hat 

and announce the winner. 

(please ensure that you leave some way of contacting you, e.g. a link to your blog)

Good Luck!