Feeling The Love - Happy Valentines Day!

 Hello, Just a quick post today to wish you all a very lovely Valentines Day.

The sun is shining and it's bright and breezy here today with signs of spring budding all around.  We even have our first daffodil open in our front garden today - what a jolly site for sore eyes that is!  I love the spring and summer months for their cheerful flowers making the air fragrant and adding beautiful colours to each day.  Which is why most of my designs have bright springlike colours.  

Like these two love themed designs here.

Have a wonderful day!  x

Angie Goes to Birmingham - Spring Fair 2013

Hello! 

Yesterday I managed to escape my computer and our house.  I even managed to get out of Somerset and spent the day catching various trains to go and see Spring Fair International at Birmingham's NEC.  It was mainly to go and see all my new designs printed up in all their flittered and embossed glory and have a little catch up in person with the team I chat to all the time via emails....  

It was certainly worth the long and tiring journey as I was over the moon with the finished results. My designs looked very happy nestled next to all the new photographic and occasions ranges The Heart of a Garden have been adding to their portfolio lately - there were lots of lovely images to soak up on their stand...

...This was the first glimpse I got of The Heart of the Garden's stand as I approached it.  It made me feel very proud and a little blown away to be honest, to see all my hard work on display like that right next Hallmark's stand!...

...This year there were lots of my designs to be seen on display.  Although I must confess to putting all my cards together in one spinner for the sake of these photos (he he - had to be done!).  So it's a big THANK YOU to The Heart of a Garden team for letting me muck up their lovely display whilst they had people making enquiries on their stand! (oops!)..I think I got away with it though! ;)

...But my visit wasn't all about 'me me me!'...I also wanted to get around as much of the Fair as I could in the time I had, to check out the sectors I was keen to see the most.  I spent ages in Hall 4, Greetings and Stationery which has resulted in my mind being filled to capacity with inspiration and ideas....

...then I moved on to Contemporary Home and Gifts to grab a sense of emerging trends - the what's hot and what's not for 2013 and what not!!

So here we go, this is my little summary/review of Spring Fair with a few links to stands that caught my eye:

For me there seemed to be a lot more homely, 'the good life' style influences.  Granny chic, ditsy florals (very  Liberty'ish') and Scandinavian influenced design were there in abundance.  Colours seemed to be more earthy (lots of neutrals, gingers, ochres, browns, greens, teals and coral colours) lots of distressed wood - plenty of whitewash, but more natural wood too.  Where as last year there were still lots of blue, reds and pinks in the 1950's retro style, they were still there this year but not as as dominant as before.

Some of the stands that stood out and caught my eye were:  Over on some of the big publishing companies stands I was admiring the work of Madeleine Flloyd and Anzu.  Sally Scaffardi had a very eye catching range. I've always loved the designs that Roger La Borde have published over the years and they didn't disappoint me one bit, lovely display as ever.

Arthouse Meath particularly grabbed my attention and deeply touched my heart as their products (which are an absolutely wonderful collection) celebrate the artistic talents and skills of people living with severe epilepsy and learning difficulties. If you have a couple of minutes I highly recommend watching the videos on their website's home page - proof, if ever anyone needed any, of the importance of art, craft and design and how it can make a difference to people's lives.

From the gifts and homeware section I was drawn to Sukie with their fun, colourful designs.  I absolutely loved Magpie's range (but then I would, wouldn't I? just check out all those little birdies!).   All the usual suspects were there - Pip Studios, Rex International,  RJB Stone, East of India, Disaster Designs, Scandi Chic...I could go and and on and on...just like the NEC seemed to yesterday....

But I'll stop there and leave you with a new design from me which was at the Spring Fair yesterday...

 ...Introducing my London themed giftwrap 'Underground, Overground'. 

I hope you enjoyed my quick review of Spring Fair 2013.

Best wishes

Angie x

Ta Da! - All these designs are off to Spring Fair International

For the past few months I've been chipping away at a rather large list of designs required for The Heart of a Garden's stand at Spring Fair International.  This list arrived with the title "Your challenge should you choose to accept it!".  Well, I must admit I do thrive on a good challenge and was whole heatedly up for the task.  

This past week I sent over some the last remaining items on that list which happened to be additional Christmas card designs.  The timing to do those couldn't have been more perfect as thanks to all the recent snowy weather I found myself in completely the right mood to do them.

I know I've shown quite a number of the new designs on here before, but I thought it would be nice to show the complete collection that will be heading up the M5 towards Birmingham's NEC at the end of this week.

So here goes.  First up 20 card designs for the 'Living The Dream' range which is all about escaping to the coast, country and riverside to enjoy life's pleasures in the great outdoors... 

...Next there are 13 designs in my new 'Love and Best Wishes' special occasions range.  I have plans to expand this range a bit further before this year is done... 

 ...Last but not least.  12 Christmas card designs and 3 gift wrap designs in my 

'Tis The Season Range'.  6 of these designs are hot off my desk and will be available later this year 

as 5x7 cards....

So there they all are and looking at them all together like that makes me realise just how much work I've managed to produce lately.  It feels so good to have met that challenge and I'm really looking forward to seeing all the designs as finished greeting cards and display panels at Spring Fair International.

Have a great week!

Angie x

Love is in the Air ...

Love is in the air over on my website, Folksy and Etsy shops today because I've listed and am showcasing all my cards and illustration prints for Valentine's Day with the thanks to some lovely new photos from the dynamic duo at Kate & Alex Photography...

See those lovely blue skies above - this images were taken earlier this month here in Somerset just before the snow arrived.  The image above looks like a summers day, but really it was an absolutely freezing cold day... 

This time last year I came up with my 'Owl Always Love You' illustration.  The design was completed just a little too late to be printed and ready for Valentine Cards last year.  This year it's a different story as there are now 3 of my popular 'love' illustrations printed onto 15cm x15cm FSC 280gsm card with a smooth silk finish - the printed colours have come out very vibrant and fresh.  All 3 cards are now listed on my website, Folksy and Etsy shops...

...and if your lover isn't into hearts and flowers, you'll also find there are some alternative card designs listed which may be more their style...

...with all this cold weather we're having at the moment I hope you are all cuddling up to someone special to keep warm and cosy!

Best wishes

Angie x