Daily(ish) Drawing

Hello!

Here are a few photos of recent daily(ish) drawings, that have been posted to my Instagram feed - I say (ish) because daily really isn't happening.

Life got in the way before the Easter holidays, and since then I've got out of the habit of sofa doodling on an evening...just way too tired..and my mojo is still on it's jollies I think!

I'll get going again once other jobs are out of the way, and there's a little more time in my head and life.

I do miss it, as I enjoyed the constant and consistent creativity, so I will be working hard to get back into the rhythm of daily drawing.

Spot the button themed drawings? They were fun! I may go back to this at some point, and create some mini original art on the same theme.

☞ To see all my daily(ish) drawings in one place, simply search under the #dbd2016dailydrawing hashtag, on Instagram.

Have you taken on a challenge for 2016, creative or otherwise? Are you managing to stick to it, or do find that there are times where you simply have to roll with it, and take a break?

Cheers for now
Sarah
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A place for your cuppa - hand painted coasters

I love wandering around the homewares section of shops, to see if there is anything I can find, that would be suitable for the Ditsy treatment.

Recently, I spotted some natural cork coasters and placemats in Boyes, so took some home to play with. 

My idea worked so well, that after testing one coaster with my own cuppas over the course of a few weeks, I'm happy to say that I now have some very unique, hand painted coasters in my shop!

Here's a look at my process, and the finished items...

I painted straight onto the cork, using acrylic paint

adding the design

finished penguins and birds covered with a few coats of protective sealant

pucker up, it's nearly mistletoe time!

my test subject!

I'd love to know what you think, and if you fancy one, you can get them here and can get 20% off until midnight on Sunday 8th November, by using HOHOHO20 at checkout!

Why not have a go yourself - or maybe make some as teacher gifts with your children? The only limit is your imagination ❄︎

cheers!

Sarah

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Recent Makes

Hello!

I thought I'd share some of my recent makes with you to inject a little colour into this grey, damp Autumnal Wednesday.

There has been some inking, painting and stitching going on in these parts...and a lot of it with a very specific seasonal theme!

My mum has been recovering from a hip replacement, and has also been feeling the effects of her illness - so October was given over to visiting her in hospital, and having her stay with us for three weeks. Not a lot of time was free for Ditsying, but we've had some fab quality time with Mum! She's now having some excellent care and rehabilitation at our local Sue Ryder hospice, so I've been lucky enough to be able to spend the past two days painting...just for the fun of it. Oh what a much needed joy that has been!!! I'm feeling much less twitchy and twisty (I needed my fix) and something I wanted to try is working out just dandy. 

Eventually, Mum will come back here again to stay, until she is fully fit to go back home, so I'm cramming as much creative time as I can, into my days...though the late nights are already taking their toll zzzzzz ;)

This is just a quick little post, before I head back into My Room and get messy again, but I hope to be back soon. In the meantime, my Christmas shop is now open on the website (click here), and to celebrate I am offering 20% off all purchases until midnight 8th Nov, with the code HOHOHO20...just enter this when checking out!

Cheerio for now,
Sarah
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a little love filled commission

and the finished result

tiny Autumn leaf brooches

a pretty collection of hand drawn, jewel coloured rings

from sketch to reality - a gift for a friend

trying my hand at lino cutting again

cheery decorations in progress

a bit of upcycling fun

starting to take shape!

And now a selection of new Christmas products now in the shop, don't forget to use HOHOHO20 when you check out ❄︎

Product Photography

Hello from a seriously soggy North Yorkshire - perfect weather for making headway on To Do lists!

Taking priority on the list for me, was setting up a place where I can do my product photography, without having to take down all the equipment after every session.

my new product photography set up is as near to the roof window as possible

We recently had most of our loft boarded out for storage - oh my word, how much do I love that loft?!?! Complete tangent here - but knowing that we now have somewhere to store...Winter clothes and coats in Summer & vice versa; Ditsy Bird materials and supplies that I don't use regularly; bags; spare bedding; all the stuff that is currently under all the beds due lack of storage; sentimental keepsakes - what a difference this is going to make!

Okay, back to it - I decided that, as there won't be a lot of traffic up there (it will basically just be me, moving things from house to loft and back again), it is the perfect place to set up my lighting, tripod and backdrops.

With this setup, as and when I finish a product, I can whizz up the ladder and take the pics I need, and get straight on to editing and listing - rather than continuing with my current method, of waiting until I've got loads to photo, in order to justify the time spent setting up all the equipment.

Lots of trips up the ladder, lugging gear upstairs; lots of crawling on knees to get things into place (W trusses..ugh!); lots of getting hot and bothered (so warm up there!) later, and it's all set up. Hurrah!

I feel hugely satisfied for having actually got off my bum and done it - plus the exercise I've had climbing those ladders, and lifting kit up there - and for trimming down my current 'to photograph' pile.

Oh yes, very satisfying indeed.

Have you tackled something that's been nattering away at the back of your head for a while, or is there something that you could do, right now, to get a big fat tick on your to do list?

Right then, what's next on that there list...

Sarah

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UPDATE:
Just in case anyone is interested, THIS is the lighting set I bought in 2014, after taking THIS course by Alisa Burke. I can highly recommend both the lights, and the course! Best of all, there is currently $10 off the course, in Alisa's Summer sale. 

Weekend round up

Good morning, and a happy new week to you all!

So what did you get up to over the weekend? Did you have sunshine?

Ha, that is such a British thing to ask, isn't it?

It was a bit patchy round our neck of the woods, with lots of rain and some sunshine...our plants are very happy about it though.

colour me happy

I lost myself in painting on Saturday - it was utter bliss!

This week is my last in my current job, as I am being made redundant on Thursday, and it's my first time. Hey ho, I'm not the first, and I certainly won't be the last...and frankly, I think I've done well lasting 18 years in a company where I've seen so many people go over the course of that time.

beautiful church and churchyard in Kirkby Lonsdale

I'm quite alright with the no longer working there part, it's just the actual leaving bit - this last week - it's all a bit toe curlingly cringy. I just want to be gone. I hate being the focus of attention, and actively avoid awkward situations, so it's going to be two days that will be spent firmly outside of my comfort zone.

My plan is to act bright and breezy, and eliminate any potential uncomfortable moments...cunning plan, huh?!?!

how's about that for a messy desk...fun times!

So back to the painting - I just slapped colour on various wooden objects, and continued on, for some very happy hours. Colour happy!

Most are nearly finished, and will soon be ready for the wonderful inking process. Hurrah, my favourite part.

And the cherry on the cake? A damned tasty, takeaway curry in the evening. Perfect.

how fab is this building, with all those windows & a roof like a bushy monobrow?

Sunday involved a lie-in, late breakfast, and a lovely mooch around Kirkby Lonsdale - it is such a pretty town, with little boutique style gift shops, loads of pubs and cafes, and a fabulous gallery. There are some gorgeous riverside walks to be had too, but we were in mooching mode yesterday.

odd place to put a clock, don't you think?

I finally got my hands on some gorgeous oil cloth for our kitchen table...it's still packed away until work has finished in the house, and we're straight again, with everything back where it should be, and lots of stuff hidden away in the soon-to-be boarded loft.

Ooh storage, how I've missed you!

feeling the house love with this beauty, and that completely lush garden

Sunday evening consisted of a Paul cooked chilli prawn linguini; a mini manicure & pedicure, from me to me; and catching up on a couple of episodes of Penny Dreadful. I love it, but it creeps me out big time, so I won't watch it alone. 

And now it's on with a new week, full of potential, and a little more rain for good measure.

Have a good one,
Sarah
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Shop update Sunday...more new products listed

hot pink butterfly magnet here

Hello there!

We've had a lovely weekend here - nothing majorly exciting occurring, just a bit of clothes shopping for George, over in Harrogate; a trip to the local farm shop yesterday, which has been too busy to venture into until now, and more than exceeded our hopes and expectations; a good spot of gardening this morning in the sunshine; and now a sneaky hour or so on Ditsy Bird, before we have a barbecue. Though looking at the weather, it may end up being an oven!

I've still got boxes in my room, of products requiring photographing, or listing...or even both! And that's me ignoring the 'please finish me', and 'please correct me' boxes. Poor neglected little loves.

I'm tackling this in bite-sized chunks, so that I don't throw my laptop out of the window in frustration.

I'd forgotten just how long it takes to get products listed in the shop - though [ahem] I'm quite sure, that if I did it more regularly (as opposed to leaving pretties languishing in a 'to list' box, for months on end...shame on me) I'd become super, speedy Sarah at the process!
(perhaps I could then don a cape, and be extra-motivated to keep up the good work?!?! though it might get caught in the wheels on the bottom of my chair...wouldn't want to throttle myself in a flurry of listing)

As it is, I'm a little rusty, so bite-sized chunks it is ;)

There are more Ditsy delights in there now - a pretty quartet of magnets, and another of brooches, aswell the beauty of a butterfly at the top of this post.

pretty brooches here

gorgeous magnets here

Happy Sunday folks, and I hope you've enjoyed your weekend!

Sarah
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A hearty Friday...new items in the shop

Six hanging hearts have just been listed in the webshop!

And about time too - these poor things have been sitting in my workroom for a while now, awaiting their listing turn. There are yet more products to be photographed, and popped into the shop, so I shall keep you updated as and when the listings happen.

Happy Friday folks!

Sarah
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What if I did...

I have a notebook, a journal of sorts, that I offload into when I’ve got issues nattering in my brain that I need to silence.

I usually spew out how I’m feeling in bullet point format. One liners like this. Or sometimes just words expressing how I’m feeling. Grrr. (That was an example). Headache headache headache. (Another example).

When ‘things’ feel like that they may overwhelm me, or if I can adequately voice whatever it is that has my brain so clouded, I find that this system really works. For me. 

The other day I was feeling a little twitchy – you know when you can’t settle into a task, your leg keeps bobbing, you’re up and down out of your seat – so I reached for my book and started the brain vomit. [Nice!]

Things often end up on the page that I wasn’t really expecting…sometimes it’s the subject matter, and sometimes it’s the way I articulate the issue in startling clarity.

“How do I view my success as important?”

This was the last line of Tuesday’s scrawlings, and it hit the nail right royally on the head!

Ditsy Bird Designs – this is the business that I have been dabbling with, without ever getting firmly stuck in to, for years now.

I want to do it

I have the creative skills and ideas to do it

I have spent money on it (materials, courses, tools, hardware, software)

I have spent inordinate amounts of time working on it (designing, honing my skills, trialling, practicing, researching, going on courses [photography, blogging, designing, painting, mixed media, drawing, branding etc], setting up the behind the scenes bit [accounts, supplier info, website, blog etc]

I know I can do it…

…but I never really do.

This is the crux of the matter. I always, ALWAYS, give other things precedence. And by other things, I mean other people…I am so determined to be there for the people who matter the most to me, that I don’t fully commit to DBD, because I know it will take more time, more effort, and – biggest of all – commitment.

I will have to say no to people, to let them down, to put something that is solely for me, before them.

Now before you go thinking I’m one of life’s martyrs, putting everyone’s every need before my own, I’m not. Truly.

This isn’t me being a doormat – I am a people pleaser; I like to help and do things for my loved ones; I get a kick out of it; it makes me feel good; a huge part of me needs to be needed. It is my choice, not the will of others.

And if, for one second, I felt that one of these folk were taking the proverbial, they’d know about it quick sharp! 

I’m nobody’s fool – except, perhaps, my own.

Ahem, and there we have it…I am the ONLY person stopping me from doing this, and achieving my potential.

I have been slogging away at researching branding and logos etc for a while now…I really don’t like my website or my blog, because they simply don’t reflect me or Ditsy, and certainly not my design style. 

How To Style Your Brand by Fiona Humberstone

The only way to rectify this is to work at it, and to dig deep to find what would reflect me and my creative style. I know that if I loved the look of my blog and website, I would be SO much more willing to update them and pop in once in a while. I’d be proud to!

Much in the same way as I’m happy to check in on favourite blogs and Instagram feeds, because even if their current post isn’t relevant to me, their web space and the overall feel of it make me feel…calm / uplifted / invigorated / inspired / motivated / joy. But mostly that I’m in a place of beauty and great design - this REALLY flicks my switch, floats my boat, and totally twirls my skirt. 

It’s all about the visual. Nah…getaway, really?!?! Ha. ‘Course it is! 

Oops, digressed a little there, where were we? Ahh yes…

..So the other day I had a meeting with a lady in the village, about the prep for the village show in September. Our team of 5 (last year) has reduced to just the two of us, so I happily took on the role of sorting the paperwork…leaflets, show booklet, posters, forms, entrant info and so on and so on.

I came home that afternoon, shoved my branding book and notebook to one side, and immediately got stuck into designing this year’s show booklet. For hours. And I mean hours.

Why, oh WHY??? am I so happy and motivated to work on something for someone  else, yet I find it SO hard to work on MY stuff?

It’s like my brain goes, “hey, for the show to work, you are NEEDED to get working on the paperwork, and you MUST design the booklet this instant, because you have a clearly definable PURPOSE”. And “oh you can leave all that branding stuff, after all, it’s ONLY FOR YOU”. 

ARGHHHHHH.

So I’m asking you, genuinely, how do I start to see that Ditsy Bird Designs is a real and valid reason to be working hard (whilst not earning anything for it at the moment…obviously no one will pay me to do my own branding), putting in the time and effort, and focus? That’s a biggie right there.

How do I stop seeing “just for me” as less important, lacking purpose?

How do I change my attitude, my way of thinking?

I’ve tried thinking in terms of the potential extra cash I’d earn; the feeling of empowerment I’d have; the sense of purpose and the happiness that would bring; the rush I get when people buy my products; the joy of working on something I love and the flexibility of doing it at home…but thus far, they haven’t provided the catalyst I need.

that's me, waiting - but not just for my son

I know it’s not because I’m lazy (I had thought this for a long while) simply due of the amount of time I’ve spent this week alone, messing about with entry tickets, and ‘save the date’ posters on my macbook – time that would have been amazingly useful spent on researching colour themes and fonts for my own website.

When I think about the show paperwork, I know the end date; can see the actual room on the day; the users of the information I’ve created; the end result of all the hard work; the purpose.

When I think about spending hours working on who my dream client might be; sharing value; building a community; reflecting my style in a blog banner, it all goes very fuzzy and blurry…all soft focus (with bokeh..true fact), hard to visualise, and intangible.

Yesterday, I suddenly thought of it all from a different angle which turned it all on its head…

…instead of my usual “what if I did?”, I thought “what if I didn’t?”!

To be continued…(with luck, a following wind, and renewed focus and purpose).

Notes:

In my search for online assistance with all this (or for a virtual rocket up the bum, if you like), I did happen upon two very interesting articles:

This one by Genevieve Smith on Elle, and

This one by Steve Farquharson on 2HelpfulGuys.

[The comments on the Elle post contained some real gems]

Sarah

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stockist! & a place to visit

hello there!

I have good news, oh yes! I have a new stockist :)

my tin of goodies on a beautiful dresser in the gift shop

Thanks to a stall at Threshfield School Summer Fair, my wares were spotted by the lovely Amy of Kilnsey Park who then asked if I fancied stocking my Ditsy delights in their gift shop. "Oh yes, I would!", thought I, but hopefully I was outwardly more controlled and professional than I was feeling inwardly. I mean, what a compliment...being approached by a potential stockist not only shows that they like your products but, that they like them enough to share with their customers. A fair compliment indeed, in my book.

view of the shop towards the entrance

So, up I ventured with my bag full of goodies and a very patient boy (we had to go straight from school on Friday without giving George prior warning). Whilst I chatted with Amy, George was lucky enough to wander the grounds, feed the fish and fall in love with some ducklings (who very nearly adopted George & he them).

Even when a shop/gallery owner declares an interest in your designs, there is still that "will they/won't they?" apprehension when you finally meet. I'm happy to say that they did and thanks to Amy being thoroughly lovely and oh so calm, the visit was an entirely pleasant one.

the fresh food counter..fish pie, smoked salmon to name but two delights

It just so happens that when George was born, we actually lived in Kilnsey, in a cottage backing on to the park and the trout lakes...it is such a beautiful area with the magnificent Kilnsey Crag dominating the scenery. I had forgotten how lovely it is up there and especially at the park - there have been a lot of changes (all good!) since I last visited and it is now on our "to do during the Summer hols" list! (for me, mainly because the cakes looked scrumptious and the cappuccino that I had was, indeed, delicious...more sampling required, I feel!

fresh food, ice cream, homemade cakes, fresh coffee & a tummy rumblingly good restaurant menu

The park itself is a working trout farm as well as offering other activities for visitors, such as:
fly fishing; fun fishing; adventure playground; nature trails; gift shop; restaurant; red squirrel conservation programme; and the rare and beautiful Lady's Slipper Orchid.

my Ditsy Bird Designs rainbow trout brooch exclusive to Kilnsey Park

Whilst I was there, the park was preparing for a Herbs & Potions weekend as part of National Herbal Medicine Week...I only wish I'd known in advance as I would have loved walking through the grounds, looking for herbs, and then making up herbal vinegars and oils! Their next event is The Mad Professor's Bug Weekend (6th & 7th July) which sounds like great fun for bug fanatics, and then it's their 35th birthday weekend (10th & 11th August) celebrating 35 years for this family run business.

So, if you should find yourself in Upper Wharfedale, do pay them a visit and perhaps have a look in the shop for the tin of Ditsy Bird goodies.

Sarah
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