Off for a Spring Break..

Tomorrow I am heading off on a little break to Cornwall so things will a little quiet around here but I'll be back refreshed and raring to go on Tuesday 4th April.

Sadly it's probably fairly unlikely that the weather will be as good as in these photos from past trips.. but there's nothing like a windy wet coastal path walk and coming home to a cosy house to relax you!

Hope everyone has a great Easter, try your best to eat your body weights worth of chocolate! :)

Printables

Recently I have added some new printables to my Etsy store. These printables are great for last minute wrapping emergencies or decorating a cake for a spring birthday or Easter! You purchase the item and the PDF is then emailed to you to print out and make up.

NEW Printable Cake Bunting is perfect for decorating a cake (or cupcakes!) for a spring or summer birthday, Easter or just for fun! You simply cut out the diamond pieces, fold them in half, place over string or cocktail sticks (depending on whether you are making a cake string or cupcake flags) glue them on and VOILA! beautiful decorations for your delicious creation.

My Printable Feathers have also been popular, these little lovelies have many uses from gift tags to decorations!

I'm hoping to add more printables soon, is there anything you'd like be able to get as a printable?

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Tidy Desk.. Tidy Mind

I have spent the past 2 days having a massive clear out and tidy of my studio.. everyone always says tidy desk, tidy mind and even though my desk wasn't that untidy (well one of them wasn't) my studio was and it needed a massive cleanse so I could feel more organised and get on with my work!

It seems crazy to have taken 2 days off from working but it's safe to say I feel a lot less overwhelmed now!

So much clear space and a tidy planner, now on with lots of fresh work!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Sneak peek - New Collection

I've been busy working on lots of new designs recently as well as tidying up my studio and signing licensing deals *squeal* so today I thought I would share a few from one of my new collections!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Feature Friday - Joanne Hawker

Today's Featured Friday Designer is.. Joanne Hawker

I just adore Joanne's use of colour and fantastic illustrations so am honoured to share her work on the blog today! I'll let Joanne do the talking..

Hello!

My name is Joanne Hawker and I live in a little corner of Somerset where I doodle, day dream about adventures in new countries and generally just make pretty things. I graduated from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff in 2010 with a first class honours degree in Graphic Communication.

I have a huge passion for design, illustration and surface pattern. A lot of my work features elements from the natural world as I find it hugely inspiring! Most of my work starts life as a doodle before it is inked up, scanned and then redrawn digitally.

 I have an etsy shop where you can buy various prints of some my illustrations or typographic, some of which can be personalised. In the near future you may see some of my patterns above on a few new things! Fingers crossed!

You can find me all across the web in various nooks and crannies.

Portfolio: www.joannehawker.co.uk

Blog: www.origamichicken.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/joannehawkerdesignandillustration

Twitter: @joannehawker

Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/joannehawker

Images copyright Joanne Hawker 2013

The A-Z of Flowers project

If you know my work or take a quick look around it will be pretty obvious that I love flowers, and LOVE making floral designs and patterns, so I was over the moon when I heard about 'The A-Z of flowers' project. 

The idea is simple, you create a design for each letter of the alphabet from A to Z each featuring a flower beginning with the letter you are working on. I can't wait to take part.. the tricky part is going to be deciding which flower to choose for each letter!

The founder Pattern & Co shared this great resource to help inspire. Find out more from Pattern & Co here.

Image credit: Pattern & Co

Shoreham Beach Wedding

Something a bit different today.. at the weekend I was a second shooter at a wedding at Shoreham Beach, West Sussex. Today I am sharing some of the photos I took.

The Church was right on the edge of the shingle beach, I capture some sailing boats out in the channel before the ceremony. The flower girls had gorgeous floral print dresses and carried floating heart candles which were carried up to the altar and lit in a bowl of water where the rings were cleansed before the exchanging of vows.

The Brides flowers and detailed lace dress were absolutely gorgeous and romantic. 

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Tigerprint Lovely Days Competition

Today I am sharing with you a few new designs I worked on recently for the Tigerprint 'Lovely Days' competition

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

Colour of the Week: Taupe Grey

This week's colour of the week is.. Taupe Grey

Lot's of people think grey's are boring but they can be so interesting when chosen right! This taupe grey has a lovely purple hint to it and is very serene and relaxing, just what you need to help relieve stress!

I have created a selection of colour palettes using taupe grey, hope they inspire you!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2012

Feature Friday: Jane Farnham

Happy Friday everyone! I have some gorgeous designs to share with you today..

Our Feature Friday designer today is.. Jane Farnham

Jane tells us about herself and her work.. "Last year I graduated from the Art & business of surface pattern design e-course, which was brilliant for pushing me in the right direction of my dream job."

"I tend to use a mixture of line drawings and doodles along with computer illustration to create my work.  I take a lot of my inspiration from nature, old china and vintage fabrics and am often looking around charity shops, antique markets or our local park, taking photographs of any & everything that interest me."

"I have a Society6 shop where my designs are on prints, cushions, stationery, iPhone cases & iPad skins. I am currently looking for representation and am available for commissions and licensing.  I can be contacted via my website."

To find out more about Jane visit her website, Society6 store or Twitter.

Images copyright Jane Farnham 2013

Counting down the hours.. Kickstarter Project

My Kickstarter project to make Printed Patterned Notebooks only has a few hours remaining and ends at 7:47pm (GMT) tomorrow (Thursday 7th March).

The notebooks come in 2 sizes, A6 and A5, with 10 different patterns from 5 different collections, which can be seen below. I've always wanted to produce and sell patterned notebooks but the upfront cost has always made it impossible.

Please pledge to the project to help me achieve my dream if you can and get some lovely notebooks in return! These notebooks would make great gifts for friends and family! You can also help me by sharing this post and my Kickstarter link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/978006901/rosie-simons-patterned-notebooks as much as possible on blogs and social networks!

Do not fear if you can't get involved in the project right now, the notebooks will be for sale in my Etsy store in the coming months!

You can read my original post about my Kickstarter project here.

Thanks again to everyone who has already backed, supported and shared the project and thanks in advance for your continued help! I can't wait to order the notebooks and send them out to their new homes!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013

RHS Wisley

My mum and I recently took a trip to RHS Wisley.. it was full of inspiration and below are some photos!

Images copyright Rosie Simons 2013