Paint Me A Picture

My eyes are opening to the world of illustration, especially since I started reading bedtime stories with my son from the age of six months. We love to visit the library together and choose his books for the week. I'm instantly drawn to a certain style of illustration whilst for Mini Monsieur it's basically anything with stars, trains (he calls them "tees"), buses - any form of transport.

One of our favourite books to read is 'How To Catch A Star ' by Oliver Jeffers who tells the story of a boy who loved stars so much he decided to catch his own. His illustrations are just so beautifully innocent and full of colour and movement.

Page 2-3 from How To Catch A Star, Oliver Jeffers

In the next few months we'll be working to get our house on the market ready to sell. The walls are sparsely hung with prints, photos and drawings and I've kept most of the walls blank. I think my reasoning as that I never wanted to feel settled for too long here-the house is small and in a not-so-desirable area and I've been desperate to leave since I came on the scene those 7 years ago. Everything is neutral and the rooms aren't especially light so blank walls seemed to be the better option, but you mark my words, the minute we move into the house that'll become our home (for however long) I will be adorning those walls with prints and paintings a-plenty.  Hold me back!

I've selected just a small number of my favourite illustrators to share with you and I have a feeling you'll fall in love with them too...


Rebekka Seale

A Home Is Made by Rebekka Seale

Rebekka's illustrations are very delicate and she has a particular talent for bricks and mortar-she paints bespoke portraits of people's homes which makes a wonderful keepsake. Oh, her blog is well worth a read too, she is one talented lady.


The Black Apple

Lost On The Midway, The Black Apple

Emily Winfield Martin (aka The Black Apple)'s work has a touch of the Anthony Browne's about her, like a slightly uncomfortable, surreal fairy tale for adults. I like her. A lot. You get a real feel for the person behind those paintings, she obviously has a love for the fairground, vintage and childhood fairytales.


Unraveled Design

Julia Child Quote, Unraveled Design

Texas based designer Lindsey Whitehead creates beautifully illustrated quotes to inspire the mind and soul. I'd love to hang this print in my kitchen!


Amber Alexander

Crate and Plants, Amber Alexander

Amber's work focuses on landscapes and nature and I really love the texture in her paintings, particularly this one here, mainly because I just can't get enough of plants in crates at the moment. There's nothing showy about it, just a simple selection of succulents, ferns and moss but the earthy tones are so relaxing to look at.


So there we are, a small selection of some of my favourite illustrators! What's your favourite?

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The Covet List #10

Good morning! This week I bring you a nature inspired The Covet List, having spent some quality time getting back in touch with my garden (my peony plant has three buds after four years of nurturing!) Yesterday we finally got the sun we've been craving for the last couple of months and it feels like we may well be in for a good summer...she says...

1. Kelly Blue scarf, £170.00 Lily and Lionel | 2. 'Cloud' cushion, £35.00 Elsy and Vine via Lasso The Moon | 3. Hothouse Foliage Backdrop, £74.26 BHLDN |  4. Butterfly cushion cover, £7.99 H&M |  5. Vintage 1950s style hair clip, £13.00 The Vintage Drawer |  6. 14k Gold Acorn necklace, $525.00 Zoe Chicco

Pinterest Pic of the Week #11

Image Credit: via Mariposa

DIY String Baubles

A slight change to scheduling this week as I decided I wanted to bring you a funky little project I did earlier in spring with photographer side-kick Lisa Devlin, so The Covet List will be with you on Wednesday instead.

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Move over pom-poms, there’s a new decoration in town preparing to take over in their droves! Meet the string bauble. They’re incredibly fun to make and create a real statement-especially when used with lights or hung in clusters and you can keep them plain or match them with your colour scheme.

Ready to get started? 

You Will Need:

• A tub of PVA glue.

• Plenty of balloons.

• Spray paint in colours of your choice.

• Clear craft sealant such as Plasti-kote Krystal Clear.

• Vaseline.

• Corn flour.

• Several balls of string.

• Scissors.

• A spoon.

• A large mixing bowl.

• A mug.

First you’ll need to organise the space in which to make your baubles. It’s a very messy business so if you’re on the obsessive-compulsive side of tidy then you’ll want to do this in the garden, preferably when it’s not raining! If you have a space indoors, then cover your floor with some plastic sheeting or tarpaulin and run a pole across two chairs to create a frame. I used the washing line out in the garden as it was easy to use and clean off afterwards.

Step One:

Cut the balls of string into long and manageable lengths- you’ll be wrapping these around the balloon so make sure you can wrap them without them getting tangled. I used the length of a table as a guide.

Step Two:

Don your apron and get ready to mix your glue. Mix 5 spoons of PVA glue with half a cup of corn flour and a ¼ cup of water. When you have a smooth mix, drop in your lengths of string until covered.

Step Three:

Blow up your balloon to the desired size bearing in mind that the bigger the balloon the more pear shaped your bauble will be and hang it securely from your frame. Cover the balloon in a thin layer of Vaseline so that the string won’t stick to it when you come to pop it later.

Step Four:

If you plan to use your baubles with lights, make sure you leave a large enough hole to accommodate this in the top. You can mark the top of your balloon with a pen to make sure you don’t cover the opening.  Then you can start winding your coated string around the balloon, keeping your tension relatively tight. Start horizontally first and then when you’ve covered enough continue vertically until you’re happy with it. Make sure you tuck the loose ends under the string to neaten it up.

Step Five:

Repeat for the amount of baubles you require and leave them to dry for 24 hours. They should be totally solid when they’re ready.

Step Six:

Pop your balloons and ease it out with some tweezers or your fingers if you’re careful. Now you can either spray it in your colours of choice and finish it with a clear craft sealant, or leave as is and spray with the sealant to protect it. Make sure you do this over some newspaper.

Step Seven:

Wire up your baubles with lights or hang them in clusters and voila!!!

Thanks to Lisa for hanging out for a long afternoon's shooting!

Fun, no?

All images © Devlin Photos

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