A quiet week

Not much to report....just quietly baking and sewing and drawing and reading......

December!

I spent years detesting Christmas time and everything that went with it. Then one day I realised that it isn't going to go away, so if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
So, I have my very own set of Christmas traditions that I am starting for my own little family...

Out comes the Christmas Fairy tea towel.....

...and the Irish linen table cloth, hand embroidered with little robins and holly that was handed down to me from mum...

Brunches consist of mushrooms, chestnuts, bacon and capers.....

and I enjoy the company of all the little Christmas critters that are sharing my home with me until they
find their own little cosy homes.

And what a wonderful start to the month to be greeted by the sun, even if it never gets higher than your  nose this time of year.

(If you would like to give a mouse a home, then pop over to the shop  )

Ooooooooh, I love winter!

That gorgeous inky blue glow that spills through the window at about three thirty....I just had to go out and wallow in its dark gloomyness and its slimey, black spikeyness!

Whereas inside....all is cosy :)

An afternoon of mousery

This afternoon and this evening has been spent putting the finishing touches to some new mouse decorations. These will probably be the last of the Christmas things this year, as I'm guessing most people are done with their decoration shopping by now. If you do order one, I'll make sure it's put in the post First Class the same day.
I can't get enough of mice in tutus and the way they just look soooo 1940's and vintage.

So, having put last week FIRMLY behind me, it's time to prepare for another. Here's to a wonderful week ahead to everybody!

Sunny Mornings

Every morning, Sienna gets herself dressed in her best princess dress and we sweep down the stairs for breakfast. We usually have a dippy egg. Then Sienna will draw, take some photos, (see the one of the wicked witch and Dorothy), or watch a film while I work, (well, try to!)
This morning is no different.

Little luxuries

There are very few things to complain about with my job, infact there probably isn't anything! But, like any job there are deadlines to meet and it is ALWAYS during the busiest times, when I have two or three deadlines looming, when I have no time to do anything else other than focus soley on the job in hand...that inspiration strikes. I have the rumblings of about three books in my head and it's so frustrating not being able to work on them. So, yesterday I had to pop in to the art shop to get some supplies and while I was in town I picked up -

One strawberry tartlette
One copy of Country Living, (the Christmas one!)
One new sketchbook, (like I need another one, but any excuse...)

When I got home, I lit the fire and plopped myself down for an hour, just one tiny hour to pour all my ideas out of my head into my sketchbook and have a quick leaf through the festive pages of CL. Unfortunately, my hour went a little quicker than anticipated and my ideas are still stored on messy shelves in my messy brain.
But, there will be another hour, and deadlines pass....I'm just hoping those big shelves in my head hold out until then!

Mouse Decorations in the Shop

The Christmas Mouse Decorations are in the shop now and you can buy one HERE

If you are visiting from anywhere other than the UK and USA and would like to purchase a mouse via my shop, then please message me and I will organise it :)

Erica x

November Blue

The sky outside is soooo dark and gloomy, I'm loving it! On days like this I love being tucked up inside with the November blue light outside. So, here's a little snap shot of my messy work space. I cannot WAIT to move and have a whole room to work in, not just one corner of the kitchen. So, with a few deadlines looming in the not-too-distant future, I must push on with my painting.

The Twin Peaks look for today is.....

Hair tied up in two buns, either side of my head, a bit like a bear. Red floral blouse with rusty coloured cardy - perfect for illustrating 'Rumplestiltskin' in....
(and ignoring my terribly messy kitchen in!)

New Christmas decorations

I just finished these three little pretties off tonight and hope to find time to add them to the shop tomorrow. I just love the vintage feel of them, there's something sort of '1950's Christmas dance' about them. I can imagine them all waiting around by the punch bowl for some dashing mouse to ask them to dance. They are made from some gorgeous soft wadding I bought about a year ago and have been meaning to make into something ever since. Their tulle tutus are hand dyed to a 'just-oh-so-perfect' shade of vintage green and they have the most perfect little holly berry head pieces, I quite fancy an outfit like this myself....

Twin Peaks Winter

My style for this winter, (and every other winter) is Twin Peaks. However, in order to pull this look off, one needs a waist.....hmmmmm....better start those nightly runs around the village again. The only two items I need are a pair of flat Oxfords and a camel coat....are you reading this, Father Christmas?

Burning the midnight oil....

Well, not oil exactly, but this rather 'David Lynch - Blue Velvet' style lamp. Hope everyone is having a more exciting Friday night than me!

On my drawing board this evening...

Here's a little detail from the piece I'm working on tonight, another spread from the Nursery Rhymes treasury. I've always been a little bit obsessed with crows/raven/rooks, Sienna-Rose was very nearly a Sienna-Rook. I'm looking forward to getting some time to really explore the 'art' side of my 'Ottoline De Triste' collections. As soon as we move and I have an actual dedicated space to work, I will set aside a little corner of it to do some paintings. I'm really looking forward to being able to do that, really excited. I've already gotten way ahead of myself and am planning an exhibition of all my paintings, sketches, ink drawings, dollies and other curiosities. I've got my outfit planned for the opening night and everything. I'm thinking the European stint of the collections tour could be in Brantome, in this building where there are always lots of art exhibitions -

Wooo hooo hoooooo!

Some of my favorite scary images.....

Naughty Blogger

Seriously....I've been having problems with this Blogger for a while now. It's something to do with my MAC being reeeeeally old, I'm saving up for a new one but have a few more dollies to sell first! Speaking of dollies, meet a new Ottoline doll and her good friends Fifi and Frou-Frou. Here they are goofing about by my computer, I love the light shining through Frou-Frou's head piece!
I'm soooo busy with my illustration work right now, sooo busy. I'm l-o-v-i-n-g the projects I'm lucky enough to have been given lately, one of which is a treasury of nursery rhymes...can you guess which one is on my drawing board tonight???

Well, I'd better go tidy up and then get some much needed sleep!

Night, night buttons! (Or are you a bean??)

PINK!

So, so happy to have been able to visit the haberdashery in John Lewis today :) I l-o-v-e mixing good quality new stuff with OLD stuff....I bought this raspberry pink dupion silk, matching thread and some Rowan 'Big Wool'. I really hope I get some time tomorrow to finish my 'Ottolettes' and make a start on some very special Ottoline dollies :)

Winter Berry Trimmings

Some new additions to the Winter Berry Christmas Collection, now available in the SHOP

Well, we've got a FOR SALE sign outside our little cottage. The little cottage that I left to go to the church to marry Mr Nick. The little cottage that I left to go and give birth to my amazing daughter, Sienna-Rose. We are three now. And A-L-L three of us are waiting for some other lovely young couple, full of dreams to buy it and start a life here, while we plot our next move.....

Introducing....

from left to right - Jermaine, Dave, Lloyd, Martin, Roger, Gene, Randy and Bob. And very nice they were too, (with our roast chicken).

Well, at last! There is one, (yes, just one...I've been so busy with my illustration work), festive decoration in the shop! And here's a link to my latest book, (not my illustration on the cover....boo!)
I'm really hoping to get the rest of the mouse decorations finished this weekend, along with some other little surprises!

Festive Decorations....

Here's a final little peek at one of the decorations going up in the SHOP. I'm really hoping that the boxes I ordered show up today, as they are going to be as pretty as the decorations themselves!