shipping forecast and cuppa and giveaway

i've finished the fourth edition of the 'shipping forecast and cuppa' print and i'm hosting a facebook giveaway to celebrate. visit my facebook page and leave a comment revealing what YOU like to do while you listen to the shipping forecast to be in with a chance of winning a print. the prints are available in my etsy and folksy shops now.  i just stumbled across this post on apartment therapy that featured the print, ages old but exciting none the less!
**update - the facebook giveaway has now closed, thanks to all who entered, i really enjoyed reading your comments. please like sianuska on facebook to hear about future giveaways and news**

paint pots

this morning, while the school-boy collected acorns, wee baby j and i took some photos of paint. it's nice to look at the colours and remember the prints that they featured in. 

i've used the paint photos to make a new banner for my folksy shop. folksy are rolling out a shop redesign. they asked me and some other sellers to try out the new shops before they are introduced across the site. i really like the icon buttons for social media, so much neater and easier to navigate. the option to rearrange your shop items and the large 'featured item' images help to showcase the work. i've used my nordic knitwear selfie as my profile image. what do you think, does a photo of the maker makes an online shop feel more personal?
then, while wee baby j had a nap continued printing the first separation of the shipping forecast and cuppa print. it's quite strenuous work, i will have abs of steel by the time the fourth edition is finished. i wanted to get the exact shade of blue-grey that i used before so i took a misprint from a previous edition down to the dulux centre, turns out they can scan the colour in order to get a precise match, who knew?

freewheeling - new prints in the shops now

the tricycle prints have trundled into the shops! a sweet little trike skids to a halt leaving a swirl of track marks in its wake. limited edition, hand pulled screenprints in three colourways; black trike with either neon pink, sunny yellow or blue-green tracks. my friends commissioned me to design and make a print to mark their third wedding anniversary (they choose a different artist every year, cool huh?). they generously gave me permission to sell the prints, thanks guys! i made the tracks using an actual mini trike and based the trike on the tricycles i remember from my own childhood. each print was then handpulled in my teeny tiny home studio in the middle of a heatwave while wee baby j took a nap.

framed in a simple white frame (this one is the 'ribba' from ikea) they are a blast of retro nostalgia for your home, i think they'd be especially lovely in a nursery or kid's room. 

here's o-o trespassing in the studio 'everything in your studio is so beautiful mum, i'm tempted to go in'

you can purchase the prints from my etsy and folksy shops. thanks for supporting my cottage industry, i really appreciate it.

mini interview

laura over at sayitsays was kind enough to invite me to do a mini interview as part of her folksy five series. you can see the post (including interviews with some other lovely folksy sellers) here.

folksy front page

really happy to see my shipping forecast print featured on the folksy front page. many thanks to more tea vicar who curated the everything stops for tea pinterest board.

if you sprinkle when you tinkle...

on thursday while o-o was playing an epic game of 'babies' at nursery with l-man, and wee baby j was taking a well earned nap, i saw a window of opportunity for a spot of printmaking. i have learnt from bitter experience to ALWAYS change into my printmaking jeans before getting to work in the studio, otherwise, before you know it you have an entire wardrobe of paint splattered printmaking clothes. i rather like the inky daubs on the denim, abstract art!

while i was working i saw many fab potential photos but alas, the lack of an extra pair of hands meant i could not snap them. here's my screen washout  bathtub. i love the juxtaposition of items representing my two roles here; printmaking paraphernalia and a big ol' bag of bath toys...

i printed the 'if you sprinkle when you tinkle' print in three colours; blue...

(almost) black...

and to match the grout in the bathrooms of all those people who, like us, have white metro tiles and grey grout, a nice shade of grey.

 here's a close up of the print in grey...

and here it is framed in an ikea ribba frame...

and again with the bathroom triffid which seems very happy in my care and has produced lots of new leaves and several shoots since it's been living with us.

you can buy the prints in my etsy and folksy shops. i think they'd make a nice present for a mother of boys (solidarity!), a woman in a male dominated household or the careless wee-er in your life (father's day's coming up).

greetings!

i've been stubbornly designing, screen printing and making of a series of tea theme greetings cards even though they take an age to construct, have involved the purchase of a twenty quid mini stapler and offer profit margins that resemble the gable end of a five pound note - pretty flipping slim. m and my parents (who have been visiting this week, so good to have two extra pairs of hands, this 'living-miles-away-from-the-grandparents, nuclear family malarky is just silliness) have laughed at my folly. anyways, the cards are in my folksy shop now. buy one and make all those hours of fiddle-y mc-faff faff worth my while. P.S. the brown paper backdrop, your thoughts please.

sparrow on folksy front page

thanks to ciesse textiles for including my sparrow print in her winter sun interest board, currently featured on the folksy front page.

perching in the shops now...

i've managed to edition and photograph the sparrow prints. they are available for purchase in my folksy and etsy shops now. perhaps you could hang him on a wall near a window so he can watch the avian goings on outdoors?

YAY!

thanks to everyone who bought one! i've just finished editioning the bird prints and will list them in the shops this weekend. i'm aiming for a print a month in 2013. making art makes me happy, i'm living the dream...

beverage of champions

we've been the house of illness for what seems like MONTHS. in between nursing duties and naps (wee baby j's, not mine) and neglecting this blog terribly, i've finally managed to get a new print finished, photographed and in my online shops. you might remember this obsessive teapot drawing... well, one of those lucky teapots got to be the star of my new 'tea, beverage of champions' screenprint!

 here are the prints drying on the floor of the front room (really must get a drying rack)

and here are some photographs of the print...

it fits in an ikea 'ribba' frame if you trim a little bit off the bottom of the paper.

i'm really pleased with how it turned out (self praise is no praise and all that!). if you'd like to buy one as a last minute christmas present (UK buyers, you have until thursday the 20th, international customers, you've missed the yuletide boat i'm afraid but prints shipped now will arrive soon after christmas) then you can find them for sale here and here.

two fat ladies

you, and your mam...

i've always enjoyed this manc scally version of the traditional bingo call. woke up to find i'd had my 88th sale on folksy, thanks everyone. i love palindromic numbers!

i just sustained a mum injury while putting on my slippers (actually a pair of ugg boots), spiked my toe on the herd of plastic farm animals which, unbeknownst to me, were secreted inside. ouch.

the folksy front page

really chuffed that the good folks at folksy have featured my shipping forecast and cuppa print on the front page of the folksy site. thanks lovelies!

way-hey now available in grey!

i've managed to take a few photos of the new background colour option for the shipping forecast and cuppa screen print. it's a true grey, i'm calling it 'dark clouds grey'. available here and here. please specify your colour preference when ordering.

shipping forecast and cuppa third edition

i've finally finished the third edition of the shipping forecast and cuppa print. the perfect christmas gift for a tea enthusiast or radio 4 aficionado. I've misplaced the camera, the listing photos are of the second edition. i have two background colour choices now. 'stormy seas' grey-blue (v. similar to the colour shown in the photos) or a true grey. available here and here.

bronze medal!

hurrah! i'm third on the folksy best seller list. let's spread the handmade love, have a look at my f-f-f-fashion on folksy pinboard

i'm deeply unsporty, one terrible sports day i was forced to compete in the SHOT PUTT (there are very few physiques less suited to the event)...however, i've i've been drawn in by the london olympics. i was cheering mo farah on to victory last night (so exciting, how did his wife not go into labour and deliver the twins then and there?! she deserves a gold too) and i had tears in my eyes watching jessica ennis win the heptathalon. go team GB!

thankyou folksy favourites

i've been silent for a while as we've been up north relaxing at my folks' house and then stressing out in the hospital in 'that london' while the docs tried to work out just why wee baby j breathes so darn fast. while i've been away i've had a couple of very welcome features on folksy. the first was this rather lovely sampler which was distributed to buyers and media types. there's my 'dunk' print third row down on the right.

then my shipping forecast and cuppa print was featured in 'the folksy weekly' (you can sign up to receive 'the folksy weekly' here). i'm going to have to print a third edition at this rate! thanks folksy folk...

bread and jam

thanks to the lovely loves at bread and jam for featuring my sparrow print in their folksy friday showcase. also thanks to my lovely folksy customers, my shipping forecast and cuppa prints have been flying off the cyber shelves!

shades of grey

the grey version of the old lady swearwords print has proven really popular. i've just printed some more in a new shade, a lovely matte, deep, dark grey. you can buy one here or here.

shipping forecast second edition

i finished printing a second edition of the 'shipping forecast and cuppa' print yesterday while m and o went to see 'monster in paris' at great expense (turns out not all saturday morning showings are part of the bargain kids club deal...). please help me to recoup some of the cost of their cinematic extravagance; prints are available now in my folksy and etsy shops. i've changed the layout a bit for the second edition so they are easier to frame. the perfect gift for the salty ol' sea dog in your life.

happy mother's day to all the mamas out there and especially to my mum who cares not for the internet and so is unlikely to ever read this (i'm off to phone her now...)