Come out, come out.......

!!!The Downtown Boutique Giveaway!!!

...Wanna read my first ever ♥ interview ♥ ???
...?
no?
Then, ...what if some cute Hide n Seek giveaway goodies are included in the deal?? ;)
Yeah, i knew it!!:) lol

Ha!!  I'm soooooo happy about this one!!
I've been so grateful to wonderful Angie, a fellow Etsy artist, for featuring me in her delightful blog,  Rio Oso Designs the first time, BUT now I'm even more thankful to be interviewed for her new, beautiful second blog,   The Downtown Boutique!!!

For the giveaway, I'll be happily giving those cuties:

Is Miss Ladybug made out of poppies or the poppies made out of Miss Ladybugs  Part 1  -- Print 8 1/2 x 11 inches --

and

Hide n Seek -- 1 Card 4 x 6 inches -- with 1 Ivory  Envelope

So, even if you are not one of the First-kiss Competition winners, which by the way I have to say that this competition has been extremely enjoyable and I'm very very ♥ charmed ♥   from every single one of you that took part in, left your sweet story or just read through, ...then don't worry cause here is another chance to get some Hide n Seek goodies:))

Go check it out here and don't forget ...it ends on Friday the 7th of March! :))

                       ♥ Best of Luck to all of you my lovelies ♥ 

Frontpage happiness!!!

I'm on the frontpage !!!!

Just now, my lovely friend and superb artist Andrea, just sent me the smiley news:))))
This is my third time in the spotlight of Etsy frontpage but first time i see it fast enough to take a snapshot of it:))) so excited!!:))))) giggling n skipping around:D
....yep!! Little Eloise is smiling and is very very Happy!!:))))))

♥The Book of Isabella♥

.........!!!!!!!!! Ta Da !!!!!!!!!.........

So here it is!
My super enjoyable commissioned new artwork:
♥The Book of Isabella♥

The Book of Isabella

I can finally break my silence about this one...
It was quite some time ago, when i received this intriguing   suggestion of being commissioned for a project that involved  the cutest 6 year old red head, Isabella, and her mommy's birthday.

Isabella's dad wanted to surprise his dear wife, by presenting her with a commissioned artwork of their sweet daughter as a birthday present.
"....How adorable!!" , i thought, and i didn't regret a single moment of it!

I'm so happy to be able to share this lovely artwork with you, since Isabella's dad also kindly agreed for the artwork to be sold in my Etsy shop so that it can be enjoyed by everyone around the world!

It took 2 and a half months of ideas and counter-ideas, proposals and counter-proposals, sketches and scribbles, disappointing defeats and glorious victories,   many cups of energising tea and quite a few pencil leads. Eventually here's where we are now! "The Book of Isabella".

Little Isabella's story book, the book of her life, still in its early pages with only 6 years worth of beautiful memories written in it. But she is not the kind of girl to let her destiny unravel uncontrolled, with her spirit as fiery as her hair she takes control of her life and fills her Book however she likes. She paints on and writes on and scribbles on and tears and crumples and straightens again and puts back in and pulls back out the pages of her Book. It is her own life and her own destiny!

But foremost in her thoughts is always her loving family that she loves painting in her book over and over again. You can see little Isabella's original masterpiece of her family on the bottom left corner, which her loving dad managed to sneak out of the home and scan and mail to me secretly so i could put it in the drawing :D

It was an honour to emulate Isabella's unique style as i drew her and her family jumping out of the book!! Little "crayon" Isabella can't wait to explore the world as she is climbing down from the Book, while big Isabella is putting the finishing touches on her "crayon" mommy's smile who is herself about to jump out of the book and give a big hug to her "crayon" husband for the wonderful birthday gift he gave her ;D

Oh, little Isabella likes Praying Mantises because  she says they always seem to be smiling. Well, it seems that the Praying Mantises also enjoy Isabella's beautiful smile because they have gathered around to stare at her!! Speaking of her beautiful smile, i could never be skilled enough to put on paper how lovely and cute Isabella is when smiling!!!

This has been such an enjoyable and fulfilling project. I'm very thankful and excited with how everything turned out and i decided to take the big step to start putting big prints on my Etsy shop with this lovely illustration. So you can find "The Book of Isabella" in three sizes: A3 (a full 11 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches!), 8 1/2 x 11 inches and 5 x 7 inches!!

You can also find tags inspired by this cute illustration, with buttons, magnets and a pocket mirror coming soon!

The Book of Isabella  -- Tags --

The Book of Isabella  --Pocket Mirror --

2 Days left !!!

Hurry sweeties!!!
Only 2 days left in order to win these cute Hide n Seek goodies :

Playing in love  Part 1 of 3  -- Print 5 x 7 inches --

and.....

Playing in love Part 2 of 3  -- Print 5 x 7 inches --

and....

Playing in love Part 3 of 3  -- Print 5 x 7 inches --

and....!!!

 

Playing in love -- Pocket Mirror --

To take part, simply read my ♥----First kiss story competition----♥  post and leave a comment with your cute story here or there :))))
Admittedly though, the stories so far were all SO devilishly cute!!
I'm gonna have such hard time deciding.....hmmmm....i think we'll have some runner ups! :D
Read the first-kiss stories so far here

♥Good luck everybody♥

I've been holding a secret ;)

!! Here it comes my Etsy shop update on the first day of spring !!

I'll be adding some lovely new items from my latest super enjoyable commission project!!

oooohhhh .....It was so hard to keep this a secret up until now, but I managed to do it!!!
This project was for a lovely surprise, so i wouldn't dare to spoil it.
It is still sort of a secret so i won't talk about it until the 1st of March where I'll release the artwork too!
!!! I love secrets n surprises, there is something very enticing knowing or preparing one, respectively!

Hope you all enjoy:))

♥ 1000 Hearts n mine ♥

                                             1000 Hearts !?!?!?
Who could tell??...not me for sure.

I used to see those sellers at Etsy with the numerous digits of hearts n all I was telling to myself was that I'd have to be very very but VERY patient if I ever wanted to see 4 digits of hearts in my shop.

To my surprise, what I would hardly expect in 3 years time came in less than 3 months!!

That's too much love I'm telling you...so I can only re-pay it back 1000 times more. ;)
So I send you all in return:

1000 of these : x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

1000 of these : :) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :) :):) :) :)

and 1000 of these:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

My own secret recipe of sweet and thankful love :)

Thank you so much for all your love n support and of course for sharing your heart :D

Earthquake ..!?!!

  !!??!! What on earth??...ok ok it might sound a bit pointless making a post for an earthquake, especially when the humble 4.7 M_L  of it's intensity would be like the equivalent of a rocking crib or some weird n jittery massage chair for any Japanese or Mediterranean accustomed to earthquakes,   BUT ......here, it's England!!!

We don't have earthquakes! You know, as we don't have sun n proper food n stuff, we D O N 'T have earthquakes!

It was about 1 am last night when some “moderate” shaking n trembling woke me up. Was it my first one?...sort of.... Did I panic? ....yep!

My first experience with an earthquake was exactly when I was born. My mother says she tumbled down the stairs of the hospital with me on her arms which might explain my current disposition....:D Anyway, that experience does not count, so it was practically my first one! I was looking through the window for that “zig-zag-shaped crevasse” that moves rapidly from the horizon toward your home..you know which one, thinking right or left, left or right??? Luckily it never came!

I think, that the fact my Spanish neighbours mumbled loudly something about “terremoto!!” and then went back to sleep, might explain how little familiar I am with earthquakes compared to them!

Even my partner, Michael, said still half sleeping “who's shaking the house...?” !!??!?!?!..??

When he finally woke up, he still couldn't believe that an earthquake could be the answer to what he previously and in his dreams thought as the doing of a giant mischievous otter, that for some reason decided to “rock” our Victorian-built  ( meaning, NOT quake-proof )  building....yep...you know those giant otters! Now the image came n stuck in my mind.....I think I'll create a special illustration about it!! Until then, enjoy the super cool photo I took of the incident!!!!! lol -with my Photoshop camera- ;)

Any peculiar otter activity to share? Lol :)

Birthday in wonderland

This birthday, I had a full all day  schedule, so my grand plans were to..... .basically celebrate   in front of my pc working for Hide n Seek..... I've dreamed though, of taking off the following  Saturday and after many years of celebrating this day for others, to   have my very first personal and esoteric kind of celebrating....My   plans included to make my own colourful rainbow-forest cake, like the   ones I nostalgically recall from my childhood, with different   colourful layers of sponge and fruity yummy cream in between and all   kinds of edible flowers, icings, animals and trees on top of it!

I thought that a forest made of chocolate moulds and icing, a bisquit-y squirrel, a deer, a red fox, a grey stripy mouse, a white owl and a dark chocolate crow -my fave animals- would be just perfect to be on top of my cake!!!

After “successfully” completing it, I'd start picking all the icings n embellishments one after another, like I used to do when little, until the cake was left with only traces of what it had before...I'd then blow the one candle out and I'd spend the rest of the day reading a book, drawing and planting in my favourite red pot some spring lilies n yellow pansies I bought. BUT a surprise came, that changed my plans after all.

Michael, my poor partner, the one for all the dirty jobs..had just returned from the post office or at least that's what I thought he did, cause instead he entered the door with this cute chocolate cake with lit birthday childish candles, a pretty burgundy red tulip and presents on his hands.

  He had been   secretly planning this entrance of his, of which I was totally   oblivious ans was caught on total surprise! I LOVE SURPRISES!! But I was afraid of something unexpected coming exactly at the same time  when I was and still am desperately trying to regiment my plan..However, I found the idea so comforting, since everything I do for the past months, even the entertainment I have, is in strict   schedule. I knew my plans had to wait for another day. We both   grabbed a huge piece of cake, which by the way was far better than   anything I would ever manage to create myself! I dreamt of making a   rainbow forest cake, but instead I got this rich n dark chocolate   black forest cake with black n red berry moist spongy layers!!   Seriously yummy!!

Michael thought he should buy me this cute little plastic train topper which I though was very cute but eventually   didn't use cause there was no space left on the cake for more toppers   n such. He had bought all sorts of birthday candles,  some of them   were those cute little horses or whatever they were, that I found   particularly sadistic to watch them burn :((

I later indulged myself in a mellow   evening of reading -again- my favourite story of all times...Alice in   Wonderland. This time it was a publication of 1949.

I have this small   obsession of collecting all kinds of old n odd publications of the   “Alice” books.

I even got to plant some beautiful lilies n hyacinths of which I'll be posting their progress:) The lilies are not much to look at yet but the hyacinths look n smell soooo perfect!!!!!!I thought I should post the cake's progress too, but it got vanished pretty quickly...lol LoL!!

Soon I'll get to make that rainbow-forest cake of mine and of course I'll share with you how was it...although there is a slight problematic detail that I did not mention....i don't know how to do it or have any similar recipe:( I'm   dreading of an awful failure...So...any recipes, suggestions or ideas   are SO welcome!! Till then....
  ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥My sweetest wishes to all of you my sweeties!!!!!!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Birthday Time

...yep!! it's birthday time again :)............

....Now....I have to be viciously honest about this “birth – day” thing....I find little importance in the fact that I happened to be born the exact same date as my birthday some years ago...n sometimes,....even annoying too! n i'll tell you why...

You usually don't remember a thing about back then! As much as you'd love too, you don't !!  All parents, siblings  etc though, DO and find it very amusing to remind you of how you were born with fat on your head or a silly squashed expression, pink, green or polka dotty in colour, small as a mouse, big as a pig or wrinkled as a Shar-pei...!
They also, always give you the impression that just because they remember some things that you don't, they instantly know you better than YOU do!! .....

Sometimes it's even worse...like,  if they all know about that “unique” n quite embarrassing childhood habit of your's that you wish they didn't bring about in every family reunion, after some glasses of  some “...nah...it's not so strong...” wine! Or the ultimately humiliating situation, when that older, distant n quite boring cousin of yours comes at your birthday and claims he knows “where that cute little birth mark of yours is....... “ !!!!!!! 

So basically, if you think about it the only common thing with the day you were born, apart from, of course,...yeah the date....is you, your memories and ...basically that unwanted birth mark or so.

Generally, I happen to enjoy most little ritualistic habits or celebrations in life, even that of our birthday's...as pagan-like as it seems to me, but maybe for different reasons. And the biggest of all is that such times are SO very “memory creative”!! They are creating memories that stay with you forever.

I'll share with you all, how my birthday was, what were my plans and how nothing of what I had in mind happened, really soon.!!:D
I also promise to find at least one of those new-born baby photos of mine, that I have numerous times tried to bribe my mother to sell them to me, in order to stop her carry them in her wallet and show them to all her friends and such, saying “ ohhh look at all this baby fat on her head!!!  ” ... lol

Soon!

♥----First kiss story competition----♥

So... inspired by my first kiss memory, I'm doing my first ever competition with the theme of the most exciting or not so exciting first kiss story of yours !!!

Share with me your first kiss experience and I'll pick a lucky winner who will win a wonderful selection of Hide n Seek gifts!!!

I'll make a special post for the winning story which will be shared with the rest of you here in my blog!!

So don't  hesitate to share all the juicy, saucy or embarrassing details..the ones we are dying of curiosity to know or the ones that'll stay engraved in our memories and we'll wish we'd never heard of!!:D

Leave your story as a comment on this post or even mail it to me until the first day of Spring.

I'll announce the winner on  Saturday the 8th of March, again here in my blog!;)

xoxoxoxo