the green gal

Drawing a day: 31 August

So, today is the final day of the daily drawing challenge. When Gabriella Buckingham of ink. paint. paper. suggested the challenge I was unsure of whether I should join in. I haven't been drawing for very long and I was worried that others might think my illustrations too simple or childish. But, over time my confidence has grown. I'm sure there are still people who aren't smitten with my style but others have taken the time to tell me how they like my simple drawings and I'm very grateful for them. I only know how to draw they way I do and it's not like everyone ever likes everything!

Today's drawing is my front door, with today's date in place of the house number, I thought it only fitting! I'd like to thank Gabriella for challenging me in the first place and all those people who cheered me onwards, on twitter and the flickr group. The bank of illustrations I have built up is already being turned into a new design (to be revealed soon) and I've got lots more ideas in the pipeline. And lastly, thank you for putting up with my daily drawing posts, where would my blog be without my lovely readers?!

Drawing a day: 30 August

My penultimate daily drawing! And it's my eye shadow compact! (Don't miss this post from earlier today with a free printable poster, what do you think of the hand drawn lettering?)

Not all those who wander are lost – printable poster

You know those days when you have a long to do list but somehow you sidetrack yourself into doing something completely different? Yep, I had one of those recently. It wasn't entirely off track as I've been meaning to play around with hand drawn typography for a while but I didn't plan to create a new printable poster for you all. And yet I did…

I have Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkein to thank for these words and I think this quotation is rather apt, considering how the poster came about. I took a meandering path the day I made this but by no means an aimless one. What do you think of the hand drawn lettering?

In case you don't fancy using up lots of ink printing out the first version I've made a second version which isn't quite so striking but a lot lighter on your ink cartridge. 

The posters are A4 size and you can download the pdfs here:

Download not all who wander black poster

Download not all who wander white poster

As always with my free printables, feel free to tell other people about them but please do link to the post, not just the download, and all my free downloads are for personal, not commercial, use.

PS I sent out the green gables newsletter today – it's packed full of new product news, an exclusive offer on stationery and a recipe! That bit's just for fun. If you'd like a copy in your inbox just tell me your email, or sign up in the box on the green gables website. You'll receive an email once or twice a month (which includes a special offer just for subscribers) and if you change your mind you can unsubscribe at any time.

Drawing a day: 29 August

My kitchen has provided a lot of inspiration for my daily drawings, I think it's because I like drawing 'things'. Today I give you a spatula, wooden spoon and whisk:

Nest Pretty Things

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As you may have read in a previous post, I've been listening to lots of super interesting interviews with creative business women on SmartCreativeWomen.com. This week I caught up on a few more and heard a great chat the host, Monica, had with Tamar Schechner. Tamar's business is called Nest Pretty Things, she makes such pretty jewellery and accessories and sells her creations in her three shops on etsy – Nest Pretty Things, Nest Pretty Brides and Nest Pretty Things Kids. 

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As I do with all of Monica's interviews I click through to the subject's website or shop or blog, and I was so taken with Tamar's jewellery. It's just so pretty! She creates everything herself, many of the elements that make up the pieces are coloured to her specification and she's really keen to make everything super strong and durable. 

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Tamar came across so well in the interview, talking very honestly about how she runs her business, and her work is so gorgeous, I just wanted to share it with you! She lives in the US and says she has a lot of British customers, which doesn't surprise me at all. Take a look at all the links I listed above and you can read her blog too.

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Drawing a day: 28 August

Super simple today, keys:

Drawing a day: 27 August

So this is the last week of the daily drawing challenge! I drew today's a little bit late as I was engrossed in designing patterns for a new line of stationery and lost track of time (which also meant I photographed it in horrible lightbulb light). But here it is, a bottle that I used to hold elderflower cordial, you can find the recipe and a photo of the bottle here…

My weekend

We had family to visit this weekend so went on a long walk in the Surrey hills with our dogs. It was sunny when we left the house but the forecast (which we had foolishly chosen to ignore) came true when halfway through the walk a monsoon descended! We sheltered under some trees for the worst of it, that's when I took this pic, and then walked home as briskly as possible. Still, a little bit of rain never hurt anyone!

Drawing a day: 25 + 26 August

Hello, hello! Hope you're having a lovely weekend, wherever in the world you are.

We had family to stay this weekend and so I forgot to post yesterday's daily drawing. So today is a double whammy. First up is my iPhone…

and then here is a drawing of my pair of glasses. Can I just point out how tricky it is to not wear the glasses you need to see so that you can draw the glasses you now can't see very well? It's not easy!

Drawing a day: 24 August

Another day, another drawing. Did you see my earlier post about something I designed using a few of my daily drawings? Let me know what you think.

So, here is today's offering: my comb and hairbrush – in profile and straight on as a bonus!