Creeeeeeeeeeepy...

Just in time for Hallowe'en, I've been completing these briefs for a creepy border and an illustrated poem.  It was fun working in black and white as I normally don't work that way EVER.

I definitely feel in the spooky Hallowe'en mood now. Bring on the pumpkins...

  

Alien crazy...

Its been a looooooong time since I blogged about anything... Ive been crazy busy illustrating a picture book which I cant wait to share with you all when I can! Anyhoo, the lovely people at oh comely magazine have asked for alien doodles for possible feature in their next issue. How could I resist? I love an alien, me.

There have been unconfirmed reports that his name is Keith...

Champagne and spaghetti-scoffing monkeys...

Some very exciting news reached my inbox this week - I am going to be an OFFICIALLY PUBLISHED ILLUSTRATOR!!! I am SO thrilled!!

Sadly, I cant say much about it at the moment, but safe to say it involves drawing more than a few spaghetti-scoffing monkeys whilst simultaneously swigging champagne to celebrate (me, not the monkeys). Can't wait to get started, it should be fun...

urban...

This was an old brief I completed, but thought it fitted this week's 'urban' theme on IF.  Had fun with this one - it has collage, paint and even some sewing on it (ooh get me...).

swim...

With this Easter weekend forecast to be the coldest ON RECORD(!), this is where I'd rather be, thank you very muchly.

eye glasses...

It was Big Hingleberry's Birthday a couple of weeks ago, so I made this pic for him as a present from Medium Hingleberry and Small Hingleberry.  He liked it.  Phew.

Talent...

Bookywookydoodah Friday...

Mummy and Medium Hingleberry have once again set to work reading and discussing another super picture book.  The book of choice this week at Hingleberry Towers is:

'The Princess and the Peas' by Caryl Hart & Sarah Warburton

Lily-Rose May is a sweet little girl who lives with her daddy in a beautiful wood full of butterflies, birds and bunny rabbits.  Lily-Rose is perfect in every way until... her dad tries to feed her peas.  Disaster strikes, Lily-Rose can't stand them (even when whizzed up into smoothies or baked in biscuits and cakes).  Dad is so perturbed he calls for the doctor, who diagnoses a severe case of Princess-itis and packs Lily-Rose off to live at the local castle.  Lily-Rose loves living in the lap of royal luxury  - wearing fabulous dresses and shoes, reading her own library of books and playing with more teddies than you can shake a stick at - but it all goes to pot when she sits down to dinner that night, as she is presented with a dinner far more revolting than peas!  Things go from bad to worse after that with princess training aplenty; learning speeches, lessons in smiling, non-stop waving and a host of other trials.  Perhaps a pea-free life isn't quite as good as it sounds...

Medium Hingleberry and I LOVED this book!  The sing-y-song rhyme is super and the illustrations are just as delicious as the peas (with a clever opportunity to discuss where Mum might be provided by the illustrations).  There is lots of gentle humour and a clever reference to the original fairy tale, as told by the doctor.  Afterwards, we talked for ages about rhyming words and Medium Hingleberry also bought up the subject of why it was good to be happy with what you have at home (even though we thought that being a princess really would be rather marvellous!), which is what I'd hoped she would get from it, well done Caryl Hart! The added bonus came with a new Nosy Crow speciality - 'Stories Aloud' - where, with a quick flick of the phone, we were teated to a lovely retelling of the story by a child. 

Medium Hingleberry "I won't not never eat my peas mummy because I don't want cabbages in soup.  My best was when Lily-Rose could have all the shoes and all the dresses in the world but went home with Daddy to eat her peas."  i'll remind her of that next time we have peas for tea...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

For more info about 'Stories Aloud' and Nosy Crow's other fantastic offerings, visit them here

You can buy 'The Princess and the Peas' here

more Bookywookydoodah Friday next week x

Bookywookydoodah Friday...

I read a LOT of picture books with my middle-sized Hingleberry, so I thought it might be nice to share some of our favourites here on the blog.  Every week, we will re-read and review a scrumptious picture book for your delectation.  Tune in on Friday for a review of the fabulous out-now-in-paperback 'Princess and the Peas' by Caryl Hart, the newest addition to our book basket.

let there be snow...

We have had the most fantastic few days of snow here, enjoyed greatly by all here at Hingleberry Towers!  Ive been duly inspired to explore snowflake patterns as a result - there are some beautiful ones out there...

Here's to the beautiful snow!