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Christmas gifts are always best when they’re personal, which is where my new commission options come into play. If you’re looking for something special for someone you love, giving them a piece of art they can treasure, display, and use is really lovely.

In my store, you can now buy pattern, and illustration commissions as well as portraits so the options are really endless. My prices start at just £15, so you should be able to find something within your budget whatever it is. Plus, I have a few spaces left in time for the holidays too!

I’ve had a couple of questions, so I thought it was worth sharing my process for individual pieces*, even though it’s super-duper simple.

*If you have something bigger you’d like to work on please do get in touch and I can let you know what else will happen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GET IN TOUCH

Step one is always you getting in touch with me. You can do that by buying a set commission like a portrait or a pattern through my shop, or sending me an email (or even tweet me) if you’ve got something a little different in mind or if you’d just rather reach out that way.

LET’S HAVE A CHAT

Then we’ll have a chat about what you want, I do this no matter how you’ve got in touch. This stage is really important to me because I want to make sure that you end up with something you’re really happy with. I’ll ask you what you’re planning on doing with the commission so we get all of the tech specs right, I’ll ask you about what kind of an outcome you’re after, and depending on the kind of piece I might end up asking you about the kinds of work you like and what your style is. This is where I’ll send you a contract if it’s a bespoke commission, and if it’s a large piece ask for a down payment.

SEND IN YOUR REFERENCE PHOTOS, IF NEEDED

If you’ve bought a portrait commission, I’ll ask you to send me some reference photos, because I unfortunately can’t sense through the computer what you or your friends look like. I’ll probably mainly work from one, but I prefer to have a couple to choose from so that I can properly get a sense of who I’m drawing.

I GO AWAY AND DO SOME DRAWING

This is the stage I enjoy the most if I’m honest. I can’t tell you exactly how long it will be here, as it depends on the kind of piece and how busy I am, but it’s something I’ll let you know in our initial discussion. As a general rule of thumb, most portraits or simple black and white (grey) illustrations will take about 3-5 working days.

I’LL PING YOU A PROOF

Once I’m done I’ll send you over a proof to check you’re happy with it. While 99% of people are because of that up front discussion, but if you’re not I’ll do the necessary tweaks, and then send you back another proof.

YOU GET YOUR ILLUSTRATION

Once everything is signed off I’ll send you your illustration.

If you’ve bought a set commission like a pattern I’ll mark the product as shipped, so only then will the PayPal payment be finalised. If you’ve set up something bespoke I’ll send you an invoice.

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As I made a Christmas wallpaper last year, I’m hoping that this is going to become something of a tradition on the blog, because I love having a tradition, especially if it’s festive. Plus, it’s really nice to see how my work and style changes year on year. The difference between this year’s and last year’s is huge, and as much as I still appreciate the stuff I made this time last December, I’m personally really excited about how my work has evolved.

This year I wanted to go with a wreath based design. Wreaths have been a Christmas tradition since the 16th century, and I love the idea of being a part of that running history in a slightly more modern way. While the religious symbolism of a wreath perhaps isn’t as important for a lot of people now, the actual makeup of the wreath hasn’t changed all that much, although we don’t use the candles as much. They’re still made up mainly of evergreens, offering a sense of life in the cold months. Personally, I really like the way that wreaths are a public symbol of embracing the season. As soon as you start to see wreathes out on people’s doors you know that your neighbourhood is getting into the Christmas spirit.

That’s what I wanted to do with this wallpaper, because I’m planning on using it at work as an official notice that I am fully embracing the festivities. Hopefully, it can be your symbol too and we as an online community can hang our wreathes on our digital doors (backgrounds) and use it as a reminder to others and ourselves that we’re letting the Christmas spirit in.

Download the background for your desktop or for your mobile.

If you do end up using it please let me know/share a picture on one of my social pipes – it would honestly make my day!

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It’s Christmas!

I’m so excited!

I feel like I’ve waited a whole year for it to be December again and I’m so ready.

This year I’m going to be doing Blogmas again. That’s right I’m going to be posting every day up until the 24th. I’m not quite sure why I’m doing this to myself again, especially as I am busier than ever, but I love Christmas and it seems like a good idea now.

Each day I’ll be opening a new door on this advent calendar to reveal a new piece a brand new post. So, feel free to come back and check to see what’s new and see the doors change colour because I’m going to pin this post to the side bar. I’ll also be sharing some extra bits on my Instagram stories, as well as more behind the scenes bits and pieces because I really want to get back into using Instagram for fun.

But unlike last year, I’m going to be varying my content a bit more. My usual posts (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays) will still be my normal content, we’re talking design, work, and a few random thoughts. That still leaves Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays for festive content, which I have been working up in secret for months.

Even though I’m doing fewer days of festive content than last year, this blog is going to be jam-packed full of Christmas-y inspiration, illustrations, and perhaps even a recipe or two. I’m hoping there will even be a slight spiced cinnamon scent that just radiates from the page!

What’s behind the windows?

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I know I’m super behind in doing this but I’ve finally updated my shop ready for the festive season, including some new card designs!

As I’m still starting out in this game I only wanted to design one set of cards this year, a Christmas card and an updated Thank You card just in case Santa stops by.

I kept the designs themselves line based, going back to the kind of work I love. But I still wanted a little bit of festive cheer. That’s where my new love/hate relationship with gold foil comes in. I love how shiny and magical these cards are. I didn’t quite love getting the artwork uploaded as much, but it’s all a learning process right?!

I basically just designed the cards I wanted to send out this year, and I’m so pleased with how they turned out. I can’t wait to send them out to my friends and family, and hopefully to you too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve also updated my commission options because I’ve had few requests for things that weren’t up there. So now you can get group and couples portraits as well as custom patterns.

Gifts are best when they’re personal, and nothing says personal like having your face all over something. So get your Christmas orders in soon, because I only have a limited number of spaces before I go home for the holidays.

Plus, if you needed any more of an incentive I’m offering free shipping on all orders over £25 with the code SANTASHELPER

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This month I reread Emma for my office book club and I had such a good time that I wanted to share it here as well. Emma is one of my favourite Jane Austen novels and one of my favourite books full stop. It’s the only book that’s made me give up TV so I could race through it this year and it’s the ideal companion to cozy up to on an autumn’s eve.

For my book club posts, I normally offer you a bit of a review of the piece I’ve picked, but Emma has been so thoroughly reviewed since it’s publishing in 1815. And with 200 years of reviews from some of literature’s best (and perhaps worst) thinkers I’m not sure how much I can really add, so I’m going to keep this month’s review short, sweet, and glowing – yes I am biased and I don’t care.

My alternative cover design for Emma

If you haven’t heard of Emma before, it’s the story of Emma Woodhouse a precocious twenty-year-old lady of Highbury, who imagines herself to be a naturally gifted matchmaker. The reader follows Emma as she conjures up relationships for others but remains sure she will not marry. It’s filled with romance, humour, and plenty of drama.

If you haven’t read Jane Austen before, you’ve missed out. A lot of people including Bronte and Nabokov have written off Austen as nothing special, as “chick lit” for the 19th century and thus not worth any time at all. They are so wrong.

First off, “chick lit” is so valuable. If it brings you joy, if it can take you to another world, then it’s great literature and I don’t care if it features a romance or three talking chickens. Second, Austen is so special.

Second, Austen is a great writer. Her characters are interesting and complex. The way she builds societies and landscapes is simply wonderful. For a novel to read so smoothly there’s so much craft that has to go on behind the scenes. Plus, her use of free indirect discourse in Emma (essentially 3rd person narrator who speaks like, and knows as much as a character) was pretty revolutionary at the time, and yet it seems so natural!

Third, for me, even though her novels were written in the 19th century her stories are completely timeless. Not only do they offer you an insight into another world, they are the blueprint of so many modern romances.

So, in short, don’t write Austen off.

SOME QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ

  • The world is very different to how it was 200 years ago, do you feel like Emma still remains relevant?
  • Reading Emma in 2017 means you have a lot of preconceived ideas of Emma, of romance in literature and film, and of what the plot might be, how do you think the reading experience would have been different if you read Emma in 1815?
  • How do you feel class is portrayed in Emma? What does Austen want us to think?
  • Emma is a matchmaker, do you think there are any similarities between how she draws people together and how Austen as a literary matchmaker brings her characters together?

IF YOU WANT SOME FURTHER READING TRY…

  • Watch the 2009 BBC adaptation, which is currently on Netflix starring Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller – in my opinion it is the best adaptation, the colour and life of it really picks up the character of the book
  • Watch Clueless, it’s pretty much a modern (90s) reimagining of Emma and it’s just a classic
  • John Mullan’s account of why Emma changed the face of literature for the Guardian
  • Anything Paula Byrne has written on Jane Austen, A Life in Small Things is particularly accessible and offers a really interesting look at Austen’s world

IF YOU WANT MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS HAVE A LOOK AT…

  • Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
  • Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey
  • Ian McEwan’s Atonement
  • George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss
  • Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters

Why not use Emma themed bookmark I designed to keep your place as you read? You can print and download it for free here.

As ever, let me know if you’ve read Emma, or if you have any recommendations for what I should be reading next.