St. Andrews

Last weekend I visited the small coastal village of St. Andrews in Scotland with two of my friends. We walked down to the harbour and breathed in the fresh sea air before pottering about the quaint charity shops and cafes, hopping from the freezing cold into the inviting warmth of the shops. We spent lots of our time in one particular charity shop which was packed with hundreds of childhood books and ornate encyclopaedias - it was great to reminisce through all the illustrated books and stories I used to love reading (and still do!). I also was inspired by some little ceramic creatures I found to try out some for myself this semester.

Oh, and here is a song officially out just yesterday: Jimmy Napes - Give it up

Here are some pictures of our trip:

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

Goodbye Christmas, hello New Year!

Some pictures I took at home over the days leading up to Christmas.

 

Here's a song to lead you into the New Year: Just Kiddin - Thinking About It

 

 

 

 

 

(I made the table decoration using greenery from the garden; it was really easy to put together along with some pinecones, dried lemon and orange slices, and cinnamon bundles - all attached with some wire so push into the green foam surrounding the candle)

 

 

'On my way to another lazy morning'

Winter is here to stay and the coats and hats are on! I'm now back home for the next few weeks, already stocking up on home-baked goodies and warming my toesies by the fire. I went to a carol service last night and it was nice to reflect on the meaning of Christmas, as well as listen to some beautiful songs and readings.
My next few days are dedicated to baking, eating, sleeping, painting and watching movies with my family - Moi je - Fais Rien sums up my lovely lazy attitude to life at the moment.

Below are a few photos taken last week when my flatmate and I went for a saunter around Mills Observatory in Dundee.

Gluten-free Goodness

 At last my gluten-free cookbook is on it's way to print, ready to be binded and photographed! All recipes in my illustrated book have been personally tried and tested; I can firmly say that they all taste 100% delicious! They are student friendly - no fuss, no fancy sounding expensive ingredients, and suitable for anyone who is Coeliac or wheat intolerant (with handy tips throughout).

  Here are some page exerts from the book ...Bon Appétit!

  

Kids Activity Pack

For my most recent univeristy project I have been making a kids activity pack for a beach and forest park called Tentsmuir, not too far from where I live in Dundee.
The pack includes an eight page activity book, instructions on how to make a compass, binoculars, an illustrated map of the area and a handmade envelope for posting a letter about 'Tenstmuir Adventures'. Here are some mock up photos of the pack and items in the sand dunes and among the forest pines:

Autumnal Feelings

Life is busy at the moment but in a good way as I'm loving the personal projects I'm able to do in fourth year! And it's getting colder and colder, something I notice mostly when I'm out for my evening run. Maybe this is a good thing though as it makes me run twice as fast to warm up quicker.

Here are some snippets from the current nature project I'm working on, related to the recent photos in my last blog post. I'm working in Gouache paint for the first time, and I love the bright colours it produces while still maintaining that watercolour look. This weekend I'm hoping to spend some time forest walking and gathering material and more inspiration for my project... which will no doubt be put up on my blog when it's finally finished! 

Happy Autumn!

Tentsmuir

Some photos from a little road trip to Tentsmuir Forest Park and Beach this weekend... the sun decided to peek through the haze, perfect for photographing the endless stretch of beach and surrounding pine forest. I really don't know why I don't visit this hidden gem of Fife more often!

(The last photo of a family on the beach is one of my favourites).

Food, Glorious Food

For my current uni project I'm making an illustrated cookbook which I am absolutely loving; the experimentation perhaps the yummy research I've ever done! I thought I would share a few of the photos I took during the process just to make everyone hungry and jealous... I will post up the actual pages of the book very soon so watch out for them!

On a side note, here is also a song I am enjoying at the moment, it's called 'Every Other Freckle' by Alt-J and the mesmerising video is directed by Olivier Groulx. 

- Cashew, Potato and Chickpea Curry



- Spicy Lentil Soup



- Courgette, Basil and Mozzarella dish

- 2 Ingredient Pancakes

- Thai Salmon Noodles

Patterning

Now that my university course has started again for the last time I am swamped with projects and dissertation work which means it's hard to make time for blogging. But I really want to keep it up and use this blog as a little outlet for fun/random/artwork unrelated to my course! So, here are some pattern doodles I made recently with a tribal/mosaic feel to them:

                   

Red Admirals

Summer is slowly starting to leave us but the butterflies in my garden are determined to stay. I photographed them on the purple butterfly tree called 'Buddleja Davidii'; the light isn't particularly bright but is representative of the weather here at the moment! The butterflies make up for that anyway I think...