Let's take a break!

Short week, long week-end, surprise destination for a 3 days trip... my boyfriend planned everything! We're leaving tomorrow morning for a 3 and 1/2 hours car trip to the north-east, to a place outside France where there is water (sea or river), chocolate (they obviously make very good  and famous chocolate there...) and where we once wanted to go (but there are so many cities and countries we always want to go...)! I have quite an idea of where we're going but he didn't tell me yet! :) Have a guess! Where could it be?? 

See you next week to tell you more about it, hopefully with nice pictures! 

Have a great weekend! 

Inspiration: Heather Moore

Heather Moore made my day with a very inspiring post about old keys over at her Skinny Laminx blog! She tells about how she met Beryl who gave her a lot of keys she had kept for many years. 

I have a slightly different but yet quite similar story: I live with my mother and brother in a very old house charged with a lot of history, a lot of changes (it was an Artist's house in the 1920's, then it was turned into several appartments and now it has been put back together into a single house for about 20 years) and it's LOT of keys, that have been used and kept over the years...

Here is a picture I took last year for some photography project. You can see some of the keys on it. But now I have been inspired by Heather I think I might have a second look at them and come up with an illustrative/drawn design or pattern!

Thanks Heather! :)

Bikini!

As the weather has been so nicely warm and sunny by the end of last week it felt pretty tough to keep up around here and not to get tanned (sunburnt...ouch!) on the terrace... that will explain my lack of posts, even if it's not a great reason...! anyway, it was good enough to inspire this bikini pattern! :)

And I'm happy to announce you a few new banners on the right side of my blog leading to fabulous artists' -- Heather Moore and her Skinny Laminx Etsy shop, Ecojot by Carolyn Gavin and Geninne Zlatkis' Etsy shop --  shops!

upside/down

Here goes an under water upside-down pattern to wish you all a happy Earth Day! What do you think? could it work on a kid's bathing suit? on a shower curtain? a beach bag? I'd love to hear your opinion! 

feels like summer!

After a day spent with friends on the terrace I'm definitely in the mood for summer! Now the only thing I'm wishing for is more sun, more friends coming over and more sunbathing having a glass of fresh sparkling water... It's only when it feels like summer again you notice how much you really missed it!! 

Update

I know it's been a while since my last post, so here's a little update: I brought all my pattern prints (shown on picture) to Atelier LZC on friday and I'm waiting for the show and for it to be over to know if my patterns were liked and how everything went in Hong Kong! But that won't be until the end of next week so I'll have to be patient!

On a more personal side I would like you to know that I would like to open an Etsy shop in the following months, I just have to get everything organised so it might still take a while but I will definitely let you know when it happens!

And today I have been working on a few banners to lead you to the blogs or shops of some of my favorite designers... You can already see one for Matte Stephens and Helen Dardik (though it may not be their final version yet) on the right side of my blog and there are a few more to come so watch this space out! :)

Now a new week has started... a little bit more relaxed one so I hope I'll get a lot of fun new designs done!

old designs + new colors = new patterns!

I thought I'd never manage to post today but finally I'm done with work for the show...!! I would have liked to get more patterns done but I guess you're never entirely satisfied with your work: that's what keeps you going! :) So here are some flower designs you might be familiar with (from one of my older posts) but I wasn't quite sure about their colors, they looked a bit fade to me... so I gave them a second life in brighter tones and now they look friendly and happy to leave for China next week! yay! Sleep well everybody, I definitely need some now! 

Illustration friday: fleeting

I was in IF mood again today and as I still needed to get some illustrations done for the show in Hong Kong it was the perfect excuse! Funny how sometimes you get a lot more done when there's just no time at all...!!

Now to the illustration: The little pirate is pretty surprised to get a love message from a fish... his cat doesn't really mind though... but all together I think the movement of the scene can be a good description of a fleeting moment!

PS: click image for larger view

new flower patterns

Pardon my lack of activity... after 2 days off this weekend, I'm having a crazy busy time right now... just a few flowers to brighten up the blog and hopefully the promise of more interesting and nice posts next week! 

(I can't say what I will achieve around here this week...)

Happy Easter!

Have a lovely family/friends/fun Easter weekend!

See you next week!

Samples received!

I received samples of some of my designs for Acte-Deco today! Really small scaled though (the three flower designs for example are wallpapers and their real sizes are 80cm to 160cm x 3m), but big enough to appreciate the great quality of their GreenDeco line, printed on canvas with eco friendly inks! what more can you ask for? :) I'm really excited about it and hope customers will appreciate my products! 

ps: click on the picture for larger view

Experimenting with flowers...

This is what came out experimenting in my funny flower laboratorium...! Sometimes I wish you could buy any flower you want, even the ones that only exist in secret places like my laboratorium... :) 

For now I'm going to bed, wishing all of you a good night full of sweet flower dreams...

Sausage dogs

Seems like there's something about dogs in my head lately... I love dogs and I miss mine but I know I will get a new puppy someday... until then I cuddle with those in my mind :)

Puppy love

Just in time before midnight to post this little lady and her puppy and to wish you all a happy weekend! 

pssst: I have been quite busy so the posting has been slowed down a bit this week but I'll try to catch up next week when I'll be back in Paris!

Kreativ Blogger Award

I would like to thank the talented Jenny, a.k.a. Artemis Wilde, for giving me this Kreativ Blogger Award! It is now my turn to name 7 things I love and to pass the Award on to 7 creative bloggers! How exciting! :)

7 things I love:

1. My family, my closest friends and my boyfriend who is always there to support, especially in the tough moments of life...

2. Having a hot cup of tea by a cracking fire place while stormy weather is on its way outside...

3. Reading a good book, getting lost in it and forget everything about reality and the place I am physically being in...

4. Illustrating... what more can I say about this one? It makes my day everytime I finish a project, I think we (designers, illustrators and all the crafty people) are so lucky! Being able to create one own's world of shapes and colors is not given to everybody... think about it! 

5. Booking a trip to a place I have always wanted to go and imagine how it will be, counting the days until I can finally go there...

6. Laying/sitting/standing on the beach feeling the water tickling my toes and the sun warming my back! It's one of the best feelings I know...

7. And the one thing I love most for the end: A big warm hug from my boyfriend, any occasion, good or bad, I feel so much better afterwards, it gives me a lot of strength!

I'd like to pass the Award on to Skinny Laminx, Matte Stephens, Orange you Lucky!, Geninne's Art Blog, Ingela P. Arrhenius, Kirin Notebook and A print a day. I love reading all your blogs and seeing your wonderful art everyday!

The seaweed dandelions

A lot of designers seem to enjoy those little funny flowers, I came across several beautiful designs & patterns of dandelions lately, and of course, not to forget Angie Lewin's amazing work! Well mine look a bit different though, more like a crossing between a dandelion and seaweed... But they have a funny power: with their bright colors they can give the strongest good mood and happy feeling to whoever sees them...! watch out! :)