Ditsy Bird Designs

Friday, 11 March 2016

Create consistently

Hello!

Back in December, I think it was, my friend Helen and I, set challenges for ourselves - mine was to draw daily. Now anyone who follows me on Instagram, will know that my mum sadly lost her fight with cancer earlier this year...so there were a number of days where there was no drawing. Having said that, there were other days that were entirely spent drawing...it is very much my therapy, solace and sanctuary - a place where I can be entirely in the moment.

To sum up, after that waffly preamble, I have been endeavouring to draw daily, and to create consistently.

This has been challenging some days, but also incredibly rewarding - I find that when I'm on top of the challenge, a few wonderful things happen together:

ideas flow more freely, making it easier to think of something to draw and waking up my creativity
I'm becoming more and more confident with my tools, through regular use and practice
I'm getting the chance to play with more mediums - watercolour, ink, gouache, mixed media
my personal creative style is becoming more and more apparent
I'm quickly finding out which ideas work and which don't - you know that gut feeling you get, about whether a certain style / design or medium 'fits'? I'm finding it much easier to spot what is and isn't me...Sarah and Ditsy Bird
I'm getting quicker - much quicker - at knocking a quick sketch out - much less pondering and worrying, and a lot more of the 'just going with it'. This is a very good thing. Trusting my intuition.
I'm happy when I draw, and as I'm drawing a lot at the moment, I am feeling generally happy most days - even bearing in mind recent events, this is still true. And I'm very grateful for it.
I'm managing to maintain a creative momentum that I haven't achieved in the past. Because I am drawing daily, I'm already in the creative mindset, which is making it easier for me to stay on track with current projects, and actually complete some! Boom!
my Instagram feed is looking good too, thanks to regular process shots and finished doodle photos...always a good thing, as I have a terrible habit of simply retreating from social media (and social life) when life gets tough

All in all, I'm mighty glad to have taken up the challenge, and aim to stick with it for the rest of the year, and hopefully catch up with the days I've missed so that I have the full 366 posts by the end of it!

Have you set yourself any personal challenges this year, and how have you benefitted from them?

Sarah
♡

PS if you fancy a looksee at all the drawings, head to my Instagram feed, or in Instagram search for the following three hashtags #dbd2016dailydrawing #draweveryday2016 #2016creativechallenge xxx

Friday, 6 November 2015

Seeing things

I see things - creatures and faces mostly - in every day items, and thought I'd start sharing them to see if you can see them too :)

To kick it off, here is the panda that I found hiding in my ciabatta roll back in September. As you do. Well, as I do...regularly it seems.

can you see him? his twin brother is on the other side but is covered in mayo, the poor fella

my sketched interpretation of him

and finally...a side-by-side comparison - introducing Ciabi ("chabby") the panda ❤︎

Ha, so there you go...a bit of randomness to brighten your day (and possible make you question my sanity).

Cheerio for now!
x

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

A place for your cuppa - hand painted coasters

I love wandering around the homewares section of shops, to see if there is anything I can find, that would be suitable for the Ditsy treatment.

Recently, I spotted some natural cork coasters and placemats in Boyes, so took some home to play with.

My idea worked so well, that after testing one coaster with my own cuppas over the course of a few weeks, I'm happy to say that I now have some very unique, hand painted coasters in my shop!

Here's a look at my process, and the finished items...

I painted straight onto the cork, using acrylic paint

adding the design

finished penguins and birds covered with a few coats of protective sealant

pucker up, it's nearly mistletoe time!

my test subject!

I'd love to know what you think, and if you fancy one, you can get them here and can get 20% off until midnight on Sunday 8th November, by using HOHOHO20 at checkout!

Why not have a go yourself - or maybe make some as teacher gifts with your children? The only limit is your imagination ❄︎

cheers!

Sarah

Recent Makes

Hello!

I thought I'd share some of my recent makes with you to inject a little colour into this grey, damp Autumnal Wednesday.

There has been some inking, painting and stitching going on in these parts...and a lot of it with a very specific seasonal theme!

My mum has been recovering from a hip replacement, and has also been feeling the effects of her illness - so October was given over to visiting her in hospital, and having her stay with us for three weeks. Not a lot of time was free for Ditsying, but we've had some fab quality time with Mum! She's now having some excellent care and rehabilitation at our local Sue Ryder hospice, so I've been lucky enough to be able to spend the past two days painting...just for the fun of it. Oh what a much needed joy that has been!!! I'm feeling much less twitchy and twisty (I needed my fix) and something I wanted to try is working out just dandy.

Eventually, Mum will come back here again to stay, until she is fully fit to go back home, so I'm cramming as much creative time as I can, into my days...though the late nights are already taking their toll zzzzzz ;)

This is just a quick little post, before I head back into My Room and get messy again, but I hope to be back soon. In the meantime, my Christmas shop is now open on the website (click here), and to celebrate I am offering 20% off all purchases until midnight 8th Nov, with the code HOHOHO20...just enter this when checking out!

Cheerio for now,
Sarah
x

a little love filled commission

and the finished result

tiny Autumn leaf brooches

a pretty collection of hand drawn, jewel coloured rings

from sketch to reality - a gift for a friend

trying my hand at lino cutting again

cheery decorations in progress

a bit of upcycling fun

starting to take shape!

And now a selection of new Christmas products now in the shop, don't forget to use HOHOHO20 when you check out ❄︎

Monday, 3 August 2015

Summer time in London

Hello!

Friday last, George and I were up bright and early, to catch the 10.15am train from Leeds to London.

During the week, Paul (my partner and super-semi-step* dad to George) works down in Farnborough. So when the holidays allow us, we occasionally travel down to meet him in the big smoke, to have a fun weekend exploring...and also to save him the arduous commute back home to North Yorkshire.

We try and stay in different areas each time, and this weekend we were based in the Waterloo district (at another Premiere Inn, because we do get the best night's sleep in their beds), as I had a real desire to visit the South Bank area.

It didn't disappoint!

We saw the hilarious Scotch and Soda show in the London Wonderground Festival Spiegeltent, next to the South Bank Centre - acrobats, bike tricks, strange men in wooden clogs, all to incredible music by the Crusty Suitcase Band.

We had another hilarious outing, quite by accident, thanks to a member of the boat crew giving us a free guided tour, on the river cruise we took down to Greenwich.

Over the course of the weekend, we walked miles; the sun shone; we laughed; we ate amazing steaks and watched George desperately try to climb the lions in Trafalgar Square; we wandered South Bank and took in all the sights, sounds and smells; stumbled on a cool little exhibition about youth culture throughout the ages and the world; and generally remembered how good it is, to be of our happy little trio.

Here are some photos of our visit...