Creative Haul

I realised recently that it has been way too long since I've posted on here!

The reason for this is not through lack of creativity, if I am honest I have probably found another (maybe lazier) outlet for showcasing my creativity: Instagram (@elepaws.) I am going to try and make more effort to get posting more on here because my work is being lost in among selfies and lunches, and it's a nice way for myself to reflect.

So here's a few things I've been creating recently...

I drew these little portraits for my flatmate who was sadly moving out to study in Glasgow as a parting gift to remind her of the three of us.

During one of my late night scribblings I drew British style You-tuber  Helen Melon Lady for fun, I linked her to it on twitter and she kindly reposted it, which was lovely of her, this got me lots of lovely new Instagram followers and a load of 'likes.'

And this is a shoe....

More to follow...

For the love of a beautiful movie actress

Silver Wedding Invitations

I was asked to design invitations for my Mum and Dad's 25th Wedding Anniversary. They specifically told me that the wanted nothing cheesy e.g: portraits of them etched into a birch tree in a love heart.
So this is what I came up with...

I chose Items that were relevant to them, such as occupation, hobbies and likes and created a fun pattern for the front of which will be an invitation postcard.

In other purple related news: My Cupcake Illustartion for Mrs Marr's Marvelous Cupcakes had been printed onto a hoodie for an event taking place in my hometown Charity Fun Day  for a worthwhile cause in the city in which I live Maggie's - A care center for people who are suffering from cancer.

My Creative Space

I enjoy surrounding myself with lovely things!

This is above my bed. My lovely sister bought be this canvas, which I adore, there are a few elephant realated items in my room,a s I have quite the collection but this has to be one of my favorites.

As you can see by the glimpse of my cushions, I love a bright colour or two, I previously blogged about Penny's apartment from the Big Bang Theory and the great collection of items she has.

I have both of these prints from Catherine Campbell framed on my bedroom wall. They are very whimsical and fun, with that essential splash of colour.

Festive lino printing

This year I am having a 'Homemade Christmas,' I am going to attempt to make everything from Christmas cards and gifts to the (hopefully delicious) feast with all the trimmings on the big day! As I mentioned in a previous post I was planning many crafty projects, one of which was lino printing.

I have a great love of Christmas, and to many people's annoyance, I may get a little bit excited too soon!  When making sure that I get all of my crafts done within good time I have got into the Christmas spirit already, and as you can see below I was printing away to a winter's favorite of mine, The Holiday!

 To create lino prints you must have all the kit: The lino, cutting tools, printing paint or ink, a paint roller, barren tool (for pressing the print onto the paper), a pencil and something to print onto.I scoured Ebay and Amazon for the cheapest price kit, as a visit to Hobbycraft showed that you can spend a fortune on just the basic set. I mainly looked at Youtube videos and online tutorials to get the technique right and got stuck in. 

I very quickly came to realize that this is quite a dangerous craft as  the cutting tool can slip quite easily off of the lino and slice into the hand that is holding the lino secure. So if you are considering giving this craft a go, be very careful and possibly buy a hand protector which I have seen  being sold.

 I am now waiting for some more lino to arrive so I can create some new designs.

You can see my mistletoe inspired design on some basic packaging tags and a cheeky Christmas pud in red on a card. 

Hello Autumn!

With Autumn brings my favorite weather, the frosty chill that makes you see your breath combined with the sun peeking through the clouds and I get the chance to select a scarf from my collection of many.

I love the introduction of the seasons veg, the jewel colours that come out in fashion and the cozy nights with a hot chocolate, bed socks and a blanket.Where I work has already introduced it's festive product lines and it is surprising the amount of people who pick up a chocolate Santa with their groceries in the early days of October! The festiveness of the chill is just irresistible.

Since everything has slowed down, I have decided to make creative plans to coincide with the seasons changing. I have a Halloween costume to create (Homemade is the only way to go) and have many crafty projects to keep me going until Christmas. I've began making soup again and hope to produce some creative recipes from may many vegi books to warm me up and the watercolors have made an appearance as you can see from my image above devoted to the season.

I have also begun a brand new project! I am now learning to play the piano. This is something I have never had the chance to do before and with my Graduate's free time I have decided to go for it, I am learning from the very beginning and realize that I might find it extremely difficult but I might just be able to play 'Jingle Bells' for Christmas!
My second lesson is tomorrow, wish me luck!

I will be sure to keep my blog updated with all of the above projects!

New Blog Banner

I decided to change the banner for my blog, which has been needing done for a long while now. Where my previous header displayed illustration work from 3 years ago combined with the words "Illustration portfolio of Lana Steel". It is now obvious that this blog has seen much more than a portfolio of my illustration work. Due to my varied college and university courses and opportunities that have come my way this blog has seen everything from fashion shows, to baking, to my worries as a creative graduate and this is how I mean to go on.

I have thought hard about what the theme of my blog should be and judging by my past posts it seems like it should be labelled a "Creative Lifestyle blog." A theme which gives much more flexibility to what i can post on here.

So I will be saying goodbye to my swallow..

And have  now updated  it with a more recent self portrait but this may change a few times yet! 

My Work Experiance at LEWIS

Lately I have just finished some work experience which I absolutely loved!

I volunteered my time twice a week for a month to sit alongside the Account Management team at the Digital Agency LEWIS. This experience gave me amazing insight into a job which I would love to be part of. Above is an image taken from their blog, where I wrote the post for them: A Graduates Dilemma,  where I explain a bit more about my time with them.  I would like to thank the people at LEWIS who were so lovely and took time out of their working day to show me the ropes, involving me with meetings and helping them out with bits and pieces.

I would recommend anyone to do something like this whatever their field. I understand that many people think that things like work experience or internship are out of their reach and like myself have to work as much as possible to earn a living. Indeed I was a bit tired, but this didn't feel like work as I was genuinely excited about going there, I learned so much and it gave me something vital for my CV. And who knows you might find a gem like LEWIS and create some great contacts!

Late Night Drawing

I annoy myself sometimes as all my creative inspiration comes to me late at night. Time goes fastest for me when I am drawing and before I know it I am into the early hours with a piece of work I find hard to put down.

Above is development of a self portrait which I started after I had finished work at 10 pm. It will probably be a few days before I carry on with this little project as I have lots happening over the weekend, will keep the blog updated with the final image.

Last 365 days

This post idea is stolen from my friend Fiona

(http://fionahun.blogspot.com/)

"Last 365 days in great detail"

It's my friend Nicola's Birthday very soon, hers is the first birthday of the year between my friends back home and when it comes around you know that we are into a new year! That got me thinking about whats happened since.

So Ive had a look back and here is a collection of images which shows some of what I have done and achieved over the last 365 days!

-Nicolas 21st Birthday shindig, thats us in our old flat in Edinburgh with close friends before heading out.

-My zombie impression for the Glasgow Zombie walk on Halloween which I did with my Uncle John and my Dad! That was a great day!

-I moved to Galashiels! (for uni) This particular image is of the huge snow last year which trapped me in the town, but you have to admit it was very pretty.

-My final illustration exhibition for collage which was held at the Dovecot Gallery.

-Dressed in the horrendous 'Hearty' outfit for a charity calendar.

-My good friends Kimberley and Gary got hitched! Still cant believe it!

-Blink 182 at the SECC which was amazing!

-Our Bring Home Fashion show in Edinburgh which was just recently.

-Some of the new friends I have made on my uni course!

Lucky me!! :)

Illustration rally

My Illustration featured on the Illustration rally's blog today for their 'ideal dinner party guests' alongside some other great illustrators! I love how diverse illustration can be and this post shows just a small selection of different styles.

http://illustrationrally.blogspot.com/

(Illustration rally links to the other contributers web pages)

Pre-Loved

Textures taken from the fabrics in the items below